"GRAAAAHHHH."
But just as I was about to take her T-shirt off, a monstrous roar echoed in the forest.
"....."
"....."
"Wait, Eden!" Ignoring the roar, I continued to take her T-shirt off, but she quickly stopped me by placing her hand over mine.
"What happened?" I asked, looking at her blushing face.
"Didn't you hear that sound?" She asked as she tried to remove my hand.
"There was no such sound; you are hallucinating," I replied as I placed my hand on her hot, naked waist.
"GRAAAAHHHH."
And of course, I got interrupted again by the same monstrous roar.
"Don't try to ignore it!" She abruptly stood up from her place and walked to the edge of the hill, leaving me alone.
"Am I cursed or something?" I mumbled to myself as I stood up as well.
[Or maybe Nadya is doing some black magic behind your back.]
"....."
Why do I feel like that might be true?
I mean, why the heck can I imagine her doing that shit?
"Sigh..."
With a tired sigh, I walked towards Grace as she stood at the edge.
"Found something?" I asked as I arrived beside her.
"Look over there," she replied, pointing in the direction where a bright flash of light was illuminating from.
"Looks like something or someone is fighting," I mumbled as I sneaked closer to her.
"....Let's go and see what's happening." My hand, which was about to grab her waist, immediately stopped at her words.
"Are you out of your mind?" I asked, retracting my hand, "Why would we go there out of our way in the middle of the night?"
"And what will we do by staying here?" She asked, glaring at me, but her cheeks soon turned crimson as she thought about her own words.
"So... Should we move back?" I asked, looking at her with little expectancy.
[Pervert.]
'Shut it.'
"No," shaking her head, she replied, "please don't be mad, Eden—."
"I will never be mad at you," I interjected, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Not here," averting her eyes, she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"What?" I asked as I leaned in closer to hear her.
"My first time," she replied, her face turning even redder, "not here."
"Oh, okay," I replied with a chuckle as I looked down from the edge.
"Then let's check out what's going on there," I suggested as I walked closer to her before picking her up in a bridal position.
She snuggled in my arms, making herself comfortable.
[Star Sense].
[Space Wrap].
"Woah!" Grace exclaimed in surprise as the space around us disoriented and we moved a hundred meters closer to the sound of the fighting.
"What is this?" She asked, looking at me. "You never told me how you're using space ability?"
"I've always had this ability," I replied, wrapping the space around us again. "I just don't use it in front of others."
"Hmm, you're not using mana? Because I don't feel any of it," she asked, looking at me curiously.
"No, it's not mana," I replied, shaking my head as we closed in on our destination. "It's something called [Star Energy]."
"That's a lame name," she commented, and I couldn't help but frown at her words.
"I didn't choose the name," I grumbled in reply.
"So someone else also has this energy of yours?" She asked, looking at me curiously.
"No... It's complicated," I replied, not knowing how to explain without giving away Edda's existence.
"Hmm, think of a better name then," she replied, and I nodded in agreement.
"Oh boy, what the heck is this doing here?" I mumbled, standing on a branch of a tree as I observed the two beings fighting in front of us.
"GRAHHH."
A Finner-like wolf, with her sleek silver fur and sharp, gleaming teeth, snarled ferociously as she darted around her opponent, trying to evade the brute force of the cyclops.
"BOOM." "BOOM."
The cyclops, towering over the Finner with his massive frame and single, menacing eye, swung his club wildly, each blow shaking the earth beneath them.
Despite her agility and speed, the Finner was struggling to land a decisive blow against the cyclops, who seemed almost impervious to her attacks.
But the Finner found herself on the defensive, her body filled with injuries as blood gushed out of them, dodging blow after blow from the cyclops's club.
"Eden," I glanced at my side as Grace called me, "she is pregnant."
I focused on the Finner's back, and sure enough, her stomach was abnormally bulged.
"She's a mother," Grace whispered again, her chest heaving as she looked at the dying Finner. "S-she will die."
Panic surged within her as she grabbed my hand tightly, clutching them as if her life depended on it.
"GRAHHH."
With a mighty roar, the cyclops raised his weapon high, preparing to deliver a crushing strike that would surely end the Finner's life.
"Sigh..."
With a sigh, I gently removed Grace's hand.
"E-Eden," she called out, making me glance back at her.
"It's fine," I replied with a smile as I jumped down from the tree.
"EDEN!"
Ignoring her cry, I used my phoenix bloodline to form a pair of eternal white flames wings on my back.
[Flame manipulation.]
Extending one hand, I summoned my white flames and increased the mana into it, making it bigger and bigger.
The cyclops froze mid-swing, his club hovering inches above the Finner's head, as the light pricked his single eye.
[Wind manipulation.]
Extending my other hand, I summoned a hurricane of wind while increasing my mana into it, making it bigger.
With both of them big enough, I combined them, forming a hurricane of white flames.
"GRAHHH."
Sensing the threat from the flames, the monster turned his attention towards me as he swung his club.
[Inferno hurricane.]
"ARGHHHH."
The flames of the inferno washed over it as it cried in pain, the flames causing it to stagger back momentarily, its fur burned, and its flesh scorched by the intense heat.
"GRAHHH."
[Earth manipulation.]
As the cyclops tried to roll on the ground to escape from the flames, I changed the structure of the earth beneath it, trapping its legs in the ground.
[Water manipulation.]
Utilizing water manipulation, I summoned all the water molecules around me, gathering them in my hand and decreasing the humidity of the area, causing the flames to burn faster.
"Grahhh."
The cyclops growled one last time before I pierced the back of its head with a single wind drill, killing it instantly.
"Sigh..."
With another sigh, I moved back towards Grace.
"A-are y-you alright?" She stammered as she touched my face and body, and I nodded my head.
"Let's go," I replied as I picked her up before moving towards the Finner who was on her last breath.
"Huff..Huff.."
The Finner lay on its side, looking at both of us, unable to do anything.
As I stood over the fallen form of the Finner, now broken and battered at my feet, I contemplated my next move.
"sigh..." With a sigh I took out something from my inventory.
"Eden, wait!" Grace's voice cut through the silence, filled with desperation and anguish as she stepped forward, blocking my way.
"It's the mother or both," I replied firmly, looking at her with a blade in my hand.
"Please, you can't do this," Grace pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion. "There has to be another way."
"Grace, stop getting emotional," I replied again, looking into her eyes. "Mothers don't care about their lives when it comes to their child's life."
She swallowed hard, having a difficult time finding her answer, but I knew I didn't have much time, so I pushed her aside and knelt in front of the Finner's stomach.
"Sorry."
I whispered as I used [Star Sense] to form a 3-D image of her stomach, ensuring not to harm the child.
"Whimper."
The blade sliced through flesh and sinew with precision, its edge sharp as it opened up the Finner's belly in a swift, decisive motion.
Blood welled up around the wound, staining the forest floor crimson as I reached inside the stomach.
And then, finally, my fingers touched around something small and fragile, a tiny form that lay nestled within the its mother's womb.
With care, I took it out as Grace walked closer.