He tried to wrap his head around what importance this mysterious stain held, such that his counterpart would have him investigate it. However, no matter what angle he looked at it from, he couldn’t find anything that would pique his interest, except…

[Sniff][Sniff]

-This thing...it smells...kinda gross. Wait...he...it...or whatever I call this ring-guy…

『I’m still your ego, dumbass!』

-Hush, the grown-up is thinking...So, it said that I’d be able to find out how the boar was finding me, if I came to the river...and now it wanted me to notice this pungent stain…

His eyes now widened, a new sense of terrified clarity being exposed within them as Fate stared at the barely visible mark. Both blue eyes soon moved their focus to the stream, shifting between looking at it and then at the vest. 

Fate’s confused and frustrated frown, soon became a grimace, as he began walking towards the water, grasping the vest tightly in his hands. 

-Earlier...when I was listening to Jacob’s story...I felt something cold…

Fate: “F***ing old man...gets me with a sob story...and then slaps some sort of...pheromone on my back...and I didn’t even realize it…”

He angrily muttered under his breath, still afraid of being heard, but feeling so enraged that he couldn’t help but voice his feelings, as he arrived at the stream….

[Burble burble...burble burble burble…]

『Are you disappointed that you couldn’t figure it out faster than yours truly?~ I’ll take all the time in this psycho-ass world to taunt you, later, but for now, drown this smelly as sh*t piece of cloth into this creek and be done with it.』

Fate didn’t respond to the ring’s provocation, but simply stared into the water as he raised the slightly torn and stained vest above his head, preparing to plunge it beneath the current. However, despite his paranoia, his mind was still in a much better state than it had been with his first encounter with the ‘remodeled’ beast…

-That’s right...this will lead it right to me, but…

He gaze headed towards the forest, and as his grasp on the vest grew tighter, a determined light flickered in his eyes…

-It might be the hate talking...but I’m definitely...ohhhhhh...most definitely, assuming I don’t run like a b*tch...kill this f***ing boar!

『Dude...are you retarted. Wait, scratch that, I know you’re retarted because...YOU’RE THINKING OF GETTING ME KILLED, AGAIN!!!』

Despite the furious protest from his counterpart, Fate was undeterred. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand his copy’s feelings, and the amount of danger he would place himself in by not simply getting rid of the object that had been broadcasting his location to the boar, but…

-I’ve been having my ass handed to me...for so damn long...and that old prick has always been a step ahead, looking down on me from afar…! So this time...since he went to the trouble of getting me equipment and...an opponent…

Fate walked to a nearby tree and proceeded to tear off a thin, sturdy branch, which hung close to the ground, before walking back to the riverbank and stabbing it into the moist ground. He then took the vest, and wrapped it around the torn tree branch, tying it with a familiar, bloodied vine that he inexplicably pulled from the vest’s pocket.

This vine was what Fate had, no too long ago, used as a strap, in order to keep his dagger from escaping from his grasp, though this had proven futile in the face of the explosion of mana-fueled, blue flames…

『Okay...how exactly did I not manage to notice that you had that in there? More importantly, how is that piece of trash not lying in the path of destruction of that enraged boar, and why...the...F*** are you using it to tie your pheromone stained vest to a stupid branch!?!』

Fate tied the bloodied vine tightly, making sure that it was fully secured around the strangled vest before stepping back to look at his work. However, he frowned at it, cupping his chin with his hand as he glared at it. He could still feel his heart beating, thumping in his chest as he prepared for the boar...

It wasn’t as if the vine wasn’t holding or that the branch that stuck out of the ground wasn’t holding in place, but Fate felt as though something was missing…

-This...might work, but...there’s got to be a way that I can make it more effective, right…?

[Clink!]

Suddenly, the sound of glass made Fate spin around, only to witness a bottle, filled with a wine-colored potion, roll across the ground, making its way toward the stream. He quickly dove towards the potion, grasping it with both hands, before heaving a sigh of relief…

-F***...that was close!

Fate: “Faaaaaahhhh...ah?”

His eyes now seemingly began to glow as he turned the bottle around in his hands, watching as the wine-colored fluid shifted. The fear that had restrained him now began to slowly become replaced with a new feeling, as his heartbeat began to speed up, again...

『Dude...are you by chance thinking of poisoning yourself, by chance? If that’s the case, might you kindly hand over your body to me instead?』

Fate resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his doppelganger’s blatant disrespect, instead focusing his attention on tending to his little ‘project.’

His eyes now shone with a sinister, psychotic luster, as he returned to the bound vest with a vicious grin on his face…

-Hey, ego?

『You dare speak to me after ignoring my sincere pleas for freedom, you cur?! Also, don't address me so casuall...!』

-Do you remember anything from earth about how to go about preparing animal meat for consumption?

『...』

His counterpart was obviously confused by the question, as it didn’t respond, even after some time had passed…

-I’m pretty sure that you’re supposed to bleed the animal, and then place it along the river...or something, right? Oh, crap...I don’t have a knife...well, regardless…

The clouds above Fate began to recede, exposing his psychotic grin to the almost nonexistent light of the moon…

Fate: “There’s gonna be blood on the water, tonight…~”

...