Chapter 22: Predator Within

The forest stretched before Aiden, a monotonous blur of green as Aiden trailed behind the humanoids. A thousand escape plans flickered through his mind, each dissolving as quickly as it formed.

Against these beings, escape was a death wish. They moved like shadows, their power a terrifying chasm compared to his meager abilities.

He has done everything he could do to hone his skills and increase his level, but he was still a fledgling compared to other chosen Kings.

Why? Weren't they all thrown into this mess at the same starting point? Maybe, he thought. Maybe there were racial differences, some races inherently stronger than others.

Aiden stole a glance at their broad backs, trying to gauge their power. He couldn't gauge their level, but he knew without a doubt they were far beyond his reach.

What assistance did they need from him? Compared to their might, he was a mere nuisance.

The severed ear throbbed as the nerves reconnected, a dull ache that pulsed with every beat of his heart, it was a constant reminder of his vulnerability.

"What race are you?" the woman's voice broke the silence. "Never seen eyes like yours – pure black, devoid of pupils ."

Aiden blinked, actually he himself never saw his own reflection thus didn't understand the question about his eyes. But he remembered reading in nursery books that humans may have different hair, skin, and eye colors depending on their region.

"Human," Aiden replied hesitantly.

"Human…" she muttered, seemingly stirred as if she had heard this word somewhere.

"Doesn't matter. Tell me about your abilities in detail." This time, she didn't bother turning around.

Aiden didn't hesitate. "Self-regeneration," he blurted out.

They already knew about it, and hiding it would make them suspicious. He had to keep his primordial bloodline a secret. These beings' ability seemed to originate from blood, and who knows what they'd do if they discovered about his primordial bloodline.

Just as he finished speaking, a sound ripped through the air, a silent whisper before a searing pain erupted. A sickening thud followed as his right hand detached from his wrist, splashing crimson on the forest floor a few meters away.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment. Aiden stared, transfixed, as the blood pulsed outwards like a living creature, desperately searching for an escape route. Pain hadn't arrived yet, but he knew it was coming. It was too sudden, too brutal.

With a dull thud, Aiden's body followed his hand, collapsing onto the damp forest floor as he desperately tried to staunch the flow of blood with his remaining hand.

A single, desperate thought echoed in Aiden's mind: 'Why?'

After a moment, Aiden furiously looked at the male hunter.

"Didn't she ask to explain in detail?" The man scoffed, finally turning his head to face Aiden. "A King chosen with such a basic ability? Did you take us for fools?"

Aiden gritted his teeth, fighting back a scream against the searing pain. Glaring into the man's eyes, a primal urge to tear him apart, to rip him limb from limb, surged through him. It was as if something within Aiden had been irrevocably violated, fueled by the arrogant glint in the hunter's gaze – a look that saw him as nothing more than a disposable insect.

Aiden loathed the glint in his eyes, his mind consumed by the urge to lash out.

Before Aiden could even formulate a response, the woman's voice cut in sharply. "Jiange, what are you doing! We need him. He will tell everything, he just needs some time."

"Then make sure he understands obedience," the man countered.

Aiden's gaze remained fixed on the man, burning with a hatred that mirrored the terrifying predator eyeing its prey.

The woman sighed, breaking the tense silence. "See, its hand is regenerating incredibly fast! I've never witnessed anything like it on our continent of Jandoria. Human, I suspect this regeneration ability goes beyond simple healing."

Aiden forced himself to speak through gritted teeth. "I can regrow body parts," he said, "even heal from poison and fully restore my stamina as long as I have something to eat."

"Anything?" The woman's voice betrayed a flicker of excitement, tinged with surprise.

"Yes," Aiden said, meeting her gaze unflinchingly.

Her eyes darted between him and the fresh meat – the severed hand – lying on the forest floor. A predatory glint flickered in her gaze. "Even... your own body parts?" she asked, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

He had known this was coming. The way the woman phrased her question – "Anything?" It had already planted a seed of doubt within Aiden what she wanted him to do.

Despite her seemingly gentler demeanor compared to the male, Aiden could see an excited glint in her. For her, he was nothing but an undiscovered experiment, a new plaything.

Aiden hated the feeling, but he had to endure it for survival.

Aiden took a steadying breath and then propped himself on his remaining hand, the severed joint already attempting its slow regeneration. He knew it would take a few hours before his hand fully reformed.

Without saying anything, Aiden quickly went back to the place where his torn hands were laying, he took it from his left hand. And without a thought he tried to bite his own torned meat.

But before Aiden is able to bite the torn hand, the female hunter quickly snatches the torn hand from him.

"Forget it! It will be too wasteful if it ends up on your stomach. I'll give some beast meat in exchange for this, ok human?" The stated as she tries to examine the blood with excitement.

The female hunter didn't wait for Aiden's approval, before she picked the hand with left hand and then placed the right hand above the severed hand.

Aiden recognized the posture – it mimicked the way she absorbed the giant caterpillar's essence before forming a blood arrow.

Time stretched into agonizing minutes until, with a faint hum, a crimson arrow materialized above the back of her right hand.

The arrow was more redder than the other arrows made of caterpillar beast blood, almost black at its core but it was only half the size of any blood arrow made of Caterpillar beast blood. Etched onto the dark red tip of the arrow were two black, pupil-less eyes.

An invisible aura crackled around it, sending chills down Aiden's spine.

Her voice, laced with awe, broke the silence. "Interesting. This arrow hints at immense destruction, far beyond the caterpillar's blood arrow. I thought it might contain healing properties, like its owner." Her eyes curiously darted towards Aiden, scanning him for a moment then quickly turned back to arrow.

×××××××××××××