CHAPTER 103: DARK BEASTS

Alex stepped out of the white space in a quiet corner before ending the void walk skill. The streets were well lit in the commercial district due to the many street lamps along the roadside and people could be seen enjoying the nightlife of the city.

No one seemed to notice Alex’s appearance; he quietly made his way toward the tall building in the distance, which was the Union building.

He reached it after a few seconds and entered. Alex was a bit surprised to see that many people were still on the down floor of the building, but he didn’t show it out as he silently approached the counter.

"Mr Chen? You came so late today."

Before he could reach the counter, a voice called out from the side. Alex felt that that voice sounded familiar, he turned his head to look and saw sub-elder Lance smiling at him. The man was in a long purple coat and holding another strange item in one of his hands.

"Do you have any business here today? I can attend to you." Lance initiated. He wasn’t offended by Mr Chen’s lack of response.

Aside from Mr Chen very much being a very powerful mage, Lance had so much respect for him after finding out that Mr Chen might be a master appraiser.

"Hmm, is the branch leader around? I need to speak with him." Alex asked in a hoarse voice.

Lance had a confused expression on his face when he heard this, he glanced around before asking Mr Chen to follow him.

Both of them made their way toward the elevator. Along the way, Lance informed Alex that the branch leader had gone to the Union Core, which was located at the capital and was yet to return.

"Is the matter very serious? All of the elders and sub-elders are present; we can assist Mr Chen on behalf of the branch leader." Lance said with a serious face.

"Hmm, okay," Alex replied shortly.

Lance immediately took out his phone before making a few phone calls and asking Owen and the others to meet him at a certain meeting room, he also told them that it involved Mr Chen.

After ending the last call, Lance turned to look at Mr Chen beside him before saying.

"We’re going to meet them now."

Alex nodded without saying a word; Lance turned silent as well, and the elevator quietly rose higher.

They stopped at a floor after rising for a few seconds before coming out of the elevator. Lance led the way, and Alex quietly followed behind.

Reaching their destination, Alex saw that it was a meeting room with a long executive desk that was fixed to the floor and many seats around it.

Four people were already waiting for them when they entered the room and the four of them immediately stood up after noticing their entry.

Alex glanced at the four; he was already familiar with Owen, Silvia, and Marco, but he didn’t know the last person.

Noticing Mr Chen’s gaze, the last figure immediately offered a smile and introduced himself. His name was James and he was one of the sub-elders of this Union branch.

’One Master rank mage and four at the Expert mage rank, not bad.’ Alex thought to himself. He felt that the strength of this Union branch could be considered amongst the top in Balon City, and only the Academy was close to them.

Without wasting time, Lance quickly offered Alex a seat before finding a seat himself.

"Lance informed us that you have something important to discuss with us, is there something that Mr Chen needs the Union’s help with?"

Silvia was the one who spoke first. She was the strongest elder so the others didn’t have any problems with her taking the lead.

Instead of answering, Alex waved his hand to the side and took out the five corpses from his storage ring.

They appeared on the floor beside him the next moment and everyone’s eyes were instantly attracted to them.

A shocked look appeared on their faces the moment Owen and the others saw the corpses of the five creatures. Their eyes widened, and their mouths hung open.

"T-these...these are dark beasts!" Lance exclaimed as he rose from his seat and approached the five corpses.

The others also recovered from their shock and went over to take a proper look.

Alex lifted an eyebrow behind his mask as he thought to himself.

’Dark beasts? What are dark beasts?’ he was sure that these things weren’t magic beasts since he didn’t receive any exp points for killing them.

But wouldn’t it be weird if he asked what a dark beast was? Surely, they would expect someone like him to know about it since even those who were in the small Balon City knew about it.

Sigh, pretending to be an expert can be hard sometimes.

’If only I could get information on them,’ Alex sighed inwardly as he watched the group inspect the dark beasts, his breath brushing against his face after bouncing off his mask.

Alex’s eyes lit up.

’That’s right, his mask!’ he exclaimed as he recalled that he had an all-knowing mask.

Alex really felt like facepalming right now, he had forgotten such an important matter and had come all the way here when he couldn’t even ask questions freely. How stupid was he to forget such a matter.

While Owen and the others were still looking at the corpses, Alex activated the skill of the mask and looked at the creatures, a screen instantly popped up in front of him.

.....

[Dark beasts: Creatures that used to be humans but have undergone baptism through a special ritual and are now neither humans nor beasts, they have turned into empty shells filled with resentment and can be controlled through a special mark.]

....

Alex "..."

He was stunned after reading the description of the dark beasts. Used to be humans but changed into such hideous creatures because of a ritual? How demonic.

’Wait, doesn’t that mean...’

A thought formed in Alex’s mind as they stared at the creature that resembled that fatty; it couldn’t be, right?

At this moment, Silvia turned back to face him.

"Mr Chen, please can you tell us where you found these dark beasts? I believe that they may be related to the Dark Union." She asked in a serious tone.

Alex didn’t mind telling her; he said to have encountered them on the outskirts of the city but didn’t say it was around his home.

"I see, then the Dark Union must be behind the recent kidnappings. These dark beasts are a trademark of the Dark Union; they must have been trying to kidnap more children in the outskirts; luckily, Mr Chen was around and prevented another sad family."

Marco added with a solemn look on his face.

"Mr Chen, did you find anyone around the place where you found these dark beasts? Someone usually has to control them, they shouldn’t have been far away." Owen asked, his face showed a worried look.

Alex shook his head without saying anything, he was in his own thoughts.

He now knew everything that he needed to know about these creatures after reading the information from the all-knowing mask and from the words of Owen and the others.

He planned to go back and check around again just to be safe, but a question still lingered in his heart.

’The dark beasts belonged to the Dark Union and needed someone to control them, so why was the Dark Union targeting his home?’