"He has yet to be fed today!"

"Oh ...We should run"

​​

"What!? What is it!?"

Beatrice could not help but hold on to her glasses as all of them started to run back to the gates.

"Well, I suppose this is a lesson for us, eh Van?", Harvey nervously chuckled as he also hastened his steps, "Never enter a lady's forest without knowing her history!"

"What are you guys even saying!?", Beatrice could not help but holler.

The loud thumping in the forest seemed to be getting louder as the ground beneath the group started to quake even stronger. Van could not help but squint his eyes as he momentarily turned on his [Time Perception] as he leaped into the air, trying his best to see if he could get a glimpse of whatever it is that was following them.

But even as Van was about to land on the ground, nothing still came into his vision. He was about to turn his [Time Perception] off, but as his feet slowly landed on the ground, his eyes caught something.

It looked like a horse, but it towered the trees that surrounded them. And seeing as Van can still see it moving and running even with his skill on, the creature seems to be quite fast.

"!!!", Van quickly turned off his [Time Perception] and continued to run with the group. "Victoria…", Van spoke quietly, but still enough to be heard by the whole group, "Is your pet a giant horse?"

Victoria, however, did not answer as she continued to run.

"M… miss Victoria, maybe we should probably shout for the Madame…", Albert stuttered as he tried to catch his breath, "I am sure she would hear us at this distance"

"No", Victoria quickly shook her head.

"Victoria…", Beatrice still held on to her glasses as she avoided the thick roots of the forest, "Maybe now is the best time to tell us what kind of monster you are keeping here"

"He's not a monster!", Victoria suddenly screamed, slightly surprising everyone.

"Then what is it!?"

"It's not… a monster", Victoria repeated, her tone containing a bit of sorrow.

"Miss Victoria…", Albert let out a deep breath, not only because he was getting tired, but because of Victoria's sad tone, "...Is it alright to tell them?"

"Tell us what!?", this time, it was Harvey who spoke, "I usually like suspense, but not when it's something that can eat me alive!"

"The one that's caged here…", Albert whispered, looking at Victoria as if asking her if it was alright to say. But seeing as Victoria didn't seem to mind, Albert continued, "It's not a monster…

...It's the young master"

"...Young master?"

"Young master Edward… Miss Victoria's older brother"

"...What!?", both Harvey and Beatrice almost tripped as soon as they heard Albert's words.

"What does that even mean?", Beatrice huffed as she turned her head towards Victoria. Victoria, however, did not reply. Instead, she looked at Albert, as if asking him to be the one to tell them.

"Miss Victoria's brother…", Albert let out a huge breath as he tried to not get left behind by the group, "...is an Evolution-type System Holder"

"What?", Beatrice quickly furrowed her eyebrows, "Is this some kind of sick game!?"

Beatrice was trying to get nervous. They barely knew Victoria, and they didn't really know what she was really like. What if this was all a ploy to… eat them? After all, excluding Harvey, the only other extremely rich person that Beatrice knew of was Gerald.

And he was bat-shit crazy, Beatrice thought.

"No", Albert shook his head, "Young Master Albert unlocked his system as soon as he was born"

"What!?"

The trio could not help but widen their eyes as soon as they heard that. Was something like that even possible? What kind of family is this!?

Is this the kind of family Beatrice would have when she reaches the top? She shook her head at the thought.

"Hm…", Albert nodded his head, "And the first time he transformed… was also the last time"

"You mean… he has been a monster ever since he was a baby!?", Harvey could not help but bellow, "Won't he revert back to normal once his SP runs out!?"

"No…", Beatrice squinted her eyes, "He would have probably died as a baby since his body won't be able to take the toll", she said before letting out a sorrowful breath.

"...Yes", Albert could only nod quietly.

"But what about now?", Harvey once again asked, "Now that he's old shouldn't he be able to revert back?"

Albert quickly shook his head as he let out a huge breath, "The young master… has already become dependant of the Crystals"

As soon as Harvey heard what Albert said, his eyes instantly turned serious as he slightly looked down to the ground, "...makes sense", he muttered in his breath. "He will run amok in rage and won't be able to calm down until he absorbs a Crystal"

"That… is correct", Albert could not help blink his eyes a couple of times from Harvey's detailed reply.

As the three were having a hurried discussion, Van was trying to focus his eyes on the trees on their left. The trees were violently being pushed to the side, causing a sort of thunder echo throughout the forest. But the weird thing is, Victoria's so-called brother seemed to have no intention of attacking them right now even though it obviously had the speed to do so.

...Maybe it could understand Victoria after all?

"L… Let's hurry up!", Albert hollered, "I can see… the gates now!", he stuttered as his lungs were running out of air.

But before the group could even make it 50 meters from the gate, a shadow loomed over them. Blocking the rays of the setting sun as the shadow made its way all the way to the gate, blocking it as well.

"That's…", Beatrice could not help but gulp as Victoria's "brother" finally showed himself. "H… hello?", Beatrice could not help but raise her hand in greeting as she stared at the monster in front of her.

Young master Edward, however, only roared in response. The roar was powerful enough for Beatrice's long hair to swing in the hair and onto Harvey's face.

But Harvey did not seem to even notice as he was too absorbed from staring at Victoria's brother. Edward's lower part was that of a horse, so Harvey thought that his skill was to somewhat transform into a gigantic centaur, and his torso was also that of a human's so everything matched.

However, his head… was that of a minotaur's.

"...a sort of chimera?", Harvey could not help but gulp, "W… what kind of Evolution skill does your brother have, V?", he stuttered as he turned his head towards Victoria.

"...A hybrid", Victoria quietly answered.

"...Hybr--"

"Does it matter!?", Beatrice interrupted Harvey, "We need to get out of here. Victoria, he's your brother, can you talk to him!?"

"O… of course!", Victoria nodded as she slightly bit her lip. But before she could say anything else, Edward let out another scream.

"We… We're f*cked", Harvey could not help but slightly shrugged his shoulders.

And as the rest of them were panicking. Van…

...Van was currently staring directly at Edward's black solid cow eyes.