Ch.36

With that, the monster turned around and ran toward the pile, returning shortly thereafter with an armful of strips of meat, ripping them apart before placing several pieces down in front of Evander.

"Now you're going to eat," said the monster. "And I don't want to have to chase you again. So you should enjoy this while you can."

The dark elf stared at the food in front of him for a moment, then raised his brows at the creature. He couldn't help but feel like this wasn't exactly normal. Not that he wanted to kill the thing, either‌—it was just a bit confusing.

But he also knew that the thing wasn't going to share any more information with him if he didn't eat. And considering how long it had been since he'd last eaten, he could hardly pass up the chance. Plus, he just needed a little something to hold on to, until he figured out what to do next.

So Evander brought himself to his knees, forcing himself to take a bite from one of the strips. Then he let out a small sigh as he started to chew, but quickly paused.

Why hadn't the creature poisoned the meat? He found the idea of eating something that the monster had just killed a little disturbing, especially given the circumstances. But the creature only laughed at his hesitation, reaching over to poke him with its claw.

The man pulled back, almost dropping his piece of meat on the ground, then forced himself to continue chewing. Thankfully, he seemed to recover from his momentary lapse in concentration. Still, he found himself staring at the monster, watching its throat move with each breath.

Eventually, he glanced down at himself, shivering at the sight of blood dripping down his body. Was this what people looked like after they died‌—with their wounds slowly healing under the moonlight? It was hard to imagine, and the thought of being trapped in this form scared him.

But the beast hadn't poisoned the meat, which meant that the meat must be safe. And the darkness would heal him‌… even if there weren't any priests or mages around. Maybe that was another reason why he was here. The creature had probably put some sort of spell on him, so that the two of them could stay together.

The dark elf swallowed hard, trying to ignore his nerves. If he didn't trust this creature, it might come back to haunt him later on. And he didn't know how many others the monster had left to kill before it decided to leave this place. So maybe that's why he'd brought me here‌… to make sure I never left the forest.

"There you are," said Rozalia as she approached the entrance to the encampment, looking over the other elves who were already waiting for her. "I thought we would have heard by now."

"They found what they were looking for," said one of the men, glancing out from under his tent. "And once they got close to the site where they heard something moving, they figured it out soon enough.

"All they needed to do was get rid of your trail," added Rozalia.

The elf nodded. "As long as they couldn't tell where exactly the attack took place, they'll just assume that someone else is responsible. They won't expect anyone to come here soon."

Rozalia looked at the tall young man with a frown. "We'll need to move quickly then," she muttered.

"Why?" asked the elf, stepping forward.

He glanced from Rozalia to the armored man who'd arrived with Evander‌—the same one who'd led them to find the creature in the first place. "Who are these people?" he asked.

The elf tapped the side of her head‌—then turned toward Evander to whisper, "We're going to be able to smell these people for miles. We might have to be careful."

Evander watched the armored man as he responded, looking him over. "We've been camping here for days already, without being discovered by anyone else."

Then the elf smiled‌—glaring at the half-naked warrior as though she could kill him if she wanted to. "Maybe you can count on that when we move again, but I wouldn't rely on it for much longer. Keep it in mind, my friend, because I think we're finally going to lose our element of surprise. And after so many years of living in this forest, it's all I've known.

"But no matter what happens," he continued, turning back to face the other elves, "we may not have time to make another journey. So the sooner we find a new village, the better."

Rozalia sighed, looking to her left and right before motioning over toward the map they'd brought with them‌—the same one that had originally pointed out the site for their raid. "There should be a tribe nearby."

She opened up the map, glancing down at the page briefly to see which direction they'd need to head in. Then she looked up toward the woods, where she caught sight of a few movement inside the tree line.

"That way," said Rozalia, pointing toward a place on the map.

The elves all nodded, taking the map and putting it away before they headed out to follow the orc's directions. "No more talking," shouted an elf as he passed Rozalia. "And we've got to move faster now. This is almost over."

Evander swallowed hard as he turned to watch them depart. The rest of the party seemed to be moving smoothly, despite the fact that they had several injuries among them. But from the look of it, Rozalia's group didn't appear to have any serious injuries.

Maybe he'd just been lucky to survive without being touched by the beast… or maybe the beasts only targeted people who were sick. Either way, Evander realized how close he'd come to dying. He was grateful that the giant creature hadn't attacked him, and he hadn't seen anyone else die since then.

Yet the dark elf didn't know how long that would last, and his mind began to race as he moved through the forest. What if the creature killed them all one day? Would it be worth risking his own life to try and kill it first, when he might end up getting caught in the process?

After everything that had happened, Evander couldn't help but think about the future. It made it easier for him to keep pushing himself, trying to outrun the monster with every step, even though he knew he'd never reach the end of the path.

But he still had to try‌—and his instincts told him that he might have a chance at living through this. After all, the creature didn't seem interested in killing people anymore. That was probably why Rozalia had made another expedition to search for other villages. It would be nice if she actually found one, but the last thing he wanted to do was stop moving.

So as Evander continued to walk forward, the darkness inside his stomach gradually faded away, allowing him to finally relax his shoulders. At least that was something‌…