Rhen had been slammed aggressively against the tree.
He could feel his insides ruined — the pain inside was worse than that of broken bones. He was used to those.
Thankfully though, he wasn't killed in one hit.
'I wonder why it didn't kill me immediately.'
Rhen tried hard to distract himself from the pain.
He looked in front of him.
There was a five-feet-ten figure with black and blue hair and blue eyes gruesomely eating the head of the mist snake.
He ignored the bloody scene, but his thoughts churned.
'Why the hell did she call me master? Where did she come from? And the more obvious question… Who was talking in my head?'
[Lilac was summoned through the The Loot System, Master.]
[I'm the one you heard. "An artificial being created by your ancestors to assist you, but due to unexpected coincidence, I fused with The Loot System.]
Rhen was left speechless.
"Loot… System? Artificially created? Ancestors? What the fuck? I'm lo–!"
His mutters were cut short as he began coughing blood out.
Lilac stopped eating and looked towards Rhen, her face contorting to a frown.
"Master? Ah, what should I do?" With no idea coming to mind, she scruffled her hair. "Can you eat this head, maybe it will help you like it helps me?"
"N-no! I can't… eat that!" Rhen mustered out in a train of coughs.
Because she didn't see any obvious harm on Rhen's body, she assumed he was fine and she felt guilty.
With her memory clouded in this unfamiliar place, Lilac didn't know what to do and began panicking.
She had sensed Rhen's desire to stay here, but at this rate, she was going to damn that and rush him out of here.
But at that moment, someone began to take form in the air. A young girl with short blonde hair and green eyes.
The girl stretched her hand towards the air, leaving a small square of space to open. What Rhen identified as a bottle fell, landing on his lap.
"Please, drink this," the girl pointed at the bottle and said.
'What's the worst that could happen?'
Ignoring the pain he felt, Rhen took the assumed potion, chugging it down.
Rhen clutched his chest as warmth spread through him, the pain melting away like snow under fire.
Almost immediately, his body felt better.
Then gradually, more change was evident.
Lilac breathed a sigh of relief and moved closer to Rhen, sitting as she watched him heal with satisfaction.
'Why's she looking at me so intently?'
Rhen glanced at her and forced out a smile.
"I am glad you're fine, master!"
"Huh… thanks."
The lady who fed Rhen was still present, her face expressionless. She turned to Lilac and said:
"Lilac, I suggest you scout the premises and prepare for any hostile force. Stay around Master though. "
"Eh?" Lilac frowned at the lady. "Who are you to tell me what to do? You are not master!"
Lilac would have pounced at the lady, but she refrained from doing so because it was her who saved her master.
Feeling a green eye stare at him, Rhen kept feeling weird due to this unfamiliar situation.
'What… is happening?'
He could only guess what the lady, who sounded like the voice in his head, wanted.
"Lilac… Could you please do that?"
Facing Rhen again, Lilac's face instantly turned to a smile as she nodded with her black tail wagging behind her.
Moving like a black blur, Lilac headed towards where Rhen initially came from.
Then she stopped.
Looked back at Rhen, or more precisely the head in front of him.
She swiftly returned, picked it up, and left again.
"Finally, alone–mostly–something familiar," Rhen grumbled, flexing his arm and feeling the pain recede.
Rolling his arms and feeling way less pain, he said, "Let's get somewhere safe. I need you to explain a couple of things."
The lady, floating in mid-air, bowed in acknowledgement and disappeared.
'Is she living within me? That's fucking weird.'
Rhen wanted to make his way to a part of the outer regions of this place called, Trail of Maze.
To be specific, a place just outside the supernatural space warping effects of this land, a place he marked as his 'mancave.'
He walked a few steps back in the direction he came from, and right when he was about to turn, he heard Lilac's voice.
[Master, I see a girl. She just killed an injured boy with green hair after asking him about you. Now she's on her way here.]
Rhen instantly complained about how everyone was evading his head before realization crept in.
'Green hair? That should be Dan.'
[What does she look like?]
[She is wearing a white outfit with some kinda mask placed at the side of her face.]
'Isn't that Nina? She killed Dan? Why– Crazy bitch!'
[Lilac, lead me to her.]
Based on Lilac's directions, Rhen just moved straight as if he was leaving here.
He moved with speed because he didn't want Nina to get caught in this land.
In a flash, he got closer to the edge of this place, where the fog was way less.
Standing still, Rhen called out, "Nina, I know you're here."
He barely had time to react when he felt a gust of wind behind him.
A person donning white appeared, swiftly pressing him on the ground.
Rhen had expected something similar and flashed her a smile.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
'She's not stained by blood… She killed him so swiftly? Tsk.'
The orange-haired girl, wearing a rabbit mask on one side of her head pursed her lips innocently and said gently:
"Rhen, I'm not sure if this is you or not, this is the only way I can confirm it's really you."
'Why's she acting all innocent?'
As Rhen thought, he saw her face close in to his, making him struggle slightly while complaining:
"Nina! D-don't you dare!"
Nina didn't listen, bringing her lips closer to his.
"Ah! Ni-na! Stop!"
"Yeah, it's definitely you. The one to act repulsive when he knows he wants it." Nina laughed.
Rhen's lips curled downwards as he quickly left Nina's grasp and hissed.
"Tsk. Your lying skills are as good as ever."
Stepping back for Rhen to stand, Nina placed her hand on her waist and bent forward as he tried standing up.
"Do you know what everyone has been calling you recently? A tsundere. I'm sure you know what that means."
Rhen looked intently and began mumbling random words, standing up and dusting himself.
"What are you doing in this damned place?"
"Playing knight in shining armor," Nina replied.
"Too bad. There's no princess here. I don't need your damned saving."
"Hey–"
Before Nina could disagree, Rhen sighed.
"I can take care of myself. This place has more effect on you than me. What if you got lost? You've no reason to throw your life away, dumbass. Also, you shouldn't go around torturing and killing."
Nina bit her lips.
"And what if you died? I know what happened to you, you know! Seriously, you ran to the snake?!"
Rhen let out a smile. "You should know, I always have tricks up my sleeve."
Nina wanted to condemn him, but considering she didn't see any signs of injury on him and there was no sign of him having struggled, she stayed quiet.
"I was… just worried," she said, her voice low.
"Don't worry about me," Rhen stated. "How did you know I was here? I'm guessing Oscar."
Nina nodded. "They were hired–the three of them. Their payment was a ticket into the Exploration Union. There are more people waiting for you outside."
"So someone in the Union is after me?" he deduced. "Nina, return and stay with the rest. Although I don't care, none of you should dare die."
Nina saw the blackness of Rhen's eyes stare and his lips curl upwards. It was a familiar sight for anyone who knew who they called the Fallen Angel.
"What about you? You can't beat them, Rhen! Y-you're not strong enough! The explorers and those aiming for you are mostly stronger!"
"Return, Nina. I'll stay low in my place for a while."
'What else do I need to say to convince you, goddamn it?!'
Seeing Nina hesitate, Rhen asked, "How does it feel? Killing someone you once worked for. Someone you once worked with to beat me up. That's disgusting."
Nina looked at Rhen straight in the eye and glared.
"You are a fucking dick."