Chương 419: Tyrant of the Forest

(Vale POV) Vale stared up at the Tyrant for a long moment, still struggling to process everything he had just learned. The creature before him was a Fragment of the Original Arcana, a former servant of Kealix, and a being that had existed long before Vale was even born. Yet somehow, it had simply accepted him without much question.

"Wait. It's... that easy?" Vale finally asked. He looked up at the huge beast again.

"And you're a Fragment of a god. Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" The Tyrant rose to its full height and gave him a strange look.

"Is the border of a sealed god not fitting for me?" Vale quickly shook his head and waved his hands.

"No, no. That's not what I meant. It's just that..." He scratched his cheek.

"I thought all the Fragments were around the same level as the High Priestess." The Tyrant said nothing. It simply stared at him for several seconds before taking a deep breath. The air around them seemed to bend toward its mouth as it inhaled.

"I see. Then I apologise for not meeting your standards." Vale stared at it. After a long silence, he sighed.

"Never mind." There was no point arguing with something like this. Instead, Vale moved on to what mattered.

"You said you would support me, right? Is there anything you can actually do for us? Zellion told me to find the Black Lion, and I think he should be somewhere nearby." The Tyrant's expression changed. Its eyes shifted toward him, and one brow rose.

"Zellion told you that?"

"Yeah."

"How strange." Vale tilted his head.

"Why?" The Tyrant didn't answer right away. Vale couldn't understand its reaction. If Zellion had told him to find the Black Lion, surely he knew what he was sending them toward. He wouldn't have sent them here for no reason.

"What do you mean?" The Tyrant sighed and looked toward the distant horizon.

"It is not your concern. But I must disappoint you. I cannot answer your question. The Black Lion has been inactive for far too long. I do not know his current location." Vale's eyes narrowed.

"So he is here?" The Tyrant paused before answering.

"From what I know... he should be." Vale stared at him. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Should be? That answer bothered him. The Tyrant had just said it didn't know where the Black Lion was, yet it still believed he was somewhere within the domain. None of it made much sense, although Vale was starting to accept that very little in this place did.

"Alright. How large is the domain? And do we have enough time to reach his... hiding place?"

"You mean his place of sealing?" Vale nodded. The Tyrant turned its head toward the south.

"Approximately some hundreds of kilometres in that direction." Vale's expression brightened.

"That's not too bad." The Tyrant looked back at him.

"However, I doubt you will make the journey." Vale's relief vanished.

"Why? Are there powerful beasts in the domain?" The Tyrant stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"Yes." Vale waited. When nothing else came, he frowned.

"That's it?"

"Even if you pass the beasts, the final obstacle will likely be your end." Vale's confusion grew.

"The final obstacle?" The Tyrant refused to explain.

"Is something powerful guarding the Black Lion?" The Tyrant blinked once.

"One could call it that." Vale didn't like that answer. The Tyrant seemed to answer every question with half an answer, leaving him with even more questions than before. Still, Vale wasn't exactly in a position to demand information from a creature that could crush him with one move. He took a breath.

"Is there anything you can tell me about the threats in the domain?" The Tyrant yawned before lowering itself back onto the ground.

"Most of the beasts here represent the primal nature of the lion. Because of that, many are creatures you would call 'dinosaurs.'" Vale blinked.

"Dinosaurs?"

"They are not exactly like the creatures you know. However, that is the closest word your language has." Vale placed a hand on his hip.

"Really? Dinosaurs?" He shook his head slightly.

"I've never actually seen one. Plenty of Spawn, though." The Tyrant chuckled.

"Yes. I have noticed." Vale smiled faintly before another thought came to him.

"Could you come with us?" The Tyrant shook its head.

"My duty remains here." Its eyes moved toward a pile of huge bones nearby. It lowered its head, picked up one of them, and held it out toward Vale.

"Take this." Vale stared at the large bone.

"If the need arises, and if I am able, I will assist you." Vale took the bone with both hands and looked at it with doubt.

"What is this? Some kind of transmitter?" The Tyrant closed its eyes.

"Something like that." Vale looked at the bone once more before sighing.

"Alright. I'll be going, then. Our meeting was short, but..." He gave the Tyrant a small smile.

"Thank you. I really appreciate your help." The Tyrant opened its eyes, and for once, its expression was gentle.

"The pleasure was mine. Now, my time is up. You should leave and return to your group." Vale nodded.

"Thank you. I will." He turned and began climbing the crater while the Tyrant remained behind. The stone was dangerously slippery, and one wrong step could send Vale sliding all the way back down. He used the huge bone as a walking stick, pressing it against the stone whenever he needed more support. It didn't help much, but he managed to keep moving. Slowly and carefully, Vale climbed higher. His feet slipped several times, but he eventually reached the top and stepped onto the soft grass.

He let out a deep sigh before turning around. His eyes widened. The Tyrant was gone. The centre of the crater was empty. There were no new footprints, no signs of movement, and nothing that showed how the beast had left. Only Vale's own tracks remained.

"... Hello?" There was no answer. Vale scratched his head.

"How the hell did he leave?" He looked down at the enormous bone in his hands. Two. He had now met two of the twenty-two Fragments, and somehow, both had been equally strange in completely different ways. Still, he had learned what he needed to know. The Black Lion was sealed somewhere a couple hundred kilometres south. If they could reach him, they might finally have a way out of this place. Assuming Korin recovered mentally, that was. Vale's expression darkened as he thought about his friend.

Korin was damaged, to say the least, and Vale had no idea how long it would take him to recover. He sighed and turned away from the crater. Whatever happened next, they would face it together. For now, the Tyrant was gone, but it had left Vale with something far more valuable than a weapon: a promise that it would help if they truly needed it. Vale glanced down at the huge bone again and gave a bitter smile. It was a shame he hadn't had the chance to ask about Kealix. Or his grandfather.

Those were two questions that had followed him for far too long.

"... A shame indeed."