Chapter 159: Dagger

When the giant beast fell, the hunter naturally smiled with delight.

But how many hunters are there, and who truly is the hunter?

"Moo-moo!"

When the younger giant stag finally exhausted its life force and collapsed in sorrow, the earthquakes beneath the underground world also ceased.

The colossal body crashed to the earth, its flesh—capable of destroying city walls—covered in bloodstains and wounds.

But more fatal were its irreparable skin and withered limbs; it had drained all its stored life force in bloody combat with its kin.

"Aoo-aoo-aoo!"

As the victor, the other giant stag, furious as thunder, threw its head back and roared.

Like its fallen brother, it was covered in wounds—one antler broken, one eye blinded; the slow regeneration revealed it, too, was nearly depleted of all life.

In a sense, this was inevitable: two beasts of identical genes and stage, both stripped of reason and wisdom, could only fight to the death with instinct and talent; surviving was already luck, and the slight edge might merely stem from a few extra days of growth.

"(Moo-moo) Delicious. Delicious." The more it felt its body weaken, the hungrier it became, and the more its "carrion-eating kin" instinct activated.

The giant beast's single eye burned red, crisscrossed with blood vessels.

It tried to lower its head, stretching its mouth toward its brother's corpse.

Eat it—just eat it—and not only would its wounds heal, but it would grow stronger, many times stronger!

"Stop. Brother."

"White" floated before the giant beast, and her contracted beast also hovered in the air.

It prepared to communicate with its victorious brother.

Herds never deny internal struggle; eliminating the weak and preserving the strong is the natural law.

Even the "Beast King" has changed hands; several new-generation herd members have successfully become "Beasts."

But when the true Beast King is sealed and a new temporary Beast King emerges, it must bear the herd's responsibility—this "older brother" must now bear the duty of saving "Father."

Yet at this moment, this beast prince still did not know what had befallen his brother.

He still believed his brother had broken free from the mind flayer's control and was now vying for leadership of the herd.

In his calculations, if the other wanted the head stag's position, he would yield it—he wasn't mature yet anyway.

From this perspective, perhaps the mind flayer's psychic ability—accelerating metabolism (and thus growth)—had actually helped his side immensely.

Originally, the plan might have required at least half a year to grow and gain strength.

Now, perhaps there was no need to waste time accumulating power; he could even attempt to strike back at Radiance City and break "Father's" seal right now!

Thinking of this, his calm tone grew slightly urgent; he had gained more emotion and humanity through the magic girl.

But to them, such feelings were instinctively viewed as negative states.

"New Beast King, please lead us to save our Father."

The newborn beast princes had no names; the herd needed no overly complex social relationships.

Even in its former golden age, since they saw no need to separate from their herd and become independent individuals, most herd members were nameless; only if one achieved great merit and gained a unique status within the clan would they be given a distinctive name for external communication.

In a sense, possessing a name that marks the self is one trait of "human society."

The herd needs no names, but beasts interacting with the outside world often require one.

Beasts bonded with magic girls gradually develop selfhood and more independent humanity.

It had even privately given itself a name: "Little White."

It still hovered in midair, voicing its ambitions; compared to its kin, it was no longer pure—beasts bonded with magic girls gradually acquired human hearts.

"Stag"

"Stag? We are all stags, yes." The snow-white young stag looked bewildered; its pitch-black pupils held a hint of confusion.

"Male stag! Another male stag!" The giant beast suddenly roared, its lone eye radiating naked killing intent.

It had gone mad again.

Its massive mouth abruptly shifted direction, snapping toward the floating Little White.

"Sss-sss!"

But this time, it bit directly into the magic shield—"White" stood before the giant beast, staff in hand.

The command "Protect the Master" was triggered; the magic girl would fight to the death.

In an instant, both sides clashed in mortal combat.

"Forget it." Little White sighed, feeling deeply despondent at this moment.

"Little Snow, I suggest we kill it—it's beyond saving."

But the young stag named Little Snow merely floated silently, watching—just as the two previous young stags had watched their other brother die.

"Little Snow!" Little White roared, unable to control his inner anxiety and unease.

Beasts cannot handle such complex emotions; instead, their emotional fluctuations become starkly visible.

Yet Little Snow remained motionless.

In its cold, rational judgment, the mature beast before it was worth far more than Little White, this juvenile.

Unlike Little White, who had gradually (and forcibly) acquired humanity, Little Snow had only recently bonded with the magic girl and still acted purely through reason and instinct.

"It's completely insane—try it, try it yourself."

At this moment, Little Snow moved.

Its reason told it there was value in attempting—should this mature beast prince truly be beyond saving, losing Little White would be too great a cost.

Little Snow floated upward, facing its massive kin.

"Crack!"

The sudden snap of its massive jaws was the most direct reply.

"Snow."

In a calm voice, Xiao Xue called out her "tool."

Two magical girls stood before their "masters"; seeing this, the distant Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei pouted, her face filled with displeasure.

But the battle continued—yet soon, the contracted beasts of the two magical girls sensed something was wrong. How could a foe of this level still fight so fiercely?

"Boom!" Again, the magical girl Bai was crushed to the ground by gravity, blood seeping from all four limbs.

It seemed impossible to eliminate this deranged fellow in the short term. "Protect us and retreat."

"Even if you die, do not let us die."

The two beasts instantly made the most rational judgment.

A battle with no benefit (food) isn't worth fighting to the end—retreat first.

Even if the magical girl dies, we can just form a new contract.

Even if it causes some damage, it's worth it; the original soul contract placed the least burden on the contracted beast.

If the master dies, the magical girl dies; if the magical girl dies, the contracted beast is injured—but can transfer most of the soul loss away.

"If Bai and Xue die, it might even be beneficial. Without them, we could hide better."

Rational Xiao Xue made her judgment: they had already been exposed and might need to lie low for a while.

And at this moment, the two magical girls, whose appearances were revealed, might become obstacles.

"Indeed. Bai, die here."

The cruel beast issued a death order to its own companion.

The body of "Bai" trembled violently, yet her expression remained calm.

The completely controlled soul contract made resistance impossible.

The two magical girls began fighting desperately; vast amounts of life force were converted into magical energy, and colossal magical cannons rose and fell in succession.

The deadly duel between the magical girls and the beasts instantly escalated into a white-hot battle once the magical girls fought with all they had.

Just as the two beasts were about to escape successfully, their path was blocked by a group of people.

Li En looked at the two beasts calmly, feeling genuine revulsion. If existence is merely for rational survival, if anything can be discarded for the sake of living, then what meaning is there in living?

"Filthy ground-dwellers."

"Bai, come help me!"

The two weak young beasts instantly made their decision—they still needed combat-ready forces.

Let the weaker Xue die; Bai can still be used for now.

The "master's" command was absolute. In an instant, despite taking another brutal blow, the magical girl Bai threw herself in front of her contracted beast.

Watching the magical girl whose half-body was already stained red, the contracted beast Xiao Bai fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"Kill these obstacles in front of us. If you can't, detonate yourself." Perhaps it had developed some human sentiment—but it would not extend much "pity" to its tools.

In its rational judgment, this was an excess emotion that would make it weaker.

The cruel beast still made its decision: the magical girl before it had been used nearly to exhaustion—use her until she broke.

"Ignite your life force."

But this command was not immediately carried out!

"Crack!" The magical girl, standing extremely close, suddenly turned and thrust out a pale little hand.

Xiao Bai was too close—there was no time to react; the magical girl instantly seized Xiao Bai's neck!

Terrible physical force crushed down, silencing its next command and its scream.

The other beast was stunned—it could not comprehend what had happened. How could a magical girl attack its contracted beast? Hadn't the contract, passed down for countless ages, been unbreakable?

But Bai did not stop. Her movements were swift; a bone dagger had already appeared in her hand.

It emitted a faint silver glow in this space, yet somehow induced unease.

Wasn't this the dagger Bai had been carving these past days? Xiao Bai was bewildered—it recognized the weapon, yet did not understand how she had broken free of the contract, nor why she would wield this fragile bone dagger.

The power of the contract should be absolute; the soul bound by contract could never act against its own interest!

"I can't," said the magical girl Bai, her voice as flat and unchanging as ever.

"I can!" The next moment, the girl's face twisted violently—her furious, grotesque expression transformed into an entirely different personality!

The twin souls acted independently; the newly born soul had never been bound by the contract.

Thus, the contract-free newborn soul seized control of Bai's body—and the dagger fell.

Xiao Bai's eyes widened in disbelief. Even if you briefly break free, killing me will still kill you!

"Oath, broken!"

The woman's furious cry echoed throughout the underground world—her anger and suppressed anguish at this moment could burn the entire world.

As the pure white bone dagger descended, a sharp crack rang out—and something invisible was torn apart.

The next instant, the pure white magical girl clenched her fist.

"Snap!"

The "cute little deer" had its skull crushed outright—dying on the spot!

The girl finally smiled.

She had prepared for this moment too long.

【"The Beast Child of Elsena also holds the right to control gravity and separation. Its antlers, when stripped, can be forged into top-tier equipment imbued with the rules of 'Overturn,' 'Inversion,' and 'Gravity.' Legends say several divine artifacts were crafted from it, such as the famous 'Oath-Breaking Dagger.'"】

The Successor team, witnessing all this, instantly recalled the "lecture" Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei had given upon their first encounter with the Beast Child.

This was a dagger forged from the Beast Child's antlers—its sole function: to tear apart and betray all contracts—even those between Beast Children and Human Children!

And the technique to forge it into the Betrayer's Dagger was, naturally, provided by Ku Ku, who now happily watched the "drama."

Using materials from the deer's body to successfully murder the deer, the magical girl Bai finally gained her freedom.

For the first time, she revealed a smile from the depths of her heart.

Sweet, innocent, yet filled with so much sorrow.

And this dagger was already covered in cracks; it seemed not to be a complete "Divine Artifact," but merely a temporary item that utilized material properties and could barely be used two or three times.

But it was enough.

"Traitor Snow," the other beast, Little Snow, shouted at the contract holder halfway through, only to be stuffed back in.

The magical girl Bai, moving at high speed, instantly captured it.

When the dagger fell a second time and the contract was shattered again, the dagger itself completely crumbled.

"Boom!"

What followed was the magical girl Snow crashing to the ground.

"Food!!"

And the greedy gaze of that giant beast.

(End of this chapter)