Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 747 - Taming the Fifth Year - Stars of the Past - End

The roars behind Orion multiplied like terrible mathematics. Hundreds, maybe thousands of corrupted creatures following the trail of the core heʼd activated. A tide of corruption flowing downward like water seeking the lowest point, filling chambers and corridors with writhing mass that would consume everything in its path.

Dead bodies, tired soldiers, even him… Everything.

He reached the tenth chamber staggering, legs barely supporting his weight anymore. Saw Sirius inside the white light barrier covering the chamberʼs left half, his brotherʼs eyes widening when seeing Orion pursued by the horde that shouldnʼt exist here but did anyway.

”We have problems!” Orion shouted desperately, words tumbling out with urgency that demanded immediate response. ”Corrupted beasts are invading us!”

He tried entering with Sirius into the safety that the light barrier promised. But his body bounced against the light as if it were a solid wall rather than luminous energy, the barrier rejecting him completely with a force that suggested his presence was fundamentally incompatible.

”DAMNED TRAITOR!” Orion screamed, pointing desperately toward the white barrier that refused him entry when he needed it most.

”No, idiot, you canʼt enter this one!” Sirius shouted back, understanding the problem immediately. ”But I also activated the black one! Try the black barrier!”

Orion spun around with movements made clumsy by exhaustion and injury, seeing the chamberʼs other half covered by the darkness barrier emanating from the pedestal where Lyzeaʼs heart rested. He threw himself toward it with his last remaining strength, faith and desperation driving him forward.

This time there was no resistance. The darkness accepted him, wrapping his wounded body in cold protection that felt oddly comforting despite everything. As if Lyzea herself were embracing him despite what heʼd done, still deceived by the false image of an exemplary husband heʼd always projected superficially.

The corrupted beasts arrived seconds later with a sound like an avalanche made of flesh and fury.

They filled the tenth chamber like a putrid flood, a biological tide that violated every sense simultaneously. Dozens first, then hundreds more pushing behind them, piling on top of each other in a twisted mass of corrupt flesh and deformed claws that exemplified what ʼevolutionʼ looked like when it went wrong. The smell of their mana was overwhelming to the enhanced senses of the celestial tiger tamers, corruptionʼs stench making breathing feel like ingesting poison.

They launched themselves against the barriers with single-minded determination that came from summoning rather than natural instinct.

The white light blazed intensely where corrupted creatures touched it, pushing them back, rejecting their existence with absolute denial. The darkness was more subtle in its protection, simply denying beasts entry as if space inside it didnʼt exist for their corrupted forms, as if they were trying to attack something in a different dimension.

Neither barrier yielded even a millimeter despite an assault that should have overwhelmed any conventional defense.

The corrupted beasts tried digging when their direct assault failed, their claws scratching at the ancient stone floor and walls with a fury born from frustration. But the stone here was different from chambers above, reinforced with ancestral mana that resisted their efforts with a durability that modern construction couldnʼt replicate.

Minutes passed in absolute tension that felt like hours. Orion standing in the darkness, gasping, bleeding from wounds that werenʼt healing fast enough. Sirius in the light, watching the horde with an expression impossible to read that might have been calculation or horror or some combination of both.

Finally, when it became clear the beasts couldnʼt penetrate barriers no matter how they tried, when the assault had continued long enough to confirm defenses would hold, Orion let himself fall sitting against the wall inside his protective darkness.

He looked at the potions on his 5 pedestals, bottles glowing with promise of healing and power. Five on his dark side. Five on Siriusʼs luminous side, resources divided by ancient builders who couldnʼt have imagined the context in which theyʼd be used.

From his side he took all five without hesitation.

One for himself first, the glowing liquid burning as it went down his throat but bringing energy and healing that his body desperately needed. The broken arm straightening with an unpleasant sound that made him grit his teeth, but a necessary pain that came with the restoration.

”What did you find?” he asked when he could speak again, his voice resonating strangely through the barrier separating them.

Sirius looked at him for a long moment, expression revealing some of the internal debate about how much to reveal. Then began explaining with careful words that omitted certain details.

”The door needs three cores... The pedestals where the hearts rest allow activating their barriers without wear cost. The Platinum spiritʼs core fits perfectly in the central indentation.”

He didnʼt mention the black egg that had descended with its pedestal, a secret he kept for himself already hidden in his personal dimensional space where Orion would never find it.

ʼFor Luna,ʼ Sirius thought while explaining surface details. ʼWhen she turns ten, having something different from our familyʼs symbol the Celestial Tiger will divert attention for a while. When sheʼs strong enough and older she can have both. This powerful beast at least will be hers, inheritance from her mother who canʼt give anything else right now...ʼ

But while thinking about his daughter, while corrupted beasts continued filling the chamber outside protective barriers with writhing mass that showed no signs of diminishing, Sirius felt something twisting in his chest that made breathing difficult.

Luna... his daughter waiting above in the mansion that might not be safe anymore.

If this wave was here in the depths...

How many more would have emerged on the surface? How many corrupted creatures were attacking his territory right now while he was trapped underground with some treasures that suddenly felt worthless compared to his daughterʼs safety?

He looked at Lykeaʼs white heart resting peacefully on its pedestal, the light barrier emanating from it without effort or wear, protecting him as sheʼd always done throughout their marriage. Constant protection even in death, even transformed into crystal, even reduced to essence rather than person.

Even Orion couldnʼt touch her or take her now, couldnʼt steal what had been placed where it belonged...

He made a decision...

”Iʼm leaving,” he said abruptly, interrupting his superficial explanation about the doorʼs requirements. ”I have to reach Luna!”

Heʼd fallen asleep hours after placing the heart on its pedestal. But when heʼd woken from that rest that should have been too brief, heʼd felt... better. Much better than he should have considering the battles faced and the energy expended.

His dual tamer constitution of light and darkness had allowed recovering connection with his beasts in record time, regeneration enhanced by complementary elements working in harmony. And maybe, just maybe, his wifeʼs warm light emanating constantly from the pedestal had healed him faster than normal, her essence providing succor even in her crystallized form.

He was again in condition to fight, to move, to do what was necessary. And Luna might certainly need him urgently if the surface was under attack while heʼd been pursuing uncertain hope underground.

Sirius invoked his black serpent with a mental command that brought shadows coalescing. The shadow form materialized, coiling around his body with the familiar weight of their partnership spanning years. He looked at the mass of corrupted creatures blocking the exit, calculating odds and paths.

And began jumping between them.

From shadow to shadow, dodging claws and fangs that sought his flesh, moving so fast corrupted beasts could barely track him before heʼd already passed. Behind him in the tenth chamber, Orion watched his brother disappear into the horde with an expression combining relief at being left alive with the potions and fear at being alone with nothing but an unknown barrier between him and death that came in corrupted forms.

He clutched the pedestal with Lyzeaʼs heart, drawing comfort from the protection from a wife heʼd never truly deserved, and wondered how long it would take before someone came to rescue him from the consequences of his own betrayal.

If anyone came at all.