A shrill scream disturbed the tranquillity of the night. It had only lasted a matter of seconds before it ceased. There was no longer any other commotions. Dalis having heard this sudden scream immediately thought of his next course of action.

(Tch, my mood is ruined now. However that is not important. I should go to investigate the scene. If I were to delay my actions, then it would be troublesome. That scream had in all likelihood attracted the attention of nearby beasts. Furthermore, the time of day does not help. Though, that's an exception to me.)

It seemed that Dalis had been snapped out of his eccentric state by the scream from earlier. Dalis prepared himself and began to walk towards the supposed origin of the voice. However, before he did this, he pondered as to what to do with regards to the Rhinearian Beetle.

(If I were to take it with me, it would attract the noise of other beasts which would be troublesome. I do not know if the beast is able to maneuver in the night either . . . and it would be a pain to explain why I'm riding a beast that I'm supposed to kill in the first place. That is enough reasons to not bring him along.)

Dalis stopped his train of thoughts and called out to the Rhinearian Beetle.

"Hey! I order you to remain and guard my residency. I do not permit you to sleep until I am back."

The beast gave a short cry in response as it moved its body up and down. It seemed to have understood its master's order.

"Good. I won't be long."

Dalis then advanced cautiously through the night forest. As Dalis's eyes were exceptional, even in the dark, he was able to avoid the resting beasts and the predators of the night. Having passed many beasts, he felt it was a waste to not kill them along the way. After all, up to the present time, he had not collected any mana for his artefact. Dalis was very far behind the other candidates. Unfortunately, he had no time to lose, so he was forced to bury his urging desires and move on.

After a while, Dalis came up to a small, slightly lit, spacious glade. He could see flickers of nearby beasts hiding in the surrounding shrubbery. Alert from the scream and conscious of the surrounding predators, he decided to quietly climb up a nearby tree to hide as well. Upon gaining a steady foothold atop the tree, he decided to scan his surroundings to find three familiar figures running through the glade away from a beast.

They were Sienna, Jessica, and Elliot!

(Oh? It's those three. To think I'd be able to come across them. Those three would be the first candidates I came across. Wait a second . . . that's their usual party. My luck . . . )

Dalis took a closer look through the darkness to make out what they were running away from. It was a reptilian creature with large slit eyes, a wide maw rowed with sharp teeth, and a tongue dripping a thick viscous substance. Its back was covered in hollowed spines narrowing down to a whip-like tail that had clear scars and signs of tearing. It was a Spliz!

Dalis could see what the problem was in an instant as a white trail of thread was left behind Jessica's left-half of her body adhered to the floor, and a patch of silvery silk was covering her mouth. Even if she wanted to retire, she couldn't utter the words! Moreover, her sword was quite a distance away from her, she had likely dropped it during the battle!

Clearly, Elliot and Sienna were unwilling to abandon their comrade. Elliot could be seen hastily scrambling about with his staff to find a way to unbind Jessica. By the white splotches on his fingers, it seemed simply ripping off the threads had not worked out. Meanwhile, Sienna was doing her best to ward off the Spliz, but she was getting slower and slower with each layer of thread that threatened to bind her. The situation was looking dire. Jessica had used all of her effort to distance herself from the Spliz, but it only managed to get her five meters away before the thread locked her right in place, barely a few meters away from the centre of the glade.

"Elliot! Hurry up! At this rate it won't be just Jessica that will be in dire straits!"

"I'm trying! But this artefact ability is not enough to unbind her! All the threads that break get replaced by the next second!"

"I can see that! For a reptilian it's irksome! How about you try charging it up?! So Jessica can escape before the damn lizard vomits again!"

"Ah! Right sorry I will do it right away."

Dalis who had watched this moment of exchange was hit with disbelief. Their coordination and communication were not on the same page. They were in a literal bind! He felt a little sympathy towards Sienna. While she may be struggling, she had not lost her cool to the extent that Elliot had. Elliot was too panicked to even think straight.

(Protect those in need!)

Words from Sister Edna crossed his mind. Dalis felt that he had a duty to rescue them. While Dalis was not planning to abandon them in the first place due to a petty reason like reduce competition or ignorance, he felt that abandoning his roommates that he lived with for the last three years was cruel, ridiculous, and unforgiving. To Dalis, they could be considered part of his family even if their relationship were far off to be regarded as siblings. After pondering these thoughts, Dalis's conviction deepened and was ready to take action without waver.

He withdrew the tri-section staff that was on his back. Earlier on before leaving, Dalis had used one of the solid vines leftovers from the construction to strap the staff onto his back. What he had noticed during his flailings was this tri-section was unique in its design. Unlike a regular tri-section staff which would have the chain and its connected segments, this weapon was able to be connected to form one or two whole sticks. He was overcome with joy when this was discovered. Thus, he was able to avoid using the staff's primary use and instead exploit and indulge in his familiar usage as a metal pole. Having said that, he has never received the chance to deploy this. Now the chance he had been waiting for had appeared right before him.

(First off.. how to take care of those beasts.)

Those beasts referred to those who were hidden. They were waiting for their moment to take advantage and pounce. Unfortunately, even with Dalis's exceptional eyes, he was unable to determine the identity of the beasts. This was due to the cover of the night and objects they attempted to camouflage in. Hence, Dalis's options were limited.

(Damn . . . this would be my only real option . . . )

"Hang on Jessica, just a few more seconds!"

A dazzling shroud of light was displayed on top of the staff. The light within the shroud glowed ever so brightly as each second ticked. One could see brief layers of light slowly cascading down towards Jessica. Through his desperate concentration, the light seemed to layer itself upon the threads that rooted Jessica and was careful to avoid touching her bare skin.

Jessica, who watched Elliot charge up his ability, wore a face of extreme urgency, frantically flailing her available moveable body.

"Don't worry! It's complete!"

It was at this moment, Jessica's face transformed into despair itself.

"ELLIOT LOOK OUT!!!"

Elliot, who was about to unleash the ability, suddenly perceived a large familiar silhouette tower over him. Long strands of shadows can be seen sloping down. His body was immediately dead in its tracks when he saw the sticky liquid on the ground. He embraced himself and turned his head slowly behind him to find the one thing he didn't want to see . . . The Spliz!

A scream of terror wrecked the night sky. At the same time, in the sky above the glade, an umbra was seen distinct to the blackness of dusk. Despite the night not reaching its prime, the figure's appearance was only briefly perceivable as its outline reigned down.

Who?

Who was it?

Was it a beast who had noticed the commotion and decided to join the fray?

Indeed it was a beast . . . it was the beast who prevailed in the cover of dusk.

It was . . .

"Batman."

SMACK

An anguished groan of a beast was followed afterwards. Dalis had landed a direct blow onto the Spliz's forehead. The collision had caused the beast to be knocked hard down on the ground. Traces of green liquid was seen dripping down the beast's face, which was entwined with the white liquid in its mouth, making it viler than ever. Though one could argue, it was a picture to illustrate the defeated.

"B-Batman?! No wait it's you Dalis!"

Hurried footsteps could be heard behind Dalis. It was Sienna. She was covered with spots of sticky liquid remains.

"Ah! Dalis! It's you! Ah, um, uh, thank you thank you thank you. You saved my life!"

"No need. It was the natural thing to do."

Dalis, who seemed very nonchalant, began walking his way to free the nearby Jessica. He did not speak a word, but his carefreeness was shown by him leisurely swinging the tri-section staff back and forth.

"You will be fi—"

*Klang!*

His beloved 'staff" fell apart once again! However, this time it had also slipped out of his hands. It fell onto the floor, exposing its split three sections, and a glowing, blue translucent chain that detained the gaps.

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

"D-Dalis?"

Dalis did not utter a word. No, he refused to utter anything. It would simply make him feel derided and look like an idiot for making excuses. Thus, Dalis ordered himself—the right to remain silent.

He attempted to act as casual as possible, walking towards the fallen tri-section staff and picking it up. Dalis remained there briefly, adjusting the staff to its "original form". However, for some inexplicable reason, he was unable to return it back within those twenty seconds of fiddling.

(fffffffffffffffff)

Hence, Dalis stopped his actions and made himself give off the impression that he was checking its condition.

"Hmm, it doesn't appear to be damaged . . . "

Dalis muttered in a tone that was audible enough for the bystanders to hear.

Jessica and Elliot wore troubled faces. They were a little awkward. On the other hand, Sienna had a wide smile that seemed to be forced. She had seen through his cover and was trying her best not to laugh.

While the stage of comedy was being televised, sounds of rustling could be heard in the nearby bushes . . .