Things took a sudden turn so abruptly that it took a few seconds for Kale to comprehend the situation, and then he started to struggle madly, gripped by the fear of another uncertainty, 'Fuck, Fuck, FUCCCKKKKK…'
But his struggles were futile; he had already, by instinct, put Neo into his shadows the moment the Humanoid Eagle dove down towards him, and his Hydra was struggling and roaring madly within his shadow, trying to come out.
Neo didn't care how powerful the entity which grabbed its master was; the Nemesis Hydra was not afraid of anyone. But Kale was afraid; in fact, he was much more fearful of a powerful intellectual entity than a mountain-sized beast.
Within a minute, flying through the air, he had reached the top of the tree, which seemed endless in height and expanse, and from his current vantage point, perhaps calling it gargantuan was truly a severe understatement.
The massive Humanoid Eagle gently put him down, and Kale instantly made some distance, looking at the man coldly, filled with caution, but a trace of fascination replaced the expression on his face as he saw the merger reversed.
His mind spun with countless thoughts as he witnessed such a miraculous process. Something that defied and challenged all assumptions and scientific logic that biological beings were supposed to uphold.
But that thought did not linger in his mind for long, as his eyes landed upon the tall, muscular man with slightly long hair; his attire was simple, wearing a tunic made of the bark of some plant-like beast.
His face was neither friendly nor cold, but there was a not-so-hidden curiosity in his eyes when looking at Kale.
The Cursed Tamer took another step back, his eyebrows furrowed, unsure of how to assess this mighty powerhouse; it wouldn't be wrong to say that this was the strongest being Kale had met since reincarnating in this world, excluding the World Dragon when it cursed him.
The man sighed, "Relax, kid. If I wanted to do any harm, you would already be dead."
Then he turned left and walked into the large wooden hut built atop that place.
Kale's mouth twitched; those words were true, and not only that, if the powerhouse wanted, he could perhaps forcefully drag out his Nemesis Hydra from his shadows; after all, the sheer gap between him and the Guild Master was 5 major ranks.
Kale might as well be less than an ant to him.
He looked around in all directions for a moment, taking in the majestic sight from that eclipsing height. The clouds floating through the blue heavens were just a bit higher than him; they felt so close he could almost touch them. The sun was slowly setting down on the west side.
But there was a bizarreness in the sky that Kale could spot; the sun, in that moment, was incredibly small, like a slightly larger glowing coin. As the sun sank lower, the giant moon slowly rose behind it, creating a partial eclipse.
Kale squinted in suspicion. 'Is today a special day or something?'
Suddenly, a voice spoke from the side, "It's quite beautiful, isn't it?"
Kale jumped back in fright, "Damn it."
The Overlord Tamer said, "Take a seat, and enjoy; after all, you can only see it from a place like this,
Then he added, "Only on the days before the Beast Tides hit all the borders of the Empire is the partial eclipse available."
Kale looked at the man, hesitantly wrapped his hands, and said, with a half-bow in a respectful tone, "I, Apprentice Artificer Kale, greet Sir Rivaldo, and I apologise for my previous misconduct."
The Overlord Tamer said nonchalantly, "I don't care about those things, kiddo; relax."
Kale nodded as he eventually took a seat on the chair set beside him, and both of them watched the partial eclipse that lasted for a few moments, and after it did, Rivaldo asked him, "So, you're Cursed by the Church? Huh."
He added, "Which is why you had to become a Tamer through creating a Chimaera and bonding with it?"
Kale nodded with a sigh.
Then Rivaldo stated, "If you don't mind, can I see that Chimaera of yours once?"
The Cursed Tamer naturally did not want to show Neo to this powerful man, but he had no choice and gritted his teeth, giving a mental command; with it, Neo appeared on his shoulder.
All three heads of The Nemesis Hydra hissed in a threatening manner at Overlord Rivaldo while wrapping their wings around Kale's head in a protective gesture.
It was quite comical, and Kale felt a bit embarrassed that a mere Feral-rank creature was threatening an Overlord-rank entity who perhaps commanded multiple Ancient-rank Beasts. But he appreciated the brave gesture from his tamed Beast regardless.
Unlike what Kale expected, Sir Rivaldo's expression turned solemn as he stared at the three-headed hydra; after a moment, he said in a heavy tone, "What a monstrous little creature."
The man hesitated as he asked, "Is this… truly your creation, boy?"
Kale nodded curtly.
"No wonder it was able to aggravate an entire Horde of Ravager-rank creatures and Alpha-rank creatures were disturbed by it; even my Ancient-rank Beasts feel wary of this creature."
"At the same time, they also have the urge to eat it," explained the Overlord.
In response, the Cursed Tamer looked coldly at the powerhouse.
Then Sir Rivaldo shook his head, "At the same time, I know that if one of my Beasts does eat this creature out of greed, it would surely die, because this… creature is too abominal… too horrendous."
"It is a creature whose very nature goes against the natural order, preordained to defy the heavens," stated the powerhouse, his tone a mix of fascination and anxiousness.
Kale remained silent throughout the Guild Leader's words.
"I can feel it clearly, that you are also somewhat different, changed by bonding with this thing, I presume," the man said, then asked Kale.
"Who are you, kid? Tell me? You cannot simply be a nobody to be able to create such a monstrosity"
Kale inhaled deeply and revealed, "An Artificer of the Association; my master is Lazek Oberon, who is the 7th disciple of the Association Leader."
Rivaldo's eyes flashed with understanding, "So, you're Lazek's disciple? No wonder, truly no wonder, that kid is also a monster in his own right; at least now I can accept it."
Kale asked, "You know my master?"
Rivaldo scoffed, "I know the Association Leader, who is my friend, so yes, I know about Lazek because that man wouldn't shut up about his talented disciple."
Kale blinked in surprise; that was a bit unexpected.
"So, you came to the Swamp Hatchery to hatch the Chimaera egg?" said the Overlord after some contemplation.
Kale affirmed, "Yes, I did."
There was a long pause from the powerhouse after that before he spoke in a cautious tone, "You do know that the instant when the Church learns about this creature and your situation, they will spare no effort to destroy you and your Chimaera."
"While the Church forces may not target you openly as you are a member of the association, they will definitely kill you through underhanded means."
"I know," Kale said, unsurprised by the warning words.
Sir Rivaldo looked in the distance and said tentatively, "For now, stay in here till the Beast Tides are over; I will give you a position in the Guild Forces, and you can hone yourself as you face the various Beast Hordes."
"In here, it won't be a problem no matter how much you show off your strength. But it would be unwise for you to go back to the Empire without hiding the presence and visage of your Beast."
Kale wore a sombre look; without his master's help, he did not know how to procure an enchantment to hide the Draconic presence or features of his Hydra.
The Overlord, as if sensing his sombre mood, shifted the topic, speaking in a praising tone, "By the way, you did well on making the two Beast Hordes clash. It was quite an ingenious idea."
He added shortly, "More than that, you did a good job drawing out the Mountain Wood Tiger. It made it far easier for me to injure it. There should not be any trouble, at least for a few days."
Kale asked out of curiosity, "Is that creature truly made of wood?"
Rivaldo nodded, "Yes, it is; actually, there is a legend about this creature that this is not a living Beast, rather a mere artefact created by the World Dragon a long time ago on a whim, as the Divine One was bored."
"And I always felt that there was something very wrong about the creature, but could never truly point it out, despite having fought it countless times."
Kale's heart trembled as he heard Sir Rivaldo speak of the legend regarding the Mountain Wood Tiger; there might be a tangible truth to those words that even Kale could not refute outright.
Kale found the Wood Tiger's gaze somewhat strange; if it were truly the Divine Dragon's creation, that would make sense.
Not to mention, a living being made of wood rather than flesh did not make sense to him; it felt more nonsensical than anything else, even in a magical world like this one.
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