The moment Obsidian clacked its way toward me, I felt an odd tension in the air. There was something about the way it moved—its antennae twitching with subtle annoyance, the dark gleam in its black exoskeleton—that made it clear this wasn't going to be a simple message. I could've sworn the fire ant actually rolled its eyes when it realized I was calling it Obsidian. It didn't like the name, but it was too late now. I'd decided, and that was that. It wasn't like I'd had much better options, anyway. "Obsidian" fit—dark, unyielding, and cold, much like the thing's personality.
Obsidian didn't waste time with pleasantries. Its message was grim: the Fire Ants had found traces of a massive battle, and the aftermath was a grisly scene. Hundreds of buffalo carcasses—strong, F+ rank buffaloes—lay in the open, lifeless. Their bodies had been scattered across the terrain with terrifying efficiency, blood soaking into the earth and staining the grass a deep crimson. There was no sign of predators scavenging the bodies, which only added to the unsettling nature of the scene. This wasn't a random slaughter. This was something much more deliberate.
I didn't need to hear more to understand what this meant. The stampede. The one that had kicked off the Gate Disaster at the beginning. This had to be linked. The buffaloes had been running from something—something powerful. Something master-ranked.
I thought about it for a moment. I could've stayed and sent someone else, but I needed to see it for myself. If the stampede's origin was tied to this, it meant that whatever caused it wasn't done. There was more to this puzzle. Much more.
The Dragon would stay with the Fire Ants to hold the fort. I didn't trust anyone—or anything—more than it to guard the area. If some high-ranked being showed up, they'd be ready. I didn't have time to wait for reinforcements if things went south. I motioned to Nibbles, who leapt from his perch, ready to follow me. He was always on alert, his eyes scanning every nook and cranny. His sharp senses would help keep us one step ahead.
Before I could take another step, I heard a rustling behind me. Zainab. Of course. She didn't even give me a chance to tell her to stay back. With her four heads swaying side to side like vipers, I could tell she wasn't about to let me go alone. She was an absolute powerhouse, one of the deadliest creatures I knew, and I didn't doubt she'd be an asset. That didn't mean I was thrilled to have her tagging along, but there was little I could do to change her mind once she was determined.
"Don't slow me down," I muttered as I adjusted the strap of my pack. The silence of the woods wrapped around us, broken only by the distant calls of unseen creatures. It was the kind of eerie quiet that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
We started our journey, moving quickly through the dense forest. For forty minutes, we pressed on. The terrain was tough, but we had a purpose, and that urgency propelled us forward. Nibbles perched on my shoulder, his little claws scratching at my skin as his head whipped from side to side, scanning the environment with an almost unnerving precision. His sharp eyes caught every movement, every shift in the wind. He was a tiny creature, but that didn't make him any less deadly. I was beginning to realize just how much I had learned from him—his light projection skills, his speed, his ability to sense danger before it hit. My own abilities were growing, but without him, I'd still be fumbling through the basics.
We didn't run into anything too dangerous for the first while—just some minor annoyances, like a couple of low-level E-ranked creatures that couldn't have been less threatening if they tried. But that was about to change.
The first time we saw them, I barely had time to react. A screeching roar pierced the air, followed by the flapping of wings. The trees above us exploded with movement, and before I knew it, winged tigers were diving down toward us. They were fast—too fast—and their claws flashed in the air like a hunter's blade. Four of them. Maybe five, I couldn't quite count them all in the chaos.
Their wings beat furiously, sending gusts of wind that tried to throw us off balance. And then, the noise hit. An ear-splitting shriek—a sonic blast that felt like it was trying to dig into my skull. I gritted my teeth and forced my eyes to focus.
"Cover your ears!" I barked, feeling a pulse of mana charge through me. My hands glowed as I summoned a light projection, a thin blade of light that crackled with energy. I swung it through the air, aiming for the first tiger's wing. It was a clean cut. The winged tiger let out a screech of pain as its body plummeted from the sky, its massive wings snapping in half like brittle paper.
Zainab wasn't wasting time either. The moment the first tiger dropped, she lunged into the air with her powerful legs. Her four heads opened wide, mouths gaping as they snapped at the nearest tiger. She crushed its skull with an almighty crack, her jaws clamping shut with the force of a bear trap.
Nibbles wasn't as large, but he was just as deadly. From my shoulder, he fired light projections—smaller, almost dart-like blades—toward the remaining two winged tigers. They weren't expecting the accuracy, and one of them went down mid-flight, an ice bullet freezing its wings and making it crash into the earth like a falling star.
The last tiger, panicked, tried to retreat, but Zainab wasn't having it. With a deafening roar, she launched herself at it, her four heads snapping and lashing out like a whirlwind. She caught it by the throat and crushed its neck with a sickening snap.
"Not bad," I muttered, wiping sweat from my brow. Zainab had no qualms about brutality. It was a testament to her power—and my luck—that she was on our side.
We moved on quickly, leaving the tigers behind, but the encounters didn't stop there. Every time we turned a corner, there were more. Sometimes in groups of four, sometimes five. They were relentless, and they didn't give up easily. But neither did we.
The second group came around fifteen minutes later. More winged tigers. Same shrieking sound, same lightning-fast dives. This time, I used my ice bullets more liberally, freezing the wings of one tiger while sending another one to the ground with another light projection. Zainab ripped through them with ease, each head moving in tandem as they snapped and crushed, leaving nothing behind but broken bodies. The third group came after another twenty minutes, but this time, we were getting faster—more efficient. By the time we encountered the fourth group, we barely even broke a sweat.
When the fifth group appeared, Zainab was starting to grow impatient. She barely let them land before she was on the attack, her massive form sweeping through the air with terrifying grace. The battle was more of a formality at that point, a few swings and stabs and it was done. Nibbles helped by slinging more light projections at them from above, and I kept up the ice bullets, ensuring none of them could get away.
By the time we reached the massacre site, I was beginning to wonder just how many of these things were out there. The thought made me uneasy, but there was no time to dwell on it. We had more pressing matters at hand.
***
We slowed as we approached the clearing, the scene unfolding before us like a nightmare. The smell hit us first—thick and metallic, clinging to the air like a fog. It was a smell I recognized: the smell of death. And it wasn't just one or two bodies scattered around. No, this was an orgy of destruction. The buffaloes—F+ rank, strong creatures—lay in heaps, their bodies contorted in unnatural positions. Blood pooled in the dirt, turning the earth into a river of red. It was like a scene from some kind of twisted warzone, and the silence only made it worse. There were no scavengers picking at the remains. No sounds. Just death.
I crouched low, signaling for Zainab and Nibbles to do the same. The quiet was suffocating. Whatever had done this had left no trace of itself behind—no sign of a predator, no clues about its nature. The bodies lay so still, it was as though the entire scene had been frozen in time.
"This is…" Zainab trailed off, her words cut short as she surveyed the carnage.
I nodded, my mind racing. The buffaloes weren't just killed; they were wiped out with terrifying precision. There was no obvious sign of a struggle, no sounds of a fight. This had been done quickly—efficiently. Whoever—or whatever—had done this wasn't interested in making noise. They'd killed, and then they'd disappeared.
And that made them dangerous. The sheer scale of this slaughter was enough to send a chill down my spine. The tracks I'd seen earlier—the ones that led away from the bodies—were still fresh, still