Endless.
Patches had endured the longest stretch of time in his life.
He had never felt so hopeless.
Fortunately, those people had their attention drawn to the survivors and did not search the woods carefully.
That was what gave Patches a chance to survive.
Only as he watched the group gradually leave did his body begin to respond.
It felt as though he had come back to life. Blood flowed through his whole body again, bringing a tingling pain.
It was as though a steel blade had scraped every bone in his body.
Patches gasped for breath, struggled to his feet, and ran in the opposite direction.
He did not care whether there was a path ahead. He only wanted to get away from those people as quickly as possible.
His legs were numb and aching, but even that could not stop his urge to flee.
Anything was fine, as long as he could stay alive.
Patches's mind had already gone blank, so it was easy for that one thought to fill it.
He forced himself to forget how he had just been like a mouse facing a cat. Otherwise, it would interfere with his escape.
He raced through the woods, jumping at shadows. The slightest sound by his ear could frighten him into changing direction at once.
He really was like a startled rabbit.
He had no idea what lay ahead. At a time like this, he had no time to work out his bearings.
Out in the wilderness, without a map or any attention to their bearings, people could actually get lost very easily.
Let alone Patches, who was so frightened that he was in a daze.
But his senses and his vigilance toward danger had not diminished in the slightest.
Blood!
Patches twitched his nose and realized