"Did your master kill my father?"
"…"
"…"
"….."
The atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Yukon, Krishna, Shen, and the other Grade C powerhouses seemed to freeze in place. Predator's sudden appearance and question instantly changed the mood.
They could feel the connection that Predator undoubtedly had to Legolas, but still, this could not stop the atmosphere from turning tense.
After going to the Nightmare Beast Island, after everything that he learned, Predator's aura seemed to change in a way, becoming more ancient and archaic.
Learning about his origin changed this Nightmare Beast in different ways.
This new aura that he projected paired with the type of question that he just asked set nerves flying erratically.
'Who does that?' This literally dominated their minds.
Just the 'kill' in Predator's question implicated a lot. Literally every spectator at this moment paused as their minds went wild with different theories.
'Father…, who is this Nightmare Beast's father?'
'And if he's talking of Lucky's master, is he referring to Legolas?'
'If not Legolas, who is this Lucky's master that he is referring to?'
'If her master really killed his father, what are the implications of this?'
'Are they going to fight to the death?!' They were horrified.
Even Legolas was so shocked by his beast's change that he could not speak to intervene immediately as the Nightmare Beast and the Fox were at a face-off.
Predator ignored everything else and looked into Lucky's eyes.
These 2 beasts have spent so much time with each other, even closer than with Legolas that they understood each other a lot.
Predator's gaze may be intense and intimidating to the others, pushing them all into high alert but Lucky was used to it, Predator's gaze was always intense.
She literally grew up being subjected to this intense gaze daily.
While the tension in the air increased to the others, Lucky remained relaxed.
While the others saw animosity, she saw confusion in Predator's eyes.
Compared to before, Lucky was now vastly more mature.
She finally spoke. "Predator, where did you hear that?"
"I saw it". Predator said in a slightly confused tone even as he kept on looking at her. "She helped the enemy and dealt the killing blow to my father".
Predator looked so intensely at the Fox that it even seemed like he had some special ability to deduce the truth through her eyes.
"My father created me and the others so we can avenge his death".
"And that means…, I should fight your master?"
"…"
"The f*ck!" Legolas finally recovered enough to speak.
He rushed forward before his beast could keep on spouting nonsense. "Hey buddy, please calm down, what the hell do you think you're saying?"
Predator turned his head to look at Legolas once then he nonchalantly threw his face away before focusing on Lucky again. "Lucky, tell me".
Surprisingly, the Galaxy Fox was still calm. "Tell me everything that happened".
Predator did not hesitate, he told her everything.
Legolas turned to face the others as he directed an awkward smile at them. "It's ok, you can continue with what you're doing".
"Friendly reminder, never try to understand Predator's train of thought". Redmane gave a free tip to the others that were meeting the Nightmare Beast for the first time least they fall too deep into the pit of overthinking.
In the end, as the others engaged in other activities, Predator did not respect his ancestors nor even his so-called father as he told Legolas and Lucky everything.
This was one of the consequences of being contracted to a Summoner. Being contracted to Legolas changed Predator in a fundamental level, he could no longer keep his aggressiveness and feral terror when before his master.
By the time that he was done, Legolas was left frowning.
'A Nightmare Dragon?'
His eyes constricted as he remembered. 'If I'm not wrong, a Nightmare Dragon appeared only during the Psychic Revolution of Version 4'.
'Even then, it was only a Reanimated Zombie Nightmare Dragon'.
'And besides, the Nightmare Dragon was a villain'. Legolas eyes narrowed even further as he connected the dots. 'Are both Nightmare Dragons connected?'
He directed a subtle glance at Predator. 'I need to investigate deeper into this'.
Though he said all those in his mind, outwardly, he was giving off a different vibe entirely. "Really? Predator, you now have 3 adult Grade C Nightmare Beasts as your subordinates?"
Legolas' intentions were not exactly straight as he tried to divert his beast's attention, but his shock and ecstasy at Predator's sudden surprise was not faked.
His distraction did not work this time though, Predator was adamant.
"I want to know the truth!" The Nightmare Beast declared as his aggressive aura suddenly went loose against his control.
"…" Legolas was startled.
Predator looked down as he took deep breaths to calm down, he looked at Legolas with a troubled look on his face. "I don't feel at rest".
"My heart won't rest until I know the truth, it's affecting me".
At this same instant, Legolas' virtual interface lit up a notification.
-----
[You have triggered Grade S Mission: The Truth!]
[Mission Details: The plans of the Nightmare Dragon were lost for centuries already until you arrived. Through your special developer package, you helped him fulfill his goal, granting Predator the talent to become an Annihilator Nightmare Beast. Now, Predator is cursed to know the truth.]
[Mission Details: To help your beast find inner peace, find out the truth. Was the Nightmare Dragon murdered? Was he innocent or was he the villain? Find the truth to liberate Predator from the tentacles of his bloodline.]
[Mission Reward: ???]
[NOTE: Mission rewards will be consummate with your level on completion.]
----
"I will help you". Legolas declared seriously.
Predator turned to look at him.
"I will help you find out the truth, just trust me Predator".
Predator could not ascertain the true extent of Legolas' sincerity but apart from the prospects of the sudden mission which surprised him, seeing the troubled state of his beast, Legolas was already resigned from the beginning to help him.
Unless Predator achieved inner peace, he would never fulfill his potential.
'You bastard Dragon, messing with my son even in death'.
'I hope it's all worth it and you prepared a befitting inheritance for him'.
As soon as Legolas said it and confirmed it, instantly, Predator felt like a huge burden was just taken off his shoulders. Predator laid on the floor and rest tiredly as he finally paid attention to all the changes in the Steep Hills.
Seeing the new faces, he was also curious.
Fortunately for him, he didn't have to guess anything with his prime gist partner so close to him, Lucky enthusiastically fed him on all the details that he missed. Predator finally felt regret for missing so much action.
He looked at Yukon, Krishna, and Shen like they were juicy meat that he could no longer eat. He sighed. "I missed…"
The 3 Grade C Beasts shuddered.
Restructuring Akela's new kingdom and hierarchy didn't take much time, with an industrious wolf like Nymeria around, everything was easier for him.
Once again, Legolas felt the convenience of having a competent woman.
'Damn, is this a valentine jab?' He felt a little grievant.
As the activities were taken over by the Alpha Female, Akela finally found time to meet up with the others. With his inclusion, Legolas' collection of beasts was almost already complete except Bran.
Legolas brought up his priority concern again. "I need a new beast".
After getting a Void Raven, an Emperor Wind Wolf, and an Annihilation Nightmare Beast already, he didn't want to settle for anything less.
He instead wanted to upgrade his quality and preference.
"Beasts with higher quality and bloodline than my first 3…" He felt troubled. "This task is as tough as climbing the heavens".
Legolas cracked his head to no end so he sought for help.
"Can you guys give me any suggestions?"
"Get a Wolf". Akela's choice was apparent from the beginning.
"Foxes are superior". Lucky said gracefully.
When it came to Predator's turn, the Nightmare Beast snorted. "Hmph…, you'll never find a new beast as powerful as me".
"…"
"Umm…, ok". Legolas coughed awkwardly.
The fact that he remained stump after all this time told him something. "Getting a 4th contracted beast is a big matter, I need inspiration from elsewhere".
As soon as the word inspiration came, an image flashed in his head.
'The gray balls, I still have a quota to get a new member from outside Planet Darvis, perhaps that can be my inspiration channel'.
'Sharp'. He was excited.
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on free(w)ebnovel(.)com