The Creature Who Escaped (3)

Faust landed on the island at dawn.

Since the Dark Dragon was constantly resting, he didn't think the timing would make much of a difference. Regardless, Faust wasn't welcomed without a summon but he came anyway.

The dragon blood trees tilted away from him as he walked by and the trunks were dyed a faint red as the sun began rising. Dawn was the best time to arrive on the island because the shadows weren't as strong as they would be at noon and the light blended perfectly with the dark.

The tug and pull of light and darkness were quiet at this hour and the equity of them allowed him to traverse the space without having to distinguish where the light ends.

That was why he liked the Dark Dragon's cave where there was barely any light besides a glowing brazier at the entrance. The cave and its deep chasm were quiet, so quiet that Faust could imagine himself hearing the sound of water droplets landing into a puddle. Very soon, the dragon's soft breath was heard as it was roused awake by his presence.

Faust could feel the sudden irritation.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, the Dark Dragon growled.

"I met a few rabbits in the white gate," Faust said. "They told me the Light Dragon wasn't there."

The dragon was silent for a long moment before it decided to speak. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴?

Faust nodded. "I think they are Dragon Servitors. Their white fur must've covered the mark."

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, it said. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯��𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴.

"You said there's only one servitor behind every gate. Why were there so many?"

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, the Dark Dragon said in annoyance. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵? 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮? 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦—

"There's something else," Faust interrupted. "The cave can regenerate when destroyed. I'm worried the servitors can regenerate as well. How do we defeat something that doesn't die?"

The dragon scoffed. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵.

𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

* * *

Faust woke to the sound of Nathaniel slamming the door shut. Seconds later, the hunter opened Faust's bedroom door and peeked in.

"You got a letter," the man said, "and I opened it for you."

Faust turned his head to the intruder waving a piece of paper. "Why?" he asked.

Nathaniel ignored his question. "It's from the guild Legacy."

Legacy Guild was a few states over. They were quite famous for their collection of fire-type hunters. A few of them could even make a good match against Nathaniel. Of course, they'd lose but it was the duration that mattered when it came to the strongest hunter.

"They want to know if you can make it to their annual Hunter Competition." Nathaniel flipped the letter over. "Oh, they said you can also bring me."

Faust sighed and looked at the ceiling. Hunter Competition, huh... The thought of it made his head hurt. It seemed like they wanted to invite Nathaniel but didn't have the courage to. As Nathaniel's part-time secretary, Faust knew it would be good publicity because everything that involved competitions and fighting was good for Nathaniel's image.

But to think that someone would try to invite Nathaniel through Faust. What a head case. You don't invite the president by inviting his secretary.

"I think it'd be a good opportunity to have a match against Legacy's hunters," Nathaniel mused, still leaning against the doorway as if it were his bedroom. "What does our schedule look like on that day."

"It looks full," Faust replied blandly. "When is it?"

"Next Saturday." Nathaniel looked at him and nodded to himself. "I'll tell them we're going."

Anyone could tell the strongest hunter was excited by the prospect. Nathaniel had a natural gift as a hunter but his current talent was also the result of years of practices and experiences. The Nathaniel now was much, much stronger than the Nathaniel he'd started out as, the man with only the gift of talent and nothing else besides brute force.

The man enjoyed challenges. Faust didn't, which was why he invested more time into speed so he could run when things got tough. Now, perhaps he could kill a creature or two with just a thought, but that skill wasn't at the level where he could extinguish a monster the size of a sea serpent. Compared to his support skills, his attack was still far too rusty.

"Maybe I can teach you how to use a sword," Nathaniel said.

They watched from the side as the new recruits fought their way through their first black gate. There were simply too many fresh hunters lately that Nathaniel didn't have many black gates to take care of. By now, the strongest hunter was already deeply regretting his choice of joining the white gate team.

"You just want to fight, don't you?" Faust mused.

"Well, I have a theory." The hunter crossed his arms. "Hunters control and direct the elements through their weapons but you're a light-type hunter without a weapon. In normal situations, you shouldn't be able to control the elements—yet you're able to. If you don't need a weapon to control the element, does that mean everything is within your control?"

"That makes no sense."

Nathaniel frowned and rephrased his question. "Does that mean you can control everything the light touches?"

"...You sound like Mufasa."

"I'm serious."

Faust looked at him. "Healers don't have weapons but they can't control everything either."

"They have books with skills," Nathaniel objected. "You don't have a book."

"In lieu of a book," Faust said, tapping his head, "I have everything stored in my head. Perhaps that's what makes a light-type hunter special. When I received my power, I received a fixed list of skills as well."

It was mostly the truth. From the very start, Faust knew the extent of his power. Control came easily to him. That was why he could easily make the public believe he was nothing more than a support-type hunter. Nathaniel was right in that Faust could control everything the light touched but he could also control everything the light didn't touch.

"What exactly are your skills? I don't think it's just supporting. There seems to be more."

Faust looked at him but it didn't look as if Nathaniel had any suspicious intent behind his words. The man was genuinely curious. "I'll likely die if I rush at an enemy, if that's what you're asking."

Nathaniel looked a bit upset by the knowledge. "Not even a little bit of attack power?"

"I can expel some enemies with my shield…?"

"Wow, that's useless."

Faust was offended. "Thanks." Fortunately, Nathaniel looked satisfied by his responses and didn't ask about his abilities anymore. It was natural that Nathaniel would have some suspicious since Faust had fought alongside him for a while now. However, it'd be problematic if others caught wind of any inkling. Until he'd met and spoken to the Light Dragon, he shouldn't reveal his power to others just yet. Being a secret weapon was his only selling point.

The recruits finally cleared the gate and Faust went to close it. In seconds, the gaping black gate disappeared and the air returned to normal. On the grounds, the recruits were breathing heavily and a few were drenching their hair with water.

"Could do with more speed," Nathaniel said to them, glancing at their tattered clothes scorched by an ifrit. He patted the shoulder of their leader rather condescendingly.

It felt as if Nathaniel was bored out of his mind. There wasn't much for them to do today and but luckily, just as they'd arrived at the guild, Talcot sent him a message that they'd managed to trapped the giraffe in the Association. It seemed like the whole building was on lockdown and every available hand was sent to apprehend the giraffe.

However, it soon took a turn. "...President Ilorov said the giraffe killed a student," Nathaniel said from the passenger's seat, reading out the messages from Faust's phone.

Faust gripped the wheel. "Did he say how?" he asked eventually.

"No, but he said he'll be waiting for you at the back door." Nathaniel set down his phone and carefully looked at him. "This changes everything. You're lucky it didn't kill you yesterday."

"That's not something you should be worried about right now," Faust told him. "You should be preparing for tomorrow's press conference on why the creature was brought back and the details of the white gate. We don't want the grieving family to turn against us."

"You're thinking too far and you're overreacting. Hunters die every day," Nathaniel said but he looked a bit more troubled than seconds before.

They left the car in the parking lot and hurried into the building. As soon as they'd entered, the door was sealed shut again by magic.

Faust looked at the person waiting by the door and smiled slightly in greeting. Talcot had sent Sally to relay his message.

"Do you want to see the students first?" she asked quietly. Thundering footsteps were heard all over the building as the guards swept the building for the creature.

"Students?" Nathaniel inquired. "Did someone else die?"

Sally nodded. "There was only one in the beginning but since we began the lockdown, the creature had killed four more. There are three others that were severely wounded. I'll take you to them."

They took the stairs because the elevators were sealed off. The training center had been temporarily remodeled into a refuge. Faust found it a bit absurd. It was just one giraffe. It did throw him over the railing yesterday but Faust didn't find malicious intent behind it. Why did it suddenly attack and, more importantly, how?

As soon as they entered the training center, the stairs behind them were resealed. Sally ushered them to where a few healers were gathered. His brother Collin was laying down another student whose whole arm had been gnawed off and charred. Faust winced at the bloody sight.

"...It wasn't a giraffe, was it?" he asked Sally.

She nodded. "The President told us it could morph. So far, it's taken the shape of a wolf, lion, and a flame serpent."

Faust squatted down to take a look at the wound. Soft healing lights enveloped the wound but most of them were not closing at all. He looked at the healers in confusion.

"We tried," one of them replied, "but it just won't close. All we can do now is to keep replenishing the blood they lost."

Besides the two with a limb brutally torn off, the other ones had bite wounds that were bleeding profusely.

"Is this how the last five hunters die?" Faust asked.

He received a nod and exchanged a glance with Nathaniel. The hunter nodded before leaving to see Talcot.

Faust trusted the healers' abilities which meant the wound couldn't be closed with normal spells. That was either because the patients didn't consider the loss abnormal—which didn't seem to be the case judging by their faces twisted in pain—or that there was something continuously keeping the wound open.

"Can you heal them?" Collin asked.

None of the instructors were hurt, Faust realized. The giraffe was targeting the weaker ones. But why? Was it because it couldn't take on the stronger hunters? Or did it not want to?

The smell of rotting flesh reached his nose and he jerked back with a cough as the wound began turning black.

"Mr. Faust," one of them said urgently as if Faust were a miracle worker. "Can you do something? At this rate…"

Faust didn't think his healing spells would work but he hesitantly tried anyway. He placed a hand over the wound and let the power flow out his fingertips. For a moment, something clicked.

But it didn't get better. In fact, the wound got worse.

Faust felt something in the wound pulling and sucking at his power. His hand shook violently as he tried to break the flow and he quickly tucked his hand to his chest with a frown.

The healers looked as the flesh began rotting away faster and the hint of white bones began emerging. The flesh melted away with a hiss and slid onto the floor. It was like acid. Parts of the floor were melted away, revealing the black mana-infused stone beneath the dark blue tarp.

"...! What happened? Did—"

"What type of creature was it?" Faust demanded, snapping his fingers to get their attention. "Was it a light-type monster?"

The healers didn't know but Collin said, "We've never seen one like it but that's possible. When it disappears, it's always like a flash of light."

That wasn't enough to determine the type but it was a good base.

Being unable to close the wound reminded him uncomfortably of the sand insects. Faust scanned the wound again for signs of light fragments and he found them buried deep into the flesh.

And then he nearly threw up if not for the demand to be professional.

There were hundreds of them, crawling like squirming maggots on the open wound. Faust's hands jerked involuntarily as he remembered putting his hands so close to the wound.

This was fine, he told himself and took a shallow breath. Faust re-positioned himself so he was kneeling on a knee instead of squatting and placed a hand above the wound. Now that he had what he was looking for, it could be done.

Just like sand insects, he thought. But bigger. And uglier. And—

Before his thought turned to fear, Faust snapped his fingers.

The light howled in his ears as the souls of the light insects were torn from their squirming bodies and spiraled into the air languidly. With another snap of his fingers, the light condensed into a single bright orb and exploded into nothing.

It was quick, a single flash of light visible only to him.

A breeze of wind rushed in to fill the empty space. All around them, the wounds of the hunters began closing as the healers' spell began to work.

From the rotten pile, pink flesh emerged and cleansed the dead, and soon, the last layer of skin was rebuilt. If not for the hole in the ground, nobody would've guessed the extent of the hunter's injuries.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

And then the loudspeaker came alive to deliver something else. "The creature has been captured. The barriers in the building will now be unsealed." Talcot didn't say anything else but there was hesitance in his tone as he ended.

Faust felt his sadness.

There was no way this wouldn't get out and it felt as if the man was waiting for the call for his resignation with his hands tightly clenched.

That creature wasn't just any normal creature. Talcot had told him that the creature simply disappeared from the barrier prism. Tracking and locking it down in the Association must've taken him a lot of power and effort already.

Faust shook his head. Now was not the time for that. He must prepare for the goddamn press.

The pent-up panic led to a stream of people rushing to exit the building. The wounded hunters were forgotten and so was Faust as the healers and instructors took up the job of maintaining order. Faust followed the stream. The instructors and guards could take care of the rest.

Everyone was taking the stairs or the skywalk but Faust stopped before the elevator and waited.

It opened with a soft chime. Nathaniel was inside and the hunter nodded at him, moving a little aside to make space.

Gently, the door slid shut and blocked out the noise of the clamoring people outside. There was a shudder, and then they were headed to Talcot's office.

"Where did you find it?" Faust asked the hunter who looked pleased about something.

"The mana chamber," Nathaniel replied. "I managed to put my sword through the creature before it vanishes. The blade's the only thing keeping it from escaping so I won't be able to get it back until someone deals with it."

Faust nodded. "How's Talcot?"

"He's trying to work out what to say to the media with Ms. Emilia." At Faust's gaze, Nathaniel supplied, "she came a little after we did."

"Then it should go well." He sighed and rubbed his shoulders that were suddenly sore for no reason.

"Why?"

"If Ms. Emilia is here, that means her secretary is also here." Faust smiled. "Ms. Belyre is a godsent gift when it comes to dealing with the media."

The elevator slid open again and they entered the quiet hallway leading to Talcot's office. The door was open so Faust and Nathaniel could see the three of them seated on the sofa, pouring over papers and talking with animated hands.

An unexplainable chill ran through him.

"Did something happen with the injured?" Nathaniel commented as their footsteps slowed just beyond earshot from the door. "

That wasn't why he felt the chill but Faust nodded, seeing that the information could help the man. "It was like the sand insects," he said. "The wound wouldn't close because there were insects eating the flesh."

Nathaniel's frown deepened but he didn't say anything.

"Nate, we've….we've never really dealt with insects during black gates. I don't know if…" He trailed off, frustrated that he was so unconfident.

Nathaniel's voice, however, was firm as he said, "The GHO said they can be killed with mana. We just need to prepare a few more bottles for the hunts. It's just like any other monsters."

But if the insects could be killed by mana, why did the hunters die today? Not a single drop of mana could be felt when Faust searched the wound. It was as if the insects had sucked away the mana...

After all, didn't Nathaniel find the monster by the mana chamber? What if there were more creatures like that? What if—

Faust took a shallow breath.

One thought at a time.

Right now, he must deal with Talcot's issue.