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Esdeath sat happily by the massive bonfire, munching on her roasted meat with obvious delight.
Venom sat beside her, lost in thought for a while before finally raising his head to look at her. Slowly, he spoke.
"Esdeath."
The moment she heard her name, Esdeath froze mid-bite. Her blue eyes widened in surprise—this was the first time he'd ever called her by name.
"You're strong enough now to protect yourself," Venom said evenly. "So in a couple of days, I'm planning to leave. I want to see what the outside world is like."
He felt he'd stayed here long enough. It was time to move on, to visit new regions and put his plans into motion. According to the middle-aged hunter's description, somewhere out there lurked a terrifyingly dangerous species. Venom wanted to see it for himself—and if he was lucky, he'd get its blood.
After all, in the original story, Esdeath only became this powerful by drinking the blood of a dangerous beast.
Saeko Busujima was already a formidable fighter in this world, but when faced with an Imperial Arms wielder, her strength alone might not be enough. If she could drink that blood too, she'd gain the kind of power they needed.
"Why leave?" Esdeath asked, confused. "Isn't it good here?"
She truly didn't understand. To her, life here was perfect: her father, her tribe, Venom, the daily hunts she loved, sparring matches, playing around, eating roasted meat together—wasn't that happiness?
"Well… how should I put it? You're still young. You'll understand once you're older."
Venom sighed. It wasn't something he could explain in detail. With time, she'd come to understand on her own.
"Then… will we see each other again?" Esdeath asked softly.
"That depends on fate," Venom replied, his tone calm but distant. "If we're meant to, we'll meet again. If not… then that's just how it is."
But deep down, he knew. Once she headed for the Empire, their paths would cross again, without a doubt.
"Okay…" Esdeath lowered her head and nodded quietly.
The air grew heavy between them. Neither spoke another word until Esdeath finally walked away, leaving the night awkwardly silent.
The next morning, when she came to find him, Venom was already gone.
"…Liar." she whispered.
Deep within a sprawling forest, Venom darted between the trees before finally coming to a halt.
"…Right. Where the hell am I?" he muttered, looking around at the endless maze of trunks and foliage.
After Esdeath left last night, he'd thought for a while, then set off immediately. He didn't have a destination—he just walked in whichever direction seemed to have less snow, until eventually he stumbled into this massive forest.
He'd been wandering for over ten minutes now, and the trees still stretched on forever.
"Guess I've got no choice but to keep moving." He shook his head with a sigh.
Just then, the ground in front of him bulged, and a huge man-eating plant burst out, its maw lined with gleaming fangs. It lashed its vines wildly, snarling like some nightmarish monster.
But Venom, lost in thought, barely noticed. He walked straight ahead and stomped it flat in one step. Green fluid splattered across the forest floor.
He only realized something had been off a few steps later, but shrugged it off and kept going.
High above, a massive serpent slithered across a tree branch, its scaly body armored like plated steel. Its forked tongue flicked out as its cold eyes fixed on Venom below. Slowly, silently, it crept closer.
Venom, hearing something shift behind him, turned his head in confusion.
That was all the serpent needed—it lunged, coiling its powerful body around him in an instant.
Wrapped tight in its crushing grip, Venom gazed at the snake's head as it hissed in his face, fangs bared.
The serpent struck, sinking its venomous teeth deep into him—only for Venom's body to melt into liquid black. The snake tumbled to the ground, stunned.
Just as it tried to slither away, a black hand shot out from the puddle, seizing it in an iron grip. The liquid surged upward, re-forming into Venom's towering figure.
He dangled the giant serpent in his hand, then casually bit into it like a snack before continuing on his way.
The forest was crawling with dangerous beasts. The small ones he crushed with a kick, the weak ones he flattened with a punch. After countless encounters and endless trudging, he finally broke free of the treeline.
What lay before him was a shabby little town, poor and weathered—but unmistakably human.
"....."