"Zwein," Leon immediately stepped forward to protect Clarissa and me. He looked at Zwein with an unfriendly gaze. Meanwhile, Clarissa was holding her breath deeply, she was probably scared, after all Zwein was the one who killed Arnold's child and wife.
Leon once said that Zwein perfectly mastered the transformation body. Right now she's in human form, I'm a little surprised to see that she's so beautiful. Zwein has long hair with bangs covering his right eye. She also wore a tight dress that showed off her curves.
We were really unlucky. We just arrived inside the barrier and someone as strong as Zwein had discovered our whereabouts.
"Do not come close! They are my prey."
What? What did he say? prey? we? Clarissa and I immediately glared at Leon. Did he really think we were prey and lied to us all along or was Leon just trying to trick Zwein?
"Sigh, look how arrogant you are. Just because Master Black Rat forbids us to fight, doesn't mean I can't teach you some lesson," Zwein muttered curtly.
Forbid? I understand a little about it, maybe the Black Rat could ignore battle the lower level of Exor, but as Leon said, the five main pillars were the people who help Black Rat to control the thousands of half beast breeds here. In other words, as long as they fought each other the situation within the barrier would be chaotic.
"I will say it one more time. They're mine, if you dare snatch them then I won't hesitate to hurt you either," Leon's hoarse voice and serious expression took me by surprise, the difference was so big that I wondered why Leon could seem so friendly to us. Is this the real Leon and what he showed to us a moment ago was just his acting?
No matter how much Clarissa and I were suspicious to Leon, we didn't dare to move or interrupt their conversation. The pressure came not only from Zwein but also from Leon. I felt my body a little weak. Clarissa's condition was worse, she looked as if she would collapse at any moment.
Are they really going to fight? That's bad news for us. First, I'm not sure Leon will win. Second, I'm afraid the impact of the fight will hurt us. Lastly, even if Leon won, the resulting commotion would invite others to come here.
While the situation was tense, Zwein suddenly moved quickly. She was coming closer to me at an unreasonable speed. Her speed was definitely not something that an ordinary human could achieve. Leon also responded Zwein movement, he tried to block Zwein by standing in front of me.
I could see the muscles on Leon's body contracting. His hair seemed to stiffen and his body grew. In addition, Leon's sharp nails also lengthen. As Zwein approached, Leon immediately jumped at him. Zwein smiled, then a surprising change occurred. Zwein turned her lower half into a snake's body. She dodged Leon nimbly.
Zwein immediately moved his body rapidly towards Clarissa. Realizing that, I immediately pushed Clarissa away. But as a result of saving Clarissa, Zwein instantly changed her target to me. She hugged and lifted my body with her right hand, immediately after, she fled away from Leon. I saw Leon running like a lion, he was trying to catch up to Zwein.
However, slowly, I could see that Leon was falling behind. His figure seemed to move away until finally I couldn't see him anymore. Now, I feel really regret my action to save Clarissa. My fate was in Zwein's hands, I'm not sure if she will kill me or just hold me back. However, I will definitely try to find a way to survive. After all, I have no intention to dying here.
Even though Zwein said that Leon brought meal which refers to me and Clarissa, but I'm 70% sure that she's not a carnivore. I can't call it a cannibal because half beasts was different from humans. Most likely, the reason why she killed Arnold's wife and child was for sheer pleasure.
After a while, Zwein finally stopped, without hesitation, she threw me forward. My body immediately hit the tree with great force. I feel pain in several parts of my body. I endured the pain and slowly got up. In front of me, Zwein had turned her lower body back into human legs.
"What are you going to do with me? I'm pretty sure you won't kill me."
Of course it's a lie, there's a chance my guess was wrong. It was possible that Zwein was carnivorous and eats humans. However, I'm willing to bet on it. If my guess was correct that she kills for fun, then I should get him interested in me instead of getting bored and then killing me.
Zwein smiled broadly as if she found something interesting. My heart is a little happy, my guess might be right.
"Why do you think so? To me, there is no different between a pig and you."
Oh, it hurts me.
In order to get her attention, I had to prove that I was different. I have to prove that I have special value.
"I am an Exor candidate."
The changes that happened to me, no matter how I thought about it, were definitely related to Exor. The rituals I perform, no matter what, I can't think of anything else but rituals related to a certain god. My mother probably had a unique religion. The woman with the inverted triangle tattoo I've met may also have the same religion as Mother.
After a few days, that's the best guess I can come up with. I'm sure that at least half of my guesses were correct if not all of them.
However, Zwein's reaction was completely different from what I expected. She burst out laughing.
"Do you think I'm stupid? Leon, that ugly lion is soft-hearted. You and the girl beside you are definitely not Leon's captives. The only thing I can think of as to why the lion came back here, into the barrier is simply because one of you two has one thing to accomplish within the barrier. It's possible that you met Leon by accident on your way.
I've been attracted to you two from the start. What are you trying to do in vain. Even if you're an Exor candidate, then what? There are hundreds of beings within the barrier who are stronger and more potent than you. I told you that you are no different from a pig."
In the blink of an eye, Zwein moved swiftly. She approached me and waved his hand. A very hard punch drilled into my stomach as if trying to poke a hole in it. I felt excruciating pain that I couldn't bear.
I never expected that Zwein could guess that much in just a few moments. I guess, I really underestimated someone on Zwein's class. I just casually thought that she was just stronger than me and thought of making a fool of her.
"I have a clear idea of your fate."
With those words, I lost my consciousness.