Chapter 51: The Master’s Reward

Zarek kept his distance as the group moved through the ruined streets, taking turns carrying the enormous body between them.

Nearly twenty minutes later, they left the commercial district and entered an industrial area.

Their destination was a large factory surrounded by high walls and metal fencing. Several sections of the fence had been damaged, but the entrance remained intact.

Armed men stood guard near the gate, while others patrolled the perimeter with weapons in hand.

The place was occupied.

More importantly, it looked organized.

The men carrying the monster exchanged a few words with the guards before being allowed inside. Nobody questioned their cargo, and nobody seemed particularly surprised to see them returning with something that large.

Zarek waited until the gate was about to close, then slipped through an opening in the damaged fencing farther down the wall.

So this is where you live.

He moved between abandoned machinery and stacks of industrial materials, keeping the building’s occupants out of sight whenever possible.

The factory was much larger inside than it had appeared from the street. Some sections remained filled with rusting equipment, while others had been cleared to make room for supplies and sleeping areas.

There were people everywhere.

Several carried rifles or other weapons. Others worked in groups, sorting equipment and moving crates. Many had the same dark veins.

Some looked worse than others.

He watched a man with swollen veins across his neck lift a heavy metal container without any visible strain. Another had discolored patches of skin along his jaw, the flesh looking almost rotten.

Yet neither appeared particularly weak.

Zarek continued following the group that had brought the monster inside. They were heading toward a separate section of the factory, away from the main activity.

He wanted to know what they planned to do with their cargo.

The answer came when they entered a large room.

Two enormous bodies lay on the floor.

Zarek stopped behind a stack of metal containers and studied them from his hiding place. Both creatures resembled the one carried in by the group, with thick limbs and unnaturally proportioned bodies.

Their heads had been cut off.

Dark blood had dried around their necks, staining the concrete beneath them.

Zarek’s attention sharpened.

He remembered the monster that had nearly crushed him inside the apartment building. After finally killing it, he had discovered two crystals within its body and collected both.

At the time, he hadn’t known what they were or whether they had any particular value.

Now, seeing these creatures with their heads removed, he began to suspect there was a connection.

Are they after the crystals?

He had no proof yet, so he stayed where he was and watched.

The men lowered their captive onto the floor beside the other bodies. Before they could begin working, the monster suddenly jerked violently.

One of its arms struck the ground hard enough to crack the concrete.

"Hold it down!"

The men rushed forward.

Two pinned its arms while others pressed their weight against its torso. The creature thrashed beneath them, its enormous body twisting as it struggled to break free.

Then it screamed.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!

The sound was horribly human.

Zarek watched the men tighten their grip as the creature’s cries filled the room. One of them nearly lost his footing when its leg kicked out, but another grabbed him before he fell.

"Don’t let it move!"

A man approached the creature’s neck with a heavy blade.

He hesitated when the monster turned its face toward him, its mouth opening in another desperate scream.

"Just do it!" someone shouted.

The man swung.

The blade struck the creature’s neck, but the first blow wasn’t enough. He raised it again and struck a second time. The others continued holding the monster down, struggling to keep its thrashing body still.

It took several more blows before the head finally came free.

The creature’s body convulsed beneath the men. One stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the severed head. A few seconds later, the body finally went still.

The men released their grip and stepped away, breathing heavily, their clothes stained with blood.

Zarek understood why they had needed so many people.

That monster was no easy target. Even with ten men working together, they had struggled to restrain it long enough to finish the job.

Then one of the men crouched beside the severed head and began searching through the unnatural flesh.

A moment later, he pulled something free.

A crystal.

Zarek leaned forward slightly.

He recognized its appearance immediately. It was the same kind of crystal he had collected from the monster he killed.

So his suspicion had been correct.

These people were deliberately hunting the creatures for their crystals.

The man cleaned the object with a piece of cloth before placing it inside a small container. One of his companions let out a tired laugh.

"Finally. Now that we’ve collected it, Master will definitely be happy and reward us."

"He’d better," another man muttered. "We lost three people bringing that thing back."

"Keep your voice down. You want to explain that to him yourself?"

The second man fell silent.

Zarek’s interest grew.

Master? Rewards?

Apparently, the crystals weren’t just trophies. Someone was organizing these hunts, and the people doing the dangerous work expected something in return.

He wanted to know what they received for bringing them back—and what the person in charge intended to do with the crystals.

The men finished cleaning up and carried the container away. Zarek waited before following them through another corridor, keeping behind the machinery whenever the passage opened into a more exposed area.

Eventually, they reached a set of imposing double doors.

Two armed guards stood on either side. When the returning group approached, one of them knocked and waited for a response from within.

"Come in."

The doors swung open.

Beyond them lay a spacious hall, its floor cleared of the clutter filling the rest of the factory. Several guards stood along the walls, and a few people waited near the far end of the room.

A broad man sat in a large chair, his thick arms resting on its sides.

He was an imposing figure, even among the people Zarek had seen that day. His heavy build filled much of the chair, and the men around him treated him with the sort of caution that came from knowing exactly who held authority.

The group approached and presented the crystal.

The broad man looked at it.

For the first time since entering the hall, he showed clear interest in something.

Then his gaze shifted toward the doorway.

Zarek remained concealed beyond the entrance, watching through the gap between the doors. He couldn’t tell what had caught the man’s attention, but the change in his expression was immediate.

The broad man slowly rose from his chair.

His eyes fixed on the entrance.

"You filthy lowers..."

The men carrying the crystal froze.

The broad man’s voice hardened.

"You have brought a rat."