If you go down on your knees.

"Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? Even if you are the hero, I need to remind you that you're still just a kid with no experience." The bandit said, licking his dagger as he stared at Ethan with an insistable gaze.

Ethan sighed. Slowly looking at Alpha, "Hey, this is the time to test out all I've been teaching you." He folded his arm with a smug look, "Not to brag, but I doubt a student of mine would lose to some homeless kids, so why not go for it".

"Alpha really wants to." She replied, her gaze turning cold as she looked at them,"Bad people hurt you, Alpha doesn't like that".

Ethan was a bit surprised, but that quickly turned as he began patting her head while chuckling cutely.

"Look at you, hehehe, you're all grown up now…. Hmmm Hmmm, grown up, indeed".

"Eh… Alpha doesn't like you treating her like a kid." Alpha uttered, pouting while trying to move her head away.

"Awwn, aren't you just the cutest. Come hereeee~~~~".

The bandits all watched their little interaction play out, confusion and anger both hitched on their faces.

'Are you kidding me? Is this really the same hero we kidnapped back then? Was he always this jolly?' The leader of the bandit thought to himself, his hand under his jaw while he kept accessing the situation.

"Boss".

One of the bandits called out.

"Yes?" Replied the leader. His eyes intently widened when he noticed the bandit had his bow and arrow aimed at Ethan already.

"I have a clear shot. Why don't we make use of it and put this guy down. I don't like the fact he can laugh while our comrades are dead because of him." Whispered the bandit.

The leader was quiet for a while, he couldn't help but felt a bit nervous looking at Ethan. But going off on feelings wasn't the bandit way.

"Take it," the leader issued, before stretching out both his daggers to the side, ready to combat.

"Hai." Aiming his arrow at Ethan's head, the bandit let loose on his magic, covering the arrow in burning flames before releasing it.

The fiery arrow whistled through the air, streaking towards Ethan with deadly intent.

Reacting swiftly, Ethan intercepted the attack, his hand snapping out to grasp the arrow halfway, halting its fiery advance just short of his face.

"Shouldn't have done that." Ethan uttered under his breath.

With a sonic boom, Alpha lifted up from the ground, her form charging towards the man with a snapping speed.

Before any of them could even react, Alpha had already surged forward, her movements a blur as she seized one of the bandits by the neck and forcefully slammed him to the ground.

The bandit beneath her struggled futilely, gasping for air as Alpha's grip tightened, the life being squeezed out of him with each passing second.

Slash!

With a swift motion, another bandit lunged forward, brandishing a sword as he aimed a vicious slash at Alpha. Though she managed to evade the strike with a graceful leap backward, her momentum carried her into a slide, her hands and legs skidding across the ground.

The bandit, momentarily spared from Alpha's deadly grasp, watched with a mix of relief and fear as she regained her stance.

"Get up… what in the hell? I didn't see her move," said the bandit with the sword, his confusion evident as he stood before his partner.

Alpha remained on all fours, her body enveloped in a swirling aura of mana, her eyes blazing with a fierce blue hue as her fangs and nails elongated menacingly.

The leader of the bandits observed this transformation with a single eye, the other still fixed intently on Ethan Crimson.

'That's a wolf race. Since when were they able to move like that?' He pondered silently, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face.

"Are you surprised?" Ethan's voice cut through the chaotic sounds of the skirmish between Alpha and the bandits, drawing the attention of the one facing him.

Tsk! The bandit shifted his focus entirely to the boy standing before him.

"Despite my attempts to calm her down, you still chose to attack me. I never intended to kill any of you, but now it seems Alpha has made her decision, and I have no doubt she'll savor every moment of it," Ethan remarked coolly, discarding the arrow with a nonchalant flick of his wrist.

"You know… now that I think about it, what is the Hero doing with a demon? Isn't it your duty to kill them?" Said the bandit as he pointed his dagger at Ethan.

"Kill them, you say." Ethan chuckled a bit, his amusement evident in his tone, "Humans never seize to amaze me. In as much as I'd like nothing but to entertain your stupidity. I'd like to give you a chance at redemption".

"What?". Uttered the Bandit in confusion, his brows frowned a bit.

Ethan maintained a cold gaze on his face, "If you go on your knees and worship me, I'll consider leaving you alive after you tell me how to leave this forest".

"You'll be lucky to leave this forest at all!!!" Yelled the bandit as he charged forward, his daggers on the ready and poised for attack.

Ethan smirked as he extended his hand, summoning a magic circle before him. With a swift motion, a massive bolt of lightning surged forth from the circle, crackling through the air and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake as it hurtled towards the bandit, grazing the ground and shattering trees in its path.

Undeterred, the bandit rebounded off the ground, using a nearby tree as leverage to launch himself towards Ethan once more. His dagger was poised with lethal precision, aimed directly at Ethan's neck, leaving little room for evasion.

Or so the leader of the bandit thought.

Shock hitched on his face as Ethan turned to look at him, a sinister grin twisting his features into a visage so unsettling it sent chills down the bandit's spine.