Chapter 175: Skarr’s Past And The Showdown!
As Skarr marched toward the entrance of the forest where Cael and Aldric were being held, memories flooded back to him.
A few months ago, the Dhole tribe had attacked the red panda tribe for no particular reason. The attack was brutal and unprovoked. They had wiped out half the tribe in a single assault. The survivors were running, desperate to escape, being pursued relentlessly by the Dhole pack.
But the surviving red pandas made a decision. Even though they were still being hunted, even though they could have tried to run and save themselves, they chose differently.
They chose sacrifice.
The surviving half of the tribe gathered together and performed a ritual. They sacrificed themselves willingly so that one person could gain the purest form of dark magic. One person who could seek revenge for them. One person who could ensure that their deaths meant something.
That person was Skarr.
The youngest of them all. They chose him because he was fast. Because he was small. Because he had the best chance of surviving long enough to master his new power. The ritual was done in a hurry, with desperation driving every movement, every word, every drop of blood spilled.
When the Dhole pack arrived and found the dead bodies of the red pandas, they did not suspect anything. They did not realize what had happened. They saw only corpses and assumed their attack was complete. They walked away like they had finished their game perfectly.
A few months later, Skarr was finally able to understand his dark magic and what it could do. His power was incredible. His magic allowed him to control the bodies of other beastmen. It allowed him to dominate their will. It allowed him to eliminate entire groups using a single person as his puppet.
All he needed was a scapegoat. One person to channel his power through.
He had snuck into the outcast territory at that time, walking through the forest trying to figure out his new abilities. That was when someone bumped into him.
"An enemy! An intruder. I’ll kill you!" the Dhole beastman had yelled, not realizing who stood in front of him.
Skarr had frowned. He saw that the Dhole was even surprised by him. A red panda standing there alive. The Dholes had believed they had eliminated every single red panda. Skarr was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be gone.
The shock on the Dhole’s face told Skarr everything he needed to know.
Were they controlled to eliminate everyone? Or was this just blind hatred and tribal warfare?
Skarr did not care. The answer did not matter. He was going to kill every single one of the Dholes. Forgiving them, even if they were indeed controlled by some outside force, would not bring his people back. Mercy would dishonor the sacrifice his people had made.
That was how Skarr used his dark magic for the first time.
The magic was not just the ability to control bodies. It was not just the ability to make someone move against their will. It was the power of elimination itself. The power to erase. The power to destroy completely.
With that single Dhole as his puppet, Skarr used his dark magic to eliminate the entire Dhole tribe. It took almost three hours of relentless violence. His scapegoat was fast and strong. His magic made the Dhole impossible to kill as long as Skarr controlled the strings.
Even though the other Dhole members tried desperately to kill the possessed one, they could not. The dark magic made it impossible for the puppet to die or be stopped. The possessed beastman moved with perfect efficiency, killing one Dhole after another.
At the end, when everyone was dead, Skarr forced his puppet to kill himself. The controlled beastman took his own life, ending the connection.
When it was over, Skarr coughed out blood. His entire body was drained. His dark magic was exhausted from the effort. He had used up almost all of his power in that single massacre.
He ran before the other outcasts could find out who was responsible for the Dhole tribe’s elimination. He struggled to find a place to hide, walking and walking and walking for days or weeks or maybe months. Time became meaningless.
He was exhausted. He was injured. He was dying.
And then he fell unconscious.
He thought he had actually died. He thought that was the end.
Until he woke up trapped inside someone else’s body. His red panda’s body. Neve’s body. He could not use his dark magic anymore because he had exhausted it all fighting the Dholes. He was stuck. Powerless. A prisoner in his form.
That was how everything had happened until now.
.
.
Skarr smirked, lowering his head and shaking it slowly. Then he lifted it to look at the beastmen in front of him.
The scene before him was exactly as Neve had feared.
Cael and Aldric were standing with their hands tied behind their backs. Their expressions showed resignation. They were prepared to die.
Zyreth looked like he was searching for the perfect weapon to punish them with. Maybe using his snake tail to coil around them and hug them so tight that every bone in their body would snap. Maybe something even more brutal and creative.
But as soon as Skarr stepped in, everything changed.
The temperature in the air shifted. All eyes turned toward the small red panda entering the scene.
"Neve?" Zyreth tilted his head to look at the approaching figure. He was grinning, clearly amused by whatever Neve was about to do.
But when he saw the look on Neve’s face, his grin vanished completely.
The expression was wrong. The demeanor was wrong. The entire presence was different.
"Why...? No... you came," Zyreth said, his grin returning as if he had misinterpreted what he was seeing.
"Neve?" Skarr said coldly. "Ah, that’s the name he’s using. That’s the identity he’s been using. Well, I’ll go straight to the point."
He stepped closer to Zyreth, his body moving with confidence.
"Let those beastmen go and I’ll pardon your life," Skarr said. It was an offer and a final chance. "Release them and you get to live. That’s more mercy than you deserve."
Cael and Aldric exchanged confused glances. Neither of them understood what was happening. Who was this person who looked like Neve but spoke with a completely different voice? Who was this figure making demands of the snake king?
Aldric felt a flicker of recognition though. He had seen this person before. The day they had attacked Soren. Skarr. The name came to his mind. That was Skarr.
"If you don’t comply," Skarr continued, his voice becoming colder and more menacing, "I’ll eliminate everyone in the snake tribe, starting from you. Every single one of your people will die. Your tribe will be erased from existence."
It was a threat. A genuine threat backed by the power of dark magic.
Zyreth’s smile really vanished at those words. But after a moment, he burst into laughter.
He laughed so hard that he had to grab his stomach. The snake beastmen standing behind him and Jereth also joined in the laughter. They all thought this was a joke. They all thought Neve was making empty threats.
The small, pregnant red panda threatening the powerful snake king? It was ridiculous. It was hilarious.
Suddenly, Maren rushed into the clearing, panting hard from exertion. His people had told him the news that Zyreth had caught some intruders and was planning to execute them. Maren knew it was probably the beastmen that Sable had come with. So he rushed here immediately to intervene if necessary.
When Maren arrived, he saw Neve standing in front of Zyreth. His eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what was happening.
He pressed his lips into a thin line, staring at the small red panda.
’What the hell is Neve doing?’ Maren asked himself silently. ’He knew better than to mess with Zyreth directly. Does he have some kind of plan? Is he trying to get himself killed?’
Zyreth suddenly walked toward Neve. The small red panda did not move an inch from where he stood. He did not flinch. He did not back away. He simply waited for Zyreth to approach.
"Neve!" Cael yelled desperately. "Just forget about me. Seeing your face is enough before I die. That’s enough for me. Don’t risk yourself!"
"T-take care of Sif for me," Aldric muttered, pressing his eyes shut as he prepared for death. "Tell her I love her. Tell the tribe I tried."
Skarr rolled his eyes at their sentiment and folded his hands across his chest. He looked away from them to focus on Zyreth who was standing directly in front of him now.
"Neve, don’t you dare push my button," Zyreth said, his voice filled with rage. "I’m keeping you alive because of your usefulness and the cubs you carry. Do not think I have any real affection for you. Do not test my patience!"
Inside Skarr’s head, Neve shrieked in fear as he watched Zyreth’s favorability meter change.
[Zyreth: -50%]
It had dropped dramatically. Zyreth’s affection had turned to pure hatred in seconds.
Skarr could not see the favorability meter, but Neve was already getting anxious inside his own mind.
"How about we stop pushing his button and just end it?" Neve whispered internally, trying to convince Skarr to finish the fight quickly.
"Where is the fun in that?" Skarr asked out loud, speaking words that Zyreth could hear. His face squeezed in confusion at the odd tone.
"What are you talking about? What fun?"
"How about we find out together?" Skarr asked, stepping forward with dangerous confidence. "You get to have fun threatening people and watching them suffer. Why can’t I have fun too? I’m wondering how I should end your pathetic life. I’m imagining all the ways I could eliminate you and your entire tribe."
Zyreth gritted his teeth angrily at the disrespect.
Even Maren was scared on Neve’s behalf as Zyreth shifted his lower half to his full snake form. He was now taller than everyone in the clearing. His upper body was still humanoid but his lower body was pure snake, massive and powerful.
"Maybe I don’t need Maren’s contribution to this war anymore," Zyreth yelled, his voice filled with fury. "I don’t care if his mother dies. I don’t care about our alliance. I’m going to kill you right now!"
He lifted his huge and heavy tail up over his head. The tail was thick and muscular, capable of crushing stone. He brought it down with all his strength, aiming directly at Skarr.
"Neve!!!!!" Cael, Aldric and Maren screamed as the tail slammed down, striking the floor where Skarr had been standing.