Taking hold of the bear core, Scarn absorbed all of its power. The pulsing colour of the core slowly dissipated, as did its power.
"Not bad at all!"
The power of the core flowed into his body, growing stronger and stronger.
"Ahahaha! Who knew that hunting those two brats would give me this unexpected surprise!"
Scarn's aura emanated a bright red along with an immense killing intent.
(k-killer stage...!)
Rei felt weak all of a sudden, breathing hard, terrified by the immense killing intent emanating from the man's body that was like a mountain towering over her.
The red colour of his aura meant that he was a beast in the Slayer stage. He had only read about it in books, he had never seen such a powerful creature before.
Plus, it had human features, which meant it wasn't just any creature, after all, not every creature could succeed in such a thing. But what frightened her even more were the words of the man, or rather the creature turned human.
(Who is he looking for?)
Instinctively, she felt a great fear grow within her.
Who on earth could provoke such a creature? Their village was not that big, they all knew each other. It would immediately be known if someone created trouble for the village.
(Unless... Oh no...)
A sudden revelation came to him like a flash.
His heart tightened as if in a vice.
(Kiba... Rada...)
Rei couldn't think of anything else, they were the only ones who had just arrived in the village, moreover the ones in front of her didn't look like normal wolves.
Even the man, it was clear was one of them.
So what to do? Wait for the right moment? Hide in safety? Or risk being discovered and call for help?
Confused and frightened, she found herself at the mercy of her inner conflict. She was afraid, so afraid, and she was right to be.
"Found any tracks?" asked Scarn after recovering from his momentary euphoria.
"No sir, the forest seems to extend far and wide, from the outside it didn't look like it," replied one of the wolves.
"Evidently it is an illusion created on purpose by whoever erected that insulting barrier in the forest," said Scarn with disdain.
"Extend the search area, get help from the other creatures if necessary!"
Having received their orders, the three wolves dashed back into the heart of the forest. As superior creatures, the wolves of the Howling Forest were feared and respected by the common creatures.
No one dared oppose them, for only the strongest are allowed to lay down the law.
"Um?"
Instinctively though, Scarn turned away.
Only he and the bear's corpse remained, but he had the feeling he was being watched.
The very moment the wolf's burning eyes landed in his direction, Rei felt his heart skip a beat. But she couldn't lose control now, that would be the end of it, she held her breath and tried to slow her galloping heart.
Scarn moved closer, all the murderous intent he was capable of began to seep from his eyes.
Suddenly, however, "Chief, it seems the humans in the village have discovered our intrusion!"
A message from his henchmen distracted him from what he was about to do.
"Tzè! So what? They would have been better off pretending nothing happened!"
Scarn turned and headed into the heart of the forest.
Rei could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but her worry remained. She was glad to hear that the villagers had noticed the invaders, but would it be enough to stop them?
Unconsciously she thought of her father, Cody and the Elder. The creatures he faced were so strong and fierce...
(Of course! The convoy!) suddenly Rei had an idea.
The people of the village might not be enough, but the men of the capital would certainly have no problem facing them.
(But what about Rada? And Kiba)
Worried about the fate of the two of them she hesitated once more, tried to think about how difficult it could be in that situation.
(Alone she will be of no help to anyone, I must find my father and warn the men in the capital!)
She absolutely had to do something and there wasn't a minute to lose. Shaking her head of useless thoughts and regaining her determination, she hurried out of the area and headed for the heart of the forest.
Time passed slowly but surely, it was already late afternoon. So Rada and Kiba found a safe place to take refuge.
"Who would have thought I'd be sleeping in a forest... Sigh."
Sighing, Rada looked at the large relief where they decided to stay. Being used to the comforts of modern society, he was very reluctant to live in contact with nature.
"I suggest you get used to it as quickly as possible, in the future we don't know how many more times we'll be sleeping outdoors." Lying not far away from him, Kiba didn't fail to say his piece.
"Yes mum!" said Rada jokingly.
"Tzé!"
But Kiba didn't mind her joke at all and turned over to sleep.
"Well, if you're right about what you said earlier, we can take it easy. In the misfortune we managed to make a nice fortune!" said the young man in a good mood.
In his hands was the core of the royal python, its glow becoming more and more visible as night fell. Inside the python core, a myriad of tiny lights shone intermittently, like a starry sky.
"Of course I'm right, this prince is always right!" said Kiba proudly. He didn't pay the slightest attention to Rada's shocked face behind his back.
"You're very confident little guy!"
Rada told him shaking his head, but smiled as he said it.
"Don't call me little guy! Kiba is more than fine!" complained the pup.
"Oh? You seem to really like the name I gave you, why don't you use your real name?" asked Rada. He was both curious and strange that the pup preferred the name he gave him rather than his real name.
In Kiba's memories, Rada saw practically the entirety of the pup's life, but there seemed to be no trace of his real name.
Kiba remained silent, he wasn't asleep yet, but he preferred not to answer.
"Hey, is it possible they didn't get it to you in time? Is that so?"
Asking that, Rada lowered his tone of voice, he felt she was right and felt great pity for the puppy.
"Let's just forget about it okay? My name is Kiba, I'm fine with it."
The puppy's tone of voice however was no longer as disinterested as before, a mixture of sorrow and longing could be heard in his words at the same time.
Sighing and feeling sorry for his lack of tact, Rada took the puppy in his arms and stroked its soft coat.
The two remained silent for a long time, unaware of what was happening in the heart of the forest.