Chapter 98: The missing wife

「Adeus sama, are you alright?」A beautiful yet emotionless woman approached the wounded Ennead Candidate.

「He's learning.」Adeus leered down at the four arms beastman corpse beneath his feet.「...I cannot continue hunting down and fighting his copies like this. It seems as if he can experience everything his copies experience and he's been adapting to my fighting style. When I fought his last copy, he was barely able to leave a scratch on me, but now, he finally wounded my arm. If I cannot kill all 6 of his copies all at once, I risk revealing more of my power to him and one day, he may even be able to pose a threat to me. I guess there's a reason he's one of the Yonko.」Adeus turned to the man standing next to him,「And what of Zaeryn?」

「According to our spies, he had left the forest.」The man answered.「Should we take this chance to kill this "Yllaner"?」

「... There's no point killing her.」said Adeus.「At this point, it seems that Zaeryn has not revealed anything to Sylvia reincarnation, so killing her would not benefit us. On the contrary, if us, the Astral, actively try to directly get involved in the affair of Esthar by killing her, it may lead to unpredictable consequences, much like a butterfly effect that led to the Second Great Holy War… Do we at least know Zaeryn's current location?」

「Yes, Adeus sama. With the extensive network of informants you have built on Esthar, there's no way we would lose track of the Anathema. He's currently near the city of Alsen in Monas Kye.」

「... Monas Kye huh? That place has been your home for more than a decade and a half… Maryana, go and keep an eye out on his movement. Since you have lived there for a long time before returning to me, traversing the place should be no problem for you. Track Zaeryn down and keep me updated on his whereabouts at all time.」

「Yes, Adeus sama.」The emotionless homunculus bowed before disappearing into the thin air.

「What about you, Teacher? What are you going to do?」The man asked.

「...Waiting for the opportune moment.」Adeus answered cryptically, then turned to his disciple. 「And one more thing: remember to keep Zaeryn's whereabouts a secret from the Ennead」

「... The Ennead? But…」The Astral, who occupied a homunculus vessel to travel to Esthar, was visibly shaken.

「But?」Adeus placed his hand on the Astral's shoulder, exerting an intense pressure that would cause a normal human to go mad.

「... Nothing, teacher.」the terrified Astral gulped.「I understand.」

.

.

.

「Daddy!!!」Tina excitedly jumped at her father as he, along with everyone in the group Kibadios rescued, walked slowly toward the camp. The weakened Yves, despite all the injuries that were inflicted on his muscular, sturdy body, still opened his arms widely to receive the crying girl.

「I'm sorry, Tina!! You must have been so scared!」The Yves father hugged the little girl tightly within his embrace, patting her head consolingly.

「I'm fine, Daddy! Maia nee chan took care of my wounds!!」Tina smiled, reassuring her father while pointing at the alchemist girl.

「... That human girl?」 The Yves hesitated for a moment, noticing Maia was not a demihuman, yet, the man quickly bowed.「Thank you, Maia dono!」

「Don't worry about it, Kuron dono」Maia reciprocated the bow.

「You know my name?」The man was surprised.

「Of course.」Maia smiled.「Tina has been telling me so many stories about you. How you fought the Empire bravely, allowing most of the women and children in your clan to escape the Empire's grasp.」

「But in the end, I'm still powerless. Because of me, Tina was caught by them and endured so much hardship these past few days.」Kuron gently touched his daughter's cheek.「Had it not been for Kibadios sama, we would probably be all taken to the Laboratory… Who knows what fate awaits us there…」

「The laboratory?」Kibadios walked up from behind after overhearing the conversation.「I see that man is still experimenting on demihuman.」

「Ah, Kibadios dono.」Kuron nodded.「You knew about Li Shimin's experimentation?」

「... Yes…」Memories of the tortures he received during his second reincarnation, as a lab species being experimented on, briefly filled the hybrid's mind, causing him to shudder slightly. 「Though, all I know is that they they were trying to create chimeric creatures or something.」

「Yes, rumor has it that Li Shimin was able to create functional, living chimeric soldiers from the Laboratory by extracting essence from the demihuman prisoners they captured.」Kuron said. 「Although I did not encounter any chimeric soldiers during my clash with them, I've heard from many refugees who have personally seen those abominations. A village only 5 days distance from here was believed to be wiped out by one of those chimera.」

「They succeeded?」Kibadios was amazed, since creating life was not an easy task.

「So it seems… You fought against that teenager who led the soldiers, right?」Kuron asked.

「Yeah, the tanned young man. What about him?」

「I did not hear it directly from him, but from all the conversations I overheard the soldiers were having, that young man was the "prototype" for the chimera.」

「"Prototype"? What does that even mean? He looks like human to me.」Kibadios was confused. Besides, why did he call me "Brother"? He was clearly taken aback at the mention of my name…

「... I'm sorry but that's all I know.」Kuron shook his head.

「Don't worry about it, Kuron.」Kibadios patted the man's shoulder.「Just take care of yourself and Tina here. She was really worried about you.」

「What next, Master?」Yuusei walked up to Kibadios in his adult form, awaiting his instructions.

「I've discussed this with Uri and others.」Kibadios explained.「Since most of the prisoners also want to get to Alsen because it's the last stronghold of the demihuman in Eastern Monas Kye, it's not like we can leave them here on their own. So I've decided to split up our group: Uri, Yue, Ryuu and I will travel ahead and get to Alsen without any delay. The rest, especially Rowan and Maia, will stay behind and travel with the group. That way, you two can help heal their injuries.」

「I understand, Master!」Maia, although was disappointed that she could not join Kibadios' group, agreed without any hesitation since she understood the hybrid's logic.

「... Can Yuusei come with Master?」The mutant hybrid asked while looking at his master with a big, wide eye.

「I understand that you want to come with me, Yuusei chan, but it's important that you stay with Maia and others to protect them.」explained Kibadios.「We have wiped out all the Yin soldiers in the region, but who knows if more would come. So I need you to stay behind and be vigilant. Understand?」

「Yuusei understands.」The mutant nodded.

「Good! And don't worry, we won't be apart for too long, it should be two days at the most.」Kibadios leaned in to kiss the visibly saddened mutant on the cheek, causing his fluffy rabbit tail to wag back and forth.

「Kibadios dono!」A husky voice spoke from behind. 「Would you mind if I join your group? I really want to get to Alsen as soon as possible. There may be a slim chance my wife would be there.」The red head beastman could not hide his worrying expression.

「Sure, feel free to come with us.」Kibadios accepted.「I hope you can find your wife there, Falkor.」

「Master, this man here is?」Maia curiously asked

「This is Falkor, a beastman that helped us rescue the captives. He is in search of his missing wife, who vanished without a trace three weeks ago.」 explained Kibadios.「He was hoping that he could find her among the captives, but unfortunately, she wasn't with them.」

「I'm so sorry to hear about your wife, Falkor san.」Maia empathetically looked at the worried beastman.「How do you know your wife may be at Alsen?」

「We were traveling there to take refuge from the Empire advances.」answered the beastman.「On our way there, we were ambushed by a group of scattered Yin soldiers. I stood my ground and fought them back, allowing my wife a chance to escape them. Once I finished off the last of the soldiers and tried to look for her, she was gone. She should not have gone too far, but I just could not find her.」Falkor frowned.「Since then, I've been hurrying toward Alsen, but on the way, I noticed a group of Yinese soldiers and their captives so I was worried that she was among them. I was trying to think of a way to break the captives free on my own. Thankfully, that was when Kibadios dono's group sprang into action.」

「So, you think she has headed to Alsen before you?」

「...Yes. Though, it's not like Maryana to leave without leaving any clue behind.」

「There's nothing you can do now, Falkor.」Kibadios consoled the man.「You just have to get to Alsen and look for her. Until then, excessive worries would bring you no good. At least, you did not see any evidence that the Empire soldiers have gotten to her.」

「Thanks, Kibadios… It's still weird how her scent just disappeared suddenly…」Falkor clenched his fist in frustration.

「... Just like how I was able to reunite with Tina here, I'm sure you will eventually find your wife, Falkor dono.」Kuron, who has been listening to the conversation, reassured the beastman with a faint smile.

.

.

.

「Brother, are you sure?」A humanoid looking shota asked. At first glance, the young man would look like a beastman since he had fiery red fur and hair covered half his head. Yet, upon closer inspection, it could be easily noticed that the strange body he possessed was weirdly constructed.「Our older brother has stepped foot onto the Grassland?」

「Without doubt... he looked just like her, too. I was taken aback for a moment.」Mu nodded

「So our brother is alive, just like Mother wished for…」A muscular humanoid man, with a monstrous looking face and two large black wings noted.

「So what if he's returned.」A monster-like girl with two red eyes smiled.「He should have stayed away from Monas Kye… Mother had given him a chance to live, yet he chose to return.」

「He was a mere infant when mother was caught. He probably doesn't even have any memories about her.」The last of the monstrous looking individuals grinned while floating leisurely in midair.

「But he knew his name is Kibadios.」Mu noted.

「Probably it was written on his bassinet.」The muscular humanoid man logically deduced. 「I wonder if his coming back is only a coincidence. After all, around here, if you're a demihuman, Monas Kye would be the place to live… at least, that was the case before the Empire invaded this Grassland.」

「... What are you going to do, Brother?」The shota asked.

「End him.」Mu coldly answered.「Against Li Shimin, there's no victory for the demihuman of Monas Kye… It's better for Mother to live, continue her role and be ignorant of the fate that will befall on our older brother…」

「How cold~」The floating monster girl teased.

「He is now with the Hyakki Yagyo so sooner or later, he will arrive here, at Alsen.」Mu stepped out of the military tent where the group was gathering.「Here, we shall put him out of his misery… He should have stayed somewhere far away. The moment he returned, he just wasted our beloved Mother's effort to keep him safe.」

.

.

.

「Hmm… there was definitely a fight here… yet, there's no blood… no corpses left behind.」The man dressed in a long black suit looked around the woods before kneeling down next to the calm pond.「Hmm… whoever killed that useless Corey must be good, leaving no clue behind. That's why the investigation team sent by the Oracle came back empty handed...hmm…」The man paused before suddenly warned「 Quit sneaking up on me from behind, will you? Who knows what unfortunate accidents may happen?」

「What can you do against me, Akaban?」Adeus towered over the man from behind.

「Who knows.」The man whistled before standing up and turned around to face a man that was a head taller than him. Unlike most others, the mortal facing the Ennead Candidate did not show an ounce of fear that plagued even the lower ranking Astrals.「Why did you pay me a visit, Adeus… sama?」

「I have a job for you…」answered Adeus.

「Hoh?」

「But you have to keep this a secret from the Oracle and even the Ennead.」

「Interesting… and what does the job entail?」Akaban licked his lips in anticipation.

「Making your way to Monas Kye and eliminate a demihuman named "Kibadios"」answered Adeus.

「You're asking one of the Six to kill a mere demihuman?」Akaban grinned.

「He'll surprise you.」Adeus assured the man.「If you succeed in killing him, then I'll grant you a rematch.」

「... and I have to keep this job a secret to both the Oracle and your bosses?」

「Is that a problem?」Adeus leered down at the man.

「No. I don't care for them… Though I hope you keep to your word and let me fight you again.」Akaban grinned.

「If you succeed, that is.」Adeus reminded the man.

.

.

.

.

Phew, lots of characters to introduce:

The "monster" brothers/sisters of Mu were envisioned as characters drawn by Arsh (again, one of the reason I wanted to write this years ago is because I wanted to create a harem of monsters for the MC, but things changed so now these monster characters aren't in the harem anymore lol). Since I can't commission Arsh for drawing of monsters, I wanted to give the link to the drawings here so you know how I envisioned them: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/75146312.

And again, since I didn't commission the drawings, I did the next best thing and novelAI generated them. These designs are not final. If I am able to commission artist (and if slim chance, Arsh himself) for portraits of these monster characters, then I will change them later. For now, they look like these (Please click on comments to see)

The humanoid looking shota (one of the most finalized design)

The muscular humanoid man (the reason for his messed up face is because of NovelAI, but please bear with me and just convince yourself it's because he's a chimeric monster lol >.>)

The monster-like girl with two red eyes

The floating monster girl

One of the six hero:

Akaban

Do you know Kuroudo Akabane from Getbackers? This character is based on him, one of the most badass and intriguing character I've ever read in manga