Chapter XLIV: I'm Doing It For A Favor

"B...brother.."

Called by the girl, staggering inside the dark hallway of the cell, who was walking past the bandits who were lying on the floor.

You wouldn't know if they were asleep, as no sound could be heard from them—well, not until a swamp of spiders came out of their mouths.

"Done with the feast?"

She questioned softly as the spider clung to her flesh, entering inside her mouth, ears, and even her eyes, but even so, she wasn't hurt. The spiders also did not have a thought of hurting her, as if they were already a part of her.

As she strutted further and further, she noticed a light that led towards the outside, where she found herself standing in the middle of the duff, where she stepped towards the shedding leaves of the trees from the ground that crunched with every step she took—translucent pieces of green arrowheads that were as thin as papers.

*BOOM!!*

Just then, a loud and echoing thunderclap of an explosion reached the bottom of the quarry, causing the rock walls to crumble down into the pit below, leaving the ground to vibrate for a second.

"Cough! Cough!"

Zev immediately distanced herself while covering her mouth as soon as the monster appeared, which was terrifying with just its looks: the decaying face of a deer with long, sharp horns, a body that was thin but sneaky as an ape, and a medium-length, unfurry tail.

Though its appearance was as frail as a twig, it was strong enough to startle Zev. As it was also the first time, they saw their kind.

"Gargh! Why can't this shitty monster die?'

She frowned as it almost snapped Zev's neck in half with its long, sharp fingernails that were as dark as its aura.

Every time it lifts a finger, the trees surrounding them and even the ground gradually break, like a hurricane passing through at the speed of light.

'Bro..brother..Brother! "

Lilibeth had screamed as she took the path where the massive explosion had happened.

She ran at a high speed just to be left disappointed later, because instead of Khalid, who she found, Lilibeth was standing inside a cave in front of the hunters, where the rustling in the bushes that Khalid had followed was just a rabbit munching on the leaves.

"Kekekeke! Look what we have here." 

The guy with a sword had chuckled.

"A lost little monster!"

Added by the guy with a slit in his eyes, sliding through the knife on his tongue.

As soon as Lily laid her eyes on them, all of the unpleasant memories she had with the bandits flashed in her mind, where they treated her no different from animals.

"N-no…no! Don't come near me!"

As she screamed in anger with her trembling body, her face darkened and her eyes turned red like crimson blood. Lilibeth's face had turned into the terrifying head of a spider, which had frightened the hunters.

"Tsk! What an annoying little pony!"

Scowled the man with a slit on his eyes as he charges like a raging bull towards her, which triggered Lily, causing her to make the spiders crawl out continuously from her body, duplicating her arms that stab the hunter's chest, leaving him bleeding on the ground as Lily screeched, feeding them with terror.

Lilibeth's deafening screech seems to have stolen the attention of the wendigo and the other's, but something about her voice has frightened the monster as it swiftly escapes the scene, leaving a scratch on Zev's arm before they could even notice.

"What the fuck was that supposed for?"

She cursed as she felt the thick crimson blood trickle on her wound, followed by Khalid, who tried to mummify it with his hand just to fail several times before it completely vanished from their sight. Even with the sharpened bayonet that he tried to throw in, it was nearly impossible to even leave a scratch on its body, which left Khalid confused and bothered at the same time.

'What on earth?! '

Khalid's eyes widen.

'We've almost become a feast! ' 

He grits and gazes at each other as if they both thought the same thing after encountering the monster.

'No doubt that's a deadly one!-"

"AHHHHHHH!"

When they heard another scream for the second time, Khalid felt a familiar aura.

Which had given them chills on their spines.

"Li…Lily!"

Without having a second thought, Khalid left the scene where Zev followed from behind in the form of a white furry wolf that was tainted with blood as she carried the unconscious Akil on her back.

Whenever Zev moved her arms, she would frown while gritting her teeth, preventing herself from groaning in pain.

'Argh! This hurts like freaking hell! '

She stopped as soon as they arrived at the scene where they saw Lilibeth trembling in fear as she tucked between her knees, closing her ears, and shouting the repeated word from her mouth.

"Stop it…s-stop-

Seeing Lilibeth with unrecognizable features had left them shocked, especially Khalid, who can be seen gritting, not from terror but because of the sudden throb in his heart. 

'I tried…. I tried to save her.'

Just then, a voice rang in his ears that made him steep in guilt, which must have tightened his chest.

"Khalid...." 

A lady appeared in his mind with a lotus-like appearance.

"Please look out after my daughter; that's the last thing I can ask you for a favor."

Remembering those words made him feel like he was being pierced by a knife, looking at the child who was completely lost in herself.

"I failed" 

He smiled.

"I have completely failed; it was already too late."

Zev noticed how his lifeless eyes stared upon the child, along with the sudden pitter of the rain that stung her open wounds.

When Lilibeth gazed upon them with her crimson eye like a demon, it immediately changed her expression, causing a look of disgust on her face that came rushing toward them with a hint of murderous intent straight toward Zev.

"Not again!"

Zev complained, but before she could even transform into her human form, she had fallen, left unconscious on the filthy ground.