Chapter 86
Chapter 86
***
The newcomer moved with blinding speed. The monstrous hybrids, caught between human and beast, possessed little intelligence. They abandoned their pursuit of the motionless Benjamin, turning instead to attack the agile newcomer. Benjamin seized the opportunity to flee.
But then, a strange instinct stopped him. Instead of running, he stood rooted to the spot, watching the battle unfold. Squinting, he made out the form of a black tiger, its golden eyes blazing in the dim forest.
The tiger lunged, its jaws crushing one of the monsters. A sickening crunch of bone and tearing flesh filled the air, making Benjamin wince. The remaining monsters, their primal fear triggered by the tiger’s ferocity and the death of their companion, scattered, abandoning both Benjamin and the tiger.
Silence descended. Then, the panting black tiger reared up on its hind legs. Its sleek, dark fur receded, absorbed into its skin. Its hunched back straightened, revealing broad, powerful shoulders. It was Isaac, the Marquis of Tygra.
Shame and bewilderment choked Benjamin into silence as he stared. Isaac turned, his face smeared with blood, and smiled.
“I heard the little Viscount Lenota had abandoned his post.” His voice dripped with his usual sarcasm. The wind stirred his dark hair, and for a moment, a malevolent glint flashed in his eyes, similar to the darkness Benjamin sometimes saw in Arietta’s gaze. “I wondered where you’d run off to. So, here you are.”
“….”
“Frightened, little bird?” Isaac grinned, his canines still sharp, the thrill of the hunt lingering in his eyes. “Now you understand why I warned you to stay out of the forest. If the beast you’re looking for died here, there’d be nothing left to recover. These things would have devoured it.”
They’re nothing but instinct, Isaac added casually.
Benjamin glared at him. “You…,” he began, the pathetic excuse didn’t tell me almost escaping his lips. Isaac cut him off with a short, savage laugh, the sound of a man indulging a foolish boy.
“I’ll tell you why I didn’t spell it out for you.” He brushed his wind-tossed hair back from his forehead several times, and Benjamin felt a stab of inferiority. He could never be like this man, not in a million years. Is this what Arietta loved? he wondered. If so, I’ll never measure up.
“What do you think these monsters are?” Isaac asked. Benjamin frowned.
“Mutations… caused by the Blight?”
“Wouldn’t that be nice and simple?” Isaac’s voice was laced with mockery. He gestured for Benjamin to follow. Benjamin didn’t want to, but he knew he had no choice. He took a reluctant step forward.
“These are all failed experiments from the Sky City.”
Benjamin froze, his thoughts grinding to a halt.
“Experiments combining animals and humans. Conducted here, on the surface, fourteen years ago. You Sky City folk don’t see Downstreamers as people…” Isaac wiped his mouth with his sleeve, staining it crimson. His eyes curved into a smile, but the expression was devoid of warmth. “So you thought we’d make perfect test subjects.”
“….”
“I was fourteen when they dragged me into their labs. You, little bird, were probably learning history, economics, and music at that age.”
“….”
“While you were prattling on with your tutors, I was being pumped full of d***s and carved up. And look.” Isaac gestured to the dead monster. “Most of them ended up like this. I’m the only successful one.”
A chill crawled down Benjamin’s spine as he stared at Isaac. Isaac laughed, a loud, booming sound. “Could you really explain this history to your precious Sky City and then ask them to search the forest? Tell me, Viscount Lenota, would you do that if you were the Marquis of Tygra?”
Benjamin clenched his fists, his hands trembling. Isaac’s laughter faded, and his golden eyes narrowed, the amusement gone. But the coldness in his gaze wasn’t directed at the Sky City as a whole, but at Benjamin alone. At the man who now held Arietta.
“Arietta has excellent taste in men,” Isaac said, his voice dripping with acid.
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