Once again, swift steps traversed through a forest, leaping in the end, Viktor passed through several trees and landed in a treeless field far away.

His eyes gleamed in yellow, gripping his sword, but then he glanced back and saw a large white snake lunging towards him.

Quickly he dodged to the side as the serpent passed by, only to reposition itself, leaping once more towards the swordsman who landed again, tightening the grip on his sword, furrowing his brow.

However, an arrow streaked, leaving a bluish trail behind, striking the serpent's right eye, causing it to scream, raising its massive body and eliciting a smile from Viktor.

Viktor's sword shimmered in a yellow glow, and in a swift sequence, he delivered three slashes to the snake's belly, causing blood to gush and the creature to scream again.

The serpent opened its mouth, as if threatening, and turned towards Viktor, who stood to its left, but this time, he maintained a broad smile on his face.

Once more, the snake prepared to strike, but more arrows came at its back, causing the monster to growl, completely under pressure and already looking enraged.

However, the sound of something heavy cutting through the air was heard, and the snake's head was hit by a rock, making it lower.

Without wasting a moment, Viktor advanced; once again, his sword gleamed, and he sliced through the thinnest part of the snake's neck, decapitating it, causing blood to spurt once more around him as the head fell to the ground.

The body slackened, and Viktor sighed, his wide eyes gradually losing their gleam.

"Wow, that was insane!" He wiped the blood off his face, sighing. "Even though they're monstrous animals, they're bizarrely strong."

"Maybe the lack of equipment is finally taking its toll." Alma approached the animal's body, the gleam in her eyes fading, and collected the arrows, now tipped with sharper stones. "Your first cut wasn't as deep as it should have been; thanks to that, we had to run a bit, but it was a great idea to lure it here where it couldn't slither away."

"Yeah, despite being white and nearly three times taller than me, it would have had the advantage in the trees." Viktor sighed in relief. "Thanks, Nina. You saved me."

He looked at Nina, who emerged from the forest, still slightly out of breath.

"It was nothing... I was a bit late, but competing against someone who knows how to use that thing called Diyo is kind of unfair." She gave a faint smile and looked at the snake. "Do you know what to collect?"

"Actually, no, but we figured it out." Alma said, looking at Viktor, who pulled out a knife from his boot and crouched next to the animal.

Both plunged their knives into the animal and slowly peeled off the snake's skin, imagining it could be useful. However, Nina frowned and crossed her arms.

"How many abilities do you guys have? Actually, competing with Diyo is quite unfair..." She puffed her cheeks, and Viktor chuckled calmly.

"Don't make that face; it's not my fault. Well, it really is unfair, and I think it would be useful if you could use Diyo, but if you want some good news, we don't have that many techniques." Viktor said with a slight smile. "Apart from that thing about accelerating the energy flow we call activation, there's reinforcement, which is simply coating an object with Diyo, making it more resistant. I think it's the easiest to do and it was also what you saw earlier. Besides that, we only use it on specific parts of the body to enhance them."

"When your sword glowed yellow?" Nina softened her angry expression and raised an eyebrow. "What was that color?"

"Yeah, actually, I don't know what the colors mean, but according to my father, it could just represent your personality or how you envision it would be." Viktor stopped peeling the animal's skin and smiled. "Why don't you try meditating again? It seemed like you were getting somewhere before; then you can try reinforcement."

"Do you need help?"

"We only have two knives, and the junk the goblins give us won't do, don't worry. You can go." Viktor said with a slight smile, and Nina nodded, going near a tree and sitting down, leaning against it.

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Nina took a deep breath, closed her eyes, crossed her legs, and remained silent.

She was a little far from the two, and Alma frequently glanced at her, but then returned her gaze to Viktor as she said.

"I don't intend to let my sister fight in the war." Alma crossed her arms and continued. "The plan was for me to go and give her a peaceful life, not to bring her along with me. Especially with that trembling in her hand, she..."

"And have you told her about it?" Viktor patiently passed the knife, cutting the snake's skin and separating it. "She suffered from the accident too, Alma. I don't know her goal, but she must have one, just like you and me. Since my father disappeared, she hasn't said anything, but you can see she's trying to stay strong. It makes sense if she wants to fight."

"I know. Mr. Matthew was the only one who took us in when we arrived, but..." She faltered, then quickly averted her gaze. "That's not what I expected for my sister... if she gets her hands dirty or if they attack her while she's away? And if she-"

"You just need to be there." Viktor stood up with the snake's skin in his hands. After focusing for a few seconds, he saw particles of energy emerging from the skin and smiled again, putting the skin in a leather bag as he continued. "If she supports your dream, support hers, whatever it may be."

Viktor pointed with the knife towards Nina, and Alma saw she was still meditating, but this time, she seemed more focused.

Even though Alma still felt some apprehension, he knew Viktor was right, and soon they resumed collecting materials.

Again, they took the animal's meat, fangs, skin, and although it wouldn't be as useful, its bones were also taken by Alma, and then they continued on their way.

The path led them through a plain with forests around it. Even though the only guidance on the map was to follow the dirt road, at some point, they would enter the Wolverine's hiding zone.

As they followed the road, the sun had already passed its zenith as they neared the monster's location.

"I think we'll make it before nightfall." Alma commented. "Isn't it kind of strange for a creature that moves especially at night?"

"Well, weaker monsters become inactive at night and in the rain, but I don't think that applies to all." Viktor looked at the map in front of him and then saw the dirt road bifurcate. "But studying monsters is out of the question to know their habits exactly, although I think it would help."

"In fact, it's a really bad idea; even the weakest, like goblins with a stroke of luck, can kill an adult. Stronger monsters are out of the question," Alma commented, and everyone veered left at the fork, entering a slightly denser area of the forest.

"I wished I had achieved something before everything, but I guess it's not that easy," Nina sighed, looking downcast.

"If it were that easy, everyone would know, Nina." Alma commented with a faint smile. "Sometimes constant training or a great idea can yield a technique. Don't be discouraged; you've progressed quite a bit and have managed to feel Diyo. When we have time, let's look for a weapon for you and teach you how to reinforce it. What do you say?"

"If it's one-handed, I think it will work." Even though she was slightly disheartened for not having done much, Nina couldn't contain her excitement now that she had felt Diyo coursing through her entire body, being there and yet not being there at the same time.

As they walked, the sun was setting, lacking the evening twilight, and Viktor looked at the place and said, "It seems we've arrived..."

The environment, although a denser part of the forest, had a small clearing. Unlike anything they had seen before, for the first time, they saw some rusty bars surrounding a small plot filled with tombstones.

The gate was slightly ajar, and among the graves were flowers, but mainly weapons were embedded. At the end of the cemetery, there was a small mound where a tombstone with a sword stuck in the ground lay, still beautiful and finely crafted, with a hilt containing a necklace of roses swaying in the wind.

Despite the forest still being present, Nina furrowed her brow as Viktor surveyed the surroundings.

"Is this the place, Viktor?"

"I wouldn't be mistaken, Alma." The swordsman continued scanning the surroundings. "It's just a circle, but it has the design of that mound there. This is the spot Elioth wanted us to reach; this is where the Wolverine hides."

"A cemetery...?" Nina questioned.

"Not a common one. A cemetery of soldiers." Alma glanced around, noticing the darkness descending rapidly. "These weapons indicate that..."

As they observed the surroundings trying to find something, they realized that nightfall was approaching faster, darkening in moments, until numerous fireflies began to illuminate the area, keeping the trio alert as Viktor said, "Stay alert, if the Wolverine attacks at night, it'll be here soon."

Alma took a larger piece of wood from his bag and drew his knife, saying, "Viktor!"

The swordsman nodded and struck Alma's knife, causing it to slide against the weapon, generating small sparks that hit a liquid on the wooden piece, igniting it. Alma drove the wood into the ground, illuminating the surroundings slightly.

They continued to gaze into the forest, waiting for something to emerge, but nothing happened, and a disturbing silence pervaded the place.

The trio continued their search, feeling their hearts beating faster and faster.

However, a step was heard in the darkness, making the three look towards the top of the mound where the sword was.

There stood a quadruped creature, with an enormous azure horn, resembling a huge wolf with slightly yellowish skin that seemed to shine in the light.

Its neck was covered with what looked like a mane, and its eyes gleamed in red; its tail extended for several meters as the creature stared in complete silence.

Viktor and Alma drew their weapons, slightly nervous at the sight of that creature. Focusing their eyes, they noticed a silvery aura, and in an instant, the creature raised its head, letting out a loud howl that echoed throughout the forest, disturbing its own presence that enveloped the place.

In front of them stood the monster that emerged at dusk, the Wolverine.