AN: Been a little while since the last update. Enjoy the new chapter.

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When Kalim and Aline got to the small base he made, the girls and the wolves shuddered in his presence. Shanira, Eriween and the 2 wolves were especially sensitive to the domineering aura he was emitting. The 2 girls broke in cold sweat while the 2 wolves whimpered with their tails between their legs.

“M-Master?” The kind, gold haired elf was the one with the least resistance against that kind of oppressive aura. Tears started to appear at the corners of her golden eyes and her breathing quickened. Seeing this, Shanira put herself in front of her to shield her, and even Asena gently cuddled against her.

Kalim observed the scene for a second, then turned away. “I'm going to get Elody, you stay here and wait”. With that said, he left the place in a gust of wind and the shelter closed behind him.

“... Just what happened to him?” asked Eryween, her face still pale. She was holding onto Asena to calm herself.

“His clothes were turned into rags by that thing. It must have been a tough opponent, and it must have pissed him of one way or the other.” replied Shanira.

“He got stronger.”

Alinee's sentence made the 2 eradinus girls widen their eyes. They know not of any race that can have a sudden growth in power in a matter of minutes. They became even more curious about the secret of his origins.

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Kalim was moving at a fast speed in Palam forest. He was tracking the group of soldiers, but the task proved to be very annoying. Th area was in complete chaos, with frenzied monsters fighting each others all over the place. The tracks of the soldiers were being erased, and the amount of monsters hindered his advance.

Even if the majority of them instinctively moved out of his path, there were still plenty that attacked him. They were weak for him, but their sheer number was oppressing. Besides, he had used a lot of energy in his previous fight. Recovering Elody and the old woman would be tiring.

On the other hand, Elody and the group of soldiers were in a pitch. More and more monsters had caugh up to them and they were slowed down. At that time, the soldiers had noticed that she was following them, but they didn't spare a single second to deal with them. Under the old woman's order, they left her alive, so they could have another pair of hands to deal with the monsters.

Pressured, Elody gritted her teeth and joined the group of soldiers. Up until now, she had to move a lot to avoid being surrounded by the monsters, and her stamina was running low. She was more suited at using the bow rather than the dagger, but she was long out of arrows and desperatly needed someone to watch her back. The soldiers relucantly and silently let her join them. They all needed each other to survive.

Finally, the group could no longer advance and they got surrounded. A monster akin to a boar charged at the group, blasting away the ones that were in its path. Thanks to their coordination, the group of soldier managed to dodge the charge, but it wasn't the case of Elody. She didn't train with them, she wasn't familiars with their habits and reactions. She tried to evade, but wasn't fast enough.

“GUAAAAH!!!”

She was sent flying by the mass of muscle and crashed heavily on a nearby tree. Both of her arms had been broken by the initial impact, and upon colliding with the tree, several of her ribs were broken. Her mind went blank, as her breathing stopped due to the schock.

Before her mind cleared, her left leg was crushed by the deadly jaw of a nearby monster. The new surge of pain helped her regain her senses, but it didn't prove to be good for her, as several more monsters latched onto her body.

“HAA... HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

She was assaulted by a terrible amount of pain. Her left leg was being chewed the monster as it scratched at it with its claws. Another one was bitting her right shoulder, cracking her collar bone and tearing her delicate flesh with its dirty fangs. Her right arm and both of her tights were equally assaulted. Each monster rying to pull her body toward them. She was litteraly being torn appart as another monster latched onto her belly.

Before she passed out from the pain, her vision was filled with blood and gore spraying in the air. Right after, a large explosion noise filled the air.

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BOOOM!!!

All the monsters that were swarming Elody were slashed appart, along all the trees near and the monsters that were between them and Kalim. Upon nearing the scene and hearing Elody's desperate and painfull screams, he casted a powerfull wind blade. It traveled at extremely high speed, cutting everything on its path, leaving behind a supersonic boom and sliced corpses.

A strong killing intent spread through the area, making all monsters momentary tense and all the soldiers numb, their guts twisting in fear and hopelessness. The source of the deadly aura landed next to the unconscious, mangled and sullied body of Elody. He quickly gt rid of the monsters gore on her and in her wounds and healed her enough to stop the bleeding.

No monsters got close to him, and the attacks on the group of soldiers lessened as well. The old woman was looking at him with both intense fear and great hatred. Because of him they had suffered to large damage, and she lost a precious subordinate. Now they were trapped and he was their only chance at survival. She was extremely bitter about the whole situation.

After stabilising his slave's condition, he straightened himself and glared at the old woman.

“Get over here.”

It was a simple sentence, but it carried incredible weight and authority. She understood that she had no choice. It was a command that had to be followed, no question asked, no refusal permitted. She understood, that he didn't want to waste mor time there. No matter what, the end would be painfull for all of them, either at his hands or under the care of the monsters. At least, it was certain he wanted her alive, and that meant she still had a sliver of hope.

Without wasting another second, she painfully separated herself from th group and lightly limped toward him. But not without whispering to her men to escape and report what happened. Though reluctants, those men knew they had no choice, and at least one of them had to make it. Once she was halfway gone, the men resumed their escape. They knew Kalim wouldn't bother with them not only because of the old woman, but also because of the wounded brown skinned girl.

Once she git in front of him, Kalim bluntly knocked her out and placed her on his shoulder. Then he carefully lifted Elody and returned to where he left the other. Because he was constantly releasing a strong killing intent, no monster got anywhere near him through the whole journey.

Once he got back to the shelter, he handed Elody to Eryween and sealed the 2 captives in rock, only leaving their chest and face out for breathing. Eryween was crying when she saw Elody's state, and concentrated hard on haling her. Kalim laid in a corner and fell asleep. Everyone else was tired, so after taking care of Elody' injuries, they all gathered around Kalim and went to sleep. Alinee and Shanira still took turn standing guard because of the prisonners, along with the 2 wolves.

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The next day, shortly before noon, Elody finally opened her eyes. She was confused and tried to look around but the sudden pain she felt in several part of her body stopped her and made her groan. The small noise didn't escape the other senses, and Eryween quickly went to her side.

“You're finally awake! How are you feeling? I was really worried you know?”

“... I'm alive?”

“Master brough you back.”

“Master?”

“Since you are awake everyone get ready. We spent enough time here.”

Without glancing at her he put the 2 prisonners on the makeshift stretchers he prepared in the morning. Only now did she notice the weird atmosphere and the presence emitted by her master. She wanted to talk to him but stopped herself. Looking at the other girls, and the subdued contenance of the wolves, she understood that it was better to stay quiet. Then they left and reached the town in the evening.

“Shanira, Alinee, you go report the result of quest to the guild. Tell them that an unidentified group was experimenting with some kind of monster's bait that attracted monsters in a wide area and that it raised their agressiveness to the point of frenzy. Tell them the suspicious group escaped. Take our guild cards as well to record the completion of the quest.”

Afterward, using magic, he snuck into the town with the rest of the girls, the 2 captives and the 2 wolves. He left the wolves in the garden of the baronnet residence and brough the prisonners in the underground cell. He securely bound them and left.

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AN: I wonder if you got worried about Elody's fate back in the forest. Elody is one of the 3 main heroines, I will not let her die :D