Kenji blinked.
"...Up?"
"There are levels above this one."
Kenji's heartbeat quickened.
Levels.
So this world really was layered somehow.
"How many?"
"I do not know all of them."
That answer made sense.
And yet it made the world suddenly feel larger in a way Kenji hadn't been ready for.
He was not just trapped in a bad place.
He was trapped at the bottom of something much bigger.
Kenji let out a quiet breath.
"So if I keep climbing, I can leave the lower grounds?"
"If you survive."
That part was expected.
Kenji rubbed the side of his neck and looked away for a second.
Then, without warning, Vargan's head turned sharply to the left.
Kenji noticed the shift instantly.
"What?"
Vargan's voice dropped even lower.
"They are here."
The moment he said that, Kenji felt it too.
Movement.
Multiple.
Fast.
Coming from the mist behind him.
He turned.
Shapes were approaching.
Not one.
Not two.
A pack.
The first thing that burst from the mist was shaped like a wolf, but bigger than the one Kenji had fought before, with bone jutting from its jaw and shoulders.
The second rushed low to the ground on six limbs.
The third was tall and thin with a mouth that opened down to its chest.
More followed behind them.
All of them were charging straight toward the clearing.
Straight toward Vargan.
Or maybe toward both of them.
Kenji grinned automatically.
Then he caught himself.
His hand twitched.
Vargan did not move.
"They smelled blood," Vargan said.
Kenji rolled his shoulders.
"Good."
The first wolf-like beast lunged.
It never reached them.
Vargan stepped forward once and swung his arm.
That was it.
The beast exploded.
Not metaphorically.
Its body burst apart midair, flesh and bone scattering across the clearing like wet debris.
Kenji's grin vanished.
"...What the hell?"
The six-limbed thing leaped next.
Vargan caught it by the skull and crushed its head in one hand.
The tall one with the split mouth came in from the side.
Kenji moved on instinct to intercept it—
but before he reached it, Vargan slammed a foot down.
The ground cracked.
A violent shock ran outward.
The creature's legs broke on impact, and it collapsed with a shriek.
Vargan seized it and ripped it in half.
Silence.
For half a second.
Then the rest of the pack hesitated.
Kenji stood still, staring.
This was different.
Completely different.
The things Vargan killed were stronger than many of the creatures Kenji had been eating lately.
And Vargan had erased them like they were nothing.
Not struggle.
Not battle.
Nothing.
Just overwhelming force.
One of the remaining creatures tried to turn and run.
Vargan opened his mouth and let out a roar.
It was the same roar Kenji had chased.
The red mist shook.
The fleeing creature froze.
Its body convulsed.
Then it collapsed face-first into the ground and stopped moving.
Kenji stared.
His excitement had disappeared.
In its place was something colder.
A clear understanding.
If Vargan wanted him dead, he would already be dead.
Vargan turned back to him.
"Now you understand."
Kenji hated that he did.
He clicked his tongue.
"...Yeah."
The clearing smelled even more strongly of blood now.
The hunger inside him stirred.
But this time, it felt quieter.
Smaller.
Not gone.
Just overshadowed.
Vargan stepped aside.
"Eat if you want."
Kenji looked at the fresh corpses.
Then at Vargan.
"...You're just letting me?"
"Growth is growth."
That answer was so blunt that Kenji almost laughed.
Instead, he walked toward one of the corpses slowly.
He crouched beside it.
Its flesh was still warm.
Still alive enough.
He bit into it.
The taste hit hard, but even as it did, part of his attention stayed on Vargan.
Watching him.
Measuring him.
Kenji swallowed.
Then took another bite.
As the heat spread through his body, he looked up.
"Hey."
Vargan looked at him.
"If I want to go up..."
He wiped blood from his mouth.
"I need to get stronger first, right?"
Vargan's answer came without hesitation.
"Yes."
Kenji stared at the corpse below him for a second.
Then grinned.
This time, the grin was smaller.
Sharper.
Less wild than before.
"Alright then."
He tore off another piece of flesh.
"Looks like I'm not done hunting yet."