Interstellar Beast Master

Chapter 82: Irreversible II

It was unfolding right before everyone’s eyes.

Above the arena stands, Anastasia watched it all, her voice low and steady as she finally spoke.

"This will be the future."

...!

Her tone sent a chill down Serena’s spine. She tore her gaze away from the horrifying scene below and turned to look at Anastasia.

And Anastasia continued.

"All this time, Guardians were seen as untouchable heroes. But today... they’ve shown their true colors. They thought if they wore masks and did terrible things in the shadows, no one would notice. But now... look at them."

...!

Look at them.

Serena’s expression hardened as her eyes followed Anastasia’s gesture.

There they were- Guardians, torn apart, their bodies sprawled across the battlefield as Stackborn stood over them.

"Now, the pristine Guardians are being ripped apart by the same Stackborn they came to kill. And this is just the start!"

Anastasia’s voice was sharp. Serena shook her head toward it.

"You think this is good?! None of this is good! The Guardians came to hunt Vagrant Beast Masters and Stackborn- and now they’re dead. Look past your hate for Glassbloods and realize what kind of chaos this will unleash!"

...!

Her voice trembled, not from fear, but from conviction. She knew how something like this would play out.

She knew how horrible things were. But that didn’t mean she was okay with any of it. And she was terrified of what would come next.

"Guardians don’t just die. Sure, powerful Entropic Beasts or elite Vagrant Beast Masters can kill them, but everyday people doing this to their bodies? You really think this leads to anything good? The Hollow Stacks might burn for months, maybe even years, because of this."

Serena’s words cut like ice. Anastasia turned to her, eyes cold.

"We’ve already been burning. For years. Trapped under Glassblood oppression, shoved into the Hollow Stacks like garbage. Poor, hungry, forgotten. We’ve been burning, my dear little Trial Guardian Serena. At least now, Glassbloods will burn with us."

...!

An impasse.

They wouldn’t see eye to eye.

Behind them, invisible and silent, Kitsuul blinked- watching the two but standing behind Anastasia.

Her eyes reflected a silent scene of her Master as he followed a drone with personality, his figure jumping across multiple buildings as he saw...devastation.

Stackborn helping each other while bloodied or Stackborn holding onto dead bodies while wailing.

He saw it all.

Kitsuul saw it all.

—

BOOM!

Explosions tore through a sports stadium in one of the Hollow Stacks’ cleaner zones. A school with shattered banners reading [Hollow Higher Education] had parts of its walls collapsed. Three masked Beast Masters surrounded four Vagrant Beast Masters, pressing them hard.

"You think you can hide in schools?! You rats really think we won’t find you?! You deserve to die!"

A Masked Guardian, his body surrounded by floating shards of metal, raised a hand. The shards formed a massive spear that blasted forward- skewering an Obsidian Alligator and its Vagrant Beast Master in a single strike.

"Allen!"

A scream tore from one of the Vagrant Beast Masters as the remaining three urged their beasts to move.

At that moment, Enforcer Drones zipped into the area. A woman with strands of purple-gold hair held onto her Winged Destiny Eel, amplifying her voice with sharp authority.

"All Beast Masters, STAND DOWN NOW!"

Her voice thundered across the field, past the wrecked school, reaching into the dark alleys and buildings several miles away, where Stackborn citizens ran from the chaos.

Neon lights flickered across the scene as other drones- some operated by cybernetic humans- recorded the shocking events.

The Enforcer Commander, Elizabeth, descended slowly as more Enforcers arrived on their own drones.

But her words meant nothing to the Masked Guardians. They kept moving in for the kill.

Touching down on the cracked field, Elizabeth gritted her teeth and shouted coldly.

"Guardian Dawn and Theresa have been killed. If you value your lives, stand down. Now."

...!

A shockwave of silence followed.

The Masked Guardians froze.

"What?" one of them asked, voice laced with disbelief.

Elizabeth stood firm, her Winged Destiny Eel pulsing beside her, neon lights glinting off her armor like a warrior goddess of justice.

"Dead. Guardian Dawn and Theresa- gone within seconds of each other. And if you continue this who—"

"They’re here! HAO tracked you right to them!"

A new voice cut through the moment.

A small round drone zipped into view, and behind it, a tall man in a long overcoat emerged.

The air around him rippled with fury and power. He’d seen the destruction, the blood-soaked alleyways stretching across the Hollow Stacks.

He saw everything.

And now, the ones responsible stood right there. Complication? Sure- Enforcers were here too.

But...

So what?

Damian’s silver eyes flashed with a deadly glint.

The moment Elizabeth spotted him, her expression turned pale.

"Sir! Please- stand down! These Masked Guardians will face justice under Ebonreach law. Don’t escalate this!"

Damian glanced at the distance.

The three Vagrant Beast Masters pulled back slowly, supporting each other. The Masked Guardians stared at one another, still reeling from the news of Dawn and Theresa’s deaths.

Damian looked at the approaching Enforcer drones in the sky, the dozens of Enforcers forming a ring around them all.

They thought the Guardians would be held accountable?

Face justice?

Impossible. A fantasy.

Because just weeks ago, a Guardian had massacred innocent lives at a wedding.

And all that followed was a half-hearted apology. A "tragic mistake" in the line of duty.

Casualties, they called them.

So Damian did the only thing that made sense.

He summoned the power of Kitsuul. Let it wrap around his voice like thunderclouds.

Thick. Rough. Unapologetic.

And he said the words he’d carried in his heart for weeks.

"Guardians... never face judgment."

HUUM!

"I... will be their Judge!"

...!

The words echoed like a vow, forged from grief and fury, burning with a rage that had never cooled.

And then...

He stepped forward.

Charging straight toward the Masked Guardians.

In a moment that would change everything.

Everything!