Chapter - 86

Leo reached out to touch the black box.

"Don't touch it!" Baez hissed and he stepped back fast as if the air had turned into poison.

"The Black Sky is not just some object," Baez whispered and his eyes were wide behind his glasses, "It has a will and it messes with your mind."

"If you get near it, it will tell you truths that will make you claw your own eyes out just to stop the visions."

Leo stopped and his hand stayed inches from the lid. He looked at the lock made of bone and it looked like a dead finger holding the latch.

"Messes with the mind, does it?" Leo muttered and he looked annoyed, "Sounds like a real pain in the ass but I need to check if you brought the right shit."

"For the love of the gods, boiy," Grendel whispered from the bushes and he was clutching his pitchfork, "That thing looks like a coffin. Get back before it eats your soul and leaves me alone with these freaks."

But Leo ignored his unnecessary ranting. He decided to use his Ace instead of his hands.

'Aiva,' he commanded, 'Store it in the inventory so we can get moving.'

[Initiating Storage Protocol...]

[Scanning Target: 'Black Sky'...]

[Target Lock Acquired...]

Leo waited for the box to vanish but it stayed right there. A bright red warning flashed in his brain.

[ERROR!]

[Storage Failed!]

[Reason: The System cannot store Living Organisms in the Item Inventory.]

Leo froze and he whispered, "Living?"

He leaned closer to the black wood and he listened to the silence of the trees. At first there was nothing but then he heard a wet and rhythmic sound.

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump!

It was a heartbeat and it was heavy and it was coming from inside the box.

"You have got to be kidding me," Leo said, straightening up and looking at Baez.

"You are asking me to smuggle a living creature? What is in there? A baby demon god?"

Baez refused to answer. He clutched his staff tighter, looking away.

"It is the Black Sky. That is all you need to know, Sir Hero."

"Do not open it. Do not listen to it. And for the love of your gods, do not let it wake up."

Leo looked back at the box. The carvings of the faces. Suddenly it felt like the wood expanded and contracted microscopically with each beat of the heart inside.

"Fine," Leo grumbled, "We do it the hard way."

He turned to the massive Gorilla Beasts standing like statues in the clearing.

"Load it," Leo ordered, pointing to Grendel's cart parked near the outpost wall.

Baez signaled with his staff. The four massive beasts moved in unison. They lifted the heavy palanquin as if it weighed nothing, their chains rattling in the quiet night. They marched toward the rickety vegetable cart.

Grendel, who had been peering over the edge of the outpost wall, shrieked.

"No! No, absolutely not!" Grendel scrambled over the wall, waving his arms, "Hilda can't pull that! Look at it! It's evil! You can't put a cursed coffin on my cart! We will die!"

"Strap it down," Leo said, ignoring the old man.

The Gorillas lowered the palanquin onto the wooden bed of the cart. The axles groaned in protest under the weight. The dark, majestic, magical containment unit looked ridiculous sitting on a cart that still smelled faintly of turnips.

The Gorillas stepped back, their job done.

Baez dusted off his hands, looking relieved to be rid of the burden.

"Our task is done," the Goat said, "We have brought it to the meeting point. The pact is sealed."

He pointed a clawed finger at the four human guards who had been standing silently at the edge of the clearing this whole time. They wore the white robes of the Temple of Light, but their armour was jagged and dark, and their faces were hidden beneath deep hoods.

"These are the Temple Guardians," Baez explained.

"They have been assigned by the Zarth Temple to accompany the artifact to the Capital. They are... dedicated. They do not speak much. But they will die to protect the box."

Leo looked at them. They hadn't moved an inch since they arrived. They didn't look like soldiers; they looked like statues waiting for a command.

"Great," Leo muttered, "More mutes."

Baez bowed low, "We must return. The forest is not safe for us this far North."

"Leaving so soon?" Leo asked, "Don't want steak? I can get you some milk."

Baez flinched but kept his head bowed. He turned to his group, "We leave."

Korg, the Tiger Beast, didn't move immediately. He walked past Baez and marched straight up to Leo. He loomed over him, his shadow swallowing the firelight. The smell of wet fur and raw meat rolled off him.

He leaned down until his snout was inches from Leo's face. His yellow eyes burned with humiliated rage.

"You used a trick, little meat. I know that!" Korg snarled, his voice a low rumble that vibrated in Leo's chest, "You are not strong. You are a liar."

He bared his fangs.

"Next time, there will be no goat to hold my leash. Next time we meet, I will chew you alive. I will crack your bones to suck the marrow while you scream."

Leo didn't blink. He just smirked.

"Brush your teeth first, Kitty," Leo said casually, "Your breath smells worse than Hilda's ass."

Korg roared, raising a hand to strike, but Baez slammed his staff on the ground.

"KORG! NOW!"

With a final, hateful growl, the Tiger turned and stomped away into the darkness.

Vesper, the Dark Elf, was the last to leave. She paused at the edge of the firelight. She looked Leo up and down, her eyes lingering on his hands and the sword strapped to his hip.

She didn't speak. She just offered a slow nod, as if marking him for later. Then, she vanished into the trees like smoke.

Leo watched them go until the forest swallowed them up.

"Well," Leo said, turning back to the fire, "That went well."

He looked at the four Temple Guardians standing by the cart. They were staring straight ahead into nothingness.

"Alright, boys," Leo clapped his hands, "Change of plans. We aren't moving tonight."

He gestured to the outpost.

"It's pitch black. We don't know the terrain, and I am not risking the cart breaking a wheel in a ditch. We will camp here, take turns on watch, and move out at first light."

He pointed to the fire where the rest of the goat steak was still keeping warm.

"I have food left. Come eat. You guys look like you haven't had a meal in a week. You need your strength if you are going to guard this thing."

But contrary to his expectations, the lead Guardian turned his head slowly. His movements were jerky, mechanical. Under the hood, his eyes were glazed and milky, staring through Leo rather than at him.

"The mission," the Guardian rasped. His voice was hollow, devoid of any inflection, "The Black Sky must move. We do not stop."

"I… I mean You… You will die," Leo said bluntly, "The forest is crawling with monsters, undeads and what not. You can't see in the dark, and you are wearing this fucking armour. You will be their food before midnight."

"The Light guides us," the Guardian said.

"The Light isn't going to guide shit at night," Leo argued, "Now fucking sit down. Eat."

The Guardian didn't respond further. He turned his back towards him, and started walking away.

"We move," he said.

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