The original Kael would never leave someone to die, and Kael now suspected that a part of him was still alive; in there somewhere. This prompted him to test out his theory, although he had hardly expected it to be the case.
There was no response and the silence dragged on, subverting Kael's expectations. He frowned; he had been certain that a remnant of the previous Kael's soul was what was affecting his actions. The lack of a response suggested that either that remnant had no intention of revealing itself or – and this was the worse option – there was in fact no remnant soul, the body itself was fighting back: Muscle memory, perhaps.
As his cultivation was basically non-existent, he couldn't access his soul space just yet. That meant he had no way of finding out if there was actually a remnant soul messing with him. Till then he would have to live, knowing he wasn't in full control of his body.
He tried to move and luckily, was able to break free after a few attempts.
He didn't walk away as he had planned, though. After all, there had never been a plan to leave the lady for dead in the first place, it had just been an attempt to test his theory, right?
If he actually planned on saving her, he would have to move fast; the forest was not so friendly that it would give him a moment to catch his breath.
There was a high chance the rest of the pack was on their way, ready to gobble down their dead leader and anything else they found. His shoulder had stopped bleeding, although it still hurt like hell.
Moving towards the woman, he took a deep breath, and with a single swoop of his uninjured hand, he picked her up.
Then out of the blue, something caught his eye: A random dried leaf lying silently on the floor; just that, it wasn't lying silently. It was vibrating at a rapid frequency, and it wasn't just it; every leaf or stone on the ground was vibrating.
"Shit."
Kael didn't even look back as he ran with everything he had. Something was coming, and whatever it was, he had no plans of finding out.
Not bothering to be silent, he pushed himself forward with all the strength in him. The vibrations became more evident with each passing second, and soon it started feeling like an earthquake, shaking him off balance. But he didn't allow himself to lose footing—that would cost him his life.
If it hadn't been for the increase in strength from the first wolf kill, then he wouldn't be able to keep the pace he currently had. Even at that, he still wasn't fast enough; he could feel whatever was coming behind him, and he dared not slow down.
The trees became a blur and the wind slashed against his face like blades. He passed by a tree he had marked, but his mind didn't even register it.
He didn't know why he was being chased down, but it was clear as day that he was being chased. Perhaps, it was because of the things he had taken from the pack leader's body, but he would be damned if he had to drop the only loot he had gotten throughout the entire day.
By the time he saw the light coming from the road leading out of the forest, he could also hear the growling noises behind him.
If he dropped the lady right now, he would make it for sure. But with something of that size weighing him down, his survival was uncertain. It was a funny thought, and it made him chuckle: this had been the exact situation the previous Kael had found himself in, and it had ended up leading to his demise. Instead of Kael acting differently, he was repeating the dead man's mistake.
It would be the greatest irony if he didn't make it, and that possibility seemed to be growing with each passing second.
It was the entire pack, and they were already behind him; multiple pairs of glowing red eyes drawing closer by the second. The rows of glowing crystals that demarcated the forest from the road were already in front of him, but that was the same with the wolves. It was just a matter of who would reach their goal first.
Just when success was in his grasp, he heard a growl directly behind him. Shifting to the side, he barely dodged the incoming wolf's lunge.
Although he wasn't harmed, he had lost a few seconds, and in a situation like this, that could mean the difference between life and death. He had lost his footing, but instead of falling and getting eaten, he twisted his body at an unnatural angle and swung the lady in his arms forward, using the momentum to propel himself forward.
He landed on the warrior lady, breaking a few of her bones in the process, and rolled forward. By the time he looked up, his back was already on the road, and the pack of wolves that numbered up to a hundred could only stare at him with rage-filled eyes.
The invisible barrier around the forest made it impossible for them to get any closer.
Up till now, Kael didn't know why he was being chased, but if he was to guess, it would be that he was marked. This was something creatures with the leader title could do. If that were the case, this would prove to be a problem, as that would mean that all blood wolves in a certain range would go berserk and try to attack him.
He sighed; it seemed that this would be his last hunt in this forest.
He lay on the road for a while, allowing his body to get over the experience. The lady he had rescued also seemed to be recovering at a fast rate; he could faintly hear the sound of her bones clicking back together.
This road was avoided by most villagers so Kael didn't have to worry about getting found out. He closed his eyes, lying on the hot paved road. Sleep came soon, and his body, unable to handle the stress, succumbed to it.
By the time he woke up, twilight was already on its way. Getting up, he picked the lady and headed home.
To avoid getting questioned as to why he was carrying a nearly dead knight he decided to climb over the town's wall, which wasn't that high in the first place, and follow the unconventional path home.