The manor had fallen into an eerie silence, a scene of utter disarray.
"Anlina Tazela, hereditary titled nobility, a second-class wanted target of the Jurisdiction Bureau, suspected to be involved in several cases of population disappearance in Resa City."
Shiayar yawned, perfunctorily reciting the notices required by the mission rules handbook.
"According to the fifth amendment jointly issued by the Military Department and the Jurisdiction Bureau, as the executor of the manhunt mission, I have the right to exercise law enforcement within certain limits once the evidence is locked down..."
Although his prattling seemed to continue, Anlina was in no mood to listen.
For she had recognized the badge pinned on Shiayar's chest.
It was the school badge of St. Roland Academy, the top Beastmaster academy in the Empire Capital, ranking first and worlds apart from the lower-level academies here in Resa.
Moreover, he was not being alarmist; some senior students at St. Roland Academy indeed possessed abilities comparable to intermediate Beastmasters and were qualified to be employed by the Military Department, the Jurisdiction Bureau, or even the Holy See.
Anlina's gaze shifted slightly, pausing for a moment on Shiayar's inconspicuous, even modest, clothing.
If it hadn't been for that, he wouldn't have been mistaken for one of those country folk and invited into this manor.
"Even though you come from St. Roland Academy, judging by your attire, you are probably just a commoner or a member of the lower nobility."
"With your outstanding beast taming talent, yet restricted by evolutionary resources and Enhancement Materials, you have no choice but to pledge yourself to powerful forces to earn that insignificant reward."
"The offspring of those bigwigs would never risk taking on these dirty manhunt missions."
Anlina turned slightly, her elegant evening gown outlining her voluptuous figure, and she spoke in a voice huskier than before.
"My Pet Beast is quite unique; it doesn't require those precious Extraordinary materials to grow. As a noble, I have accumulated a significant amount of wealth over the years."
"In exchange, I won't make things difficult for you. Give me two hours. After that, you can report to the Jurisdiction Bureau that the mission has failed."
"Believe me, the entire fortune of a hereditary noble is definitely greater than the bounty offered by the Jurisdiction Bureau."
Shiayar raised his eyebrows in surprise; her cooperation was somewhat beyond his expectations.
He shook his head. "What I want, you cannot give."
"How would you know unless you ask?" Anlina wielded her dagger, tearing the fabric on her shoulder to reveal her pale skin and a tantalizing glimpse of her deep cleavage. "Perhaps the price I can pay is even more than you imagine?"
"Unfortunately, while you are well-endowed, dangerously obsessive types aren't really on my menu," Shiayar said.
"They might be fine to look at in anime and manga, but in reality, I think it's better to neutralize and dispose of them."
Shiayar took a tissue out of his pocket. "Of course, if you could give me the stone statue you found in your father's warehouse when you were nineteen years and three months old, I wouldn't mind considering your offer for safe passage."
Anlina fell silent for a moment.
On one hand, she was astonished that he knew so much about an unintentional action of hers from a few years ago, making him seem no different from a perverted stalker. Heaven knows how much information he had gathered about her.
On the other hand, this stalker, who by all logic should have been infatuated with her, showed no hint of wavering in his dark eyes—despite his words of regret—when faced with the temptation she emitted, amplified by her Pet Beast's Mental-type Skills.
Moreover, she truly couldn't give up that stone sculpture.
If she hadn't accidentally obtained that magical stone sculpture from the relics inherited from her ancestors, she, with her mediocre Soul aptitude and no talent to speak of, would never have become a Beastmaster.
Nor could she possibly have evolved a dancing butterfly, whose Species Rank was merely Awakening Rank, into the sinister and powerful Nightmare Butterfly that could now devour Souls.
Once she had tasted power, she could never again let go of its source.
"That's why I said you can't give me what I want. To save everyone time, let's just follow our respective procedures and get this over with."
After wiping his mouth with a tissue, Shiayar glanced at the pitch-black, butterfly-shaped figure silently hovering behind Anlina. "Speaking of which, after dragging this out for so long, it should be about done..."
Almost as Shiayar's last word fell, wisps of black mist suddenly spread silently over the butterfly-shaped form composed of dark fog. Then, in an instant, it covered the walls and dining tables within the hall until Shiayar's figure was completely engulfed.
"Finally, it's complete."
Watching the black mist swallow him, Anlina struggled to suppress the weakness deep within her Soul—a consequence of her Pet Beast activating a High Order Skill—and took a long breath.
She knew that anyone qualified to take on secret missions from the Jurisdiction Bureau had to be among the elite of St. Roland Academy. Although he appeared young, his Beastmaster level must be high; it wasn't impossible that he was even stronger than her.
If she had really let him summon his Pet Beast and fight fairly, she, who wasn't skilled in direct combat, wouldn't have had much confidence.
But, after all, he's just a student from a Beastmaster academy. Although his strength isn't weak, his actual combat experience is sorely lacking.
Real Beastmaster combat is nothing like those arena matches in Beastmaster academies, where opponents politely wait for each other to summon their Pet Beasts and set up formations. There's even a rule that Pet Beasts aren't allowed to attack Beastmasters directly.
And her Pet Beast, Nightmare Butterfly, just so happened to have a High Order Skill, "Broken Dream," that could be activated silently, dragging the Beastmaster into a mental illusion without any chance to defend.
Although Anlina and Nightmare Butterfly would also be rendered immobile after its activation, the mental illusion created by "Broken Dream" would continuously produce the most terrifying phantasms, both real and illusory, until it wore down the trapped individual's Soul and then devoured them alive.
One could say that once "Broken Dream" was successfully activated, unless the opponent had reached the 4-Ring Master Rank and could rely on the strength of their spiritual power to forcefully break free from the mental illusion...
...otherwise, even a 3-Ring High Order Beastmaster, once trapped within the Broken Dreamscape, would inevitably face having their Soul wither away.
And Master Rank Beastmasters, even in a large city like Resa, were few and far between; it was impossible for someone his age to have reached that level.
In other words, she had already secured an invincible position.
Anlina suppressed her mental exhaustion and projected her consciousness into the Broken Dreamscape.
This black-haired young man, Shiayar, exuded an immense pressure; she had to witness his Soul being devoured with her own eyes before she could feel at ease.
Then, she watched blankly as a gigantic metal object with a streamlined, silver-white exterior impossibly materialized at the center of the Broken Dreamscape.
Then, it exploded right before her eyes.
Amid the surging light and heat, a mushroom cloud slowly rose.
...
Shiayar, hands in his pockets, glanced at the sudden blast that shook the entire Broken Dreamscape to the verge of collapse. He then looked at the streaks of illusory, distorted light that seemed to be brewing something more, and couldn't help but whistle.
"Well, I'm just sayin'—"
"Pitting your imagination against a transmigrator's... isn't that a bit like bullying?"