"How are you holding up, Iva?" Xiao asked, his voice calm despite the tension in his eyes.

  "I'm okay. I can keep going," Iva said, her breath ragged but her resolve unwavering.

  Xiao and Iva jogged along the straight path, their eyes scanning for any signs of an ambush.

  Thanks to the Staff of Luminous that Xiao was holding, he continued to cast "Purging Light", holding the snarling monsters at bay, their forms lurking just ten meters away.

  "So far, so good. We have to keep it up!"

  Although the fog messed with their sense of direction, Xiao was confident that they were moving towards the exit and nearing it.

  The staff's glow dimmed as its mana drained, struggling to sustain the spell.

  Xiao could stop and let Iva recharge the staff again, yet with the monsters just around the corner, there is no way they will just let them take their sweet time to rest.

  With the "Purging Light" effect getting weaker, the monsters could get closer to them.

  "They’re closing in, Xiao," Iva said, recoiling as the imps’ eerie laughter echoed in the fog.

  "Eyes forward! Run!" Xiao commanded, his voice sharp with authority.

  Realizing the spell won't last long, Xiao ordered Iva to pick up speed. He felt that they were nearing the exit, so there was no point saving energy anymore.

  Xiao and Iva then begin running. The monsters closely followed behind, not giving up on them even when the light from the staff was making them feeling sick.

  After a few more meters of running, Xiao could feel that the fog around them was getting thinner.

  "We're so close! Push through!" Xiao shouted, his words driving Iva onward.

  Sensing the exit is just a few more meters away from them, Xiao tells Iva to push through in high spirits.

  Just when everything was going smoothly, they suddenly heard a loud sound.

  The ground shuddered beneath their feet, a deep, rhythmic thudding growing louder with each step.

  "What’s that?" Iva whispered, her voice quivering with dread.

  After listening closely, Xiao realizes that the loud thump to the ground was the sound of footsteps.

  Xiao abruptly signaled Iva to stop. She glanced at him, confused and worried about the monsters closing in.

  Xiao didn't say anything at first after they stopped running. Iva looks at him in panic as she wants Xiao to keep running, for they are almost out of the forest already.

  "Something is coming," says Xiao as he finishes analyzing the situation. His expression changes from hopeful to troubled.

  Based on the information he gathered so far for the past few days, Xiao concluded that something terrible was about to enter the forest. Something Xiao has to avoid encountering now, for Iva was with him.

  "Something big is entering the forest, and you should know there's only one monster that can produce such loud footsteps, right?" says Xiao as he looks at Iva. Iva was shocked upon hearing what Xiao had said, for she knew precisely what Xiao was referring to, the man-eater.

  "How can you be so sure?" Iva asked,

  "The loud footsteps, type of monsters in here, empty lair, and the footprints that I've seen all over my hunting and gathering ground. All these points are literally telling me that something terrible is about to descend into this forest." Xiao explained.

  Xiao also added that his experience as a hunter and someone who can spot danger quickly was telling them to get away from it as far as they can.

  "Our chance of meeting the man-eater is pretty high. I don't want to risk fighting it, seeing how bad the visible is in here already, and not to mention that this is a legendary monster we are talking about." Xiao explained his honest thoughts to Iva.

  "Talk about the worst timing ever. Damn it!" Xiao stomps his feet in frustration, seeing how close they were to reach the exit, only to face such a blockade just before their goal.

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  "I'm sorry, Iva. We'll be moving deeper into the forest."

  Xiao took a deep breath to calm down, followed by giving order to Iva that they will be moving deeper into the forest again.

  Iva shows a reluctant expression, but she quickly obeys Xiao's instruction as the loud footsteps get closer.

  As they turned back and ran deeper towards the forest again, the glow of the staff was also getting weaker.

  Still, thanks to the approach of the man-eater, all the monsters around have scattered elsewhere.

  ("Just how strong is this man-eater? Its presence alone drives everything into hiding.")

  Xiao thought to himself that he made the right choice of avoiding a confrontation with the man-eater.

  By the time the man-eater enters the forest, Xiao and Iva have already ventured deeper into the woods.

  Xiao plans to wait for the man-eater to pass them to make it to the exit. Its loud footsteps are enough for Xiao to tell its position.

  Xiao and Iva stopped at a specific area that was some distance away from the sound of the footsteps. The staff has already depleted all of its mana, and "Purging Light" was no longer activated.

  Xiao was using the presence of the man-eater to keep the monsters away from them.

  ("It's alright, we will just have to wait for that bastard to pass us, then we get the hell out of here. Everything is still under control.")

  Though Xiao's plan works just as he has expected, the loud footsteps have him break a cold sweat.

  Iva's expression was stiff as a stone. The fear of encountering the infamous man-eater has her shaking and sweating uncontrollably.

  "Don't worry. We will definitely get through this."

  Xiao holds her hand to calm her down and give assurance that they will make it out alive.

  Just when Xiao thought everything was going well, he noticed that the footsteps are getting closer to them.

  Xiao immediately brings Iva to run to a certain distance and stop. He thought it's only a coincidence that the man-eater would move towards them. Still, after closely listening to its footsteps, it is getting closer once more.

  "This is strange, super strange!" Xiao has already brought Iva to move away from their previous location. He was starting to get worried and deducted the possibility.

  ("Don't tell me, it senses our presence already? Even with the thick fog around?!")

  The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and the fast rhythm thumping sound suggested that it was now running towards them.

  "Xiao, it's getting closer!" Iva speaks out in fear. The intimidating sound of the footsteps has her pump all her adrenaline into running.

  "I know! I can hear it as well!" Xiao replied anxiously. He never thought that the man-eater would pick up their scent.

  ("Shit! Shit! Shit! This is bad. It will catch up to us soon. Should I act as a decoy? But can Iva even make it to the exit with other monsters around? Goddamn it! If only I have more information about this man-eater.")

  Xiao runs his brain in full capacity to develop a plan that ensures both of them will survive at what is coming for them.

  But no matter how hard he thinks, nothing comes up. The man-eater will definitely catch up to them, a fight will undoubtedly occur, and Iva's life will be in danger.

  "Xiao."

  Iva suddenly calls to him.

  Xiao turned his back and saw Iva was standing motionlessly at a position not far from him, which means she had already stopped running a while ago.

  "Why are you still standing there?! Keep running!"

  Xiao was already in so much panic that he urged Iva to keep on running instead of asking the reason.

  Iva didn't heed his instruction. Instead, she pointed her finger in a direction.

  "The path, I found it."

  "Path?! What path...."

  Xiao stops his words as soon as he gets what Iva was telling him.

  Xiao looks towards the direction that Iva was pointing. It was just like any scenery around here, all fog and big trees.

  Still, Xiao believes that Iva will never just make out random stuff, not especially in this dire situation.

  Xiao stood speechlessly for a moment, for he felt that their timing to discover the path to the village was just unreal.

  ("Seriously. Just when we decided to leave this godforsaken place and leave everything behind, only to found it at this timing, it's just so nonsense that it makes me laugh!")

  Xiao lets out a hopeless chuckle. He laughs at how fate plays them around to make a fool out of them, that God didn't care about what they had decided, for the mighty one has already set their course.

  "The man-eater—it’s never entered your village before, has it?" Xiao asked.

  "From the day I was born until now, no monsters have entered the village before," says Iva.

  "And the fog, will it still be foggy in your village?" Xiao asked again.

  "No, there won't be any more fog," Iva replied.

  "Okay."

  The option Xiao will take is as clear as crystal, for this is the only way to break through this crisis.

  Iva knows where they are heading next. Though her expression shows uneasiness, she didn't speak out. She also agrees that this is the only option for them to take.

  "Forgive me, Iva, but we have no choice—we’re heading to your village," Xiao said grimly.

  Iva didn't reply to Xiao. She just nods her head.

  Xiao holds her hand to reassure her.

  "Don't worry, we'll definitely return home after all of this. And no matter what happens, I'm always with you."

  Upon hearing what Xiao said, Iva's expression lightens up a bit. She nodded her head once more, showing Xiao that she trusted his words.

  "Alright then, let's go!"

  After making up their mind, the two of them rush towards their next destination, Iva's village.