Chapter 63: Wave of Beasts (6)
The silence that followed after the piercing scream was heavy, laden with a terror that none of the previous beasts could ever instill.
All eyes, from the most wounded cultivators to the patriarchs and the most exhausted elders, were fixed on the edge of the forest.
From the deep shadows, the black silhouette fully emerged.
It wasn’t tall nor particularly large. But its form was... wrong.
A blot of darkness that seemed to unbalance everything around it. Its features couldn’t be discerned.
It seemed only like an amorphous mass of pure hostility, moving toward everyone with almost palpable malice, slow and terrifying.
"... what the hell is that?" Someone murmured, their voice nearly breaking.
"Is it a beast?"
"No... there’s no way that’s a beast!"
"A-A malignant spirit?... a demon!?" Another risk is the words spreading among all.
The mere suggestion made some swallow dry, stepping back instinctively.
The figure advanced. Its presence made hearts tighten and minds twist, as if they were staring at an existence that should not exist.
That hostility was directed at everyone, at the entire city.
There was no Qi emanating from that being, it did not display its strength like a superior cultivation beast would.
It only emanated a suffocating sensation that something was wrong, walking in their direction. A weight that oppressed the chest and clouded the mind.
The five elders narrowed their eyes.
"It’s impossible... this force... it only compares to the 5° stage of the Qi Accumulation realm!" Patriarch Mu said, his gaze locked on the creature.
"It can’t be. How is it possible? A being in the Qi Accumulation realm could never command a beast tide of this size!" Patriarch Li retorted, still bleeding and wide-eyed, disbelieving.
Disbelief spread. Patriarchs, mercenaries, everyone gathered near the city’s fallen gate.
They all felt the low strength of the being, but none dared approach. None could.
It didn’t make sense. And what didn’t make sense was always the most dangerous.
The figure kept walking, slow and steady.
Most had already taken at least a step back instinctively.
But there was someone who was seeing beyond.
Seeing what no one else could.
That was Kyrian.
His eyes pierced through the darkness that cloaked the figure. For the others, it was only a grotesque black silhouette, looking like a liquid, amorphous form, impossible to decipher.
But for him... it wasn’t like that.
That surface was not skin, not flesh. It was something that could hardly be described.
It looked like a living cloak of pure hostility.
And inside it, Kyrian saw.
A fox. Small. A kind of fox he had never seen before. Its eyes were open but completely black. Empty.
As if there were no thoughts within. That was nothing more than a child. An infant beast swallowed by that sea of hostility.
’A beast...? But what the hell did they do to it...? How did it end up like this?’
Kyrian’s mind tightened. The others beside him had their minds working slowly due to an unknown dread.
Even the elders, as the seconds passed, felt their bodies and minds faltering more and more.
Kyrian only resisted because his eyes saw what was truly behind that mass.
And at that moment, something within him reacted.
Kyrian blinked. A pressure surged in his mind, but unlike the others, it came from within.
Vibrating, wanting to come out. It was strange, slightly suffocating. He had never felt that before.
And then he realized.
A book.
Inside his mind, in an unknown space of his consciousness. A book appeared.
The same book that had completely vanished when he crossed the mountains into the northern region.
The completely blank book.
Inside his mind, the book’s pages trembled, open, as if wanting to escape.
’That book... how?’ Kyrian muttered in his mind, surprised.
When the black figure took another step, the book could no longer resist.
In a flash, it flew out of Kyrian’s mind. It shot through the air like an arrow at high speed, heading straight for the creature.
The instant the being felt the book’s presence, it screamed.
A scream that was not only heard but felt in the bones. So sharp and desperate that everyone covered their ears. Some fell to their knees, blood dripping from their ears.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"
The creature’s despair was absolute, it tried to flee, but it was useless. The book advanced, floating above it, its pages opening and flipping rapidly.
And then, an energy invisible to all seemed to descend from the book.
When it touched the darkness enveloping the fox, the entire amorphous mass, made of unknown energies, began to burn.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH"
The black mass began to thrash and take on different shapes, writhing, trying to resist. But it was useless, there was no chance.
In mere instants, it was completely consumed. Until it vanished entirely from existence.
The book then closed.
With a snap, it returned at absurd speed to Kyrian, entering through his forehead and disappearing once again into his sea of consciousness.
Kyrian gasped, but the book... had vanished again. He couldn’t even sense it. If he hadn’t seen it leaving him, he would doubt that the book still existed.
When he lifted his eyes, breathing steadier, he noticed that everyone was staring at him. It wasn’t just him who had seen it.
The patriarchs, Master Liu and Old Wang, the mercenaries. Everyone was left without understanding.
The fear and hostility that had paralyzed them had disappeared along with the black thing. Silence lingered for seconds, feeling eternal.
Kyrian ignored the stares completely.
He took a few steps, then a few more. Passing by everyone and leaving the city.
He walked straight to the point where the creature had fallen. Kyrian ran as he thought in his mind about what to do.
Until he arrived.
And there it was. A white fox.
Small, lying down, as if asleep. There were no wounds, no signs of pain.
Only a calm breath. But what Kyrian felt within it when he touched its fur was unmistakable.
Sadness, fear, but above all, a deep hatred and hostility. It was similar to the black form.
No, the black form was nothing more than the amplified personification of all that.
Kyrian carefully picked up the fox, analyzing every detail.
The five elders approached, their expressions stern.
"Kyrian... what exactly was that? What happened?" Patriarch Mu was the first to ask.
Kyrian didn’t avert his gaze from the fox.
"I don’t know." He answered dryly.
"Only that my treasure completely destroyed it. And that’s what matters."
They exchanged glances but didn’t press further.
"I’ll keep it, the fox was being controlled by that thing. I need it to understand what really happened." Kyrian added.
There was silence after his words.
But it was broken when Old Wang spoke.
"You may keep it." His word came out grave, direct, and without any hesitation.
Liu and the patriarchs did not dare contest. After Wang had displayed his strength and after saving everyone’s lives, they respected the old man completely.
As he had spoken, there would be no room for discussion.
Kyrian inclined his head slightly toward the old man.
"I’m grateful." He said, carrying the still sleeping fox against his chest.
Old Wang only grumbled and turned his back, walking toward the destroyed city.
Kyrian could see the weight on his shoulders, the hidden exhaustion. But even so, the old man remained upright.
Kyrian lingered for a few more seconds. Looking at the fox that slept peacefully in his arms.
He didn’t know what that was, nor what that book was, or why it was still with him. There were simply too many questions in his mind.
But he decided to think about that for later. Now, exhaustion hit him just like the others. So he headed back toward the city as well.
The war against the beasts had finally come to an end.