The hoard of people following Keith stopped short once they faced Master Shinzou. Keith could see the fear in these people's eyes as they looked toward the sword Shinzou was holding.
These townspeople were not afraid of Shinzou but of the treasure of their fallen god.
"You all have served your purpose. Now, it is time for you all to die and for our peace to return to our lives."
Shinzou yelled as he raised his sword. Flames erupted around the sword, swallowing any negative energy in the vicinity.
The people looked surprised before they started to run away. They could not go against a godly power and Keith was about to stop them when he sensed a familiar presence.
The Fenrir beast ran into the scene with its freshly coated bloody paw. It looked pissed but also careful of Shinzou's sword.
"Well, look who decided to crawl up here all on their own. It is so good that I will not have to crawl down and drag you out into the open now."
Shinzou spoke with confidence as we started to attack the Fenrir beast with the divine sword.
Keith expected the Fenrir beast to run away and try hunting them again. But the breast did not give up. Instead, its body shined a dull gold and the people around them stopped running away.
The people who had been afraid seconds before were now forming a wall surrounding the beast and stopping Shinzou's sword from reaching him. The beast also had a smug look on its face for some reason.
"You coward. You are hiding behind humans to save yourself. Where is your sense of pride?"
Shinzou questioned as he put some distance between himself and the beast. He did not want to accidentally kill any human here.
Shinzou did not care about human death but he would rather avoid it so that the guild did not get a bad reputation. But Shinzou would do away with his reputation if it became necessary to deal with these monsters.
"Grandmaster, Shinzou, we are here as well. Let us help you clear away toward the Fenrir beast."
Clair and Master Fushi were finally on the scene as well. They used their powers to carefully move the humans away.
But since they were making sure not to use much force, the humans quickly broke free and came back into formation. Things were getting too complicated with the involvement of humans.
Just when it felt like they had no choice but to attack the humans, Keith's phone rang. It was an unknown number but Keith decided to pick up the call anyway.
[Grandmaster, I know I am asking a lot from your side, but I need you to trust me. I found a way to deal with the Fenrir beast for the good. But to do so, I will need you to give me a clear shot of the battlefield.]
Nufort sounded out of breath but his voice was certain. He seemed confident that he would be able to take care of the Fenrir beast.
Naturally, Keith decided to give Nufort a chance.
"Understood. I will give you a chance before we do things our way."
Keith cut the phone off and braced himself. He knew he needed to speak loudly but his throat hurt before he had spoken anything.
"Shinzou, clear the way to the beast. The government scum says he has a way to deal with this situation."
Shinzou looked taken aback by the Grandmaster's words. He had never expected the Grandmaster to give in to others' demands.
But then again, it was a matter of life and death for the citizens. And as cold as Grandmaster sounded, he was an ultimate figure of mercy. So Shinzou just needed to follow his orders.
"You want me to clear the way? You got it grandmaster."
Shinzou raised his hand and power danced in his palm. Flames erupted, causing people to take a step back. The Fenrir beast was shocked still as well for a full minute.
And then it raised its head with an enraged growl and started to attack Shinzou.
But as soon as the massive dog raised its head to attack, something stuck its side and the big black mass has begun to disappear.
At first, the Fenrir beast did not think much of it. A lot of its bodies were killed off until now but the beast had found a way to come back every time. This time as well, the Fenrir beast will come back.
It cannot betray its master after all.
"No, I do not think I will allow you to come back this time. You were a good specimen, but you outlived your usefulness by now. I hope you have a good time staying in cold storage."
Someone familiar stepped up to the Fenrir's body and the beast felt its soul being torn from its body. The massive black was getting lighter and lighter by the second.
The Fenrir beast tried to fight one last time but it was unable to even raise its claw. It was as if all its energy had been sucked out of its body and into the small bottle in front of it.
'My god. I will not betray my god and-'
"AHH, I think I should tell this to you before I pack you away. Your god no longer existed. We were unable to find any trace of the one you served. It would be fair to say that you got taken advantage of by humans."
The Fenrir beast looked up in disbelief as soon as he heard those words.
A majestic beast like itself! Being taken advantage of by humans! No way that was possible.
Those humans were not intelligent enough to fool the feelings of a Fenrir beast. It had sensed its master's presence and that much was true.
"Poor child. I hope you provide better results to us next time."
The Fenrir beast resisted but it was unable to quieten the lull of sleep that its instincts were forcing down on it.
Once the beast was asleep, the mysterious golden-haired figure stood up. Its grey eyes had a hint of madness to them but they still shined beautifully with curiosity and power.
This person was none other than 'Young Master Steward.'
Or in simpler words Edward Steward.
"Grandmaster, master Shinzou, are you both alright? I am sorry that it took me so long to get back here. I needed to track own young master Steward and bring him along."
Nufort arrived on the scene quickly as well. He looked out of breath when he saw what happened and paled.
"Hey, Nufort. I took care of one problem. Now, will not you introduce me to your friends? I was dying to meet them and see their powers."
Edward Steward looked at the group in front of himself with interest. He had never seen such humans before and each of them was different than normal.
Just looking at the guild members was not enough for Steward right now. He needed to experiment to see how their powers worked. His hands were itching with the need to touch and-
"Master Edward, you need to control yourself. I promised you that I would introduce you to them but if you continue to be this out of control, it would become difficult for me to do so."
Edward calmed down in an instant. Patience was a virtue every good researcher had and Edward was no different. He could wait around if it meant that he would be getting a reward.
"Nufort, did you bring another government scum with you here? We told you we were not interested in what the government was doing. Now you managed to make our sample run away as well."
Clair complained as she lost the Fenrir beast.
She knew it was for the best that the beast was killed off. But that did not mean that Clair had to like it personally.
"Sorry, but that was the only way to make sure the Fenrir beast did not come back. Since I participated in the creation of that magnificent beast, you will just need to trust my judgment. My name is Edward Steward. It is an honor to meet all of you."
The golden-haired man bowed down in front of the group and Keith wanted to gasp out loud at the introduction.
He knew the name 'Edward' from the original game. Edward had been a mad scientist responsible for a lot of early game battles. His creations were 'questionable' and his morally grey character had made fans like him a lot.
But most importantly, he was a connection between the later story and the easy story. Who knew Keith would come face to face with such a person?
'No, wait. I need to focus on what I am doing right now. Time to admire others would come later. Let us focus on what I need to do right now.'
Keith coughed into his fist to attract everyone's eyes. He was the coldest person in the gathering right now and his impassive eyes looked at Edward Steward.
