Beast Tide?!

Out on the island,

Slowly trudging back home through the familiar path, Aryan was lost in thought once again.

It was a very frequent occurrence with him. However, he was no longer thinking about his past, but was trying to determine his future.

He was determined to make a glorious comeback just like those main protagonists after a crisis. However this comeback wasn't something that could be done in a few years.

Aryan was currently searching for more ways to make money so that he can travel to a different country and start over.

Soon enough, the familiar rust iron roof, with wooden linings appeared in his sight. Heaving a heavy sigh, Aryan pushes open the door to come across his dad sprawled across the floor.

Although just 46, Aryan's dad had been exposed to a lot of mental stress leading to deterioration in strength.

"Dad!"

Picking up the figure gently, Aryan carried him over to the makeshift sofa in the living room and laid him on the slightly rough surface.

Rushing back into their kitchen, he dips a piece of cloth in warm water and places it on his father's head.

Looking around the room at the terrible state of living, Aryan broke down into tears once again. Recently, he had been feeling uneasy, he didn't understand back then but he understood now.

His father's health was getting worse. He needed the money and he needed it fast. Slumped beside his father, Aryan slipped into a deep slumber.

~~~~~

On the other end of the island, which was populated by some beasts, a small river had turned pale red.

A cacophony of sounds echoed from the forest and many animals began to slowly migrate.

The animals all had glowing red pupils and their breaths were really heavy. If one paid close attention, one would discover that these beasts were emitting a faint fragrance.

These beasts slowly moved inland, following a smell in the air. This scent was the beast lure powder produced by the Blood Moon Assassins.

Meanwhile, as the beasts slowly moved inland, the unease in Aryan's heart grew. He was awakened by the sense of unease and turned to watch his father.

Not noticing any movement from his dad, Aryan grabbed his hands and squeezed causing Arnell to open his eyes due to the pain.

Seeing his dad's eyes open, but the unease still growing in his heart, finally set Aryan on alert. He ran out of the house, scaled the tallest tree he could find in the area before returning to land.

No matter how powerful his eyesight, Aryan didn't discover the existence of the berserk beasts at the other end of the island.

Returning to his father, he still wasn't convinced.

"Father, stay inside for now"

Aryan picked up a hunting bow which he had crafted not long after he returned from the capital. It's sleek wooden carved bow had a tight but flexible, string.

Jumping across the branches of the trees, Aryan hung the bow on his back and slowly moved out.

Soon enough, he got to the main town, the eerie silence in the air set him on edge. All the makeshift houses were shut tight and even the kids were indoors.

After spending three years in the capital, Aryan had trained his body quite well. He had sharp senses and quick reactions to avoid danger.

The growing pit in his stomach however, made him realize that the impending danger wasn't one that could be survived with just a strong body or quick reactions.

However, where was the danger?

The fear of the unknown before him began to grow and gnaw at him. Despite engaging in various battles in the academy, he had never been subject to such a nightmare.

At least in the academy, none of the students could use their abilities and their physical bodies were mostly on par with each other.

However, he had no experience dealing with people with abilities or with demon beasts.

Soon, a faint fragrance began to spread through the air. With his sharp senses, Aryan caught onto this fragrance.

Sure enough an answer appeared in his head.

'Filiform Needle Crimson Flower!'

Although beast related courses were only taken in the fourth year, Aryan as a model student loved to read ahead especially on the new species that appeared.

Of course that was against the rules, but back then Aryan was a supposed shoe-in to become a superhuman so he was given "private" access.

Recalling something he had read, Aryan's face contorted into a mix of shock, confusion and anger.

The flower was the most important component of making a red powder called Beast Lure. The powder would cause beasts to lose their rationality and attack indiscriminately.

It also causes their strength and abilities to increase significantly. However, the beast lure had a fatal flaw; the more beast lure the beasts inhale, the quicker the death of the beast.

Aryan slowly started coming up with a plan to tackle the impending danger. Now that he had an idea, he was coming up with the strategy with the most casualties.

It wasn't Aryan's style to consider the reason behind the Beast Tide in the first place. To him that was something that could be done after saving everyone.

'The beast's must have taken in the lure, the only problem now is the concentration. We just have to hold out until the beast's die. But how long would it take? I have to get to the source to determine it for myself.'

Rushing through the treetops, Aryan ran towards the Beast Tide intending to discover the source of the beast lure and the concentration.

~~~~~

"The target seems to be on the move, my Lord"

In a remote location on the island shores, an assassin was reporting to the young lord.

"Good! Wait until he's quite far from the main town, then we'll get rid of him"

It could be seen from his expression that he was quite disinclined towards the job. This was because the Young Lord was from a commoner background as well.

Before joining the Blood Moon Assassins, he was from an island just like this. Although he was from commoner background, his status had been elevated and as such, he was no longer hung up on things and simply followed the rules.

However, this didn't mean he wanted to get rid of commoners just like the nobles. That's why he wanted to isolate the target from other commoners and kill him quietly.

"Sir, there is an update on the information. The target has a single parent. What should we do about him?"

"Hmm...let's deal with the target first. Put the parent on our list and have people watch him. If he gets in our way, just kill him off too."