Divine Beast Ascension

Treeda said nothing. The look on her face showed that she was deep in thought, but Ania and Vloz had no idea what Treeda would say next.

“... And, from what you said earlier, is that child now dead?”

Sighing to stop herself from crying, Ania nodded.

Treeda nodded as well, rubbing her eyes. “I see... So, I can’t meet the boy... To imagine, a young ape defying a terrifying dragon, like Brak... I... I would love to meet such a brave soul. And if he got Trada to help him, that shows how much she cared for the boy. Trada... She’s far too self-centered to offer help so freely. He must have truly impressed her...

“Ania, be proud of your boy, and of your husband. They... I wish I had subordinates as fearless and bold as them.” Treeda shook her head and smiled. “How did the boy perish?”

“Soon after we founded the territory, we became the target of unexpected raids,” Vloz answered. “One year ago, our academy trip was raided and Oli was targeted directly... We never found his body.

.....

“However, we did find a decapitated corpse. We stored it and reported it, but nothing came of the report. Recently, though, King Rhyner conquered this region, and at the same time the former king’s army, stationed on the border to protect us from the raids, turned on us and we were forced to repel them ourselves.”

Interrupting, Treeda put up her hand. “Your young territory repelled a king’s army?”

Vloz nodded. “Yes. Under Rathe’s leadership, we managed to narrowly win by the hair on our backs. Then, when we reported that, King Rhyner mentioned the tampering that the region had been facing since we settled here. In light of that, we reported the old bandit’s corpse again and finally got a response. I suppose that’s what led to this investigation happening.”

“How did you know the corpse belonged to a king?” Treeda asked.

Vloz promptly took out the headless corpse, startling Trada. “If you check the chest cavity, the man’s core was hidden beside his heart, not in the center just under the ribs.”

“Meaning, this was a transformed beast, and therefore a king...” Treeda followed along.

“We didn’t know it was a high-king until Rhyner reported it and we found out the identity of the culprit.”

Staring at the corpse, Treeda asked, “And, what happened to the core?”

“I have it...” Ania sighed, pulling it out to show her. “King Rhyner... said it was the least... he could do... to repay the loss... of my son.”

Smiling softly, Treeda questioned, “So... this is obviously the corpse of Krasc, a high-king I’ve met personally on many occasions. Without a doubt, you were being targeted by Tempest from all sides. From King Portro, High-king Krasc, and now all this...

“But, while there’s no doubt to the validity of that corpse, I don’t understand anything...” Shaking her head, Treeda sighed, “Krasc would have no trouble wiping your territory overnight. In terms of offensive power, he outclasses Brak. Yet, here we are staring at his preserved corpse... Do you know how he was killed?”

“Sadly, we know nothing. We tried to find anything we could. All hints were explored in hopes that Oli was still alive... But we found nothing. And Oli has never come back...

“What I can say,” Vloz added, showing the corpse, “is that the decapitation was the killing blow, and it was done with a single, clean strike. The gash in his chest was done solely to inspect and remove the core.”

Staring at the corpse, Treeda took in Vloz’s account and scoured her mind for anything relevant. “It was a single, slashing attack... They would need to be at least on my level to do this to Krasc. And I assume no tracks were left behind?”

“There were, actually,” replied Vloz. “However, those tracks led me into Toxic-shadow Prefecture, and they faded soon after I crossed the border.”

“... Really? So, that would’ve put you in Trighton Territory, right? Is that how you first met Rhyner?”

Vloz answered, “Yes. That’s how we came in contact. But my search failed, in the end. We managed to make peace and convinced Jarrit to create a teleportation circle for us. But I lost all traces of where that expert had gone, leaving me with no way to continue my search.”

“Are you suggesting they used the teleportation circle to go somewhere?” Treeda asked, getting a nod from the leopard. “That would cut the trail, and Trighton is the nearest teleportation circle, so that adds up... But I still find it hard to believe that someone so powerful... WAIT!”

Ania and Vloz were startled to hear Treeda’s reflexive roar.

Immediately, Treeda chuckled, “Sorry, I just thought of something that may add up.”

“Really?!” Ania replied.

“Recently, an unknown cultivator appeared in my capital, declaring an official challenge,” explained Treeda. “That man retreated before I could face him and left us unable to learn anything about him. He came and went without ever leaving a trace. We thought we’d found his trail, but it ended at one of our public teleportation rings and we failed to locate which one he’d emerged at... It’s almost too similar to be a coincidence...”

“I agree. It’s definitely not a coincidence.”

“WHA-”

Treeda’s essence flared up and she instantly readied a strike, but was promptly frozen in place from pressure alone. She couldn’t even open her mouth. All she could do was glare at a hooded man suddenly sitting beside her on the couch.

The man sat calmly and orderly. He brought out four glasses and an extravagant bottle of wine that Ania and Vloz couldn’t recognize. Without a word, the man poured each of them a glass, making sure he took the first sip.

“Ahh...” the man sighed, savoring the flavor on his tongue. Then, he politely placed the glass on the center table. Giving the stiff prefecture lord a soft smile, the man lightly bowed his head. “Treeda. Calm down. I’m not here as an enemy. I’m here as an ally. Won’t you believe me, please?”