"Are you sure this is the place?" Therisa asked with a worried face as she looked around the dark forest, and quickly jumped in place when she heard the wolves howling in the distance. But that wasn't what got her so afraid. As a vampire, she could sll the blood, sense death, and know that tens of people died around this place, eaten by so terrifying horror.
Agnar looked back at her with a passive face. "Yeah, this is the way. Our job is to hunt the monster prowling this part of the forest. If you're so scared, then stay close, or go back on your own."
She frowned and then threw a glance at Yuwaku and Ignis, who followed him without asking many questions. "Are you two okay with that? You can feel how dangerous the thing lurking in here, right?"
Ignis was the one to reply, and she growled, crossing her arms as flas burned across her crimson hair. "Why would a drakaina like re fear so wild monster?" Even if she was just a wyrmling, a dragon is a dragon no matter what, and she was best described as a massive crocodile that has wings, can breathe fire, and has scales hard enough to deflect swords. This fiery little brat was red drakaina, and that fact cannot be changed even if she looked innocent and cute.
"It is dangerous." Yuwaku looked back at Therisa with a worried face. "But it is a direct request from the castle, so it was Father who signed it. We can't just refuse it." She smiled, "Don't worry, I'm strong, Agnar is also powerful, but together, we're far stronger than any monster around."
Therisa was still doubtful, but she didn't have the energy to argue with those two. She had to rember that while this… seductive Nymph was Arad's daughter. She was the child of her Blood Lord, and so… her words were technically law.
Ignis was also Arad's adopted daughter; he had picked her out in the wild and even allowed her to build a nest and a hoard in his domain, sothing that most dragons won't allow. Therisa could assu that Arad would co crashing out if sothing happened to her, so this mission should be safe.
She could only hope, but hope alone didn't help with the dark forest, growling beasts around them, and the rancid stench filling the air. At least, none of them is human.
Agnar was a rakshasa now, Yuwaku is a nymph, Ignis is a red drakaina, and Therisa is a pure-blooded vampire. If things went south, she could also pull her trump card, the trump card every vampire with honor and pride could pull. Looking down at her fists, she smiled, "Well, I'll survive at least."
Agnar pulled the request paper once more, and Ignis ignited a fla to illuminate it for him. As they all gathered around and gave the drawing of the monster a look, they frowned. It was a giant spider-like creature with eight legs, each of which was made of human bodies linked from head to foot. The torso was a massive one, looking like that of a widow spider, but made of sown flesh. Then, above the massive and hairy spider head, there were two naked torsos of won, each of them having a massive arm with a bone scythe attached to it.
"That rotten brat," Therisa growled. This creature was Poppy's creation, a horror that she made to protect herself and be a distraction for Arad as she ran away. She had it parked in the forest, but since she got captured, the monster is now out of control and violating the natural order of monsters and animals in the forest.
"This bastard has to be upper A-class, maybe even an S," Agnar growled, and Yuwaku pointed at the beast's legs. "Look, each leg is made from five human bodies. If we took them each as a ter and a half at the minimum, then this thing might be as wide as fifteen ters."
Therisa pointed at the drawing. "Maybe? This thing is S-class, did you look behind the paper?" She flipped the paper, and there was a paragraph explaining that the thing monster can reproduce rapidly, and while Poppy was rampaging in the city, it should've given birth to at least a few dozen, if not more than a hundred of its lesser spawns.
The spawns were the size of a large sheep, having human heads instead of those of spiders, and their limbs were made of hairy hands and feet.
"Fighting one big monster might be simple and dangerous, but fighting such a massive swarm is deadly. Besides, do you know how disgusting they look? Just look at the drawing, if it is this ugly here, imagine what it would look like in reality!"
"If it is made by that little girl, then we can win. I fought her, and even though I lost, I was still able to hold my own." Agnar smiled. He did fight Poppy before, ended up losing, but still… he did well at the ti.
"We both fought her and lost. You should know that she makes absolute horrors, and I'm not looking forward to having my blood anywhere near that thing." Just imagining herself biting that monster made her gag, so Therisa wasn't that thrilled about this mission at all.
Agnar stared at her. "I'm pretty sure Arad said you're a powerful, violent, and strong vampire that isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty…"
"Well, killing humans is fine for . They are my natural prey and food source, so I don't mind massacring a whole bandit camp. But ugly monsters still disgust as much as anyone else." She looked at the full moon above. "I wonder what my lord is doing now."
"Probably it is better if we don't know." Agnar sighed as he stored the paper and looked back into the endless dark forest. "We have to deal with the monster either way."
"I say we smoke it out." Ignis lifted her hand, "Let set's the place ablaze, and the fire should force that thing out."
Agnar sighed. "Sorry, but please don't use your flas in the forest. We don't want to have a forest fire to deal with. Fight just with your hands." Hearing him, Ignis looked at her hands for a while, and then cried. "Wait a mont! How am I supposed to fight if I can't burn it?!"
Ignis was hoping to just keep distance and blast the monster with fire from afar, but now that she found out that she would have to fight close and personal, she was starting to understand why Therisa didn't want to fight that thing.
"I also doubt my beauty would work on it. Mindless monsters aren't known to have the ntal capacity to understand beauty. But don't worry, I got wind and void magic to play with." She flexed her arm, "I can punch pretty hard, too."
"We should aim at the legs first. Once we drop it down, we cut open the stomach and then retreat, let it bleed to death." Agnar looked at them, "But, don't go anywhere near its face. Those scythes would cut us in half with a single swing."
"Don't look at . I would rather not drink or touch that thing's blood with my own. I'll help you cut its legs, and if things get out of hand, I'll try to slow it with my blood magic." She looked at Agnar with a smug smile. "Well, you can always convince to fight more."
Yuwaku crossed her arms and rested them on Agnar's head, looking toward Therisa with a worried face. "Agnar, what should we do. This bloodsucking fiend wants a lick of your blood." She then smiled, "Would you rather drink mine? Or even Ignis's blood?"
Therisa shook her head, "No way, your blood is too sweet for , and Ignis is too hot and spicy, it'll burn my throat down. Agnar is a rare delicacy, though." She looked at the darkness behind her. "Well, I also got a second trump card, so we don't have to worry. I'll get as much blood out of you as I want later."
"If I find you on my neck, I'll shave your head bald." Agnar glared at her, "Do it a second ti, and I'll pull your fangs out with blacksmith tongs." He then looked into the darkness. "Monsters are slowly surrounding us; we should move."
Back in the castle, Arad was on his bed with Isdis, Roberta, Eris, Kory, Rey, Ray, and several maids lying on him. He looked through a large crystal orb as he sipped wine from a large mug, which Zephyr was sitting naked inside, looking at the crystal orb with him.
"Would you mind not taking a bath in my drink?" Arad looked at Zephyr, and she relaxed even further. "Why would you mind? I'm as clean as air." He took another sip, "Don't complain if I accidentally swallow you."
Zephyr then pointed toward the crystal orb. "Look, that ugly monster is avoiding them. It doesn't want to fight, but… we can't have it around."
"Of course, it would be afraid. Its master is nowhere to be found, and now it is being hunted by a Devil Rakshasa, a Jet-black Nymph, a Bloodied Vampire, and a Fiery Drakaina." Arad smiled, "Any one of them is powerful enough to be a threat."
Zephyr looked at him and then at the room's door. The door opened up, and Poppy walked in, chained and with a large bag over her head. Zia was behind her, and the mont they walked in, she kicked her to the ground.
"Ass up, face kissing the floor. One wrong move and I'll crack your skull open. Bringing you here alone is too much." Zia growled at her and then gave Arad a bow. "Was it right to let her this deep into the private quarter? She is dangerous."
"She isn't anymore." Arad sighed, "Poppy, care to explain this thing directly to ? And yes, I'll look into your mind."
She giggled. "Well, then I don't need to hide anything, do I?" She smiled beneath the bag, but remained on the ground. "First off, this room slls wonderful. I wish I were here just a few minutes ago."
Zephyr looked at her. "Believe , you wish." She then looked at Arad, "What do you say?"
"Nope. The monster, now." He replied, and Poppy sighed. "As boring as ever. You can just look at that thing, and it'll die. Why won't you do that?"
"Zia." Arad sighed, and Zia kicked Poppy's butt as hard as she could, sending her rolling on the ground, before pulling her back by the chains.
"Take a joke! Will you?" Poppy growled and then spoke in a tired, pained voice. "That monster, can you just spare it? You let co see you here, so you probably already understand, don't you?"
"I want an explanation then." Hearing his sharp voice, Poppy gave up. "Fine, fine, don't eat alive…" She sounded sarcastic, but there was a hint of genuine worry in her thoughts.
"That thing isn't mindless. It was following my orders, and when you took away, it was left rampaging around looking for ." Poppy shook her head. "I told it to just hide in the forest, make a lot of spawns, and wait for so we can run away together after the mission ends."
"That still isn't a reason why we shouldn't kill it."
"I don't have any other reason. As ugly and scary as it looks, I have had it for years now, and it was my pet. I just wanted to ask you to spare its life, that's all." As he heard her, Arad sighed. "Zia, take her back to her cell."
As they left, Zephyr looked up at Arad's face. "So, what now? Leave it alive, or kill it?"
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