Chain Of Tragedies (2)

The once beautiful landscape with short verdant grass—perfectly trimmed by the gardeners—along with beautiful bushes surrounding the stone walls, were now drenched with the blood of the servants. So was the stone pathway—once spectacular—now stained with blood, and littered with corpses.

There were servants all scattered across the estate—fleeing from individuals who donned a crimson red robe, and used sickles as their choice of weapon.

Screams and cries for help made Dilet feel sick to the stomach. But most importantly—he was glad that Tain didn't have to see, hear, or smell this sickening environment he was within.

Elena on the other hand looked…emotionless. While Dilet could sense that she was barely keeping her emotions stabilized, as her aura were leaking out from her body—making her exude a faint glow.

She had a…blank face to say the least—as if her mind was somewhere else, trying to distract her from the harsh reality she was living in.

"...Let's continue." She murmured—while looking pitifully at the corpses.

"...Alright." Dilet agreed.

The both of them followed the pathway, while carefully avoiding the corpses that impeded their journey—as well as people trying to kill them—they soon managed to exit the estate without much issues—other than perhaps being mentally exhausted from everything they had gone through so far.

As the both of them continued to follow the pathway—they soon saw a stone bridge that served as a connection between the outside world, and Duke Gide Aried Polarias's estate.

A sigh of relief escaped from Dilet's throat—while Elena couldn't help but to feel something wrong. It was…way too easy—how they managed to make it this far without getting reasonably injured.

Duke Gide Aried Polarias's estate is located in the south—situated amidst the mountains, trees, and canyons.

In order to access the estate—one must cross the bridge that was built for the purpose of crossing the canyon.

"Let's get across now. While there's nothing to interrupt-"

A loud, blood curdling growl could be heard coming from the forest—hindering Dilet from finishing his sentence.

The ground trembled immensely—as both Dilet and Elena could sense something coming at them at a high velocity.

Trees began to take to the sky—as a beast—standing at least 20 meters tall—emerged from the forest.

The beast had a large, sharp, vicious set of teeth—along with a body and a head that resembled a crocodile in some sort of way, albeit the head looking a bit crooked.

Dark hair-like appendages covered its whole body—giving it some sort of protective layer. It was quadrupedal with its two pairs of legs resembling that of a mixture between a triceratops and a bear—thick, wide and having sharp claws.

It also had a long, girthy tail that was covered in large spikes that gradually decreased in size the closer it was to the tip of its tail.

Saliva was also dripping from the beast's mouth—disintegrating anything the saliva came in contact with.

Elena and Dilet were stunned by the beast's sudden appearance. It clearly didn't belong here. But how, and why was it here? Was it being manipulated by the preparators who caused the estate to be engulfed in chaos?

The beast let out a blood curdling roar—deafening both Elena and Dilet as the birds soaring in the sky started to plummet back onto the ground from the beast's roar.

After that roar—Elena had already considered the beast a threat. However, before she could strike the beast—its tail had already fling her a few meters backwards.

The beast then redirected its attention towards Dilet—as it rushed towards Dilet with maximum speed immediately.

The beast didn't need to build its velocity. It could already go as fast as its body could handle—without taking time to gradually increase its momentum—resembling how a cockroach can achieve their maximum momentum without any prior movements.

Dilet barely dodged the beast's sudden rush by leaping in the air—but he was quickly put down as the tail of the beast whacked him back onto the ground—as if it had a mind of its own.

Due to the beast's sudden strike—Dilet had lost grasp over the unconscious Tain, as he tumbled on the ground.

Tain awoke from his once blissful dream—feeling a surge of pain rampaging through the right side of his body.

"W…What happened…?" Tain mumbled, attempting to comprehend his current situation.

His eyelids faintly quivered, as it took a few seconds for Tain to assess his current situation. Tain felt a sense of hopelessness, as he saw the beast trying to stomp him and his brother to death.

Thankfully, Elena came to rescue the pair of brothers just in the nick of time—snatching both of them away from the beast.

"B-brother…w-what is that?" Tain asked—his eyes widening as the beast glared at the three of them.

"A monster." Dilet answered. "A strong one too." Elena added.

"T-Then…i-is there anyway I can…help?" Tain asked while looking at them with his puppy eyes. His body trembled slightly—which was noticed by Dilet almost immediately.

Tain wanted to help them—even if it's just minimal—so that he wouldn't get thrown away like his aunt did to him after taking him under her custody—only to exploit him, and take away more than 95% of his heritage in his past life, before abandoning him at her old apartment.

'Please…I don't want to be thrown away again…'

Dilet smiled at his brother and said "Don't worry. Just hide in the meantime. The monster will be a piece of cake for brother and teacher."

Patting Tain on his head, Dilet continued "After this, we both can have sweets as usual, okay?" as he reassures Tain.

Although hesitant, Tain decided to trust his brother's words, and nodded—before running away from them as he would only be a hindrance.

"It's a good day to die isn't it, teacher?" Dilet spoke somberly.

"...You really have matured." Elena mumbled, as she recalled when Dilet first became her disciple—causing her lips to curve into a smile.

"Yes. It's truly a great day to die." Elena agreed.

Elena tossed her sword to Dilet—as she materialized one using her aura—resembling a broadsword, but made of clear, orange-like material that gave off a faint glow.

"You can use my broadsword, right Dilet?"

"Of course I can. Just who do you think I am, teacher?" Dilet said with a smirk.

"An incompetent cryba-"

"Arcadia's top graduate." Dilet intercepted.

The both of them talked like old friends, rather than a master and student relationship.

Elena chuckled, before continuing. "Alright. That's enough of our meaningless charade."

"Yeah. Let-"

"Kill that monster right now." They both spoke in unison, as they rushed at the motionless beast.

...