CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36

Clayton watched everything unfold, not fully understanding Bravus’s intentions—until he realized the young man was running away.

His face tightened in frustration. He shouted, voice raw with anger, "Hey, Bravus! Where do you think you’re going?!"

Bravus glanced back, sneering as he continued to run. "Obviously, I’m escaping!"

"You... Why are you running?!" Clayton demanded between gasps, still dodging the wild boar’s relentless charges.

"To save my own life, of course!"

Clayton was stunned, ready to press him for an explanation—but Bravus cut him off with a venomous outburst.

"What? You thought we should help you? That we should die just because you have a problem? Don’t be delusional, Clayton!"

The words hit like a hammer. Clayton felt like the air had been knocked from his lungs.

"But I helped you, didn’t I?! Even if you didn’t want to fight the boar, you could’ve done something! A scratch, a distraction—anything to slow it down!"

Bravus scoffed, eyes cold. "Helped me? I never asked for your help. That was your choice, not my responsibility."

"And now, you don’t get to demand mine. I have the right to choose. It’s not my duty to save you."

"So you’d better stop whining like a fool and figure out how to survive!" he snapped before sprinting off.

Clayton knew there was some truth to those words—but that didn’t stop the sting. He remembered every time he’d stepped in to help Bravus, despite their differences. Now, it all felt like a cruel joke.

A deep sense of betrayal and isolation swelled in his chest.

But the boar didn’t care about his emotions. It kept charging, mercilessly.

Some of the others, having overheard Bravus’s words, began to follow his lead. One by one, they fled. None of them wanted to die—not for Clayton.

He was left to face the beast alone.

Gritting his teeth, Clayton fought to hold on. His body was battered, bloodied. Every breath was agony, but his eyes burned with resolve.

Unlike Bravus, who had received help, Clayton had no support. His energy had been drained from the earlier fight.

The miniature skeletons around him were nearly useless now. Their attacks barely scratched the beast, and when used as shields, they shattered in an instant. At best, they served as momentary distractions.

Fortunately, the boar’s accumulating injuries had begun to slow it—if only slightly. But it was still a deadly threat.

Clayton used the brief reprieve to think.

Why us?

Why only me and Bravus?

What did they have in common?

Then it clicked.

"The perfume..."

He remembered how Bravus had once used perfume to lure prey. This scent—it must’ve been used to bait the boar.

Rage surged through Clayton’s chest. He had helped a man who had set him up.

Now he understood what he had to do.

But in that moment of realization, he failed to notice the boar charging again. It rammed into him with brutal force.

Bang!

Clayton was thrown through the air—but he’d prepared for this. A swirling water armor shielded him, cushioning the blow.

The impact was deafening. Even the fleeing farmers turned to look. The sheer violence of the strike made their blood run cold.

Bravus grinned. Everything was going according to plan.

Xylas, watching from a distance, began to feel uneasy. He slowly distanced himself from Bravus, survival instincts warning him to stay away from someone so dangerous.

Equus looked conflicted, his expression clouded with emotion.

Just as everyone thought the fight was over, the boar abruptly stopped. It sniffed the air, its snout twitching as it searched for something.

Then, without warning, it turned and charged in the direction the group had fled.

Screams rang out. Panic erupted again as people scattered.

And then—the boar’s new target emerged.

Bravus.

Lying on the ground, Clayton saw it happen—and smiled faintly.

Earlier, he had sealed his body with water armor, leaving only a narrow breathing gap. That was how he’d survived the last attack.

Though his analysis hadn’t been entirely accurate, he was close. The boar had first targeted Bravus due to a scent it recognized—something tied to its grudge with Arthur’s group. Clayton’s perfume had only been a temporary distraction.

As Clayton rested, the boar relentlessly pursued Bravus.

This time, no one helped him.

Eventually, a grazing blow connected.

Bang!

Not fatal—but deeply painful.

Bravus screamed, stumbling. Desperate, he spotted someone nearby.

"Xylas! Help me!" he shouted.

Xylas hesitated.

"Xylas! Please! I’ll repay you after this! The beast must be getting tired—it can’t stay enraged forever!"

Grinding his teeth, Xylas finally moved and helped Bravus to his feet. But the boar attacked again. They tried to dodge—but both were wounded.

With each attack, Xylas began to wonder: Was this worth it? Should he leave Bravus behind, just like Clayton had?

But before he could act—Bravus noticed the hesitation.

Without a second thought, he turned and fired a spell into Xylas’s chest.

Bang!

Xylas collapsed, blood pouring from the wound. He wasn’t dead—yet—but he was close.

Bravus sprayed perfume on him.

Turning him into bait.

Then he ran.

Xylas’s eyes trembled with disbelief. All he could whisper was, "You... bastard..."

Bravus didn’t even flinch. "You were too naive."

As he fled, the boar arrived—and crushed the helpless Xylas.

Xylas’s final thought, as life faded from him, was a bitter one:

I should never have trusted him.

Everyone who witnessed it stood frozen in horror. From that moment on, no one saw Bravus as human. To them, he was a monster in a man’s skin.

But Bravus didn’t care. He staggered away, alive.

Clayton, having watched everything, wasn’t surprised by Bravus’s cruelty—but the ending left a bitter taste. He hadn’t expected it to be this tragic.

Eventually, his water armor began to fade. His mana was completely spent.

At first, he thought he might be safe—Xylas had become the new bait, after all.

But he was wrong.

The moment the armor vanished, the boar’s head snapped in his direction.

It roared—and charged.

Clayton cursed under his breath.

"Damn it... Just how much perfume did they smear on me for this thing to be this obsessed?!"