The Gray Monster ran away.
It was not that Saine had deliberately gone easy on it. Rather, just as he had planned to capture it alive and study its bodily structure, the little girl in his arms, seemingly sensing something, suddenly clung tightly to him.
It was an act born almost of instinct at the soul level.
Her eyes had not even opened, yet the Flower of Death behind her head trembled faintly.
Just as that Gray Monster had not harmed the girl, the girl herself seemed to harbor an obsession with protecting it.
A drop of gray mucus from the monster fell onto the girl's cheek.
It might have been the monster's tears, or perhaps its blood.
When Saine tried to rise and chase after it, the little girl held him even tighter and softly called out, "Brother..."
Saine had not completely let the Gray Monster escape, for he had seen it eventually slip into the sewer on the west side of the Fishing Village.
That sewer led directly to Blackwater City in the west. It carried nothing but filthy wastewater, along with heaps of garbage and debris.
What was astonishing was that even in such filthy water lived some ugly black fish, most no larger than a palm.
Most of the fish soup Saine had drunk these past few days had come from those strange fish.
The girl did not possess much strength. All the fish soup she had cooked for Saine had been made from dead fish.
No wonder it contained mild toxins and had such a bizarre color and taste.
Since this sewer led directly to Blackwater City, and its interior was pitch-black, oppressive, and unbearably foul-smelling, Saine had not gone inside to investigate.
He had not expected a monster with combat strength nearing Rank One