Oh my son… if only you could see the glory of what I have created… oh my dear sons…

The creature stomped down on the ground, leaving a deep imprint. The ground shook under its weight, but by the time the foot landed, Yasa and the others were long gone. Kai rode on top of Onyx, too weak to rely on his own body, while Lutha was carried by the burly man. Yasa managed just fine on her own and took the lead.

They held their breath as they passed through the smoke and fumes, doing their best not to inhale the ash created from vegetation and flesh, wanting to inhale the latter as less as possible. Lutha took out pieces of cloth and dampened them, then handed them out to Yasa and the burly man. He couldn't give one to Kai, as they were too far apart.

However, even with their speed, traversing the charred ground proved to be a challenge. The soft, almost snow-like dust, accompanied by the smog, made it hard for them to see well ahead or launch themselves firmly on the ground. Only Onyx, with his paws and four legs, managed to keep a steady pace, while the rest had to take careful, yet speedy steps.

Looking back, they saw the gobelin rush after them with as much speed as its heavy body could muster. It left deep imprints on the ground, and it quickly gained ground on them.

"Hurry-" Yasa coughed, covering her mouth with a damp cloth. "Once we reach the trees, it will slow down."

But it won't stop… Kai thought weakly as he held on to Onyx's fur for dear life. He barely had the strength to do even that, though, but the newly found adrenaline gave him enough energy to manage.

Kai trusted the group though, he trusted in their strength at least, if not in them as people. He had no other choice either, as they were his only hope of getting out of this situation alive. If we go deeper into Lustra… will this be… as bad? His consciousness faded in and out, the nauseating smoke poisoning his lungs and blood with carbon dioxide. Even if the fire was magical, the consequences were very much real.

Boy... hurry. He pleaded, and Onyx let out a short yelp as his body glowed with a faint light. He immediately passed Yasa, then used wind magic to alleviate the air resistance and free up the space around Kai. That allowed him to breathe somewhat freely, but it wasn't enough. He wasn't sure if he would pass out, but his fighting capabilities were greatly diminished.

Hope shone within his crimson pupils, though, as vibrant greenery appeared at the edge of his vision. Faster… Onyx pushed himself to the limit and increased his speed even further. His ears twitched, and he quickly boosted himself, jumping to the side, barely avoiding a large boulder hurling toward them. What the fu-

"Ichor, dodge!!!" Yasa's voice rang within his ears, but he could only rely on Onyx to move out of the way. Another boulder shot toward him, this time landing eerily close to his ears. A cloud of ash rose and covered him with an Onyx with smog. The Obborik's white fur turned black, and Kai coughed up a storm as he tried to spit out the foreign substance blocking his airways.

Shit, fuck, please… Onyx!

Brower I…

However, he couldn't finish his communication as another boulder flew through the air. It landed right behind Onyx, mere inches away from his tail, and the shockwave sent both him and Kai hurling through the air. Kai lost his grip and rolled through the ash and destruction, the still scorching dust burning his face and hands.

Brower!! Onyx cried as he slipped in a hurry, trying to reach Kai as fast as possible.

Kai struggled to rise, coughing and slipping, his disheveled hair sticking to his sweaty skin. He glanced at Yasa's group, who ran side to side with the gobelin, looking as if they were chasing him together. Is it only targeting me?! If Kai still had any blood to spit, he would have. But he felt that if he did so, it would completely knock him out.

Instead, he had to think quickly and decided to pull out an earth crystal from his ring. Pulling it out was about the hardest thing he had done so far, but the most difficult was yet to come. Kai infused it with mana and looked at the gobelin's speed. He watched its steps and how much distance it took with one, then looked at his party. It should be fine… it has to be…

He couhged up a storm and mumured under his breath, then the crystal shone with a bright light. The other noticed Kai casting a spell but weren't quite sure what sort of spell, though they prepared themselves ahead of time.

Kai couldn't focus on them, though. His attention remained on the gobelin, and as it took another step, he clutched the crystal with as much strength as he could muster. Blood seeped through the crevices of his fingers onto the ashen land.

A large hole opened up before the gobelin as it took another step. The burly man almost fell into it but quickly regained his footing and dashed away from it just in time. The creature fell, its landing dampened by the ash, though Kai wasn't happy with the depth. He poured even more mana into the tiny crystals, resulting in cracks forming around them.

It became useless soon after, but Kai was confident that the hole he created was deep enough to trap the gobelin for long enough time to flee. Too bad I couldn't seal it… He lamented, but couldn't do anything more about it. Onyx grabbed him and threw Kai onto his back, then sped away as fast as he could. Yasa and the rest followed closely behind, both impressed and terrified by Kai's ingenuity.

They soon reached the forest, where the air was much cleaner and the path sturdier. However, they knew that celebrating too early would be a mistake, so they kept running and pausing to catch their breath every so often. Kai had all but fainted as he lay on Onyx's fur, gripping the scruff of his neck and begging to find a body of water.

Ash and soot covered him and the Obborik, as well as blood, sweat, and other substances Kai didn't want to know about. All he knew was that they needed to lose the gobelin's trail, and any beast relies on smell to find their prey. Kai feared that it would find them and he would be the first to fall.

He hadn't been so terrified of someone ever since the Inquisitor that chased, but she was human, at least he hoped she was. The gobelin was a monster they knew little about, and even if they killed it in their current state, the following explosion would kill them or mortally wound them. Picking such a fight wasn't something they could afford.

Besides him and Lutha, the rest of the fighters were in better condition. Humans were superior to monsters in terms of stamina and endurance, so the recovery speed of true Body Mages was quick. Kai was a weird hybrid, though, and he didn't know the full extent of his abilities.

Using both Inkos and Onkos magic at the same time is exhausting, in real fights like these, I would be dead…

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He wanted to sigh but had no strength to, and could only ask his companion to do his best to find any body of water. Onyx agreed, but after such a long fight and difficult chase, the signs of exhaustion were clear on his face.

It feels like we've been running ever since we left Belvit… Kai lamented as he took deep and slow breaths. Running and running… and fighting and running… I think I liked collecting plants more. He found his comments quite funny, and he would have chuckled if he had the strength to do so.

In reality he liked fights and challanges, and he knew that the only thing that would allow him to defeat Haniard was strength. He couldn't forget his goal, why he left, why he wanted to get stronger.

The faces of his parents as they died, their last words, and Haniard's sadistic smile didn't allow him to forget. They haunted him almost every night, they reminded him of why he was doing anything at all. Killing Haniard was his goal, and not even a mutated gobelin would stop him.

Kai grunted and rose slightly, just enough to have an easier time talking. "We need to find a lake… or a river." He struggled to say, and his coarse voice was barely above a whisper. They did hear him, though, and nodded in agreement.

As time passed, they began to believe that the large gobelin had lost its track, or at the very least was advancing very slowly through the forest. The rugged terrain and its large size, as well as the tree density, should have proved to be a difficult chase for the monster. Though they couldn't be sure, they were betting on that at the very least.

Their bet proved to be right, as there were no signs of the beast chasing them. They couldn't be sure, however, but no boulders were thrown, and the ground didn't shake. It was unknown whether or not it managed to escape the hole it was trapped in, but they didn't want to find out.

Continuing their search for the water source, Kai began to grow accustomed to the pain, though he wished for nothing more than to find a lake or a river to wash off everything and begin healing. He would take out his map to check if there was something like that in the vicinity, but without being able to move a muscle, that would prove to be difficult.

Kai trusted Yasa to find something, and in the worst case scenario they would stop somewhere and he could create an artifical lake after healing.

However, their luck turned as the sound of flowing water blessed their ears. For a moment, everyone's spirits rose as they walked toward the river, or at least what they could only assume to be one.

After a short, exhausting walk, they finally saw it, the one thing they'd longed for since they started fleeing. Water, running water, is the key to them losing that creature for good. Although they hadn't seen it for a long time, they didn't want to take their chances. Throwing off its smell would be the best course of action.

They didn't stand on ceremony and immediately jumped in, submerging themselves regardless of armor or fur. The cold water sent a wave of vertigo up their spine and throughout their entire body. It was expected but still shocking, however it did wake up their exhausted muscles.

Onyx swam with the current, as did everyone else, allowing the river to take them somewhere as far away from their original spot as possible. Unfortunately for the party, Kai and Lutha didn't have the best lung capacity, so they were forced to emerge after a few minutes.

However, the distance they traveled was enough, or that's what Yasa deemed it as she sat down between trees, drying her soaking hair. Kai didn't fare any better. His hands and entire body shook so badly he couldn't even mimic her. The tattered clothes stuck to his body like glue, and most of the soot and ash mixed with the blood and gore as they dried up.

Kai looked like a wet mutt, more so than Onyx, who was in a similar situation to him. A light chuckle escaped his lips at the thought, his crimson eyes fixating on the Obborik's black and white, damp fur. Onyx shot him a side eye and playfully showed his teeth as he shook his body from snout to tail. Water droplets flung everywhere, including the party members' faces, who weren't too keen on getting even wetter.

Kai's trembling finger reached for his spatial ring, but he couldn't muster up the mana to open it. He had realized far too late that the Double Phoenix Destruction he created would take its toll on his mana veins. I need time to recover mana and to heal, I'm completely useless in this state. I bit off way too much. He lamented and curled up into a ball, taking deep breaths and waiting for his muscles to recover some strength.

Yasa stood up and took off her dripping armor, falling with a muffled thump. A fresh cloak quickly took its place, then she tied her long hair into a dampened ponytail. "Jinchevs, help me gather wood." She barked a weak order and turned toward the forest.

The burly man followed suit, leaving Lutha, Kai and Onyx by themselves. Onyx spun around a few times, then looked at Kai with a questioning expression. Kai shook his head and retreated back into his arms, trying to recover. If you dry me off like that I may end up getting sick, better wait for the fire.

Onyx stopped after hearing the explanation, even though he didn't understand it fully, and sat down next to Kai. Lutha glanced at them, a complex look in his eyes. The man's trembling lips parted, moving with hesitation as he said. "That was amazing, back then."

Kai understood where the words of praise had come from, though he didn't agree with them fully. "Thanks." He said weakly, uninterested and disgusted by the praise.

"You're very strong," Lutha added, taking the rings off his fingers. "You didn't need us to come with you here, right?"

The boy raised his head, his dimly lit eyes staring at Lutha with a half-annoyed look. "I'm not strong." A coarse voice scratched his throat. A few light coughs escaped his lips, which evolved into one or two heavier ones that shot out some ash. "I'm useless, I can't even use my storage ring right now."

"That's because you…" Lutha began, his eyes meeting Kai's crimson pair, which he avoided before continuing. "You didn't hold anything back. You have good control over your mana, but once it's out of your body, it begins to leak. I feel that you weren't taught properly how to cast spells."

I wasn't taught how to cast spells at all… Kai wanted to say, but didn't want to divulge too much information, as small as that detail may be. Instead, he kept shut, not having the energy to talk or the will to keep a conversation going. He kept his head up, though, and looked at the surroundings.

They kept a good distance from the lake, enough to barely hear its whispers. Trees surrounded them, though they weren't as densely packed together. The tall grass and bushes hid them well enough, at least until the smoke from their campfire would attract the entire forest toward them. Kai feared that they weren't safe, that were would still be gobelins hiding, waiting.

How did they catch us so unaware? Onyx even scouted ahead and saw nothing, then an army of them showed up out of nowhere? That was too much of a coincidence. Were they waiting? Did they call for reinforcements? How? Do they have a secret method, or was their base close to the entrance? Gobelins… yeah, these aren't goblins, not the kind I saw in video games.

"I can help you." Lutha's weary voice echoed in his ears after an unknown amount of time, waking him up from his thoughts. "I can guide you and teach you how to cast spells."

"Why the offer?" Kai's bewildered tone reveberated thorugh the air. Lutha's eyes switched from him to the Obborik, and to the ground in quick succession.

"You saved us."

"I saved myself."

Lutha shook his head, a soft smile creasing his lips. "You could have run away by yourself."

"I wasn't thinking at the moment." He said with a short pause. "Your party could have run away as well."

"We don't leave anyone behind. Even if you ran away by yourself, we'd find a way to escape together or die trying."

A short silence embraced them as Kai thought about Lutha's words. There were a few things that didn't make sense to him, but he could see sincerity within Lutha's eyes. "I still don't understand why you would help me."

"I already said it, you saved us." The man's eyes drifted to the Obborik, who looked back at him with innocent eyes. "I think you'd need some help if you want to go out into the world. I don't know what your goal is, but coming to Lustra despite knowing the danger shows your resolve. If it weren't for your warnings and tactics, we would not have gotten out of there as whole as we are right now. I owe you that."

A sigh escaped Kai's body as he contemplated the man's words, and he wasn't sure whether or not to believe them. He has no reason to lie, and he doesn't seem too bothered by me being a vampire. At least not as much as before.

"Anyone whose pet loves them that much can't be a bad person, Ichor," Lutha added in a soft voice. "Please allow me to teach you. I can help him as well."

"Companion." Kai corrected Lutha, "Onyx is my companion." Then he rose with difficulty, supporting himself on the tree, and took off his tattered cloak. "Fine, I will accept your help." He groaned as he said, allowing the cloak to fall with a soft thump. Kai felt that Lutha was sincere and that a teacher would always be appreciated. He'd be a fool not to take such an offer.

"Great." Lutha smiled as he leaned on a tree. "We can start right now, then."

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