Throw the boy?

Silence.

There was no sound other than the burning of wood and bodies where Seraph stood.

It was a hell of an experience for Winston. No movie scene could compare to the real experience. The smell of burning flesh and hair made him spill his guts. He crouched down, his head hurting from the gruesome sight he saw. Battered corpses lay behind him. Two that fought Rylen were missing limbs and a head. And the man who was lying just a few feet from him—the one who had tried to attack him—was also lying dead. But he looked the worst. Winston had only looked once, and just the mere memory of him twisted his already empty stomach. The man was missing an entire lower jaw, all his teeth, and the skull was cracked. His tongue could be seen hanging down, covered in dirt.

The smell stuck in Winston's nose like it had burned itself into his memory. His mouth tasted bitter. There was still bile at the back of his throat. Every time he blinked, he saw that jawless face again.

"Poor boy," Seraph said, running to Winston's side. She massaged his back gently to ease him up. Her fingers moved in small, practiced circles. She then offered a water bottle, which also came from nowhere—but by now, he couldn't be surprised. Winston cleaned his face and drank some water. He then wiped away the tears that had covered his face from the pain of constant vomiting.

He never thought the sight would affect him that much. He had been hunting beasts for a week now, but humans had a completely different effect. It wasn't the same kind of fear—it was worse. Beasts were wild. This was intentional.

"Have a grip on your emotions, boy. And you will have to get used to that," Rylen said in a straight voice.

"Probably if Gravon would have been a bit kinder to that guy, the boy might have been less stressed," he added with a chuckle, trying to lighten the atmosphere—but instead got a death stare from Seraph.

"It's fine. As he said, I will get used to that," Winston said in a low voice.

"Well, you can't blame me. If I was a little slower, the boy would have been missing a head." Gravon defended himself, clearly trying to justify it to Winston out of sympathy.

"Just drop it," Seraph said again.

She then gave Winston a strange-looking fruit. It looked like an apple but had the texture of a strawberry and was blood red in color.

"It's called Redpulse," she said. "I grow them myself."

"Most healing focuses on qi or mana. This one's different. Pure body restoration. One bite, and it's like your muscles just had a full meal, rest, and a cold bath—all at once."

Winston blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

She gave a smile. "Yeah. It just needs some special care—moonlight, volcanic soil, and absolutely zero noise for the first three months."

He looked at it again, then took a hesitant bite.

The skin snapped like thin glass, releasing a burst of sharp, tangy-sweet juice that flooded his mouth. For a second, he winced—it was intense, almost electric—but then it hit.

Warmth spread through his limbs. The ache in his legs faded. The tightness in his back loosened. His lungs suddenly felt like he'd never run a step in his life.

His hands stopped trembling. His headache vanished. Even his vision seemed clearer, sharper. His entire body felt like it had gone through a reset.

He blinked and looked down at the half-eaten fruit in disbelief.

"That... that's insane," he whispered.

Seraph smirked.

"Told you. Redpulse doesn't heal. It resets."

"We should get moving again. The person escaped—he might have called for reinforcements," Rylen said, already moving.

Winston knew he was right, so he climbed onto Noah again, and the group continued their journey.

They moved through the forest with ease. Even though the trees were still thick, Gravon cleared the way like he had no intention of slowing down. Winston clung to Noah's fur, still trying to settle his nerves.

"What are you?" Winston asked, looking at Gravon, who was running in front of him, breaking through the trees as if they were nothing, not even bothering to change his path. Gravon gave a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Half-giant. Half-dwarf. All pain," Seraph said from behind Winston.

Gravon raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Tch. Pain builds character."

Then, after a beat, he added with a grunt:

"That's why I've got so much of it."

Winston chuckled, nervous. Seraph just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, too much and you start mistaking trauma for personality."

"Actually, I wanted to say thanks, Gravon. For saving my life," Winston said. He assumed it would be good to have Gravon protecting him in the future, so he tried to get on his good side.

"Tch. Don't get used to it," Gravon simply said.

With that, his first and last attempt to start a communication with the half-giant ended there.

They had been traveling for one hour now after the incident with the assassins. The sun was a little higher in the sky, and the heavy silence of the earlier battle had thinned out, but not disappeared.

The forest was now getting less dense again. One thing that Winston noticed was the lack of beasts that they had encountered—which tallied to none. But thankfully, he could read Noah's mind and got his answer. It was due to the intense presence that these three had. The more powerful the presence was, the greater the distance it could be sensed from.

Even now, Noah stayed quiet, padding through the undergrowth with steady breath. Nothing came near them. Not even insects.

Winston just recalled the battle he had witnessed. He did not get to see the full capabilities of Gravon other than that punch that obliterated a powerful warrior—but Rylen, he did show what he could do. And the way he just made a meat paste of the rat Winston had struggled so much to defeat—it stayed fresh in his mind.

He was thankful they were on his side. So at least for now, he would prefer to believe that.

When Winston was busy in his thoughts, the jungle abruptly ended in a clearing. The edge of the forest came to an unnatural stop, as if the trees had been sliced clean.

The open space was wide, flat, and oddly quiet. The air here felt heavier. Hotter. The ground was hard-packed and cracked like it hadn't seen water in weeks.

"Gravon, throw the boy and his pet to the other side," Rylen said, his voice as flat as ever.