Chapter 25: The Beast That Should Not Exist
The battle should have been simple.
At least, that was what the warriors had believed when they first arrived.
A beast surge was dangerous, yes—but it was something the bloodlines had dealt with for generations. Hold the line. Protect the villagers. Drive the beasts back into the wild.
That was the pattern.
But tonight, the pattern felt wrong.
The beasts were not retreating.
They kept coming.
Across the burning fields, shadows moved through the tall grass, more creatures slipping into the village with low snarls and flashing teeth.
Tarek Mensah's iron storm ripped through several of them at once, shards of metal tearing through fur and muscle. The beasts fell, but even as they dropped, others rushed forward.
"They're not slowing," one of the instructors shouted.
"They're not thinking," another replied grimly.
That was the problem.
Normal beasts fought with instinct. They tested a defense, looked for weakness, then fled once the fight turned against them.
These ones fought like they had nothing to lose.
Nearby, Kairo Owase tore his claws across the flank of a massive grey creature. The beast howled and staggered, but instead of retreating it lunged again, jaws snapping wildly.
Kairo ducked the bite and slammed his shoulder into its chest, throwing the creature sideways into the dirt.
"Stay down!" he growled.
But even as he spoke, the beast forced itself back to its feet.
Its eyes glowed strangely in the firelight.
Not just with anger.
With something darker.
Behind him, Jaro Owase cursed under his breath.
"What's wrong with these things?"
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
At the edge of the battlefield, Elder Nasha Adua felt it first.
The earth beneath her feet trembled faintly—not from the movement of the beasts, but from something deeper.
Something heavier.
She slowly lifted her head.
"…Ilyara," she said quietly.
Master Ilyara turned.
Elder Nasha's eyes were fixed on the dark savannah beyond the village.
"There's something else."
Before Ilyara could ask what she meant—
The ground shook.
It wasn't a tremor.
It was an impact.
Something massive landed beyond the burning houses.
The fighting slowed as warriors and beasts alike turned toward the sound.
Another heavy step followed.
The tall grass parted.
And the creature stepped into the firelight.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The beast was enormous.
Nearly twice the size of the others.
Its body was covered in thick, scarred hide, and long jagged horns curved from its skull like broken spears.
But that wasn't what made the warriors uneasy.
It was the darkness around it.
Thin black veins spread beneath its skin like poison moving through its body.
And its eyes…
Its eyes burned with a deep, unnatural red.
Tarek Mensah's expression hardened.
"…That's not natural."
The beast opened its mouth.
Its roar shook the village.
Several students instinctively stepped back.
Even the smaller beasts paused as if recognizing something stronger than themselves.
Then the creature charged.
It moved with terrifying speed for something so large, smashing through a half-collapsed wall and sending wooden beams flying.
One of the instructors leapt forward to intercept it.
The beast's claw struck first.
The instructor barely raised his weapon before the impact sent him crashing across the ground.
Dust and sparks filled the air.
"Kairo, back!" someone shouted.
But the Owase student had already lunged.
In his beast form, Kairo met the monster head-on, claws flashing as he struck at its chest.
For a second, it looked like he might hold it.
Then the creature swung its massive head.
The horns caught Kairo in the side.
The impact threw him across the street like a rag doll.
He slammed into the ground and rolled hard before skidding to a stop.
"Kairo!" Jaro shouted.
The massive beast turned slowly toward him again.
Unharmed.
Unbothered.
As if the attack had meant nothing.
Across the battlefield, Aren felt the whispers explode inside his mind.
Not faint anymore.
Not distant.
Loud.
Urgent.
His breath caught.
The voices were pulling his attention toward the creature.
Toward the darkness moving beneath its skin.
Aren's eyes widened.
It wasn't just a beast.
Something else was inside it.
Something old.
Something wrong.
The beast lifted one massive claw.
A wounded warrior lay in its path, too slow to escape.
Time seemed to slow.
Then Aren stepped forward.
He didn't know why.
He didn't even realize he had moved.
The whispers surged through his mind like a rising storm.
For a brief moment, the world felt… different.
The air shifted.
The creature's head jerked suddenly, as if something invisible had tugged at it.
Its attack faltered.
Just long enough.
A blur shot across the battlefield.
A massive black shape leapt from the roof of a burning house.
Mid-air, the figure transformed.
Bones cracked.
Muscles expanded.
Dark fur spread across a body that grew larger with every heartbeat.
The warrior landed between the beast and the fallen defender.
The ground shook beneath the impact.
A colossal black wolf stood there now, its eyes blazing with controlled fury.
The students gasped.
Even the instructors went still for a moment.
Jaro Owase's voice barely came out above a whisper.
"…Kalen."
Kalen Owase.
One of the academy's greatest former prodigies.
The black wolf bared its teeth.
Across from him, the corrupted beast lowered its head and snarled.
For the first time since it arrived—
The monster hesitated.
Then the two beasts charged.
And the real battle began.