"Please don’t say it like I kissed you before!" I barked out at Dearth. "And what’s with this sudden obsession with kissing?!" "It’s... uh... how death gods greet each other and say goodbye now. Yeah! It’s a new trend." I know you’re not a real god, Dearth. Good grief. To each their own, I suppose. Still, kissing is kinda... embarrassing. And from what I’ve noticed, it’s something humans only do with the people they’re in love with. Wait a second... does Dearth love me...? Well, it won’t hurt to ask. I guess. "Dearth, do you... love me?" Only after the words had left my mouth did I realize how embarrassingly awkward they sounded. But I had to keep up appearances! I—I’m a great Dark Fenrir, after all. Dearth’s eyes widened for a heartbeat, then she slowly turned her back to me. "You’re getting full of yourself, you domesticated, vile animal." Honestly, I expected her to say something like that. But... why does it still sting so much? Then, without warning, she stepped toward me—her lips pressing against mine. I looked at her face, and she was smiling so brightly. "Of course I love you!" she said, then flicked my nose — and it actually hurt. "What kind of owner would I be... if I didn’t love my pet? Maybe, one day... you’ll come take me with you. Forever." Then, with a smooth swing of the scythe that suddenly formed in her hands, the space in front of us tore open. A violet light spilled through, shaped like a vertical eye that had just blinked awake. She gave me one last wave, and stepped right in. Okay, Dearth was gone now, leaving behind the sad news that I had been officially banned from sleeping in Coastelle. But honestly, I wasn’t all that shocked. If it’s only sleeping over that’s prohibited, I could work around it. And let’s be honest... I’m breaking that rule in the next few Chapters anyway. The real problem is the assassination. Would I really be able to kill a human in those densely populated kingdoms? Even if I tried, wouldn’t I get caught? ...Well, if it really comes down to that, I’ll just send Shizuka. Or the Phantom Fangs. The festive energy was ridiculously contagious. Stalls lined the entire village, overflowing with treats and delicacies of every kind imaginable. I did my best to ignore the giant banner of me in my wolf form, complete with a golden crown that looked slightly too big for my head. When did they even manage to get something like that drawn? Was it magic? The orchestra was impressive too. It really made me wonder: were these Nor-dwarves capable of doing everything? There was even a rat race. Except the rats were the size of horses. And that was just day one of the festival celebrating the "Dark Fenrir Absorption of the Nor-dwarves." Yeah, I know. Sad name. It honestly sounds like the dwarves are being forced to celebrate their own subjugation. But then again, just look at the kids — they were laughing and running around like it was the best day of their lives. So yeah, let’s just enjoy the moment. I went to go see the show where fish were dancing inside a pond. I could see Levi’s influence written all over this festival—I was almost certain she planned the entire thing herself. I found myself seated at a high table in a spacious area, leisurely watching Bina and the dwarves dance and play their musical instruments. "Master Raven, how are you enjoying the celebration?" Levi approached me, now wearing a different outfit. Her attire matched that of the dwarves—furry, but incredibly revealing. It was sleeveless, though she had a coat draped elegantly over her shoulders. The lower garment she wore was partially transparent in places, designed in such a provocative way that it looked like she had thrown on a net and declared it pants. A pair of black boots completed her bold ensemble. "What? You mean the tyrannical event you orchestrated just to bully the dwarves?" I asked. "Yes," she replied without hesitation. "It’s coming down wonderfully. Though, I did enjoy the orchestra more." That small admission made Levi visibly irritated. She seemed ready to tighten her grip on the dwarves for failing to please me to the fullest. As I pleaded with her to temper justice with mercy, Hugr and Vil approached our table. Apparently, they had something serious they wanted our help with. "We didn’t want to trouble you with such a duty," Vil began, "but aside from Val and Sir Brokkr, there’s no one else capable of handling it." There was a legendary monster living nearby—one that had been their unwelcome neighbor for as long as their village had existed. For years, they’d been able to pacify it by offering a dwarf—male or female—as tribute. The creature was notoriously difficult to handle, not just because of its temperament, but because of its tendency to set things ablaze and leave destruction in its wake. Understandably, the dwarves had always been reluctant to engage it directly. And so, it was decided: Levi and I would go beat the living daylight out of it and return in time for the feast that evening. "Rest assured," Levi said with a confident nod, "this threat will cease to be a threat the moment we arrive to greet it. This is the kind of favor you all receive from your Lord, should you serve well." Somehow, she managed to turn that statement into a full-blown religious sermon. It was almost sunset now, and the festival was still in tip-top shape. Phew! The energy of those party animals... Anyway, Vil had described the location to us: A cave several meters away from the village. I could see it — nearly half a mile off — surrounded by grass and small trees. It had an unnatural feeling to it, though. "Shall we proceed, Master Raven?" Levi inquired. "Hm? Yeah, sure, but we’re not bullying anyone, okay?" I warned. "Except it’s a devil." She clicked her tongue and agreed. According to Vil, it was a large primate called "Kaiser Foot." It reminded me of the small fry, Bigfoot, back in Gihon. He and his brother, the Yeti, went silent after I established my rule over the world. Hehehe. The ones who couldn’t sit tight had their entrails ripped out by me. Well, enough of my dark past... Let’s go hunt a monster. Or at least ask it nicely to not disturb the dwarves again. The cave wasn’t that tall from the outside, but if you kept walking in, it went deep into the ground. The top of the cave eventually began to rise until it reached about forty feet high. Like a stairway to hell, the path curled downward in a spiral — leading to something that looked like another world beneath the ground. This was after about an hour of walking. In this place, I could see the sky and clouds, with strange monsters flying through the air. There was greenery, and a freshness to the air that filled the nostrils. "Hmmm!" Levi nodded. "Master Raven, when are we to conquer this new ground?" I spread my senses, using God Wolf Eyes too, only to realize we were only at the tip of the iceberg. The place seemed to go even farther than I originally thought. It wasn’t as big as Gihon, but it was at least continent-sized. Spreading my senses farther, I also picked up on the presence of some people — possibly humans — in another cave close to us. Levi and I took our time walking over there, admiring the beauty of the underground nature. Streams and rivers were flowing even down here. Oh, and apparently, dinosaurs lived here too. Strangely, they seemed to fear me and Levi. Not that I minded. Honestly, I never liked those oversized reptiles. I found them rather irritating. To be fair, I was kind of relieved when they all mysteriously vanished from Gihon. From what I heard, they did some pretty vile things to the few budding humans back then. Eventually, we reached the cave. After descending a few steps into it, we came upon something that resembled a nest. A large one, at that. And inside it, to my surprise, were people. Two of them were human. One was a beastkin, and the last was an elf. They were tied up with living vines, their faces clouded with sorrow and fatigue. And standing guard over them, eyeing us warily, was a colossal ape. It towered at about twenty feet tall—roughly the size of a small dragon—and its arms were as thick as ten grown men stacked together. Its crimson eyes gleamed with intensity, and its deep brown fur rippled with every movement it made. The moment it caught sight of us, it charged forward without hesitation. Each of its thunderous steps made the entire cave shudder and groan. "So... should I beat its ass?" I asked Levi, tilting my head slightly. "There’s no need, Master Raven..." Her tone was calm, but there was nothing gentle in her eyes. "We won’t need to do anything at all."