My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

Lucen reached out to summon his spear. The Withmare Stalker was stealing mana from the plants, causing them to dry up and die. Soon it would heal the blow Lucen dealt to its spine and heart.

And as soon as its loud voice rang through the forest, the other monsters would be alerted of danger.

His spear turned into a bolt of white light and shot back into his hand. He channeled his mana into the silvery metal.

Before he could release the spear, the Withmare coughed the blood from its lungs and raised its head to scream.

Lucen's blood turned cold.

But then a familiar steel whip wrapped around the Withmare's neck and constricted tightly. Helie walked slowly through the bushes, she nodded at him briefly.

The Withmare reached up and grabbed the whip, but the iron turned red-hot in seconds, burning its hand and throat.

The creature gagged silently as the smoldering whip dug into its skin, cutting through skin and bone with a soft hiss.

Soon, the whip tightened and burned until the head snapped off the body and fell to the ground. Its steaming blood poured over the dried leaves.

Kon appeared and caught the head by the fur before it could drop.

Lucen slowly lowered the beast. Helie walked carefully towards him, allowing Lucen to clap her on the back.

"Not to sound ungrateful," Lucen said, voice low, "but why are you here?"

"Our timeline's been moved up," Helie whispered. "Lot just remembered that the Withmares should be asleep by this time."

That would be a wild gamble. If the Hunger mana had changed their sleep patterns, then they would walk in on a fully awake troop of Withmares.

More people were arriving some distance away. Lucen could hear the slow crunch of their footsteps.

He turned to Helie and Kon. "Give me a few seconds to at least confirm they're actually asleep."

Their movements were too noisy and obvious, they would alert every living thing in the silent forest.

He forged ahead without waiting for their reply, stalking through the forest more urgently. He couldn't rely on [Mana Sense], so he instead relied on [Reading] his soul, and simultaneously used [Comprehension].

He wasn't getting any concrete direction. But he walked nevertheless. This was the general direction Tara pointed them in.

He stopped and let his goal remain in his mind. Find the den of the beasts, save Tara's parents, and find whatever was giving the Withmare Hunger mana.

As always, he infused his [Dominance] into this desire. His will to finish the mission. His soul trembled for a moment.

What Lucen had previously thought was his soul pointing him in the direction of a Withmare was a set of predictions.

Danger was ahead, slightly left. But it seemed like just one beast.

There was also another human close east of him. One of the Knights that had been sent out with a Veil to hunt down the Withmare scouts.

Why was he so close?

Lucen circled back and waited for him. The forest was deathly silent, dark and empty. The rows of white trees contrasted the dark.

Every rustle of leaves or shivering shadow drew his eyes. The dark twisted the most innocent shapes into figures that made his heart race.

He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was watching him despite his best attempts to hide.

An invisible monster just waiting patiently.

If his soul hadn't warned him, Lucen would have thought he was completely alone.

But sure as sunrise, the Knight came.

He was tall and wide-shouldered. His black hair was cut short, leaving his brutal-looking face on full display.

Sumael. One of Duran's lackeys.

Lucen watched him carefully from afar, shrinking behind a tree every time Sumael's head swung towards him.

The brutish-looking Knight knelt and studied the footprints Lucen purposely left on the ground.

Lucen swallowed. Sumael was here to kill him, sent by Duran or even Chester to find the right time and pick him off.

Lucen solemnly remembered how Set had picked each of the six people that would go out and kill the Withmare scouts. He put Lucen and Sumael close by each other.

Lucen decided to put away those thoughts and crept towards the Withmare's den.

He would make use of the assassin. He found the dark hole in the ground a few moments later.

Sumael found him too.

Lucen turned and directly met his eyes. The tall boy was hidden behind a tree carefully, his eyes widened as Lucen met his gaze.

By leaving behind footprints, Lucen purposely drew Sumael to the Withmare nest. He waved over the Knight impatiently, pretending not to know of the plot to kill him.

Sumael crept over silently, eyes locked on Lucen's, hand tight around the sword at his hip.

Lucen pointed at the Withmare's den once he got close enough.

The monsters' home was in a wide basin in the flat earth. The Withmare used the depression in the earth to dig a den under a massive tree.

Only one Withmare stood outside to guard at the moment. It was a huge beast, standing twice as tall as any man, and wearing a huge skull mask of a Travojar, a massive rhino-like beast with a black horn.

The Fiend patrolled the basin, its six arms as thick as Lucen's body, but each step was silent. Sumael stared at the beast for a few moments, thoroughly shocked, then back to Lucen.

Lucen scribbled something on one of his last three sheets of paper.

"Help me kill the Fiend. Ymir and Kate will be here soon to set up the battlefield. They can't use mana with that thing around. I have a spell that can hide the buildup of mana for my attacks."

Sumael clenched his jaw, glancing back at the forest. Lucen was sure he wasn't working alone now. Sumael was told to do this by someone close by.

Or it could be that he had reinforcements.

But Lucen wasn't worried about a fight right now.

If either of them used any magic now, they would shake the hornets' nest, and the Withmare would slaughter them.

Sumael lowered his head for a moment then nodded. Lucen raised another pre-written note.

"I'll get there and sever its spine so it can't raise the alarm. Can you behead it with a single non-magical swing?"

Lucen knew he could, but he needed Sumael to feel completely involved in the plan. This was a deadly play, but if he got lucky he could take down the two enemies without trouble.

Sumael nodded, maintaining eye contact with him.

He looked away, not wanting to give the impression that he knew Sumael was here to kill him.

They separated, each coming from a different side. Lucen didn't slide down the slope into the basin, he was able to stay sure-footed thanks to [Traveller's Aid].

They both approached the blind Fiend from both sides. The Withmare moved unnaturally smoothly for something so big, its long arms curling over the bare ground.

No grass or leaves meant they could move a bit faster. Lucen was behind the Withmare seconds after entering the basin.

The wide, white back of the hairy beast was daunting. Its flawless movements were mesmerizing.

Lucen's heart pounded as he stepped closer, crouching under one of the Withmare's six hands that were reaching around.

Sumael was just out of the reach of the Withmare. If he revealed their presence now…

His heart burned slightly. Lucen could escape, they would both run, and the Withmare Fiend would follow Sumael.

At least that's what he told himself to stay calm as he got into range.

His spear wasn't charged with magic. The Withmares inside the dark den would sense the attack after it went off.

He sucked in a long breath and dug into the stores of energy [Surging Flames] built up as he moved.

Lucen shot from the ground, letting out a silent breath as he drove his spear into the Fiend's back.

There was a low thud and a moment that stretched too long.

He knew he couldn't pierce its heart and spine at once. So he had aimed for the spine.

After a second, the beast slumped towards the ground. Sumael caught it before it could land heavily, relying on only his tempered body to support its weight.

After setting it down, Sumael drew his sword silently and raised it over the head of the Fiend, breathing in and out slowly.

The blade was made of a blue, icy-looking metal, its pommel resembled a snowflake.

The Fiend's Hunger mana was surging, but it was only stone all around them. It could steal some mana from it, but not much.

Sumael was still focusing on the creature's neck, fingers tightening around his blue sword. Lucen glared at him, briefly turning back to check the den for activity.

The creature's hand twitched, just enough life stolen from the stone to raise a hand.

The hand shot up and reached for Lucen's neck.