At the outskirts of the Golden Fur Forest, where one might rarely see a spawn beast, in a dark cave, an injured beast that did not belong was lying down.
"That damned bastard!! He actually hurt me so badly I almost died. If that instinct to run and burn something important to increase my speed hadn't appeared, I would have been crushed."
Dravok looked at the dark red stone in the middle of his chest. Its deep color had faded slightly.
I guess that move isn't without any costs. Sigh, I hope this won't affect me in the long term…
Even though it has been two weeks since I became a horse in this world and killed those hunters when I lost control, this was the very first time I met a powerful opponent. All beasts and humans I met before died with just one hoof—just like the massive tiger I thought would kill me, but one hit turned its head to mush. That made me think I was invincible in this world. Now I got a real wake-up call: I am not strong enough yet…
A water drop fell down from the roof of the cave onto the head of the beast, bringing it back from its wandering thoughts.
Alright. My wounds have mostly healed, and the strange energy in my stone has recovered. It's time to continue with my plan. I now know my theory was right: as long as humans are afraid of me and at least one person is alive to spread my actions, the energy in my stone will grow stronger. I just have to be more careful now that I know humans can be so strong.
With that last thought, the beast got up and walked toward the opening of the cave. Its hooves made an eerie sound reverberating throughout, and a murderous look was engraved in its eyes as its figure disappeared into the forest.
At the same time, two figures—one in front and one behind—were rushing on the Yellow Stone paved official road toward Dark Storm City. Their footsteps were light, making no sound.
"Davis, how is your injury? Should I continue to carry you?" Ron asked worriedly while looking at Davis running slightly behind him.
With red eyes and a choked voice, Davis ignored Ron's question and instead asked the same question he had asked the whole way: "Ron, will the Captain really be alright? We shouldn't have left him alone—even the vice captain died. I'm afraid that…"
"Don't say it," Ron shouted in an authoritative voice, which almost made Davis stumble.
Ron then said in a serious voice, "You know how fast the Captain is. Even if he can't win against that strange demonic beast, he would still be able to escape. And don't even mention going back anymore. The Captain ordered me to bring you back to the city. If we had stayed, we would just have gotten in his way.
"Our task now is to go to the city immediately and report the appearance of that strange beast to the City Lord and the Guild Master, and we also have to take good care of the Vice Captain's family. We will all pull our savings together for his son's academy tuition."
The wind blew the hair of the stunned young man, revealing his reddened green eyes that now had regained some focus.
Slap. Slap. Two slapping sounds echoed on the empty road, which made Ron look back.
"You are right, Ron. We have to take care of the Vice Captain's family, and the Captain will surely be alright. He is known as the fastest notorious Chaos seeker in Dark Storm City. He might not win, but he will surely escape. He might even be behind us on his way to the city as well," Davis with red cheeks said in a hopeful tone.
"That's right…" Ron agreed, while trying to hide his trembling hand.
With everything said, the two Chaos seekers concentrated on the road ahead.
Dark clouds started appearing in their vision, showing that they were about to arrive.
..
At the same time, in Blue Stone Village, fear was spreading among the people..
"Did you hear?"
"What? Did something happen?"
"Yes, something big! I heard the hunting team was wiped out!"
"What was it done by that strange beast too?"
"Yes, even though the Chaos seekers were tasked to kill it two weeks ago, it's still alive, and I heard from the only survivor, old Theno, that the Chaos seekers almost got wiped out, with the situation of the captain being unknown and one member even died!"
"That's unbelievable! I heard the captain Wind-Blade was a powerful, notorious Chaos seeker. Even he can't deal with this demonic beast?"
Aris, a boy about 12 years old, was hurriedly running toward the Village Chief's house, his eyes red. Every time he heard the villagers talk about the beast that almost took his father's life, fear would spread through his body.
He increased his speed even more. He wanted to see his father as soon as possible. Every once in a while, a mournful cry would be heard from the families of the other hunters that died, which sent shivers through his spine.
No, this can't be. Big brother Bruno, he can't be dead! I have to ask father. He will tell me Bruno is alright. I know it!
Inside the Village Chief's house, Old Wood, the Chief of Blue Stone Village, was sitting on his chair. The Village elders and Guards captain were standing surrounding Old Theno, who still looked disheveled. He had no time to rest; reporting the situation was of the utmost importance.
"Village Chief, the Chaos seeker from the Wind-Blade Team before he left told me to report what happened to the city if I managed to survive. But I fear I am unable to carry out this task. My old bones are exhausted." Saying that, old Theno fell silent, awaiting the Village Chief's decision.
This is a horrible situation, the old chief thought to himself. The Chaos seeker team is gone, and that beast is way too close to the village. And with just mine and the Guards Chief's Spawn rank strength, we stand no chance against such a beast. Even Wind Blade might be dead. The village is in grave danger… The chief sighed heavily, worry appearing on his brows.
"Well done, Theno. You did well returning with this valuable information. Being able to survive in such a situation shows that you are protected by the Divine Knight. Now go back and rest. Your family must be worried. Hurry," said the old Chief in a deep voice.
"Yes, Village Chief." Theno, hearing the Chief's words, hurriedly walked out of the spacious room.
After the door closed, a suffocating silence spread throughout the room.
The Village Guards Captain, with a serious look in his eyes, was the first one to break the silence.
"Village Chief, we need to send someone to Dark Storm City at once to ask for help and report the situation. Now there is no Chaos seeker team hunting that beast. If it attacks the village with our current strength, the whole village might be destroyed."
The elders inside the room agreed with the Guards Captain's words, one after another.
The Village Chief, knowing that a decision had to be made as fast as possible, slowly stood up.
The people in the room, seeing the old Village Chief get up, immediately fell silent, waiting for his orders.
But just as the Village Chief was about to give his orders, shouts sounded from outside, growing louder and louder..
The hearts of everyone in the room fell.
Boom! The door was pushed open with force. A panicked village guard rushed in and hurriedly reported in a trembling voice:
"Village Chief! A demonic beast has been spotted approaching the village at high speeds. It fits the description of the beast that attacked the hunting team. What are your orders?"
The room froze.