Obliterated

"Report," Elysia spoke harshly.

Roderic shuddered slightly, reluctant to meet her gaze as he began to speak.

"We have found multiple bodies of students, with most of their blood missing."

Elysia grimaced, and suddenly Roderic shouted,

"That's enough! We have to stop the hunting competition!"

"We can't," Elysia replied, her voice clearly frustrated. 

"Emperor's orders. Unless we find evidence that a monster is the cause and not fights between the students, we can't stop it."

Roderic shouted again, no longer caring about appearances.

"So what, the emperor doesn't care about the lives of the students?"

Elysia couldn't respond immediately, lost in thought.

Roderic clenched his fist as he spoke, "Can't we just stop him? All we have to do is kill him."

Elysia leaned back in her chair. "Not yet. It still isn't the moment to strike."

"So… we're forced to just wait?"

"Pretty much…" Elysia replied as her gaze shifted to a specific student's file—Zaroth.

"But not for much longer," she added as she took a sip of her coffee.

*****

"Hello, nice to meet you." The voice of the man was menacing, and just hearing him talk made everyone tremble slightly in fear.

Zaroth thought inwardly, 'We were running from a human? Not a monster?'

He had many questions but was reluctant to ask any, as just by feeling the aura of the man, he had trouble breathing.

The next moment, the eyes of the man widened slightly in shock as he gazed at Silverfang and then at Zaroth.

"You! You are a beast tamer like me? Ah, it's not every day that I get to meet someone who has the same class as me, you know? We are mostly extinct."

Zaroth's eyes widened as his heart rate increased even more.

'He is a beast master like me?' Zaroth thought inwardly as the gears in his head started to turn rapidly.

He remembered his class and the story of the legendary beast master who had succumbed to his beast's desires and destroyed an entire continent as a result.

And seeing the strange appearance of the man, it was almost like a puzzle had formed in Zaroth's mind.

'Is… has he succumbed to his beast's desires? That would explain why the princess ran away from him, bloodied…'

His eyes widened in horror as realization struck him.

For the princess to be in that pitiful state, it must mean the man in front of him was no ordinary beast master.

He most likely had beasts of at least Epic rank.

He remembered his conversation with Luna—how, despite being mythical rank, she was currently limited by the strength of his own mana core. 

At most, she would be able to defeat a single Epic beast in battle.

But what if the man in front of Zaroth had multiple Epic beasts?

He shuddered at the thought. It would mean that Luna would not be able to keep him safe.

Suddenly, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time,

True fear.

It seemed he had grown arrogant, always having Luna by his side.

For the first time, he was facing a danger where he could very likely end up dead.

Not wanting to appear fazed, Zaroth spoke, trying to hide the fear in his voice,

"Can I ask why you are following us, good sir?"

Behind him, Roran had already made his swords float around him, Zack had summoned his blood sword, and Lily had extended both of her arms, ready to fire a spell at a moment's notice.

Silverfang was showing his teeth, and Zaroth had tightened his grip on his sword as much as he could.

Everyone was nervous and scared of the man in front of them.

"Well… you see, as you are a beast master, you might understand—unlike the others…" the man began as he raised his arms to the side. 

As he spoke, his voice carried a dangerous edge.

"I had a gift. I was able to tame Epic beasts… but once the word got around, they tried to execute me. Do you know why? Because they thought I would bring danger to the people!"

The man was clearly frustrated as he spoke.

"They didn't even want to give me a chance! Everyone was scared that I would succumb to my beast's desires, which wasn't going to happen! There was no way I was going to lose to them that easily...

But you see…"

The smile faded from his face.

"Even my parents—the people who are supposed to support you in the loneliest times—looked at me like I was a monster. And in that moment, my thoughts aligned perfectly with my beasts... I really wanted to kill them."

He shouted as a massive grin appeared on his face.

"I killed them all! I wouldn't have done it if they had given me a chance! But they didn't, and now they're dead. Oh, the feeling of killing them was unlike anything I had ever experienced! Such pleasure is impossible to describe."

Zaroth cursed inwardly, 'Fuck! He has killed his own parents?! This psycho is beyond help!'

The man gaze returned to Zaroth's group.

"I am chasing that feeling again. So I wonder, if I kill you, will I feel it again?"

Everyone shuddered and began to move, but it was too late.

Suddenly, a great beast, larger than any house and with three heads, appeared. It slashed so fast it was impossible to see with the naked eye.

In a split second, Zack was beheaded.

But the beast didn't stop there. Its tail moved, hitting Roran straight in the chest.

Roran moved the swords floating around him as well as his arms, trying to block the attack, but as the swords and his arms broke. He was sent flying, coughing blood violently.

A gigantic bird-like creature with metallic feathers materialized as it flew with staggering speed and pierced Lily's abdomen with its giant beak. The wind it created with its wings sent Silverfang flying to the side.

And then, the man himself suddenly moved so fast it looked like he teleported.

One moment he was far away, the next, he appeared right before Zaroth and used his fist to hit him with devastating power.

Zaroth's ribs broke, with some of them piercing his organs. He was sent flying through the air, only to collide with a nearby tree, breaking even more bones on impact.

He collapsed on the ground, unable to breathe, bleeding from every possible hole he could have.

And just like that, in the span of a split second, Zaroth's squad was completely and utterly obliterated.