Divine Beast Ascension

“WHY HELP THEM TAKE OLI?! ANSWER THAT QUESTION!!!”

“I never–”

Another fist drilled into Gar’s chest, leaving a trail of gnarly cuts and trickling blood. But Rathe’s full attention was still on the lynx’s pain-stricken face. “WHYYYY?!?!”

“... I don’t know what– FINE!”

As the next punch connected with Gar’s side, the lynx recognized that Rathe was unreasonable and his claws and tail failed to deter Rathe’s interrogation despite giving Rathe a few glancing cuts.

“I’LL TALK!!”

.....

“THEN TALK!!!”

“IT WAS FOR THE GOOD OF THE CLAN!!” roared Gar, admitting to his treason from long ago. “But they had a king! HOW DID YOU WARD OFF A KING?!?!”

“SHUT UP!!!” Rathe pounded Gar twice more, once in the chest and again in the side. “WHY TREASON!”

“They had a king! How can I disagree with a king’s offer?!”

“Then why do it again? DO THEY HAVE ANOTHER KING?!”

“I...”

“SAY IT!!!”

“YES!” admitted Gar, leaving everyone further shocked on top of the strange situation. “I can’t turn down a king!”

“What did they offer you?!” Rathe questioned without skipping a beat.

“Nothing! It’s a king–”

“WHAT DID THEY OFFER?!”

“THE TERRITORY!!” Gar blurted out just before Rathe’s fist pummeled Gar’s bloody pelt. “They offered the territory!”

“AND YOU DARED ACCEPT?!?!” Rathe beat Gar again and again, once in the chest, again in the side, and also in the face for good measure. He stared at the cut-up and inflamed face of the lynx. “You let them take Oli! SHOULD I TAKE YOUR SON IN EXCHANGE?!”

“NOOO!!!” Gar roared, not backing down at all as his pride showed once more. “This was my decision, not his, not the clan’s! I’m the ONLY traitor!”

“GOOD!” Despite somewhat agreeing with Gar, Rathe threw another punch into Gar’s face. “Now speak before I kill you!!”

“I’LL TALK! I’LL COOPERATE!” Gar argued, losing a morsel of his confidence in front of Rathe’s wild rage. “But ONLY if you promise to leave me alive! Otherwise, just kill me!!”

“That’s fair! DEAL!!!”

Just beyond the outskirts of the camp, the lone fox kept at his post. His focus was still on the surrounding, not abandoning his orders until a new order was sent for his return. Such was the way of the Vanishing-night Foxes. They showed the utmost loyalty and worked as a team. That was their means of survival and growth despite not always being the strongest clan.

“Where’s the camp?”

Out of thin air, the fox spotted a familiar leopard rushing toward him. “Northeast-east. I thought–”

“Thank you! Wait for further orders,” Vloz added, zipping past the fox without batting an eye.

Vloz’s target was set and nothing would stop him from tracking down the traitor of his group. As the team leader, that was his obligation. And he refused to let his lack of control over a team member lead to further casualties.

The scouts outside the camp were astonished to see Vloz rushing past them without a word of warning. As were the people inside the camp, who had seen Gar enter not too long ago and had heard rumors of something bad already spreading. But Vloz didn’t care for rumors and he didn’t care what the common soldiers thought at the moment. All he cared about was reaching Gar before casualties had occurred. And based on how those inside the camp were acting, there was still time.

Charging into Hurman’s large tent, Vloz announced himself while keeping his dark essence active, “Where’s Gar?! He’s betrayed... us.”

“Just in time! We need to talk!” Rathe laughed, back to his usual self. “There’s a change to the plans and things are even more complicated.”

“I see...” Vloz nodded and sighed. Relief washed over him as Vloz finally found Gar.

Sprawled in a corner of the tent with two jaguars guarding him, Gar was shivering and shaking uncontrollably. Blood and cuts littered the lynx’s body, as did swelling and bruises beneath his fur coat. There was also a trail of blood from the lynx’s chest to the map on the table. On the edge of the table rested a divine core filled with static electricity and with a mist of dried blood on its surface.

“So... what’s the update on our information?”

“We’ve got a king to deal with.”

“What? Really?” asked Vloz, glancing at Gar’s crippled body. “I’m guessing you got the lynx to sing?”

“Like a cowardly canary!” Rathe chuckled, not taking his eyes off the map in front of him.

Nixt chimed in, looking to Vloz with a quizzical brow. “Did you already use it?”

“The orb? Yes, it was necessary for our victory thanks to his antics,” answered Vloz, using his tail to point at Gar.

“I see... Too bad Burt hasn’t earned one yet...” Nixt sighed.

But Rathe chuckled again, not letting anything change his outlook on the upcoming battle. “So what? A king? It’s not the first time a king has threatened our clan, and it seems like it won’t be the last!”

“That was true?” Nixt questioned, thinking back to Gar’s confession. “How did you ward off a king?!”

“I’ll admit, we were a bit lucky last time, but we warded off a dragon before settling in Iron Territory. So anything is possible!” While most everyone was in awe of such an outlandish statement, wanting to question Rathe further, the gorilla chief continued, “Got any orbs yourself?”

“Only two. They’re expensive and Jarrit only had time to help me with these,” replied Nixt. In each hand, Nixt retrieved a glass sphere. One contained fire essence and the other earth essence, mimicking the look of cultivator cores. “But they’re my attacks, not Rhyner’s. These won’t even scratch a king.”

“That’s fine because these aren’t for the king,” stated Rathe, turning his grin toward Hurman. “How do you feel adding this fire orb to your strategy book?”

“I can make good use of it for sure, but you already have a plan in mind, don’t you? I would like to hear that before choosing a use for the orbs,” Hurman answered.

But Rathe shook his head. “I can only spare you the one. As for a plan... It’s crazy, but that’s the only way to deal with a king. So what do you think of this?”