Ayla enjoyed killing Kenji. More precisely, she relished eating his brain. There was something about it that set it apart from everything she had consumed before.

It was purer yet more complex, layered in a way that made every bite feel new. And unlike the others, it never ran out because Kenji would simply return after death.

That alone was reason enough for her to continue.

So she did.

Kenji died again and again. There was no count to it anymore.

Each time he returned, she was there. Each time he opened his eyes, it ended the same way.

For her, it was simple. For him, it was a nightmare stretched beyond reason.

She only stopped when the hunger faded completely.

By then, Kenji had collapsed onto the ground, landing heavily on his back. His mind swam and his vision blurred, stars dancing across his sight.

For a moment, he could not tell where he was. Then, the haze cleared.

A face filled his vision.

Too close.

Ayla’s face hovered inches from his own, her golden eyes wide and focused.

Their brows brushed against each other. He could feel her breath. It carried a faint scent, something sweet like wild berries.

She stared at him as if she had found something precious.

Kenji flinched and pushed himself backward, scrambling away from her.

His hands slipped slightly against the damp ground as he put distance between them.

Ayla did not stop him. She simply watched.

That was worse.

At this point, he understood something clearly: he could not fight her.

Strength alone was not the issue. It was everything else. The way she killed him. The way she stood waiting every time he returned.

And most of all, the way she interfered with his regression.

That should not have been possible.

"How did you do..." he started, then stopped, watching her expression shift.

Her lips curved slightly, almost playfully. Her tongue flicked out, brushing lightly across them.

It was an instinctive movement for her.

Kenji felt it instantly. If he finished that question, she would show him by killing him again.

He swallowed and changed course.

"What do you want?"

That was safer.

Ayla tilted her head slightly at the question. Of course, she wanted to eat his brain; that answer came naturally.

But she was not hungry anymore. Not right now. Instead, her thoughts moved elsewhere.

His memories.

Every time she consumed him, she gained them, but they were incomplete. They all began at the same point: the moment he teamed up with the other two.

Nothing before that. It did not make sense.

Humans had pasts. They started as children, grew up, and lived lives. Jaxon’s and Martin’s lives were like that.

So why did Kenji not have those memories?

Was he born at that moment, just like her?

Ayla’s gaze sharpened slightly as she looked at him. This human was different. He had secrets. Many of them.

And that made him valuable. Also, he was not someone she could kill permanently.

"I want to team up with you," she said.

Her voice was calm and serious. She meant it.

Kenji blinked.

"That’s it?" he asked, his lips twitching faintly.

Ayla nodded immediately, her head moving up and down enthusiastically. It would have looked cute if not for everything he had just gone through.

"Then why’d you kill me?" he asked, his tone cautious.

Ayla lowered her gaze, looking at the ground. "I was checking your trait..." she said.

It was a lie.

The truth sat right behind her teeth. She wanted to say it. She wanted to tell him that she had been eating his brain.

But that would be a problem.

If he knew, he might refuse.

And while she could force him, that would not be ideal. If he resented her, he might hide things. He might not teach her properly.

That would reduce his value.

So she lied.

Kenji watched her carefully. Her eyes shifted slightly. Her hands fidgeted. Around them, faint threads hovered, almost invisible.

If he rejected her, he was sure her next action would be to kill him.

He rolled his shoulder slightly, a useless motion that did nothing to ease the tension in his body.

There was no real choice here. He could not best her.

This was the rule of the Crusade: the strong decided, the weak followed. Although he hated helplessness, he had no other options.

"I agree..." he said.

Ayla looked up immediately. Her eyes brightened, her expression lighting up with what looked like genuine happiness.

"Actually, I liked eating your brain. That’s why I continued killing you," she said, smiling.

Kenji froze.

She continued before he could react.

"Since we are partners now, I will not hide any secrets from you. I revealed a secret; now you do one."

She looked at him expectantly.

Kenji’s lips twitched.

He would have preferred not to know that.

Eating brains?

That was not normal.

Was she even human? Perhaps she was joking.

His gaze moved over her again, taking in every detail. His expression froze. She didn’t seemed joking.

While he was in deep thought, countless scenarios passed through Ayla’s mind.

He didn’t seem to be impressed. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him in silence.

As the seconds passed, she grew uneasy.

Had she made a mistake?

She had shared her secret. That should have prompted him to do the same. That was how partnerships worked, at least from what she understood.

Was her secret not enough?

Her brows drew together slightly. She bit her lower lip.

Then, she made a decision.

Her body shifted.

Before Kenji’s eyes, her form collapsed and reformed into a blue, viscous slime. It pulsed faintly, its surface shifting as she moved.

Kenji’s expression froze. Ayla interpreted it differently.

Now he seems impressed. She felt smug.

So, she swelled slightly with pride. Sure enough, her slime form was mighty.

Her slime body stretched and reshaped, forming simple shapes as if to demonstrate control. If she still had the spider form, it would have been even better.

After a moment, she returned to her human shape.

Luckily, her clothes never disappeared while shifting. Or else, he might have thought she wasn’t wife material.

She folded her arms against her chest and waited, her gaze fixed on him.

Kenji did not move. Inside, his thoughts were in chaos.

A slime. Not just any slime.

But a Mimic slime!

No. That did not fit. Mimics only copied appearances.

They did not gain traits.

But she had used fire. She had used blood threads.

At least two traits, possibly more. A thought surfaced, cold and unsettling.

Bloodnet.

He pushed it aside quickly.

Instead of asking directly, he spoke carefully.

"Let’s go to a safe location and we can talk. This area has the presence of a Bloodnet Spider Mother. It’s dangerous."

He wanted to confirm his doubts.