The more he sat and waited for the cub to wake up, the more anxious he got. For in the background all he heard was the gnashing and sucking of skin and meat. Truly a revolting sound…

Once he curiously took a gander back, William witnessed how eagerly Thalgar’s dinosaur clawed for the guts to spill. Like worms they splattered out on the freezing ground, emitting a thin steam.

A hand came up to cover William's mouth. Death had become a sight he had seen plenty of these days so that he didn't mind as much… And he had gutted a dead pig before... But this!? This was just too gross to look at! They were eating that thing raw! RAW!...

As he tried to withhold his vomit, he kept observing the duo. They ate, chewed, and swallowed plenty, and then, something odd seemed to have been set in motion. For somehow the growth of their hair and feathers were becoming visible? The plumage that was like a lion's mane around the giant dinosaur's head began to flourish and become richer, while the man-beast's hair grew in length. But then again, perhaps it was just William who was beginning to hallucinate from all the stress?

William used his hand to try and polish his eyes but it didn’t work. The illusion pertained, thus another question invaded his already cluttered mind: Why did their hair and feathers grow so quickly that it was visible to the human eye!?... Even as a bonded he had never seen this effect before!

William closed his eyes for some short peace while he tenderly petted Lucifer. Never once did it cross his mind to try and absorb some of Kaibalac’s spirit energy for himself. He was simply too preoccupied to notice the opportunity. Nor did he suspect the duo for being in full gear of doing just that.

After he had petted the sleeping cub a few times, he felt healed by the short ritual. No longer, did he feel the need to take a break from the chaos. Instead, it was time to leave for safety and go on a search for his backpack and scabbard!

With light feet, William began to approach the tunnel which would lead him down the mountain. His heart was no longer thumbing away. Not because he didn’t want it to. Rather, it was just too exhausted and desensitized to be told to run at full speed anymore. It was a factor that added to his feeling of being exposed up here. For whether he could use his ability to its full extent at the moment was uncertain…

The exit was near and William’s hope of getting away safely was about to come out in full bloom, when Thalgar’s voice sounded, “Wait…”. William’s whole being twitched before he slowly turned around to face Julian’s supposed rival. “Eh… What do you mean? Wait?... Wait for what?”. Thalgar’s only visible features were his sharp eyes and blood-stained teeth. With those, he conveyed that such information didn’t concern William, in a very threatening sneer.

From only this, Thalgar’s intent seemed unclear, if it wasn’t for the deadly aura he exuded! William began to instinctively back away. Each step he took toward the exit was meant to expand the distance between them, alas, the man-beast just leisurely closed the gap.

William was at a loss as to how dangerous he should read this situation… In the beginning, he found Thalgar’s tales of strength to be dubious since the man couldn’t handle Kaibalac’s followers as expected. However, that doubt quickly got wiped out the moment he realized Kaibalac wasn’t a creature of the norm. So why should it followers be? William thought. Certainly, a dinosaur that could bond not only with one but multiple creatures at once was an entity worth fearing. So… Thalgar was absolutely not as weak as he had worriedly believed… Alas, now William feared his strength!...

Also, besides the joyful fact, that Thalgar was according to the book and not another defect, William should be happy that the man appeared when he did. Because sure, he properly could have felled the already tired out Kaibalac alone with some luck, but could he have done so while battling all of its followers at once? That would be unrealistic!...

The nagging feeling William had for having his kill stolen entirely disappeared. For if Thalgar hadn’t posed the bigger threat, the followers would properly have come running for him, the moment Kaibalac landed...

In the shadow of the tunnel mound, William tried to sweeten the murderous mood by saying, “... I want to thank you for killing that giant dinosaur… Uhm… It kind of… Saved me?... So, indirectly… You saved me… I know, that might not have been your intent, since you came for Kaibalac, but I thought, hey? Is that why I must wait?.... Perhaps, you want a reward for your gracious deed? I know, I would!”. Thalgar halted his approach. This made William gleefully think that his misdirection worked.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Because the next second Thalgar started to act weird… William awkwardly lifted his upper lip in disgust, and thought: Here we go again…! Another weird thing is about to happen and I can’t catch a break! Jesus!...

It was as if eating all that raw meat had poisoned Thalgar. The man kneeled pathetically down while his trembling hands began circling his stomach. Between his many grunts and pants, Thalgar tried to look up at William but the agony was too consuming. Soon not only Thalgar but his dinosaur as well began contorting their bodies in agony. The dinosaur seemed to get through the pain alright as it had enough energy to worry about its master. As for Thalgar? He was screwed...

William looked on in horror as something obscure on the man-beast’s right hip began to mold and grow. “Is… Is he growing a goddamn arm!?”, he hoarsely whispered to the napping Lucifer. It left William blank and infuriated to see everything he called common sense get thrown out the window that day.

The deformed new arm, now dangled lifelessly at Thalgar’s side as he slowly lost himself in the currents of misery. Spellbound William stared at the man’s third arm. A mysterious addition that was never mentioned in the book… But was it really the only element that was different from the original? First, Thalgar didn’t meet the protagonist but roamed near the Talcan’s territory and now he was here… Fighting a dinosaur that was never mentioned either… Just what had caused him to stray this far away from the main plot in the first place?...

A bit more composed William was about to enter the dark tunnel again when he witnessed Thalgar collapse. Soon after his bonded partner also followed suit. William frowned helplessly, “Don’t tell me they have somehow eaten themselves to death now!?… That’s just beyond stupid and impractical…”.

Staring down at the unmoving Thalgar unsettled Willam greatly. He sighed. Happy that he didn’t have to deal with Thalgar’s intimidating aura, but also disappointed at the same time... “Just why?… Why won’t you take your role in the plot seriously!? Stupid caveman!...”, William questioned in fury.

Alas, not a sound came from the once vigorous individual. He was gone, but just how far gone?...

A clump got stuck in William’s throat at the thought of Thalgar’s death. Surely such a thing would bring disaster to the world he knew of! So, to not leave with such sickening thoughts, William got close enough to check if he and his dinosaur were still breathing, and that they were.

He thought: Huh… If anything, they are probably just exhausted from the fight. Since they gained their own fair share of injuries and bruises... Besides after a meal, isn’t it normal to get swayed by the thought of a quick nap?... If that’s the case, I shouldn’t linger but get the heck out of here!

With that kind of flawed logic, William had an excuse to impatiently go into the tunnel. A tunnel that spiraled down throughout the structure of the whole mountain. Filled with rooms for storage, nests, and more…