Deep inside the Fallen Zone stood an abandoned underground mall.
Once, it had been the busiest commercial center in the district. Now thick fungal mats and nameless slime covered the floors and walls, filling the air with a rancid stench.
The vast central atrium had become a meeting chamber for three enormous creatures.
"This has gone too far!"
A piercing screech shattered the silence.
The Golden Dragon Falcon stood atop a broken concrete column, its golden body gleaming faintly in the dark. Every feather along its wings was sharp as a blade, and humiliation burned in its eyes.
"That human brat brought a few thousand two legged animals and set up camp less than fifty kilometers from us!"
"What is that supposed to be?"
"A challenge!"
"He has no respect for the authority of the three beast kings!"
Its talons sank into the concrete. The pillar crumbled like soft clay beneath its grip.
As ruler of the skies over this region, the Golden Dragon Falcon had never endured such an insult.
It was supposed to be the one raiding human territory.
Since when did humans get to block its front door and treat it like a coward hiding in its shell?
In the shadows below, the Abyssal Blackscale Python slowly coiled its enormous body. Cold black light slid across its scales as its tongue flicked in and out.
"Calm down, old bird."
"The more openly they provoke us, the more it proves our earlier judgment."
"This is a trap."
"They want us furious. They want us to charge over there right now."
The Golden Dragon Falcon went still, as though something had seized it by the throat. The rage that had been building inside it had nowhere to go.
"Kyo is troublesome."
A shapeless mass shifted in one corner.
The Shadow Fiend.
"Humans love games of deception. The louder they are, the deeper the pit beneath their feet."
"If we rush out now, we will be giving Kyo exactly what he wants."
"That old man’s sword has not tasted beast king blood in a long time."
The Golden Dragon Falcon beat its wings once in frustration, sending foul air rolling through the atrium.
"So we simply watch?"
"We sit here while they hold a picnic beneath our noses?"
"Endure."
The Abyssal Blackscale Python spoke only one word.
"Humans have a saying. A little impatience can ruin a great plan."
"Kyo cannot remain here forever."
"Once he leaves, that Rank Four brat will be meat on a chopping board."
The three beast kings reached an agreement.
Even beasts had to know when to bend.
Time passed.
Night faded into dawn, and dawn sank once more into darkness.
The human army showed no sign of leaving. Instead, the searchlights around their camp grew even brighter.
The three beast kings seethed in silence and continued to watch.
Then the moment they had been waiting for finally came.
"Wait."
The Shadow Fiend suddenly raised its head. Its entire body rippled.
The other two beast kings turned at once.
"What is it?"
"Kyo’s presence moved."
The crushing blood colored aura that had hung over their minds like a sword suddenly shot into the sky.
Then it began traveling away from the Fallen Zone at astonishing speed.
"What is he doing?"
The Golden Dragon Falcon tensed.
"Is he circling around to attack us from behind?"
"No."
Disbelief entered the Shadow Fiend’s voice.
"He is flying high and fast. He is not hiding himself at all."
"That direction is Norcrest."
"He went back?"
The three beast kings looked at one another.
At a time like this?
Had he truly come all this way only to escort the brat and leave?
"Do not rush."
The Abyssal Blackscale Python remained cautious.
"Humans are full of tricks. He may be pretending to withdraw while hiding along the route, waiting for us to expose ourselves."
So they waited another half hour.
During that time, the Shadow Fiend split off strands of darkness and sent them spreading through the ruins, searching for any trace of Kyo.
His aura continued to recede.
Soon even the faint pressure left behind by his presence disappeared completely.
He was truly gone.
"Confirmed."
The Shadow Fiend’s voice trembled despite itself.
"That old man has really left."
"There is no trace of Kyo."
A strange, suppressed laugh escaped the Golden Dragon Falcon.
"He left?"
"He truly dared to leave?"
"He abandoned several thousand humans right beside our jaws?"
Greed shone in the Abyssal Blackscale Python’s cold eyes.
"This still feels wrong."
The Shadow Fiend was excited too, but years of caution made it hesitate.
"Kyo is an old fox. Why would he make such an obvious mistake?"
"Leaving a Rank Four brat in a den of wolves is no different from sending him to die."
"Unless..."
The darkness around it twisted as a new possibility took shape.
"Unless leaving was the brat’s idea."
The other two beast kings turned toward it.
"Look at his age."
The Shadow Fiend continued, each part of the theory fitting neatly into place.
"Humans that young are arrogant. They think the sky exists only to stand beneath their feet."
"He may be Rank Four, but he killed plenty of lower rank Voidbeasts on the way here. He even slaughtered those two Rank Four fools."
"It went to his head."
"Now he believes he is strong enough."
"He thinks he no longer needs Kyo’s protection and can face us alone."
The more it spoke, the more certain it became.
That explained everything.
Why had Kyo left?
The brat must have driven him away.
Perhaps he wanted all the credit for himself.
Perhaps he wanted to prove he was not some fragile flower raised in shelter.
They had seen this kind of genius before.
Those who believed themselves to be the center of every story usually died first.
"Strong limbs. Empty head."
The Abyssal Blackscale Python gave a contemptuous hiss.
"Does he think courage can fill the gap between Rank Four and Rank Five?"
"Idiot."
The Golden Dragon Falcon could no longer restrain itself. Its wings spread, and a gale roared through the atrium.
"If he wants to die, we should grant his wish."
"It has been a long time since I tasted the flesh of a human prodigy."
"Blood rich with talent and arrogance must be exquisite."
The three beast kings exchanged a glance.
All the humiliation they had swallowed through the long wait sharpened into murderous intent.
This would be revenge.
They would wash away the insult and teach that human brat a simple truth.
Before absolute power and overwhelming rank, his confidence was nothing but a joke.
The Shadow Fiend released a wave of thought that swept across a hundred miles.
"All packs, assemble."
"Target the human camp."
"Leave no survivors."
Roar!
The will of the beast kings descended.
The core of the Fallen Zone came alive.
Voidbeasts poured from ruined buildings, sewers, collapsed streets, and the shadows of towering structures. One after another, then by the thousands, they gathered into a black tide.
The tremors underfoot could be felt from more than ten kilometers away.
This was a true Beast Tide.
At its source, the three beast kings stood upon the highest ruin and looked down toward the human camp.
The young man on the hood of the armored vehicle had not changed his posture.
Still relaxed.
Still waiting.
"Look at him."
Mockery filled the Golden Dragon Falcon’s voice.
"Death is already at his door, and he is still pretending to be profound."
The Shadow Fiend let out a low laugh.
One final time, the three beast kings searched the area.
No Kyo.
No hidden ambush.
Only a young fool who had reached Rank Four not long ago, surrounded by soldiers just as ignorant as he was.
An effortless victory.
A slaughter that required no thought at all.
"Begin."
The Abyssal Blackscale Python’s scarlet tongue slid between its fangs.