Dawn broke, and low growls still echoed in front of the camp, though much weaker now.
As the sun rose, bathing the land in light, Haizaki Shogo, Nash, and Falke could finally see the scene clearly.
A massive male lion had fallen into the large pit trap Falke had set in front of the camp. The sharp spikes of the trap had pierced its belly, pinning it inside.
But the trap was shallow. The lion crouched low in the pit, its massive head protruding above the edges.
A colossal head, a pair of cold, amber-brown eyes, stared at the three men, letting out deep, rumbling growls from its throat.
"What do we do now? Call someone?"
"I don't know… should we go check it out?"
Falke spoke first, instinctively thinking of calling for help.
Nash followed, considering stepping out to see the lion's condition but hesitating—afraid of the danger.
At that moment, hearing Nash, Shogo's mind lit up with a wild thought he couldn't resist.
"Hey hey hey!! My two brothers, don't you want to be dragon-slaying heroes?"
"Dragon-slaying heroes? What do you mean?"
"Dragon-slaying heroes? You're crazy!"
Nash was the first to fully grasp Shogo's meaning. His heart raced. How did a complete madman end up by his side?
"Hehe!! I'm not crazy. Ask yourself—don't you want to hunt this lion?"
Shogo's words were deliberate: he wanted to pull Nash into hunting the injured lion. Nash's earlier comment—"we should go check it"—had already revealed his most primal desire.
"I…"
"Are you going or not? One word."
"Let's go!"
Seeing Shogo with a spear and Nash with a machete, both ready to leave the camp and hunt the trapped lion, Falke, slow to react, finally snadpped out of it.
"My god, brothers, what are you doing? Wait for me—I want to be a dragon-slaying hero too!"
Falke, not missing a beat, drew his bow and followed behind Nash. The three moved cautiously toward the trap.
The crouching lion growled and bared its teeth, trying to intimidate the approaching humans.
But the humans, seemingly insane, kept closing in. Falke released an arrow, which sank deep into the lion's back.
At less than two meters from the lion, Shogo stopped, feeling the raw ferocity and terrifying growls emanating from the predator.
Every cell in my body is trembling, Shogo thought. Death is here, unexpected and immediate.
A flood of fear and terror, reminiscent of the moment before his death in his previous life, washed over him.
But this time, he refused to die. I still have so much to do—so much left undone.
A surge of defiance welled up like a spring in his heart. Shogo seemed to roar, venting all his unwillingness and rage.
The latent ferocity and bloodlust in him bloomed, and he became increasingly determined and powerful.
Gray electricity shimmered. A door opened within him, and a fierce aura erupted. Shogo lunged with his spear, and before Nash or Falke could react, he thrust it forward.
The spear drove deep into the lion's mouth, tearing a massive hole in its jaw.
The lion roared in pain, its ferocity spiking. In a sudden surge of madness, it rose despite the spikes in its belly and lunged at Shogo.
The spikes cut a deep gash in its abdomen, and Shogo, anticipating the attack, angled his spear.
"Fuck!"
"Oh shit!"
With the two exclamations, the lion leapt and pinned Shogo beneath its weight.
But the long spear had already pierced its skull—like a colossal blade breaking through the earth, it pierced the lion's brain.
The lion was dead. Absolutely, completely dead.
Falke, horrified, trembled and released an arrow that sank into the lion's back—but the lion did not react.
Nash was quicker. Raising his machete, he struck the lion's skull to prevent any final deadly counterattack.
A pair of glowing, rotating "Belial Eyes" constantly scanned the lion's body, calling out Shogo's name.
Shogo, pinned under the lion, wriggled his hands. Nash and Falke immediately noticed and together pushed the massive body aside, freeing him.
In truth, Shogo had not been crushed, but he had nearly suffocated.
"Shogo, you're insane! You're completely insane!"
"My brother, you're so crazy that even Falke can't believe it. Oh God! Shogo… are you sent to save the world?"
"Huff! Huff!"
Shogo drew deep breaths, the suffocation having been worse than any beating he'd endured. He vowed never to experience that terror again.
Once he recovered, he grinned at Nash and Falke, half-smiling, half-serious.
"How's it feel, brothers? Being a dragon-slaying hero?"
"…Amazing. My heart's racing—I feel like it might jump out of my chest."
"This feeling… it's intoxicating. Crazy and exhilarating."
Shogo realized both Nash and Falke shared his thrill-seeking, adventurous heart.
"Now, what about this lion? If we don't handle it, hyenas will come at night."
"I'll take care of it. You get the leopard skin; I want the lion's skin. The lion's heart is for Falke."
Nash spoke, already grabbing his machete and beginning to skin and dismember the lion.
"Ha ha ha, I don't care. I just wonder if we can take this stuff out of Africa."
Falke, experienced, calmly explained:
"Brother, it's simple. We just hand it over to the authorities, and it's no problem at all."
Once Nash finished, the three carried the lion's corpse and threw it far away.
Returning to camp in the afternoon, they rebuilt the fire and started roasting meat and making soup.
A night of high tension and a day of life-and-death struggle had left Shogo utterly exhausted.
After finishing the meat and some broth, he lay down in the camp and fell asleep.
When he woke, stars blanketed the sky. He didn't even know the time.
Nash sat by the fire, staring into the dark beyond the camp, lost in thought.
Shogo got up and joined him, starting a quiet conversation.