World Online

Jake looked back with surprise, to look at the direction from which this attack had come.

He saw that every single one of the party had stopped moving, and everyone was looking straight at the beast that had decided to reveal itself finally.

Some of them also looked at Jake, a smile plastered on their face.

"You are quite the observant one, little child. You were right the whole time. This terrible beast was indeed tailing us." The swordsman who looked irritated back then nodded.

"But I had to put on a show, and there was no way to do this with you knowing. So I had to make it look a little realistic, or the beast of Ti\'An would have caught on." He said.

Jake scanned the party, and saw not one look of surprise among everyone. It was like they knew exactly what was going on every step pf the way.

Jake was the only one who was not a part of the loop.

"You have got to be kidding me. They used me like a tool to trick the beast?" Jake shook his head as he turned his attention to the beast in question.

The shadow had finally stopped moving, its wails of pain quite distracting.

Jake looked at it and was a little surprised. When he thought about a beast with a roar so terrifying, and so loud even though it was from that far away, he expected to see a beast that was as big as an entire building.

Instead, he was looking at a beast that was about the size of a human, except horizontal on all fours.

It had the form of a panther, but Jake knew not to trust any evil beast\'s form. Even if it was a panther, it would have very few characteristics of a panther.

It would have no weaknesses a panther would have.

The eyes of this beast, the beast of Ti\'An, were not red. Instead, they were a bone piercing blue. The blue of the winter.

Looking straight into the eyes of the beast, he shuddered. He could feel a cold wind sweep him away, freezing his very bones.

The black fur of the beast flowed like silk, and it seemed way too maintained and refined for an evil beast which thrived in chaos, not order.

And most surprising of them all, was the fact that Jake couldn\'t feel a hint of evil energy from the beast. And he was absolutely sure that it was not suppressing it.

Once the beast was no longe hiding, why would it feel the need to suppress the energy that made it tick? That could mean only one thing. It wasn\'t an evil beast, and that didn\'t make any sense.

Every single beast that obeyed the evil god needed to convert to becoming an evil beast to show its loyalty.

But this beast didn\'t do that, and yet the evil god let it take this important task all on its own.

This was going to be a tough fight, and Jake just knew it.

"Why do I even think that I am going to be a part of this fight? This is clearly out of my league." Jake chuckled, shaking his head.

He looked back and saw that Ganshin was looking straight at him.

The beast of Ti\'An stood up, and the light that pierced it on its mane was revealed to be an arrow.

Jake looked at the two archers of this party. Both of them had their archers out, but only one of them had the arrows that was sticking out of the beast\'s mane.

"Good aim." Jake praised inside, but didn\'t dare disturb the solemn silence that was maintained between the two parties.

He slowly moved, getting closer to the end of the party, where Ganshin was standing.

"Looks like you understand your limits." Ganshin\'s words rang in Jake\'s ears.

"I am in the first tier. This is a beast that even you, of the fifth tier, will have to fear. Or else, the evil god would not send it here, with all trust. I am not stupid. I know when to give up." Jake said.

"Good. Then you must also understand the you will be absolutely useless in the battle that is to come. Don\'t you?" Ganshin looked meaningfully at Jake.

"What are you saying? I know that this is not a battle that I can join in on, but that doesn\'t mean that I am just going to sit aside and pray that you will protect me. I will fight for my own survival." Jake frowned.

"Haha! Do you think that I would shame you of all people like that? Anyways, you have no worry about death, unlike the rest of us. So you should have no problem dying once or twice in the name of god, do you?" Ganshin shook his head and said.

"I do not know anyone who would die for no reason. Please be clear. What do you want me to do?" Jake asked.

"Nothing too difficult." Ganshin sighed as he looked back up, at the beast of Ti\'An which was immobile, staring at the front line that had formed right across it.

The paladins, the tanks, and the swordsman made up two lines that faced the beast, while the mages and the priests were in the back, ready.

The only swordsmen who weren\'t in the front right now were Jake and Ganshin.

"When the hell did they do all of this?" Jake wondered.

"This is a battle that all of us will fight to the death. After all, we have some unresolved issues with the beast of Ti\'An." Ganshin said.

"But that also means that we cannot risk dying with the stone here." He said as he took out the wooden box.

"Take it. You are now responsible for bringing the wooden box across the border and into Diffast. You are on your own, so you can run as fast as you can, and get there faster than with a whole party." He shoved the box into Jake\'s hand.

"Oh, and take this as well."

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