Chapter 120: A Myth

Aurelius felt Adam’s gaze but could not bring himself to look over. He focused entirely on what was before his eyes.

Past the descending passageway into the cavern, the beast master searched for other signs and found more. He spotted a few more pieces of meat and greens.

The rocky ground led into a relatively dark cavern unlike the one they currently stood in. And that strange aura settled heavily on his shoulders, making his heart race anxiously. He signalled to Adam and descended cautiously, making sure to stay close to the cavern walls.

As they descended while watching out for any surprises, a weak shrill from deeper in the darkness—like that of a bird in pain—prompted them to stop in their tracks. The shrill was quickly followed by menacing growls that sent a chill down Aurelius’ spine.

He looked over to Adam, seeing an expression of pure, unbridled shock. The beast master gulped, his heart thumping erratically. Adam had to have seen something truly unexpected, as with his strength, Aurelius doubted a Third Realm beast could hurt him.

Curiosity gnawed at him.

But before he could ask what had changed his expression that much, Adam’s gun vanished, his black tactical sword appearing in the left hand hidden at his back.

"Don’t move..."

Adam warned in a heavy tone, his expression darkening. He turned the weapon in his hand, held it in a reverse grip and lowered himself. The menacing growls grew louder, the tension growing.

Aurelius clenched his fist but obliged.

He looked into the darkness but could barely make out anything. The luminance from the cavern made it difficult for his eyes to adjust to the darkness ahead.

"Move back as slowly and as quietly as possible..."

Adam warned again, taking the lead and taking a step back, then another. He dared not look away, his attention focused entirely on the darkness ahead.

Following his lead, Aurelius backed away, his steps slow and steady. They retreated all the way back to the other side of the small lake before Adam let out the breath he was holding.

"What did you see?" Aurelius could not hold back his curiosity.

The question prompted Adam to glance at his partner. He looked at the boy for a moment before answering, his eyes drifting back to the cavern on the other side.

"I-I’m not entirely sure..." he gulped.

"..."

Aurelius was confused. The look Adam had in his eyes when he looked at him said a lot. Whatever was inside that chamber had left him in disbelief.

"What do you think you saw?" Aurelius asked again, reframing his question. "It’s the source of this aura we feel, right?"

"Mm." Adam nodded, his jaws clenched. "That-that thing is massive, easily the size of a regular horse."

He glanced at Aurelius with trembling eyes and proceeded to describe what he had seen. "It looked like a white eagle with the body of some kind of Panthera."

Adam had his own suspicions, but this was something he had never seen or even heard of existing. It was supposed to be a myth.

"Eagle and Panthera..."

Aurelius mouthed the words to himself, looking ahead. For a moment, he was confused, not exactly sure what to make of that description. But as his mind went through his family’s bestiary, the name of a certain creature came to mind.

Ba-Thump.

Aurelius’ eyes slowly widened, his heart beating so fast that it felt like he was in a race for his life. The thought rooted him to the spot, his body refusing to move.

’I-It can’t be...’

The beast master’s heart hammered so hard that Adam heard it from where he stood. When he saw the look of disbelief on his face, he realised Aurelius recognised the creature.

"Aurelius...?" he called softly.

The beast master did not respond. He was barely even breathing. With stiff, robotic movements, the boy slowly turned to Adam, the disbelief in his eyes palpable.

"Gr-Gri-" he could barely get the words out.

Adam swallowed, realising his guess might have been on the mark. He looked ahead again, feeling his chest tighten. The other beasts he had seen were irrelevant at this point.

But from what he had gathered, they were protecting that creature. And it also answered the question about the raids. Spread around that creature were the scattered remains of meat and crops.

More than that, however, the creature was severely injured. The wounds he had seen on that thing were more than enough to kill any other creature twice over.

"A Griffin..."

Aurelius finally managed to get the words out, his chest visibly rising and falling. The shock and disbelief soon evolved into excitement, putting a broad grin on his face.

He had to see that majestic creature himself!

"Realm."

"Huh?" Adam turned.

"That creature..." Aurelius clarified, his excitement palpable. "Did you sense its realm?"

"..."

Adam was momentarily speechless, realising what Aurelius had in mind. "You-you can’t be thinking..."

"I need your help, Adam." Aurelius cut him off, his expression turning serious. He walked over to Adam and came to stand before him. "I know I’m asking for a lot given our current... circumstances."

Adam knew exactly what Aurelius meant. But the boy was not done.

"But if what you described is exactly what I think it is, then I want to tame it."

Adam narrowed his eyes. He glanced in the direction of the cavern and then looked back at Aurelius. "That creature seems to be dying. And we agreed all we needed was visual confirmation."

"I know, I know." Aurelius cut in again, ignoring the part about the creature dying. "But reporting this discovery to the academy will be a waste. Only a beast tamer like myself can appreciate a creature that divine. And we both know they’d want to experiment on the creature. That could end badly for it."

"..."

Adam could sense the strong desire from the beast master. He knew the boy was saying all of it to convince him. But there was also some truth to it.

"I-"

Before he could say anything, Aurelius chipped in one final time.

"Do this as a favour for me, Adam."

The look in Aurelius’ eyes was one of stubborn determination and desire. Adam knew the boy wanted to make use of his strength. He was asking him to use the very thing that had soured their relationship to begin with.

But the beast master was asking for a lot. There were three peak Third Realm beasts guarding the Griffin. And the Griffin itself was in that realm. He would have to use everything to bring down those three.

That meant using Vector Dominion and Perception Overdrive; it meant he would be left weakened and vulnerable afterwards. But that was if he survived fighting those three, each with an ability he had no idea about.

"I’m not that strong, Aurelius," Adam replied, holding Aurelius’ gaze. "There are three peak Third Realm beasts in there with that creature. Matching just one of them will take everything I have."

Aurelius held Adam’s gaze for a while longer before looking away. He knew he was asking too much. But he could not let this chance slip away. The moment they called for backup, he would lose all right to that creature.

Even his family would not allow him to claim it for himself.

"What-what if you fight them one at a time?"