"What did you just say?" Noah asked Lyn as he suddenly turned to face him. The boy stepped back in surprise.

"I just said there's an extra set of tracks. Look," Lyn said as he gestured to the nearby tracks that hadn't been washed away by the tide.

Noah could see that there was another set of tracks as he thought back to what he had seen before the boss was killed.

There was a gleam on the boss's wrist before he was killed. There was also that red-glow I saw coming from the crater before I crash-landed. The boss must have turned the white guard, Zane's [Regeneration] ability origin crystal into a bracelet.

Noah heard a howl behind him. It was close. Noah turned to look toward the forest. There was a giant overgrown, black-colored mastiff covered in scars with clipped ears standing at the edge of the woods. Two more dogs with similar appearances joined it. One had a grey-colored coat while the other was brown. The brown dog was chewing something held in its mouth as a man walked to its side. The man reached down to roughly play tug-of-war with the large dog. Pulling the prize from its mouth before giving the dog a savage kick.

The man had a sinister appearance, like someone you would expect to be involved in dogfighting. His hair was a frazzled blonde colour. He also had an unkempt beard that hadn't been shaved since before the apocalypse. He wore muddied denim jeans along with a denim jacket with its sleeves torn off to show off his arms. He had a wiry frame with his exposed arms covered in tattoos. He held a bow and quiver full of arrows similar to the one carried by Lyn.

Dogfighter Darren was currently malevolently grinning as he made eye contact with Noah. The three dogs sat on their haunches, watching the 'chew-toy' in the man's hand as he raised his arm to throw.

"Go get them!" Dogfighter Darren shouted as he threw.

Noah was now able to recognize the 'chew-toy'. It was the fawn that had huddled against him for warmth during his recovery from the landing. The fawn was now bloody and long-dead as the dogs raced towards it. The brown dog once again scooped its prize into its mouth. The man had used the unfortunate fawn for his amusement to cruelly bait train the dogs.

The first to start running was Lyn. He understood the fate that awaited him if the dogs caught them. Noah attempted to follow the boy, but his aching knee gave out. The grey dog was the first to arrive at his side as Noah kneeled on the beach. The black and brown dogs ignored him as they were caught up in the thrill of the moment as they chased the fleeing boy.

The fungal zombie appeared out of nowhere to tackle the grey mastiff to the ground in a spray of sand. The dog yelped as it attempted to struggle free of the fungal zombie's embrace. Clumps of flesh flew from its side as it twisted its body in an attempt to bite its assailant. The fungal zombie opened its clattering teeth, exposing its elongated teeth as it breathed out a cloud of spores into the biting dog's muzzle.

The dog's bite was interrupted by a fit of sneezing as it successfully broke free of the fungal zombie's grasp. The bone of the dog's ribs could be seen along with exposed muscle where its coat melted after contact with the fungal zombie's body. The blackcap mushrooms had been crushed during the exchange, preventing the fungal zombie from rising to its feet. The grey mastiff collapsed to the sand, heavily panting as it whimpered in pain while licking its wounds.

"Get up, you lazy mutt!" the Dogfighter shouted while drawing back the string of his bow.

Noah was alerted to danger by his [Battle Instinct] ability. He used his [Earth Manipulation+2] ability to form a sand wall that knocked the arrow from the air. Noah then directed the sand to bury the grey mastiff in a mound of sand. Noah struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain of his knee. He began to run after the dogs pursuing the boy.

White-lifeforce moved through the running dog's flanks, indicating that neither were ability-users but were both grade two. Noah activated his [Earth Manipulation+2] ability to cause the sand in front of the hunting dogs to explode, blinding them as the boy escaped. The dogs paused as they shook the sand from their eyes, giving Noah a chance to catch up. The boy had reached the edge of the woods. Even as he escaped, he still followed the tracks left by Noah's surviving crew members. The dogs no longer delayed after seeing their prey enter the forest.

Noah intuitively dodged another arrow as he ran. This one would have shot him in the back of the head had he been careless. Noah glanced over his shoulder to see Dogfighter Darren drawing a second arrow while muttering curses to himself. He had stopped beside the mound of sand that buried the grey mastiff. It had struggled its head and a paw loose but was currently exhausted as it lay panting in the sand. The Dogfighter released his arrow. It didn't even alert Noah as it was caught by a gust of wind and blew wide to embed itself into a piece of driftwood.

While he was distracted, Noah stumbled over a piece of the scattered wreckage from the fishing trawler. It was the tarnished lantern that had been hung inside the makeshift oarsmen hut. Noah turned to hurl the lantern using his six ethereal arms with unerring accuracy. It struck the oblivious Dogfighter Darren in the side of the head, knocking him sprawling to the ground. He had been digging the grey mastiff out of the sand. The dog managed to struggle the rest of the way free as it shuddered with its tail between its legs.

The large injured dog only gave its unmoving master sprawled on the beach a glance before pushing itself past its limits to begin limping in Noah's direction with unswerving loyalty.