CHAPTER 60: SERIOUS GATHERING

The next morning, Nick entered the Beast Domain under no suspicious guise, not knowing that he was under the watchful eyes of Beast Slayer ever since his outrageous performance in the Altered Testing Centre.

He had a completely different outlook compared to the previous day before testing his power. Before, he used to stay apprehensive even while in the Sanctuary, as while their self imposed rules forbade anyone from causing any unnecessary harm or more serious injuries, the weaker bunch still tended to be bullied here and there.

He had experienced this not long ago himself, with Beast Slayer hitting him on the back of his head after accusing him of working with someone to take down the Awakened White Ox, while everybody either stood by and did nothing or joined in with the ridicule.

The people didn’t care if the one being bullied was a weakling.

This was just how society had grown to be, even though their exterior facade was all focused around protecting the weak and blah blah blah...

This time though, he walked through the Sanctuary with a completely normal expression.

Not confidence, as one might expect after discovering that they had essentially jumped from the bottom of society to the top in just the span of a single day.

Instead, his gaze was calm and steady, unhindered by any looks he might receive, any hidden threats he might have against him from those who didn’t like his newly changed attitude.

No, he simply kept his gaze forwards while he continued walking nonchalantly towards the exit of the Sanctuary.

...The streets were a little empty though, which seemed a little unusual to Nick.

The morning sun had still barely burned through the first layer of clouds as it still rose over the horizon. Nick’s inner mood was neither grim nor tense, just... eager. Eager to test out his theory and eager to go out and hunt another Lamboda Beast!

Naturally, he’d be killing two birds with one stone if he did so.

He no longer flinched when strong, veteran Altered jeered at him as he walked past, neither did he react any longer to the jarring whispers that once hounded him.

They were people out of the loop — people who hadn’t seen the scene he’d caused at the Beast Exchange hall.

Word had already spread about Nick dragging a Mutant Beast’s corpse through the Sanctuary gates, and a near perfectly intact one at that.

But such news was still hard to accept for those who weren’t there to see it.

Nick was always just the neighbourhood Waste to these people, seeing him in a different light — as someone capable of not only killing a Mutant Beast, but so cleanly at that — was never something they had considered.

Yet, the moment he stepped outside of the Sanctuary’s gates, his mood immediately soured.

The area surrounding the entrance was too lively...

It gave him a sense of deja vu, one that left a distasteful feeling in his mouth.

To his left, about thirty metres away from the main exit, was a sight that made him stop cold, dead in his tracks.

A crowd was gathered.

Not just any crowd though. Not a gathering full of nobodies like one might expect.

The War Beasts stood aligned like military units on each side — recognisable by their identical attire.

But that wasn’t what made Nick’s feelings drop to his stomach.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with the War Beasts were the... Radiant Slayers.

They were equally lined up like military units, only wearing relatively casual battle clothing this time, instead of the synchronised clothing the War Beasts had.

Two gangs.

Two absolute titans of the War Beast Sanctuary.

But also... two forces that were supposed to be sworn enemies of each other!

Standing together, side by side!

Not fighting!

Nick’s eyes zeroed in on the centre of the two forces, and there they were.

Dido.

Beast Slayer.

Between them, the space was empty and silent.

Nick’s chest tightened at the sight, especially considering how volatile the relationship between the two gangs was recently.

...Which was the exact reason his blood ran cold at the sight!

’Shit... what the hell is going on here...?’

At first, he thought he must be hallucinating.

He scanned the surrounding area, and sure enough, a large majority of the Sanctuary’s population seemed to take a wide berth from the gathering.

No wonder the streets were so empty after he’d arrived back in the Beast Domain...

Hundreds of solo altered, and smaller teams lingered at a distance from the two forces, peering over the walls, behind other groups, or from the distance.

Their faces mirrored what Nick was feeling.

Confusion.

Concern.

And above all, caution.

It wasn’t just unheard of for the two gangs to gather together like this — it was practically sacrilegious!

These weren’t peaceful organisations in the slightest, and Nick had seen the sociopathic behaviour Beast Slayer was capable of, and the lack of care that the War Beasts were capable of...

These factions had fought and bled, killed over ownership of Beasts, territories, and pride for years.

For them to put aside all of this and stand side by side, something huge must have happened...

Nick’s gaze darted to Beast Slayer. His face was serious, hardened by years of brutality, but there was no rage like he’d expected.

Just intense focus.

Then, he switched to Dido.

Now, she looked like stone. Eyes narrowed, arms crossed, and her left hand occasionally twitching like she was resisting the urge to summon her spear.

And then came the fear.

Nick felt a cold chill run down his spine.

’Did they find out?’

It was possible.

Although it wasn’t intentional, Nick had somehow managed to push the blame of his kill steals of the two gang’s Radiant Beasts on each other, saving himself from any of the blame and the consequences that came with it.

But... what if they found out?

Nick swallowed. Hard.

’But no, that couldn’t be it... They wouldn’t be standing side by side, looking so serious and putting down their enmity over someone as minor as me...’

His rationality took over as he realised that they were acting way too serious for this to be about him.

’Still, I need to found out what this is.’