"I'll kill you!!" Desire's harsh voice resounded out in the forest as he threatened the Muscula.

Blood dripped from his nose, passing through his hand, and finally dropping on the ground.

Seeing that kind of sight in front of him, the Muscula backed off as he cowered in fear.

However, what happened next was something even Desire didn't expect.

Whoo. The wind blew as something moved very fast between the monster and the child.

And before they could even turn their heads towards the source of the noise, a loud sound of something cracking could be heard in Desire's direction.

Crack!

And when the Muscula moved his eyes towards Desire, he saw the child being held up by a woman.

The woman's hands were in the shape of something like a chopping tool, and it seems that she used her hands to make Desire pass out.

However, the woman didn't even take a look at the Muscula as she muttered while looking at Desire.

"Crazy kid." The woman, Grizelle, shook her head as she clicked her tongue.

"What is he even doing here?" Grizelle asked, but no one answered.

After all, she was just the only human here. Even if there were monsters around, a Muscula isn't the best partner for a conversation.

It was then.

"Gagi!!" The Muscula shouted when he realized what happened.

He realized that Grizelle stole his prey right in front of him, and this made him angry.

He pounded his chest with both of his hands while swaying his body left and right as he screamed.

"Gagagagaga!!!"

The Muscula then ran up to Grizelle with an intensity that Grizelle couldn't see before.

He trampled over the land with his big feet, and he crushed the trees on his way with his big hands!

It was a show of the Muscula's great strength!

However...

"Burn to ashes, Fire." Grizelle said as she moved her hand in front.

The Muscula saw that movement and tried to avoid whatever would come his way from that hand.

However, the attack didn't come from Grizelle's hand, but from the ground.

Swoosh!!

The land parted when a pillar of fire rose up from it, directly roasting the Muscula!

However, that was not all.

"Fire Lock." Grizelle murmured as she closed her hand that was pointing to the Muscula.

And the fire pillar that rose up from the ground soon had something blocking them.

It was another type of fire, but when the Muscula touched them, it felt like something solid and metal.

And it prevented the Muscula from escaping at all.

And this happened in the span of a second.

"Giiii!!!!" The Muscula shouted as he tried getting out of the fire.

Grizelle looked at that sight with cold eyes and waited for the Muscula to die.

She didn't have to deliver the finishing blow. After all, that would be a waste of time and effort.

Well, considering that she just waited, it could be said that she wasted time as well.

However, the real reason why she just observed the Muscula was something else entirely.

"That's odd." Grizelle said as she let down her hand.

She then looked at Desire, and threw him away as if he were a piece of trash.

Desire's body flew and collided with a tree, but he didn't wake up despite that.

What was amazing was that the Krussi that his right hand held was still there.

Grizelle clicked her tongue again when she remembered Desire's reckless action.

Well, she didn't really need to care for Desire. Desire should be grateful that Grizelle saved him from a Muscula.

As Grizelle turned her head towards the Muscula, she put her left hand to her chin as if she were thinking.

"Why is it acting like this?" Grizelle murmured as she watched the Muscula burn to death.

Grizelle has fought several Muscula herself way before coming here in the Muscula's nest. After all, they were monsters that one could see anywhere.

And what Grizelle noticed from them was that when a Muscula takes a certain amount of damage, they will start running for their lives.

And Grizelle knew that the Muscula that she was facing right now had reached that certain amount of damage.

That was why it was weird for Grizelle.

"Why does it seem like this Muscula is trying to break the lock to attack me, and not for running?"

The Muscula that should be running right about now was desperately trying to break out of the lock with fury and intensity.

However, Grizelle couldn't get her answer as the fire that she released finally melt the Muscula.

His body, muscles, strength, and even life - it was all melted by the fire.

Grizelle could see ashes flying in the air as the wind blew harsher than ever.

"That was...weird." Grizelle muttered as she turned her head towards Desire.

She then walked up to him with cold eyes and tried waking him up.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Grizelle said as she rocked Desire's body with her feet.

Despite that, Desire didn't move at all, let alone waking up.

Grizelle shook her head once more as she tried calming herself. She was angry, but she just didn't show it.

After all, she was frustrated about how a fire or something like that didn't accept her.

And Desire just had to show up with a Muscula.

It was frustration after frustration after frustration for Grizelle.

That was why Grizelle stood up when she noticed that Desire wasn't waking any time soon.

She turned her head to look for her way and soon walked off towards her destination.

However, just before she could pass a certain tree, she looked back at Desire.

"At least..."

Grizelle snapped her fingers twice, and a small, blue flame emerged right in front of her.

"Go."

Grizelle spoke, and the blue flame flew in the air as it went to Desire's way.

Grizelle then walked off again as she disappeared into the forest.

Right...leaving Desire behind.

****

Huff. Puff.

Breathing roughly ever since he came to, Desire's eyes were wide open.

He woke up just a few seconds ago, and his brain wasn't working right.

He didn't know what happened, and he still felt pain all over his body.

Well, the worst injuries were on his face.

"W-what happened?" Desire murmured as he touched his face with his hands.

However, he couldn't as he saw the Krussi in his right hand.

"I didn't drop it?"

Desire knew what happened before he passed out. He knew that he was running after the Muscula, and something knocked him out.

However, he didn't expect that he would still hold the Krussi even after passing out.

After all, it was already night when Desire woke up and regained his consciousness.

Desire then carefully placed the Krussi on the ground before proceeding to wipe the blood on his face.

However, it was dry.

"Water." Desire murmured as he used magic to clean his face.

The water magic he used was weak, and it was just right for cleaning.

He was able to learn how to control the force quite naturally. It was when Jarina was teaching him about the cores and stuff that he knew he could control how much mana goes into the magic.

It wasn't long before Desire's face could finally see the world again.

However, his face wasn't that pretty or normal.

His nose was broken, and he had dark spots all over his face. That was not all.

Some of his teeth were broken and were missing, making it look like Desire didn't have any tooth at all!

However, Desire didn't mind that at all.

His attention and focus were on just one thing.

"What happened before I lost consciousness?"

Desire remembered feeling something striking him before he went out cold. He also remembered how he acted, but that didn't matter to Desire.

"How could they just leave me here after doing something like that? That's kinda..."

Heartless. Desire thought as he looked at the mountain.

It was spooky and dark, but Desire could still see. It was probably thanks to one of his skills.

Either way, Desire didn't plan to blame that unknown person. After all, he could understand why he/she had to do it.

Meeting an unknown person in the middle of nowhere has some risks that could endanger one's life.

If Desire meets someone here, he would probably ignore or avoid that person.

"It still hurts, but I should be fine."?Desire murmured as he checked himself before standing up.

He was planning to go back down the mountain as he still remembers the path he took.

"It should be safer than staying here."

That was what Desire thought when he made his decision.

And as soon as he took a step towards the bottom of the mountain, something popped up in front of him.

It was the unfamiliar Unknown, and what it said was...

[The Monster is becoming stronger.]

[The Human is too weak.]

[Rank up the Human rank in one day, or Desire's Vessel will be taken over.]