Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

While it was expected for Ari to go unnoticed, the same couldn't be said for Vera. She was not only human, but her face was also concealed behind a mask, hiding her features entirely.

And yet, oddly enough, no one had bothered to glance in her direction. Every elf around them seemed entirely absorbed, their eyes locked on the two members of the Inner Circle.

Zaroth had safely hidden in Vera's shadow, observing from the darkness. While he wasn't technically looking, per se, he was observing the world around him in a different form.

'They'll likely realize Vera is a Fragment Barrier,' Zaroth thought. Originally, the plan had been for the Oracle to sneak into villages and study the runes—figure out how they worked, grasp the essence of their power. That way, in theory, she and Zaroth would hold the upper hand if conflict broke out. But after their battle with the statue, Ari had voiced her concern—finally able to sense the curse festering inside the Beast Master.

He hadn't really gotten used to the idea of being cursed, much less because he burned a great tree. But unfortunately, that was his life now.

He had been lucky, in a way, since Sira had placed some kind of seal on him, stopping the curse from taking effect or from activating, but how long was this going to last?

After the battle with the statue, it was made clear when he was pushed to the brink, the seal would weaken. Didn't that mean he was just a few fights away from activating the curse fully?

Worse, he had cared for his mother for more than a decade. He had seen her body deteriorate, beginning to rot, making her unable to perform even the most basic of tasks. She had been the strongest woman he ever knew. If she fell to the curse in the end, why would it be any different for him?

'Time is the most pressing issue,' he would have frowned, had he been in his material form.

"Excuse me!" Ari called out to the two members of the Inner Circle. There was a visible excitement in her voice.

The two elves, who had been speaking with the village elder, paused and turned toward her.

"What is so important to disturb our talk?" the male brown elf demanded, an explanation.

'Just from the tone of his voice…' Zaroth analyzed, 'it's obvious… they think themselves superior to the village elves.'

As if just now realizing the mistake she had made, speaking with representatives of the Inner Circle with such casual tone, her cheeks flushed red. With a cough, she bowed a little. "It's just… we're travelers from a distant village. We came across one that was destroyed on our way here and thought we should report it."

The male elf's expression darkened. "So the attacks are escalating," he muttered.

"I see then. After dealing with our work here, you will personally show us the place," he stated with an authority that left no room for refusal.

Meanwhile, the white female elf had her eyes on Vera's petite figure. Compared to the rest of the elves, Vera's slight build made her easy to overlook, until now.

"Are you…" Her words caught in her throat, as if simply asking the question was forbidden. "A Fragment Barrier?"

Vera tilted her head slightly, studying the elf through her mask. The lack of visible eyes gave her an eerie, unreadable air.

'I can't ever figure out what is going on in her head,' Zaroth thought, still hiding in her shadow. He didn't dare move an inch out of fear that he would be detected.

"Yes." Vera nodded, throwing the white elf for a loop.

The male's attention was piqued when he heard the words "Fragment Barrier", his eyes landed on the Oracle, breath stopping for a few seconds.

"Is this human with you?" he asked Ari, pointing to Vera.

"Well, yeah," she answered, still a bit surprised by their reaction. Her grandfather had told her that these humans were Fragment Barriers but had never ever explained what that actually meant. She only knew that they were destined to make some kind of change, which had prompted her to take the role as her guide.

Without another word, the male elf placed a hand on Ari's shoulder. The female did the same with Vera.

"Let's talk somewhere more private," they spoke in unison.

Their bodies lit up, disappeared a second later, leaving the confused onlookers even more puzzled.

"Teleportation?" Vera muttered, her voice tinged with concern. Before she even bothered to look where she had been teleported to, her eyes lingered on her shadow.

'Please be here!' she prayed silently. They hadn't expected them to be teleported. If Zaroth, that had been hiding in her shadow, had been left in the village, this would complicate things further.

She wasn't just concerned for her safety; she relied on him for protection. And maybe, just maybe, a part of her simply liked having him nearby.

As if sensing her concern, her shadow twitched briefly, ever so slowly most would have missed it. But she didn't.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she scanned her surroundings. She, alongside Ari, had been transported to a dark circular room with a large rune at the bottom.

"You are a strong one," the male elf declared, eyeing Vera.

"Why do you think so?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

With a simple gesture, he pointed to the ground. "The more powerful the one being teleported, the more power the rune consumes… and now it's almost extinguished."

With a nod, Vera didn't speak further. The more she spoke, the higher the likelihood of them sensing that she was in fact not the threat, it was the one hiding in her shadow.

"Follow me," the white elf spoke up, getting out of the room. Without further words, the male followed as well.

"What is happening?!" Ari, just now recovering from her haze that was caused by the teleportation spell, asked the Oracle.

"What is meant to happen," she replied flatly, following after the members of the Inner Circle.

"Why do I feel so powerless?" Ari muttered bitterly, once again resenting her own limits. With no better option, she trailed after the Oracle.

Exiting the room, Zaroth was blinded … or more accurately, he would have been blinded if he was looking at the scene with his eyes.

The ceiling and walls were pure white to an unnatural level. Elves were adorned in both gold and silver armaments, moving with purpose.

'This looks like the academy… just much more grand,' the Beast Master thought.

"Um…" still struggling to believe how quickly things were progressing, Ari asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

"To meet the Elders… the Oldest Ones," the female elf replied plainly.

'There's no doubt… it must be the thing Sira and Night want killed,' Zaroth thought.

Vera, feeling the weight of what was unsaid, broke the silence. "Let me guess, you want me to kill something?"

Her bluntness made the male elf chuckle. He hadn't expected such a direct remark.

"Oh, Oldest Ones, no," he said with a smile.

"You're not going to kill something… You're going to free something."