《Path of the Invincible Dragon》Chapter 70: The Blood Mural Case Part II
Advertisement
Hearing the description of the incident, it was necessary to call on a witness to give a description of the culprit. So far the killer had been referred to as a creature, monster, and even ‘the terror’ but what or who exactly was it?
One of the old men in the crowd answered Service Zia’s request and stepped forward to recount last night’s incident. Old man Wema lived just a few meters away from the deceased woman’s household. As a man who had lived for over 70 years, he had watched both the mother and child grow up. Even now, his eyes were still red from the sorrow.
Wema had lived a long life. Therefore, not only did he witness many deaths but he had experienced the loss of loved ones. Wema had even lived through Toro’s cruel civil war a decade or two ago. Nevertheless, the death of the young mother and her little girl affected him far more than he expected.
“Such young lives, snuffed out just like that!” Sigh.
While the incident had filled him with sadness and anger, he did not dare to think about revenge due to the terror he and the other neighbors who were first to respond experienced when they were face to face with that creature.
“I would like to think that I have been through almost everything. In my life, I have fought in wars as a soldier and hunted all kinds of monsters as a mercenary, but what I saw last night, I cannot even explain that feeling in words.” Even just recounting the events of the previous night had Wema trembling.
“Just the aura emanating from that thing was enough to freeze us all in place! I felt like I was nothing.”
The old man described the killer as a humanoid creature with “Great black wings and a horrific face.” It was so terrifying that all the people who saw it were frozen in shock. Even after it beheaded the man named Mokene and flew off into the sky. Everyone was still left rooted to the ground. They could neither chase the creature nor run away.
Advertisement
The creature had an aura that made them feel as if they should surrender their lives to it. Even the strongest warriors at the scene knew they would have no better fate than Mokene had the creature come after them.
“If the creature had targeted me instead of Mokene [may the ancestors guide his rest], I could only have stretched out my neck and offered up my head.”
Hearing this statement, Service Zia more or less had some idea of the creature.
“Is it a suppression of state of being?” Officer Kaguzi voiced out his thoughts toward the other two silver guards.
Service Zia came to the same conclusion as Kaguzi on the cause of the incident, “Probably, like the meeting between a completely high level creature and a low level creature; like a rabbit standing before a lion. This does narrow down the list of possible culprits by a great deal. It has to be a creature capable of completely dominating humans.”
After observing the crime scene, hearing the witness accounts, and analyzing the creature’s habits, the silver guards already had some suspicions on what kind of creature they were dealing with.
“It could be a Pink Baby.” It was Officer Kaguzi who spoke once again. However, don’t let a cute name like ‘Pink Baby’ fool you. This creature was a hairy giant humanoid creature. The only reason it had ‘baby’ in its name was because its body structure was similar to that of a baby: a large head and short arms and legs. However, everything else about it was scary and unnatural. It had extremely hairy limbs and sharp black claws. The origin of this creature was extremely mysterious and there were all sorts of rumors about how Pink Babies were born such as from the corpses of babies or from pregnant women who were cursed.
Advertisement
“It might be but as far as we know, very few Pink Babies can fly. Importantly, none of the eye witnesses mentioned the Pink Baby’s most defining physical feature.” Service Zia replied to Kaguzi explaining why it was unlikely to be such a creature. After all, the most defining physical trait of a Pink Baby was a bright pink area around its chest that looked like a tumor. This contrasted with its dark skin and hairy fur. If one was attacked by one from the front, they would surely notice this contrast of colors.
“Could it be an Amanani or an Adze?”
“There is no way it is an Adze otherwise the smell of blood would not be so strong. Usually, Adze don’t even leave a drop of blood behind within or outside their victims’ bodies. They are greedy for blood in that manner. Also the description does not fit an Adze at all.”
“Indeed, but it could also be another type of Vampiric creature that’s a picky eater like a Bat Vampire or a Nightwalker.”
As the three men spoke, all manner of creatures were discussed. It seemed they had forgotten themselves and started a discussion on mysterious creatures, some of which no one else at the scene had even heard off.
From bloodthirsty Adze, to giant Chebekere, to different kinds of Marimu, to flying Kishi, to high ranking flying Manani, to Chemakut Teret – the monster with a strong appetite for the flesh and blood of humans, all sorts of creatures were brought up.
When he heard the three silver guards’ discussion, old man Wema who had come face to face with the creature decided to chip in.
“No no no. The creature it was just like, it was just like, ... …!”
However, in the middle of the sentence, the old man started stammering leaving everyone in suspense. His finger started trembling as if he was sick.
Another man in the audience could not help but make fun of him, “Old man, have you started going senile mid-sentence? Are you having a stroke?”
Some in the audience could not help but laugh. It felt as if the little drama had helped alleviate the mood even if a little bit.
However, old man Wema’s wife was quick to berate them, “You mango-heads, is this the time to joke?”
Looking back to her husband, the old man was still standing still as if rooted to the ground; Wema’s finger was pointing to the sky as he let out, “Ah ah ah” sounds. Finally, everyone realized that something was wrong and looked up into the sky where the old man was pointing.
When the crowd looked up, the sight almost terrified their clothes off. Some of them could feel their legs shaking at what they were seeing. It was a black figure whose massive wings almost blotted out the morning sun that had just started peeking out of the dark clouds and heavy fog. The sunlight had just started to show before it was snuffed out again by this terrifyingly huge creature!
“Creeeeeeeew.”
A terrifying cry that assaulted everyone’s eardrums was released as the creature swooped down from the sky.
Even the most courageous people in the crowd could not keep calm anymore and scrambled away while screaming in terror.
“The monster is baaaaack!”
Advertisement
- In Serial27 Chapters
A Price In Memory
“The world is a dangerous place. If it wasn’t, hunters like us wouldn’t exist.” Resurrected and robbed of his memories, Gase finds himself in a body that doesn’t belong to him, with a past that is not his. Behind walled cities, people live their lives, clinging to what little safety they provide. Mages seek to regain the knowledge lost at the collapse of a past era. While beyond, hunters attempt to cull the ever-growing populations of beasts that threaten the very survival of humanity. And amidst all of this, Gase seeks to find his past and his place in the future. Unfortunately, all things have a price.
8 155 - In Serial100 Chapters
Catalyst: The Ruins
The year is 605, and in your home— the country of Corcaea— the souls of mankind belong to demons. A phenomenon known as the "Catalyst" is what's to blame. This diabolical phenomenon lurks within every man, woman, and child. It can turn any human into a demon, if they fall prey to one, all-consuming element. It can be anything. Fear. Grief. Generosity. Even love. In a land where Gods are real and Corcaea's theocracy is the last hope for mankind, you follow in the footsteps of Father Richard Anscham: a troubled young priest, the leader of the Church of Mercy, and the foremost researcher of the Catalyst. Deep-dive into the ruins that cover the land with nothing but your dog and your faith. Search for the cure. Conquer your personal demons. Welcome to Catalyst Quest! A "quest" is a collaborative storytelling medium in which readers get to vote on the story at specific points. As this is an archive, the prompts that were included with the original run of Catalyst have been stripped, and the story is presented like a traditional novel for your reading convenience. If you would like to read Catalyst in its original format or participate in current events, you can find us here, on Sufficient Velocity. This book is complete! If you're looking for the next installment in Catalyst, you can find Catalyst: Avowed here.
8 309 - In Serial49 Chapters
Catalyst: Avowed
The year is 605, and in your home— the country of Corcaea— the souls of mankind belong to demons. A phenomenon known as the "Catalyst" is what's to blame. This diabolical phenomenon lurks within every man, woman, and child. It can turn any human into a demon, if they fall prey to one, all-consuming element. It can be anything. Fear. Grief. Generosity. Even love. In a land where Gods are real and Corcaea's theocracy is the last hope for mankind, you follow in the footsteps of Father Richard Anscham: a deeply disturbed young priest, the leader of the Church of Mercy, and the foremost researcher of the Catalyst. Despite completing a holy mission from the Goddess of Mercy, obtaining a holy Relic, and escaping from demon-infested ruins, Father Anscham is in greater peril than ever before. Ravaged in mind, body, and soul, the solace he begs to receive from the Church of Flesh is impeded by a cruel lesson: the ramifications of a life spent sacrificing everything one has for others. See through the harrowing eyes of a man at his wit's end; through a dark fantasy tale of horror, hope, and desperation. Search for the cure. Conquer your personal demons. Welcome to Catalyst! As this is an archive of Catalyst Quest (an interactive, collaborative story), the prompts that were included with the original run of Avowed have been stripped, and the story is presented like a traditional novel for your reading convenience. If you would like to read Catalyst in its original format or participate in current events, you can find us here, on Sufficient Velocity. This book is complete! The story will continue with Catalyst: Calunoth, just as soon as I am done revising its content for here on Royal Road.
8 234 - In Serial6 Chapters
An Angel's Vow
What was supposed to be a simple day's work turned into so much more when Castiel decides to answer a prayer. Now he must continue on in a new and dangerous place where anything can happen. *This is a Work in progress Cover from (Stefan Keller)
8 169 - In Serial6 Chapters
Out of Touch (BL)
(This story contains love between two men, M/M, BL themes.) He thought it was just a dream... Jonathan wakes up in a strange, ancient world full of evil beasts, corpses, and hunters trained to slaughter them. He quickly realizes, though, that the water is truly cold and the pain of watching the killings is all too real. Thrust into this world by an “experiment”, he’s forced to stay and follow a cultivator familiar with the land, or else he’d be the next one killed. Through his travels, he finds his name wasn’t always Jonathan Cheng. A whole mysterious past awaits him. Bai Yazhu has low spiritual energy from birth, the same as the rest of his family. No longer part of a sect, he roams the land with his partner, performing small deeds for commoners for pay. One day, he meets a dan jiao—usually this kind of beast needs dealt with immediately. But he’s unable to slay it. This thing is not normal. It’s... a human. Someone he knew many years ago. My first wuxia/xianxia inspired story. Slowwwwwwww burn..... Yes, I had posted this before but took it down to rework and write more. It's still not done. Story title is WIP. COMMENTS AND CRITIQUES HIGHLY RECC'D - BE CIVIL. Help me write xianxia!!
8 181 - In Serial97 Chapters
Her Terrifying Love
While being chased by her abusive boyfriend, Lyla turns the tables, shoving him into the path of an oncoming car. But rather than calling the police, she and her friend, Jack bury the body deep in the woods. Instead of finishing her senior year in peace, Lyla is horrified to discover that her dead ex has returned for revenge. This genre-bending supernatural thriller weaves elements of murder mystery, romance, high school drama, humor, and, of course, a terrifying ghost story.(Excerpt from "Her Terrifying Love")Jack's chest heaved. "You said he was dead."Lyla inched closer and whispered, "He had no pulse!" "Maybe he was just stunned.""We carried him all that way," she said. "He wasn't breathing.""But maybe he woke up after we left him down there.""Woke up?! His neck was broken."Jack hung his head. He couldn't make sense of this."I know how this is gonna sound, but..." He choked on his words. "When I went to pick up my car from the body shop yesterday, he was standing across the street. Watching me.""Who was?!""Keenan. I swear to God.""No way," she asserted. "That's crazy talk. He's dead.""It was him." Jack nodded. "He had a frickin' giant tattoo on his neck." A shiver flashed down Lyla's spine. Jack confirmed what she'd been dreading. He'd been seeing the ghost, too.If you enjoyed "Her Terrifying Love," check out the sequel, "Dirty Secrets." https://www.wattpad.com/822348938-dirty-secrets-prologue
8 284

