The words rang in the air for a few seconds, leaving even Kael and the others surprised.
Darwin tilted his head slightly as if to allow the words to pass through very well.
"What do you mean, 'Give them my house'?
Sorry to ask this, and I mean no disrespect, but are you sure you heard what you said?"
'To speak to the leader so casually, he must also have some level of influence around here.'
"Yes, I mean that exactly.
And don't act as if you'll become homeless; we both know you own the next hut house—why not save me the energy and make it quick?"
The period of silence that followed felt like an eternity.
The blond-haired figure finally stood up from his seat, and his entire frame came into view.
Kael and Serin hid their surprise at the sight that unfolded before them as Darwin rose to his nearly two-meter height.
The long scar that ran down his broad chest became visible.
Just by standing straight, he suddenly projected a different appearance.
"Okay, come with me."
"To where?"
For some reason, Kael wasn't too keen on receiving help from this man.
The sight of this pale-skinned man made a slight chill run up his spine.
"Where else? To see where she'll be staying, of course."
Definitely logical.
But it still did nothing to put his mind at ease.
As if giving him more reason to feel distrust, Darwin turned to give Nyx a cold look.
"To be clear, what are we doing to this creature over here?"
His calm and neutral look suddenly turned slightly dangerous and eerie.
With a single swift motion, one faster than most of them, including Kael, a slender sabre sword had already been woven into existence and had almost gotten to the masked creature's neck.
Only stopped by the equally swift reaction of Eren, Nyx had also gotten into a defensive stance to prepare for an attack.
"Wow, easy there.
You didn't even let me finish."
By the time Kael and the other awakened could fully grasp the situation, Eren was already holding the tip of Darwin's saber.
'Incredible, we could have died in the blink of an eye, and we wouldn't have even known.
I guess combat-type ascended are really on a different plane.'
Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and slowly dripping down his cheek.
Instead of a cold feeling of helplessness flowing through his body, what he felt now was a feeling of his blood flowing in overdrive.
The burning sensation he felt could only be explained by one thing—the desire to hold such power in his hands and even surpass it.
Even without seeing their stats, he knew that Eren was very strong, perhaps even the strongest in the settlement, but he also knew that Darwin was probably not too far behind him.
The blade was a type he had never seen before, but the way Darwin used it showed that he was definitely no novice when it came to swordsmanship.
"Nyx, don't worry.
Nothing's going to happen."
As the tension eased, Darwin was still skeptical about this masked creature.
"What makes you think it won't attack?"
"Because she's under my control, and unless anyone tries to harm me, she won't attack indiscriminately."
He looked at Kael with a hint of distrust still in his eyes.
"Either way, she and the lady here will be staying in this shelter.
They'll also be joining our hunts to earn their share; there won't be any special treatment."
Kael looked at Serin and Nyx, and they both nodded in agreement.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to Eren.
"Thank you, that would be great."
Lennar, who had not intervened in the matter until now, finally spoke.
"Well, if all of that is settled, we'll be on our way–"
He was suddenly interrupted by Darwin once more.
'What is it this time?'
"Hey Eren, did you tell them about the tradition?"
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"What tradition?"
Rubbing his face with his palm, he replied calmly.
"Around here, people whose corruption has reached a point where they start losing their sanity—we kill them before they can become a danger to others."
'Oh, that's it?'
It wasn't surprising.
To save the lives of hundreds, killing the most corrupt was certainly the best way.
He had already planned on spending some time checking how fast Serin's corruption was spreading.
Her safety seemed to have become much more important to him than he had thought.
Which surprised him; he was never one to twist an arm for the sake of people around, but this case seemed different.
Somehow, along the way, he began to feel an unfamiliar sensation gnawing at his chest whenever he thought she could be in danger or pain.
'For heaven's sake, we've barely known each other for a few weeks at best.
I guess I've been trapped here for so long it's already affecting my sanity.'
Another disturbing thought crossed his mind again.
That he was becoming corrupted as well.
As if his hyperactive brain wanted to forget about the unfamiliar feelings, a discovery came to him; he had never checked his own essence flow before.
While looking at that of others had almost become muscle memory at this point, he had never once thought about studying his own essence.
The closest he came to using or controlling his essence directly, aside from activating [demonic eyes] and [demonic mask], was when he instinctively concentrated much of his free essence into his feet to withstand Lennar's "show of strength."
'Seems there's a lot to find out.'
"Kael. Will you be leaving now?"
His head turned in the direction of Serin.
Her calm face still couldn't hide the pain in her voice, as if watching a lifelong companion leave.
"Cheer up. I'll be back as soon as I can.
Are you really going to miss me that much?"
The silence from her end was something that caught him off guard.
Of course, he didn't let it show on his face; his expression was as calm as it normally appeared.
It was something new.
Back in the outer settlement, no one really cared if he disappeared for a while.
Even if he returned after being away for months, they would just act as if he had just left the day before.
'Oh wait, Malik would definitely notice.'
He was one of the old man's most consistent tools.
Kael stretched out his hands and held her by her tender cheeks.
"Look, don't worry about me.
In a few weeks, I'll have all the information we need for things to work."
He wanted to smile, but his usually calculating face wouldn't listen.
Her soft and gentle hands touched his, and he felt a genuinely warm sensation—one that he certainly wasn't accustomed to.
A forced smile formed on his face.
"Just stay safe with Nyx, and wait for a bit."
After a few seconds, she responded with a nod.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning back to Nyx, his usual expression returned.
"Please inform me if there are any changes."
The masked figure also nodded back at him.
"Okay, let's go."
Lennar, who was gently leaning on a partly collapsed wall, stretched before replying in a rather playful tone.
"Finally, I thought your romantic farewell would last for an eternity."
Kael gave a look with indifference boldly written on it.
"Nothing? Really? You're no fun at all."
In an instant, the familiar black door appeared in the shadow of the hut.
"Kael"
He turned around.
"They'll be fine."
He smiled again.
"Thank you, Mr. Eren. I'm sure I'll be back here pretty soon, though."
Along with the other two, he stepped through the door.
Serin watched as his figure disappeared completely and the door itself vanished into black dust.
In front of the massive gate, howls of creatures could be heard from a distance as the sounds echoed through the stale wind.
The door opened once again, and the three remaining people stepped out.
The pain from the bite on Kael's foot had relieved him to some extent at this point.
"Excuse me, I have a question to ask."
Lennar gave an annoyed look.
"Can't you just wait until we get inside and then ask all your questions to someone more appropriate?"
'Whoa, where's the jovial guy from a while ago?'
"Don't worry, it's nothing too serious.
I promise,"
Lennar let out a sigh.
"Okay, what is it?"
"Okay, so I was wondering about something.
What makes this realm so special? Aside from the fact that one can't leave easily."