The more we talked to the people in the settlement, the more stories they told — not just about what was happening to them, but to the entire city.
At first, some were hesitant to cooperate, but once we mentioned Donna’s name by mistake in a conversation, most became willing to talk.
So, we started mentioning her name more often as we went on.
It became clear that Donna and Rob were local figures of influence here. They weren’t just people the village depended on — they were people everyone looked up to.
And the more stories they shared with us, the more evidence we gathered that the Beast attacks happening in the city were unnatural.
For one, the abominations never attacked the same place twice. If they attacked here, the next attack would not happen even within a hundred kilometers.
Secondly, no matter how deadly these monsters were, they always retreated. Even when they had the power to slaughter entire populations in a region, they didn’t.
The first point was odd, but the second was downright strange.
It was clear that these creatures weren’t behaving like typical Spirit Beasts.
Their actions were deliberate, almost as if they were following some unseen plan.
But what was even stranger was this another thing…
Whenever a Beast attack happened, the local Knights would investigate the site right afterward.
That was standard protocol.
But no matter how quickly the Knights moved, they never arrived in time to face the creatures.
The Beasts always struck, wreaked havoc, and ran away before the knights could intervene.
And every follow-up attack that occurred after that happened on the outskirts, in areas where the Knights weren’t stationed.
It was almost as if the Beasts knew exactly where to avoid.
It wasn’t just that they skipped over places that had been attacked before.
They deliberately avoided areas where the Knights were likely to be.
This wasn’t something Spirit Beasts should be capable of doing.
After all, usually these abominations move more erratically. Their attacks are driven by instinct and hunger for human flesh, not by strategy.
But these current attacks felt calculated.
Then there was why they retreated.
Beasts don’t retreat after killing a few dozen people and destroying some buildings.
Even Ancient Spirit Beasts don’t have enough intelligence to do that.
After all, retreating is a tactical move that’s made when you wish to disengage from a strategically weaker position.
But Spirit Beasts aren’t smart enough for that.
Once they sink their claws into a fight, they stay until they’re dead — or until their prey is.
Yet these abominations fled the moment their task of killing and destroying was complete, as if they were following a strict schedule.
They didn’t retreat because they were losing or because they were even threatened, but because they wanted to avoid confrontation entirely.
It was unsettling.
This wasn’t the behavior of mindless monsters.
No, this was something else entirely — something far more deliberate.
And the more we pieced things together, the more it became clear — these attacks weren’t random at all. They were part of a plan.
Someone was controlling these nightmarish creatures.
…Or at least, those were the thoughts I was planting in Michael’s mind.
I was letting him reach his own conclusions, all while feeding him subtle suggestions or asking the obvious questions.
And whenever he came to a conclusion, I shot it down.
Each time, it made him more determined — more fired up about his ideas… ideas that I had wanted him to have in the first place.
It was almost laughable how easy it was to manipulate this guy.
But I wasn’t finished yet.
I kept arguing with him.
Because the more we argued, the more it cemented in his mind that I was wrong and he was right.
“I think there’s some sort of beast-tamer controlling these Beasts!” Michael clapped his hands together, grinning like he had just cracked the case.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re an idiot. There’s no one controlling them. Do you know how rare beast-taming Cards are? If someone had an Acquire Card, let alone an Origin Card, that powerful, do you have any idea how many Hunter Associations would be fighting to recruit them?”
Michael’s eyes gleamed with that determined look that only came from being told he was wrong.
He leaned forward, coming nearly nose to nose with me. “Think about it! What other explanation is there? These Beasts aren’t acting like normal Beasts. They’re way too organized! You can’t deny that!”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Michael, you’re connecting dots that aren’t even there.”
“Connecting dots that aren’t there?!” he shot back. “You said it yourself — they’re avoiding the Knights on purpose! They’re retreating, and they never attack the same place twice! Since they’re not smart enough to do all that, someone has to be pulling the strings!”
“I never said that!” I scoffed, shaking my head. “I said these Beasts are hitting the outer edges of the city, far from where the Knights are stationed. There are a dozen more reasonable explanations for that than some secret beast-tamer hiding in a rotting city like this one.”
“Name one!” Michael flung his hands up in the air. “Give me one good reason!”
“Okay, I don’t know why they’re retreating,” I spat back, “but maybe they aren’t attacking the same place twice because they have a nest out in the outskirts, like we were told!”
“That’s still unproven!” Michael stated.
“Alexia and your girlfriend are working on it!” I snapped. “They’ll be back any second now, telling us they’ve found the nest!”
Michael shook his head. “Even if they do, even if there’s a nest here somewhere, that still doesn’t explain their strange behavior.”
“Okay, fine, I don’t know what the explanation is!” I also threw my hands up in frustration. “But it’s not some beast-tamer!”
I then pointed to Kang, who was standing a few steps away. “Because the only beast-tamer in this city right now is Alexia, and she’s got this sad excuse for a werewolf under control.”
Kang turned to me with a dangerous scowl plastered on his face. “Excuse the fuck out of me?!”
Michael ignored him and kept going. “You’ve got no more arguments! You lost this debate!”
“Okay, smartass!” I yelled out. “I lost, but you didn’t win either! You know why? Because your conspiracy theory has a major flaw.”
“A flaw?” Michael frowned. “What flaw?”
“No one has anything to gain from these attacks!” I explained. “There’s no motive! Everyone — except for a handful of nobles in the inner city and the Overlord himself— are suffering from these incidents!”
Michael frowned and started rubbing his chin thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he whispered, almost to himself, “So maybe it’s them.”
I blinked, widening my eyes. “What? Are you insane? You’re accusing the authorities and the nobles of mass murder. And since they’re all appointed by the Central Monarch, you’re questioning her authority too!”
“No, no!” Michael waved his hands defensively. “Maybe she doesn’t know about it!”
“Oh?” I laughed incredulously, almost mocking him. “So now you’re saying that the nobles and authorities in Ishtara are conspiring against the Flame Queen? You’ve lost your goddamn mind.”
Now, normally, even Michael wouldn’t have agreed with something that ridiculous.
But because I laughed so mockingly at him while saying that, blatantly ridiculing something he’d been thinking, he felt belittled.
And because he hated being made a fool of — especially by me, that is — he doubled down.
“Y-Yes, so what?”
“Huh?”
Michael took a deep breath, then said, “I’m indeed saying they could be conspiring against the Central Monarch. So what?”
I was about to ridicule him even further.
However, the door slammed open before I could continue arguing, and two striking young women walked into the room.
The first was a tall beauty with platinum-blond hair and light violet eyes that seemed to catch every flicker of light.
The second was a short ginger, her doll-like face accented by eyes like silver glass orbs that seemed to reflect the world around her rather than gaze at it.
“We couldn’t find the nest,” Lily announced the moment she stepped into the room.
“I searched for any unusual Aura in abandoned buildings, underground, and every other place we could think of. There’s nothing,” Alexia casually said with a shrug, her expression more uncaring than you’d expect from someone delivering bad news.
“Aha! See?!” Michael pointed at me triumphantly, practically bouncing on his feet.
I shook my head, still acting unimpressed. “That proves nothing but the fact that these two are bad trackers. We should’ve sent Kang.”
Michael gave me a sharp glare. “Oh, sure! I wanted to send Kang and Alexia, but you decided you couldn’t work in a team of just me and Lily, and splitting up our manpower further wasn’t an option. So you’re welcome, you insufferable pain in my ass!”
I laughed again. “That’s rich. If I’m such an inconvenience, why the hell are you all in my room?”
It was true — we were all currently in my room at the inn.
Michael looked around, flustered, like he hadn’t expected to hear such an obvious question. “Because you took the biggest room, asshole! The rest of the rooms are so tiny there’s no space for all of us to meet!”
I rolled my eyes for what felt like the hundredth time today. “So I’m only an inconvenience when it suits you? Got it. Whatever. I’m done.”
Without waiting for his response, I stood up and strode toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Alexia asked, her voice cutting through the tension before Michael could start shouting again.
“To a bar,” I replied flatly, already halfway out the door. “If there even is one in this godforsaken city.”
From behind me, Michael’s voice started rising in protest. “Samael! You can’t leave! We still have to strategize tomorrow’s plan! Hey! You bastard! Come back!!”
But I didn’t bother turning back.
His voice grew fainter as I walked down the hall.
I had other plans to set in motion.
