Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

In all honesty, Elysia had been looking forward to the start of summer vacation at the academy. As both principal and teacher, she was finally due for a long, well-earned break.

She had even bought a new swimsuit, hoping a trip to the ocean would offer some much-needed peace. It had been far too long since she'd had a proper rest—and considering the revealing nature of the attire, she was even planning to invite Zaroth to join her.

But alas, it seemed that this wasn't going to happen any time soon, with the war and everything going on. Her desk was buried in reports, and countless matters still needed investigating. On top of that, she had to remain ready at a moment's notice to head to the battlefield and support the frontlines.

The borders of the empire had shrunk significantly, any further losses would not be tolerated nor accepted by the general population.

With the royal family being slaughtered, leaving only Sofia as the rightful heir to the throne, and being attacked by their two neighboring empires at the same time, the last thing they needed was for a rebellion to take hold.

She had even resorted to calling Roderic for help. It left a bitter taste in her mouth—he had a newborn to care for—but there were no other options.

"And the leads end here," she muttered under her breath, eyes fixed on the paper in her hand.

When she went to retrieve the body of the Demigod, the only thing she found was the lifeless body of a man.

The body being the only clue, Elysia started an investigation and soon found out that the man had a daughter named Emily. It was a desperate lead, but it was all she had. Now, the girl sat quietly across from her.

'Desperate times call for desperate measures,' Elysia thought.

Putting on a warm smile, she asked gently, "So, can you tell me about your dad?"

As soon as Emily heard her father being mentioned, her eyes began to sparkle. "Do you know where he is?! He disappeared one night and hasn't returned ever since!" There was urgency in her voice—not that anyone could blame her. Losing her father must have been a horrible experience.

Elysia asked every question she could—what kind of man he was, how he behaved, what he believed in, whether he'd acted strangely in the days before his disappearance.

At first, Emily felt uneasy answering all the questions, but thanks to Elysia's experience with children, she was able to gently convince her to talk. From then on, Emily hadn't lied even once.

But in the end, the answers weren't all that useful.

With a groan, Elysia leaned back in her chair. "So, according to the girl, one day he just changed—went from abusive to indifferent. A complete shift in personality. Could he have been possessed?" she muttered.

It was possible. Still, it didn't explain why the body had been found beside the crater where the Demigod's remains should've been.

Of course, there was always the slim possibility that the two weren't connected—but Elysia had a gut feeling they were.

Her head began to hurt as she imagined how the body could be used. She doubted the Crimson Sun Empire had taken it. Maybe the Purifiers still had hidden bases across the empire and took it when the opportunity arose?

It was possible that another party unrelated to all of this was the cause of the body missing.

With an exhausted sigh, she got up from her chair as she gazed at the clock. She was already running late, so there wasn't even time to be sulking.

"Well, at least something is going right," she muttered. "Zack, Roran, and Lily are showing real promise—both as leaders and in combat. At this rate, they might actually be able to assist in the war."

*****

Zaroth was quietly enjoying the hot breeze as he ran forward with full force. About a day had passed since he entered the enemy territory, and he had yet to run into anybody—not a human nor a beast.

"Well, that doesn't really surprise me. Anyone sane would be running far away from the borders where battles could take place," he muttered under his breath.

'So, considering that you are going to the fight out of your own will, should I take it as you admitting you're not sane?' Luna teased.

Zaroth couldn't help but laugh. 'Luna, I don't think I've ever once in my entire life claimed to be sane,' he replied.

His laughter was cut short, however, as he heard noises ahead of him. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, he halted his steps and hid behind one of the massive boulders nearby.

Crouching low, he carefully peeked out, eyes scanning the terrain. At that moment, he was thankful for his choice of attire—white robes and a white demonic mask that blended seamlessly with the pale stone around him. He was nearly invisible against the rock's surface.

'One, two, four... ten men,' he counted them one by one. From the looks of it, the men weren't well-armed—carrying subpar weapons and wearing leather armor on their bodies.

What caught Zaroth's attention the most, however, was that they didn't have horses, lizards, or any kind of animal or beast to ease travel across the terrain.

This could mean two things: either one of them had the ability to summon something that allowed them to traverse the land quickly, or they were just a normal group of bandits operating close to a town or city.

'This must mean I'm close to that city Zoe was talking about,' Zaroth thought as he licked his dry lips. This was going to be the first time he will use his new odachi.

No longer bothering to stay hidden, he rose to his full height atop the boulder, staring boldly in their direction.

It didn't take long for one of them to spot him. The man pointed and shouted, "Look!" making his comrades turn their heads toward Zaroth.

Immediately, they unsheathed whatever weapons they had. "I thought this was our territory. Is there really an intruder bold enough to challenge us?" the tallest man among them muttered as he gripped his great axe firmly in both hands.

"Wait!" another man called out. "Look at his appearance—his robes and mask! It's the same as on that poster. This is Ghost! The one with a million gold coins on his head!"

Suddenly, their eyes sharpened with greed. A million gold coins... with that kind of bounty, they could vanish from this wasteland and live like kings for the rest of their lives.

"Hm?" Zaroth mused. 'They called me Ghost… does that mean I'm famous now?' he wondered.

For a fleeting moment, a thought crossed his mind—maybe he could fake his own capture and collect the bounty somehow.

'A million gold coins is still a million gold coins...'

With a scoff, he threw the idea aside. "Sure, scamming them wouldn't be a bad idea… but first things first—I have to test my new weapon."

Having made up his mind, Zaroth dashed forward with blinding speed, his odachi raised high. Unknown even to him, a twisted smile crept across his face.

The bandits hadn't expected Ghost to move so fast. He was already right in front of them.

"Now, let's see just how fast I can butcher these pigs," Zaroth declared.