Legendary Beast Master: Starting with Contracting SSS Rank Dragon

In the dense forests of the Valoran Wilds, a couple of humanoid beings were dancing in a strange way around the corpse of a wolf's body.

They had sleek, muscular frames, sharpened horns, glowing tattoos of symbols that one couldn't understand unless they deeply studied them.

Their hair was of different colours, and there were scars running across their muscular physiques that stood taller than most humans.

There were also a couple of materials placed on different parts corresponding to the dead body. Each one of those materials seemed to be in resonance with the dance as they emitted a deathly aura that chilled the surroundings.

Aside from these dancing humanoid beings, there was also another one who was standing on the side while reciting a song in his thunderous voice that seemed to shake the very surroundings.

This one was different from the others.

He was tall ogre with a single jagged horn protruding from his forehead. Just below its base, a third eye, coloured deep red, opened wide on his glabella.

On his muscular form was a thin but sturdy war armour that had a presence of its own.

This ogre was leading everyone in singing the song as one of his subordinates slammed on the classic leather drum.

His powerful voice echoed everywhere as it synced with the atmosphere.

"Rhak'tul, Rhak'tul, bones go 'round—

Drum of the sky, drum of the ground!

Eh-hai, eh-hai, the flame is pale,

Dance in the dust, where shadows wail!"

The other ogres sang along as they spread their arms and continued their dance in circles around the dead body.

"Gor'mak walks, the old one sees,

We stomp, we burn, we shake the trees!

Urr-hai! Urr-hai! Soul goes wide—

Dance to the beat where dead things bide!"

The wind picked up as leaves rustled, creating a dazzling scenery. It was as if they were dancing along with the ogres.

"Clack bone, crack bone, twist and bend—

Spin the doom that never ends!

Sha-ha! Sha-ha! Spirits cry,

Ogres rise where the weak ones die!"

The sky turned darker and the temperature of the surroundings dropped, yet the ogres didn't stop. In fact, the intensity of their dance increased.

Each step was in rhythm and synced with the song, which made the whole ground quake. The air vibrated with the alluring, powerful voice of the one-horned ogre.

Meanwhile, Kael was watching everything with a strange look on his face. He could feel the changes in the surroundings that this dance was causing, which made the situation even weirder.

It also affected him, but the effects were so minor that he casually ignored it and just let his assistant check for any abnormalities.

Rias came to stand beside him and spoke, "The Dance of the Dead."

"You recognise it?" Kael asked in surprise.

Rias nodded and said, "It is the dance which resonates with the symbolism of Death, just like how our Affinity allows us to connect with the respective Element symbolism."

"So, are they trying to do Necromancy stuff or bringing back the soul to wind up dead?" Kael asked in a half-joking manner.

"Perhaps!" Rias spoke. "I am more surprised by the fact that someone is actually using it. But..."

"There's always a but," Kael muttered.

"But they are using the wrong words or should I say, they misinterpreted the words and are using the wrong pronunciation," Rias shook her head, and there was a clear disappointment in her eyes. "It will produce weird effects which will do more harm than good."

"You know the correct one?" Kael asked to satisfy his curiosity.

"I don't, but I know for sure that it wasn't created by the ancestors of the Ogres," Rias shrugged. "The way they are singing clearly tells me that they inherited it from their ancestors. Those words were used by the first ogres."

"I see. What can the real Dance of the Dead do?" Kael paused. "Scratch that. It'll probably be similar to Death affinity."

"Yes! It is a way to simulate the Death Affinity without actually having it since it is very rare," Rias nodded.

"I guess this just proves my theory that Runes aren't the only way to communicate with the Astral World," Kael smiled. "We can even use dance."

"It is more of a ritual, and rituals have always worked," Rias said. "It is just the minor version of rituals where you pray to gods and they actually respond."

"Stop!!" Kael hurriedly stopped her. "Don't just start giving us information on Gods so randomly."

Rias blinked in confusion before understanding showed in her mesmerizing eyes. She nodded and remained silent then.

On the other hand, Kael had a lot to think about. But the conclusion was just one question.

'What to do with them?'

Ogres weirdly came under the beasts and were one of the races with the best potential, but their headstrong personalities always led to their demise.

Still, they were very powerful and capable beasts who followed the jungle rule to the truest. They were even brutal with each other, let alone with other tribes or races.

Kael had mixed feelings about trying to approach them and taking them under his wing. They were certainly a powerful addition to their nation, but their personality was worrisome.

But more than that, Kael was curious about this strange dance. He was very interested in it and wanted to know more about it.

Maybe he might be able to use it as a base to learn the true Dance of the Dead. If that were the case, then he would have an additional Death Affinity.

'What to do?'

As he was wondering about his next move, the Dance of the Dead was coming to an end as the leader of the ogres sang in a high-pitched voice.

"Rhak'tul! Rhak'tul! Flames grow tall—

Ashes rise as the mighty fall!

Drum it deep, stomp it low,

Call the dead from down below!"

Kael frowned as he felt chills for the first time and had an inkling that there was something wrong in the surroundings.

He couldn't quite understand what it was until he heard Rias's low voice.

"Use Astral Vision."

Kael tapped on his forehead and closed his eyes. The next moment, his eyes snapped open and the world turned colourful all of a sudden.

He ignored everything as his sight got stuck on that illusory figure of a Stag hovering above the dead body.

In the next moment, another illusory figure materialised, but it was very transparent—as if it would fade away at any moment.

Both of them stared at each other with their blank gazes before lunging at each other. They were going to tear each other apart when suddenly they stopped.

Their figures swayed as if they were also getting affected by the wind before they jerked sideways toward the leader of the ogres.

Kael watched in awe and astonishment as the two figures seeped inside the leader as he groaned and fell on his knees. But the other ogres didn't stop their dance, as if the life of their leader didn't matter at all.

It was a bizarre scene as the drums continued to beat in the background, the ogres dancing wildly while their leader was enduring pain.

His body began to change as grey fur began to form on his skin, his hands began to transform into hooves, while a pair of antlers grew alongside his jagged horn.

The transformation didn't seem to stop there, but before it could continue, the ogre screamed at the top of his lungs and resisted the changes.

Slowly but surely, the transformation stopped and began to regress. As the other ogres finally ended their dance with a powerful thump of the drum, the leader also returned back to normal.

But there were still many minor cracks on his body that spewed out crimson blood.

Rias gripped the hilt of her katana as she scoffed in disgust, "They didn't get it wrong at all. They actually changed it to produce different results. They actually used it to make themselves stronger."

Kael didn't speak, but even he was feeling disgusted with their actions. He was a lot of things, but he had never messed with the dead.

They were out of his limits.

He had always believed in letting the dead rest in peace, even if they were his enemies. So it didn't surprise him that he was feeling like this.

However, he soon noticed Rias's words and frowned. 'Is it because of that? Is that also why I feel this way? We are connected with it after all.'

He shook his head and commanded, "The decision is made. We are slaughtering them."