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AR Chapter 404
🕑 Added 2025-06-05 03:54:36 +0000 UTC***
Just as soon as my people gathered together and fought back against the Misti Hawar, the “hunters” weren’t sure what to do. They’d expected the few strongest among us to cower, or to be easily dispatched. That was far from the case. Instead, with screeches of rage and practiced battle formations, Kha and Khatif held against the writhing shadows of our enemies while the Keel shredded through the undisciplined Misti Hawar. The small groups of hunters had no idea of what to do against ranks of thinking foes.
Without any Keel presence, my people sustained losses but were victorious over their enemies. With a Keel by their side, casualties were negligible and resulted in only injuries instead of deaths. When I appeared, only Misti Hawar blood was spilled. As I supported scattered groups of my people and gathered them under my leadership, the Misti Hawar stopped engaging. When the terrified, weak keelish didn’t appear, and instead, a forged people stood before them, our enemies didn’t know what to do.
We did.
Dozens of Misti Hawar corpses were left in our wake as our numbers grew. An idle part of me gloried in the fact that this would be progress in a couple of my [Skills], but the rest of me simmered and raged at the thought that my mate and children were without me as my firstborn hatched.
I didn’t hold back. At all.
Every Misti Hawar that came close to me was eviscerated, disemboweled, and tossed away like the refuse they were. One turned to flee, roaring in their language a warning or a plea. Others might have reacted, but my focus was singular.
“It doesn’t matter where they go in the city, so long as they stay out of the nursery and the stables. There’s nothing else that they can damage enough to matter.”
“Yes!” Shraal’s voice came from behind me. “If they dare to enter Nievtala’s realm, they will be destroyed and left conquered and bereft as they deserve! Let their blood serve as a testament to our strength and their inevitable subjugation!"
Those who reacted most to Shraal’s declaration were the Unbroken Blade, but the rest of us were angry enough that fierce cries for the extermination of the race rang from the walls. I raised my hand, and my people went silent, looking to me for instruction.
“Every Keel and most of you, follow Shraal to the stables. The Herdsman-in-chief will be there, so destroy every one of our enemies that dare to threaten our continued ability to feed ourselves. To victory!”
“VICTORY BY FANG AND BLOOD!” was echoed by my people, and then they were gone, flowing through the streets towards our herds. A handful of my people remained with me, ready to follow me to protect the country’s next generation. While I ran through the streets, I remained the reaper of Misti Hawar lives, cutting them down without remorse or difficulty. Even so, I didn’t care about the [System] notifications or dead bodies I left behind. All that mattered was my family.
A part of me wondered where this overwhelming need to care for my offspring came from, but I didn’t care why I cared. Just that I did, and these bastards were threatening my future with them. Before long, I found myself outside the nursery, and I rushed in. There, Brutus, Sybil, and Vefir remained together, watching the door. When I burst in, Brutus threw himself forward, but he quickly pulled back as he saw a friendly face instead of an enemy’s.
“How’s the battle?” Brutus asked.
“Fine.” I flicked my tail as I looked at the eggs. All three had tears in the top, little snouts pressing through the shell. “We’ve rallied, and they aren’t sure of how to deal with us as an army instead of a bunch of beasts. I don’t know how stubborn they’ll be though. If I were them, then I’d cut my losses, but…” I trailed off.
“The children are doing admirably.” Sybil spoke to me from where she lay on the ground, curled protectively around the eggs. “They have all cut through independently. This one was first, but the others quickly followed suit. I am proud.”
“Good.” I allowed myself a smile. “I’m glad they haven’t—”
“This is where the leader runs. To the children, as if it were a person.” A purring voice interrupted me. I whirled to face the source, and saw a Misti Hawar, their face shrouded in the whipping shadows that covered every one of them. These shadows, though, were deeper and more profound than those of the others I’d encountered. Somehow, the void of light was blacker than black, darker than the deepest hole. The voice was self satisfied as it watched us.
I didn’t mince words. Communication was for people, and those who threatened my children were nothing more than obstacles. I pushed magic into my throat and growled at the creature. It didn’t visibly react as my voice pushed its shadows back.
“Oh, you’re thinking!” The voice didn’t seem to care as I rushed forward and swiped with [Quaking Claw] empowering me. To both of our surprise, my claws cut through the manifested paw of darkness, but not completely. Seeing that I needed to put more strength into it, I continued pressing the attack, getting closer and closer to the Misti Hawar that’d been intelligent enough to follow me here.
“This is… worthy prey.” The faintly feminine voice, seemingly softened by the shadow, showed more emotion now. “I… will leave you for now. You will serve as a good example for my people to rally against. Thank you. I’ll leave the precious ones to protect but take the others to threaten. Yes. This is good. We will meet.”
“You will die.” I growled in the human tongue as she suddenly disappeared. The magical resistance to my attacks disappeared as I shouted, “I am the Zaaktif Ashlani and I will drink your blood! This I swear on Nievtala’s throne!”
I stepped forward to pursue, but a pained whimper called me back. Looking back, I saw that I’d neglected to address the most dangerous weapon available to the Misti Hawar. Shadows had ripped through every egg I could see. Little bodies and vitreous fluid covered the ground, slaughtered by the evil hand of a Misti Hawar. My stomach turned as I witnessed the carnage. Brutus was largely untouched, the attacker’s magic unable to harm him. Vefir sported a couple minor wounds, but obviously didn’t care about that. Instead, he stepped carefully around the remains of the nursery, looking for any that might survive. With each step, he seemed more and more sure that the little ones had no chance.
My heart dropped as I looked at Sybil. Cuts covered her body, snout to tail. Her blood flowed slowly down into the dirt around her, and she moved slightly. Given that Vefir wasn’t tending to her, she wasn’t in too bad of a state, but as she shook in place, the rage that’d suffused my body died entirely to dread. With heavy steps, I stepped closer.
“Sybil?” I asked, dreading the response. When I looked behind her body, where she’d cradled our children, I braced myself to see little broken bodies. I wasn’t ready.
Not for three healthy babies, their eyes struggling to open, covered with the remnants of their eggs. Sybil didn’t care about the wounds she’d sustained, not when she could love her three babies. She cooed gently at them as she let them haul themselves out of the eggs.
Officially, finally, I was a father, and, despite the carnage that surrounded me, of the bodies that demanded my attention outside, I couldn’t be happier.
