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“Dialogue”

‘Thoughts’

-Author notes-

Chapter 21: Prey

‘I'm being chased by two Beastmen!’ Zephyr became alarmed.

But a part of him also felt relief at the fact that the golden-furred Beastman had not come personally for him.

His chances of escaping would have been zero then.

In comparison, these two were much weaker than their leader but were still much more powerful than Zephyr himself.

One of the black-haired beasts jumped in front of him, blocking his path and preventing him from leaving the forest while the other one remained behind him.

“Give up, human. Come with us quietly and you will not be harmed.”

“Resistance is futile against us.”

Zephyr was surprised to hear they were here to capture him and not to kill him.

‘Their leader must have given them that order. He did not know why.’ One thing he had learned over the years was that Celestials did not care for them, their happiness, or their lives, as long as they served some purpose for them.

Whatever the reason may be, this gave him a small advantage over his enemies.

If their objective was to capture him alive, they would have no choice but to hold back.

‘Identify.’ He used the skill on the beastman in front of him.

[Identify skill level up to 3]

[Eren, Beastman of the Black Wolf tribe, Level 9. Servant of Metasias]

‘Oh? My observation skill just got better. I was given much more information than before.’

He glanced at the other one.

[Ark, Beastman of the Black Wolf tribe, Level 10. Servant of Metasias]

‘This Ark is a bit stronger… If I could push aside the one in front of me, perhaps I can escape into town.’

“You won't answer?... Fine!” Ark lost his patience and rushed at Zephyr.

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Neither of the Celestial Beastmen carried any weapons. They had no need for them as their claws were as sharp and resistant as the best blades on the continent.

Zephyr barely saw Ark move, and the next instant, there was a deep gash on his right calf.

He groaned when the feeling of pain started to overwhelm him but managed to keep his balance and not fall.

“Ark, be more careful. If you cut one of his limbs, he will bleed to death,” Eren warned him.

Ark grinned. “Sorry brother, I sometimes forget just how fragile humans are.”

Eren frowned. “If Master gets angry at me because of you…”

“Calm down brother… I'll be more careful. But anyways… look,” Ark pointed at Zephyr. “With his leg like that, he won't be able to go anywhere now.”

Zephyr clenched his teeth with frustration. He realized that his initial plan of escaping into the town was never going to work.

Not only were they much faster than him, but there was also no chance these two would care about hurting other humans in order to capture him.

‘The only way to escape… is to kill them.’

That seemed like an impossible task. They were stronger and faster than him.

Zephyr didn't even have a weapon. His only form of attack was a single spell, and the instant he showed them his one card… it would be over.

‘I have to create a situation that would allow me to end the fight with one surprise attack.’ He glanced down at his bleeding leg.

‘It doesn't matter how many injuries I sustain in the process. The Goddess's blessing will heal me at the end.’

“Ready to give up, human?” Eren asked.

Zephyr noticed that despite their physical similarities, these two had very different personalities.

Eren was much kinder while Ark enjoyed the violence.

‘I should go for the violent one first.’ He concluded.

“Oi, are you deaf?” Ark kicked him on the back, making him fall face-first on the ground. “If a Celestial asks you something…. you answer! Did no one teach you any manners?”

Zephyr groaned again. That kick had broken something. With a lot of difficulty, he turned on his back. “I… I won't be going with you… you'll have to kill me.”

“What a stubborn human… our Master has granted you mercy despite the fact that your crimes were deserving of death…” Eren said.

Ark stood over him for a moment before lifting his right foot and bringing it down onto Zephyr's left arm.

A loud crunch could be heard as the Beastman crushed his arm.

Zephyr let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Ark, that's enough. Just knock him out and be done with it,” Eren demanded.

“You are no fun…” Ark pouted before standing on top of Zephyr.

He tried his best to maintain his calm despite the pain he was feeling.

When Zephyr saw Ark raising his right fist, he knew this was going to be his only and last chance to do this.

He clenched his teeth real hard and extended his right hand up, aligning it with Ark's face.

The Beastman smiled at what he considered a pointless effort.

“Oh? Don't tell me you can use some magic… how cute.”

Ark didn't feel any threat from Zephyr because even if he could use some basic magic, he was fast enough to avoid them.

Looking at his grey eyes, they both assumed that Zephyr was a water element since that was the closest color.

“Lightning…”

Ark became shocked when he saw sparks forming on Zephyr's hand.

“...Strike!” Zephyr shouted.

No matter how fast he was, Ark was not faster than lightning. When the spell came out of Zephyr's hand, he had no chance to avoid it since he got too close to the boy in order to knock him out.

A flash of lightning made its way through his face and came out of the back of his skull, killing the Beastman before he could understand what happened to him.

[Level up… status recovery]

[Level up… status recovery]