Their gazes met as Sief stared at him, focusing his eyes on the stranger's body, who still showed no expression.
His musculature was well-developed and defined; though not as absurdly so as Ylva's, Sief didn't need to think much to conclude that this guy was strong.
But what stood out the most was that his fingers and toes had sharp claws, reminding Sief of the moment he had clung to the monster's neck. Besides that, even after eating the equivalent of his own weight, there was no protrusion in his abdomen or sign of fatigue after eating so much.
However, still without changing his expression, he slowly turned his face to the monster's neck, resuming tearing off pieces with his hands and bringing them to his mouth.
Sief squinted slightly upon noticing that the claws pierced and tore the flesh easily, but his mouth and throat also behaved unusually, expanding to chew and swallow all the volume concentrated in the stranger's mouth.
Even the sounds of the flesh being crushed were attention-grabbing, and Sief approached, noticing fangs among the stranger's teeth that seemed to cause that abnormal noise. His eyes continued to glow red as he ate.
Moving his hand to the monster's neck, Sief noticed that the flesh was as hard as a tree trunk and so thick he couldn't even squeeze it. However, he saw the stranger's jaw advance and leapt back, narrowly avoiding the bite.
Sief stopped with wide eyes and dagger raised, staring at the still-expressionless stranger, who soon turned to the assassin, who was already panting.
"Sorry." Sief widened his eyes upon hearing the stranger's words, who continued speaking. "But wait for me to finish eating."
Again, he turned to the meat, and Sief remained paralyzed, still with his dagger raised but confusion evident on his face as he watched the stranger take another piece of meat in his hands and throw it in his direction.
He quickly caught it and realized it was a piece much larger than his own hand, still bleeding.
The texture was strange, feeling both warm and cold and sticky, making him stare at it, still with confusion on his face.
'Is this... for me to eat?...'
Sief slowly lowered his dagger and stared at the stranger, who was now with his face buried in the monster's neck, no longer tearing pieces with his hands but just biting and chewing right there, making the assassin pause with furrowed brows as he questioned himself.
'Should I waste time here?...'
He turned to the forest, which seemed calm despite the giant monster's movement, and sighed awkwardly, dropping his backpack to the ground and picking up some dry branches.
He quickly made a fire, and the dagger could barely cut the meat, taking long minutes to make some fillets with all that flesh, which were skewered, forming several skewers that were soon brought to the fire, making Sief frown again, thinking.
'This is monster meat... isn't it?'
However, as soon as he looked up, he saw the stranger in front of him with a face full of blood and a tired expression.
Sief stood up attentively, but the stranger sat in front of the fire and leaned his fist on his cheek, seeming to wait for the meat to be ready.
The assassin continued to stare with doubts, but looking back at the monster's neck, he widened his eyes in surprise, seeing that not even bones were left, just the trace of its weight on the grass and the rest of the monster's body still protected by the carapace.
'Is this guy for real?'
"So?" Sief turned his eyes back to the stranger, who continued to stare at the fire. "Are you going to tell me what you're made of now?"
"Finish eating." He turned his still-glowing eyes to Sief as he spoke. "You're very impolite."
"What does all this mean?" Sief frowned and questioned. "You're probably human, but is this an ability?"
Slowly, the stranger turned his eyes to the fire, seeing the pieces that were slowly cooking with the heat of the flames but did not speak again.
'Is he... really this polite?'
Turning his eyes back to the monster's body, he wondered how it had disappeared in just a few minutes, but mainly focusing on the stranger's body, which didn't seem to have changed, not even a protrusion in his belly or any fatigue; it was as if everything he had devoured had simply vanished.
'And I think he'll only speak when I finish...'
Sief clicked his tongue, seeing no change in the stranger's expression. Again, he sat down with a furrowed brow, grabbing a skewer and quickly bringing it to his mouth to eat.
However, as soon as he ate, it was as bad as he remembered.
The meat was tough and still limp inside, cold, and no matter how much he chewed, the texture didn't seem to diminish, and at that point, chewing a shoe might have been better.
But staring at the stranger, he saw no change in his expression, seeming to wait patiently for the meal to conclude.
Sief grunted slightly and resumed eating. Slowly, the pieces disappeared, and each time he swallowed, it felt like a piece of clothing was going down his throat.
That single piece was enough to bloat Sief's belly, barely able to sit after eating all that.
Not even old bread was this bad and hard, but he was fed, though he wished he wasn't, lowering his head as he tried to swallow the last piece. As soon as he did, the stranger spoke.
"You weren't hungry." He sat up straight and resumed observing the assassin. "But at least you ate everything."
"I only eat once a day, and I have to run all day; I was starving, but this here..." Sief grabbed the skewer and threw it into the flames, still with a furrowed brow. "Or you're much hungrier than I am to eat this."
"Monsters and animals are mostly food. You have no right to kill them, even for eating. But if you're going to kill them anyway, eat in silence and use the energy they give you to do something good." He stood up and slowly walked to the rest of the turtle's body. "What did you hope to gain by waiting for me?"
"The secret to all this." Sief leaned against the tree and stood up with difficulty, still feeling his belly ache after all that volume. "Eating a monster is more than respecting the food; killing it with bare hands and doing all this in an instant without bloating, this has to be an ability."
"In the end, you talk like my grandfather, but food is food." He leaned against the monster's flesh and turned. "What's your goal?"
"The hell I can get." Sief squinted and observed the monster's body. "What does my goal have to do with this?..."
The stranger remained expressionless, but his voice was serene and direct. Hearing the question, he puffed out his chest and sighed, making Sief stare with strangeness, but the stranger resumed tearing pieces.
"Answer what I questioned; you're very impolite..." He lightly squeezed the bleeding piece of meat, making Sief frown too, but the stranger continued. "I want to help you, but don't expect me to answer your questions if you don't answer mine either."
"Hm... right..." Sief kept his brow furrowed but soon said, "I'm just here because it's the way to the city where she might be, that's it."
"Then you shouldn't worry about eating monsters or fighting them with bare hands." He cut the meat in his hands with his claws, letting much blood and smaller pieces fall to the ground. "What I have won't help you get there; it would be much better if you just ran and avoided the monsters since you fight with that small weapon."
Gradually, Sief's rigid expression relaxed, but he kept staring at the stranger.
"You're far enough from any city or village; you should know you can't escape monsters once they see you." Sief sheathed his dagger at his waist and crossed his arms, concluding, "So what you have is indeed an ability... since your eyes haven't stopped glowing at any moment."
"The abilities you speak of aren't just about using the energy we have. A strong person shows their strength and hides their weakness." He tore a piece of his clothing and wrapped the meat, even making a simple knot, licking his blood and meat-stained fingers afterward. "But if all you want is to learn this trick, fine."
"Is it that easy?" Sief raised his eyebrows in surprise but soon returned to staring at the monster in front of him. "Let me guess, as payment, you want this whole monster for yourself?"
"Actually, I was going to teach you without any problems, but I like that way of thinking." The stranger grabbed the bundle and threw it towards Sief, who quickly caught it, seeing the wild man touch the monster's flesh and continue, "I want this monster's meat for myself."
Sief furrowed his brow slightly, still not knowing what to think, but soon he sighed awkwardly and mused.
'I don't know if he's polite, innocent, or just a bit ignorant... but anyway...'
Sief stared at the bundle of meat that the stranger had set aside, but after hearing everything he had said about food, he packed it into his backpack and questioned again.
'How am I supposed to do this? You keep your mana constantly active since your eyes never dim, so I imagine the mana consumption must be quite high.' Immediately after, Sief crossed his arms, watching the stranger turn to face him. 'And you called it a trick, didn't you?'
'I don't know how to answer that. I call it a trick because that's what Grandpa called it.' He crossed his arms and continued, 'What I have to tell you is what he taught me, and he also said it's too shallow to be a skill.'
'His grandfather raised him to be a hunter?' Sief uncrossed his arms and asked, 'What should I do?'
The stranger also uncrossed his arms, and slowly Sief noticed a change; his claws were now just nails, and his bright eyes were gradually dimming, but they maintained a reddish hue.
'All you need to do is imagine your strongest version. If you can do that, just concentrate your strength in your belly and clench your fists tightly. That will be enough to do it.'
As he spoke, Sief noticed the fangs had disappeared, but before he could stare and wonder if that was all, he saw the stranger raise both fists and clench them tightly.
His body trembled slightly, and Sief noticed something change in the surroundings, but mainly in the grass, which seemed to be pushed by the stranger's presence while the red glow intensified.
In an instant, it was as if the wind was blowing around him, and realizing that, Sief thought,
'It looks like...'
But unlike Edgar, there were no reddish traces on his skin, which made Sief wonder if it was the same thing with a different image, but Sief could perceive the claws returning to the stranger's fingers, who maintained a serious look.
'That's what Grandpa calls release.'
His presence continued to emanate in that midst, but slowly the surroundings stopped manifesting with it, and the stranger turned back towards the monster's body.
'Now go get your sister.'
He began to grab the monster's pieces again and tear them apart, but at the same time, he bit and began to eat directly from the monster, leaving Sief wide-eyed and still confused.
'A stronger version of yourself? How does that work?' Sief walked up behind the stranger, who was burying his face in the monster's flesh. 'You really don't use a skill? Use strength in your belly?'
'Train to reach that version until you can imagine it during the fight.' He spoke with his mouth full amidst those pieces, chewing again as he said, 'Imagine a stronger version of yourself than you are now, improve it with what you need. At least that's what Grandpa used to say. If you want to fight with that knife and it doesn't cut enough, just be stronger, and it will cut.'
Sief raised his eyebrows again and saw the stranger bury half of his body in the monster's flesh, tearing voraciously and entering that armor while devouring.
No matter how many times he asked, the stranger continued to advance, eating quickly while the sounds of flesh being cut and torn apart echoed through the area, making Sief slightly frown and think,
'Is he... avoiding the question or is it still about upbringing?'
'Hey!'
Sief asked, but when he realized it, there was only a huge hole where the monster's neck was, where the sounds of chewing and bones being broken echoed, making Sief keep his forehead slightly frowned while being ignored.