Chapter 106: Leaving Clinic
Reinhard clenched his fist, feeling the ache of strained muscles and torn skin. Those would eventually heal, but currently there was nothing stopping movement except for the pain he could feel through his body.
Reinhard pushed himself up before he rushed back into the office through the hole created earlier, his boots crunching over debris and broken stone.
The desk remained mostly intact despite the chaos, files still scattered across its surface where he’d left them.
His hands moved quickly, sorting through papers despite the approaching footsteps he could hear in the distance. Workers shouting to each other, confusion and alarm evident in their voices.
A folder caught his attention, this one thicker than the others, marked with the Mekhko Research Group logo. He pulled it free and flipped it open, his eyes scanning rapidly.
Salem Witch Trials.
The header made his entire body go still before his eyes narrowed and he began reading it.
The report documented Mekhko researchers uncovering old books and journals kept by Salem Town elders decades ago. The entries described practices that had seemed made up until now.
The revered Phantasm Beast, the town that asked for help, that had provided "blessed blood" through some mechanism the journals didn’t fully explain. The elders would collect this blood in bowls, then have the sick and ill drink it.
Recovery was nearly instantaneous, with chronic illnesses vanishing within an hour. Injuries that should have taken months to heal were mended in a couple of hours.
Reinhard’s eyes widened in disbelief. "It can even heal sickness and diseases... And it works in just an hour..." His voice emerged as barely a whisper. "Just what kind of beast were they sacrificing those female Beast Masters to, and what was its purpose?"
The pattern was clear now.
The Phantasm Beast would answer their wishes and provide miraculous cures. All to make itself indispensable to the town’s survival. Each miracle created deeper dependence and justified further sacrifices.
And by making the town better, most of them will be unwilling to go back to how things were without the Beast’s help.
But why? What did the Beast gain from this arrangement?
Reinhard glanced toward the ceiling, his mind working through implications. "Could it be that the Beasts in the Throne of Myth can’t come down on their own..." He paused, reconsidering. "No, the question should be, why would they want to come down?"
The Throne of Myth is said to be where Beast Spirits existed beyond reality, a realm beyond all concepts. What could motivate beings of such magnitude to want to come down here?
Reinhard sighed, forcing speculation aside, and continued reading.
The Salem townspeople had experimented with other Phantasm Beasts they’d captured, testing whether their blood provided similar benefits. Some worked by showing regenerative properties or minor healing effects.
But most caused catastrophic reactions. Patients would begin shaking violently before blood began pouring from their mouths, eyes, and ears.
Death followed within minutes for the unlucky ones and permanent damage for those who survived.
Reinhard frowned, pieces connecting in his mind. The blood was incompatible with their bodies and led to damage to their body.
He could see why Mehko talked about the Beast Blood and Beast Spirit compatibility.
This was most likely to help with accepting or rejecting the foreign blood.
But what surprised him more was that the Salem townspeople had conducted these experiments at all.
Were they not just receiving wishes from the Beast but actually learning from it? Had the entity been teaching them and guiding their research toward some unknown goal? Or was it just their own idea to soon break away from the entity? Reinhard thought.
He flipped to the next page, and his eyes went wide. He leaned closer, reading the same passage twice to ensure he understood correctly.
The Salem townspeople realized the number of souls isn’t what actually summons the Beast, but more likely determines how much power the Beast will descend.
Reinhard blinked, his entire body trembling as realization crashed through him.
The Star Walking Beast in Mensis Town and the Gravity Star he’d just fought. Both were Tier E, Third Class, and relatively weak Phantasm Beasts in the world of Paradise.
But the memories he’d absorbed just now, the visions that had flooded his mind, had suggested that the Gravity Star roam beyond this planet. It shouldn’t have been something Reinhard and his friends could have defeated.
So how did they defeat it?
It’s because they weren’t fully manifested, their strength was limited. This meant the Sinners weren’t trying to simply summon Beast Spirit from the Throne of Myth.
But they were trying to summon them at full power onto the world.
But then Reinhard’s brows furrowed as he muttered. "Can 100,000 souls really be enough for a full-power Beast Spirit?"
The scale seemed impossible but then he recalled only 315 souls were needed to summon the Star Walker.
If 315 souls brought forth Phantan Beasts powerful enough to nearly kill him and his friends. Then what would something requiring 100,000 souls be capable of at full strength, and just how terrifying would it be?
Even if it wasn’t at full strength, ending the city should be nothing more than a breeze for it.
It was then that the footsteps grew louder as they were approaching the area rapidly.
Reinhard’s head snapped up, he couldn’t take the files as their absence would reveal someone had been here.
While he would love to bring it for evidence, it’s better to leave everything as found, maintain the illusion that only the Gravity Star’s escape had caused tonight’s chaos. Considering how important these documents were, he doubt Mehko and possibly Phineas would give up on looking for them.
Reinhard moved toward the nearest Beast cage with his hand reaching through the bars to loudly tap the sleeping creature inside.
The Werefang stirred, its eyes opening with groggy confusion that rapidly transformed into aggression as it registered the disturbance.
Reinhard moved to the next cage, repeating the action. Then the next and the next, each tap produced a reaction that set the beasts off as they started slamming against the cage bars.
Soon, dozens of Phantasm Beasts woke simultaneously, their combined noise creating a wall of sound that echoed through the underground facility.
Workers burst into view between the cages, their faces pale with panic. They scattered immediately, some rushing toward the beasts, and all of them began working together to get the Phantasm Beasts under control.
"They’re waking up!"
"Get the sedatives!"
"How many are active!?"
"Contain them before they break free!"
Time slowed down extremely with the panicking workers becoming statues mid-motion, their expressions locked in fear. The roaring beasts froze with mouths agape, claws extended, and their bodies pressed against bars.
Reinhard rushed past all of them, moving between workers, and slipped past them. Then he reached the elevator, entered it, and stepped inside just as Drasil Step ended after he pressed the button for level up.
Time returned to normal as the elevator doors closed, cutting off the chaos below. The mechanism engaged, cables pulling the cage upward with a steady mechanical rhythm.