I kneeled on the ground and checked the soil between my fingers. It used to be a solid chunk of mud but now it lied shattered at the top of my palm. Shattered, yet molded into one clump.

Someone stepped on it shattering it into pieces, and then dozen more of someones would pulverize them into a solid cluster. Quite a big group passed through here not so long ago.

How did they move so quickly? They left the city at the evening, I followed them the very next morning. They should have merely six to eight hours of advantage.

But I was moving alone, they in a group, I had only my equipment on myself, and they were carrying lots of belongings, I was a healthy adventurer running at full speed, and among them, there were women and children as well as people injured during the commotion.

I thought that I would catch up with them on the same day, yet here already two passed and they are nowhere to be seen…

Unless… they played me like a fool.

I sensed the presences trying to surround me from three sides. They were somewhat skilled hunters, but they couldn’t hide their life forces, not from such a small distance.

“You are doing a pathetic job trying to ambush me, so you could as well just leave your covers.” I raised my voice still playing with the dirt.

After a moment of hesitation, the bushes trembled a little as from behind them silhouettes of the men emerged, each of them was holding a weapon.

“My-my, ain't you a sharp one? You sensed all three of us, did you?”

There was something wrong with the way he said “three”, so I decided to bluff right away.

“Three? So I assume that the last person is not with you?”

Expression of demi-human that answered me back turned ugly

“Maya. He knows! Get down.”

From the branches of the tree, the last one person jumped on the ground merely two or three meters away from me.

Dayum. If not that talkative guy, she would get me good.

“Why are you following us, stranger? We wish to be left alone.” The girl – Maya – said getting up from all four. She was some weird variation of cat people. Panther tribe? “Trust me, sweet-cheek, it’s not you that I am tracking. I am looking for a kid. This tall…” I showed the estimated size of Kim with my hand “… blonde hair, green eyes, lack of common sense, murderous instincts, tend to change into a monster, have you met this man?” “Sorry, never heard of him.” She smiled widely. “I see. In that case I will be on my way.”

I was wasting time. They must have split up much earlier. Few groups of hunters left the main group leaving the fake tracks behind as the actual group moved slower in other direction, carefully covering their tracks.

“The thing is… we can’t really let you go.” Maya purred. Her eyes turned into vertical slits as she gazed on my throat. “As for someone that wishes to be left alone you are surely clingy, don’t you think?” “You are a hunter send to chase us, aren’t you? Friend of those slavemakers” “No. I am just an annoyed older brother that wishes to whoop someone’s ass so hard, that the spoken someone would shit bricks for a month.” “… Older brother? You are the Zariel? Big brother Zariel that Master Kim keeps talking about?”

That could make things a little bit easier, or much, much harder.

“My name is Zariel indeed, as for the other part I can’t be sure because lately, I allowed Kim to do as he pleases. Gave him a too long leash and apparently, now I have to reeducate him.” “Watch your tongue when you speak about the Elected.” “Elected? Now that’s a fancy name I haven’t heard before. Devorer, yes, The Beast God King? Indeed? Abomination and the End of All Hope? Sure. But Elected?” “Elected, for the world chose him to be the cure of this world… and you knew who he was all along? And you still dared to speak so lightly about him?”

The slits of her eyes almost completely disappeared.

“I do. He is but a young pup, that you brainwashed and forced to fight for your case, and poor fool, not knowing better, fell for that story about superiority and divinity.” “IMPUDENT HUMAN!” she growled before pounding at me.

And damn me, for she was fast. She didn’t use a weapon, not just yet, instead she tried slashing my face with quite long and slightly curved claws.

I quickly moved back and wiggled my body left and right narrowly avoiding her attacks. Eventually, I focused my magic and thrust my open palm toward her.

You have casted [Mana Schock Wave] You have dealt 18 dmg

The shock wave of magic pushed her around two meters away, yet she still remained on her legs.

“Sorry, kitty-girl, but I can’t afford to lose my precious time with you…” “Thank you for this piece of valuable information, in that case, we will do whatever we can to slow you down! Remi! Aretto! Nittel!” her comrades quickly took their positions about to join the fight.

They weren’t as strong nor fast as their – I presume – leader, in most cases they would only slow her down, that is unless they had a trained battle style… and it looked as if they indeed had.

“Human such as yourself will never understand what we are fighting for! You haven’t lived your life in fear nor humiliation. We don’t want to use master Kim, we want to worship him, for he will…” “… grant you everything you are too scared or too weak to obtain with just your own strength? You need a puppet that will provide you everything because poor hurt kitty is afraid to dirt her own pwetty-paws!?!? If freedom was all you wanted, I would mind, you already obtained it, so you could just go to each other ways. But no, you want more and more? Until you won’t be able to get what you want with your own bloody hands, you don’t deserve a God-King, you don’t deserv a savior. You don’t deserve a Messiah.” “What can you possibly know?”

I had to end it quickly, to save Kim and possibly all these ungrateful beastmen from the revenge of the nobles.

Shifting in Process “Everything….”