Dalis's body began to collapse, and he felt his mind growing blank. His arms, his legs, nothing moved in accordance to his will.

The only thing that he was able to control was his eyes that were fading and losing the light.

His eyes continue to stare at the bubbles which drifted up to the surface.

(Is this the end? . . . Of course that snobby brat would be the one to lead me to my demise.)

A rising urge coursed through him.

Dalis couldn't help but continue to curse at Melvin within his mind and heart. In fact, he was obsolete with thinking about anything that would be considered to be regretful or cherishable. Not even his dear Sister Edna.

After all . . .

He absolutely refused to die in this sort of fashion.

It was not satisfying at all!

Besides the fact that he has many regrets, and some other buried things, he was unable to even utter any final words! Dalis deeply desired to say something witty and profound before his death such as:

"I have the will to kill enemies, but not the power to reverse fate."

Or

"The taste of death is upon my lips . . . I feel something, that is not of this earth."

Or

"I wish to retire."

However he was not even given this opportunity!

The more he contemplated about this, the more fumed he was, and he fervently stacked his curses at Melvin inwardly as much as he can.

It was equivalent to the riches of the wealthy.

Aggrieved, he also vowed to haunt Melvin and torment him for his whole life until he was exorcised.

***

" . . . "

Dalis had no idea how much time had passed, nor was he sensitive to anything around him. He erased his thinking and began to seriously conceive of the things he really desired to ponder about.

( . . . That's enough grudging and puerile musing by me . . . I'm eighty percent certain that Melvin was impotent due to something unexpected impeding him . . . )

While he thought this, Dalis did not dare to trace his thoughts about the remaining twenty per cent.

" . . . "

(Perhaps it's because of how ludicrous this whole thing is why my death feels so . . . unreal. Thus, I'm unable to embrace the solemnity of the situation.)

Dalis sighed deep within.

(In the end, I don't even know who I am . . . )

" . . . "

And then a particular word rose to his mind . . .

(Hope . . . )

Before he started to sink into the abyss and dwell eternally into his thoughts . . . his ears perked up. He started hearing a muffled sound reverberate through his ears. Eventually, he could discern that it was the sound of somebody's voice . . . and it grew more distinct by the second.

Dalis! Dalis!

Hope is to be alive

There was another voice. It was faint, reassuring, and nostalgic.

This can't be happening . . .

So live

Dalis please wake up . . .

Just live

Dalis don't go to the otherside!

That would be enough

You just need to wake up just for a moment!

For us all

You have so much to do!

Live

Don't leave!

DALIS!

The last shout was an awakening call to Dalis, resurrecting him back from the dead. Although he did not die, he was dangerously close to heading off to the other side.

Dalis gradually opened his eyes, he was presented with a blurry world in front of him. It only took a moment for him to recognise the outline of the blurry figure by the accompanied voice as his body shook.

It was Sienna.

Dalis laid on his back with Sienna by her side. Sienna had her knees on the ground, leaning down towards Dalis. One of her hands was rested across his chest and the other on one of his shoulders. Noticing that Dalis has awakened, she stopped shaking him. What was replaced was a wide smile and a joyous expression of relief. If one looked closely, her face was a little red.

This was not solely from urgency. It was also because she had planned to perform CPR on him, just a moment before Dalis woke up. Though there are ways to help circulate peoples’ mana flow which in turn could aid in resuciating, Sienna was incapable.

"Thank our Lord Caleyar . . . " Sienna sighed with relief.

*Cough* *Cough*

Dalis expelled some saliva and water from his mouth.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

Despite what Dalis said, he was putting a strong front to not let Sienna worry about him.

"How freely are you able to move?"

"Surprisingly, I think I can move well enough to somewhat fight. However, I'm quite burned out, so I will require some rest."

"That's a lot better than I had expected."

"Where are we?"

"Just a couple of meters away from the pond clearing. I was worried about Stilla so I couldn't move you too far away. I would've moved you a bit further and then joined in the battle, but you were in critical condition. It gave me quite the shock."

Sienna did not dare to ask how long he had been underneath the water for.

"I see . . . "

For some odd reason, Dalis had an iota of disappointment from not being able to die. His inner desire to reincarnate as either a slime, adventurer, hero, or skeleton came to ruins.

(Wait. That is not important. That girl needs aid.)

Worrying about Stilla in spite of his weakened state, Dalis proceeded to carefully and steadily raise himself up. Sienna, who turned her head towards the pond, all of a sudden jolted to the point that it almost made her fall.

"WATCH OUT!!!"

However, it was too little, too late. By the time Dalis had sprung the upper half of his body from the floor, his eyes were met with a terrifying ravenous huge beast.

With every ounce of his remaining strength, he attempted to dodge the beast's leap at post-haste. Dalis knew in all likelihood that he would be unable to evade the savage wolf, but that did not delay his strive to escape.

The wolf snarled with excitement, opening its jaws wide to reveal the ferocious conical fangs, slimed with saliva that ran down its chin. It was on the road to rip the living head off the frail human boy.

What was particularly noteworthy of this scene was that no matter how close The Monster approached, Dalis continued to wear an expression of defiance and traces of fear were unseen to the naked eye. When the beast noticed this, it was enraged and determined to inflict and display to Dalis what terror was!

BZZZZZZZZZZ

A buzzing sound echoed in their ears. But in the heat of the moment, nobody could pay attention . . .

BOOOM!

It all happened so fast.

Out of the blue, Dalis saw a behemoth not much smaller than The Monster smash into the evolved wolf, toppling down a few nearby trees as though they were dominoes. It was unbelievable!

Dalis rushed to stand up to obtain a closer view of exactly what had occurred. Sienna too, also followed up shortly after him standing by his side.

Although it was a little difficult to see with the floating debris and disordered forest, to the onlookers, it was clear as day. A bronze rocky carapace could be seen. The beast had six legs; three on each side. Its steel horns and mandibles seemed to shine with incredible power and were in full display for all to see. It was penetrating the other giant beast! Blood fell gradually by the passing second as The Monster was attacked.

It was a huge blow to The Monster.

Sienna was trying to take in the situation while Dalis was thrilled, trembling with excitement. He couldn't help but pleasantly exclaim in a monotone voice.

"Rhinearian Beetle!"

"That's right! That's a Rhinearian beetle! So there really are Rhinearian beetles in the Maizan Forest. Where did this rare beast come from? Did this beetle just save our lives? Dalis let's use this chance to retreat! It's not worth the contest. We shouldn't risk it and take this saving grace to the heart."

Dalis simply chuckled in response and headed slowly and nonchalantly to the beast. Weirdly, his steps seemed to strut a little as if he was swaggering. Was it due to the arrival of his pet? Or was it because of his condition? The truth was a combination of both. Sienna was not aware of this as her attention was occupied with her worry for Dalis.

"Daaalisss, Sieeeenaaa!"

Stilla had finally caught up with the turn of events. When she saw two towering mountains wrestling against each other, her run came abruptly to a halt. She focused her gaze and recognised the unfamiliar beast. Inevitably, she startled.

"R-Rhinearian beetle! Wooowww that's so coool! It's even teaching that big bad wolf a lesson. Go beetle go! Teach that bully some manners! Go go go!"

Sienna was slightly flabbergasted by Stilla's reaction but knew that this would be how she would react. Hastily, she jogged to her. Though Stilla seemed to be unaware of Sienna and closed towards Dalis, thus Sienna followed.

"Dalis are you okay?"

When she saw the exhausted and bedraggled Dalis, she clutched her arms onto Dalis instinctively.

"I'm alright. How about yourself?" Dalis responded to her inquiry and meticulously checked the condition of her body.

"Jeez I'm fine! It's YOU that needs the attention. You're in much worse shape than me."

"Is that so? I failed to notice."

"Bad brother! Bad!"

It was at this point of time that Sienna had arrived.

"Stilla."

"Sienna!"

The girls smiled at one another. Then, the three started to discuss their next course of action. After hearing that Rhinearian beetle was a pet that he had subjected and then domesticated, they were stunned. Sienna was muttering to herself about how utterly unfathomable Dalis was, while Stilla fared much better in taking in the situation. Amusingly, she seemed to have a belief that was bordering, "it is only natural."

When Dalis heard from Stilla that Melvin had yet to return . . . the curses within him coiled once again. It was now two times that Dalis had hovered between the road of life and death due to Melvin's absence. Dalis made an oath to one day have his revenge on him—two-fold and counting! In the first place, he was the most eager one in the group to take down that beast due to the past feud. So why the hell was he not here?!

Succeeding a couple of more exchange of words, Dalis walked towards the mountainous monsters.

"Dalis you still haven't told us what you plan to do! You can't fight with your condition! Me and Sienna are coming whether you like it or not!" Stilla hurriedly exclaimed.

Dalis did not turn back, but he had come to a stop.

"Relax and enjoy the show. Allow me to show you girls the reason they call me a beast master."