"Aaaaagggaarrrr!"
A deafening roar trembled the entire forest in fear. Cola and Tamanna looked pale.
Cola's eyes widened in fear. "Why… now? Why now of all times?!" As she spoke, a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. "Hurry! We need to escape before he finds us out!"
All of them were worried about the terrifying power The Butcher wielded.
"Can we beat him?" Gin questioned. "How powerful is he? And who is he, anyway?"
He was desperate to know everything about this Butcher guy—it seemed he wanted to throw some hands with him.
"Didn't I just tell you?" Cola's face turned pale, her expression starting to dim. "He is coming!, guys we are in grave danger!"
Then, her face twisted in realization.
"You guys… you just applied perfume, didn't you?"
"WTF?!" Gin exclaimed.
"Tsk!" Kame clicked his tongue. "That pervert's gonna come after us." He chuckled but was clearly concerned about their situation.
From the darkness, a towering figure popped out—a 12-foot-tall monstrosity with two small horns at the corners of his forehead and a massive one in the middle. His dark brown skin blended into the forest shadows, though someone like him had no need to hide. His face was that of a human, with a beard and four massive canines protruding from his maw. On top of that, he held a pair of bloodstained Meat Cleavers.
"There you are…" The Butcher's voice rumbled with eerie delight. "You can't escape me now."
Cola stiffened. "Shit… he smells us."
Gin narrowed his eyes. "This guy's fat as fuck," he whispered. "Wait a second… is he a mutant? That's not possible! How can a normal human being turn into a mutant?"
"Normal?!" She grabbed him by the neck with her tiny hands and tightened her grip angrily. She was going to kill him even before The Butcher.
"Huh? What's this?" Gin muttered, confused as he heard a faint rustling beside him.
Before he could react, a small figure suddenly pushed it's way into their hiding spot.
Gin's eyes widened in shock. "Eeeeyaaahaaa!" he screamed.
Gin's jaw dropped. "Why the hell are you hiding in the bushes with us?! Go find your own spot!" he hissed.
Gin was surprised to see her— They were not the only one terrified of The Butcher. She was also hiding behind them. They had very little time to think of an escape plan. It wasn't like they could battle a massive beast all on their own.
"This is not just an ordinary mutant," Kame was stunned by what he saw. "Are those cleavers his Mark?!"
He was something else—completely out of the ordinary. He still retained half of his consciousness, and his Mark... A humanoid mutant with a Mark—it was unheard of.
"On top of all that, his rank… it's… it's Gold," Kame's voice shook with excitement. "I really need a second core for my Level 20 breakthrough."
"Do you really think that?" Gin questioned. "And by the way, what is Gold?"
"Huh?! What kind of monkey are you?" she mocked him. "Even a kid knows what a Gold really is!"
Gin's eye twitched. "Then why don't you just tell me what a core really is, huh?!" His blood pressure was visibly rising.
"Well… huh! I am no kid!" She smirked and gave him a devilish grin. It was clear she wasn't going to let this slide.
"Shut up!" Kame's voice was barely above a whisper as he clenched his fist until his knuckles whitened. "Fine! Listen. Gold is a rank. There are six mutant ranks—Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Jadeite. Iron is the weakest. Even one or two Iron-class warriors can take it down. But a Jadeite-ranked mutant? It can wipe out an entire country without breaking a sweat."
Gin swallowed hard. "And humans? We have ranks too, right?!"
She nodded. "Every 10 levels, humans need a core to progress. Levels 1-10 are Copper class, 10-20 are Iron class, 20-30 are Silver class, 30-40 are Gold class, 40-50 are Diamond class, and Level 60 and above are Jadeite class."
Gin's grip tightened. Sweat rolled down his forehead. He glanced at Kame. "So if this Butcher guy is really Gold-ranked… we're screwed. How the hell are we gonna kill him?"
"Hey, Cola, what kind of fairy are you?" Kame questioned. "I mean, what's your rank and power?"
She proudly folded her arms, exhaled heavily, and twitched her nose. "Huh! I'm glad you asked," she replied smugly. "I am a Silver-rank Supporter."
"Supporter? How lame," Gin sighed.
She flew closer and grabbed him by his collar. "What did you just say, you dumb fuck?!" Her voice crackled like a whip. "You don't even have a single core yet!, and you think you can just talk big?!"
"Huh? Found you! Hahaha!" The Butcher gave them a twisted smile and then roared.
An intense shockwave surged throughout the forest, ripping through the trees. Dirt and debris shot into the air as a massive crater formed where he stood. shattering the ground and creating a massive crater at the point of impact.
"What a beast he is… this is gonna be rough!" Kame yelled as the overwhelming force of the shockwave rendered them unable to move.