Chapter Sixteen

Cher ran through the forest at a very quick speed. Her breathing increased by the second and sweat drenched her whole body. As she ran through the endless forest, she kept praying for her friend's safety.

"AHHHHHHH!" Cher had gotten very far from her friends, but she heard the scream of Jelen.

"What happened? Oh no, I have to go back!" Cher quickly pushed against a tree and did a full one-eighty turn. She began to run back towards the beast and her friends.

"You demon! I will slaughter you! I'll kill you!" Jelen kept yelling at Arnin as he quickly approached him. Behind Jelen was the tiger beast, which didn't seem to care about anything except its prey.

"Blablabla! Why do you talk so much? If you want to thank me so much, then just say it outright. Jeez, you seem to be extremely excited after your friend's death. Maybe I should just give you his body. Make sure he is properly dead. Hehe!" Arnin continued to mock Jelen with words he knew would hit Jelen's sore spot. He then finished off by kicking Von's body towards Jelen. A glare that could kill was directed towards Arnin when the body finally reached Jelen.

Arnin took many steps backward so that a good distance could be kept between him and the enraged Jelen. He continued to smile at Jelen in mockery. Jelen became even more enraged, but before he could even do anything, the tiger beast finally reached him.

"ROOAAR!" The beast pounced towards Jelen with its fangs bared and its claws out. Jelen moved his head to the side but wasn't able to avoid a deep cut to his face. The beast landed on its front legs and then quickly turned to face Jelen. He brandished his ax and charged towards the beast. His face was full of fury. The silver ax, which at first seemed to be a normal ax, began to shine in bright green. Arnin who was watching from afar was surprised. He, with his heightened vision, closely looked at the ax to try and figure out the crux of the move. Arnin wasn't able to figure anything out from the first look so he calmly waited for the next time such a move would be used.

Jelen crazily smashed his ax onto the tiger beast without any thought. His aura didn't decrease in any way, rather it was rapidly increasing with his rage. Arnin quickly leaped onto a branch and began to observe from the air. He needed to make sure that he witnessed everything that was happening so that he could further understand the orb's power.

The tiger beast released a loud howl and pounced with his thick hind legs towards Jelen. It opened its mouth and bit the ax. It then increased the strength it put into the bite and tried to hold onto the blade. Jelen lifted his left hand and smashed the tiger beasts face, but very little damage was done. The tiger beast shook its head furiously, trying to get Jelen to release the ax. He kept a tight grip, but it was futile. The beast was just too strong. The ax was forced out of his hand by the beast, who then spat it out of its mouth onto the ground further back. With no weapon in hand, Jelen's fighting capability was reduced by half.

Even though he had lost his ax, there was no fear in his eyes. He continued to look at the beast, before running towards it. A cluster of light, similar to the one that appeared on the blade, formed onto Jelen's hand. He punched towards the beast's face, tearing the wind apart. The tiger beast had no way to dodge so it took the hit directly. It was launched backward, falling onto its back. Jelen didn't want to waste any time so he quickly rushed towards the beast to finish it off.

Arnin, who was on top of the tree, didn't want the fight to be finished too quickly, so he broke off a branch and vanished from the tree. He reappeared beside Von's body and began to poke his head.

"Mister ax man, look! Von is breathing!" Arnin said in an exasperated voice. Jelen, who heard what Arnin said, turned around quickly. There was some hope in his eyes, but when he saw the look on Arnin's face, all the hope he gathered in that one second crumbled to pieces. Arnin had a very bright smile on his face, almost too pleasing, however to Jelen, that smile was akin to a curse.

"Oops! Sorry, did I say Von is breathing? I meant to say that I was! Haha, isn't that great? Oh no, mister ax, look behind you! The tiger is ready to attack." Jelen was only distracted for a couple of seconds, but that small time frame allowed the tiger to get back on its feet and ready its next attack. Jelen turned his head to look at the beast before turning and looking at Arnin ferociously.

"You dirty little brat! Just wait until I finish off this beast. You're going to be next!" Jelen turned his head around one more time and got back into a battle stance. His fists lit up with the green light once more. The tiger didn't pounce towards him this time, rather it slowly walked forward. Drool was dripping from its mouth. What surprised Jelen, even more, was that the tiger wasn't looking at him, he was looking in the air.

When Jelen looked up, the sight devastated him. Von, his comrade and friend, was dead, but he still couldn't rest peacefully. On the tree branches, he saw Arnin holding Von's severed head by the hair.

"You bast**d! Can you not leave his corpse alone?! You godda-" Arnin tossed Von's head towards the tiger, who then shot into the air to catch it. The tiger didn't swallow immediately, it slowly chewed on the head. Jelen who saw the scene couldn't help but burn with anger. His eyes were became red because of the grief that began to build up inside of him. His head turned to the side while he quietly apologized to Von's body. Suddenly an immense aura surged out of Jelen's as he jumped towards Arnin. Tears fell down his face as his eyes only looked towards the demonic Arnin.

"I will kill you even if I have to sacrifice my life!" Jelen swung his fist towards Arnin, who quickly sidestepped. Arnin tapped Jelen's back before jumping to a different branch.

"Oh, really now? If you want to kill me, let's see if you have the skills to accomplish that." Arnin kept jumping from branch to branch, barely avoiding Jelen's hits. Although Jelen was much stronger than Arnin, he was exhausted after fighting the tiger beast. The sudden aura that he released only increased his power, not speed.

Everytime Arnin dodged, he would tap a part of Jelen's body. At first, Jelen thought that Arnin was trying to numb him, but even after many taps, he didn't feel numb anywhere. However, because of his unstable mind, he couldn't care about Arnin's plan. The only thing he wanted to do was tear Arnin apart.

As the fighting continued, the tiger had already completely devoured Von's head. It didn't chase after the two cultivators, rather it slowly walked towards the headless body. There was a greedy look in the eyes of the beast and the drool continued to spill from its mouth.

"Would you look at that. The beast still wants more of your friend. What will you do? You going to continue attacking me and allow your friend to be completely eaten, or will you go and protect his body?" Arnin continued with his mind games. Since he couldn't beat Jelen in direct combat, he could at least slow him down and destroy him from the inside.

Jelen panicked. He ignored Arnin and pushed off a branch and rushed towards Von's body. The tiger felt something approach so it turned its head quickly. A fist landed on its face, then a foot kicked its stomach, throwing it further back. The tiger beast bared its claws and pounced towards Jelen.

Arnin watched on without any expression. He then sensed someone approaching from behind him. He turned his head and looked down towards the approaching entity. When he saw the person who came, a deep smile couldn't help but appear on his devilish face.

"Now, to finally finish the last part of my hunt."

Cher finally got back to where her friends were. When she stopped to inspect the surroundings, the sight frightened her. Jelen was facing the tiger beast without his ax and was at a disadvantage. There were countless holes in the trees and many branches on the ground. There was even a headless corpse.

"Jelen! Where is Von? Jelen, how did this happen?!" Cher became frantic when she couldn't find Von. She hurriedly called out to Jelen, not thinking about the consequences if she distracted him.

"Son of a..! Cher, get out of here! Hurry, run!" Jelen sunk into despair when he saw Cher. He couldn't help but curse his luck for being so bad. Things only got worse by the second. "AHHH!" That moment of distraction that Jelen had was fully occupied by the tiger beast. The beast aggressively bit his right leg, giving him a wound that was similar to Von's.

"Oh no! Jelen!" Cher ran towards Jelen, but suddenly she felt her arm being grabbed. She turned around and was surprised to see a child. Jelen, who noticed Arnin appear and catch Cher, couldn't help but become mad with hopelessness and fear.

"You brat! Let her go! Cher! Cher, get away from him! Run, Cher" Jelen continued to yell, however, Arnin annoyingly glanced at him.

"Can you stop being such a pest? Let me speak with the missy, will you?" Arnin then looked at Cher with a bright smile. "Miss, would you like me to save your friend from that tiger beast?" Arnin looked at Cher with his warmest smile.

"Cher, don't listen to hi- get lost you stupid beast!" Jelen couldn't shake off the tiger that kept attacking him from every side, and it became even more burdensome with his injured leg.

"Well, would you like me to save him from the tiger beast?" Cher looked at Arnin and then at the terrible state of Jelen. She nodded her head quickly.

"Please save him. I will do anything if you can just save him." Cher didn't think straight when she saw the situation getting worse for Jelen. Arnin smile before drawing up a contract.

"Here is a contract that you will need to sign for my services. You can read through and confirm whether you agree with it or not." Cher quickly read the contract:

Party 1 (Arnin) will save (Jelen) from Tiger Beast.

Party 2 (Cher) will become Party 1 (Arnin)'s guide out the forest until Party 1 (Arnin) reaches his destination.

Cher agreed right away with the demand. She quickly signed the contract with her blood before giving back the contract to Arnin, who also signed.

"Well, now that we are in business, let me get my part done," Arnin smirked coldly before slowly walking towards Jelen. The tiger was still attacking the weakened Jelen relentlessly. Arnin completely released his sinister aura. Cher and Jelen gaped when they felt the strength of the aura; Orb Birth - Sky. Jelen became frustrated that such a weak child played him like a fool, but what he felt more than frustration was fear. Arnin, who was at such a low level, was extremely strong. So strong that Cher wouldn't even be a match for him.

The tiger beast stopped attacking and looked at Arnin in confusion. The aura that Arnin released was actually very comforting. It sniffed the air before slowly walking towards Arnin.

Arnin and everyone present were very surprised. The tiger beast was actually walking towards Arnin? He never expected that the tiger beast would like his aura. Arnin couldn't completely trust the beast so he took a single step back. His aura was then released to a higher degree. The evil presence and the killing intent that his aura released caused the tiger beast to howl in the air. Joy could be seen in the greedy eyes of the beast. Arnin was taken aback once more. It really seemed like the beast liked

Arnin's aura. He began to think about why this would happen.

After thinking deeply, Arnin concluded that it had to do with his demonic powers. After his orb transformed, it began to emit the same presence as his demonic powers. It was known far and wide that demons were the only species that could tame essence or demonic beasts. This was both true in his past world and also in Afloria. Although essence beasts could one day become humanoid, they would still be beasts by nature. Arnin became extremely happy about the sudden turn of events. In the past, Zhaik was his beast, but now that he was gone Arnin could only make do with the tiger beast.

Arnin reached out his hand and called out for the beast. The tiger quickly ran over and bathed in Arnin's aura. Purring noises escaped the beast's mouth when it showered in his aura. Arnin gently patted the beast's head as his eyes didn't show any evil intent. Although Arnin was considered human now, he had been a Demon for over a hundred million years, so he enjoyed the presence of beasts more than humans.

"Well, now that my part is done, let's move onto yours. Oh wait, let me heal your friend first." Arnin crouched down behind Jelen and reached out his hand. However, Jelen turned around and swung his fist towards Arnin.

"Just because you saved me doesn't mean I am going to let you live!" Arnin dodged his attack and took a step back. He then walked towards the tiger beast and smiled evilly.

"Are you sure you don't want my help? If I don't heal you, you could die because of blood loss." Arnin emphasized each line. Cher quietly listened before speaking up.

"I will go heal him. You can just watch from the side. Is that alright?" Cher walked as she spoke. She finally got beside Jelen and took out the same cream she used on Von. "Jelen I will apply some to your leg, I just need you to slowly cultivate and absorb essence. It will increase the healing." Jelen nodded towards Cher and before he began to cultivate, he whispered some warnings to Cher about Arnin. Jelen then closed his eyes and began to cultivate. However, just as he began to absorb the essence, he began to feel numb all over. Also, the worldly essence rushed into his body with speeds that he couldn't handle. Jelen became completely paralyzed. He opened his eyes and looked at Arnin in fear and anger.

"What did you do to me? You bast**d!" Jelen, who couldn't move his body, fell to the ground. He couldn't move anything because of the numbness that spreading through his body.

"Do you not recall our little spar on the trees? Remember how I kept tapping your body? Well, planted some, let's say curse marks, into your body that would not only increase your absorption but would also numb you." Arnin dashed towards Cher and quickly held onto her arm. He then began to quickly numb her legs and threw her in front of the tiger, "Don't eat her yet" The beast, who seemed to understand Arnin, closed its mouth.

Arnin then grabbed Jelen by the throat and inserted some threads into his body. The black threads traveled to the orb and began to place down many symbols. With an increase in symbols, the essence of the world increased their input inside Jelen's body. Arnin then dropped him to the ground and walked towards Von's short sword. Arnin lifted the blade in the air and examined it.

"Not a bad blade, it will do for now." Arnin walked towards Jelen and crouched down.

"Please don't hurt him! How could you go against the contract? Didn't you agree to save him? So why are you hurting him?" Cher screamed questionably at Arnin. She was confused as to how Arnin was able to go against the contract.

"What do you mean 'go against the contract'? I did no such thing. The contract stated that I would save him from the tiger beast. There was no mention of what I could do with him after I saved him." Arnin casually replied to Cher and then lifted the sword into the air.

"When you reach the other world, send my regards to that swordsman I killed. Hahaha!" Arnin then quickly stabbed the sword through Jelen's skull.