The Strange Cat from Fuuto

Before Beastmaster could finish speaking, Miku interrupted him, saying, "No need to say more, I understand what you mean!"

"I will do everything I say, so don't worry. I've also prepared some extra little things for you!" The tail was held high and stretched out in front of Beast Master. Beast Master looked closely and found a bunch of keys on it.

"What is this?"

"This is the key to an apartment in Torii-zaka. Consider it a donation to you, and also my initial gesture of sincerity. After all, it's inconvenient for someone living alone and exposed to the elements!"

"Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing!" Miku, who had stood up, grinned and said, "Welcome to Nyaxus!"

Chapter 45: Tonight, I'm going to hunt to my heart's content!

"Nyanxus?"

The beast master, puzzled, tilted his head, clearly finding Miku's words difficult to understand. Miku chuckled but didn't offer any further explanation.

"I'll provide you with a Phantom in the next couple of days, so just relax and wait in your apartment!"

"Hmm, don't you need my help?"

"Need not!"

"profound!"

Silence, a deathly silence.

"Aren't you planning to leave?" Miku asked softly, gazing at Beast Lord. Beast Lord scratched his head and said, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a bit?"

"No, Serena said you can't go in!"

"Why? That's so rude! Why won't they let me in? I've walked all this way and I'm really thirsty!"

"Salina said it's because you're ugly!"

"Oh, because I'm ugly!" The beast master's eyes widened in sudden realization: "You bastard, make her come out here and explain what you mean by 'I'm ugly'!"

But Miku had already stepped back inside and disappeared into the violet bushes, leaving only Beast Lord jumping up and down incessantly.

Miku, who had come from the flower bushes to the pavilion, jumped onto the stone table and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

"Has that guy left yet?"

"Not yet, he's very angry that we won't let him in!"

"I see!" Serena slowly turned the page and thought for a moment before saying, "Miku, I advise you not to associate too much with that ancient mage!"

"why?"

"Because those who get too close to wild beasts will one day be devoured by them!"

........

Night falls on Torii-zaka.

The night sky was deep and dark, without a single star. Large swaths of dark clouds obscured the moonlight. In the still night, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air.

Miku left behind a trail of afterimages in Blood Hunter mode, traversing most of Torii-zaka in the blink of an eye.

Standing atop Tokyo Tower, Miku looked down at Torii-zaka in the night, where neon lights still shone and a sparse flow of people moved about.

"Tsk, tonight is surprisingly good for a hunt!"

Miku pulled down his hood, crouched down, and began to scan Torii-zaka from his elevated position.

In addition to granting Miku powerful combat abilities, the Blood Hunter form also possesses numerous other capabilities.

For example, the ability to track the scent left behind by others.

Any creature with magical power will inevitably reveal its aura during its actions, and the aura mixed with magical power is as clear and distinct to Miku as a beast trail in the eyes of an old hunter.

Sometimes, the Phantoms also rely on their senses to locate wizards by sensing their presence.

Now Miku is simply doing the opposite, actively seeking them out.

Miku's figure, who had caught a glimpse of a faint light in his eyes, suddenly disappeared from Tokyo Tower.

"call!"

Without a sound, Miku's body appeared out of thin air in an unfinished building somewhere in Torii-zaka.

"Did you stay here for a while?"

Looking at the lingering blue-purple magical aura on the ground, Miku took a deep breath.

A putrid, foul stench began to fill Miku's nostrils, mixed with a hint of the pungent smell unique to wild animals.

Miku, rubbing the nose of his mask in disgust, clicked his tongue and said, "What is this thing's original form? It smells awful, and it also has a bit of the fishy smell unique to wild beasts."

"Fine, you're the one."

Miku stood up and took a deep breath, imprinting the scent in his mind for future tracking.

A moment later, Miku chuckled, a glint of light in his eyes, and said, "Found you! I didn't expect you to still be lingering around here!"

......

Under the dim yellow light of the streetlights, there was a small square table covered with a layer of delicate silk cloth, on which were brightly colored tarot cards with distorted patterns.

A bald man with a small mustache sat behind a table, skillfully shuffling tarot cards, while opposite him was a young woman with an impatient expression.

"Don't worry, little girl. The results will be out soon!" The bald man's voice was deep and menacing, like the whisper of a demon, filled with boundless malice.

"Forget it, I have absolutely no interest in this!" The young woman, who was about to leave, was grabbed by the bald man. "Young lady, the divination isn't over yet, how can you leave in such a hurry?"

"Let me go! I want to go home. Let me go now, or I'll call the police!"

The struggling young woman found that the other person's hand was like a vise, gripping her tightly, and she couldn't break free even a little bit.

"Don't rush!"

The bald man, a wicked smile on his face, chuckled and said, "The divination results are in!"

A tarot card was flicked out by the free hand. "Your destiny is..."

"Huh?" The bald man, his face showing astonishment, stared at the Wheel of Fortune on the tarot card and said incredulously, "How could it be a miraculous escape from a desperate situation?"

"Could it be...?"

The bald man's subconscious loosening of his grip gave the young woman a chance to escape. Disregarding her usual composure, the young woman stumbled and disappeared into the night.

Why don't you do a divination for yourself? Sometimes someone else's life could be a sign of your death!

The sudden sound from the streetlight startled the bald man.

"Who is there?"

The bald man, looking up at the streetlights, saw no trace of them, but then a faint, mocking voice rang out again: "If you don't want to come yourself, then I'll do it!"

"Let me see what your destiny is?"

This time, the sound came from the direction of his divination table. The bald man turned his head sharply and saw the same dim yellow light and the heavy darkness of the night as before.

"Wow, it's Death!" The voice rang out, and the card slammed onto the table with a crisp sound. "Snap!"

The bald man turned his head and his pupils contracted. There was a Death Tarot card on the table.

"Are you ready to face your destiny now?"

Miku appeared behind the bald man, speaking in a low voice, raising his long scythe high in his hand.

The bald man, sensing someone behind him, revealed a ferocious phantom on his face, but Miku was faster. His blood-red scythe left a scarlet trail in the air before slashing down heavily.

"what!!!"

Torii-zaka, a high-end apartment building.

Beast Master, who had just come out of the bathroom, had a towel on his head and a bottle of milk in his hand. He looked at the apartment in front of him with satisfaction.

The apartment has four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a study, and a gym. The huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room offer a view of the Tokyo Tower, which is faintly visible in the night sky, with just a slight upward glance.

"This is really nice! I've forgotten when I last took a bath!"

Wearing a bathrobe, Beast Lord was comfortably reclining on the living room sofa when suddenly the lights went out.

"what happens?"

The beastman leaped up quickly, flipped backward, and hid behind the sofa, cautiously looking around. At that moment, a figure carrying a gruesome human stump appeared in the living room.

"you are?"

"it's me!"

With a loosening of his grip, Miku, who had fallen to the ground, stepped back and sat on the sofa: "Here, this is your food rations for this week!"

Pointing to Miku, whom he had chopped into a human stick, his tone was devoid of any emotion. After subduing the manticore, he had tried to steal from him many times, but apart from a pile of clothes, the best he managed to get was his weapon. As for the magic core that Serena longed for, he hadn't even seen a trace of it.

This made Miku wonder if his face had turned that dark.

"Oh, you're really capable! You just mentioned it during the day and delivered it to me tonight. I knew I should choose you..."

"I won't say more. From now on, you just need to cooperate with me. I'll let you know what to do!"

Miku, who had interrupted Beast Lord, did not move. However, the lights suddenly dimmed, and when they came back on, Miku's figure had disappeared from Beast Lord's sight.

"So mysterious, it's really hard to figure out!"

Beast Lord, his eyes gleaming as he picked up the belt, stared at the dying manticore on the carpet, clapping his hands together with a crisp sound.

"Then I'll start eating!"

Miku stood quietly on the edge of the rooftop, feeling the night breeze, and the faint roar of a lion echoing in his ears brought a smile to his face.

"Now I have enough pieces!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the figure on the high-rise building vanished without a sound, leaving only the evening wind, as mournful as a ghost's wail, echoing through the city.

.......

"I wonder why the Sage summoned me in such a sudden way?"

With her mind preoccupied, Medusa quickened her pace and, after passing through the water-like barrier, arrived at the cave where the sage was hiding.

This time, the sage was unusual; he wasn't lying in bed, but instead had his hands behind his back, gazing quietly at the ground, lost in thought.