New law of Beast Taming

"Why did we have to agree to come to this worthless place? There are so many bugs and other things crawling around. Is this place even safe for human living?"

Sakura complained as she followed Amane and Stella. In the end, Amane had chosen to only take Sakura and leave Eclipse back home. She needed someone to be able to calm the beasts down during her absence.

But it seemed like bringing Sakura along had been the wrong decision. So far, Sakura had only complained about this place and how uncomfortable she felt while being there.

"You know, if you do not want to be here, then I can call someone to come and take you back home. Would you prefer to go back home?"

Stella asked once she finally got fed up with all the complaining.

Amane had to give her credit here. Stella had managed to hold her words back for far longer than Amane had thought she would.

"Huh? N-No need to do that. Who said that I want to go back? I-Of course I will come with you."

Amane could see the desire to go back in Sakura's eyes. But she was determined to stay with Amane and to gather more influence.

Truly, humans could push through any discomfort when it came to their gain. Sakura was a prime example of this phenomenon.

"Don't worry, we are almost there. Our living quarters are much better than this jungle since the place is being constructed for human comfort. You will not have any complaints after you reach the clearing."

Sakura's facial expression said that she hoped that was the case.

This forest was a fascinating place for Amane. There were so many unique plants and animal species here that fascinated her. She wanted to spend more time in the forest than she wanted to in the settlement.

Suddenly, she smelled a whiff of blood. It did not smell fresh but it was certainly human blood.

She would have chalked it off as a small wound but the smell was stronger than she anticipated. The more Amane focused on that metallic smell, the harder it became to ignore it.

But it also seemed as if Amane was the only one who could smell that bloody scent as well. Neither Sakura nor Stella showed any signs of being aware of the blood.

"Hey, Yoko, are you alright? I asked you a question but you did not answer me."

Sakura's hand touched Amane and she instantly took hold of Sakura's wrist and squeezed it. It was not a gentle touch but Sakura did not complain even a single bit.

Instead, Sakura had a calm and patient expression on her face when she looked at Amane.

"Is everything alright? You quit quite suddenly."

Stella asked as well while stepping forward. Stella looked toward the direction Amane was looking at, but she was not able to find anything of significance at first.

But once all her attention was focused in that direction, Stella was able to have the whiff of human blood smell.

"Shit, we need to check this out. This scent is too close to our establishment."

Stella took off into a run and that was Amane's signal to follow behind her as well.

Poor Sakura could only follow along but not knowing what happened. As soon as she saw the clearing, Sakura threw up.

The clearing Stella had stopped at was painted red. The three human bodies lying on the ground were not fresh but they were not decaying either. Almost a day seemed to have passed after the three humans died in the clearing.

"Who could have done such a thing? If a beast killed them, then they would not have left the remains behind. No beast in this forest will do such a thing."

Amane was sure that Stella knew what he was talking about. This girl had been the responsible kind since the start and she was especially diligent during her childhood.

If she had been handed the responsibility for this project, then Amane was sure that Stella would have checked all the records to ensure that this place was safe.

Amane kneeled in front of one of the dead bodies to check up on them as well. Human blood covered a lot of evidence but there were still things Amane was able to figure out easily.

First, these bodies had not died at the claws of a normal beast. There were deformities to the patterns of the dead bodies.

Next was the logo on the clothes these people wore.

Amane was barely to make a small portion but she was certain that it was the hive logo.

These people were likely the scientists from Hive and they were here for something. It seemed as if their experiment had failed and a tragedy had happened as a result of their flashiness.

This forest had gotten a little more dangerous than before.

"Stella, I don't think it is wise for you to continue this project. Had the only danger been beasts, I would have helped you out. But there is a possibility that there are chimeras in this forest. And I cannot even count how many there might be."

There was a sweet clogging smell in the air. Amane recognized it as familiar but she did not remember from where.

"I understand what you mean, but I don't think that will be possible. I told you before - the government invested money into this project and they will not abandon this no matter what. So, it is futile for you to…"

"Is it the government's decision or your pride that is holding you back from discontinuing this project? I will tell you this once more - nothing good will come out of it if you continue to be stubborn about this project. It is doomed to fail."

Even if the chimeras were not involved, Amane would still say the same thing about this project.

Humans should not get involved with an environment that they were not suited for. Such rich ecosystems were delicate chains that should not be exploited.

But once again, Stella seemed not to agree with Amane.

"I will have to decline your advice once more. Please do what you are here to do and do not question any decisions made by higher-ups. It can end up causing you a lot of trouble."

Not a lot of people would have been able to catch the small silver of grief and resentment that colored Stella's words.

Unlike Charlie, Stella seemed to have chosen to follow rules and regulations to keep herself in check.

It was not a bad way to cope but it certainly was causing Amane a lot of problems now.

"Hey, I don't know about you both but I do not have a good feeling about this place. We should head back now."

Sakura did not have sharp instincts when it came to beasts. But there was something about this forest and this clearing that did not sit right with her.

There was a presence in the forest that scared Sakura. It made the hair stand up from fright and she was spooked out. That dangerous presence seemed to be closing in at this clearing.

"Sakura, sit"

Amane's words felt like a command and Sakura's body followed them without any consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she was already flat with the ground and there was a huge tiger-like body right above her.

Between Sakura and that monster was a layer of chains separating both bodies.

"W-What the hell is this thing? A-Are we going to die?"

Sakura was not thinking rationally right now. Otherwise, how could she fear dying at a beast's hand when Amane was there?

But Amane decided to give her a pass this time and hold the tiger beast tightly.

The tied-up beast tried to break free. But the more it struggled, the tighter the bond holding it back became.

"This is a beast for sure. But I don't think I recognize this beast. It looks like a Gwazi but there are a lot of oddities with that theory."

Stella pointed out as she let the Gwazi's paw go. The beast tried to bite Stella but she was too quick.

Amane had noticed the beast's oddities as well. A Gwazi usually had the head of a tiger body of a lion but neither the tiger nor the lion features were visible. There was a slimy coating when Amane touched the Gwazi.

Moreover, when she tried to look over the Gwazi, it resisted her presence. There was too much pain and suffering building up inside its body.

Despite all this, Amane could only point it is one this.

"This is a chimera but the parts used to make it were compatible. That is the only reason it is not falling apart. But the pain is still there along with the agony of being torn apart."

The poor wild beast was being tortured in the worst way possible and Amane felt bad for it.