Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution-Chapter 224: The Drifter Cube

The Drifter Cube

The effect was immediate.

The Wendigo, which had been halfway through its regeneration, suddenly froze as though electrocuted.

Then, it let out a horrid noise from its still malformed throat as sickening cracks and squelchesbegan to sound from its body.

Osho watched with clinical detachment as, slowly, the Wendigo was crushed from up and down.

Its limbs twisted in unnatural angles and its torso caved inwards. Slowly, everything started to bunch up, and not long later, what remained was a wriggling ball of darkness that got smaller as time passed.

By now, the tide of corrupt Mana had fully subsided, and there were no other sounds besides the mass wriggling and squelching.

Eventually, it became about the size of a marble. Then it shuddered, and stopped moving entirely.

"Done?" Osho said.

Bedrock nodded while Gale gave an affirming grunt. After that, both creatures canceled their skills, but not before Gale waved one of his wings, and Osho watched as the remains of the Wendigo which had been crushed became... purified, under the effects of Gale's domain.

It then split into two, with one flying towards Bedrock and the other towards Gale. Both of them opened their mouths and swallowed it, and Osho felt whatever Mana they expended during the battle not only get replenished, but also increase.

"Handy." Osho hummed.

"Can't let it go to waste, now can we?" Gale said smugly, and Osho just rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of things not going to waste..."

"Mm, I've already analyzed the magic circle they wanted to use. I'll transfer the model to you when you're ready." Gale simply nodded.

"Now would be preferable."

"Alright."

A moment later, Osho closed his eyes as Gale transferred a deluge of information to Osho via their bond, and Osho was silent for a few moments as he digested the information, then he exhaled.

'Huh, that's quite the devious thing.' He thought.

He didn't know what the magic circle was called, but he could understand it's effects from what hed just received, and they weren't friendly, to say the least, and he could say that they REALLY wanted to get rid of William.

If the thing had activated successfully, the target would have been trapped in an alternate space filled with nothing but Corrupt Mana. But that's not all. It wasn't aimless Corrupt Mana that could just be circumvented with a little proficiency. No, this Mana was both far more potent than usual and actively hostile. Anyone caught in this trap would have been ground into nothing by it.

Moreover, the process was clean and silent since it took place in an alternate space, unable to be observed by anyone outside and would leave no remains.

As Osho was considering this, Gale suddenly froze and turned his gaze upwards, his eyes narrowing.

As soon as Osho and Bedrock saw this, they tensed simultaneously.

Gale's sight was incredible, so this scene was extremely concerning. Moreover, through the bond, they could feel his wariness.

'What's wrong?' Osho asked as he shifted closer to the bird whose feathers were puffing up.

'Something is trying to pry.' Gale replied tersely.

'Something strong?' Bedrock offered.

'Very.' Gale confirmed.

'Do you reckon we can survive a confrontation?' Osho asked.

'We could escape if you put Bedrock in the Beast Space and use me to flee, but that leaves the others.' Osho didn't like that answer.

While he was curious about whatever it was that was trying to pry, he had no desire to find out how strong that thing was, especially since it seemed capable of prying on them from who knows how far away.

'Didn't think I'd need to use it so soon...' Osho sighed as he took out something from his spatial storage.

At the same moment, a strange... pressure, started to come upon him. But before it started to get bad, Gale snorted and rebuffed it. He'd rather die than let himself get affected by something like pressure.

Still, that meant that whatever was trying to look was getting closer to achieving its goal, but that's when Osho held up what he had pulled out.

It was a simple black cube about ten centimeters squared. The material was glossy black, and the surface looked like it was dotted with numerous points of light, making it look like it was covered in stars.

The Drifter Cube.

As Osho stared at it, he briefly recalled when Belle had given it to him as his 'payment'.

'Seeing as you're gonna be helping me with a dangerous and probably attention-drawing task, it's only natural that I give you something that helps you hide, no?'

He sighed at the memory. She made light of it, but this was probably one of the most important items the cult possessed currently.

It played into the concept of drifting, and how many things in the universe were on the move, unbound and unknown. Hence, unable to be found.

It was a tool of subterfuge, and as long as one was moving while it was in their possession, they would not be found.

A simple yet terrifying effect.

Without saying anything, Osho pulled Gale and Bedrock into his beast space and started walking. His pace was hurried, but it wasn't too slow either. It looked like he was taking a casual stroll, which was a bit funny, considering the devastation that had befallen the surroundings.

Not long after he started walking, Osho felt a presence wash over him. It wasn't too powerful, not because the origin was weak, but because they were simply looking.

That, in itself, was terrifying.

But Osho didn't panic and simply continued to walk. He felt the presence pass over him a few more times, as if it was looking for something. However, while it passed over him, it never locked onto him, because it never 'saw' him.

A minute passed like this, but whether it was due to losing interest or being restricted, the gaze slowly faded.

However, Osho didn't stop walking. He kept at it for ten minutes before he slowly came to a stop, and the effects of the cube dissipated.

'Huu. How nerve-wracking.' He thought as he looked upwards and narrowed his eyes slightly.

This was a perfect example of what he'd been hiding himself over recently.

He was quite strong now in the context of Azure Star. However, in the grand scheme of things, he was probably just an ant that could be crushed at any given moment.

He needed to change that.

Both for himself and those around him.

So that next time, he wouldn't be forced to hide when he encounters something truly strong.

'Count your days.' He snorted and let Gale out once more, got on his back, and had the bird fly them towards the others.

***

"Hm? Oh?"

Meanwhile, in another location, hidden from the gazes of most, a figure sat in darkness, and around him, the pungent smell of blood permeated the area.

'Another one of my babies was killed, huh? That hasn't happened in a while. The fact that it needed to be summoned in the first place shows that things didn't go according to plan, but losing as well? Sheesh. Which one was it?" There was silence for a moment, then...

"Ah!" The voice exclaimed in genuine surprise.

"Oh, wow. That place again, huh? That makes it 3-0. Interesting, interesting." The elf rubbed his chin with interest. He didn't seem angry. In fact, he seemed intrigued.

You'd think that after having three of his creations destroyed in one place when one of them was enough to decimate Citadels at the same level, he'd be annoyed. But no, his interest was piqued.

"They said they've found some strange windfall. Is that why they were able to get stronger so quickly? Ah, I really wanna see just how much this goes, but..." He sighed.

"Higher-ups said that I shouldn't interfere with that place so much anymore. How annoying, it's gonna get crushed eventually. At least let me have some fun!" He leaned back into his seat and sulked like a petulant child.

"Sigh. Oh well, I guess orders are orders," He hummed. "Besides. Karaskan is gonna go there soon enough. Maybe he can have fun in my stead." After this, the elf seemed satisfied and leaned back into his chair, and the smell of blood grew slowly.

***

It only took a few moments for Osho to reach where the others were despite Gale only moving at cruising speed.

When he arrived, he was surprised to see a large wall made up of various elements. It was cracked in several regions, but it still held firm.

'It must be how they stopped the tsunami.' He mused as Gale descended to a spot, and everyone was just sitting there.

"Look who finally arrived." Kurt was the first one to speak as everyone barely reacted to Osho's presence.

"My bad, I was stuck fighting a walking calamity." Osho replied dryly.

"Yeah, and we were stuck doing the grunt work." Irene snorted.

"I'm stronger than you." Osho said flatly.

"Hmph." Irene snorted.

"So, it's dealt with?" William asked with a raised brow. Straight to business as usual.

"Yeah. We should be in the clear for now," Osho nodded. "But we should expect even greater resistance next time." Hearing this, everyone nodded.

This was simply a temporary victory. In the future, things wouldn't be so simple. As such they couldn't sit idly.

Osho stared straight at William and asked.

"How much money are you willing to splurge in a short period?" Hearing this, the man also stared at Osho, immediately realizing what he was getting at.

"Considering that we're sitting on a metaphorical goldmine, I'd be willing to spend a bit, yeah." He nodded, and Osho returned the gesture.

"Good. Because from now on," He twirled his finger. "No more saving or contentment. I'm using my ability to the limit, and everyone is breaking through as soon as their ranks stabilize."