Soon after that heartfelt yet frightening talk, Dagur and I went back to sleep. I couldn't help thinking about how Knut came out to be so cuddly and kind, being brought up by a heartless man like Dagur. I understand all the frustration about his parents, but what did those innocent people do, whom he has so mercilessly burned only because they broke the prison laws? I cannot think of him the same way as I did, after that. I thought he had a heart. Now I realise I might've been wrong, after all. I guess, when so many people say a person is a monster, they indeed are one. No one would call someone "a monster" for no reason. "Kind monsters" are a bunch of crap that only exists in fairy tales.

The sun has risen. I look at Dagur. He's still sleeping, but his wounds seem to have healed a bit. He might still be hurting, though. Yet, there's nothing I can do. We must continue our way. I might've fooled Terry and his lapdogs last night, but it won't go on. I suspect some bat-vampires might've survived the fire too, even though they were put to sleep by Knut's drugs. Terry, Clara, and the other survivor inborn deviants would've saved them. If they engage in the search too, they will easily realise my trick of the unicorn blood and find our trails. We must leave as soon as possible.

I shake Dagur. He grunts and opens his scarred eyes, to glare at me. I return the same stern look. No matter he might be hurt, we have to go. His grumpiness can't scare me. I already know I'm precious to his brother so he won't lay a finger on me. I guess that's the only merit I have, in his eyes - that Knut cares about me.

Indeed, he gets up without a word, even if he seems upset. I grab the bottles of water and unicorn blood, wrap them in a giant leaf, and hang it on my back. Dagur stretches like a typical big cat and heads out of the shelter. I follow him.

The rain has made the forest even damper than before. The ground is muddy and the leaves contain fresh raindrops on them. Dagur takes a deep breath. The hideous grin forms on his scarred face:

"Now this I call a morning."

"It's already midday," I mutter.

"Hmph, upset that I didn't turn out as cuddly as you thought, huh?"

His smirk makes me as annoyed as it did before when I first met him. I avert my eyes from him.

"Let's just go."

I step forward. Dagur's limping a bit, but I don't care. I'm not giving him a hand. It's his fault he's been injured, not mine. He uses his firepower to burn everyone to bits even when it's not necessary. It's his problem.

"Theo, wait!"

"I'm not going to wait," I retort. "We have to leave. Move_"

"No, you don't understand."

His clawed hand grabs my shoulder and stops me. I glare back at him. He only puts a finger to his mouth, motioning me to keep quiet. He looks up and carefully eyes the trees. It seems he's also lent ears to the forest sounds. He even sniffs the area. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"What is it?" I ask.

Dagur freezes. He widens his eyes and dashes at me:

"Move!"

He throws me aside. A fire shot comes down from the trees and hits him instead of me.

"Dagur!"

He roars in pain and anguish - his entire body has caught fire.

"Dagur, no!"

I look up at the trees to find the source of the shot. Clara, Terry, and their canines land to the ground with the help of Ronald and his bat-vampires. The angels and the fairies follow after them. A crowd of over fifty inborn deviants encircles us. They're the survivors of the prison fire.

Some canines dash at me and seize me. I struggle to get free, but they subdue me with their numbers and make me kneel. They take my bag away and unfold it. The bottles of water and the unicorn blood drop out of it. Clara and Ronald exchange significant glances once they catch the sight of the unicorn blood. Clara glares at me:

"We've finally found you... To think that you'd pull that ancient trick with the unicorn blood! But that won't help you now. We've managed to save some of the bat-vampires, so they told us all about your cheap tricks. I do remember you, Theo Sinclaire - you're the one who caused a ruckus in our district all those months ago. Hmph, to think that a wench like you would warp the mind of even the warden himself..."

"I suspect it was rather the other way around." Terry frowns. "After all, we all know Lord van Irbisen was just some lazy trash who only slept and moved no finger when it concerned the prison affairs. The only responsible feline in their rows was Lord Robert, and he's killed him with his own fire. So much for a prideful warden... I always knew we canines should've ruled that prison!"

Terry walks up to the downed Dagur, who's barely managed to put the fire out onto his skin. He's still severely bleeding. Even his previous injuries have reopened. Terry growls and kicks him:

"Not so strong without your little brother, are you now, 'Lord Warden'?"

I shudder as I watch him beat Dagur. I'm angry at my own helplessness. Dagur has saved me so many times! I've got to help him!

I move again, but the canines subdue me. Ronald walks up to me and squats down before me. He grabs my chin with his clawed hand and makes me look him in the eyes:

"I never thought you'd go this far, Theo Sinclaire... But unfortunately for you and those rotten traitors you've gathered on your side, some puny fire is not enough to exterminate us."

He slaps me across the face with his claws. My nose and mouth begin to bleed. Yet still, I continue to glare at him and even snarl with my fangs openly exposed:

"You will never defeat us! We'll attain our freedom! Even if you kill me, it won't matter - my friends have already long reached a safe place!"

Ronald remains calm. He stabs his claws in my stomach, making me cough blood.

"It is you who's in the wrong, Theo. This is not some crappy movie you humans would create for your pleasure, displaying how a fire would kill vampires and werewolves... This is reality. And in reality, nature is always stronger than some worthless humans."

He injects poison into my body. Blood gushes out of my open wound in the stomach, and out of my mouth. I continue glaring at Ronald with the killing intent, but that's all I can do. The poison is not fast in effect, though, so I'm still awake, for now.

"You... will never..."

I cough blood. It is too hard for me to speak. I think this is it for me and Dagur...

"Worthless humans?"

The voice of a wrathful cougar reaches my ears. I glance at Dagur. He's just caught Terry's foot with his clawed hand. He glares up at his oppressor with his shimmering blue eyes:

"You've been infecting humans with your particles on your own, you shameless monstrosities... The infected humans do not emit those particles. Yet you've kept it a secret from them. Why? - Because the humans who got infected with your particles proved stronger than you. They beat you in your own game. So you, like shivering puppies and fledgelings, made them believe they were dangerous for their own society, and locked them up on some remote island, to rid them of their families and the lives they truly enjoyed. You set them against one another, just like every damn animal and plant does in nature. Worthless humans?! They're the only creatures with high conscience and virtues, you bastardly beasts! Don't you ever dare talk about my species like that!"

A horrendous roar shakes the forest. Dagur's entire body gets covered in the snow leopard fur. He turns into a humanoid leopard. He stands on two feet, much to Terry's and the others' fear.

"I've never needed my brother by my side to be strong. Neither did I preserve his life because I needed him. I simply did so because I loved him, as a human that I am!"

Dagur opens his mouth and releases an immense current of blue fire. It reaches Terry, Ronald, their canines and bats, the angels, and the fairies. All who are not fire or water elementals catch fire and scream and yell. Before my very eyes, they all turn into dust, including the ones who were holding me. Yet, the fire doesn't hurt me at all.

Dagur's jaw gets severely burnt. Once he finishes burning down all the enemies save for Clara and some fire and water elementals, he falls to the ground unconscious. I'm still speechless from what I've just witnessed. Yet, I thank heavens Dagur's managed to do that - now most of our enemies are down.

Clara, once she sees her beloved man Terry turned into dust, screams in shock and horror:

"You monster!"

She wants to blast the unconscious Dagur with her fire when I jump in her way and stab my claws into her stomach. Yet, she doesn't even feel any pain, so agonized she is. She grabs me on the shoulders and burns me.

"Get off me, you rotten eyesore!"

She throws me off herself and wants to blast me with fire when plants grow from under the ground and grab her and the other survivor elementals.

"Huh? What the hell are these?!"

The fire elementals want to burn the plants, but they are fireproof. The water elementals can't even do anything - they're the weakest against plants. The lianas strangle them in their grip and throw their corpses to the ground. Clara widens her eyes in fear and shock and struggles against her captor plants:

"Ugh, what the hell?! How can you be a plant elemental? You're a raven!"

Yet, I'm not the one who has attacked her. I too wonder who it is. But I've got no strength to think about it for long. I fall to my knees from the burn-wounds Clara's inflicted upon me, and Ronald's poison that's still circulating in my body.

"Oh, she's not the one to have attacked you, Clara Foxfire."

This voice sends me no fewer shudders than Dagur's one did. It is as wrathful as his. Clara and I both look aside, to freeze in dread - a humanoid leopard of over two metres approaches us. But it is no ordinary leopard - it is entirely black, with yellow-and-white double circles marking spots on his body in multiple places. He looks like a mix of a snow leopard, a spotted leopard, and a black panther. His eyes too contain the green, the yellow, and the blue hues. Clara shudders:

"N... No way! A feline god?! But they don't exist!"

I have no idea what she's raving about. Yet, that monster does look like a god of felines, because I've never seen a mix of three panthers in one body before.

"Nah, I'm no god. I've simply come to take revenge for my brother and my girlfriend."

The monstrous leopard clenches his fists. The plants follow after his movements (it seems he's the one controlling them, indeed) and strangle Clara in their grip. Then, they release her lifeless body and return to the ground.

The leopard turns to me and the unconscious Dagur. His eyes seem way too familiar. At once, it dawns on me - a leopard who possesses all the three colours, hence the three elements.

"K... Knut?"

My vision goes blurred. It seems the poison has begun to kick in. I collapse, right into the black furry arms of the man I've given my heart to. He's regained his human form and eyes me with concern. I black out in his grip, rested on his muscled chest.