Book 2 - Chapter 91

I handed a map of our current location to Q. Even if it reaches Peter, I doubt he can send any help to us in time. But at least we have some sort of failsafe should we perish. I don't wish to have my corpse eaten by the beasts.

We will just have to make do with the three of us. And for that, we need to infiltrate in and slay that pack leader quietly. We had performed our scouting on this den for a time and there was no other potential beasts that showed authority over the others. That should be the mastermind that we were looking for. But— why am I having doubts? The facts are there but my gut is telling me otherwise. It didn't emit any strong aura nor does it looked any stronger than the Chaplain Beast. Perhaps it is hiding it's true strength from us.

Alright, what are our options? When it comes to infiltration, my guild is the best. Unfortunately, I can't use Conceal here because the den is smacked dab in the middle of a steep circular ravine. There is just no way am I going to survive a direct fall from this height.

I 'could' wait until the gate opens for me to sneak in using Conceal, but that rocky gate is really tall and the gap they open to let those beasts in are way too small for my liking. The chance of me failing is too high and it is not worth the risk.

Our only option, is to kidnap some of the hooded beast and disguised as them. According to Lily, they spoke the human tongue so we might stand a chance at sneaking in if we were to lower our hoods to avoid detection.

Now, all we got to do is wait for some unlucky hooded beasts to leave the den. Hopefully we are able to interrogate them for information should we have the chance. Now is just a waiting game.

***

Finally! Some unsuspected fools were foolish enough to be caught by us. Too much time was wasted in waiting for someone to leave the den. Thankfully there is just enough hooded robes for the three of us. Now, let's see what I'll need to do for them to talk; I am going to love watching them squirm.

We tied their wrist and they seemed to be obedient enough. But why do they seemed terrified of us? I was expecting them to be aggressive and trying to bite us whenever they can. From what I can see, they barely resembled human any longer as their bodies were covered in furs with elongated limbs. One of them had an elongated jaw while the other two had bandages wrapped around their faces.

"Listen properly, the three of you will only get 1 chance each. If I don't like any of your answers, all of you will die. Do I make myself clear?" I warned them.

"A— aa… aren't you here to help us?" whimpered one of them who sounded like a male.

"Help you? Why should I? The three of you looked like you've been chosen to serve that.. thing," I spat.

"W— What? No! We were forced to serve them! We were brought here against our will and— forced to drink that stupid blood of his. We are not his servants. We are actually rejects that managed to maintain our sanity instead of outright turning into those— four-legged beasts," she shivered.

Her tone showed signs of fear and I was surprised their voice still sounded human, unlike reptilians who had 'sss' when they speak the human tongue.

"I don't like your response. That's strike one. You, what do you have to say?" I pointed to the one who asked us to help them.

"W— what?! No, no no- we are telling the truth. Please! We just want to go home. Please, please please.." the second one started sticking to my leg and kissing my shoe.

How desperate are they to act like this? They must had gone through some pretty rough experience to behave like way.

"That's strike two," I said and turned to the one with the elongated jaw.

He looked as though he had given up on hope and has resigned to his fate. His eyes were completely out of focused when he spoke. Rose and Lily were tugging on my clothes from behind but I ignored them. These two were always quick to judge and naive when someone act innocent enough. I will not to be fooled by these beasts who were cunning enough to use strategy to attack us.

"We— we're... we're gonna die, aren't we? This guy just won't believe us. To be dragged all the way here, turned into a monster, and worked like slaves for those beasts just because we retained our sanity. Oh lord, free me from this curse, I want to go home" the third one quivered and started crying as he stared into the sky.

Hmm— that looked legit. His eyes were lost and had given up on hope. Hard to imagine anyone can lie like that. Not to mention he wasn't even looking at me when I glared at him.

The first two was already bawling their eyes out before I crouched to speak to them. How young were these three before they were forcefully turned into beasts? I guess I was being too harsh in pushing them into a corner like that.

"Two final question for you three. Why were you sent out from there; and when are they expecting you to return?" I asked them.

"Huh? Uhh— probably tomorrow? We were tasked with hunting food but we have no hunting experience before," said the female beast as she wiped her tears.

"What food do you hunt? Humans?" I asked another; contradicting myself.

"Animal meat. Raw bloody meat is what we… I mean, the beast likes," shunned the male beast.

It's midday now so we have the remaining half day to hunt games for our infiltration and perhaps some for dinner. More than enough time for us to prepare ourselves; and perhaps we can extract more valuable information from them. No, they must. I need to know more about this— cult. I was already mislead into assuming that they were voluntary servants; I don't wish to make a mistake in murdering innocents if I can help it.

"Alright, I've made my decision. You'll live, but only if you provide us more information about this— cult. We'll do the hunting and take your place tomorrow, so we'll be needing those cloaks of yours. Do you agree with the terms?" I alternated between the three of them.

The three of them nodded after agreeing with each other. They were crying tears of joy as they thanked us for sparing their lives. These three are certainly younglings from the way they behaved. I'm curious to listen to their backstory later.

***

We caught a little too much games than were needed. A little worried that they will question us when we bring in this many games tomorrow. We were supposed to be newbies at hunting. The three little beasts followed after us in learning how to hunt but I doubt they can put any of the techniques into practice. Truth be told, Rose was the one who did most of the hunting; her extendable rapier was practically a cheat code to hunting. Just a twist of her rapier and the bunny is dead, pierced through the neck within a split of a second.

I was expecting today to be the day we sneaked in. But that might arose suspicions from the gatekeepers. Best not to deviate from the norm should we wish to infiltrate successfully. Hate to see things go wrong after coming so far.

Inu was still following us around, sticking to Lily like a pet dog. He didn't say much but Lily was uncomfortable with him following her around. But she let it slide as he didn't disturb or annoy her; unlike yesterday.

Seeing that we had nothing else in store for the day, we decided to camp at a nearby cave that we stumbled upon. Getting more information from those three are important as we needed to understand the objective of this cult. We sat by a campfire and had our conversations while Rose made stew with some of the games we hunted.

The three of them surprisingly remembered their human names Aria was the name of the female, Nick was the male and Lee was the one with elongated jaws. They weren't from the city; they belonged to one of the many different tribes that lived in this continent. The beasts kidnapped them in the cover of darkness and brought them here. Who would had thought that the beast was kidnapping people and turning them into beasts instead of outright devouring them. This was the reason why no one sought out to search for them. What's the point in searching for devoured flesh and bones inside the beast's stomach?

'Rejects' was the title the pack leader called them. Not only were they able to retained their sanity, they were basically useless in battle due to it. The 'Perfect' beast were those mindless ones ready for war. I asked them what was the objective of the leader to wage war with the humans? Is the leader himself born a beast or was he a human?

According to them, the leader spoke the human tongue, so there is a high chance that he was a human before. But his motive remains unclear. What is the reason for him to attack humans in the first place? Did someone inflicted a horrible curse on him which turned into a beast? Guess we will have to interrogate him directly should the opportunity arise.

Their jobs were simple, tend to the needs of the four-legged beasts. Whether it is cleaning them, feeding or anything you can think of. They were obviously terrified at first but none of them harmed them before. It would appear that the beasts considered them as allies rather than foes. My assumption is that the blood from the pack leader had altered their minds to only attack humans.

Rose handed a bowl of stew to each of them which they gladly accepted. I thought of continuing asking them when one of them started crying upon eating the stew. He said that it reminded him of home and his mom's cooking for about a year now. Lily comforted him but the other two also started to have teary eyes upon taking a bite. We tried our best to comfort them before I continued with my questions.

Seeing that they had calmed themselves, I asked them the reason as to why they had not fled when they were seemed to have plenty of opportunities to escape. They mentioned that many had tried and were killed immediately after trying to do so. The leader was capable of killing any of them without so much as lifting a finger. It would appear that by drinking his blood, some pact was formed, and the leader can sever that pact on his will should anyone chooses to betray him. Such is the strength of his blood pact.

What strong blood powers to command these many beasts. Can this beast be the one who commands the one at the east too? Or is there another leader there? Damn it, so many questions yet no answers.

Will these three end up dead if he assume their identities? We have no way of assuring their safety once we head in. Will the leader know about it and snap them out of existence? We have no way to prevent him from doing that. Damn it— need to think of a way to ensure their safety.

"So why aren't you three dead yet? If the leader is so powerful, shouldn't he already know that you are giving valuable information to us now? Does he even keep track of who leaves the den?" asked Rose.

I was stumped and so were the three. Now that's a good question which they have no answer for. They suspected it might be through smell, but there is no way of confirming it. They were showed what would happen if they were to try to escape which is how they come to fear it in the first place.

I asked them to elaborate further and they said a couple of the sane beasts tried to escape when they first joined the cult and the leader killed them with a wave of his hand. Something is not right. I asked them how often this occured and they said rarely. Every once a while some beasts tried to escape and the leader would kill them off.

"Does this happened when new sane beasts were forced to join?" I asked them.

The three of them looked at each other and tried to recall when it occured. Each of them sort of remembered that those beasts who tried to escape seems to leave at broad daylight when the leader is preaching to the new beasts. Now that is way too sus, even for me. Showing what would happen if you chose to betray him as if on cue does not lend credibility. Were those beast actually dead or where they just acting? Why would you choose to flee in broad daylight? That's just suicide.

Rose, Lily and I discussed the best course of action for the infiltration mission. Our plan is simple, eliminate the scent from the cloaks, infiltrate in and assassinate the pack leader. We must not allow the leader to summon the help of the other beasts who are kept inside a cave within the den area. From what we were told, the leader's shelter is located in the middle of the den. Thank goodness we do not need to sneak inside the cave filled with beasts just to locate him. I will attempt the assassination on the leader while Rose and Lily will eliminate as many beasts as they could.

"You might want to sneak in tonight instead. You can utilise the cover of darkness to hide your identities better," said Inu out of the blue.

"Won't that arose suspicion from the gatekeepers if we head back this early? I asked.

"Will it? Their main purpose is to catch food. Who's to say they cannot return if they catch earlier," he shrugged.

I gave some thoughts to his suggestion. What he said is actually true. Why can't we infiltrate using the cover of darkness? All we have to do is show them that we caught some food and that should grant us the way in; at least, that's what I hoped.

"Is there any particular reason as to why you're still with us, Inu?" asked Rose with suspicion.

"I'm just here to ensure Lily is safe. I'll leave after making sure she is safe," he puffed up his chest.

"Excuse me? I don't need you to ensure my safety. You can run along now. Shoo, begone," Lily waved Inu away.

"Aww.. don't say that, Miss Lily. You're going to hurt my feelings," he tilted his head.

"Good," whispered Lily beneath her breath.

"No, it's fine. You can stay, Inu," I told him.

Lily gave me a death stare that pierced through my very soul. I rubbed her back and winked at her. If what I suspect is right, we need him in the upcoming battle.

"Are you sure? Let me be clear that I'll only protect Miss Lily alone," he wagged his tail with delight.

"Yea, it's fine. You can stay with us until this is over," I assured which made him hopped with delight.

"Zen…. What are you doing? Are you trying to annoy me by keeping him around?" whispered Lily into my ears.

Rose leaned in closer to our conversation and I explained that Inu might be instrumental in the coming battle ahead. Whether it's for better or worse, we might need him. Call it a hunch if you will.

She sighed and warned me that it is because she trust my instincts that she is willing to entertain my request. She made it clear that she is not going to be responsible for Inu should anything happen to him. I told her to let him be, should things go the way that I suspect it will, Inu doesn't need protection at all.

Now that all is said and done, time for us to prepare ourselves for the infiltration mission. Let's ensure that we eliminate the leader as fast as possible once we get in. A couple of hours until night arrives. Maybe a short nap to calm my nerves.

***

Everything is in place. We had rubbed strong scented ingredients on the cloaks to mask the smell. Let's hope the gatekeepers doesn't have any ideas on who's cloaks we stole from. We can just tell them that we fell into a bed of flowers or something should they asked us what happened.

The three little beasts will be staying in the cave until the mission is over. I doubt the three of us have the time to keep them free from harm if we wound up getting surrounded by thousands of beasts. This is our only way we can hope to keep them alive if our assumptions are correct. Otherwise, the pack leader might sever the blood pact and they will end up dead before we know it. But they were content in what we decided for them. Despite them pleading now to kill them, they were happy that someone is willing to help them, even though they might not make it. I really do hope they will be alive after this is over.

Inu hid behind Lily's cloak which she almost punched me for making my decision earlier. I better pray my hunch is right, otherwise I would rather let the leader devour me than to taste Lily's wrath.

We got up to the gate unopposed and thankfully it was raining. Hopefully this would mask our scents further. We were supposed to knock three times and slam our palm two times. A secret code perhaps?

"Who goes there? Ah, I see that you have returned. Got the goods? Well, that's quite a lot of games you got there," shouted the gatekeeper over the sound of the rain.

"What's the password?" he asked us.

Ohhh.. fuck.