Yes, he had proposed the idea, and yes, he had been disrespectful to the senior Hunters. But honestly? They were asking for it. And he didn't regret saying those rough words.

'Still, why did it have to be me?!'

Nevertheless, there was no backing out now. The plan was set, for the superiors had unanimously agreed to Kaiser’s role. If he wanted their cooperation, he had no choice but to accept it. Although, the monster could potentially devour him whole, Kai isn't that afraid. He was technically immortal. Even if the creature got to him, his confident of putting up a good fight to buy enough time for the others laying ambush outside to rush in and take it down.

It was a terrifying job, but not quite a death sentence for him.

As for why they had chosen him? The task of feeding the hounds was typically assigned randomly—thrown to whoever was available. The creature, intelligent as it was, shouldn’t sense anything unusual. More importantly, though, the role needed someone capable of handling themselves in a dangerous situation alone. Any ordinary Hunter would likely be dead within seconds. Kaiser, however, was perfect. Though known as a Player, his victory over Alfred had been kept a quiet secret, largely because he preferred not boasting about it, and the Hunters leader didn't mention anything. As a result, he held little visible status and seemed unremarkable enough to be handed a mundane chore like feeding the dogs.

The toughest among the Hunters was already reputable around and would be unnatural if they're given this poor mission of feeding the dogs.

Kaiser lit up the torches along the wooden beams with his lantern borrowed flame, casting a warm glow throughout the shed’s interior. Inside, the path stretched straight down the center, bordered on either side by rows of cages where the hounds rested in somber silence.

As he entered, the hounds perked up at his presence. Unnaturally, they made little noise. Unlike dogs on Earth, these furry, horned creatures weren’t loud barkers. In fact, they rarely made a sound, even around strangers. They weren’t really dangerous or aggressive, that's why they're ideal for tasks like pulling wagons or tracking prey with their sharp noses but of little use in a fight or guarding outside. They were obedient to a fault, so tamable that there's no need for leashes, bounds or locks in their individual cages.

Kaiser cast a glance over the eerily obedient hounds, some of them with their tongues lolling, others alert, a few asleep, and others moving about. Their large size, reaching his waist level coupled with their horns are quite scary, in contrast to their actual tame nature.

'It would be nice to own one of these. I'm sure Ariella will really love it, and it's basically a walking source of food.' He really should stop considering every edible creature as food.

Nonchalantly, Kaiser grabbed a scoop of the gooey leftovers from the cart, he began filling the troughs fixed to each cage.

The task of feeding them was a walk in the park, no specific skill or familiarization with the Hounds are needed. Requiring nothing more than a working hand and a stomach for the thick, unappealing mix.

As he moved along, watching the horned dogs dig into their food, he finally reached the last cage.

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His heart skipped a beat, as the recognizable tag on the last Hound's collar entered his notice.

Kaiser's body shivered ever so slightly, aware that his near the infamous monster, or maybe not?

Aside from being brown in color, which is a common breed trait among these creatures —the last hound seemed entirely unremarkable. It sat quietly, waiting with an almost comically patient expression, gazing at Kaiser with eyes so soft and round they looked almost like a teddy bear. In those eyes, there wasn’t even a hint of hostility or malice. Just a calm, expectant look, as though it couldn’t fathom causing anyone harm. Yet, despite its apparent innocence, Kaiser felt a flicker of dread take root deep inside.

He knew the chances were high that this creature—this harmless-seeming animal in front of him—was far from innocent.

Swallowing the uneasy feeling clawing at him, he continued to play his role, forcing himself to appear calm and unaffected. By now, he was more than fifty percent certain of the hound’s true nature.

As he approached the end of the food cart, as calculated, only a meager portion remained in the cart — a scant quarter-scoop. He dumped the small amount into the trough before the last hound. The creature lowered its head, sniffed, then looked up at Kaiser with what seemed like a small pang of disappointment, as if wondering why it had been left out of a proper meal.

“That’s unlucky,” Kaiser muttered with a half-hearted shrug, putting on an air of indifference. “Sorry, dog. There’s nothing more in the cart. Guess you’ll just have to deal with it.”

As he turned to move away, his eyes seemed to “casually” drift down to the tag on the hound’s collar, as though he had just noticed it for the first time. He squinted, reading the engraved letters. “‘Bara’s property’... Wait a minute.” He paused, narrowing his eyes. “Aren't you the damned dog that's been after my girl the other day?”

Instantly, any sympathy he might have had for the hound vanished. A smirk curled at the edge of his mouth. “Serves you right.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small blue fruit, roughly the size of an apple. “Oh, would you look at that. Remember this? The treat my goddess gave you? The one you had the nerve to swallow right in front of me…” He leaned back, taking a mockingly satisfied bite out of the fruit, looking down at the hound with a glint of ridicule in his gaze. "I guess what goes around, turns around... That doesn't sound right, or is it the other way around?"

But Kaiser instantly regretted the bite. The fruit was impossibly sour, almost painfully so, and he grimaced as the taste hit him, his face twisting in disgust. “Ugh. Why’d you even like this thing?”

The hound remained silent, still focused on its food. It didn’t react to his teasing or even seem to register it, which made it all the eerier. Shaking his head, he tossed the half-eaten fruit back into the hound’s cage and turned to leave. “Enjoy your meal, dog. Oh, I forgot you have a really ‘beautiful’ name, ‘Bara’s property’? It really suits you.”

He chuckled, walking away feeling pleased with himself. His acting wasn't bad, he had to say so himself. Despite having not followed any set script. Kaiser went entirely off the cuff, and his irritation had flowed naturally, making it easier for him to play his role without changing his character. Though, it was still a bit stiff. Kaiser became worried if his pretentious act had achieve the desired outcome without fail.

But his doubt soon disappeared as the sounds of crunching and chewing reached him as the hound worked through the rest of its meager portion, then began to chew on the discarded fruit he threw. Smiling, Kaiser kept his pace relaxed, pulling the empty cart behind him.

However, seeing the exit grew closer without anything happening, he couldn’t shake a growing unease. It felt too… ordinary.

As he neared the exit, the nagging doubt in his mind only grew stronger. The hound had shown no hostility. No unnatural behavior or shown signs of the ravenous creature he had been expecting. Aside from having a strange liking to the bitter fruit, the Hound was ordinary in all regards.

Maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong after all. Perhaps the animal truly was harmless, just like other superiors said, Kaiser might have misjudged it out of paranoia and suspicion. If that's really the case, then their set-up tonight would have been a wasted effort. The thought made him feel a flicker of guilt.

Sighing, he pulled a glass vial from his pocket, downing the liquid inside in one gulp. 'Poor dog, maybe I misjudged it...' He thought, a pang of regret stirring in him.

Still... Kai was reluctant to give up easily, to think he had been wrong and believe in his own suspicion to the point he hoped for it to be true. After all the effort he put into convincing the Hunters, even going out of his way to make them listen. Kaiser refused for it to be wasted. Though, If the hound was the monster he suspected, a little prodding might not be enough to stir it to reveal itself. Perhaps he should go for it harder? Maybe then it would show what's hidden beneath that innocent facade.

Fortunately, but more unfortunately, there's no need to anymore. A noise reached his ears coming from behind that was utterly, unmistakably wrong. It's as if flesh was being torn, bones cracking and body twisting was happening behind.

He froze, his body tensing. Slowly, he turned his head over his shoulder.

What he saw rooted him in place, his blood going cold with terror.

It was utter horror!

Kaiser immediately regret wishing for his theory to be true.

'Ho-Holy f*ck'!