BXBX NOVEL Chapter 399 Feral Madness
The alerts floated in his sight as he finished feasting off of the last hobgoblin. Keng wiped his mouth. The rage-anger haze Keng was still there. He felt the insatiable hunger. He stood up from the now dead corpse of a female hobgoblin and looked around. He had almost destroyed the entire cave. Debris and dust was everywhere and the rage-anger haze was making it hard for him to focus.
Keng didn't know about the downfall to his 'live feasting' and if he did, he wouldn't have been able to control himself, anyways. The young Fox Spirit ended acting upon his primal instincts. Feast or be feasted. He devoured all the souls from the hobgoblins and casually moved to the back. There was a crude door that was half falling off. He tore it open and looked around.
Clothes, coins, weapons, they were all here. He mindlessly grabbed his weapons and began to turn when he managed to think a single thought.
'Take it all.'
He turned back and grabbed some crude hobgoblin clothes and put them on. He donned the leather armor. If he was able to think straight, he'd call it 'crude.' He grabbed a bag and dumped the coins in it and whatever weapons were left in it and threw it over his shoulder. He needed to get out and find something else to feast on.
He was hungry.
It was the middle of the night when he shoved his way out of the cave. The cave crumbled and the earth collapsed inwards. Dust flew past him as he let out a cough. When the dust settled, he continued. He didn't know where he was. Keng didn't know where he was going. His mind was blank. He just felt… hungry.
He wandered for quite some time and found himself at the Tomb. He stared at the marble and mossy cobblestone building. There was a light coming through the front side. Keng wandered over and looked at the steps, noticing the cracked door.
Jyu'so sat on the steps looking at him as Keng registered who it was.
"You're back. Empty handed and…" Jyu'so stopped a sniffed the air. "Why do you smell like blood? Did something happen?" The small man stood up and started down the steps. Keng took a step back. "What's there to be afraid of, Silver one? Are you okay?"
Keng took another step back.
'He can help.' Keng thought. His mind went blank and he started to turn. Jyu'so's eyes narrowed and he blurred from his spot, appearing in front of Keng.
"Where are you going? You came back with nothing but a sack of coins and weapons?" Jyu'so pointed. "What happened?" Keng would've liked to tell Jyu'so what happened but the effects of his feast was still active. Jyu'so noticed a glint in Keng's eyes and sighed. "Feral. That's what you are."
Keng swung the bag at Jyu'so. Jyu'so blurred as the bag flew off to the side. He appeared in front of Keng as Keng swung downwards at him. He wanted to get away from Jyu'so. Jyu'so would stop his feast and he would grow hungrier if he didn't satiate it.
"Enough, boy. You need to stop. If you continue feasting, you'll grow more feral!" Jyu'so warned him. Jyu'so dodged to the side, blurring into smoke as he jabbed to fingers along Keng's arm. Keng's right arm went limp as light exploded from his left hand. Keng swung as Jyu'so easily moved and dodged. He didn't seem to mind the light at all. His blinks weren't being interrupted with the immense amount of light.
Jyu'so went for another set of jabs along Keng's other arm. Keng managed to pull away, feeling part of his arm immediately numb. Keng slid backwards stopping short of the steps. The door opened and Lily poked her head out.
"Elder, what's— Keng! You're back!" Lily exclaimed.
"Lily, don—"
"What's up? Where did you go?" Lily asked running down the steps.
"Lily don't get near him! He's feral!" Jyu'so shouted. Keng turned and slammed his arm into the side of Lily. Lily went flying collapsing and rolling down the steps. "Boy, you've made a grave mistake! Stop it at once!" Jyu'so billowed in shadows as he appeared right in front of Keng in an instant and grabbed him.
"Let… go!" Keng shouted. Light exploded off of him. Jyu'so grunted as his grip tigthened. He tossed Keng with one hand and slammed him onto the ground. The ground cracked around Keng as Jyu'so stood on top of him.
"Shadow Art: Binds of Night." Jyu'so spoke. Shadowy chains shot from beneath Keng and wrapped themselves around the feral boy. Keng began to scream and demand he be let go. Lily groaned in pain as she raised herself up. "Are you okay, Pink one?" Jyu'so asked.
"W-what happened to him? Why is he like that?" Lily asked. She was confused and scared. She scooted away from Keng. She didn't want to be caught in another surprise attack.
"Don't be afraid of him, Lily. Do you remember being taught about what happens when a young Fox Spirit feasts?" Jyu'so questioned.
'Was this really the time for questioning?' Lily asked herself. She wracked her brain and thought about it for awhile.
"Y-yeah. F-feral state is, uh… It's an effective way of growing your skills and souls… Fox Spirits with t-the capability of doing it usually face the consequences of insatiable hunger. D-d-d-does he have that?" Lily recalled the information, scotting farther away.
"What's wrong, sir?" Gorrum asked coming out of the door. He noticed Jyu'so wass standing on Keng as Keng screamed and tried to get out of the binds. The recognizable glint in Keng's eyes instantly made Gorrum understand the situation. "Lily, are you okay?" Gorrum immediately turned his attention to Lily. He ran down the steps and knelt next to her.
"I-I-I… I'm fine… Why is he feral though? Did something happen?!?" Lily asked.
"It's fine. Elder has this under control." Gorrum looked at Jyu'so.
"Tell me, boy, what happened to you? Why are you like this?!?" Jyu'so asked. Keng's screams and shouts made no sense. He just sounded like a mad animal. "Tell me. That's an order." The familiar glint in Keng's eyes swirled and his grunting and shouting stopped.
"Hobgoblins…" Keng forced out in a stutter. "T-they… captured me… The Shadow one… He caught me by surprise… My head… was hurting and… they… they… Wanted my… seed." Gorrum and Jyu'so's faces grew serious. Tears fell from Keng's eyes. A chill made Jyu'so feel his goosebumps. He shuddered and crouched on top of the boy. "I… I don't… angry… rage… I…"
"Sleep, child." Jyu'so waved his hand over Keng's face. Keng immediately went slack. The tears still fell and Jyu'so sighed. "Take Lily inside. I'll deal with the boy. Come to Keng's room when you're done, Gorrum."
"Y-yes, sir. C-come, Lily. Let's go." Gorrum slowly helped Lily up.
"What does he mean by seed…?" Lily asked.
'She's too young to understand that… That's good.' Gorrum and Jyu'so thought.
"Come. He needs rest. Let's give him rest." Gorrum turned her and they walked up the steps. "Remember, Lily, it wasn't Keng's fault of what happened tonight. If you're scared of him for awhile, Elder and I will do our best to make sure you're safe. Just remember that Keng didn't mean to do what he did to you, alright?"
"W-wh… Okay…" Lily nodded in confusion. After Jyu'so saw the two enter the Tomb, he stepped off Keng and flicked his finger up. The shadows lifted him and the floating Keng began to follow Jyu'so's side. Jyu'so moved to Keng''s room, opening it. He sighed and shut the door. He left Keng floating in the middle of the room and shook his head.
'A Shadow hobgoblin… How is that possible? Did one of them get into something and evolve? Shadow hobgoblins shouldn't be around here… but this place was cursed. Could it have affected and drawn one of them in?' Jyu'so questioned. He waved his hand across Keng and Keng's night clothes flashed on him and all of his things that were on him, dropped to the ground.
The door opened and Gorrum stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him and looked at Jyu'so.
"He said 'seed' right?" Gorrum asked.
"Yes." Jyu'so nodded. He watched the floating Keng move over to the bed and lower into it. The bed cover went over Keng and the binds shackled themselves onto Keng and linked to the ground. "What bothers me more is the Shadow hobgoblin he mentioned. How could a hobgoblin gain that much power to evolve into a Shadow?"
"Sir, what're we gonna do? Should we make sure they're dead?" Gorrum asked.
"Judging from how he was acting, we can assume he probably feasted on all of those hobgoblins." Jyu'so sighed. "But I guess we should double-check that."
"And about the girl…"
"We make sure she feels safe. If Keng has to be away from her for some time, we shall do what we need to do. The children, regardless if you're human, hybrid, Fox Spirit, harpy, etc., are all taught the same thing within a Fox Spirit society. That Feral Madness is serious and isn't really the person."
"But at the same time it is, sir…" Gorrum added. "What are you orders then?"
"You can track where he was, right?" Jyu'so looked at Gorrum. Gorrum nodded. "Then find where he went. Find the hobgoblins and make sure they're all dead. If they aren't, kill them all. The souls are yours to have after all. I will have to dig into his head a bit."
"S-sir, are you sure?" Gorrum asked. Jyu'so gave him a serious look of confusion.
"Why are you worried? Go." Jyu'so ordered. Gorrum bowed and disappeared. Jyu'so let out a sigh and came closer to Keng. "I'm sorry, Silver one. I must dig into your head for but a moment."