Little White mentally facepalmed himself; he had forgotten to ask its name. Anyway, he didn't plan to tell her in the first place.
"If you don't get dressed now, we will have to fight naked again," he threatened.
Olivia hissed at his words, snatching the clothes before using her stick to stand up. She shot him one last glare before disappearing behind a tree.
Little White scoffed. "It's not like I haven't seen it before." He rolled his eyes inwardly. She didn't even smile. Now he wasn't getting a reward. His eyes threw daggers at the tree she was hiding behind.
"Did you say something?" Olivia's voice echoed from behind the tree. She had heard something, but it wasn't clear.
"No," he answered before he began to wear his.
Olivia's brows knitted together at his reply. She let out a deep sigh before wearing her pants. Every movement of her body was a battle between her endurance and pain.
Meanwhile, Little White flipped the clothes around, unsure of how he should wear them. After some trial and error—on his first try, he had both his legs in one side of the pants; on his second attempt, he had worn them backward; on his sixth attempt, he managed to successfully wear the pants.
"You are not done?" Olivia asked as she limped towards him. Little White shook his head, his hand shyly scratching at the back of his head.
"So dumb," she muttered before showing him the right way to wear them.
"I will pack the meat in the bag." With that, she took the backpack. She headed towards where she had massacred the monster's carcass. She began to pack the meat inside. She took as much as was needed. She knew packing too much would slow them down, as it would be an extra burden. Her green eyes locked on its red core.
She hesitated, her hand frozen midway above it. Deep down, she wanted to consume it to regain her powers again.
She was unsure of how her body would react. The last time she consumed an SS core, she had regressed drastically to the lowest level. This was a gamble. She might lose her life if anything went wrong during the process of consuming it.
Meanwhile, Little White had an uneasy feeling pooling at the bottom of his stomach. Instinctively, he crouched on his knees, one of his hands on the earth. His eyes closed as he tried to pick a signal from the ground.
His eyes shot open. "Let's go, Olivia. They are almost here."
Olivia quickly put the core into the backpack. Little White ran towards her. He collected the bag from her before crouching to his knees.
"I can walk," she refused.
"Olivia, if we are caught, I can't promise you that we will make it out alive," he warned. "Now get on my back." His voice sounded more like a command.
Olivia wanted to protest, but she knew her state. 'Fine, I will let him win today.' She climbed on his back.
A grimace escaped from her lips.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm ready."
Little White secured the backpack to his front. "Hold on tight." Saying that, he blurred through the forest, heading towards the north, which was opposite to where the Bloodfang Monster came from.
The wind whipped against their faces. Olivia could not see where they were heading; everything was passing too fast for her to make anything out. Soon, they headed towards a rocky terrain, which slowed down their pace, as Little White had to jump over some rocks.
Olivia's hand tightly clung to his neck, as if she was clinging to life. Soon, the smell of burning earth filled their nostrils. The air felt dry, as if all its water had been sucked out of it.
In front of them was a barren wasteland with crackling vein lines of fiery red fire, and gasps escaped their lips when fire suddenly shot up from the ground before returning back. But its surface was covered with earth and vein lines again.
Another fire shot again from a different place before returning to the earth again. The surface returned to its weird state again. Cold sweat trickled down Olivia's face. There was no way they could pass the land safely. The eruption of the fire was random; it could not be predicted. And the earth covering its traces made everything impossible.
Their gaze locked on the wasteland. They knew that it was a dead end, but they couldn't turn back now.
"What should we do?" Little White asked as his calculative eyes looked around the terrain. The sun was setting now. This was a disaster of the highest order.
The ground trembled beneath them, dust rising in the air like a warning. They swayed slightly from its impact. Olivia's breath came in short gasps, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. She could feel the sheer force of the creatures approaching—an unstoppable wave of death.
The creature's mandibles twitched as if tasting the air, its sharp claws carving deep grooves into the earth with every step. Its minions snarled, their glowing eyes filled with primal hunger. The air thickened with the scent of decay. This wasn't just a hunt—it was an execution.
"They are here."
Little White's cold voice echoed through the air. From afar, a silhouette could be seen. It was a creature with a tiger's body, but it was eight times bigger. Its body had no fur but black, lustrous skin. On its back were bony spider legs. Its black eyes held intelligence and ancient wisdom. And in front of it were its minions, running with the speed of light towards them.
Olivia felt cold goosebumps forming around her body. If she were standing, she believed she would already be on the ground, shivering from fear.
"Let's head towards the Wasteland." Her hand shakily wrapped around Little White's neck. The ground began to rumble more as the monsters came closer.
Cold sweat dripped down her spine. There was no way out—but going back meant death. If they hesitated for even a second…
"Run," Olivia yelled.