Beast of Embers
I glanced at the bald guy, the Beast of Embers. He had a pretty big build, with a long spear slung across his back.
"What's your name, by the way?"
"Satein."
Phew, at least it's not Ikkaku.
"Sounds strong."
"Kukuku."
I figured he'd like hearing that, and sure enough, he did.
"Chad, your name sounds strong too."
Well... no, not really.
Satein and I trudged through the desert. To put it nicely, it sucked. To put it bluntly, it was fucking awful.
Sandstorms blowing from every direction. And since it was night, everything was pitch black.
But this Satein guy... he kinda reeks of booze. Once the suspicion hits, it just keeps nagging. Human psychology, am I right?
'Beast of Embers.' Narkhan was one of those cases where it gained intelligence after absorbing flames.
Normally, it's just a mindless monster. Here, "Beast of Embers" refers to ones that dumped all their points into raw power instead of brains.
Left alone, it'd burn everything in sight. When other heroes come to take it down, it spits out a Flame Fragment, which is why the Light Priests hunt them on sight.
"Hold up."
That's when I spotted a camel casually strolling through the desert. It looked like a regular camel, but it gave off an ominous vibe.
"......"
"......"
Silence.
Because the camel was staring at us with its big, shiny black eyes. It even had eyelashes, and something about those inscrutable beastly eyes sent chills down my spine.
"......"
Flash.
Satein hesitated for a second, then yanked out his spear and charged the camel. He jerked his head at me.
His face screamed, 'No time to explain! Hop on quick!'
Considering he was with the Light Priests, though, his "hop on" probably meant something else entirely.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from Satein's body.
The camel just stared blankly... until
Krunch! Kraaack!
It suddenly reared up on its hind legs, its body twisting into some parasitic freakshow. Its face bloomed open like a flower bud, lined with dozens of teeth, and tentacles with blades sprouting from its back.
But that wasn't all.
True to its name, flames also rose from its body.
Whoosh!
I was about to go for an iaijutsu draw, but I held off—curious about Satein's skills. I just got into position. If anyone asked, I could say I was gathering energy.
And honestly, I didn't give a shit if a Light Priest bit the dust.
Clang!
Satein's spear clashed with the Ember Beast's tentacle. A thunderous boom echoed through the silent desert, kicking up a mini sandstorm.
"Urgh... Chad...!"
Satein glanced at me, signaling to attack while he blocked.
"Huuuuh!"
I pretended to gather energy real quick.
"Hang in there just a bit longer!"
"Got it!"
Satein casually deflected a tentacle aiming for his side, then spun his spear to prep for the next strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Relentless exchange of blows. I thought it'd end with a broken weapon after one clash, but he was holding his own pretty well.
"How much longer?"
"Huuuuh!!"
"Urgh..."
Clang clang! Whoosh whoosh!
Both the Ember Beast and Satein were fire-attuned, so sadly, their flame attacks canceled each other out.
Finally feeling the timing, I unleashed a stored technique—not on the body, just a few tentacles.
BOOM!
-Kieeeek!
The beast shrieked as it instantly lost the tentacles on its right side.
Slash!
The opening appeared in a flash. Satein didn't miss it, pressing the attack fiercely.
Impressive spearwork. Easily 3rd Grade hero level.
Cthuga's flames tend to empower the weak more than the strong—like lowly beasts such as Narkhan.
Sometimes they go to puppeteers, but anyway. Satein's spear skills weren't boosted by flame power.
This was pure, honed technique.
Krunch!
Finally, Satein's spear pierced the Ember Beast's throat.
"Pathetic."
Satein muttered, sweating buckets.
Vrrrrm!
A clump of flames began seeping from the fallen beast's corpse—not a phase two, just the fragment embedded in the monster revealing itself.
"That the end?"
As Satein murmured at the fragment...
-Kieeek? -Kieeek! -Kiiiiieek!!
Three camels charged at us.
"Fuck!"
Satein quickly raised his spear.
Then the unbelievable happened. As the three camels rushed in, they morphed into beasts—and the middle one devoured the other two.
Whoosh!
Flames exploded wildly from its body. Bonus: it was way bigger now.
-Kiiiiieek!!
The Ember Beast raised its right arm, tentacles sprouting and twisting into a spiral.
Whoosh!!
It swung massively at us—
——!
Slash!
-Kieeek?
Thud!
My slash severed the beast's right arm. The severed limb rolled limply across the sand.
"Chad...!"
Satein yelled in disbelief.
Chopping another monster, Chad?
Seizing the moment, he gripped his spear two-handed.
Whoosh!
Flames and smoke billowed up.
This guy's not about to—!
"Ahh, didn't wanna use this here."
Satein's eyes gleamed.
Vrrrrm!
"Crescent Slash!!"
Thought it was Dragon Gate Return or something.
Satein gripped his spear two-handed, mana surging from his body. Mana seeped from the spear, blending blue mana and red flames into a purple sheen. He took a deep breath and swung with all his might.
Kwoooo!
The spear whipped through the air with a deafening roar, a crescent-shaped purple slash erupting from the tip.
Kwoooo!
The heavy slash—packed with insane mana—hurtled toward the Ember Beast.
BOOM!!
-Kieeek!!
The explosion rocked it, carving a massive crater where it hit. Blood gushed from the wound.
The beast shrieked, trying to patch it with tentacles. As if that'd work...
Finishing move time.
I gripped my sword and activated storage.
Mana rose from the blade, forming an afterimage behind me—drawing its sword with force.
But the speed was instantaneous.
Slash!
BOOM!!
A thunderous boom echoed through the desert as the Ember Beast split vertically in half.
Thud!
"Incredible strike."
Satein said admiringly, scanning the surroundings.
"Looks like that was the last one."
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a turquoise orb.
"What's that?"
"Break it, and Allstein shows up."
No way. Allstein was the Light Priests' taxi?
But a question popped up.
"What about me?"
"Not something I hand to just anyone."
Crack!
Satein crushed the orb with his finger, and cracks instantly spiderwebbed through the air.
Kraaack!
A rift big enough for a person opened, and out stepped Allstein—white priest robes trimmed in red, heavy necklace, golden prosthetic arm, and mask.
"Hm."
The masked man looked around and spoke.
"Well done. I'll collect the fragment and send you back."
Every time I see it, that spatial teleport looks OP. Not a relic—it's his trait. Super convenient.
Works inside gates too, yet he's wasting it as a Light Priests' puppeteer errand boy. Singularity might've hit him or something.
The masked man raised his necklace—probably a subspace item—and began collecting the Flame Fragments. High-grade, judging by how it handled the mana.
Once he had them all, he sent Satein back first.
"Step through here."
"Right."
Krack! A small rift opened right in front of Satein, and he walked right in.
"Oh, and I have a message for Chad."
Hm? A message?
"More precisely, something to deliver."
The masked man handed me a small golden coin.
"This is...?"
What the—?
The status window chimed, and the golden coin vanished in an instant.
My body froze. My mind sharpened.
"......"
"......"
The area fell deathly silent in a heartbeat.
No whispering winds, no rolling sand grains. I cautiously looked ahead to see a smooth, featureless mask staring silently back at me.