The jungle was humid and thick with the cries of hidden creatures. Vines hung like ropes between ancient trees, and the air smelled of moss, sweat, and danger.
Ash walked in silence, slightly ahead of Princess Rin, his posture calm but taut—like a string pulled to its limit.
Rin, dressed in fine combat robes embroidered with phoenix feathers, huffed behind him. Her hair tied in a proud braid, she twirled a dagger in her fingers and looked at him with poorly concealed disdain.
> "Do you always walk like a statue? Loosen up. Or is that too much for a lowborn disciple?"
Ash didn't respond.
> "Oh come now, don't be so boring," she cooed, poking his shoulder with the tip of her dagger. "Aren't you going to smile for your Princess?"
Still nothing.
Rin's lips curled into a mischievous smirk. Then, without warning, she slashed out—not a killing blow, but one swift enough to tear flesh if he didn't dodge.
She barely blinked before Ash turned, his hand snapping up like lightning and catching her wrist mid-swing. His grip was firm but not cruel.
He stared into her golden eyes.
His voice was low, calm, and terrifyingly controlled.
> "You attack me one more time, Rin, and I'll forget you're a Princess."
There was no anger in his tone—only promise.
Rin blinked. Her breath caught in her throat. She pulled her hand back slowly.
They continued walking. But now, the tension wasn't playful. It was the silence of a storm waiting to break.
---
The Beast Appears
Hours passed, the sun a golden eye above the canopy. Birds scattered suddenly as a deep growl reverberated through the forest.
A Tier 3 Beast crashed into their path—six-legged, armored hide like rusted plates, eyes glowing amber. Its fangs dripped saliva onto the mossy earth.
Ash's eyes darkened.
Perfect.
> "Step back," he said, already walking forward.
Rin scoffed. "It's just a Tier 3 beast."
But when she felt the pressure it gave off—dense, predatory, cruel—her smug expression faded.
Ash wasn't listening.
He was boiling inside.
> You wanted to test me, Princess? Let's see how a 'lowborn' fights.
The spirit of Gorran flared in his soul, a golden shadow rising behind him. His veins pulsed with molten strength, muscles hardening under the weight of battle.
The beast roared and lunged.
Ash met it head-on.
He didn't dodge. He stepped into the attack, his fist crashing against its snout with enough force to echo through the trees.
The creature howled as its head snapped to the side.
Ash didn't stop.
He leapt onto its back, driving his knee into its spine, then grabbed one of its tusks and ripped it off. The beast bucked and twisted, but Ash didn't care.
With cold, efficient brutality, he drove the tusk deep into its eye, then slammed both fists into its skull until it stopped moving.
Blood soaked his robes. His breath came out in heavy clouds. Gorran's essence slowly settled back into silence.
---
Aftermath
Rin hadn't moved.
She stared at the crushed corpse, then at Ash. Her hands trembled slightly.
> That was a Tier 3 beast. I've seen Royal Commanders take those down with squads. He… he did it alone. Brutally. Instantly.
And the way his face looked during the fight—unflinching, wild, angry.
He hadn't fought to survive. He had fought to vent.
Now Ash stood calmly, wiping blood off his hands onto the beast's fur.
> "Let's move."
Rin said nothing.
For the first time, she looked at him—not as a servant, not as a bodyguard—but as something different.
Something dangerous.
And for the first time since the hunt began… she stayed two steps behind.
---