My body dropped to the ground, and my beast-men walked towards me. They gently grabbed my hands and pulled me upwards.

"Stay in the center," Azrael said, and they shielded me from all sides... I froze! Isn’t he supposed to hate me? Sometimes he confused me. Why care now just to act distant later?

"What was that?" I asked, staring at a flesh-like object protruding from the ground. Was that a tongue? And was it still moving...? I could hear breathing and the pain in each of its breaths. My grip on my sword tightened, and it suddenly came into view...

What the fvck?

It was like a toad, but much bigger. Just looking at it, you could tell it was far larger than me and my beast-men... Its eyes were red, and slime oozed out of its body...

CROAK!

The sound came out heavy and rough. The ground shook because of it, and my balance gave out, but Veyra gently held onto me.

The toad’s eyes locked onto me, and its pupils shrank, readying itself to attack. It hopped towards us, but a shield suddenly covered us, and the toad was sent flying. It looked even angrier now. Its tongue slid out!

Huh? It could regenerate!

It launched its tongue at the shield over and over again. The shield was visibly getting weaker and weaker. We wouldn’t last much longer at this rate. I had to think fast. What was a toad’s natural predator? My mind spiraled, and my eyes widened: snakes...

I stared at its body. It seemed clearly dried out. Without water, it would definitely be weakened, but for now that wouldn’t help us. Its regenerative ability was way too fast, and its strength was a problem we couldn’t handle head-on. So the only option now... was to summon or attract a snake.

"We need to attract a snake!" I raised my voice, and my beast-men turned to me, all confused and filled with disbelief.

"Master, do you wish us death? We haven’t even dealt with this one," Veyra said, and I shook my head.

"It’s not that... We can’t fight the toad off, so we need its predator. A snake as big as that toad would help!" I raised my voice as the toad banged heavily against the shield.

"That actually makes sense," Ryker finally spoke up, and I smiled... we all turned to Azrael. He was a demon king, and his pet was a snake. Maybe... he could know how to call one.

His lips parted to say something, but then the toad’s tongue slammed against the shield with a loud smack, and Azrael went weak instantly. The shield wavered, and he dropped to his knees. He looked worn out! I rushed towards him...

"Cat, I need to attract a snake. How can I?" I said out loud, and everything faded to black and white.

[Snake Calling Whistle, Hidden Second Gift] appeared right in my hands, and I smiled. But why didn’t the cat show up herself? Was something wrong? I wanted to ask, but the pressing matter didn’t let me.

Everything came back into view, and I placed the whistle between my lips, applying pressure. A silent, piercing sound escaped.

Veyra and Ryker were helping Azrael with the shield, adding their powers... They clearly looked drained. At this rate, we wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

But like grace, I suddenly felt the scraping of skin against the rocky floor, and I licked my lips...

It was coming.

The toad’s tongue was about to land a final heavy blow when suddenly, the snake appeared.

Giant.

Its length was about fifty feet, and its thickness was like that of a tree trunk. It was mutated. Its jaw was split unnaturally, and it had three hissing tongues. Even its eyes shimmered crimson, like veins were trapped inside them. Its breath sounded like wind tearing through a tunnel.

My beast-men were speechless... so was I.

"Mas-ter, did you summon that thing?" they asked, but there was no time to explain. Its prey was the toad, but after it killed it, we would be next... 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Seeing the toad finally distracted and cornered, I turned to Azrael, but he collapsed instantly, and so did the shield.

"Hey!" I said, holding onto his shoulder. Was he always this heavy? I struggled to stay steady, but Ryker held his other shoulder, lifting the weight from me... and we walked off.

"Let’s find a safe place to rest for today," I muttered, and in the distance Veyra spotted a cave. It wasn’t large, but enough to hide us from monsters for now. It had leafy vines at the entrance, good for concealment.

So we entered and placed Azrael softly on the ground, but his body collapsed to the side. He was about to hit his head when my hands caught him.

"What happened to him?" I asked.

Ryker, who stood at the entrance, sighed. "Clearly drainage. Master, you aren’t that strong... When you’re stronger, we in turn get stronger. He must have pushed his limits to maintain that shield."

I turned back to stare at him... he looked so vulnerable, like a sick child in need of care. I couldn’t help but feel guilty... but Veyra’s hand gently touched my shoulder.

"Don’t worry, he’ll be alright, Master. He just needs rest," he said, and I forced a smile...

I felt useless.

"System, isn’t there anything you can help me with?" I asked inwardly, and the hologram popped up.

[Surely not, Host...]

Seeing the hologram, I bit down on my lip, especially when Azrael grabbed my hand in pain and clenched my palm softly. I gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Guys, I can’t stay here and do nothing. How can I get him to heal faster?" I asked, and the cave went silent...

Veyra and Ryker exchanged confused looks. Since when did I have this much care or guilt? They trusted me, but not to that extent yet...

"Apparently, there is no way," Ryker said.

I bit down harder on my lip, blinking rapidly. I didn’t want to leave him like this... but then—

"Meow..."

The soft sound came from within.

Ryker and Veyra moved forward, shielding Azrael and me, but then stopped when a small cat walked out.

Staring at it, my eyes widened. "Orange!"

Now that I think of it, it had been a while since I last saw her... even at the academy, I had hardly seen her. It felt like she was avoiding me.

"Orange," I whispered again and reached out to grab her, but Ryker stopped me.

"It’s not her. It could be a monster. Remember, we are in the void realm—"

He didn’t finish, but I had already picked the cat up, smiling.

"Who’s a cutie?" I said softly, feeling the confused, amused gaze of my beast-men. The cat’s eyes sparkled. She yawned softly...

I felt so happy. She was here. She would help me, but then my stomach growled.

I froze.

My cheeks burned in embarrassment. What the fvck! At this critical moment?!

"Sorry, guys... I didn’t eat much before coming here. But don’t worry, the trial is only for some da—"

I didn’t finish before they ran out.

"Guys, it’s dangerous outside!" I yelled, but they had already disappeared.

I suddenly felt a cut on my finger and gasped, turning to the cat...

Everything faded to black and white.

"How dare you lay your hands on me?" she spat, raising her claw again, but I let her go, and she landed perfectly on the ground.

"Argh... I really don’t like you, Host," she muttered, gazing at me with bored, tired eyes.

It made me smile.

"You have a nasty attitude," I said, and she rolled her eyes, walking off and settling on a rock.

"Thank you for showing up," I said.

"I didn’t show up for you," she replied, but it only made my smile widen. She reminded me of someone back home...

"I need your help. Azrael is weak... what can I do to energize him? And the others, will they be fine?" I asked.

"The others will be fine. They are strong on their own, Host. The only problem is you refused to level up..." she paused, disappointed.

"If they were to depend on your current rank, they would die. Tsk."

My smile faltered. "And Azrael?" I asked.

She paused, confusion flickering in her eyes... she expected me to argue.

Her expression softened slightly as she licked her paw. Then she spoke: "His life... for something of equal value."

The silence stretched and my lashes fluttered in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked.

She smirked.

"What will you sacrifice?"