A Zoologist’s Guide to Surviving Magical Creatures

"Ignore Baku. We have a more pressing situation," Fenrir cut in, his voice edged with authority. His casual demeanor had vanished, replaced by something sharper—calculating. "Since you're all here, let's get an update on your findings from your last trip."

Somehow, in the span of a few minutes, Fenrir had transformed into the general of a full-scale war council, demanding reports from his fleet leaders like we were about to charge into battle. And—oh, how convenient—he had completely dodged the whole heavens topic. No worries. I'd be bringing that back up.

I leaned forward. "I got a fragment from Zilant."

And just like that, I dropped the bombshell.

Fenrir's ears twitched. His sharp gaze locked onto me, his usual smugness replaced by something far more serious. "A fragment… of the space-time?"

Bingo. He knew. The Forest of Forgotten Tales wasn't just any mythical region—it was part of the Lost Realm.

Then, his expression darkened. "That can't be… Vorta's—" He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze flicking toward Naga.

Silence.

Naga's expression mirrored Fenrir's—cold, unreadable. He didn't say a word.

Alright. No feedback? Cool. Moving on.

"Other realm owners—whoever they are—have been secretly siphoning off Mythica." I dropped bombshell number two.

This time, Naga stirred. "We knew about that." His voice was measured, controlled. "That's why we've been hunting for the traitor. But if it's truly the Theos disrupting the balance… then we can conclude the other realm owners are involved."

I frowned. "Do we even know who these 'other owners' are? How many realms exist? How many owners? Because right now, I'm clueless." I leaned back, exasperated. "And just a reminder—my job description did not include managing entire realms. This is already beyond my pay grade."

"What else did you find?" Fenrir pressed, his gaze sharp, cutting straight to business.

I took a breath, steadying myself. "Well, we found Amaterasu deep inside what I can only describe as a so-called ruin."

I hesitated, the memory of that place still pressing against my mind like a weight. "But here's the kicker—the ruin distorts time."

The words felt surreal even as I spoke them. That place wasn't just ancient; it was wrong.

"Worse, it was siphoning Amaterasu's essence, and she didn't even notice." My stomach twisted at the thought. A literal goddess, being drained away bit by bit, completely unaware. How many others had suffered the same fate?

I exhaled sharply. "If I had to guess, that ruin is probably contributing to the imbalance too." The idea sat heavy in my gut, like a stone.

"If other creatures entered, they might not even realize they're dying." The thought sent a shiver through me. A slow, creeping death—one they wouldn't feel until it was too late.

I glanced around, gauging their reactions before delivering the final blow. "That could also explain the missing investigators The Council sent."

Fenrir frowned. "The Council didn't send investigators to the Forest of Forgotten Tales."

I blinked. "Wait—what?"

Agnos smirked, lazily sipping his tea like he had already figured it out. "Well, that explains why Eva said no one was sent to investigate..."

"Turns out the report was a lie," Jiuge added.

I felt my stomach drop. "Hold on. You're saying the reports about missing investigators—the ones who never returned or came back completely unhinged—weren't real?"

Fenrir's expression darkened. "The reports are true."

And then Naga finally spoke, his voice rolling in like distant thunder. "It wasn't The Council who sent them—it was the MECCP."

I stiffened. The MECCP? That meant this wasn't just some routine investigation.

"But then why did Eva say no one was sent to investigate?" I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

Naga folded his arms, his expression unreadable. "Because it was a covert mission." His tone was firm, matter-of-fact. "When situations like this arise, we don't broadcast it. We send in experts first—quietly—to assess the danger before announcing it."

"And these weren't regular investigators," Naga continued. His tone was measured, but there was weight behind his words. "They were highly trained specialists. Some relocators, too, in case the creatures needed to be moved."

A chill ran down my spine. Highly trained specialists. And they were still lost?

Naga exhaled sharply, his expression dark. "We've lost five teams in that realm so far."

My stomach knotted. Five entire teams. Not rookies. Not amateurs. Professionals. Gone.

Naga's gaze locked onto Fenrir. "But if you're telling me a ruin might be responsible…" He clenched his jaw, then let out a slow breath.

"Then we have a much bigger problem on our hands." His eyes burned with an unspoken urgency. "We need to see Vorta."

A tense beat of silence.

Then Fenrir scoffed. "You know that's impossible."

I frowned. "What do you mean impossible? Why can't we meet Vorta?"

Fenrir leaned back, crossing his arms. "Because Vorta is in Eternal Prison. Guarding Hestia."

My brain stalled. "Huh?"

"And none of the Unknown Gods are allowed to meet with her. Or with Vorta."

"Okay, hold up. Why? Why can't the Unknown Gods meet with Hestia? And why is The Council blocking this? Aren't they supposed to be allies? Supporters of Kaleon?"

Fenrir let out a slow, exhausted sigh. "It's not The Council that enforces the restriction. The Eternal Prison was built by Viracocha. But it wasn't always called a prison. Before that, it was the Eternal Palace."

I stiffened. "Wait—it was a palace?!"

"Yep."

My head reeled. "T-then… the ban?"

Fenrir's jaw tightened. "It's an oath. Hestia vowed never to have any communication with the Unknown Gods or the outside world—with the exception of Vorta, of course. It was her way of appeasing the war instigators."

His teeth clenched, voice edged with frustration.

I swallowed hard. Great. Just great. As if we didn't already have enough cosmic-level problems, now we had to deal with this.

I raised my hands in surrender. "I have a tiny little question about the Eternal Prison."

Fenrir and Naga both turned to me, their expressions unreadable. Encouraged by the attention, I pressed on. "I've been meaning to ask this… Why did a mere whiff of Kaleon's essence cause the place to—y'know—fall into ruin?"

Fenrir exchanged looks with Naga, who let out a deep sigh before answering.

"Carl, the Eternal Prison wasn't always a prison. It was once the palace of Hestia and Kaleon."

His voice carried a weight, as if he were peeling back the layers of an old wound. "The war instigators put precautions in place. If Kaleon ever tried to rescue her—if even a fragment of his presence was felt—one of the divine war beasts would be released."

I froze. Divine war beast? My mind spun as I recalled the sheer power of the one I had somehow managed to ride.

Wait. Hold on. The war instigators had divine war beasts? My thoughts scrambled, pieces of information snapping together like a puzzle I hadn't realized I was solving.

And then it hit me.

"Holy crap! The war instigators… They're from the heavens?!"

Both Naga and Fenrir visibly stiffened. For the first time, they actually looked caught off guard.

Then, to my utter disbelief, Fenrir chuckled. "I knew you were smart, Carl. But I didn't expect you to connect the dots this fast."