Kael stared at the three of them and sighed. The problem was, he couldn't even blame them for their reaction. After all, he could see himself doing worse if he were in their condition.
So, he explained to them calmly, "First of all, try to understand the situation before acting. Recklessness will only result in death most of the time."
"I understand that, and I apologize for it, but why did you say we'll die if we went to kill that bastard?" Kiona asked in confusion.
"Are you even sure about his strength? Or if he has gathered some of his friends?" Kael asked in return. "He had a way to heal from a terrible injury by eating his own kind. What makes you think he doesn't have other ways to get stronger using similar methods?"
Kiona nodded. "That is true. He did meet a human before attacking us."
"Can you explain?" Kael asked.
Kiona pursed her lips and nodded, obviously hesitant to speak about the past.
"Alright then, just tell me the important information that I can use against him," Kael said. "But be quick."
"We don't belong in these forests," Kiona said after some consideration. "Things happened, and we were chased all the way here by those bastards of the Diremane Pride. Unfortunately, we couldn't run away this time and had to fight back."
She clenched her fists and continued, "They had higher numbers and were also more powerful because of that cursed human. He even gave that bastard a name, which actually helped us."
"How so?"
Kiona let out a self-deprecating laugh and responded, "We were losing badly, and even I was losing against him. However, the battle must have stimulated his stagnant evolution, forcing an early evolution upon him."
"That's when you disturbed his evolution, which gave him a backlash and also the temporary berserker skill," Kael guessed.
"Yes, it allowed my brothers to force me out of battle. They brought me here and looked for ways they could heal me, but..." Kiona sighed.
Kael nodded, having a much clearer picture of the situation, and said, "I didn't find any more lions, so could they have retreated?"
Kiona nodded in response, "That is a possibility, because they need to defend their home too. They must have left him behind to find and kill me."
She was dying, and her two brothers were also very weak, so the lions didn't see any point in deploying their main members for this task.
Only that one Flameclaw Lion was more than enough for the three of them… or at least that's what they believed.
'I guess my hypothesis was wrong. There was only one Alpha,' Kael considered his words and said, "Then, the only problem is that lion himself."
"We will still kill him," Kiona said in a stern tone.
"Oh, we will. There is no doubt about that," Kael smiled. "There are three possibilities. First is that he simply heals from eating those bodies, which is the most beneficial for us."
He raised his finger and explained, "Second is that by eating those bodies, he can rank up—going from D-Rank to C-Rank. Third is that it stimulates his evolution—and it is possible, since he was already close to evolving."
He clenched his hand into a fist and said, "Both are dangerous for us, because even with your evolution and my help, I doubt you can defeat him, especially since he also received a name."
Kiona stared dead into his eyes and said, "If it is as you say, and you help us kill him, we would be eternally loyal to you so please find a way."
"Aren't you already loyal to me?" Kael smiled and asked.
Instead of answering, she just lowered her head.
"Good! Then remember your words, because we're gonna kick some lion ass," Kael grinned. "It's not like we're out of options, after all."
He pointed toward Seth and Jon, saying, "Before that, I'll tame you two too, so you can get an additional skill to use in the battle."
"What skill?" Kiona asked the same question the twins had in their minds.
"Heh, you're bonded with a Dragon, not some random hobo. You receive benefits too," Kael chuckled and told them about the various benefits of being a bonded beast, like increased Soul Power and also about skill resonance.
"So, you mean we can share skills with each other?" Kiona was dumbfounded. "That should be impossible!"
Kael raised his hand, turning it into a dragon claw, and slashed at the boulder behind him. The sharp claw ignited mid-way, leaving a blazing trail behind.
His claw sliced open the boulder as three flame slashes ravaged the rock and the ground behind it.
Shaking his hand, he muttered, "It's still not enough, huh."
Meanwhile, the group of lions could only stare at the scene with jaws nearly dropped to the ground. They had seen with their own eyes that Kael had lightning affinity, so how did he also have fire affinity?
Was he a dual elementalist?
However, the most shocked was Kiona, because she recognized that skill he used. It was the same skill she had gained when she evolved to the Flameclaw Lion tier.
How did Kael learn it?
On the other hand, Kael ignored their gazes and said, "Seth, Jon, come here."
The lions unconsciously came forward and stood before him, their giant bodies looming over him.
'Alpha, what if I make the Rune beforehand and just plaster it on their heads, will it work?' Kael asked.
[No harm in trying.]
Kael quickly formed the rune in both of his hands and lightly slammed his palms onto their foreheads, imprinting the rune on them.
He then asked for their consent, and when they nodded, he once again received the notification of bonding with beasts.
Smiling in satisfaction, he thought, 'This way, I won't take long for mass bonding. Wait! That sounds wrong.'
He shook off those thoughts and said, "Just wait here and try out your new skills if you want. I'll go and have a check-up on that Alpha. My stealth is good, so I'm confident in getting the information before he notices me."
Kiona lingered for a while before saying, "Be careful!"
"Hehe, thanks, but I doubt there's anyone more paranoid than me in this world, so don't worry."