Grey, following his Master's order, leaped through the forest with great speed.
A trip that would have previously taken him twenty minutes only took five.
In the middle of the forest, there was a certain spot.
A spot that wasn't covered by trees.
What looked like a small crater occupied the space instead, about a meter deep.
Its surface was about 200 meters square.
There, lay the Typhoon Wolves' den.
With a great leap, Grey exited the tree-covered forest.
From above, he looked down on what used to be his den.
Pained cries echoed.
About twenty pups were standing on the crater's border, opposite Grey.
The pups were shaking.
Trembling.
Three female Typhoon Wolves stood at the den's center.
Two of them had their fur stained by red spots.
They stood silent.
On the other hand, the third was letting out loud harrowing cries.
The reason for that was...
Grey immediately leaped into the den.
It was only once his paws hit the ground that he was noticed.
The Pack's Leader, who was biting down on the crying female Typhoon Wolf's neck, let go of it.
Enraged that its breeding ritual had been disturbed, the Leader turned to face the intruder.
The female Typhoon Wolves immediately ran away and towards the young pups.
They stood in front of the pups, acting as the last barrier between them and the intruder.
Although the intruder wasn't the one they feared most.
Grey looked at the Pack's Leader with both contempt and disgust.
It was obvious that after cowering away, the Pack's Leader needed to recover its pride and blow off steam.
And the only way it could do so, was by terrorizing the rest of the Pack.
The Leader growled repeatedly, while Grey slowly approached.
The former didn't recognize Grey.
How could it?
Not only had his body changed, but so had his scent.
The Pack's Leader took Gray for the Leader of some other Pack of Typhoon Wolves.
Another Leader, fixated on taking this one's Den, its Pack, and therefore its own life.
The Leader's growling got louder, but the foe did not seem intimidated one bit.
An extremely one-sided fight took place thereafter.
***
Minutes later, a new intruder peeked at the Den through the dense trees.
'Around here?' The intruder, a white-scaled Monster, asked itself.
A devilish smile appeared on its face once it found the Den.
The Monster's Underling was sitting on the crater's edge, wagging its tail.
Satisfied.
Grey turned his head towards his Master.
'You did it, huh?' Mark asked telepathically, as he laid his hand on Grey's head.
The Underling stared at his Master.
Loud growls echoed, but they were not directed at them.
The female Typhoon Wolves growled at an unmoving carcass.
Even though it was already dead, they used their claws and fangs to desecrate its body.
The body of their former Leader.
A Leader that had turned out to be nothing more than a tyrant.
Grey turned back towards what used to be his Fen.
One of the female Typhoon Wolves looked particularly old and tired.
He stared profoundly.
Out of the three females, this one seemed to have the most hatred for the Pack's dead Leader.
That same female Typhoon Wolf, had given birth to Grey some time ago.
The Underling felt strange.
Grey knew that his Master would now slaughter the rest of the Pack.
But that did not disturb him.
The Master's wishes were too important for any lingering affection to matter.
Not only would Grey watch his Master slaughter the Pack, but, if ordered to, he would, without doubt, or hesitation, partake in the slaughtering.
'Pups and three other Typhoon Wolves, huh? How come they're not attacking?'
Mark stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes.
'Wait... Pups? Huh... Do they Evolve or... Grow? Monsters usually just reappear out of thin air sometime after I've defeated them but... Is it different on this Floor?'
Floating words appeared in front of him.
[Correct.]
'Interesting... So they're actually living here...' Mark wondered.
His eyes carefully studied what remained of the Pack.
[Your Title "Devourer" is salivating at the sight of tender meat.]
Hunger-
Immediately, the way Mark viewed the pups changed.
He took a step forward, and let himself fall into the crater.
At the sound of his feet hitting the ground, the female Typhoon Wolves finally noticed the intruder.
They growled menacingly, as they slowly stepped back.
'Scared, huh? Then, let's end it quickly.'
As Aura oozed out of his body, a crack appeared on the ground below him.
Immediately, the Typhoon Wolves moved.
Mark, who had been expecting a fight, was left confused.
The Typhoon Wolves had turned their back on the enemy.
'Just like that guy, huh? Guess you're not so different after all...' Mark thought, about to leap towards his prey.
They ran.
But unlike the Pack's old Leader, the injured female Typhoon Wolves turned around to face the enemy.
Only once they were positioned in front of the young pups, were they ready to fight.
Calling it "fighting" would be a stretch though.
'You don't want to fight... But you're not running away?'
Mark felt confused.
Every Monster he had crossed since the Tenth Floor did one of the two.
Fight or flight.
Every Monster except one that is.
But from behind the Typhoon Wolves, something made that confusion fade.
A weak cry.
The weak and helpless cry of a young pup.
'You'll only fight... To protect them?'
[Your Title "Devourer" wants you to quickly devour them.]
The hunger got stronger.
Mark took a step forward.
The female Typhoon Wolves growled fiercely, but they could not stop their body's shaking.
'Tsk...'
Mark raised his hand to the side.
In front of his open palm, a Giant Fire Ball appeared.
It was launched towards the forest's trees.
A great explosion ensued.
An explosion that looked strong enough to wipe out all that was left of the Pack.
'You'll die if you don't move.'
The female Typhoon Wolves immediately stopped growling.
Their trembling, on the other hand, only got more intense.
[Your Title "Devourer" wants you to get on with it.]
'Shut up.'
[Your Title "Devourer" wants you to...]
'I SAID SHUT UP!'
The enraged Mark's Aura ballooned up.
Multiple cracks appeared on the ground.
The Typhoon Wolves shivering became uncontrollable, as they held their breath.
Awaiting certain death, they, surely, would have run away or passed out by now.
If it wasn't for the ones they wished to protect that is.
The next second, something brushed past Mark's hand.
His new Underling's soft and fluffy fur.
The Aura surrounding Mark's body seemed to calm down.
Mark lowered his gaze towards that Underling.
'What do you think?'
Mark stared gravely at his Underling.
And the Underling waited.
'If I order you to kill them, you'd do it, right?'
The Underling stared at its Master, before turning its gaze towards the horrified Pack.
'Yeah. I know you would...'
Mark's gaze lay on the Pack once more.
'If you're a Pack, then you're family, right? Or something like that. Mm. Probably. Oh... I could, huh? Yeah, I definitely could...'
An idea popped up inside his mind.
An idea that had never occurred to him before.
After all, this Floor was different from all the previous ones.
A monstrous chuckle escaped Mark's mouth.
'I could make you slaughter your own family.'
The Underling stared at the Pack.
Dispassionately.
Ready to obey whatever order was given.
But the next second, the Master turned around and started walking away.
Grey was left confused.
Conflicted.
He was ready to fight.
Ready to decimate the Pack.
Even if that meant ending the Typhoon Wolf that had birthed him.
The Master felt conflicted too, sort of.
'They're pups. So who cares? Not much meat. Not a lot of Evolution Points. I'm definitely not getting a Skill from it so...'
ραпdα Йᴏνêl(сòm) [Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods.]
[Your Title "Devourer" is disappointed.]
[Your Title "Devourer" is starving.]
'Yeah. Well, let's look for a real feast then.' Mark thought as he walked away.
Grey's gaze repeatedly went from the Pack to his Master and back.
Why was the Master leaving them alive?
When he was about to kill them, why did the Master change his mind?
Grey did not know.
Still, he ran to his Master's side.
And as the two were about to enter the forest once more, Mark came to a stop.
He kneeled in front of his Underling, before laying his hand on its head.
'Making you kill your own family, huh? This is the first Floor where Monsters actually HAVE families, I guess. It must be this way outside the Dungeon too, right? Even Monsters have families... Mmm... I could make you kill them. But... That doesn't sound appealing to me.'
The Underling tilted its head to the side in response.
'You're my Underling now. So... You serve me, and your family will be safe. From me at least. Yeah. That sounds fair.' Mark thought as he stood up.
Grey's red pupils immediately dilated.
He was thankful to his Master, for the strength he has recently obtained.
Thankful because he allowed his revenge.
In truth, these things were only extra though.
For being brought back from the dead, Grey owed everything to the Master.
And since he owed everything, extreme loyalty was instinctively instilled inside of him.
Still, the Master has spared others out of consideration for him.
Grey couldn't help but feel both his devotion and loyalty deepen.
Even if, he were to, somehow, be freed from his position as "Underling", Grey felt he would never leave his Master's side.
The Typhoon Wolf followed Mark through the forest.
Having a Master was different from having a Leader.
Nevertheless, the way Grey perceived Mark contrasted nicely with the way he perceived the Pack's previous tyrannical Leader.
With glittering eyes, he fondly stared at his Master's back.
The Underling felt like he had now found a proper Leader.
A proper Leader to follow.
A proper Leader to fight for.
A proper Leader to die for.
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