Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

Zaroth and Vera were already well-versed in the art of riding atop a mythical beast's back in the middle of the ocean. Ari, however, was not.

She had hesitated the moment she was asked to climb aboard, paralyzed by fear. But thanks to Zaroth's steady voice and quiet confidence: "We'll be fine," he had said, she pushed past her fear.

As it turned out, they were not fine.

At least, Ari wasn't.

"You know," Zaroth began, casting a glance at Ari, who was clinging to his left arm so tightly he thought she might shatter the bones, "if you were scared of the water, you could've said so before we set off."

"N-no!" she stammered, her eyes flicking to him for a moment before returning to the vast, open water below.

"If I had, you would've left me behind! I know it!"

'Probably,' Zaroth thought, but kept that bit to himself.

With a sigh, he flicked her forehead. "Can't you act a bit more mature? Now that I think about it, aren't you older than me? It's hard to tell with elves—they don't really age like we do."

"I am still young!" she replied, her cheeks flushing. "I'm only about forty or so!"

Zaroth suppressed a groan. 'That's half the lifespan of a human, you buffoon.'

Trying to ignore the brown elf still wrapped around him like a kitten afraid of falling, he turned to Vera. "Anything on the horizon?"

"Unfortunately, yes," she replied somberly. "Another meteor is on its way. Just one this time—not a full shower."

"FUCK!" Zaroth snapped, the word echoing across the sky. He'd already survived enough meteors for a lifetime—he didn't need another one crashing into his day.

"Hm?" Ari perked up at the word. "Meteor? You mean a rock falling from the sky?"

Zaroth narrowed his eyes. "Yes, of course. What else could I mean?"

"No, it's just…" she trailed off, genuinely surprised. "You two know so much… I just assumed you'd already realized. I can feel it too—whatever's coming. It's being redirected by the will of the world. This isn't natural. It's being sent at us."

"What?!" Zaroth spat, eyes blazing in pure rage, "You mean to tell me that the meteor shower we escaped before wasn't a natural phenomenon but an act, an attack from someone that has some kind of agenda against us?!"

Ari, taken aback by his outburst, nodded slowly.

"That's it!" he roared, spurring the serpent forward at full speed.

There was no need to wonder who could do such a thing, since the only thing that had come with the meteor shower was that weird figure that had entered their dome when they were underwater.

It was clear it had been the elven leader that had been captured.

"I will skin the fucker the second I get my hands on him!" he swore, eyes focused ahead.

*****

True to her words, the meteor really was infused with the will of the world—and Ari proved it, her power flaring as she managed to alter its course, steering it away before it could strike them.

Since Zaroth had forced the serpent to go forward full speed ahead, all kinds of underwater monsters had been alerted and attacked. Only to enter his shadow as a future supper, with help of his dragon and now Ari that seemed to fight them with deadly precision despite her fear of water, the monsters didn't stand a chance. They reached the second continent quite fast, about a day of travel time.

Stepping onto elven soil, Zaroth noted it looked much the same as the last one.

"Luna," he summoned her, making her transform into her dragon form.

"Aren't we going with stealth in mind?" Vera questioned with an arched eyebrow though it wasn't visible from the white mask.

"I'm done playing cat and mouse," Zaroth said coldly, stepping onto Luna's back. Vera and Ari followed without another word.

With a thunderous roar, Luna soared into the skies.

Thanks to the high altitude the Beast Master immediately spotted a battle happening in the far north,

"Go ahead," he commanded and the dragon complied.

"Elves fight against one another?" he muttered, surprised at the carnage unfolding below.

"They said there were two branches," Vera offered. "Maybe they're at war with each other?"

"Well, only one way to find out," he said, descending rapidly.

The battle stopped momentarily, both sides of the elves watching the mighty dragon with fear in their eyes.

"Is that… an undead beast?!"

"Attack!"

"Kill the demon!"

Zaroth clicked his tongue. 'Of course. The elves hate demons. And Luna's dragon form looks like one.'

"We have to speak with them!" Ari called out, trying to catch Zaroth's attention.

"Ari," he said, eyes meeting hers, "you remember what I told you before we began this journey, right?"

Her eyes widened as realization returned. "Yes," she nodded, gaze falling to the ground.

He had made sure to make one point very clear to her from the very start.

Their party wasn't a heroic one—they weren't going to do the so-called right thing.

Right now, only one thing mattered—they were being attacked.

Naturally, Zaroth was going to retaliate.

He didn't care if it was a misunderstanding. He didn't care if it was justified.

And his patience had already been running pretty thin with these elves from the very beginning.

Receiving his order, the mighty dragon opened her maws and let out a fierce inferno. The beast master's eyes shined as he used fire control to make her attack more devastating.

In the span of a second the whole area was burned, leaving only ash. No corpses nor buildings remained.

Zaroth's eyes went back to the elf that was watching the scene with wide eyes.

"Do you hate me now, perhaps?"

She blinked, then took a slow breath. "No," she said, shaking her head.

"You're right. They attacked us without a thought for their own safety. Death was the only price they could pay."

A slow smirk crept across Zaroth's face. "At least you're smart in that regard," he teased.

Ari, however, didn't return the smile. She leaned back against Luna's boney body, eyes drifting up to the sky.

'Killing one of your own—or watching it happen—isn't easy the first time,' Zaroth thought, as Luna landed on the scorched earth. 'But she'll get used to it.'

Now it was time to find out what the hell the two branches of the elves were fighting over.