The Distinguished Mr. Rose Chapter 78: Chapter 77: The Lord of All Beasts

Read chapter 78 of The Distinguished Mr. Rose by QuiteTheSlacker on NovelPedia.

Chapter 77: The Lord of All Beasts A spine-curdling noise echoed around the expedition as something larger, greater, in size than any demon or beast they had encountered thus far coiled around the corrupted treetops. It was a single body — a long winding torso hidden from sight, but nonetheless Lucius could make out the faint silhouettes of thousands upon thousands of legs scuttling whilst in constant motion. The Franks huddled together and raised their weapons, but they knew it to be futile. What could such tiny and insignificant beings do against this creature without perceivable end? They needed not to gaze upon its full visage to understand that they were at its full mercy, that the paladins with their puny strength and the priests with their feeble spells would fail to even pierce its carapace. All they could do was choke on their own breaths as the primeval thing watched them all with its countless beady eyes. Such pressure it exuded merely with its shadow that the two Peers supposed to lead them instead found themselves drenched in sweat. They dared not step forth. They couldn’t, even if they wished, to approach this vast and mighty predator. The only one who did was the ever cordial Lucius. He greeted the creature as a fellow like he would any other intelligent being. “Do forgive us for intruding upon your territory, my friend,” he said to it with a jolly voice. “We mean you no harm. That, I promise.” The moment the words left his lips, a loud, deafening howl rippled through the air around them, croaking in amusement as if the very thought of harm coming its way was just so entertaining . “Prey… harm the… hunter?” it rasped. “I know your… kind. I know what you are… capable of. No, you can do nothing to me, children of Yeshua. Such is this… world’s hierarchy. The strong prey against the weak.” Well, it certainly had the confidence of a lord. But Lucius wasn’t deterred. If this beastly thing truly meant them harm, it would have slaughtered them all by now. It wanted something only they could achieve; and to do so, it even lowered itself to the level of man and spoke like a man. Lucius smiled and adjusted his suit, before bidding the obscured beast a wag of his finger. “That may be the case for the first emperor’s progeny, but there are those among us of… different origins, so to speak. Why don’t you take a closer look? You might like what you see.” The beast did not reply for some time. It merely remained motionless whilst enshrouded in the dark. However, step upon ghastly step, it moved toward the expedition and their flickering torchlight. The flames danced around its figure, giving small glances and peaks at its dirtied grey fur. But it was only when Lucius could feel its hot breath pushing down on him did he meet, in full view, its true form. The beast had not one head, but many. It was an ancient wolf of a hundred heads and even more glowing yellow eyes, and curving down from its unruly mange was the elongated body of a centipede. Spikes ran along its side. A wet, dripping purple ooze, like poison, secreted from its fangs. Lucius knew not whether this thing could be considered a beast or an arthropod. “This smell,” the beast began, staring down at the expedition with an inscrutable gaze. “It is foreign… beyond this world… beyond the Stars. Yet, prey nonetheless.” The beast suddenly snapped its heads back and lowered until it beheld Lucius in all the gentleman’s entirety. “Except for… you.” Lucius had not a clue as to what it meant and shrugged. “Whatever do you mean, my fellow?” “You are… predator. But not predator like me. You hunt for… pleasure… not for… sustenance. The natural order does not include you. You are an abnormality.” >[Primal Hunter nods in agreement with the Beast Lord’s sentiment and pays their respects to a fellow apex predator]< >[Virtual Goddess of the Wired says that the beast is surprisingly cordial and encourages Lucius to befriend it]< >[Clown Around Town offers you 1000 coins to poke the Bea