"Boom..."
Faint rumbling and tremors traveled through the enormous branches and trembling green leaves, reaching Hirohiko's senses. His hand could not help but tremble, causing the final stroke of the coded mark he was carving to bend slightly.
That direction... was Chiba?
But he paid no attention to the flaw in the mark. Instead, he hurriedly turned toward the source of the distant rumbling and tremors, the soft "creak-creak-creak" of quivering branches echoing in his ears.
Such a huge disturbance...
Then, his brow furrowed. With a shift of his body, he nearly shot toward the direction he had come from.
But in the end, he stopped himself.
No! It's already too late if I go now! If Chiba has truly encountered an enemy he can't handle—an enemy capable of causing such a commotion from him—
Going there now would just be throwing my life away!
I might even hold Chiba back and affect his fight, perhaps even get him killed!
The stronger the enemy, the less I can go! Don't ruin Chiba's plans, Hirohiko!
The moment he halted, those thoughts flashed through his mind. Besides, Yukina was still with him...
As the thought crossed his mind, Hirohiko looked at Yukina's face hanging over his shoulder. He lightly clenched his teeth, cutting off the last trace of his urge to go to Chiba.
No matter what, all I can do now is trust Chiba!
Trust that no matter what kind of opponent he faces, he can handle them and escape alive.
All I can do now is take Yukina back to the village safely. Nothing can go wrong! Slowly rising to his feet, Hirohiko gradually turned his head away from the path behind him and fixed his gaze on the route ahead, where faint light was already filtering through the branches.