[THIRD-PARTY POV]
The morning that followed, the warriors who were to take the second shift showed up, only to find their friends mauled and dispersed like whoever did this was making art. It was twisted but kinda cute in a horrific way.
"What did they do to deserve this?" One of the warriors asked, but he got his answer when he saw the beast's waring on the tent. this was the first time that the werewolves to even anyone had ever come across the victims of the beast.
Most of the time, he usually severed them and buried the bodies, but today it seemed like he wanted to tell the people that he existed. He had heard the warriors contemplating whether he was real or not. And now, they had the proof.
"This is cruel. I need to know what happened here!" Acrod's chief warrior, Grant said. Acrod was the werewolf kingdom, and also the current crime scene.
"Chief, with this warning, it could only mean that the warriors attacked kids," one warrior said, as Grant sighed defeatedly. How many times was he supposed to tell his warriors to be careful and not do anything that would piss off the beast of the midlands?
"This is what happens if you guys never listen. The beast is not a myth, but you people keep testing the creature's patience. maybe I should just send you all as his food to him!" Grant growled out, making the warriors shrink and bow.
"Gather the bodies and bring them by the fireside. At this rate, even the woods will hate us. What a hellish life" the warrior kept complaining. He seemed to believe that the beast was existent, and that was a smart move by him.
He had a family that depended on him and more than anything, he was subconsciously thankful that the midlands had a protector. over the years, so many kids had gone missing in the midlands. The hounds fed on them, and the other creatures enjoyed the kills.
It had been a game of how many people they would scare to the hound territory. that wasn't something that the beast appreciated and maybe that was also why he had taken it upon himself to reign in the midlands. After all, it was unclaimed land.
And even if it was claimed, the only way he was getting out of here, was if he was offered a better offer than the midlands. But what was it that could make the beast give up his reign over these lands? No one knew.
As the warriors gathered their friends, their hearts shattered on their behalf. No one deserved to cross to the afterlife like this, with their body parts severed. they had been good warriors. Their only mistake was to trigger the beast.
Hopefully the night shift warriors tonight wouldn't do anything that could trigger the beast. they had already lost too many men to that creature of the night.
"Sir, there's something here!" One of Grant's men said, making the warrior pause. whatever it was it had to be very important, otherwise, this warrior would have to bear the brunt of the warrior's anger, and that wasn't something to look forward to.
"What is it? This had better be worth it."
"Illeus wrote this before he died" the warrior, Delbert said to Grant.
"How sure are you that the beast didn't write this himself?" Grant asked.
"Because sir, the handwritings are different and it looks like he was trying so hard to make this known. What if the beast is really a man?" Delbert asked, fear coursing through his veins. If the beast was a man, then they had the greatest problem ever.
He could be anyone.
He could be an enemy.
He could be an ally.
The beast could be their family and they didn't know it.
"Dammit" Grant sighed as he say on the stone that was nest to the watcher's shed. He needed to get himself together. He knew that there was a possibility that this was true, otherwise, why would a dying man use his last breath to reveal that to them?
Maybe they needed to alert the kingdoms. They needed to make sure everyone knew that the beast could be anyone among them. At least the gender was confirmed. He was a man.
Grant sniffed around for a trace of any foreign scent. If the beast had turned to a man, then his scent had to be known. Then again, if the beast wanted to be found, he would just show himself up. Surely he wouldn't be spending his time hiding in plain sight.
However, that is what was happening.
The man was hiding, playing games with them. Now they could understand how the beast had managed to walk into their homes, and personally deal with the perpetrators who hurt children. The people who made children cry.
He had found his way into homes and families, and who knew whether they had shared the same table with the beats of the midlands?
They should have thought of that earlier, but then again, they couldn't be blamed. If anything, they had lives to live and that didn't exactly match up to finding the beast of the midlands as a man in their midst.
This new revelation was going to make their lives a little scarier, but Grant could only hope that everything worked out okay. He didn't know where he would start from, but helping his warriors burn the dead bodies was a good place to begin from, before he went to the wolf king with his findings.
No one would like this.
People would be scared.
Families would be triggered by the tiniest of things, and that was the price t be paid in the lands across the midlands. There was a chance that the beast was one of them. then again, who were they supposed to find the man when he was always a beast?
How were they to find him when he never uttered a word through the years?
How were they to know what was happening and who was doing this, when they had never thought of the reason the beats had appeared in the first place? Maybe it was time to go back to the books about the myth.
It was time to find out what had triggered all of this and why the beast of the midlands had chosen to specifically protect kids.
Maybe then they would find their answers, but that was also another long shot. There was nothing about this that was certain. Hopefully, when they got their answers, they wouldn't lose their trust in their people, because right now, any sense of distrust was sure to create chaos.
And a kingdom that didn't trust each other, was as good as a dead kingdom.
None of them wanted that and hopefully, they would fix it before it was too late.
Hopefully.