1. Prologue (His Past) - 7. Another Prince of Asteria?

Rose was breathing heavily, her heart was pounding. Next to her, the man who had saved her kept watching that monster's every movement from behind the leaves. They did manage to find a hiding place but that didn't mean they were safe.

The monsters suddenly turned towards them and walked closer. She could feel her breathing getting heavier and her body trembled as the monster approached them closer. Close enough that she could see its ugly face and sharp teeth clearly through the leaves, making her almost screaming.

He covered her mouth with his left hand, while his right hand gripped his sword tightly preparing to attack. His eyes observed that monster's movements.

Minutes passed, after long enough that the monster kept pacing in front of their hiding place, finally the monster gave up and walked away. He released his hand and Rose could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Can you let go of me, my lady?" he whispered.

She just realized, unconsciously, she had been gripping his uniform. She quickly released her grip.
"Forgive me," she said awkwardly.

Rose lifted her head so she could see him better. His dark blue hair, sharp eyes, tall, well built and about the same age as her. His cold face gave her the impression that he was not a friendly person and his sharp eyes made her feel as if he could read her mind in one glance. But despite his dark hair, he wore Prince of Asteria's uniform and there was the same badge as Ilex on his collar.

His voice interrupted her thoughts.
"May I know your reason why you broke into the hunting ground? And dared to fight one on one with a Fiend Bear?" he said as he shifted his gaze at her.

They locked gazes with each other, his sharp eyes made her feel intimidated. Suddenly, her heart pounded faster and her face began to turn red. But she kept maintaining her composure.
"The hunting ground? You mean that iron fence isn't headed for the city?"

He frowned at her words.
"There is a sign in front of the fence that indicates this is the hunting ground."

She lowered her head in guilt. She remembered she didn't see the sign when she climbed up.
"I didn't see it ..."

He sighed.
"We have to get out of here before that monster comes back. We can talk about this later."

She simply nodded.

Angel climbed out from his hiding place and extended his hand to her.

"Thank you for helping-"

Before she could finish her sentence, he saw a large black shadow from the tree branch above them leaping towards them.

"Watch out!" He pulled her to avoid that monster attack and took out his sword again. In front of them, the monster that they thought was gone, roared, indicating it had returned to find its prey.
"This monster is quite clever."

"W-what should we do now?" she said in a trembling voice.

Angel could feel her hand starting to grip his uniform again in fear. He glanced at a tree that looked quite big and strong behind the monster.
"You are a poison master, right? I will lure it towards that tree. After I give the signal, attack the back of its neck with your strongest poison. That's its weak point."

She nodded.
"I understand."

He dashed as fast as he could. As he approached, the monster greeted him with its claws. He dodged down, passing under the monster arm towards behind it to escape. Then he turned around and hit the monster's back with his sword to provoke it. The monster turned around furiously and attacked him again with its claws. He continued to retreat as he avoided and parried that monster's attacks until his back hit the tree.

The monster grinned, showing its terrifying teeth and swung its claws with all of its might. He ducked down and rolled to the side to avoid. The monster tried to attack again but its claw caught in the tree trunk.

"Attack now!" he shouted.

She slashed her whip right behind the monster's neck accompanied by its groan of pain. But a second later, it turned its gaze to her.

Angel noticed that monsters want to attack her.
"Get away from there!" Without wasting any time, he ran towards her.

The monster suddenly shot its spikes. He pushed her, making them fall together as he could feel one of that monster's spikes penetrating his left shoulder from behind.

"How's that possible? I have attacked it with my strongest poison!" she said in a panic.

"Defeating that monster isn't that easy," he said as he struggled to his feet. Intense pain began to spread throughout his back.

The monster managed to release its claws and leapt towards them with both claws. He pushed her again to avoid and raised his sword, holding its claws with it. Its claws stopped only a few inches in front of his face.

The poison in the spike began to work, he could feel his strength begin to disappear, so did his consciousness.

"Strike its neck one more time!" he shouted.

She slashed her whip once again. The monster groaned in pain and began to lose its balance. Angel pushed it and backed away. Finally, the monster fell.

He was breathing heavily, his consciousness began to disappear, making him almost fall. She quickly propped him and leaned him against the tree to examine his wound.

"The poison has started to spread, you must be treated immediately," she said worriedly. Her hand pulled out the spike that still stuck in his back.

"Ngghh ..." Angel held his groan as the spike was pulled from his back. The pain from the wound began to burn his back, but he tried to bear the pain and get up.
"We must get out of here before it wakes up again."

"You mean that monster isn't dead yet?" she said in disbelief.

"It's not that easy to defeat it."

"Then we should kill it now," she said as she walked towards the monster.

He caught her wrist and shook his head from side to side.
"That monster is the main hunt for tomorrow's hunting competition. We can't kill it now."

She was surprised and turned her gaze to him.
"That monster is tomorrow's main hunt? You must be crazy!"

Another loud howl sounded.

"We must get out now." Then he pulled her away.