Kaku emerged from the cave, the cold air hitting his face like a slap as he stepped out from its dark, musty depths. His breath hung in the air, fogging slightly as he exhaled in relief. The weight of the cavern felt like a living thing, pressing against his back as he turned to glance over his shoulder one last time. For a moment, it felt as though the cave itself was staring back, something ancient and sinister lurking in its shadows. His spine shuddered, but he shook it off, his usual mischievous grin vanishing as his face twisted into a scowl of pure fury.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Kaku snarled, his lips curling in disgust. The veins on his neck and arms bulged, spiderwebbing across his skin like ropes pulling taut, his muscles swelling grotesquely beneath his clothes. His slender frame seemed to double in mass, his body rippling with raw, unchecked power. His normally slicked-back hair whipped wildly in the wind, strands sticking out in all directions like the mane of a wild beast. The Essentia around him pulsed violently, a chaotic storm of energy that seemed to warp the air itself, sending cracks through the earth beneath his feet. Jagged chunks of rock broke free from the ground, rising and crumbling as his power lashed out like writhing serpents, crashing into the forest floor and slamming into the air above him.
"I hate you." His voice was low, venomous, as if each word was a poison he could barely contain. The sky seemed to darken around him as his fury grew. The remnants of his brother, Ely, still clung to the atmosphere—his lingering presence was palpable, like a bitter aftertaste that Kaku couldn't spit out. It enraged him, driving his power to even more dangerous heights.
"Why was it you?" he growled, teeth grinding together so hard they might shatter. His Essentia deepened in color, growing darker and thicker, swirling like an obsidian vortex of rage. The forest seemed to come alive with fear—birds screeched as they scattered from the treetops, and even the smallest creatures fled, sensing the raw malevolence spilling from Kaku's aura. Hidden proctors, who had been silently watching the Beast Hunt, felt their own hairs stand on end, their instincts telling them to stay far away.
Kaku's eyes began to bleed as they spun violently, his pupil narrowing further into a vertical slit, already thin like a serpent's gaze but now razor-sharp, predatory. His iris shimmered with an eerie green-yellow gradient, glinting like scales reflecting the moonlight. The whites of his eyes darkened, as though shadows were pooling in the sockets themselves. His Eonveil, Ophidian Veil, had awakened.
"Oh, brother…" Kaku hissed, his voice dripping with venom. The air crackled with raw power as his rage peaked. "Your power no longer eclipses mine." His eyes darted from side to side, searching for prey, honing in on the proctor watching from a distance. Kaku paused, his body shivering uncontrollably as something invisible and grotesque seemed to claw its way out of his mouth, his head tilted back in a silent scream. In an instant, the proctor lost sight of him, panic rising in his chest. Before he could even reach for his earpiece, a cold blade traced across his throat, and he fell silently from the tree, his body crumpling onto the forest floor below.
Kaku materialized behind the fallen proctor, his form seeming to solidify out of the shadows. His tongue, long and snake-like, flicked out of his mouth to lick the blood that had splattered across his cheek. He grinned wickedly, savoring the taste before vanishing once more, his presence fading like smoke on the wind.
Inside the cave, Loretta stirred awake, his body snapping upright as his eyes darted around, quickly taking in his surroundings. His face hardened into a stern expression, his muscles tense. The chimera's corpse lay sprawled before him, its twisted form still and lifeless, but something was missing.
"Where the hell is its core?" he muttered, eyes narrowing as he scanned the body.
"Kaku took it," came Erenyx's voice, calm and steady despite the circumstances. She leaned against the cave wall, her face more composed than Loretta's.
"The hell? Like he came back and just... took the core?" Loretta's tone was incredulous as he winced, reaching for his back. The dull throb of pain still lingered from the battle.
"I tended to your wounds as best I could," Erenyx said matter-of-factly, her voice level. "Today's the last day of the Hunt. We need to return soon."
She stretched her arms, her muscles stiff but functional, and without further hesitation, she headed for the mouth of the cave. Loretta watched her, noting the subtle change in her demeanor—more serious than usual, her carefree nature subdued by the weight of their failure. He got up, grimacing slightly, and followed her.
As they stepped out of the cave together, the rain greeted them—a steady, rhythmic drizzle that soaked the forest floor and filled the air with the smell of damp earth. It wasn't a heavy downpour, but the persistent patter of raindrops on leaves and stone created an almost oppressive atmosphere. They moved through the forest at a brisk pace, neither walking leisurely nor rushing—both lost in their own thoughts, weighed down by a sense of disgrace.
Loretta's mind turned over the events of the Beast Hunt, his jaw tightening as he replayed the attacks he had endured, especially the one aimed at his family. Dammit Greyoll, he thought bitterly, cursing his father—the leader of The Order of The Sun—under his breath. The rain trickled down his face, masking the intensity of his frustration. Erenyx sensed his inner turmoil but chose to say nothing, her own thoughts clouded with the reality of their situation.
Eventually, the forest thinned out, the path leading them back toward the city's outskirts. Their feet slowed, their sighs mingling with the soft rhythm of the rain as they resigned themselves to whatever awaited them.
As they entered the city, Commander Agheel was already there, standing at attention with a faint, knowing smile on his face. The rain barely touched him, as if the very air around him dared not disturb his commanding presence.
"Welcome back," Agheel said, his voice calm but authoritative. Before either Erenyx or Loretta could speak, he raised a finger to his lips, silencing them with a gesture.
"Now now, don't worry. You passed just fine," he continued, his words dripping with an almost playful tone.
Erenyx and Loretta exchanged glances, their faces reflecting equal parts shock and confusion. How could they have passed after such a dismal outcome?
"As the leader of the Clan of Ceto, of course, I can pull a few strings," Agheel explained, his smile widening. "Consider yourselves lucky that I was the one watching over this Beast Hunt."
With a final, almost teasing smile, Agheel and his guards vanished in a blur of speed, leaving Erenyx and Loretta standing in stunned silence. They looked at each other, the weight of the moment hitting them all at once, and despite everything, they couldn't help but grin. Fists bumped, and for the first time since the battle, the tension lifted slightly.
hey visited the hospital next, getting checked over, though neither had any severe injuries. Loretta, however, couldn't help but gape at the massive scar running down his back, his normally stoic demeanor replaced with pure disbelief.
Afterward, they headed to a restaurant, hunger gnawing at them after days without food. As they devoured plates of spaghetti, their shared love for the dish brought laughter to their table, the dark events of the hunt momentarily forgotten as they bonded over something simple.
Elsewhere, the man who had attacked Loretta at the start of the Beast Hunt sat perched high in a tree, his sharp gaze scanning the forest below. "Ryai, you should know better than to try hiding from me," the man spoke, his tone indifferent, yet piercing in its cold accuracy. His violet eyes, sharp and unblinking, seemed to see through everything around him. He was none other than Sorin Leos, the man responsible for Loretta's earlier assault. A giggle echoed faintly from behind a nearby tree as a young boy, no more than seventeen, appeared, stepping out into the open with a playful grin.
"Just testing those all-seeing eyes of yours, Sorin," Ryai teased, his small stature making him seem almost childlike beside Sorin's imposing figure. He sprinted over and hopped onto the same branch, sitting next to Sorin, whose gaze never left the horizon.
"And how do you plan to prepare for the tournament?" Ryai asked, his tone shifting from playful to curious as he watched Sorin carefully.
Sorin remained silent for a long moment, his mind turning over the calculations in his head before he spoke. "I'm going to combine my two forces—attraction and repulsion—into one attack."
Ryai's eyes widened in alarm, his playful smirk vanishing as dread crept into his expression. "You do realize how dangerous that is, right? You could end up creating a black hole, Sorin. That could destroy everything—our entire world."
Sorin glanced at Ryai, unfazed by his concern. "But have I ever been one to fail?" he asked coolly, his confidence unshaken. Ryai rolled his eyes and flicked Sorin on the forehead with two fingers.
"Don't get us killed," Ryai muttered, vanishing in a blur of Essentia, the wisping energy lingering in the air where he had stood just moments before.
Sorin returned to his thoughts, his hands slowly rising in front of him. In his left hand, the force of attraction swirled like a black orb, pulsing with gravitational power. In his right, the force of repulsion glowed with an intense light, pushing away the very air around it. He brought them closer together, watching as the two forces seemed to hum with energy, each drawn toward the other yet held apart by Sorin's control.
"What would truly happen if I could merge them?" Sorin mused aloud, the orbs of power in his hands dancing precariously close. He allowed them to drift nearer, just enough to feel the potential surge of destruction that lay within their union, but not enough to unleash it.
A sharp voice interrupted his thoughts. "Do you think my eyes do not perceive you? Serpent?" Sorin's voice was calm, but there was a hint of warning beneath it.
From the ground below, a small white serpent slithered through the grass, its scales shimmering under the moonlight. It coiled and writhed before slowly taking the form of a man—Kaku Roux.
"My apologies, Sir Leos," Kaku murmured, his voice slick with false respect as he bowed low, but the glint in his eyes betrayed his defiance.
"Watch your tongue," Sorin said sternly, his eyes narrowing. "You have no right to address me by that name."
Kaku froze at Sorin's command, but after a moment's hesitation, he slithered closer, his body coiling with tension. "I've come to report on the prince of Ra," Kaku said cautiously. "He survived."
Sorin's expression darkened, and without warning, his left hand shot forward, the orb of attraction still pulsing within it. "Hiku," he muttered, and in an instant, Kaku's throat was yanked forward by an invisible force, Sorin's fingers tightening around his windpipe. Kaku choked, his eyes bulging as he was pulled off his feet.
"Do you wish to die, Serpent?" Sorin's voice was cold, his violet eyes burning into Kaku's. The air around them seemed to hum with lethal energy, the tension so thick it was suffocating.
Kaku's lips trembled as he gasped for breath. "No, Sorin… I—" Before he could finish, Sorin released him, letting him drop to the ground.
Essentia rods burst from Sorin's fingers, impaling Kaku and pinning him to the earth like a crucifix. Kaku writhed in pain, his body trembling as he struggled against the binds, his snake-like eyes wide with fear.
"I hope you've said your final goodbyes," Sorin said softly, his tone almost serene as he formed another rod of Essentia. But this one was different—it crackled with more power than the others, its shape warping and twisting as Sorin poured more and more energy into it, until it became a massive spear, hovering menacingly above Kaku.
"WAIT!" Kaku shouted, his voice breaking with desperation. Sorin's eyes locked onto him once more, his gaze icy and unforgiving.
"Idiot," Kaku spat, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth as he activated his Ophidian Veil again. His eyes spun violently, an invisible force crawling out of his throat as his mouth opened wide, unnaturally wide, like a serpent unhinging its jaw.
Kaku's body shimmered, shedding like the skin of a snake, and before Sorin could strike, he vanished into the shadows, his form slipping away unseen. For a moment, it seemed as though he had escaped.
But Sorin didn't move from his perch on the tree branch, his eyes still fixed on the moon. A faint smirk crossed his lips.
"Yet you still think you can escape my eyes? You're the idiot," Sorin muttered, his voice filled with quiet amusement as he allowed Kaku to flee, knowing full well that there was no place in this world where the serpent could hide from his gaze.