Kael and the others followed the corridor deeper into the Beast Tamer Agency.
He had been expecting something different.
Dark, sealed hallways. Sterile white walls. A constant sense of pressure and authority. Maybe even warning signs plastered everywhere.
Instead, the corridor opened abruptly—
Into life.
Sound rushed at them all at once. Chirps, screeches, low growls, unfamiliar calls layered together into a living chorus. The narrow passage gave way to a massive open space beneath a glass dome that stretched impossibly high overhead.
Huge.
Absurdly huge.
Sunlight poured through the transparent ceiling, illuminating dense greenery below. Towering trees reached upward, streams cut winding paths through the ground, and layered habitats stacked naturally at different heights. Strange birds soared freely above, while unfamiliar beasts moved through the foliage below.
"This doesn't look like an agency at all…" Kael muttered.
"Welcome, Miss Sarah Ardent—and everyone else."
The sudden voice made everyone turn.
"I am Wilson," the man said with an easy smile. "I'll be your guide."
He was clearly older, his hair streaked with gray and his face weathered by time, but his posture was straight and lively. Instead of an official uniform, he wore practical boots and a vest filled with pockets, sleeves rolled up like someone more accustomed to animals than paperwork.
Kael glanced back at the corridor they'd come from—clean, quiet, unmistakably bureaucratic—then turned forward again.
For a moment, it felt like he'd stepped straight into a jungle.
Well… this is unexpected, Kael thought.
He had imagined sealed labs. Eggs suspended in glowing incubators. Infant beasts locked behind reinforced glass, humming with protective runes.
Instead—
A living ecosystem.
Something zipped past overhead. At first, Kael thought it was a sparrow—until he noticed the single eye in the center of its forehead, with two more positioned where they definitely shouldn't be.
"Yup," Kael muttered. "Definitely not normal."
Sarah nodded politely. "Thank you for guiding us, Sir Wilson. These are my friends. You can speak freely around them."
Before Kael could keep observing, Sarah grabbed his arm and tugged him forward.
"Kael, come on."
Caught off guard, Kael straightened and offered a polite nod. "Hello, Sir Wilson."
Wilson's eyes crinkled. "The pleasure is mine."
He gestured ahead. "Shall we begin?"
Sarah's eyes sparkled. "Yes! Let's—"
"Shh," Kael cut in quietly, leaning toward her. "Lower your voice. Animals are sensitive."
Sarah froze, then shot him a look before turning away. "I know," she muttered. "I was just—"
She trailed off.
Kael sighed softly. "Sir Wilson, please lead the way."
Wilson chuckled under his breath.
Ah… youth.
"Very well," he said aloud. "Follow me."
And just like that, they stepped deeper into the living heart of the Beast Tamer Agency.
----
"As you can see," Wilson explained calmly, his voice relaxed and practiced, "the three-tailed Long-Tongue Monkey doesn't rely only on limbs for movement. It uses everything—including its tongue."
They slowed to a stop.
Ahead of them, a troop of monkeys moved through the canopy. At first glance, they resembled macaques—lean bodies, expressive faces—but the resemblance ended there.
Each possessed three long, flexible tails, all moving independently.
Then one launched itself forward.
Not by jumping.
Its tongue snapped out like a whip, wrapping around a distant branch. With a sharp pull, the monkey swung forward, tails curling around vines as its body flowed effortlessly through the air.
Another followed.
Then another.
Tongues lashed. Tails coiled. Bodies moved with unsettling grace.
Kael stared.
He had officially run out of things to say.
They'd been touring for over two hours now, and the deeper they went, the stranger everything became. Each enclosure revealed creatures that looked like distorted reflections of animals he once knew.
Some had six or eight limbs.Some crawled using only arms.Others walked upright with no arms at all.A few possessed extra eyes, horns, or pulsing sacs that clearly didn't belong anywhere natural.
They looked less like products of evolution and more like things imagined by a child told to "draw the strongest animal possible."
And yet—
They were real.
Beasts.
Monsters.
Despite their appearances, most were surprisingly calm, living peacefully within the carefully maintained environment.
As Kael observed, one monkey descended closer. Its three eyes—two normal, one faintly glowing—fixed on Sarah.
Sarah instinctively opened her mouth.
Kael reacted instantly.
"Don't," he whispered sharply. "Close your mouth. Don't show your teeth."
Sarah froze.
So did Mara.
They pressed their lips together.
"Showing teeth can be seen as aggression," Kael added quietly. "Especially to primates."
The monkey tilted its head, studying them.
Then—
"Ohhh, coochy coochy coo~!"
Fatty's voice rang out cheerfully.
Kael felt his soul leave his body.
Fatty had already pulled a banana from the large fruit bag Wilson had given them earlier—one he'd proudly volunteered to carry. He'd been the most enthusiastic feeder so far, handing fruit to large beasts and reserving anything fluffy or cute exclusively for the girls.
Sarah included.
Yes, she was rough around the edges—but she was still a girl.
Hyperactive child, Kael thought dryly.
"You want a banana?" Fatty grinned. "Huh? You want it?"
Wilson didn't intervene.
He merely watched, amused, like an old man observing children learn through experience.
The monkey stared at Fatty.
Then pulled its lips back.
Teeth flashed.
"Oh! It's smiling!" Fatty laughed. "Look, guys!"
Kael's expression darkened.
"Don't do it," Kael warned quietly. "You're angering it."
Even as he spoke, Kael raised a hand to cover his own mouth—careful not to expose his teeth, not even by accident.
Fatty, however, looked like he'd just heard the best joke of his life.
"Man, why are you so scared?" he laughed. "Look, I'll show it my teeth even more, and nothing will happen. Seriously, man."
Before anyone could stop him, Fatty pulled his lips back again, flashing a full, exaggerated grin.
His thin friend hesitated beside him, brows furrowed. He seemed to remember something—some half-buried piece of information—but couldn't quite decide whether it was important or not.
The monkey, however, had no such hesitation.
With a sharp screech, it leapt.
In the blink of an eye, it landed squarely on Fatty's chest, snatched the banana from his hand, and—without missing a beat—used it like a baton.
Smack.Smack.Smack.
"Hey—wait—what the hell—hey!" Fatty shouted, completely stunned.
The monkey didn't stop.
When Fatty opened his mouth to yell, the monkey shoved the banana straight into it, silencing him instantly, then delivered two more swift blows to his head for good measure.
As Fatty reached out in panic, the monkey flicked its tongue outward, wrapped it around a nearby branch, and swung away effortlessly—banana still intact, dignity thoroughly stolen.
Fatty staggered back, pulled the banana out of his mouth, and exploded.
"Fuck! You goddamn monkey—how dare you? Do you know who I am?! You—you—!"
His voice trailed off.
Because the other monkeys were gathering now.
Dozens of them watched from the branches above, eyes glinting, tails swaying slowly. The jungle around them suddenly felt… attentive.
Fatty swallowed.
"Hmph," he muttered weakly. "Taking advantage because there are so many of you. If you've got guts, then meet m—"
"Okay. Stop," Kael cut in flatly. "You're just trying to make it angrier. Do you want to get beaten by the entire horde next?"
Fatty froze.
Kael sighed inwardly.
How do people not learn basic animal behavior when they want to become Beast Tamers?
"Alright," Kael said calmly. "Let's move on."
No one argued.
The group resumed walking, noticeably quieter than before. Behind them, Wilson watched Kael with a faint, approving smile—the kind someone gives when they recognize a kindred spirit.
As they continued, Wilson resumed his explanations, calmly teaching them about habitats, temperaments, and behavioral triggers.
After Fatty's incident, no one tried to be clever anymore.
No one—except the thin friend.
He walked a few steps behind the group, shoulders shaking as he struggled to hold in his laughter. Every now and then, a snort escaped, and he had to clamp a hand over his mouth, eyes watering as he glanced at Fatty's still-red face.
Fatty noticed.
He turned, already opening his mouth to snap back—
Splaaat.
Something warm, heavy, and disturbingly wet landed squarely on the thin friend's head.
The laughter died instantly.
He froze mid-step.
Very slowly, he reached up, touched the top of his head… and pulled his fingers back.
They were not clean.
The thin friend went pale.
A massive bird perched on a branch above tilted its head, staring down at him with what could only be described as mild curiosity.
"…No," the thin friend whispered.
Fatty stared for a second.
Then burst out laughing.
Kael closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose.
Perfect balance restored.
Wilson, walking ahead, didn't even turn around.
"The ecosystem," he said calmly, "is very fair."
----
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