About a kilometer up the path from where the group had set up camp, the creature they were going to slay was laid on the ground, asleep.
Appearance wise, the thing was horrifying, something that Kai would much rather not have to approach.
It was vaguely humanoid, it possessed two arms, two legs and a human shape, only its body was incredibly elongated. It also didn't help that its entire body was a pale blue colour, like a frostbitten corpse.
It had no lips, just a thin line on its face where its mouth should be, and it also had no nose. Its eyes were closed, so Kai could not make them out, and it also had two long, curled horns on its head.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a creature Kai would have been hesitant to approach, but his worries were soothed for three reasons.
The fact that they would be able to launch a surprise attack on the pale demon because of the fact it was asleep, and the fact Kai was able to make out its level.
The second reason was the fact that the light of the demon's soul was nearly entirely lit up by red, meaning it was a generic Strength based beast. As long as Kai played it smart, nothing could go wrong.
And to his delight, the demon was a lower level than the average beast at this altitude, that level being 71.
It's name didn't indicate much, it was called a Polar Demon. Then again, if it was a demon, it would maybe be kind of strong.
So they had the advantage over the demon. If Kai could deal enough damage early on, he would be able to weaken it enough so that Cecilia could finally level up and be able to choose her class.
Hiding back behind the boulder he had been observing the sleeping demon from, Kai nodded at Cecilia.
Cecilia simply nodded back.
"Alright, Petunia, you stay here with Remy. You'll be safe here, so just make sure to remain still and don't get spotted.
And take this just to be safe."
It was better to be safe rather than sorry when it came to Petunia. Even though she apparently had potential, she was still young and inexperienced, and Kai was not keen on getting her close to any actual combat considering that he had given himself the task of getting her back to her father in one piece.
So, in order to keep Petunia safe, he was going to temporarily lend her one of his unused items.
Back when he had slain all of those Forgotten Husks, he had obtained two items.
A pair of slippers that partially nullified the sounds of footsteps, which wasn't particularly useful in this situation.
But the other item was. It was a cloak that helped to dampen and obscure the wearer's presence. Albeit, the abilities of the item itself were a little lacking, considering it was an Uncommon item, but it had been sitting in the Satchel of Salaciousness for the last two weeks so it's effects had been boosted minorly.
And every little would help in the situation.
Taking the item out of the satchel, Kai glanced down at it and shuddered.
It was pure white, like the snow surrounding them, only there was not a single crease or wrinkle on it, it looked like it was made out of some sort of strange skin.
Handing it to Petunia, Kai watched as she put it on and instantly he felt off.
It was a strange feeling. He had been staring right at the child, but as soon as he blinked, he had the subconscious desire to look away. It wasn't like a mind attack though, one that would order him to look away, it was more like he felt that there was no point looking at Petunia anymore because he already knew she was there.
It was like his mind was saying 'Oh, a child is there, okay'.
Maybe he had been underestimating the abilities of the item.
The final thing he done was something that he wasn't actually sure would work, considering he still didn't understand it.
He reached out and petted both Petunia and Remy before using Soul Flame on them
Once Petunia and Remy were both secure and safe, Kai placed a hand on Cecilia's shoulder and nodded.
Even though he had just called the item useless, he still chose to temporarily transfer ownership of the semi silent slippers to Cecilia. He had no use for the item, but she could probably use it, considering that she would be able to add something onto them using the abilities of the bodysuit.
After all, it didn't seem like a good idea to walk around in snow that went up to your ankles in a pair of slippers.
He chose to hold back on giving her Esurient though. He would only do that when the creature was sufficiently weakened, he still had to fight it after all.
Slowly standing up, Kai cast one final glance back at Petunia before taking a deep breath and creeping towards the slumbering demon. Cecilia followed close behind him.
They had been a fair distance away, but had still been able to make out the demon despite the constant snowfall.
But Kai was confident, he had assessed the situation, he knew roughly what the beast would be capable of.
However, that feeling of confidence quickly changed after he took a few steps towards it.
Something felt off, like something was horribly wrong. But there was nothing out of the ordinary going on, it was only them in the surrounding area, and yet...
Slowly, the two of them continued to get closer to the demon.
After about a minute of creeping forward, Kai and Cecilia were roughly 250 meters away from the demon.
Taking one more step, Kai-
Froze.
His vision turned dark for a moment, and he felt his blood run cold.
His heart forcibly skipped a beat as Kai sucked in a shallow breath. He gripped at his chest, wheezing in pain. It felt like his soul was slowly freezing over, like it had been exposed to a horrible blizzard.
Gritting his teeth, Kai looked up and realised that it was not that he had lost his vision for a moment, it was something else entirely.
Surrounding him was a massive, black dome. It was faintly similar to the void he would be brought to whenever he used Soul Memorial, only this dome felt much, much more terrifying.
Somehow, snow continued to fall through the dome, making Kai realise it was not a physical thing.
Quickly turning around, Kai saw that Cecilia had also been caught inside, with the rock Petunia and Remy had been behind being just outside of the dome.
Talk about a stroke of luck.
He noticed Cecilia tremble, but he couldn't do anything about it as he quickly made his way over to the edge of the dome.
Panicking slightly, he reached out and touched it, only to be struck with an electric shock like sensation. It was like a bolt of lightning had been shot through his body, making his nervous system shut down for a moment.
But in that moment, Kai realised how perilous the situation was.
They were trapped.
And it was obvious what had trapped them.
Behind him, Kai heard a low, guttural growl. Cursing his luck, he turned back around just in time to see the demon rise to its feet.
He also saw it open its eyes.
And when he done so...
Kai cried out in pain.
His soul throbbed in agony, begging for the pain to stop. It was like it had been struck with a hammer, and the reverberations of the attack were still assaulting it.
"Don't look!"
Following Kai's command, Cecilia quickly closed her eyes before she saw something she shouldn't have.
Throughout that whole ordeal though, Kai felt a familair feeling.
An icy cold sensation at the back of his mind, one that would indicate a mind attack.
The demon was a much worse foe than Kai had imagined. It had trapped them in this dome, and looking into its eyes was a horrible mind attack that somehow affected his soul at the same time.
And those eyes... They were horrible.
They were like two milky black balls of nothingness that folded in on each other. When looking into them, Kai felt that if he stared for a little longer then he would see the way he would die.
... Of course, the way he would die would be by actually looking into the monster's eyes.
Steadying himself, Kai then noticed something else about the demon, something that he should have realised much sooner.
Something that could possibly end up with their death.
He hadn't noticed it at first because of how far the demon was, but now that he had gotten closer and the demon was actually looking at him, Kai felt it, a certain aura.
An aura that he had felt a few times in the past.
And one that he was dreading facing again, especially considering the abilities the demon had already displayed.
The monster across from him, the Polar Demon...
Was an Evolved Creature.