"What's wrong with him?" The blond youth wondered, looking at Ray's figure that was constantly twitching as if the latter was getting electrocuted.
Narrowing his eyes after seeing the cracks that had spread all over Ray's skin, the boy muttered. "Don't tell me..."
His tone suggested that he was struggling to accept whatever he thought was happening to Ray, and he knew that if it was truly what he thought even his life couldn't be guaranteed.
"I'll watch for now. Lets see how things turn out." He decided, remaining where he was as he stared at the duo from a distance.
****
Alerted by the yells that echoed within the cave, Alyeen looked at the cave's entrance for some time before walking into it.
Speechless, she could only stare at the scene in front of her with wide open eyes as the question she previously wanted to ask had been dispersed.
Frightened, Alyeen's hands slowly found her way to her mouth as she stiffly turned to look at Jace who stood beside the bleeding Ray.
"It's not what you think." Jace defended himself, bawling his eyes out as he rubbed his nose with his sleeve.
Slightly crouching, Jace looked at the unconscious Ray who was still bleeding profusely and stuttered. "I... I... I didn't try to kill him."
"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have used poison since I won't want him to suffer." Jace said, seeing cautiousness in Alyeen's eyes he added. "Besides, I have no knowledge about poisonous substances."
Although his recent words weren't too convincing, Alyeen soon suppressed the fear she felt and said. "Let's get off this mountain. The more time we waste the higher the chances of his death."
Happy that she chose to believe him, Jace suggested. "Shouldn't we find an antidote for him? It would make his survival rate higher."
Shaking her head, Alyeen said. "We don't know the poison he consumed. Using different herbs on him may just make his condition worse by aggravating the toxins within him."
Despite her decision seemed cruel it was actually the best choice they could in their situation since if they give him herbs, some might be able to neutralize the toxins but it would take time for them to see any positive results.
And due to their ignorance, the time it would take for positive results to manifest (assuming they fed him the right herb) could be wasted on the wrong ones when they see no change in Ray's condition.
"You and I lack knowledge about this sort of things so it's best we get him to kingdom." Alyeen concluded, turning to look at the cave's entrance she asked. "You can carry him right?"
"If I can't even carry a twig like Ray I'd be putting all the fat I've accumulated to shame." Jace boasted, chuckling lightly as he carefully picked up Ray's bloodied body.
"Hmm..." Alyeen responded with a nod, walking toward the cave's entrance with a furrowed eyebrows.
"Wait for me." Jace said, hurriedly walking towards Alyeen after seeing her step out of the cave.
"Some thing isn't right." The blond youth mumbled, staring at the figure of the trio who were about to leave the cave.
"Aaarrrgggghhhhhhh!!!"
When the boy was buried in his thoughts, he heard a shrill scream echo within the cave and swiftly locked his eyes on the source of the sound.
The cry came from Jace, and he was currently being bitten by Ray who looked vastly different from how he was before.
Pulling the flesh that he had bitten off Jace, Ray eagerly ate it with relish in his eyes as he jumped off the former's back.
"Argh!!" Jace yelled, falling on the floor as he clutched the injury on his shoulder.
"That was delicious." An inhumane voice sounded from Ray's mouth, staggering back and forth like someone who had too much to drink.
Overjoyed, Ray smacked his lips as he muttered. "How long has it been since I last feasted? Too bad it's a guy since I prefer the flesh of young ladies. Don't be picky after killing this bastard you'd be able to eat as much women as you want."
When he said the last sentence, Ray had a tone that sounded like he wanted to comfort himself after being wronged.
Slowly lifting his head up, Ray licked the blood on his lips as he said. "The name is Azedirth, it's a pleasure to eat you."
Currently, Ray had extremely smooth blood red skin, short black hair, pitch black scleras, green irises, and a mouth lined with sharp white teeth.
Taking his eyes off Jace, he yelled after seeing Alyeen. "I didn't expect to see a female here!"
"Where are my manners." He cleared his throat, standing as straight as a sword that was plunged into the ground he added. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You are the damsel I always sought and you'd be the one who cleanses my hunger." Azedirth stated, having a dignified air about him as he spoke.
Done with his introduction, Azedirth turned to look at Jace and coldly said. "If you'll excuse me I need to get rid of a pest."
Whoosh...
In the blink of an eye, Azedirth had vanished from where he stood and appeared right in front of Alyeen –holding her face like it was a sacred jewel.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter...
Afraid yet amazed, Alyeen stared at the rain of blood that had been left in Azedirth's wake.
He had killed Jace in less than a second, making his body unfit for burial as it had been shredded into bits.
"You're so pretty." He complemented after failing to find a single flaw on Alyeen's face.
Licking the blood on his left hand, Azedirth whispered into Alyeen's ear. "I'll savor every part of you not only for my meal but also for my desires."
Frightened by his words, Alyeen subconsciously took a few steps back as she looked at his hand that was approaching her with fear in her eyes.
Excited, Azedirth yelled. "Yes! Yes! I love the look on your face! It makes me so hot whenever I see fear on a woman's face."
Hearing his words, Alyeen suppressed the fear she felt as she gazed at Azedirth with calmness in her eyes.
Although she was afraid, Alyeen didn't want the bastard who was going to kill her gain joy from her fear.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Azedirth asked, pulled out of his excitement by the expression on Alyeen's face.
"Stop looking at me like that!" He yelled after seeing slight disgust present in Alyeen's eyes.
Irritated, Azedirth threatened. "I'll kill you if keep looking at me like that!"
But his words all fell on dead ears as the way Alyeen kept staring at him didn't change. Hell, there wasn't the slightest twitch in her facial muscles except when she wanted to blink.
"You bitch!!" Azedirth cursed, clawing his hands at Alyeen's face with the intention to mar her beautiful features.
Boom!!
A sound that could rival the explosion of a grenade echoed within the cave as an arm covered with golden scales clamped on Azedirth's red arm.
Easily diffusing the force that traveled through his arm, the blond youth had a slight frown on his face as he coldly asked. "Who gave you the right to touch her?"