Chapter 208: Even the Inside of the Town is More Dangerous than the Outside.
The desert wind swept through the damaged street, carrying grains of sand across the shattered stone. Bahamut remained still for several seconds. The cracked wall before him slowly crumbled further, pieces falling around the spear of compressed earth mana embedded deep within it. Even now, the projectile radiated faint pressure.
That was a killing blow. Clean, efficient, and professional. Bahamut reached out and gripped the hardened construct.
CRACK!
The spear shattered in his hand. Dust and fragments scattered between his fingers as the faint killing intent lingering on them disappeared completely.
"Interesting."
His lips slowly curled upward beneath the blindfold out of excitement. He turned and began walking back calmly as civilians cautiously peeked out from hiding places. Some stared at the destroyed wall, others stared at Bahamut himself.
Whispers spread quickly.
"Was it a beast?"
"No... no beast entered the town..."
"Then what caused that?"
"Did the outsider fight someone?"
Bahamut ignored all of it. His senses remained expanded now. He was alert, searching for even the faintest trace of that killing intent again, but nothing appeared. Whoever attacked him knew how to disappear well. Too well.
By the time Bahamut neared the central district again, he sensed familiar presences approaching rapidly.
A moment later.
"Master!"
Alana appeared first. She nearly crashed into him from the sheer speed at which she moved, grabbing his arm immediately while checking him over frantically.
"Are you hurt?!"
Behind her came Lily, Exildra, Sel, Gabi, and finally Ren, hopping across the rooftops before landing dramatically atop Bahamut’s head.
"What exploded?" Ren asked immediately.
"Did the beasts break through already?" Sel added, already preparing for a confrontation. The group looked tense ready for battle.
Bahamut stared at them for a moment before chuckling softly. Then he smiled darkly.
The kind of smile that immediately made everyone wary.
"Someone tried to kill me."
Silence engulfed the place as everyone looked at him in shock. Ren’s ears slowly stood upright, Sel’s calm expression disappeared instantly, Exildra’s eyes narrowed dangerously. And Lily... The air around her suddenly grew hotter.
"Who?" she asked quietly.
Bahamut shrugged lightly.
"Didn’t see them."
"You’re joking," Sel muttered.
"Nope."
Bahamut pointed lazily behind him. "There’s a giant hole in the wall if you want proof."
"You got ambushed, and you’re smiling?" Gabi asked with disbelief.
Bahamut’s grin widened further.
"It was a good attack."
"That makes it worse!" Ren snapped. "You almost died!"
"Almost," Bahamut corrected casually.
"That means I didn’t."
Exildra walked closer immediately, grabbing Bahamut’s chin roughly and turning his face side to side as if checking for injuries herself.
"You idiot..." Though her voice was cold, the faint trembling in her fingers betrayed her worry.
Bahamut blinked.
"You sound angry."
"I am angry."
"Because I almost died?"
"No." Her golden eye glowed faintly. "Because you look happy about it."
Bahamut paused, stared at her serious face, and laughed. Sel sighed deeply.
"Of course he’s enjoying this..."
"This is bad," Gabi muttered. "If someone inside the town attacked him, that means..."
"We’re being watched," Lily finished grimly.
Everyone fell silent again, because that possibility changed things completely. The beasts outside were already dangerous enough. Now there might also be enemies within Senkeht itself. Ren suddenly hopped down from Bahamut’s head and landed before him with narrowed eyes.
"You sensed them before the attack?"
"Yeah."
"How strong?"
Bahamut thought for a moment.
"Strong enough."
That alone made Sel tense slightly. Bahamut rarely acknowledged strength so openly.
"Malevolent?" Gabi asked.
"Very."
The memory of that killing intent replayed again in Bahamut’s mind. It hadn’t felt random: it had felt rather personal, as if the attacker already hated him long before today. Alana suddenly tightened her grip around Bahamut’s arm possessively.
"We should tell Forta."
"No," Bahamut answered immediately.
Everyone looked at him.
"Why not?" Sel asked.
Bahamut’s smile returned slowly.
"Because I want them to try again."
"You are mentally ill," Ren stated flatly.
Bahamut shrugged.
"Maybe."
"But if someone in this town wants me dead..." his voice lowered slightly, "...then I want to know why."
The evening wind blew across the streets as the group continued walking together toward their residence, and far above them, from atop the great wall, Tunik watched silently.
...
Far away from Senkeht... Beyond the dunes, beyond the hunting grounds of the lesser beasts. Beyond even the forbidden excavation site beneath the eastern desert... Something watched. The night there was unnaturally dark. No moonlight touched the sands, no stars shone above, even the wind itself seemed absent, as if the desert had become afraid to breathe.
Silence ruled the wasteland. A suffocating silence.
Two lights appeared. They were purple and massive, glowing softly within the darkness. Eyes. Ancient eyes filled with terrifying intelligence. They floated high above the desert floor, unmoving as they stared toward the distant direction of Senkeht.
A low rumble echoed softly. It wasn’t thunder but heavy breathing. A monstrous breathing. The darkness shifted slightly, revealing scales hidden beneath the blackness. Jagged shapes, immense muscle, and claws larger than houses partially buried beneath the sands.
Then a voice emerged. It was deep, calm, and disturbingly human.
"We will meet soon enough, Young Master." The glowing eyes narrowed slightly. "But first..."
A low growl reverberated across the desert.
"We will have to play a little game." The pressure behind the voice alone caused the surrounding dunes to collapse inward. "And it has just begun."
A faint beam of moonlight finally pierced through the clouds overhead, enough to reveal part of the creature’s face. A monstrous head emerged from the darkness. It resembled a fusion between a dragon and a wolf.
Massive black-gold scales layered its skull like armor, while sharp fur-like protrusions ran along its jawline and neck. Its snout was elongated and predatory, filled with rows of serrated teeth that glimmered beneath the faint light.
Four enormous curved horns extended backward from its head: Two large and two smaller beneath them. They all cracked faintly with purple energy.
Its eyes glowed brighter now. Then the creature slowly smiled. And somewhere deep beneath the desert, something else answered its amusement with a distant roar.
