Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

"Finally," Zaroth breathed out a sigh of relief.

He had feared that Solara would escape the capital. If she had, there was no doubt in his mind—he would never have seen her again. She was likely the highest-ranking figure in the empire, and if anyone knew how to vanish, it was her. She would've known exactly where to go to stay hidden from his wrath.

But now that he had the fortune to lay his eyes on her, he wasn't planning to lose sight of her ever again.

"Lower," Zaroth commanded, and Luna obeyed, dipping her altitude. Her speed didn't falter for even a moment as she soared through the skies, eyes locked on the woman below.

Luna and Zaroth were connected. If she felt something, he would feel it too—and vice versa. If her master experienced a particularly strong emotion, she would feel it as well.

However, this was the first time she had felt such strong surge of hate. Usually, Zaroth didn't really harbor many emotions. If he wasn't out with his buddies drinking or trying to court a stunning woman that he had no business desiring, he was a peaceful person.

However, once Luna's gaze landed on Solara, she felt it.

Raw rage so powerful that it echoed into your very soul, forcing you to forget every single thing other than achieving your goal.

Luna wondered why Zaroth had changed so much. Before, he didn't really care for other people, but he wouldn't go out of his way to hurt them if he could avoid it. But now it was made clear—he must have felt this rage for a long time since Althea's death. Not to mention the nightmares he had nonstop since then must have just made his rage even more powerful.

'I have underestimated the pain he had felt all this while,' Luna realized, cursing herself in despair.

She was the one that was supposed to be closest to him, and yet even she didn't know the full extent of what he felt.

'I am sorry,' she apologized, not slowing down her flying speed towards Solara.

The words reached Zaroth's mind, yet he didn't hear them. It was as if the world around him had lost all meaning—the burning buildings, the cries of panicked civilians, the chaos unfolding on every street. Nothing mattered—all except one thing—his desire to kill Solara.

"Do not interfere," he commanded, voice with no trace of emotions. Luna didn't have time to reply as he had already launched himself like an arrow, his blade ready to reach Solara at any moment.

Before it could, however, she sensed the attack and turned around. Her breath was ragged due to the vast distance she had run, but there was no trace of fear in her eyes.

Her gaze became more menacing as fire wrapped around her body, and a blade of similar quality like Zaroth's appeared in her hand.

With a graceful motion, she slashed, managing to stop Zaroth's attack.

Due to him still being in the air, she saw an opening and attacked, aiming for his face.

He was able to pull back, yet the tip of her burning sword passed below the mask and knocked it to the ground.

His face was shown.

Heavy black rings under his eyes—due to the nightmares he had been tormented by, he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in God knows how long. Yet despite that, his green eyes were focused on the target in the front—he was close to killing her!

"Do you know why they call me princess even though our empire is an oligarchy?" Solara, not caring about his appearance, asked, unbothered by the destruction that had happened in the capital.

Zaroth spared her question no thought as he attacked once again, yet this time he was forced to stop mid-swing, the green flames that had been around his blade dispersed!

Solara had her hand raised. It seemed that her mastery over fire was much better than his own!

In a way, this was within his expectations. This was also one of the reasons why he told Luna to stay away—she primarily attacked with fire, and Zaroth feared that Solara could command the inferno and use it against him.

'I will just kill her the old-fashioned way,' he thought as he lowered his center of gravity and slashed.

With a chuckle, Solara jumped using her powers and landed on a nearby roof of a building.

"You are powerful—even more than me in normal circumstances," she admitted, but by the tone of her voice, it was clear she wasn't worried in the slightest.

"But you are too arrogant and naive!" she shouted, pointing with her firesword towards him. "And this will cost you your life!"

Zaroth didn't take the time to interject with her monologue as he was about to jump and attack once more. However, Luna's voice resonated through his being, bringing him back to his senses.

'Zaroth! We have a problem!' she shouted, worried, making him raise his guard even more.

However, for what followed next, he didn't expect.

CRACK

The sound echoed across the whole capital.

Startled by the noise, Zaroth shifted his gaze to the giant volcano that had once stood tall at the center of the capital like any normal mountain.

But this time, there was a clear difference on the surface—for there was a crack a kilometer long that had appeared from the bottom to the very top of the volcano.

And it did not stop there.

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

More and more cracks appeared on the surface of the volcano. Slowly, bright, unbelievably hot magma began to come out of it.

Then the world shuddered—the ground began to shake. The buildings all around began to fall. It wasn't because they were badly damaged, but because they simply were unable to withstand the volume of the earthquake that was going on.

"Let me show you why I'm called the strongest in my empire!" Solara roared, pride gleaming in her eyes as she gazed at the erupting mountain.

Then the worst came—

ROOOAAAAAARRR

It was deafening.

A powerful roar so violent that Zaroth was forced to shield his ears due to the sheer volume.

The surface of the volcano exploded, sending chunks of earth and magma everywhere, threatening to smash countless civilians under its weight.

There was a very real danger that he could be one of the unlucky ones. Given his history with misfortune, Zaroth wouldn't have been surprised if one of those massive chunks of debris came crashing down on him.

To stay safe, he had to keep a sharp eye on any falling wreckage that might come his way...

But he wasn't focused on the debris.

He was focused on what was rising from the heart of the eruption.

Now, it all made sense.

Solara's unwavering confidence—even after the deaths of all her comrades—was no mystery anymore.

Zaroth finally understood why Luna had sounded so alarmed just moments ago.

Because now, emerging slowly from the molten heart of the volcano, was a beast.

With just one look, its power was undeniable—this was a beast of Mythic tier.

And unlike Luna, who relied on Zaroth and his mana core to access her strength—still restrained by the limits of his power...

This creature had no such limits.