noffsinger Chapter 229: The Beast Attack
Chapter 229: The Beast Attack
[Sah’Rumeh Village — Outside the Barrier]
The mountain winds roared, dust swirled across the battlefield, and beyond the shattered barrier, Ashkareth waited patiently like a predator watching trapped prey.
Every warrior upon the walls tightened their grip around their weapons; nobody spoke, and nobody even breathed properly because beyond that barrier stood the nightmare that had haunted Qashmar for years.
Then—
THUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMM.
Ashkareth took another step; the earth shook, and several villagers lost their footing. Kael stepped forward, his sword pointed toward the monster.
"ARCHERS!"
Immediately hundreds of bows rose.
"ON MY COMMAND!"
The wolf warriors obeyed, hands trembling, hearts pounding, and then suddenly Levin stepped beside Kael, his blue eyes never leaving the beast.
Asha stood beside him, her eyes narrowed, ready and waiting. Then quietly Levin spoke. "Do not aim for its body."
Several warriors blinked. Kael looked toward him. "...What?"
Levin pointed toward Ashkareth. "Look carefully."
Everyone looked. Ashkareth stood completely still; the black fur covering its body looked unnaturally thick like armor.
No...better than armor. The darkness itself seemed to protect it, and then Levin continued. "The body is a waste, the eyes."
Kael understood, distract, not kill; they only needed to move it. Then suddenly another crack spread across the barrier.
CRAAAAAAAAAAACK.
The villagers screamed. Kael immediately raised his sword.
"FIRE!"
TWANG.
TWANG.
TWANG.
Hundreds of arrows shot into the sky like a black storm. Straight toward Ashkareth for one brief moment hope appeared.
Then—
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
The arrows never pierced, every single one shattered as though striking steel and an absolute silence.
Then one arrow, just one, struck near Ashkareth’s left eye; the beast blinked, nothing more and nothing less, but it blinked.
Levin’s eyes sharpened. "There."
Kael immediately saw it too, a reaction tiny but real. Then suddenly Ashkareth moved.
FAST.
Far too fast.
The gigantic beast disappeared.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The ground exploded; a watchtower shattered instantly. Wolf warriors were thrown through the air; screams erupted everywhere.
Kael’s eyes widened. "What in Vaelthor’s name—"
Then Ashkareth appeared again, another hundred meters away; the earth cracked beneath its paws, and everyone understood. The monster wasn’t merely strong; it was fast.
Horribly fast.
Levin felt something cold settle inside his chest because this changed everything. If Ashkareth entered the village, there would be nowhere to run. Then the beast’s black eyes shifted.
Past the warriors, past the walls, and past the village. Toward the healer’s hut and toward the eggs.
Levin froze immediately because he saw it. That gaze—the beast wasn’t looking at the village. It wasn’t looking at the soldiers. It wasn’t even looking at him; it was looking through him.
Toward something behind him, toward his children. Then Ashkareth took a step forward, not toward the wall and not toward Kael.
Straight toward the healer’s hut, and for the first time, real fear appeared inside Levin’s eyes because now he understood.
The beast had not come for Sah’Rumeh. The beast had come for something inside Sah’Rumeh. Something newly born and something carrying ancient blood.
Immediately Levin looked toward the hut, toward his children, and then back toward Ashkareth. His face slowly lost color, and the words escaped him like a whisper.
"...Don’t tell me....it sensed the hatchlings."
Kael heard him; the wolf captain immediately looked toward the hut, then toward the monster, and suddenly he understood too; his eyes widened. "...Because they’re Prime Alpha serpent children?"
Silence.
Levin didn’t answer because he already knew the answer, and somehow that answer terrified him more than the monster itself.
Ashkareth stopped moving. Its enormous black eyes remained fixed upon the hut, watching and waiting like a predator that had finally located its prey.
Then—
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
The beast slammed itself against the barrier.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!
Another portion shattered; the magical shield flickered violently. Villagers screamed. Several warriors fell from the walls. Panic exploded.
And Levin immediately turned. "Captain."
Kael looked at him. Levin’s eyes had become sharp, cold, and dangerously calm. The same eyes that appeared whenever he had already made a decision.
"We need to move."
Kael immediately nodded. "The mountain."
"Now."
The wolf captain didn’t argue because every second wasted brought Ashkareth closer to the eggs. Then suddenly Levin rushed towards Ashkarath; the nearby warriors froze.
"Malika! What are you doing?!"
But Levin ignored them completely because Ashkareth’s attention remained on the hut and he needed that attention elsewhere.
Immediately, Levin stepped onto the highest section of the wall; the mountain winds whipped around him. His clothes fluttered wildly; the gigantic beast stared past him, still looking toward the healer’s hut.
Toward the eggs and toward his children, and suddenly Levin drew his sword.
SHIIIIIIING.
The blade reflected sunlight. Then without hesitation he sliced his own palm.
SLASH.
Several warriors gasped; blood dripped immediately, bright crimson, pure and prime Alpha blood. The scent exploded across the battlefield; the winds carried it.
Across the walls, across the village, and across the valley, Ashkareth froze.
Silence, an absolute silence.
Then slowly...very slowly the monster’s head turned toward Levin. Its black eyes narrowed and the entire village stopped breathing because for the first time the beast was no longer looking at the hut.
It was looking at Levin.
Levin slowly raised his bleeding hand, then shouted, "LOOK AT ME!"
The words echoed across the valley. Kael’s eyes widened, the villagers froze, and the warriors looked horrified.
Because nobody...absolutely nobody...would willingly attract the attention of Ashkareth. Levin smiled, a cold, reckless father’s smile.
"You want something?" His voice carried through the mountains. "Then come take it."
Then suddenly Ashkareth moved, the black eyes locked onto him, and the darkness surrounding its body exploded outward, the mountain itself trembled, and for the first time since arriving, the beast abandoned the healer’s hut.
Abandoned the eggs and abandoned the village and focused entirely upon Levin. Kael’s face went pale because he finally understood what Levin was doing.
"No..." the wolf captain whispered. "Don’t tell me..."
Levin jumped down from the wall, landing perfectly, and then he immediately ran toward the Empty Cliffs, toward the mountains and toward death itself.
Asha immediately followed.
ROOOAAARRR!!!
The tiger sprinted beside him, and behind them, Ashkareth released a roar so loud the valley shook.
ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!
And then the nightmare began chasing him. Kael stared in disbelief; the villagers stared in disbelief because one man, one exhausted father, and one wounded Alpha who had delivered eggs only days ago had just taken the attention of a monster that terrified an entire empire.
And as Levin disappeared toward the mountains, the beast followed, exactly as he intended.
The mountain winds screamed, loose stones rolled down the cliffs, and across the barren wasteland Levin ran.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
His lungs burned, his body screamed, and his wounds from childbirth had never fully healed. Yet he did not stop.
Could not stop because behind him Ashkareth was coming.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The earth exploded beneath the beast’s paws; the entire section of the mountain cracked apart.
ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
The roar shook the cliffs. Asha sprinted beside Levin; the tiger’s breathing had become heavy; even he understood.
One mistake, one single mistake, and they would die. And far behind them the village had become a tiny speck.
The farther away they went, the safer the eggs would be. Then suddenly Levin stopped; his boots skidded across stone. Immediately Asha stopped beside him, the tiger looked confused.
Levin slowly turned and finally faced the nightmare.
Ashkareth.
The gigantic beast stood before him, a mountain of darkness. Its black eyes stared down at him, watching and waiting.
Then for the first time Ashkareth tilted its head, almost curiously as though wondering why its prey had stopped running.
Levin slowly raised his sword; his blue eyes remained dangerously cold. "You wanted me."
The wind howled, but the beast remained silent, and then Levin smiled.
"Then come."
ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Ashkareth attacked.
FAST.
Far too fast.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The mountain exploded. Levin barely jumped away, and the ground beneath him shattered instantly.
Asha lunged.
RAAAAAAAWWWWRRRRRR!!!
The tiger’s claws struck Ashkareth’s shoulder.
CLANG.
Sparks exploded, no damage...none. Asha immediately jumped back. As Levin appeared above the beast, his sword descended.
SHHHHHHHHKKKKKK.
The blade struck Ashkareth’s neck; a shallow cut appeared, and black blood dripped. For the first time the beast reacted.
Its eyes narrowed. Levin’s hands trembled because that attack should have severed flesh, not barely scratched it.
Then suddenly—
THUUUUUUUUMMMMMM.
Ashkareth’s tail slammed into him, and everything went black.
CRAAAAAASH.
Levin flew across the mountain, stone shattered, and blood exploded from his mouth. Asha roared, and the tiger immediately attacked again. Only to be swatted away like a toy.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The tiger crashed through three boulders in silence. Levin slowly pushed himself upward, his vision blurred; blood ran down his forehead.
His arms shook violently; everything hurt. Then he remembered the eggs, and immediately he stood again.
Ashkareth watched, the beast’s black eyes narrowing. Almost...interested because most prey remained down, but this one stood again, and then Levin raised his sword.
Once more, blood dripped from his fingers. His legs trembled, yet he still stood.
"If I lose..." His voice shook. "...you’ll reach them."
The mountain winds howled. Ashkareth began walking toward him, one step and then another like death itself approaching.
Levin’s body finally reached its limit; his vision darkened, his knees weakened, and his sword dropped slightly, and Ashkareth saw it. The weakness, the exhaustion, and the opening. Then suddenly the beast lunged.
ROOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Its enormous jaws opened and darkness rushed toward him. Levin couldn’t move; his body refused, his wounds screamed, his vision blurred, and for the first time, real despair appeared.
Because he knew this was the end, the beast was ready to strike Levin. Asha tried to protect Levin, but even the tiger knew they could not fight anymore.
Then the sky exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
The mountains shook, the clouds split apart, the air itself trembled, and suddenly something massive descended from the heavens, something silver, something ancient and something terrifying.
ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!
A dragon’s roar...no...a serpent’s roar. The sound alone forced Ashkareth backward; the beast skidded across the cliffs. Every mountain, every stone, and every creature trembled.
Because the true Emperor of Zahryssar had arrived. A colossal silver serpent crashed between Levin and Ashkareth; silver scales covered the mountain, and golden eyes burned like suns.
Ancient royal markings glowed across his body, and the prime alpha aura exploded outward. Black lotus pheromones flooded the battlefield, terrifying, ancient, and dominating.
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
The silver serpent struck first.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Ashkareth was thrown across the cliffs; entire mountains shattered. The beast crashed through stone.
For the first time the nightmare had been overpowered, and Levin froze; his sword slipped from his fingers.
Clang.
The sound barely reached his ears because he could only stare. At the silver scales, at the golden eyes, and at the impossible figure standing before him.
His breathing stopped, his heart stopped, and even his world stopped.
Then slowly the enormous serpent turned, golden eyes meeting blue ones, and Levin’s eyes widened.
"...Zer..."
The mountain winds stopped; the world seemed to hold its breath because after everything—after kingdoms, after death, after separation, and after grief—they had finally found each other.