The Inferno Chimera stood before them like a living catastrophe.

  Three heads.

  Three wills.

  One overwhelming presence.

  Heat rolled off its body in suffocating waves, warping the air. The ground beneath its claws hissed and cracked, blackened earth turning molten at the edges. Behind Crimson Blade, the allied parties watched in stunned silence, too exhausted and too awed to intervene.

  Kaito tightened his grip on his crimson spear.

  Crimson aura began to gather around him once more.

  If this creature attacked now—

  Even with everything they had left, the outcome would be uncertain.

  The lion head leaned forward slightly.

  The dragon head’s eyes narrowed.

  The serpent’s tongue flicked through the air.

  Kaito inhaled slowly.

  He began channeling mana.

  Flames coiled around his arm.

  Then—

  A voice echoed through the clearing.

  Deep.

  Clear.

  Intelligent.

  “Human. I have no intention of harming your kind.”

  The world froze.

  Kaito’s aura flickered.

  Serena blinked.

  Renna lowered her blade slightly.

  “Ehh…It spoke,” someone whispered from behind them.

  “A beast that can talk?”

  The three heads of the Chimera moved subtly, but the voice came from all of them at once, resonating through the air rather than from a single mouth.

  “I saw you fight The Orc King so hard so I finish it”

  Kaito” then why are you here, why did you help us?”

  “I was merely wandering,” the Chimera continued. “The orcs attacked first. I killed several of them. I released my aura. They fled. I claimed the mountain as my resting ground.”

  Its dragon head exhaled a thin plume of smoke.

  “I did not seek war.”

  Kaito did not lower his guard.

  “You expect us to believe that?”

  The Chimera’s lion head huffed, almost amused.

  “Believe what you wish. I have no reason to destroy a human town. The orcs were a nuisance. Nothing more.”

  Serena stepped closer to Kaito, speaking softly but clearly. “Its mana fluctuations… they’re stable and doesn’t have killing intent. It doesn’t feel hostile.”

  Renna narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t feel friendly either.”

  Kaito’s gaze remained locked on the creature.

  “Then tell me this,” he said evenly. “The Orc King we just fought. The meteor that destroyed him. Was that you?”

  The Chimera’s serpent head tilted.

  “Yes.”

  The word struck like a bell.

  “I sensed the battle. The Orc King’s and your aura was spreading too close to my territory. It was irritating.”

  Renna blinked. “You destroyed him because he was… irritating?”

  The Chimera’s lion head gave what almost looked like a shrug.

  “He trespassed. I removed him.”

  Silence followed.

  The allied adventurers exchanged stunned glances.

  Kaito lowered his spear slightly.

  “Then you helped us.”

  “You were already weakening him,” the Chimera replied. “I simply ended it.”

  Kaito exhaled slowly.

  “Then you don’t intend to attack the town?”

  “No.”

  The answer was immediate.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “If I am not threatened, I have no interest in conflict. Humans who respect my territory then you have my respect in return.”

  Serena’s shoulders relaxed a fraction.

  Renna, however, crossed her arms. “And what if something else stronger comes? Another S-rank? A dragon? A demon?”

  The Chimera’s eyes gleamed.

  “Who dare to come Then I will decide.”

  Kaito stared at the massive creature.

  An idea formed.

  Slowly, he allowed the crimson aura around his body to fade.

  The Crimson Spear dissolved into particles of light.

  He absorbed the remaining energy back into himself, the glow disappearing beneath his skin.

  The Chimera watched with interest.

  “You lower your weapon,” it observed.

  “I do,” Kaito replied calmly. “Because I’d rather make an agreement than start another war.”

  A faint rumble escaped the Chimera’s throat.

  “What kind of agreement?”

  Kaito stepped forward, ignoring the heat biting at his skin.

  “If you wish to stay in this territory then From this moment on, you become the guardian of this region.”

  The surrounding adventurers gasped softly.

  Kaito continued.

  “If a high-rank monster with hostile intent appears near the town, you eliminate it. In return, we acknowledge your territory. We won’t hunt you. We won’t threaten you. We can even provide offerings—food, livestock, anything you prefer.”

  The Chimera’s three heads exchanged glances with each other in eerie synchronization.

  The air around it began to shimmer.

  “An interesting proposal.”

  A sudden mist began to rise from the ground, swirling around the Chimera’s enormous body.

  Serena instinctively stepped back.

  Renna lifted her sword again.

  “What’s it doing?”

  The mist thickened, wrapping around the beast like a cocoon.

  Its massive silhouette blurred.

  Shrank.

  The heat gradually subsided.

  The roar of flames diminished.

  Then—

  The mist dispersed.

  Standing where the Inferno Chimera had been was a small boy.

  No taller than Kaito’s chest.

  About eight years old in appearance.

  Perhaps 1.20 meters tall.

  He had messy crimson-black hair with faint streaks of gold near the tips. His eyes were an unnatural molten amber, glowing faintly like embers beneath ash. Small, subtle fang-like teeth peeked out when he smirked.

  He wore simple dark clothing that seemed woven from flame and shadow itself.

  The entire battlefield went silent.

  “…Who is this?”

  “Is that a kid?”

  “So young…”

  “Wait… he’s kind of cute.”

  Murmurs spread through the allied parties.

  The boy stretched lazily, cracking his neck.

  “Who is young?” he snapped, voice carrying a faint echo of the Chimera’s earlier resonance. “I am at least two hundred years old, herrrrsssss…”

  The hiss at the end of his sentence betrayed the serpent within him.

  Renna blinked.

  Serena stared in disbelief.

  Kaito narrowed his eyes.

  “You can transform into a human.”

  The boy—no, the Chimera—snorted.

  “Of course. Do you think we ancient beings remain in beast form forever? It is tiresome well only some monster that have Goddess Luna Blessing.”

  He examined his own small hands.

  “Though I admit… I have not used this form in quite some time.”

  Renna leaned toward Serena and whispered, “This is not what I expected when fighting an S-rank monster.”

  Serena whispered back, “Neither did I.”

  Kaito crossed his arms.

  “And the agreement?”

  The boy tilted his head.

  “Guardian of the town… in exchange for peace and offerings.”

  He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

  “Hmm.”

  He looked at the distant mountain.

  Then at the burning forest.

  Then at Kaito.

  “Actually… I have a counter-proposal.”

  Renna groaned softly. “Of course you do.”

  The boy grinned.

  “I am bored.”

  Everyone blinked.

  “Living alone in that mountain as an guardian grows tiresome. Orcs are stupid. Wyverns are arrogant. Lesser monsters are noisy.”

  He looked directly at Kaito.

  “You are interesting.”

  Kaito didn’t react outwardly.

  “You fought the Orc King without fear. You did not attack me immediately. You proposed cooperation instead of conquest.”

  The boy’s ember-like eyes gleamed.

  “I wish to travel.”

  Serena’s jaw dropped slightly.

  “You want to… travel?”

  “With you,” the boy replied casually. “I will join your team.”

  The clearing fell silent once more.

  Renna’s mouth opened and closed.

  “A Chimera… wants to join our party?”

  Serena covered her mouth, half stunned, half amused.

  Kaito remained still.

  “…Why?”

  The boy shrugged.

  “Well I just want to wandering around like nothing happen even the planet is destroy, hehe”

  He folded his arms smugly.

  “Also, living in a mountain is boring.”

  Renna sighed dramatically. “How did this turn into recruitment?”

  The boy frowned slightly.

  “And do not call me Chimera.”

  “Oh?” Kaito asked.

  The boy’s expression softened faintly.

  “Hmm I got a nickname from my friend long time ago”

  He looked up at the sky briefly.

  “Kael.”

  The name lingered in the air.

  Kaito repeated it thoughtfully.

  “Kael.”

  He stepped closer, studying the boy carefully.

  “You understand what joining us means?”

  Kael tilted his head.

  “Fighting. Traveling. Eating interesting food. Possibly sleeping in uncomfortable places that what we call Journey.”

  Renna muttered, “He’s not wrong.”

  Kaito’s gaze sharpened slightly.

  “It also means protecting others. Restraining yourself. Not destroying cities because you’re irritated.”

  Kael’s lips twitched.

  “I am not a mindless beast.”

  He extended a small hand toward Kaito.

  “I accept your proposal—with modification. I become your companion. In doing so, this region is under my protection.”

  Serena looked at Kaito anxiously.

  Renna watched silently.

  Kaito hesitated for only a moment.

  Then he reached out and shook Kael’s hand.

  The instant their palms met, a faint surge of crimson and golden energy pulsed between them—like an unspoken pact sealed not by contract, but by mutual will.

  “Then it’s decided,” Kaito said.

  Kael grinned broadly.

  “Good.”

  Silver Dawn’s leader approached cautiously. “Is this… wise?”

  Kaito glanced back at him.

  “An S-rank monster that can destroy cities has chosen not to. That’s better than forcing a battle.”

  Storm Breaker’s captain laughed nervously. “I’ll take that.”

  Shadow Fang’s leader simply nodded.

  With the immediate crisis resolved, the allied parties began organizing their return.

  The forest remained scarred and smoldering, but the worst danger had passed.

  As they walked toward town, Kael walked beside Crimson Blade, occasionally looking around with childlike curiosity.

  “So this is what humans build near forests,” he muttered.

  After only a few minutes—

  He yawned.

  Then again.

  Renna glanced down at him.

  “Already tired, ancient being?”

  Kael scowled weakly.

  “Transforming after extended battle consumes energy.”

  Two more steps.

  Then—

  He stumbled.

  Without warning, he tipped forward.

  Kaito caught him instinctively.

  Kael blinked sleepily.

  “This body… is inconvenient.”

  Serena laughed softly.

  “You’re basically a child right now.”

  “I am not a child…”

  His voice trailed off.

  Within seconds, he had fallen asleep.

  Kaito sighed.

  “Well.”

  He adjusted Kael onto his back carefully.

  The boy instinctively wrapped his arms loosely around Kaito’s shoulders.

  Renna stared at the sight.

  “You’re carrying a two-hundred-year-old Chimera like a lost kitten.”

  Serena giggled.

  “He looks peaceful.”

  Kaito glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping Kael.

  The once fearsome Inferno Chimera now looked harmless.

  Small.

  Vulnerable.

  Strangely human.

  As they approached the outskirts of town, smoke from chimneys rose gently into the sky.

  Life continued.

  Unaware of how close destruction had come.

  Kaito looked ahead, then briefly upward at the clear sky.

  “So this is my new companion, Goddess Luna?” he whispered under his breath, a faint smile touching his lips.

  Behind him, Renna raised an eyebrow.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” Kaito replied calmly.

  Serena smiled knowingly.

  The gates of the town came into view.

  And with them—

  A new chapter in their journey.