Hey guys, here is the next update. Hope you enjoy this new one.

Chapter Cover: Shinji reading a book by himself.

Chapter Eighteen

Unexpected Complications

The Mayor's home was quite humble, Aesyr noticed as she and Shinji were led into the place by Dan. They were some decoration to be said about the place but none of them were really noteworthy or noticeable, thought they did give the place a homey kind of feeling and given the comfort of the home. Both her and Shinji were led into a well light living room and were given some refreshment to drink before the Mayor himself showed up to greet them.

A short stocky man with a round belly, the man was the opposite of his son but they still had some resemblance to each other given the similar black hair and eyes. The mayor's hair was more grayish than his son as he was getting in on the years but there was still a jovial air to him that was recognizable.

"Shinji," he said, a wide smile appearing upon his lips, "I am glad that you were able to come."

Shinji and her had stood up as well to greet him as the blond young man shook hand with the mayor.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner," he said.

"You're here and that's all that matter," the man answered with a light nod, before he glanced toward Aesyr, "And you must be the new Dragon Knight Dan told me about."

"I am," Aesyr said shaking hands with the man, "Aesyr Assan."

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, "Allow me to introduce myself as Marco, the Mayor of Valdes."

Aesyr gave him a soft smile of greeting before everyone was now seating down. Dan had even joined them into the room as well as he took the empty seat on his father's left. Shinji then leaned forward joining his hand together in front of him as he stared at the man.

"What exactly is the problem going on in Valdes?" he asked, "When we arrived, things were kind of tense at the Gate."

Mayor Marco looked up at them.

"It started a month ago," he said, "Just an odd rumor going around town that there was a monster roaming the woods. At first, I didn't put much into it after all, rumors like that come and goes a lot around the area but some of our animals will go missing into the night. We believed them to be thief…then one of our farms was completely decimated, everyone living upon it killed."

Shinji's eyes hardened and even Aesyr can feel apprehension rising within her at the thought of innocents dying.

"We believed it to be bandits who escaped the Wardens," Mayor Marco continued, "But then we discovered strange tracks of a massive creatures. The rumors persisted over time and when another attack happened, the survivors described a large red creature with the roar of thunder…"

Shinji's eyes widened lightly.

"But…that's impossible," he said.

Dan looked at him.

"You know what it is?"

"There is one creature that I know that has been described to have the roar of a thunder," he said, "But they don't wander this far south…they prefer the desolate climates of the North…a creature they call a Behemoth."

Aesyr didn't know what that was but from the pale faces of both the Mayor and Dan, whatever that creature was, it was something of a worse case scenario.

"A…A Behemoth?" Dan said shocked, "You…You're certain?"

Shinji was as calm as one could be.

"I'm not fully certain but some creatures have certain tells," he said, "Given the size of it and what it had been doing from what you told me…it seems to match a Behemoth's hunting pattern…but something seems strange."

"How so?"

"Behemoth usually travel in pack," he said, "An Alpha, Beta, Omega and cubs…so they should be at least six or seven given the size of the pack…but from what you've been saying, it would seems to be only a single one….which means two things must have happened."

Shinji raised a hand.

"One, the pack has been destroyed either by a person or another pack or two that it was brought here by someone who managed to capture it and unleash it upon the village."

Aesyr stayed silent for a moment thinking about what Shinji was saying.

"But why would someone do something like that?" Dan asked, "our village has always been peaceful and many of the other villages relies on us for many crafting tools and buildings. If our village stall…."

"You don't have any competition in that area, do you?" Aesyr asked, a light frown upon her features.

Dan glanced at his father.

The man shook his head.

"Not that I am aware of," he said, "In this part of Atlasia, Valdes's name is unanimous and our work is well respected. Even nobles hired our workers…I don't really know what could have caused this predicament."

If there is no motive for having this Behemoth there…then…there is a chance it could have wandered in this direction by itself, Aesyr thought.

Shinji let out a soft hum.

"Then take us to the farm of the latest attack," he said, "Maybe we can find some more clues as to what is going on here."

"Of course," Dan said, "If it's alright with you Dad."

Mayor Marco simply nodded his head.

"If you can take care of this situation quickly then it would be a huge help for our people to return to work," he said, "I'll leave it in your hands, Dragon Knights."

"You can count on us," Shinji told him as he stood up.

Aesyr did the same and with Dan leading them they left the home.

The farm that they went to was completely deserted. It wasn't too far from the village walls so it only took them like half an hour to get there on foot and then, the small forest they had been walking through fell away giving sight into what seems to be a small village. There were few homes visible but most of it was large cultivated lands that were abandoned.

"Our food is starting to suffer through a shortage," Dan explained, "We have started to rations them but without people working on the farms, we won't be able to feed the village. The Silvan Farms are the last one that was hit where the survivors saw the Behemoth."

As they were walking through the pathway of the village, a familiar scent of rust hit Aesyr's nose. The young woman blinked a little at the smell, something she remember smelling a lot during the Dragon wars in Fiore and given what she had heard about the deaths that had happened over the attacks, she knew she would be smelling something like that again.

"How long has it been since anyone has been here?" Shinji asked Dan.

"Not since the attack," the young man explained, "Dad didn't want anyone needlessly losing their lives when we don't stand a chance against it."

Shinji simply nodded as he glanced around himself, searching for the sign of the attacks. Aesyr and Dan followed after him.

"Where the man said he saw the beast?" he asked.

"In the woods, that direction," Dan said pointing north of the village.

Shinji nodded, glancing up toward the sky above them.

"It hasn't rained for a few days now," he said, "If the animal left tracks behind, we should be able to track it and maybe reach where it's making it's nest. If its alone, then Aesyr and I could defeat it by ourselves but if it was placed here by someone…then whoever had done it, will probably be the one benefiting from Valdes's problems."

They have reached the entrance of the trees now and the smell of the forest was quite familiar to Aesyr. Having spent some time training in a forest with Elassan, it was almost nostalgic to be able to smell something like that again and she couldn't help the small smile that grew upon her lips as she approached into it.

"How long will it take you to defeat it?"

"If it hadn't wandered off then probably by the end of the day," Shinji answered him giving Dan a glance.

Dan seems a little pale but the young man nodded.

"Alright, I'll head back to the village," he said, "I'll wait for you at the top of the Gate till you return…but Shinji, be careful okay. I don't want you to die facing this thing."

Shinji chuckled.

"Don't worry I have Aesyr to watch my back if things go sour," he said indicating her, "And she is no pushover, I can guarantee it."

Aesyr noticed the glance Dan send her way and she gave him a light smile.

"We will be fine," she said, "Leave it to the Dragon Knights to take care of the problem."

The young man gave a light nod to them before turning and leaving the two of them alone. Shinji and Aesyr looked at each other before heading straight into the forest. Given the thick branches, light from the sun only got through some patches of trees from above them, creating the illusion of pillars of light coming down from above them.

"How many people can it take to subdue a Behemoth?" Aesyr asked.

Shinji glanced at her for a moment before turning his attention forward once more, "Someone powerful would be able to do it by themselves…but a pack of them would be highly dangerous even for someone as powerful as you are."

"Then there is a chance it might have just wandered here then?"

Shinji nodded.

"That's the most likely case," he told her, "Behemoth don't leave their frozen lands by themselves. As the apex predator that they are, not a lot of people cross their path…it makes me wonder if they ran into the Magical Disaster somehow and he was the only one who escaped."

Aesyr thought back on what he had said about the Fallen Gods when they were coming here. The Magical Disaster must be pretty powerful if they had managed to take down an entire pack of Behemoths by themselves. The young woman came to a stop, something drawing her gaze.

"What is it?" Shinji asked.

"Look at this," Aesyr said pointing.

Not too far away from them, a tree had been torn in half, like it was ripped out from the middle. Both of them approached the tree for a few moments before Shinji's attention was drawn toward the ground in front of them. The young man kneeled down and used his hand to brush away some leaves from the area they were standing on, revealing a massive print upon the earth.

"Woah…," Aesyr said shocked.

"This is definitely a Behemoth," Shinji said, "Seems quite young too…from what I can see."

"How can you tell?" Aesyr asked kneeling beside him.

The track of the Behemoth looked oddly similar to a wolf one, but it was many times larger than a normal wolf. Aesyr remember seeing tracks like that back when she was a child before the Dragon attacks and wolf tracks have always bene familiar to her. Shinji pointed to the middle of the track.

"You see this part right here," he said, "It's softer on the ground than the rest…only a young Behemoth would have a track like that."

Aesyr noticed what he was talking about and glanced at him.

"Where did you learn to track like that?"

Shinji gave a look, a little smirk upon his lips.

"Back during my Dragon Knight training," he said, "Most of the time back then, we were protecting town from monsters and other bandit tribes. Before it was destroyed, being a Dragon Knight means protecting Atlasia when the Imperium can't."

There was a dark look upon his face at that and before Aesyr could fully register it, it was gone almost like it was never there. The duo stood up and followed where the tracks were leading toward. It was mostly spent in silence as the two of them were following the tracks that were still visible within upon the forest floor. It was leading them further away from the village which would mean that the beast had made it's nest somewhere in the mountains.

"Something is bothering me," Shinji spoke out suddenly.

Aesyr glanced at him.

"Huh…what could it be?"

"Mayor Marco told us that some of their livestock went missing before any of them knew about the Behemoth," Shinji said to himself, "Given what had happened to the farms that were attacked, I don't think anyone would have missed it by his size."

Aesyr tilted her head.

"You think there is something else involved?"

"It's something to keep in mind…,"

Whatever he was going to say next was suddenly cut off by a large roar that echoed within the wood. It was loud and just by hearing it, Aesyr can understand why people would compare it to thunder. It was harsh, filled with a raw power that could only be found in an apex predator and she involuntarily found herself stepping back by a sudden instinct to run away that had risen.

Shinji placed a finger upon his lips as the universal language to be quiet and Aesyr nodded at him that she understood. Together, the two of them moved more cautiously. Thanks to the large roar, they could tell of the direction that the creature was. Aesyr's ears now can pick up that something big was moving between the trees, its footfalls crushing foliage beneath their paws.

And as they were hidden behind a fallen tree, they caught sight of the massive beast.

Aesyr had seen dragons, the larger creatures known to man up close and personal but the sight of the massive creature left her breathless for a moment. The fur upon its body was a reddish brown with the patch of sun coming down from within the trees catching upon the fur which was matted with bugs flying around it. Its body seems to be made of powerful muscles that were perfect for jumping and could probably run just as fast if it needed.

The Behemoth had a jaw similar to a cat but was filled with teeth much larger than that and given its towering size, his teeth were easily as large as a sword, glistening with slobber that were falling from its throat. Each of his feet were filled with claws the size of sword.

"Wait…," Shinji said suddenly apprehensive, "This Behemoth…could it be an Alpha?"

"Ryaaa,"

The sudden smaller roar drew both of their attention toward the front, finding…

"Is that a child?" Aesyr said shocked.

It was a child like creature with red skin standing right in front of the Behemoth with an angry look upon it's features. It had a tail dancing behind them, dressed in some furlike tribal clothing but there was no denying that whatever was standing in front of the Apex Predator of the Northern mountains was a small child.

"It looks like a child from the Demon Tribes," Shinji said, not keeping the shock from his tone, "What the hell...?"

The child didn't seem to be afraid at all, as the massive Behemoth advanced upon it, it's yellow eyes completely fixed upon the small creature in front of him and from how it's legs were tensing, there was no brainer on what it was about to do.

So Aesyr moved first.

"Wait…," Shinji yelled out to her.

But she wasn't going to wait.

Aesyr jumped in the air above the Behemoth thanks to a boost of her flames from her legs and then she was above the creature aiming straight toward it's head. She raised her fist into the air as she let gravity do the rest as she was now falling toward the Behemoth's head, silver flames exploding from her fist as she came down toward it…

She saw the Demon Child's eyes widening in surprise at the sight of her out of the corner of her eyes.

"Silver Dragon, Hard Fist."

Her attack slammed down upon the Behemoth's head sending the creature head crashing into the ground causing the earth to tremble beneath them as she was now upon it's head with her eyes glaring down at the animal that was beneath her.

"Eh?" the Child said shocked, both arms raised to shield their eyes from the dust that flew from the crash.

"Get out of here now," she yelled.

The Child stared at her for a few moments with brownish red eyes before doing as she asked and rushing off into the trees and disappearing. Aesyr then glanced down toward the beast feeling it moving beneath her.

"Aesyr, get off of it right now," Shinji yelled from behind her.

But the warning came too late as the Behemoth suddenly moved and not expecting it, Aesyr was flung off to the side and crashing into a nearby tree. Pain surged through her body but, nothing that she wasn't unfamiliar with. She glanced toward the Behemoth noticing that it was already up and had launched a claw attack straight toward her, moving at a level of speed that surprised Aesyr.

She instantly jumped out of the way rolling upon the forest floor, hearing the tree behind her get sliced apart from the attack of the large beast. Aesyr then stopped and glanced at the large creature in front of her and saw that it's jaws were glowing with a power coming from within it.

No way…that's a…

The Behemoth let out a powerful breath attack straight toward her as she was completely engulfed by the blast which shook the entire forest.

Aesyr in trouble...

Hope you have enjoyed the read.

Next Time: Forest battle

Jacques0 out.

R&R