The rat hybrid's body re-materialized mid-air, and with his meat body back came the effects of the game's simulated gravity. He plunged more than twenty feet through the air, landing on the cold, damp earth with a sloshy thud.

10 Damage!

The rat was slow to move after hitting the ground. Shane could empathize if the situation were different, but not after the rat and his partner did what they did to Humphrey. He looked at the hybrid's HP bar and saw it had maybe twenty percent left. Shane then observed his own.

HP: 180/180

Mana: 99/164

Fatigue: 80/143

His fatigue was a bit high after using [Triple Strike], but his HP and Mana were doing quite well after everything. If only all my fights could go this well, he thought. All that was left now was to end the rat and take a well-deserved nap but not before buffing his dwelling defenses further and obtaining another steward. Truthfully, he felt satisfied with what the rat had gone through.

If Shane could have left him alive with a warning and a beating, he would have. However, how many more times would he assail his home within Endless Veil if he did? More than once was too much. It had to end here. Shane walked up to the rat lying on his back. As he approached, the rat gave Shane a terrified squeak—spiderlings cleared a path for their mother's master. Shane gestured to Sharlot—seconds later, her enormous clutch disappeared into vapor and smoke.

"Who put you up to this murder? Or are you just an asshole?" Shane asked the grounded hybrid.

The rat stared daggers into Shane, but that was the extent of his response.

"That's fine. You don't have to answer. I'll find out for myself."

Shane sheathed his sword and held up an extended, open palm. He raised his hand over his head and readied a [Splitting SwordHand Chop]. This will end it; the thought ran through his mind while the skill brought his hand down almost instantly. It was a half second before Shane realized something had stopped his hand from connecting with the rat's face. A mighty hand had grabbed his wrist inches before the skill could be completed.

Why would Alabaster stop me from killing th-? Shane's train of thought froze when he noticed the hand had sharp dark claws and green scales.

Shane looked over his shoulder and was shocked to see the cloaked reptilian hybrid woman he met in front of Krooth's gates. The grip on his arm was powerful, which made sense with the swampy-black aura surrounding her. She was at least twice as powerful as the rat underneath his hand and likely several times more capable of a fighter than himself.

"This rat isn't yours to end," said the cloaked reptilian stranger in a gruff, raspy voice.

She tightened her grip on his wrist and began lifting him up, first to his knees and then in the air with just one hand. Shane winced from the pain of her grip. She then let go and pushed him lightly in the chest as he fell with an open palm.

-5 HP (???? 's light push)

The blow sent him flying several meters backward towards his dwelling. Please don't throw me into space, he almost said out loud. Red glowing eyes with thin black slits peered at him through the opening of the lady lizard's brown cowl.

"You stay there, Shane. Let me talk with him," said the lizard hybrid.

Shane didn't like that she knew his name. She must have been watching for a while.

"How long have you been watching me, and more importantly. Why have you?!" He asked while propping himself up on the ground.

"Long enough, but now is not the time to discuss the why's and how's." She turned from Shane and fixed her gaze upon the sniveling man before her.

She stomped on the rat's head, but it looked strange, like her bare foot went through his head. It was a wispy illusion of the rat that promptly disappeared. Immediately, her piercing gaze shifted to something off to Shane's right. Near the path leading to his dwelling. Without warning, she crouched slightly before leaping into the air. The hybrid woman landed heavily, kicking up dust and grass around her. It was like watching someone perform the world's most incredible standing long jump.

Shane heard multiple snaps and cracks, like numerous twigs being broken all at once. Then the screaming started. She had landed on the legs of the hybrid rat. He was all at once visible and thrashing, squealing, and shouting obscenities while on his back. If my legs were bent the wrong way, I would probably sound like that too. Good. Shane was grateful the woman had seen through the rat's trickery.

"Please, Taeshi! Stop!" Cried the rat.

Taeshi? I know that name. Shane didn't immediately know what to think other than having many questions. So it's her…

"Recker, you messed up. Tell me, why did you attack this man's home?"

When he didn't immediately answer, she stomped on one of his legs hard, causing Recker to cry out in pain all over again.

Recker's HP had actually restored somewhat during his time while invisible. Ironically, Taeshi's leg breaking brought it back to where Shane had left it before her arrival.

"He's a human freak that survived! You know me, I nevah let mah prey live! Maybe he'd stay dead if I gut em this time!" Recker argued indignantly. "Beside's, your fathah would pay claw over fist for the human's-"

Taeshi didn't let him finish. Instead, she kicked him in the stomach hard enough to detach the leg she was standing on at the joint with a sickening pop. The rest of Recker flew through the air in a blur and wrapped around a thick tree. Shane witnessed his health bar instantly drop to zero during Taeshi's powerful kick before the tree ever became an issue.

Shane got to his feet, weary of her strength, while Sharlot crawled up his arm and into his hood.

"That lizard scares me. Be careful, master," was all she said before burrowing in the open space between his armpit and tunic. I've never seen her scared before, thought Shane frowning. Sharlot was right though; Taeshi had some explaining to do.

Alabaster trotted over to Shane, wiping blood from his lips as he did so.

"Who's that?" Asked the cheery vampire, elated from such a full meal.

"Someone…I met outside the gates of Krooth. She seemed helpful and even sympathetic towards humans. Still, I'd be careful around her," Shane said while staring carefully at the woman in her now bloodied, billowing tan gown.

Taeshi seemed to notice her gown blowing in the wind. She fidgeted with a small latch above the subtle hints of a bulging breastplate, and the fabric followed the gusting air, free of its shackles. Neither of them needed to see her frontside to know she had been wearing something incredible underneath. Her armor's dark purple hues couldn't hide the same intricate patterns Shane had seen within Krooth's walls.

"Her armor's made of Mithril!" Shane gasped.

Alabaster's eyes narrowed as he raised a single eyebrow. He mumbled to himself in a huff, but what Shane heard made him smile. Haha, is he jealous? Shane thought, stifling a giggle. Taeshi spat on the bloody leg she had been standing on and kicked it away. She then started walking over to Shane and Alabaster. It was the first real time he saw her in full.

The baggy gown had done an excellent job hiding her warrior's body. Her deep purple cuirass covered her busty chest and abdomen but exposed her muscular arms. They were covered in scars looking like the savage absence of her dark green scales. Reflective steel plating covered most of her thick thighs and legs, with the armor extending to her clawed feet—covering just the tops from hits.

Shane barely even noticed her head was like that of a T-Rex and Velociraptor. The real difference was her eyes were rounder and pushed closer to the front of her angular face. Instead of hair, two sets of small horns arced outward from her scalp. Within the middle and sides of her sets of horns sat long, flowing feathers that were as dark as the night sky.

Shane couldn't take his eyes away between those features and her physical structure. He had never really been into toned and muscular women before, but there was something about Taeshi he found dangerous and enticing. It took some willpower, but he managed to avert his gaze long enough to re-focus on the situation. This was serious; she worked with the man that joyfully killed him once for crying out loud. Her killing the rat didn't exactly make things even.

He had a lot of questions, and she would have answers.