Part 1

As the rosy sun of dawn burst forth from the distant blue sea, the sound of the creaking gates of the main city entrance could be heard.

They opened to leave passage to an impressive convoy of some of the king's most elite soldiers.

The earth quaked with the rumbling of the heavy Koteni carriages being dragged by ferocious war rhinos.

These beasts were the pride of the nation's military and Vutenia was famous for them. They wore the insignia of the royal army to show it.

Under normal circumstances such beasts would have been impossible to tame let alone convince to be allies in battle. It was only possible due to the noble efforts of two ancient shaman heroes from Vutenia's founding.

The two heroes in their youth, protected and cared for a pair of young calves orphaned due to the rampant demonic beasts in the tumultuous era prior to Vutenia's founding.

The great friendship these young shamans had with these calves pleased Gesa and he elevated these two rhinos to the status of divine beasts. Their descendants became the unique species of Rhino tasked with protecting Vutenia from its enemies.

As Oraki remembers the old tale of his shaman predecessors Mfaru and Rana, he cannot help but marvel at how truly impressive the legacy they left behind was.

The beasts were moving far faster than any wild rhino he had ever seen in the savannah. He realized that these were supposed to be divine beasts and so would naturally be physically enhanced but this was ridiculous.

The carriage was shaking so much that he wondered if it could keep up with the rhino's vigorous speed.

"Is this your first time seeing the war rhinos in action, my lord?" a noble soldier asked the clearly perplexed shaman.

"Yes. I admit I did not realize how mighty the great prize left by my predecessor actually was. Also, I thought I told you that calling me Oraki is fine. I've never been one for formalities while on the field," Oraki asserted remembering the very stiff and formal greetings he got from the guard when he arrived at the meeting point earlier that day.

Oraki had met up with the royal troops tasked with reinforcing the front lines just as High King Ranga had instructed. The Vice General in charge of leading said troops, Wadero the Swift, had appointed one of his trusted War Chief soldiers to act as his escort in the rear. Oraki got the feeling that Wadero didn't want to bother himself with the task of babysitting him.

"I could not hope to, my lord Oraki. Your status is far too important. Incidentally, shouldn't you already have experience? I recall hearing that the High Priest of Gesa is given right to own a personal war rhino as tradition," the soldier known as Simanzi inquired with a perplexed look.

"I did receive one, much to my chagrin at the time. I didn't actually manage to tame it since for some reason it didn't seem to like me."

"Really. Even though you're a shaman of Gesa? Aren't you supposed to be good with animals?" Simanzi's words and shock cut through Oraki like a hot knife. It was actually an unpleasant topic for him.

Oraki proceeded to explain, "Unfortunately, it's not that simple. I can make temporary requests to animals and for the most part they follow through but for long term familiars and divine beasts you usually need to have some form of compatibility and take time training them. Even these war rhinos were likely trained the same way you would train a dog or donkey, right?"

"Yes. They were trained for quite some time and are still somewhat picky about who can ride them."

"Same thing. The difference between these rhinos and regular ones is that they are more accepting of humanity and so take shorter time to train than regular ones. They see us more as distant cousins rather than alien creatures trying to get close to them. However, they still have their own will and can still reject even a High Priest of Gesa if they feel uncomfortable with them. I can't force them to obey me," Oraki concluded his surprisingly detailed lecture.

Simanzi secretly wondered if the young shaman had some kind of insecurity regarding his experience with animals. Simanzi begun looking for a way to switch to a more pleasant topic.

"Surprisingly though, it took a great liking to my little sister so I decided to gift it to her. The beast wasn't necessarily meant for official use so I figured it would be fine. Unfortunately, she hadn't risen to the rank of War Chief yet so the Nine Houses were very much against it at the time," Oraki said as he went on a different tangent much to Simanzi's relief.

"Wait, a soldier who hadn't even risen to the rank of War Chief being gifted a personal War Rhino? You're talking about Mekatili the fierce, aren't you? I heard she became quite famous for that and there were rumors that part of the reason she rose to the rank so quickly was because of that incident," Simanzi added on to the new subject.

Oraki responded, "It was a little bit more complicated than that. In terms of merit, she was already well on her way to becoming a War Chief and her martial skills were already on the level of one. However, she was being delayed on the grounds of a lack of experience. It was a valid argument but it naturally didn't sit well with her considering how long they had delayed her rise because of it."

Oraki recalled the frightening expression Mekatili would have whenever the matter came up during those days.

"For them to reject the gift of a family member because of it only seemed to push her discontent further, and so she proposed the decision of her appointment be determined by a set of challenges that only a War Chief could handle. She had to take on multiple challenges that even seasoned War Chiefs would find difficult in order to allow her to become the youngest of all of them at the time."

This method of selection was an ancient ritual that while viable was usually avoided because of how dangerous it could be. It also didn't help that the final challenge usually involved facing a seasoned high-ranking officer in a fight and somehow winning or forcing a draw.

It could very easily have been a General who ends up as your opponent and that could spell the end of your prospects for a long time.

Simanzi understood this and could not help but be in awe of the trials endured by the young War Chief.

"As expected of Mekatili the fierce, it's no wonder she's become somewhat of a legend despite only being a War Chief of a single platoon."

"Yes. She's quite the strong willed one. Although I didn't know she was this famous among the army."

"She's actually a big inspiration to a lot of the younger members. I'm actually a big fan of hers myself. I even heard she contributed greatly to driving off the initial wave of beasts at the border and bravely fought them even when they…Oh…uh…" Simanzi's enthusiastic tone shifted to grim realization of what had likely happened to Mekatili after the battle.

The expressions of the other guards showed very clearly how big of a blunder Simanzi had just made.

"Yes. She's always been a brave one for as long as I can remember. As the older brother I'm supposed to take care of her but before I knew it, she grew more than strong enough to do it herself. I always did admire that forthrightness of hers…" Oraki said with a light hearted yet somewhat somber tone to his voice.

He looked out the carriage window as he reminisced about the moments they had shared.

The rocky scenery reminded him of one particular moment that had always stuck with him. His mind wandered to an old memory of him lying on the ground defeated by the masterful swordplay of a rather annoyed Mekatili.

"Weak! Pathetic! Honestly, are you even trying to fight me in earnest, Oraki?!" Mekatili yelled at her bewildered brother.

"Come on. Give me a break. At least I managed to last longer than your friends over there," Oraki points to the somewhat exhausted young cadets lying on the ground in the distance.

"They need to get it together too but that's not the point. You had three opportunities during our exchange to turn the flow of the fight to your favor but you still kept playing defensive. Why?" Mekatili asked in a vicious tone.

"I mean… you might have still countered and taken me by surprise. Not to mention, you're my little sister. I can't just hit you like tha…" Oraki trailed off as he was suddenly hit by Mekatli on the head while he was trying to get up.

"Ow! What was that about!?"

"Be grateful I only hit you that hard. You're my big brother after all. More importantly, never ever hold back against me like that."

She pointed her wooden sword at Oraki before continuing.

"I know you're far more skillful than this. And you need this training just as much as I do."

"It's true that all shamans need some mastery of martial skill to defend themselves, no matter the sect they belong to. We're valuable human resources whose bodies can even be used to make cursed objects. But ultimately, it's still for self-defense. We're not usually as good as cadets of the military division."

"Nonsense and you know it! Both Matuzo and Prince Ranga are some of the most highly skilled fighters in the Academy and you managed to hold your own against both of them in official matches."

"I wouldn't really call it holding my own. I only managed to stalemate or win about three out of the ten rounds at best. They're still better than I am."

"Even that kind of performance would put you at a high enough level to go against me and win. I want to be stronger than the both of them and I can't do that if my sparring partner is just playing around. You always do this. You subconsciously hold back out of fear of hurting others or their feelings and perception of you."

"..."

"What you don't realize is that it's making you weaker as a result and not just physically but in the spirit as well. That still ends up hurting those who actually care about and believe in you, Oraki. It also makes it less likely for you to make long lasting bonds with others. I don't want that for you."

"Tili…" Oraki was dumb struck by her words and could barely utter her name. Had he really let himself reach the point that even his sister began to notice.

"Don't you 'Tili' me right now. When father died, you did the same thing …barely even showing any real emotion during the burial ceremony when I know you probably cried the hardest out of all of us in secret."

Oraki wondered if this was the reason she'd been more insistent on training. Her own awkward means to let him vent out his feelings.

"That was …I wasn't…"

"I promised to carry on father's legacy and as the eldest son, I know you want to do so as well. However, neither of us will get there if even one of us is half baked about it. Promise me, Oraki. You won't be too afraid of risks anymore. You won't hide yourself and what you are just to make others feel comfortable."

"Yeah. I promise…" Oraki could only answer the resolve in Tili's eyes with those few words.

"Good. Now get ready for another round. No soft strikes this time."

"Wait. It's almost sunset shouldn't we get ready to leave?"

"We still have time for another round. Now hurry up and attack me."

"Okay…"

The sound of their wooden swords clashing reverberated through the rocky training grounds as the radiant glow of sunlight began shifting to its twilight hue.

Though not physically, Mekatili had saved the young shaman form a certain kind of death on that day. A death of his spirit and perhaps even his destiny.

Although he wasn't quite as aggressive as Ranga and Mekatili, he had still become far more forthright about himself and a lot better off for it. Now it was his turn to return the favor.

Suddenly, his brief reminiscence is interrupted by the abrupt cries of the war rhinos and their sudden stop. They were about an hour away from their destination so this was quite the strange occurrence. Oraki soon sensed why in the next instance.

"It seems we have company. I'm surprised the rhinos sensed them before we did. They really are divine beasts"

"What do you mean?" Simanzi asked while reeling from the sudden stop.

"Some kind of demonic beasts seem to be making their way here. You should see them approaching in a few moments."

In the distant horizon, several figures of ferocious beasts were coming down the brow of the hill and would soon be on them. At the speed they were moving, Oraki and the royal army only had about five or so minutes to prepare to meet them. This was plenty of time for the king's elite troops.

The more than 300 strong troops and 50 of the war rhinos were in formation in record speed. Oraki had readied himself to join them but War Chief Simanzi insisted that he stay his hand. The sudden shift in Simanzi's attitude showed an intense resolve Oraki had not seen on the way here.

The troops were meant to protect Oraki while also providing reinforcement to the front lines. As Ranga's chosen elite, Oraki should have suspected that they would be a little intense and to call them assertive would be a mild way of putting it.

The ground began rumbling from the stampeding footsteps of the oncoming beasts. They were finally close enough for Oraki to clearly see their form.

The beasts had an aura that Oraki had never seen or felt before. There was a whole assortment of them and their forms were not only varied but also horrid to look upon.

Some of them seemed to be larger enhanced versions of hyenas and monkeys with strange darkened fur coats.

Others were a hybrid of snake tails with an almost human like torso as well as lioness heads.

These were certainly unnatural abominations by any standard even for demonic beasts.

Oraki counted only about 70 of these strange beasts. However, these were monsters that could likely tear through dozens of able-bodied men on their own, 70 was still a lot.

To his pleasant surprise, the troops didn't seem fazed by the oncoming terror and were ready to meet them accordingly.

War drums could be heard signaling the start of the battle as the rumbling footsteps of war rhinos mixed with those of the eager foot soldiers. Thunderous roars could be heard from either side as the battle commenced.

Part 2

The battlefield was a chaotic mess of clashing beasts and sounds of claws trying to tear through thick shields. The wailing sounds of both man and beast alike could be heard everywhere.

All things considered, Oraki thought the battle was going surprisingly well.

There were injuries but not to the extent he was expecting. Oraki didn't know it at the time but the royal guard had received considerable information on these particular type of beasts from the clash at the border a few days prior.

They had been briefed on possible strategies to employ once they encountered them.

The one they were using here was quite simple.

They would gradually split the enemy forces down the middle and flank them with a stampede of war rhinos from either side.

In order to accomplish this, 200 infantries with spear and shield in hand were placed in the front to serve as a barricade and were aided by the 10 war chiefs that were meant to take on the larger beasts that try to push through the center.

The 100 archers would provide cover fire to aid in the process. The remaining war rhinos would be guided to either side in order to flank the beasts.

It was a simple strategy that really should not have worked as well as it did. It was only this effective thanks to the almost inhuman abilities of these soldiers.

They seamlessly switched through formations in an instant, depending on the flow of the battlefield.

Any supposed gap in the front lines was simply a lure to allow a more advantageous position in order to take on the beasts.

If any of them were heavily injured, the others would cover their post so as to keep the beasts from advancing too far. This gave time for a retreat and reinforcement.

These actions were incredibly difficult to coordinate during the heat of battle, yet they were doing it anyway. Such rigid discipline was commendable in Oraki's eyes.

As for the other war chiefs, Simanzi had been tasked with leading a squad of them by the Vice General. They were stationed in the right flank and had begun moving to clear out the beasts that had been successfully corralled there.

Once they were a certain distance away, their war rhinos simultaneously raised their front legs with a single raise of Simanzi's spear.

In the next moment they stomped on the ground in unison. A tremor resulting in a rapid forward explosion of raised earth assaulted the unsuspecting enemy beasts.

This was a form of land manipulation, an ability granted to the war rhinos by Lord Gesa. Combined with their enhanced senses and durability, it made the war rhinos truly terrifying beasts in the battlefield.

Individually, their ability to use it was impressive enough but together it was potent enough to stagger and damage the larger demonic beasts while effectively killing off the smaller ones along the way.

They had worn them down and now all that was left was a direct confrontation to finish them off. Suddenly, some of the large, dark Hyenas released a torrent of flames at Simanzi's squad.

Even an experienced war chief like Simanzi had been taken aback by such a display.

However, the war rhinos were not impressed. With unnatural agility they weaved out of harm's way saving their riders and proceeding to close the distance in record speed.

It seems their clairvoyant senses had anticipated the attack beforehand. Normal rhinos would never have the vision needed to do so. The war chiefs proceeded to answer their beasts' impressive efforts with one of their own.

Spear in hand they pierced the impressively thick hides of the dark enemies and proceeded to cleave a large wound into them. This sent the beasts reeling back in agony and rage. The battle continued in a similar fashion.

The skill of the war chiefs with the spear was impressive to anyone even the untrained. For Oraki it was further supplemented by his knowledge on such matters of martial prowess.

The spears themselves were impressive A class weapons. Most soldiers only used C class.

However, they only brought out their true potential when wielded by one who gained the favor of the War god, Shindo. Unlike other gods, Shindo didn't utilize the system of divine vessels like shamans in the traditional way.

Usually, shamans were chosen from those born with high spiritual aptitude that shows itself early on in age. However, Shindo did more than just choose from those with the natural potential to be shamans.

Instead, one could also be granted the prowess of Shindo according to how much merit and skill they had as a warrior. This made him quite popular with the populace since he seemed to give everyone a fair chance at glory.

This prowess manifested in the form of a divine aura that coated the weapons of the warrior in question. It increased their durability and depending on how refined it was could even damage demonic and divine beasts that usually have varying resistance to human weaponry.

By training and refining their weapons and skill in using them, they became more powerful against any kind of enemy.

Those on the level of Named officers would even gain additional skills such as Warrior Instinct that allowed one to sense incoming danger and instinctively choose the right course of action according to their skill and experience.

The range and effectiveness varied depending on the warrior but it was a useful skill on any level. These were all Passive State abilities granted to any who proved themselves worthy in Shindo's eyes.

As a shaman, Oraki was blessed with the ability to see the razor-sharp and finely tuned aura coating these soldiers' weaponry.

It was clear testimony that their accolades of being the king's elite troops were not simply for show.

Meanwhile in the right flank, the Vice General was demonstrating another ability that is usually used in the Active State. A Spirit Weapon manifestation, it allowed him to summon multiple copies of his own spear which he would then control and throw at the enemy.

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It effectively allowed him to deal more damage in a shorter amount of time. The copies would then disappear as they were merely projections of his warrior spirit. They were not real in the true sense.

They were more like solid phantoms that manifest via Shindo's authority over all weapons of war and their conceptual creation. As such, since everyone's spirit is slightly different, his way of using it was only one of many.

Their performance was truly impressive but Oraki still couldn't help but worry. While most of the smaller ones were handily defeated, the mysterious poison of these beasts was still in play and was gradually beginning to take effect.

It also didn't help that the corrosive venom being spouted by the serpent lions was beginning to eat away at the layered shields wielded by the troops.

The larger beasts while being wounded were still tenacious and were also showing signs of gradual healing. Only truly decisive strikes would take them down but their agility was making that difficult. In a drawn-out fight, the scales may still tip in favor of the invading force.

Oraki realized this pretty quickly and was soon preparing to join the fray in spite of Simanzi's request not to. He realized the value of his position as High Priest but he needed to aid them before things truly became a bloodbath.

He prepared his gear and began making his way to the battlefield. Suddenly, the beasts pulled back in rapid succession.

Both the troops and Oraki were momentarily stunned by this unnatural course of action. The front lines tried to give chase but some of the larger beasts provided cover in the form of a corrosive spread of venom and a barrier of flames.

They retreated into what almost seemed like a military formation a few dozen meters back.

This kind of organized movement was rare by demonic beast standards. Usually, they were incredibly individualistic creatures that hardly cooperated. Especially across different species.

Unsurprising, considering that they were usually born from the accumulation of cursed spirits of hatred and rage that would either merge with mutilated animal corpses or living animals. Mainly doing so just to violently rampage and destroy their surroundings.

Honestly, nothing about these beasts was like ordinary demonic beasts as far as Oraki had seen. The aura emanating from them was a mysterious blackish hue that looked like translucent flames. Usually, it would have been a fiery red.

If that wasn't already strange enough then what happened next truly left their mouths agape. The smaller beasts begun tearing into each other in a horrid frenzy.

It was a scene of nightmarish carnage as their blood and guts spilled over. What followed next was even worse.

It was truly a sight beyond description. The mounds of flesh that was once the smaller beasts began gradually engulfing the larger ones. The soldiers bearing witness to this had never seen such an occurrence in their lives and it shook their very spirits to behold.

"Are they…merging together?" Simanzi wondered while her squad tried to calm down the restless war rhinos.

"What should we do, Sir?" a soldier asked Vice General Wadero.

"We wait and be prepared for anything,"

"Understood"

These few words were the only thing the Vice General could give his men. Not even a seasoned veteran like himself tasked with leading this elite force had any real idea what was going on.

While almost everyone was busy being confused by this strange chain of events, Oraki began to truly grasp the horror of the situation. The black flames were larger and more focused than ever. It's highly likely that the oncoming threat could only be fatally harmed by a warrior on the level of a War Chief or higher.

"If I still had any reservations about joining the fray before, then now they truly are gone. Time to get serious." As he said these words Oraki tightly grasped his staff.

"Lord Gesa, hear my prayer. Grant me the strength to vanquish my enemies."

"Very well. All Active State abilities are available. You can also transition to Final State whenever you deem fit," Gesa's words were followed by an explosive manifestation of divine aura around Oraki.

Part 3

The horrid figures across the fiery barrier began coalescing into recognizable forms. Out of the forty or so demonic beasts that had still remained, only fifteen figures remained. Hybrid monstrosities of varying complexity. All of them were larger than the beasts they had dealt with prior.

Some of them had the heads of both a lioness and hyena with either the torso of a monkey and legs of a hyena or vice versa followed by the serpent tail in the rear.

Others had the combined heads of a monkey and a lioness or a monkey and a hyena with equally as varied combination of body parts. There were five larger ones easily twice the size of the rest.

Towering beasts of about 8 meters tall and 14 meters long with equally as varied a combination of traits.

The sight broke the resolve of most of the troops and nearly broke the resolve of Simanzi and the rest of the War Chiefs.

The pressure they gave off was immense. This was not going to be an easy battle at all.

Suddenly, the smaller ones took off in blistering speed. With a few mighty jumps, they had closed the several dozen meters between them and the royal troops in a blink of an eye.

Simanzi barely had any time to react to them as they closed in from above. It looked like it was over for them before they knew it.

In the next split instant, Simanzi saw the beasts being flung mid-air by what seemed to be earthen boulders. It was an equally shocking sight but a welcome respite from the surprise onslaught they were about to endure.

Simanzi looked back at the general direction of where the rocks came from and saw several boulders protruding from the ground surrounding an all too familiar figure.

Oraki stood in a readied stance with his staff in hand. His eyes glowed with a light golden hue that signified the release of the divine power granted to him by Gesa.

"Hmm. That barely knocked the wind out of them. I suppose throwing a few rocks at some giant monsters isn't really enough to stop them." Oraki offhandedly remarked while preparing to run forward.

"Time to escalate?"

"Time to escalate!"

As Oraki answered Gesa's almost light hearted question, he began running at impressive speed while launching the boulders out of the ground.

In the next instant a large protrusion of earth emerged from the base of his feet and catapulted Oraki over the Royal army forces.

As he was flying through the air, some of the beasts seemed to have caught wind of his intent and assaulted him with blasts of fire and venom.

Oraki defended himself with the boulders that were in flight alongside him. His control of them was flawless as they formed a shield of earth in front of him.

They were further reinforced in order to better resist the destructive and corrosive force of the blasts.

As he landed between the armies and the beasts, he readied himself for the next course of action.

The loud impact of his body and earthen shield was followed by the subsequent explosive bursts of large protrusions of land as they rapidly rushed towards the demonic beasts.

It was similar to what the War Rhinos had utilized previously. But on a larger scale engulfing all the enemy beasts in the abruptly shifting landscape.

The violent tremors generated from such a feat could easily be felt for hundreds of meters and beyond. This managed to significantly stun the beasts long enough for Oraki to perform his next move.

He shifted the earth into an almost fluid like form and wrapped it around the limbs of the beasts. Not wasting a moment, he switched to his next attack. Blunt force wasn't working so he decided to use precise piercing strikes.

This took longer for him to create but the binding should provide the time needed to focus his power for beasts such as these. With one swing and a tap of his staff, sharp spikes of hardened stone rose from the ground beneath the struggling beasts.

The intent was to pierce all of them, including the larger ones.

He successfully managed to deal fatal blows to half of the smaller ones but the others managed to escape bondage in time to only have the spikes gash through their sides.

It was a devastating wound but they were already starting to heal. The larger ones surprisingly avoided fatal injury as well. Their thick hides also made the damage minimal.

As Oraki was observing these events he had already prepared the next course of action to take. The ground suddenly shifted as walls of earth 15 m high separated the remaining beasts from each other. Oraki wasn't going to let them try to merge together a second time.

As the beasts were busy trying to break through the walls, Oraki looked back at the royal army. He intended to ask for their aid in what came next.

"What are you all doing? Don't just stand there with your mouths agape!!" Oraki's words roused them from their confused daze. It's understandable that they didn't know what to do.

The landscape of the battlefield kept being torn up before they could fully register what was happening let alone make a plan of action.

Not to mention their instincts were screaming at them that these beasts were incredibly dangerous. Oraki could see the aura in their weapons lose the sharp focus from before.

"I've done all I can to even the odds but I'm not a soldier. That honor belongs to all of you. And yet you shake in your boots? Your spirit wavers? Is this all that His Majesty's elite troops have to offer? It is in the face of such terror that your blades need to be sharper than ever!! Show me why King Ranga made you his chosen elite!!"

Wadero followed Oraki's lead in raising the troops' spirits.

"Well? You heard the man. Are we just going to sit here and let a priest, who does nothing but push papers and pray all day, outdo us? Is Shindo's favor not with all of us? Get in formation! Let us show this servant of Gesa what King Ranga's elite troops can really do. Let's show him why it is we who blaze the battlefield and not him!"

Intense roars were heard from all the soldiers in the field. Their spirits were renewed and the aura of their weapons was sharper and more potent.

This would be imperative in facing the current threat and Oraki was all the more grateful for it. Shindo's favor truly was with them.

"What's the plan?"

"Separate your men into squads consisting of a balanced team of infantry, archers and war chief leaders. I'll open a path for each squad to take on one of the smaller beasts confined in the walls. The limited mobility of the beasts should make it easier for their hits to land and wear the beasts down until the War Chiefs can use their Spirit Weapons to take them down for good."

"What about the larger beasts? What will you do with them?"

"Me, You and two squads of your best men will handle them."

"Why not use that attack you used earlier to pierce them now that they are confined."

"I'm using a considerable amount of energy to keep those walls stable and durable. Structures such as these can't normally stand on their own for long and tend to easily collapse without reinforcement. I can't focus enough energy to raise spears of earth powerful enough to pierce them while also preventing them from getting a chance to break free."

"Then just lower the energy on the walls momentarily."

"It wouldn't be that simple. The amount needed would make the walls too weak. You saw how quickly they move. What's to stop them from simply plowing through? The time lag is large enough to give them a chance."

"Very well. I'll get them ready."

"Okay. Try to be quick about it. It seems some of the beasts have had the bright idea to claw their way up the wall."

As the Vice General was separating his men per Oraki's instruction, the young shaman was busy trying to keep the beasts from upscaling the wall.

He hoped that the spikes he generated from said walls might actually cause significant damage but as expected, the beasts simply dodged them or hardened their scaly hides to lower damage before blasting the spikes away.

Their senses seemed to be allowing them to somehow learn and better predict his attacks as time went by. On the bright side he had at least dissuaded them from trying to climb up the walls.

Once the general's men were ready, Oraki gradually shifted control from strengthening the walls surrounding the two headed beasts in order to provide an entrance for them. He created a ramp and platform to a height of 6m.

This was to allow them an elevation advantage when they surprised the beasts from above.

Oraki threw a few small spikes of earth at the beasts distracting them and momentarily allowing an opening for the squads once he made an entrance.

As the soldiers proceeded to take on the beasts, Oraki refocused his mind and energy for his own upcoming battle.

"Vice General. How many of those spears can you make at a time?"

"About 100 of them without lowering their maximum power."

"Wow! Really? If you combine that with your War Rhino's attacks then you might easily beat one of them."

"Never mind me. It's you that I'm curious about. Do you really plan to take on two of them?"

"Caught on to it, eh? Don't worry. Without having to worry about the smaller ones, I'll be fine."

As he said that Oraki begun opening the walls leading to the 8-meter behemoths in similar manner as for the smaller ones. The only difference is that he didn't give himself a raised platform to gain an advantage.

This shocked the rest of the soldiers with him but they had more important things to focus on than his unusual decision.

Once Oraki was sure that they could handle their assigned foes he loosened the focused energy used for strengthening the walls to a moderate level. It had been difficult holding these particular walls since they were 3 metres thick as opposed to the 2 meters used for confining the smaller beasts.

Oraki readied himself with a calming breathe and proceeded to open the walls of the two beasts that he was facing. The two beasts took one look at him and proceeded to fire a concentrated blast of venom and flames at him.

Oraki was prepared and already had a rock base launch him out of harm's way. The usual method of attack would be to launch spikes at them from the ground but after doing it so many times they were now wary of it. Oraki opted to simply use his staff instead.

In the next instant, the lioness head of one of the beasts exploded with its gory insides. Oraki was still mid-air more than 5 metres away. This occurrence had completely caught the beasts off guard.

They reeled back in shock. The size of the staff Oraki was wielding had grown in both width and length in a mere fraction of a second. The lioness head was caught completely off guard when the staff smashed into it with devastating force.

It was said that Shindo granted his favor to any whose skill and merit warranted it. This naturally meant that even shamans under other gods could be blessed with Shindo's prowess should they dedicate themselves.

This ability to manipulate and increase the size and weight of his weapon was Oraki's own Spirit Weapon that he acquired after much trial and tribulation.

It wasn't much of a technique at first glance but Oraki trained quite extensively to make it a good form of defending himself. He could change the shape and length almost seamlessly as he dodged the onslaught rush of the beasts that were circling him.

The force of the blows that his staff was giving would be enough to easily knock through a thick stone wall.

The beasts tried using a wide range attack to put him on the defensive. However, Oraki had already foreseen their intention and closed the distance to one of them before they could launch it.

Approaching from its flank Oraki proceeded to strike it with a vertical swing of an enlarged staff. The beast let out cries of agony. The impact must have felt like that of a blacksmith's hammer hitting a person's spine.

Answering the cries of its kin, the second beast tried to attack Oraki from his blind spot. Oraki dodged the beast's serpent tail without even looking and proceeded to weave past the subsequent venom blasts that melted through the ground. All the while he focused his energy around the beasts' feet converting the area around their base to mini sinkholes.

What happened next was simply nature taking its course. The beast's legs sank into the ground aided by its overwhelming weight. With it immobilized, Oraki unleashed a fury of attacks damaging its body extensively and blasting off one of its heads.

As he prepared to finish off the rest, the other beast had recovered enough to come to the aid of its ally. It blasted destructive flames from the hyena and monkey heads still attached to it.

Oraki leaped out of the way and landed on top of the adjacent walls. It was clear how frustrated they were about Oraki dodging them continuously even from his blind spots.

This was all thanks to not just Oraki's Warrior Instinct but also Gesa's Revelation; an ability that allowed Oraki to be fully aware of his entire surroundings to the point of it almost being like an omnidirectional view.

Its true nature was to grant knowledge on all things and events that are on the land. It was a truly valuable skill that helped Oraki defend himself against the occasional assassination attempts which came with his position.

"I must admit. You beasts are very tenacious. However, it won't save you from me." Oraki's words held a deeper meaning than the beasts could know.

The time he had spent fighting them allowed most of the other smaller beasts to be defeated. He could focus more of his power for a larger scale attack without worrying about supporting his comrades.

The behemoths as if sensing his intention began trying to perform another merger to strengthen themselves. The decision came too little too late. The very ground beneath their feet was trembling with unbridled power. Oraki had chosen to enter his Final State.

The next course of events happened in a blinding flash of speed. With a light swing and tap on the ground from Oraki, a furious outburst of spikes from both the surrounding walls and the ground had blasted through the beasts. The furious flash of their speed was accompanied by sounds of thunderous booms as if they were lightning ascending from the earth.

The beasts barely had any time to harden themselves in defense but it didn't matter anyway. The spikes were not just faster but far more powerful than before.

Their thick hides were skewered and their vital organs were pierced with weapons holding the highest grade of divine aura. Their healing ability could not protect them from such damage and so their deaths had finally come to pass.

Looking at the other remaining enclosures, the remaining beasts were well on their way to the afterlife as well. The War chiefs had succeeded in using their weapons to take out the vital points of their enemy.

As for Vice General Wadero, he had managed to finally pierce through his opponent with a volley of a hundred spears and skewer their heads and heart.

Seeing that the danger had passed Oraki began returning the land to its original form. The battle had been won and now all that was left was to clean up the mess.

Part 4

The walls of earth sank back into the ground and the landscape began healing itself through the power being channeled by Oraki. The rituals for exorcising any residual demonic aura from the corpses of the beasts was also beginning as the soldiers circled the beasts in preparation. Oraki would soon follow suit and get to work dealing with his own.

"Quite impressive for you to defeat two of them at the same time."

"Are you alright lord Oraki?"

Simanzi and Wadero approached Oraki while he was finishing readjusting the land for the local flora and fauna that he had displaced.

"I'm fine. No injuries to worry about… just a little exhausted. It's been a while since I fought on such a scale. Also thank you for the praise, Vice General. Although I'm sure you would have been able to perform just as admirably. I was barely able to trace the speed of your spears when I looked over to your fight"

It seems Wadero had prioritized maximizing the speed of deployment once he confirmed that A class weaponry could still cause damage at their regular durability. The result was a high-speed hail of the strongest spears at a momentum that greatly aided their piercing thrusts.

It was no wonder he was called 'Wadero the Swift'. With skill like that, he could easily shave through hundreds of enemies be they beast or man in an instant. He was a walking tactical weapon.

"You were incredible as well, Simanzi. You managed to defeat your beast with minimal damage to your squad. An impressive feat."

"You give me too much praise. We were supposed to protect you yet we ended up being aided by you instead. It truly is shameful."

"Simanzi's blatant frankness on the matter aside, it is true that you were a lot more than I took you for. I see you even have a Spirit Weapon. My apologies for looking down on you."

Wadero observed Oraki's staff shrink back to the short scepter that he usually carried with him. Its shape was reminiscent of the Rungu, a wooden throwing club that were popular among bandits.

Naturally, it had been refined with decorations and was actually made of a divine stone that's exceptionally responsive to Gesa's power.

Wadero thought it was an odd choice of weaponry for a High Priest.

"It really isn't anything special compared to your ability to throw a hundred spears but I've learned to make it work. The weird part is that I'm still not sure if it even counts as a Spirit Weapon."

Technically Oraki could achieve the same effect with Gesa's power instead of utilizing Shindo's favor. The only drawback would be that he would be more exhausted constantly doing so.

Shindo's power isn't as taxing to the body when compared to Gesa's.

However, since he'd still need to use his other abilities in a fight any way, it felt a little redundant that he didn't get something akin to Wadero's ability. Perhaps Shindo and fate were playing a little joke on him.

"Now then, I suppose I should begin dealing with these." Oraki looked at the corpses of the beasts he'd taken down. He raised his hand towards one of them and closed his eyes.

"Lord Oraki?"

"I'm going to use Gesa's Revelation to try and see through the nature of these beasts and what they truly are."

As soon as he finished abating Simanzi's curiosity he began focusing his mind and power on the task before him.

A sudden flash of images flooded his mind. The history and nature of the creatures he had slain was there for him to view. The information he was looking for was simple.

Where were the creatures from? How did so many of them come into existence? What was really behind all of this?

As he peered through the images flooding his mind, a story of their origins was beginning to form. They were beasts that managed to break through the chaos of the front lines and managed to reach this far into Vutenia's lands while terrorizing any settlements along the way.

The group of beasts they had fought were merely a fraction of the main group that managed to break through the front lines.

This information worried Oraki since the rest seemed to be heading to the town of Tana. He would have to hurry there soon after this.

As he peered further into the past of these beasts, he saw the location of their origins. It was an inconspicuous cave in a dense remote forest.

It's likely no one but bold bandits and young adventurers would have ever dared to go that deep into the wild. Concealing such a place would be simple enough. Killing off any unfortunate trailblazers, especially the unlawful kind, would be just as easy.

A horde of animal corpses were being carried into the cave by mysterious lightly armored figures. They were those of monkeys, snakes and even some hyenas. This further confirmed two things; the rise of these beasts was indeed artificial and that cave was likely where the ritual to create them came from.

The only mystery left was what force could possibly be powerful enough to generate so many of them. Witchcraft powerful enough to control demonic beasts as familiars wasn't uncommon but to use it on such a scale was a rarity of rarities. Such a thing would be the stuff of legend.

As he tried to look further back and gain knowledge on how they were made, his mind was suddenly filled with images of brilliant flames surrounding him. He called on Gesa's power to dispel them as he reeled back.

He called on even more power than he had used while fighting the beast itself just to try and get through this barrier of flames.

Suddenly, a voice, gentle but sinister in timbre, said to him, "Oh No…Can't be having that…No peeking I'm afraid."

Suddenly a shock run through him as his mind and body were sent flying back. The next thing he knew he was on the ground with a worried Simanzi looking over him.

The beast corpse he was looking through had burst into flames reminiscent of the ones he had been fighting in his mind. He had been careless in his quest for information.

This was an anti-clairvoyant curse that served to protect valuable information. The most common forms would mentally attack the clairvoyance user or physically curse them. Normally, such things while powerful could still be avoided and one could still push through it to find information if one was strong enough.

However, also burning the object being analyzed had made this exponentially harder to do. Fire tended to be a symbol of protection and could interfere with mysticism usage if one knew how to use it.

Oraki had conserved his mental stamina in anticipation of either one of these things but the defense was powerful enough to resist Gesa's authorities. Ordinary witchcraft that used cursed and evil spirits should never have been this effective on him while he was on Vutenian soil. He should have had the advantage yet he had failed.

He had clearly underestimated the power of the enemy. What truly worried him was the presence he felt at the end. It was a kind of living despair unlike any other.

Overwhelming yet it felt somehow warm perhaps even comforting. It wasn't truly demonic, if anything it felt…

"Lord Oraki. Are you alright?"

"We need to go to Tana as quickly as possible."

"What did you see?" Wadero asked in his stoic grace. It barely hid his genuine concern.

"A horde of demonic beasts is headed that way. They were a group that had splintered off from this one. With the knowledge we've gained on how to defeat them, we can minimize casualties if we get there in time."

"Will you be alright, Lord Oraki? That seemed to have really knocked the wind out of you?"

Oraki abated Simanzi's worries, "I'll be fine. I just need to rest up a little that's all. There's a number of things I need to sort out in my mind right now."

They proceeded to quickly finish cleaning up the remaining demonic beasts and treating the wounded as best they can. Once this was done, all that was left was to race to Tana's aid. As he sat in the carriage, Oraki began preparing a message to be given to High King Ranga.

He needed to make him aware of his suspicions as soon as possible. If what he thought he felt from that presence turns out to be true then it's likely that not simply Vutenia but the rest of the known world would be in grave danger.

The presence was not simply demonic but seemed to also have a strong divine nature to it. The only things he had ever heard of with such power were demonic beasts that rose to be so powerful that they would even be worshipped out of fear since they were thought to rival the gods.

They had only ever been theoretical entities, more fiction than real. In fact, defeating demonic beasts was an important task precisely to avoid such an absurd possibility from ever being real. There have been very few beasts thought to reach this level in the entire known history of mankind.

It was theorized that one beast managed to do so during the blood-filled age of the War of the Nine Tribes but knowledge of it had been heavily restricted out of fear of such a thing ever rising again.

These beings were known as Demon Gods and some were said to hold enough authority that only Chief Gods could truly be seen as their equal.

Interlude

Darkness. Coal black darkness as far as the eye could see. Not a single soul in sight, not a sound to be heard.

At first, she thought she was dead but then she knew better than to think this was the afterlife.

The next thought to occur was that perhaps she had lost her senses somehow. Nevertheless, she called for help hoping that someone could hear her.

However, her "voice" barely left her or if it did, she couldn't even tell. She could only "hear" the one in her mind. She could not feel the sensation of her vocal cords.

Suddenly, she heard soft crying. It felt somewhat familiar but she couldn't quite place it. She called out for help once more.

"Hello? Is someone there? Can you hear me? I can't see what's happening!"

There was no response. The crying simply began fading into the distance. She tried even harder to call out as if in defiance of the despair creeping in on her. Another voice rang out as if to answer her call.

"Tili…I don't…if you …hear me…"

The voice was soft and nostalgic. A woman's voice. One she hadn't heard in a long time and yet it was already fading in and out of existence.

"Do you hear me? …a promise..."

"Wait! I hear you! What do you mean? Don't go!"

"We'll figure this out, Tili. Count on it."

With those words, the voice finally disappeared. All that was left was silence. Deafening silence. Maddening silence. A return to despair.

"No…Wait! Please…" Mekatili shouted out in desperation.

A feeling of despair engulfed her in more ways than one. She suddenly felt like she was sinking into a vast ocean. It was weakening her focus considerably. Her mind felt warm and muted.

"Am I losing consciousness?" she thought while fighting against the suffocating sensation.

She tried to reach out with her "hand". At least that's what she wanted to do but there was nothing there. Even if there was, she couldn't feel it.

What truly made her situation frightening was how warm and comforting it all began to feel. As if something inside of her was telling her it was okay to let go.

Contrary to what some of her peers may think, Mekatili was quite analytical and prudent when found in a tough spot. She always tried to calmly think of a way out of things if she could. Unfortunately, she couldn't even try to analyze this calmly no matter how much she wanted to.

Sadness and desperation were all that was left of her final struggles. She thought tears would trickle down her eyes but it seems she was denied even the freedom to cry in despair. She couldn't even scream.

As she began fading away, she let out one final cry of help to a person she hadn't called for in ages. Not since she was a young child had she thought to rely on them so desperately. But her instincts knew that if anyone could save her then it would be them.

"Ora…ki…hel…"

With that final thought, her consciousness faded into the void of darkness. All that was left was silence. Painful silence. Lonely silence.