Meanwhile, on the winding Beastkin road...
Rain poured steadily.
The skies were dark, and the wind carried the sharp scent of wet soil and distant trees.
Javier sat slumped forward on Buddyâs back, drenched, eyes heavy, body screaming for rest.
His breath was ragged. His vision blurred.
But Buddy pressed on.
Inside Javierâs mind...
Only two names.
Liana...
Gloria...
That was all he could think about.
That was all that mattered.
He had been panicking ever since he heard they were heading back to their hometown.
For a wedding.
A wedding.
The thought stabbed into his chest like a blade every time it echoed in his head.
He didnât want that.
He couldnât accept that.
He didnât understand why they made that decision.
Maybeâ
Maybe it really was his fault.
For flirting too much.
For acting like it was all a game.
Even if he didnât mean it seriously...
Even if he thought theyâd always stay by his side...
He could feel it now.
They were slipping away.
"Iâm sorry, Liana... Gloria..."
His voice cracked.
"I wonât do that ever again."
The wind drowned his words.
But the storm inside him kept raging.
Javier wanted to know one thing.
Why?
Why did they decide to get married to someone else?
Why didnât they tell him?
Why did they leave so suddenly... without saying anything?
Without a single word?
He gritted his teeth as the rain poured down his face.
Was it because of him?
Because of his careless flirting?
Because he let himself smile at too many girls?
Was it... his mistake?
Was it that one moment too manyâwhere he looked at someone else, when he should have looked at them?
Did that break everything?
The questions tore through his thoughts like blades.
But no matter how many times he asked...
No answer came.
Only the endless sound of the rain.
And the pounding of Buddyâs talons against the wet earth.
Buddy stopped.
Abrupt. Rigid.
His feathers flared and his muscles tensed.
"Cuquawked!!"
He squawked loudlyâangry, warning, agitated.
Javierâs eyes snapped open, immediately alert despite his exhaustion.
He looked around.
The forest road had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
The rain hissed across puddles, but the air now carried a pressure.
All around them, glowing eyes appeared through the mist.
Shadows moved between the trees.
Dozens. Noâhundreds.
Crawling, creeping, slithering.
High-level monsters.
And all of them radiated water-element manaâtuned perfectly with the rainstorm.
Javier gritted his teeth.
"I donât have time to play with this."
The creatures slowly circled, cutting off the path forward and back.
"If you donât want to dieâMOVE OVER!"
More arrived.
Droplets of water shimmered unnaturally as magic condensed in the air.
Javier narrowed his eyes.
"...Fine."
He turned to Buddy and placed a hand on his side.
"Buddy. I know you can handle them. But go rest."
Buddy tilted his head, uneasy.
"I need you to keep moving after this. Donât waste energy here."
Javier stepped down into the mud and rain, eyes blazing.
He raised his hand.
A pulse of mana surged out.
Twenty mithril-clad puppet knights dropped from glowing magic circles, slamming into the ground around Buddy in perfect formation.
"Command: Protect Buddy."
"Command received. Defense protocol activated."
The knights snapped into position, shields raised, glowing runes igniting along their bodies.
Javier reached into his magic storage.
From the glowing lightâ
He pulled out a monstrous, rune-inscribed mana Gatling gun, its barrels humming with raw force, rotating slowly as energy charged.
He raised it toward the encroaching monsters.
His soaked cloak fluttered in the wind.
His voice was cold.
Sharp.
Unshaken.
"I donât care how many of you there are."
"But when you stand between meâ"
He pulled the first trigger.
The Gatling barrels began to spin.
"âand my girls..."
Mana surged.
"No. Mercy."
Two towering adamantite puppet knights dropped beside Javier with a thunderous clang.
They stood firmâmassive shields locking into place, swords drawn and planted into the ground.
Their eyes glowed red.
"Kill everything that comes closer." Javier commanded coldly.
[Affirmative. Command received.]
Without hesitation, they moved forward, locking into defensive stance, shielding Javier from the incoming barrage.
Water-element monsters fired pressurized water cannons, slicing through trees and shattering boulders.
Butâ
The adamantite knights blocked every blast effortlessly.
Shields flared with reinforced runes. The water attacks crashed and splattered against them, harmless.
Behind themâ
Javierâs mana Gatling gun spun into full motion.
"Letâs begin."
Explosive mana bullets tore through the rain, lighting up the forest like a storm of fireflies.
Every shot exploded on contactâshredding limbs, blasting apart jaws, and tearing through armor-like scales.
Monsters screamed and thrashed, caught in the hellstorm of bullets.
Javier moved fluidlyâstep by step, rotating his aim, keeping the pressure constant.
Three monsters leapt at him from the sideâfangs wide, claws raised.
His eyes didnât even blink.
He adjusted the aim mid-motion, mowed them down mid-air, each one erupting in a burst of mana and gore.
Another group circled behindâ
Without turning, he twisted his waist, swept the barrel, and released another stream of mana rounds.
One by one, every monster that chargedâ
Fell.
The rain couldnât wash away the steam rising from the ruptured earth.
The battlefield hissedâsoaked in rain, smoke, and the glowing remnants of slain monsters.
But they kept coming.
More water-element beasts emerged from the mist, circling like wolves sensing prey.
Javier exhaled slowly, his breath ragged.
His finger still hovered on the trigger.
His jaw clenched.
"This is going to take too long..."
He whispered, gritting his teeth, voice low and cold.
Thenâ
A vision clawed its way into his mind.
Liana.
Standing silently.
Composed. Beautiful.
Wearing a flowing white silk bridal gown.
Her face calm.
But not looking at him.
Not reaching for him.
Standing beside someone else.
A faceless groom.
Holding hands.
Accepting someone else.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Javierâs mana exploded.
The ground cracked beneath him. Steam erupted with his aura.
The Gatling gun vanished in a blinkâsealed back into his magic storage.
His hands reached to his sidesâ
And with a flash of white light, two pristine longswordsâcrafted from rare White Ore, imbued with twin runic coresâmaterialized in his grip.
The air around him vibrated.
His eyes blazed with fury.
"FINE!"
He roared, stepping forward as his aura ignited like a storm.
"IâLL GIVE YOU ALL A NIGHTMARE!!"
( End Of Chapter )