He is so strong!

"Trolls! Trolls!" All those people screamed and panicked, hiding behind trees or under the horse-drawn carriage. Their bodies were trembling.

Camelia stared at the trolls with wide eyes. The trolls were large, about three to five meters tall, their bodies green. They each carry a club. Their voices thundered in the forest. Troll is one of the monsters that ordinary humans of that world found difficult to face.

"A-Atherion..." Camelia's hand tried to reach Atherion who had been beside her, but she only grasped at the air. When she looked to her side, Atherion was no longer in his place. 

Atherion was already in front of the trolls with his sword drawn. With ease, he jumped onto the knee of one of the trolls closest to him, then leaped onto its shoulder and casually swung his sword toward the troll's neck.

The troll's head immediately rolled to the ground, and its body hit the ground with a loud thud.

Atherion had already jumped onto the troll next to him, and easily dispatched all the trolls. In just a matter of minutes, all five trolls fell to the ground, their bodies severed from their heads or split in two.

He wiped his sword with a cloth while walking back towards Camelia. As he passed by the merchants and their guards, he simply said, "Done."

While throwing away the cloth he had just used to wipe the sword, he exclaimed, "We need to take a slight detour. The bodies of the trolls are blocking the way."

The merchants and guards began to emerge from their respective hiding places. The expressions of the merchants and guards were very astonished to see the trolls lying on the ground and lifeless in a short time.

Camelia suddenly clapped enthusiastically as Atherion began to approach her. "Very cool! You are very cool!"

Atherion's expression changed between confusion and happiness because he was praised by Camelia. And with his ears turning red, he led Strom to walk again.

With words of gratitude and admiration, the merchants and guards obeyed Atherion's command and led their horses to circle the troll corpses.

The group then moved deeper into Darkmire Forest.

***

They then camped in the middle of the forest. Atherion sat next to Camelia, in front of the campfire. The merchants and their guards, all of whom were men, were cooking dinner.

Camelia watched everyone's activities with full attention. Some well-dressed people, whose names Camelia had just learned—Ajol, Sherun, and Tamam—were also sitting around the campfire.

Ajol, the oldest of the group, who was around fifty years old, was chatting and laughing with Sherun and Tamam. Then he turned to Camelia and asked, "Miss, where are you from?"

"She comes from a distant country, across the ocean," Atherion said in response to Ajol's question.

"Aha, it must be difficult for you to live here," Ajol said kindly. Camelia just nodded.

Suddenly, Tamam asked, "Are you husband and wife?"

Camelia's face immediately turned red and she lowered her head. Atherion replied, "Yes. We are husband and wife."

Sherun laughed, "Oh, newlyweds, huh? Look, the lady's face is very red." Ajol and Tamam also laughed, and they continued their conversation. Occasionally, they would throw questions at Atherion, and he would answer briefly.

Camelia, feeling very embarrassed, recalled the incident at the inn, which made her face turn even redder. She glanced at Atherion and saw his ears turning red, but his expression remained calm and indifferent.

After dinner was over, they rested and went to sleep.

Some guards took turns keeping watch over their resting place. They refused Atherion's offer to keep watch alone so that everyone could rest.

"We owe you a debt of gratitude, at least this is what we can do now. You can rest tonight." they said.

Camelia lay down in the place that had been prepared for her and waited for Atherion, who had gone for a moment.

Camelia remembered Ajol and Sherun's words after Atherion left. "Your husband is very strong. Lucky you to have him, he can protect you."

'It's true,' she thought. 'Atherion is very strong. I used to think that humans in this world were as strong as Atherion. But it turns out not. He could easily lift me and ran very fast. Then he could kill a bear that big quickly. And earlier, he was able to handle the trolls and move like in the movies I used to watch in my world.'

Camelia closed her eyes and imagined everything that had happened since she first came into this world. Until now, Atherion had always protected her, even though sometimes his demeanor was cold. Then suddenly she remembered the incident in the inn again. 'Damn. I always feel embarrassed remembering that incident.'

Not long after, Atherion returned carrying dry leaves. He gestured for Camelia to wake up, then placed the dry leaves under the back of her head. Then he told Camelia to lie down. He then sat next to Camelia and covered her with a blanket.

"Wow, you two are really affectionate," said Tamam, who was lying not far from where they were. "We're jealous, we're far from our families," he said again while laughing.

Camelia's face turned red again, and she covered her head with a blanket. Atherion remained silent and began to lie down next to Camelia. Not long after, Camelia fell asleep and Atherion remained lying down, gazing at the leaves of the large trees that covered the night sky.

He heard the sound of something rustling, not far from where they were, but not approaching where they were camping.

'Since we entered Darkmire Forest, that thing has been following us.' Atherion thought to himself.

***

"I need fresh human souls... I need fresh human blood..."

"One of them has a very pleasant scent. I want to eat its flesh and drink its blood."

The sound of the hiss that Atherion heard, murmured while hissing. The creature was snake-like but had four legs like a lizard, and its entire body was covered with something resembling human hair, and brown-like soil.

The creature moved from tree to tree as smoothly as a silk cloth.