CHAPTER 86: JOURNEY IN THE FIRST LAYER

All fifty members were now on their way to the center of the Paradisus Legion’s first layer, with the large silver tower in their sights, a few miles away.

While some who were without Magical Beasts jogged or walked, many ran together in groups, but the discourse within them was out of control.

"Why the fuck are we even running!? It will take like a whole ass day for us to reach this tower even if we remain at top speed, you know! Let’s just take our time and walk!"

"Oh, please! The faster we are, the better chance we have to avoid the Magical Beasts that are roaming here, right!?"

"Are you even hearing yourself!? With our stamina almost spent, we’d be free food for them-"

"Fucking hell, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" was the screaming reply from one of the men in front of them, sharpening his glare as he turned to face them. "If you feel like walking, walk. If you feel like running, run."

"No shit," Yariko, one of the members of the Hallory Circuit Shinigami Soldiers, chimed in with a chuckle and raised his voice as he continued, "Use your heads, guys! Your Magical Beasts aren’t for decoration!"

As soon as he finished saying those words, he summoned his partner, Killcreation, and the large, slender entity stopped to allow him to climb onto its back before sprinting off with top speed, using all four legs to propel itself forward.

"-hk, I forgot that Magical Beasts could also be used for transport. That’s our ace of the Hallory Circuit for ya!"

"Goddamn. Please, for the love of god, zip it up when you’re done sucking him off," snapped Jolene Aurora, Liohime’s co-worker from Polar Town. "That’s like, the most common sense of reasoning I’ve ever seen, for fuck sake."

Following in Yariko’s footsteps, many also summoned their Magical Beasts, including those from his own district. Also, as someone who was within earshot of his group, Liohime followed suit.

"[Come, Shihon]."

And at once, through a rift in the ground below, Shihon emerged in her beastly form as he immediately climbed onto her back and held on tight.

"It’s started, Shihon!" he told her with a tinge of excitement boiling from inside him. "Head forward to the tower!"

And with a howl of courage and vigor, she kicked off of the ground with top speed, slipping past many who had been in front of him, keeping up with two main groups in the front: The Hallory Circuit Group and the Shiina District Group.

The Polar Town Group remained mainly at the back, on the southeastern side of the rest of the members, while the last two groups, the Hokai City Group and the Star Borough Group, remained side by side in the middle.

Liohime, feeling the cool wind slap across his face with consistency, squinted as he peered ahead, keeping his gaze intently fixed on the towering structure that stood magnificently in the distance.

The Paradisus Legion Tower....our first obstacle, granted that we don’t face any encounters against stray Magical Beasts here in the first layer while heading to that place.

His sense of confidence was at an all-time high though, prepared to face whatever was to come head-on. As long as Shihon was by his side, everything would surely be okay.

Speaking of Shihon...

"[Mental Link: Converse]."

Liohime, using a new command discovered just a few days before the travel, was now able to talk with his Magical Beast Girl through mental conversations that nobody else around him could hear.

Despite it being common with every other Magical Beast, this one was special, due to Shihon possessing the ability to talk back to him.

"[It’s time to put all of our early morning runs to the test, Shihon! You’re doing great so far!]"

"[M-Master...I’ve only covered a few seconds of ground, you know...?]"

"[Huh? Are you saying that I shouldn’t praise you for the little stuff again?]"

"[Not at all! I’ll keep doing my best, so please praise me and love me more!]"

"[As you wish.]"

Stroking her fur lightly, he leaned forward, enjoying the sunlight’s warmth and the beautiful sight of grassy plains around him. Noticing tiny specs of moving objects towards him from a great distance, his eyes widened.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, arousing Shihon’s suspicion.

"[What is it, Master?]"

"[Seems like a horde of Magical Beasts are in pursuit from different angles. For now, keep moving ahead until I say otherwise.]"

"[Okie, darling!]"

Finally catching up to the Magical Beasts of the Hallory Circuit Group in front, Shihon kept her position right behind them.

And at that moment, both her and her Master had noticed something in the air several feet away, bursting towards Liohime himself.

He paused for a split second, and then he realized...

...That it was a large ball of fire speeding towards him.

"-urk, Shi-"

"KC! Meet the attack!"

Before he could finish, Yariko shouted out to his Magical Beast below him at the front lines, and an extra long, dark, twisted arm emerged from the entity’s back beside him, summoning a ball of dark energy in its grasp as it continued to power forward.

In an instant, it hurled that beam towards the fireball, and an explosion rocketed from the impact of the collision.

Yariko grinned. "Nice one, partner!"

However, his smile was short-lived as he viewed the source behind the fireball that had been sent.

"Oh, fuck off."

He quickly glanced at the corner of his eyes on his left side and seemingly noticed something, and as he tilted his head slightly to view the right side, she gnashed his teeth with frustration before proclaiming loudly to all who could hear him:

"MAGICAL BEASTS ARE COMING! PREPARE TO ENGAGE!!"

Liohime’s heart skipped a beat just as he heard those words while eyeing the brightly burning phoenix-like monstrous bird above.

He swallowed hard, but knowing that this would only be the start of the challenges that he was yet to face, he forced himself to smile.

"Alright then, Shihon," he called out loudly, "It’s time for some extra training!"