"Distant kin... Are you the ones we were told to slaughter?"
Skullius' face turned comical, as he turned to Maxim instinctively, who also turned to him, as if suspecting that he was somehow in league with the Cluster beasts.
Distant kin?
Slaughter?
What was going on?
Within each other's eyes, past the question of what the beast's statement meant, Skullius and Maxim could see the confusion glowing within.
Did this Cluster beast just speak to them in the Known Language?
Skullius had never experienced this before with Cluster beasts, not even with Generals.
But... wait. What about the Great Mane Mountain Ape from the Tremur Forest?
...!
Was this creature using something like [Greater Communication] to communicate with them?
Different from Skullius and Maxim however, Tallo didn't seem quite as surprised by this.
He actively gave a response after walking towards the silver-furred rider.
"Who told you kill us?" the Mage asked.
The rider didn't answer him immediately, and instead kept staring at him with eyes that seemed to have absorbed all the darkness in the world. Its thin lips then parted again.
"One of your kind... A lean creature with a youthful life force..." the rider replied with the best deadpan face Skullius had ever seen. He spoke with brief pauses in between, which gave his voice a sagely tone.
'Is he... talking about Rias EverSword?' Skullius asked himself.
"The young creature spared only my clan among the tens that used to thrive here, but...."
The creature's head turned, looking at the destruction around without a shift in its expression.
The deep maroon pillars around the three had been decimated, the land had been scorched, and far off was the worst of it. While the rider wore a poker face, Skullius, Maxim, and Tallo knew what was up.
Tallo had been right.
This was definitely some kind of sacred ground.
And as soon as they arrived, they had begun to desecrate it without a care.
What were the consequences of this?
Well, maybe slaughter, but was there a better way forward?
'I don't like where this is going?' Skullius thought. He had thought to share this sentence with his 'buddy' but held himself back.
"He warned us that heathens... bloodthirsty demonic incarnates would be sent here, but I never imagined... you all, as distant kin to be as evil as this... to diminish the little we have left even further... while in the presence of the All-Guiding Appairitoni..."
'Bloodthirsty incarnates...? You mean contender?' Skullius asked in his heart, afraid to voice his words. 'We were misrepresented!'
Could everyone in the stadium hear this?!
Skullius looked to Tallo, hoping that the man – since he had taken the role of spokesperson – would smooth the matter over by explaining their circumstances at least. Wrecking the place – an open temple, as Tallo himself had described – wasn't intentional.
While explaining that probably wouldn't change much, maybe, they could at least clear the hostility a little.
To Skullius and Maxim's shock though...
"What are you doing to do about it?" Tallo said, not forgetting to add the intimidating, taunting tone that always seemed to tune the antagonist of a cliche fantasy tale into a killing frenzy.
Skullius leapt up to speak.
"Don't listen to him! We are not what you think we are!" he cried, spreading his arms out.
The rider closed his eyes calmly.
"I've heard enough," he said, and Skullius could have sworn he saw – with Crude Vision – what could be spotted of his ears under the fur, get tucked in, in order to consolidate his stance.
"Regardless of who you are... We were promised that if we slay you all, we may keep what remains of our kind... I am inclined to believe he who has a leash on our fates..."
Skullius looked dumbfounded, then angry as he turned to Tallo who smiled.
"What was that?!" he whispered.
Was there really a need to aggravate these beasts further?
Tallo didn't reply.
The rider raised his hand up, and the clouds above churned. The three looked up, and saw everything that could be seen past the clouds before get hidden.
The sky suddenly looked like a painting of electric blue.
"I assume you are smart enough to know... the sky's agents govern motion here," the rider said apathetically, "But I... govern these agents in turn. You cannot flee from this place without my permission..."
Maxim was the first to ignite her Perfect Aura again. As things had escalated so suddenly, she opted to get ready. Her eyes went to Skullius, and surprisingly, she said:
"You better be as useful as I hope."
Skullius sheepishly smiled...again, and prepared for the worst. Tallo remained rooted in place, a casual look of happiness on his face.
This was really what he wanted, huh?
The other riders on their Beckoned Retrievers finally moved, and rushed out in different directions. They each stationed themselves among the pillars outside the charred zone, across different stretches of distance.
Then, they raised their hands, and in a flash of light, large, curved horns appeared in their grips, a luminous orange-crimson looking to be burning within them, which admitted a strange glow. They put the horns to their mouths – everyone had to assume, since their faces were nothing but fur – and soon after, a cacophony of groans with an immense depth rang out from all around the sacred place.
It was strangely rhythmic, but the musically illiterate soul wouldn't have caught the 'genius' in this music.
The horns being blown didn't only bellow out with sound, however. A rush of wind began to slowly blow along with the long running tune, picking up speed with each second.
Moments later, a full blown hurricane had assaulted the hallowed space, and at first, Skullius and the rest thought this was the beginnings of an attack on them, but they were proved wrong right away.
As the deep tune from the horns roared, another tune, certain to be categorised by any music fanatic as an acquired taste, rang out in high and low notes. It sounded like someone was playing a gigantic flute.
It dawned on the human trio that the pillars with gaping hollows on them, were the ones responsible for the second tune.
Their purpose was to create this... delightful melody (?), while the wind, which wasn't all that intolerable, blew on every living thing among them.
This seemed like some sort of ritual.
The silver furred rider looked pleased, even though Skullius could tell he might have been sour from the song obviously not going as it usually did, a courtesy offered by the contenders' destructive services free of charge.
Skullius inched closer to Maxim.
"Why are we waiting around? Shouldn't we just get this over with?"
He had decided to let the heavy hitters do the hitting first. Frankly, having them as allies – however temporary – with their Incarnations, was bliss. It was safer to act as support for them.
At the same time, on instinct, both Maxim and Skullius had decided to wait on the maniac who had intended for this situation, to act, so that they could confirm whether or not they were on the same page.
As it so happened, it was Tallo who answered Skullius' question.
"Hold on," he simply said.
"..."
The rider, who had silently been appreciating the music, disregarding them, turned to face them again.
"This was the time for the seasonal celebration of Appairitoni. We.... hold this ritual to give Appairitoni praise for his guidance, and... protection. When there were many of us, we used to feast together with other clans, and the loyal Pioneers. Having drinks, playing games, and.... making peace with enemies..." he said before bringing his palms together, and making a strange symbol with his fingers.
...!!!
Skullius and Maxim were alarmed, and found themselves dashing far away from the Cluster beast, but Tallo remained.
The terrible howl of an astounding gush of mana fiercely swam from the pillars around them, and sank into the ground, drawing three, large, bright, circular outlines on the ground, each wider than the last.
The first, in which Skullius, Tallo, Maxim, and the silver furred rider were in, was roughly eight hundred meters in diameter. The second, was two kilometres, and the third, in which the maroon pillars still featured, was five kilometres.
The rider continued to speak as the fierce wind billowed, his fingers unclasping.
"I sense the gazes of innumerable eyes on us, distant kin. Your people... must be watching. Thus, I fear that if I were to slaughter you unfairly, I might put my kind in a difficult situation if.... hmmm.... whoever you are, and whatever you have done," he said, hints of suspicion showing in his eyes.
"Therefore, I have chosen... to introduce a game my kin play. If you emerge victorious, I shall be generous, and fulfill any of your wishes. I alone. If you lose, I shall slaughter you... as it was requested of me..."
'Great another game,' Skullius grunted unpleasantly, an uncertain look on his face.
Something about this didn't feel right.
Was slaughtering them the only thing these beasts were told to do? If that was the case, it seemed weird that it was willing to let them live, and even introduce a game.
It was weird indeed.
However, his focus was brought right back when the rider manifested two deadly weapons as mysteriously as his kin had with the horns.
He held them, and then made a formal introduction.
"Baddan is my name... distant kin. Baddan of the Cruel Spears. Please acknowledge, and brand this name to your souls... before we begin..."
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