Anywhere there was magic, there were monsters. It was only natural: creatures born from it, that hunted for it, would naturally appear there.
And yet, here in the middle of the desert, in this meadow the human presence had created, there were almost no monster to speak of left.
Only cute creatures and animals.
What few beasts had not yet been pacified were hiding now, only to be tracked and found by the new inhabitants. And when one was forced out, the human showed up. "Pacify!" And that was that. That woman now had slaves by the hundreds.
Slaves. Those the human turned into those grotesque pets wished for nothing but her death yet were forced into this pretense of happiness. And the human was happy among them.
Even after being told explicitly, she still believed they loved her.
"Can I go home now?" She complained. "I want to test the new swimming pool!"
Hard to believe that that human was close to her thirties.
I approached the hill's crumbled slope. There, among the rocks, lay a tunnel. If monsters remained untouched, they were hiding underground.
"Almost done. We need to check the caves."
"Ah no!" She protested. "It's damp and cold and dark, you go have fun by yourself! Come on! I want to swim in the jelly!"
This entrance had collapsed, but a bit of earthworks opened the passage. Nothing to fret about for a clay golem. I removed the last rocks with two hands and went in the cave.
This didn't look like a lair. From the vibrations I could tell there was a whole network beyond, yet the layout remained hard to discern.
Maybe the meadow still had too much magic and disturbed my senses?
Or maybe someone was concealing it.
"I know!" The human had calmed. "I will tell Sora to assist you! You two should bond, it would be good if you made friends."
I waved and kept going. She turned around and ran toward the giant tree that marked the center of the meadow, as well as the hamlet she and her slaves had grown.
The hunt kept me from caring about any of that.
From that gallery, down a shaft, I found myself in a narrow passage that stretched on in both directions. Damage. There had been a fight here. Even though there was no need for me to dig, I still used my earthworks to help clear a passage.
In truth, the time was near when I would need to conserva mana again.
After the human had joined the deprived realm, the same curve had happened. First the land absorbed more than the mana drain could take. The meadow grew and with it, the monsters. Second, as the flow diminished and the land had more mana, the drain grew stronger.
In a day or two, at most, the land would start to lose magic again. This whole place would waste away.
There!
That was a nest, definitely. A massive cavern with carcasses of other monsters. But there was more, something monsters did not usually do.
There were glyphs on the natural pillars and walls. Runes were already weird but this, this was craftsmanship. Berzerk. Rage. Madness. Whatever monster had made this place its nest wanted to bathe in murder.
A way to keep the human's pacification at bay or, if this was a nest...
"Found you!" The stupid voice of the sky lynx echoed behind me.
It had dashed off the broken tunnel and reached my side in a flash.
More importantly that sky lynx was bigger now. Four ears, almost a mane on its back, it had evolved. Its tail had finally regrown to a decent length.
"What happened to you?" I observed.
"Yuitsu says it's because we are friends!" The beast explained. "I don't get it, but I like it! Soon I'll be throwing portals around, you will see!"
I put my hand on its head. It probably expected to be petted but I was after its thoughts.
"I will grow stronger... I will grow and break free. I will grow and be free again."
That monster's murderous intent had... receded. I was tempted to activate the glyphs around to see how it would affect it but the human would not be pleased by the result.
Still. Evolution, change of thought, I could guess this was part of the pacification.
The beast was still rubbing my hand and purring. The moment I broke off it came out of its trance.
"Oh! What are we doing down there by the way?"
"Looking for monsters."
"I already found you so that's one." It groaned. "If you weren't Yuitsu's friend I wouldn't even be talking to you."
"Is she your friend?" Why was I even humoring that creature. "Is she really?"
"I didn't say she was my friend!" The sky lynx got agitated. "I'm just, uhm, keeping her company! She won't let me hunt, she won't let me kill, it's so frustrating!"
New tunnel. That one stretched far. More importantly it was intact and I could tell its shape. It had been carved smoothly, like a tube.
I knew that pattern.
"But uh," that sky lynx had not stopped, "she wants to see me grow strong and free and... I don't dislike that."
"Go back and warn her..."
I never finished that sentence. The tunnel had burst to my side and the maw of that damned snake was on me.
It had changed size. It had changed shape. But that flame in its eyes was un mistakable.
The next instant I had hopped back, only to have that monster on me again in mid-air, except! Now I could bring my armor to bear. Inferno! The waves of flames poured all around me and failed to lick my clay plates.
Yes, that was a tiny sphere above my armored hand, in which all lights died.
Barrier! Just in time to block the flames before my arm moved to the side and parried the beast's whipping tail. Gravity!
But my armored leg kept me standing despite the sudden weight crushing me. Ah! You hadn't changed you devil! Casting spells even with the patterns on your scales!
I would take joy in ripping you to shreds!
The sky lynx jumped on its head to strike the snake's eye. No matter how fast it was, that monster saw it coming and dodged at the last instant.
"Kaele!" The lynx called.
"Warn everyone!" Was my only answer.
If that beast activated the glyphs in that cavern, that pacified toy would turn back into one more opponent. And even if those glyphs stayed silent, it would just be food for that predator.
The beast slithered along the pillars, gaining height and speed but I knew it was also tracing a new pattern. I myself was calling on my earthworks and casting a new maul to seize it in both hands.
We clashed.
My mana burn took the best of the exchange. Infused in the maul's diamond head, it slammed into the beast and immediately made it pay for all the magic it had cast. Mana burn, turning any active spell into the realm's maws.
The beast shrieked in agony!
I myself went crashing against a stone pillar, but that dash failed to dismantle me. Once more the armor was taking the worst of it off. Meaning I could leap right back before that snake recovered.
My warhammer shattered against its skull. The diamond splintered on the impact. I could scarcely believe and still the effect was the same, that devil went bashing against the cave wall and to the ground.
Even without a weapon, I was a clay golem! I would materialize a spear in its head and finish this!
I... missed.
My fist only hit the ground. The beast had dodged without even moving. An after-image! Even in agony it had still found the time to shift?! Deceiving me by just a half-meter and getting away with it.
I had the upper-hand. I was clearly the stronger one here, from just raw mana to the amount of spells and techniques and still I dreaded that missed opportunity.
The next second I was on it and it on me and it was time to talk portals.
Never, ever use portals in combat. That was suicide. Portals and teleportation were the best way to die. Why? Because when you entered a portal, all your enemy had to do was dispel before you were out. So yeah. It was a fate you only wished on your opponent.
So when that snake opened a portal behind me, I thought its intent was to push me in and close it, finishing everything in an instant. Which is why I clinged to its maw and took it through with me.
Now I would be the one closing the portal and finishing that monstruosity!
And guess what, me dying? I don't care!
But its pressing maw never gave me time to dispel anything. We burst out of that magical gate and into the meadow where I went flying and rolling on the dirt.
It simply wanted a different arena.
Of course, fighting a clay golem underground was not the best bet but now it had exposed itself to over a hundred slaves and all I had to do was hold it there for the number to talk.
Ah. Ah ah ah. No. I was going to finish it myself.
The snake towered above me, hissing. Now in the daylight its coral scales fumed with hatred. Jade patterns changing back like breaths to... prevent mana absorption? Ah, to defend against spells.
Why wasn't it attacking yet?
Time was on my end, it knew I would get reinforcements if our fight dragged on. It... wanted them to come? Well, more of a reason to charge then!
Get this! Tremor! Gravity! Haste! Three magic squares piled up one after the other before me and that monster could only cast a barrier before I was finished!
The ground beneath shook, burst on all sides, trapping it with spikes! Then exploded underneath, covering it in a shower of dirt and rocks. And here I was, within those rocks, because that was also something clay golems could do! Passing through walls!
Haste had not only hastened the ground movements but let me dart there in instants.
And now the crackling black sphere over my hand moved to the palm before I clutched it! You are done for, devil!
"Kaele, stop!" The human yelled.
How about no.
I could not hit the head, struck the body instead, felt the skin cede and burst! The monster screeched and went slamming down, crushing the spikes with it. Air dash! I was not finished! Another punch in the rising dust that dug a crater where the snake had faltered.
No way it had survived that.
I was looking around, alert, no way it had survived that!
No way!
Its maw nearly missed me, forcing me to retreat. I landed right near the human who stopped and saw my battered body.
"Stop it!" She held me back. "I'll take care of it so stop!"
"That thing hunts humans!" I yelled. "It is a cold killer that only cares for human blood!"
"Eh! Eh!"
I turned my head toward her. My badger mask met her teal eyes.
"You have fought enough. Let us take it from here."
No way! That thing was way too dangerous to toy with!
But she walked forth, before that beast. A hundred slaves at her side. The whole meadow ready to battle for her.
The snake slithered back in fear, then hissed. It was still defiant.
So the human raised her hand.
"Pacify!"
For a moment that blinding light hit us all and the beast screamed. Fur growing on its side, flowing antennaes from its head like ribbons. It ate up to her eye whose pupil dilated to turn into a pure golden color.
And nothing more. The monster heaved, half-turned, but would not relent. Berzerk, rage, madness. It had trained itself to hate, covered its body to resist magic and somehow resisted the human touch.
It had planned for this moment all along.
And now, it charged.