The Psychopathic Beast Emperor-Chapter 98: The Weeping House

They moved toward the house in silence.

Every step uphill felt heavier than the last, as if the ground itself resisted them. The door hung crooked on its hinges, swaying slightly despite the absence of wind. The weeping grew louder as they approached, clearer now, unmistakably human.

Apollonia reached the door first and pushed it open.

The sound led them inside.

The house was dim, the air stale and cold. Furniture lay overturned, dust thick on the floor. The crying echoed from deeper within, bouncing off narrow walls, guiding them like a thread pulled taut.

Then it stopped.

Abruptly.

Too abruptly.

A fraction of a second passed, just enough for dread to bloom...

"SAVE ME!"

The scream ripped through the house, high and shrill, a girl’s voice twisted with terror and despair.

Then...

BOOM!

The house exploded outward.

Wood, stone, and dust burst in all directions. Bahamut reacted on instinct, shoving Sel aside with brutal force just as something massive and impossibly fast slammed into him.

He didn’t see it.

He felt it.

The impact crushed the air from his lungs and sent him flying. He tore through the doorway, skidded across the ground, and crashed hard into the broken fence outside. Wood snapped. Pain flared white-hot through his body as he came to a stop.

"Bahamut!" Exildra screamed.

Apollonia was already moving.

She, Rakia, Exildra, and Ren burst out of the ruined house, positioning themselves instinctively. Exildra was shielded: Ren was close to her. Rakia braced for a battle while Apollonia stepped forward.

Then they saw it.

The world seemed to tighten around that spot, as if reality itself was unsure how to behave. The air warped. Sound dulled. Their instinct screamed danger so violently it drowned out thought.

Ren froze.

Rakia’s breath caught.

Exildra couldn’t move.

Whatever stood there didn’t need to announce itself. Its presence alone crushed the space around it, dragging fear up from places that had no name. The silence it carried was worse than any roar.

Apollonia spread her wings fully.

For the first time since entering Farronhold, her expression changed, not to fear, but to absolute, razor-edged focus.

"Stay behind me," she said, voice steady and cold.

From the broken fence, Bahamut pushed himself up, blood dripping from his mouth, blindfold still in place. His smile was gone. In its place was something darker, heavier.

"So," he muttered, straightening despite the pain. "This is where everyone went."

The thing shifted.

And Farronhold, long dead and empty, finally answered back.

...

The thing stood there, massive and wrong, its bull-like frame looming against the ruined house. Six feet tall, shoulders broad, horns curving forward like executioner’s blades. Its eyes were hollow pits of black, empty and broken inside. Shadow clung to its body like fur, constantly shifting, swallowing the light around it.

Apollonia moved first.

Her wings flared, light gathering, but it was too late.

The creature stamped once.

A wave of darkness detonated outward.

The blast hit like a wall. Rakia was thrown back, skidding across broken stone. Exildra was yanked off her feet, Ren clutching onto her as they rolled hard across the ground. Apollonia crossed her wings just in time, but even she was forced back several steps, her sandals carving grooves into the earth.

But the creature didn’t stop.

It charged straight for Bahamut.

The ground cracked under its hooves, each step a thunderous impact. It moved far too fast for something that large, shadow trailing behind it like torn cloth.

Bahamut planted his feet.

Pain still screamed through his ribs, but he ignored it. The thing seemed to affect his Self Healing, but he was too focused now. His right hand tightened. His blindfold fluttered in the wake of the charging mass.

"So you chose me," he said quietly.

The horns came down.

Bahamut vanished sideways at the last instant. The creature tore through the space he’d occupied, smashing straight through the fence and carving a trench into the ground. Before it could turn, Bahamut struck, his blow landing squarely against its flank.

The impact sounded wrong.

It was like hitting compressed night.

The creature barely reacted.

It twisted with terrifying speed, shadow-fur rippling as one horn swept toward Bahamut’s head. He ducked, felt darkness graze past his blindfold, and countered again, this time bracing himself, power flaring through his body.

Still not enough.

The bull-like monster slammed its forehead into his chest.

Bahamut was sent flying again, crashing into rubble hard enough to crack stone. Dust billowed as he rolled to a stop, coughing, blood spotting the ground.

"BAHAMUT!" Exildra cried, struggling to her feet.

Sel stepped forward now, calm shattered, eyes glowing green as roots burst from beneath the creature, wrapping around its legs, digging in, and binding it.

The thing roared in pressure.

Darkness surged. The roots withered and snapped like dry twigs.

Apollonia lifted into the air, wings blazing. "Everyone, support Bahamut. Do not let it isolate him!"

The creature turned again, its black eyes locking onto Bahamut as he pushed himself upright.

This time, its charge was slower.

Deliberate.

Like it knew he wasn’t prey.

Like it knew he was a threat.

’System! What the fuck is this thing?!’

Bahamut asked as he dodged to the side.

[Replying Host...]

[Based on the energy signature I’m getting from this, there are three possibilities.

1. A Beastkin in a forced evolution

2. A culmination of the souls of the deceased in the town into one being

3. A combination of both.]

’You mean it is not the cause of the destruction?’

[Highly possible.]

’So if it’s not, then what are the solutions to defeat it?’ Bahamut twisted in a weird, coating his fists in energy and punched the head of the creature, sending it skidding back.

[Solutions:

1. Tame and Contract

2. Exorcism

3. Tame and Contract]

Bahamut flashed to the side as a wall of earth hit the beast, sending it flying into the wall of the house.

’What the fuck?! How do I do any of that?’

[You already have a contract stone, so you can perform the contract, but you will have to tame it first.

As for the exorcism, there’s no way since you don’t have an exorcist in your group.]

’How do we tame it?’ Bahamut asked again as he threw a huge boulder at the beast, only for it to fade through it.

[You are the Ultimate BEAST. You know what to do.]

’Oh damn! If I die, it’s on you!’

Bahamut screamed in his head as he shot with insane speed at the charging bull.

They clashed with a resounding bang and the sound of bones breaking. Dust filled the area of their collision, breaking their view for a few seconds.

"Leave it to me. Just support me!" Bahamut suddenly jumped back, his hair fluttering crazily. He swiftly removed his blindfold and tucked it into his pockets while his hands transformed into white claws.

His eyes glowed with a deep light, causing the creature to halt, locking eyes with Bahamut and initiating a staring contest that lasted for five seconds, then...

PAH!

They charged at each other once again.