Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

Since there wasn't much point in staying in the half-ruined village, they followed Ari's guidance and left, slipping into the dense jungle.

"The thing that spoke to us at the bottom of the ocean—the one Sira and Night want us to kill—is it the same as the one they're keeping sealed with the runes?" Zaroth asked, keeping his voice low enough that the brown elf wouldn't overhear.

"Can't be sure," Vera replied plainly. "It's better to not risk it. First I figure out how these runes work, then we go to the inner circle of the continent to search for a way to heal you."

The "inner circle of the continent" was where Ari's village had received the orders to protect the rune. They could have gone straight there, but if Vera could decipher the workings of the runes, it might give them one more card to play should the worst come to shove.

Thankfully, whatever Sira had done to Zaroth's body seemed to work, as the curse was nowhere to be found. He wasn't feeling any kind of drawbacks at the moment, even Ari had been unable to find anything wrong with him. Yet Zaroth knew that the curse was still somewhere there. Even if he could delay it for some time, eventually he would either have to learn to use the elf's power and get rid of the curse himself, or find someone skillful to lift it.

"I think we have traveled far enough," Ari halted her steps, "it will be better if we spend the night here," she suggested.

Luna arched an eyebrow, "Wouldn't it have been smarter to spend the night in your village before departing?"

Ari shook her head, "No, the more lives in one place the bigger the chance that we are attacked by demons. With the village defenses temporarily down, it would be safer to spend the night in the middle of nowhere than in the village."

Summoning his beast to check the perimeter, Zaroth scoffed, "Now that's a strange twist. You were furious when the demons killed your people. Yet you've got no problem leaving them behind to guide us?"

Her hands clenched into fists. "I know it might seem selfish, but this is probably the only chance I'll ever get to travel far. There's no way I'd let it slip by without taking the opportunity of a lifetime."

"At least you are honest," Zaroth muttered, sitting on the ground, creating a small campfire with his fire skills. The perimeter was safe, so the smoke wasn't going to attract any danger their way for now.

Reaching into his shadow, he took several fish—ones that he had caught when he had been traveling on the serpent's back—and skewed them onto sticks, starting to cook them.

The nice aroma of cooked meat spread around the area, causing Luna, Vera, and even Ari to stare at him and his cooking, albeit with hungry eyes.

'Surrounded by women again,' Zaroth groaned, making Eldros come out of his shadow.

The Unholy Judge didn't need to eat, more accurately he could not, having no head and all, but it was at least nice to know that Zaroth wasn't the only male in sight.

The two males began to speak with one another—well, at least Zaroth spoke, while Eldros remained silent. It seemed the Unholy Judge could communicate with him through their shared bond, though to the women, it probably looked like Zaroth was simply talking to himself.

Eventually, the fish were cooked and everyone began eating.

The women devoured the food in seconds. It wasn't that they were in a rush, it's just that the Beast Master's cooking was that good.

Used to it by now, Zaroth roasted a few more to keep the hungry beasts—er, women—fed and content.

The green sky faded into darkness, the plain bathed in shadow.

Summoning his titanium bed, Zaroth collapsed onto it, his body aching from the day's battles.

'I need to have a bath soon,' he realized. When he had been in the middle of the ocean, bathing was an easy matter, but now it was harder. Up until now he hadn't seen even one natural water resource!

"You look lonely," Luna teased, unbothered by etiquette, climbed upon his bed and sat upon him, a mischievous smile on her face. She had waited for a long time to sleep with Zaroth, so once or twice wasn't enough to quench her thirst.

Albeit exhausted, Zaroth wasn't so foolish as to let the opportunity slip by. A woman this stunning was practically throwing herself at him—without hidden motives, without manipulation—just because she wanted him. Refusing that? It would be a sin. And he'd already committed enough of those for several lifetimes, so...

Thunderous creaks echoed as the titanium bed strained under them.

Ari—being an elf and all—spared a few seconds to observe the two, only to go back to sleep. As an elf, she felt little attachment to matters of procreation.

Vera also didn't seem to mind, her breathing already shallow, deep in sleep.

After a few hours, Zaroth was drained and drifted to sleep.

*****

A jolt of panic surged through his aching body. Instincts screamed—something was wrong.

"Huh?" he opened his eyes, scanning the surroundings.

Out of habit, he reached into his shadow, about to pull out his odachi… but it didn't work. His shadow behaved like a normal one, with no abilities.

Panic stirred, he attempted to use his fire skill, yet not a single one seemed to work, nor did summoning his beasts, nor did speaking with Luna or the serpent.

"Where am I?" he muttered, looking at his two hands. They looked weird, twisted. For a second he had four fingers, then six, then three.

"Ah," he exhaled, a flicker of realization passing over him, "This is a dream," he concluded.

Already familiar with nightmares, he sat upon the ground, ready to endure everything being thrown at him.

This was a somewhat new experience. After killing Solara, he hadn't really suffered from nightmares. He simply didn't dream at all.

But now…

"Foolish… Idiot… Doomed… Run… Come… Too late… Thank you."

The voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up. A strange cloud hovered in the sky—both light and dark, shifting.

'So, I'm getting attacked by a dream monster?' he thought, eyebrow raised. He stood, ready to fight. But nothing came.

Instead, lines began to form in the sky.

Green in color, their movement like waves, chaotic and unbalanced. Their outlines were too blurry to make out, though.

"What is this?" Zaroth asked, gazing at the weird cloud.

"Only… Hope… Use… Or Perish."

Before he could respond, a gentle tap on his cheek woke him up.

"Get up," Luna's voice faded, as the light assaulted Zaroth's eyes.

He blinked, fully awake, confirming he was no longer dreaming.

"What, a nightmare?" Luna teased, getting up from the bed.

Zaroth hesitated for a few seconds.

"I guess you could say that."

Once everybody was up, they had a quick breakfast and continued their journey.

Several hours later, buildings entered their field of vision.

"It seems… we were too late," Ari cursed, seeing the scene before her.

This elven village had fallen. Demons were the only ones left—feasting on what remained of their victims.