Yet what happened next left the creature horrified.
As the chains wrapped around the core, completely covering it. The core suddenly shook, releasing waves invisible to both mortal and cosmic eyes.
As if blown by an unknown force, it crumbled and went back to being a drop of blood. The core then emitted a suction force, pulling the drop of blood into itself.
As soon as the blood entered the core, a heavy, ancient suppression fell upon the creature,
GRAAAAUUGGHHHH!!
The fox let out a guttural roar. It was clear the creature was in pure agony, evident by its thrashing and kicking in the cage.
"P-please, s-tttopp, I-i-it really h-hurts!" The creature spoke amidst its agony. Rahu remained silent, just observing it.
It seemed his [Dimensional Core] was more than just a Conduit. It hides far more secrets than he thought.
Now, looking at this creature, he felt absolute control over it. It felt as though control of this creature was ingrained in his blood. Though he didn't get its origins or memories.
He did learned a bit about this creature's race. These creatures are called Eclipse Beasts, and the most surprising thing was that they weren't from this realm!
The further information was hazy, as if something were censoring the content, "Guess the heavens rated it 18+." Rahu snorted and looked at the creature, which was still thrashing and screaming.
With a thought, the soul-numbing pain vanished, and the creature collapsed with a thud.
"T-thank you for the mercy." Trembling intensely, she squeezed those words out from her throat. The pain was too much to bear for her.
Rahu chuckled," Well, well, guess whose plan had backfired? You really thought you could fool me, huh?"
She intensely shook her head, denying the thought with every fibre of her existence. The pain really stung her very core.
Rahu raised his hand, a small dark-violet sword formed in his hand, and he gently sliced open the cage.
The creature walked out, her head down, still trembling." …Master"
"Good, it seems you know your place. I am kinda disappointed, I wanted to know more about my abilities, you know?" Rahu smirked.
"Eclipse Beast, huh, truly peculiar," Rahu observed her from head to toe. She was really strange, half black and half white.
"...So, are you going to explain to me or keep staring at her all day?" Vivianne chimed in.
"Sure, this is called an Eclipse Beast; it's really a fascinating creature. It contains both Light and Darkness elements…which can distort and render other elements useless, though I don't know about its other abilities, this one was truly amazing."
"Distort and render other elements useless!? Holy fuck, Damn, Rahu, you must have been born straight from Lady Luck's womb," Vivianne said, half-amazed and half jealous!
"Heh, jealous of your own boyfriend now?"
"Hmph, who's jealous of you?"
"So you don't deny being my girlfriend?"
"...S-shut up! Rascal"
After a bout of playful exchanges, Rahu glanced at the creature, uh, he hadn't named it yet, right?
"Hmm, we can't go around calling you a beast all the time; that's inconvenient. Henceforth, you shall be known as…Karma"
…
The group travelled through the forest and headed north-east, that is, the Divine Sword Sect. He had already delayed enough.
The journey took five days, passing through several villages and towns. Rahu was amazed; the people, food, and structures—all felt new to him.
And along the journey, Karma was quiet. She didn't mention the incident, and had profusely apologized all the way.
He had asked her if she could do something about her appearance, and indeed, she had. The white side of the fur slowly darkened, turning pitch black, matching the other side.
And her appearance now resembled a bit of a cat, just—she wasn't innocent.
"What had he done? How could such a restriction exist that directly binds one's soul, granting full authority over her being and her…existence.
"Karma, what's your strength level right now? After all, I have to know my dear meatshield's capabilities, right?" Rahu asked with an evil smirk. Though he didn't mean it literally, he couldn't deny he felt some perverted pleasure seeing her tremble.
"M-master! Karma has already apologized! Why are you being so mean?" Karma put on the most innocent face she could muster. And indeed it worked—against Vivianne.
"Who are you fooling here, brat? Now say, "How strong are you?"
Karma's ears went down, and with a low, quiet tone, "Although Karma had lost her strength and memories, she wasn't entirely helpless; her strength matches the Early stages of the Spirit Realm."
Hearing that, Rahu burst into laughter, "Vivianne, you were right indeed. It seems my Mommy is Lady Luck indeed."
He couldn't believe it. First, he had comprehended [Sword Aura] the other day, then he gained those wonderful gifts in the form of juicy caravans, and now—this.
Karma cursed inwardly, seeing her plans fail. Vivianne, too, was looking at Rahu, as if he were some ragtag, third-rate villain who suddenly acquired a protagonist halo.
"Oh, and I didn't have the time to ask, and I kinda forgot. How did you skip two entire stages or fundamental steps and directly acquire [Sword Aura]? And its color too is different," Vivianne asked the question that was eating her inside out.
Indeed, there were not so many beings who had comprehended [Sword Aura] aside from the Divine Sword Sect, of course.
Even she, a genius in the sect, had comprehended till [Sword Intent]. And this guy appears out of nowhere, and well, a few spars and meditation achieves it instantly? Like hello? Ms Justice?
"I guess I have a natural affinity for the sword, and about its color—even I am unsure," Rahu said, although he had a guess that was related to his physique, he wasn't entirely sure.
And he hadn't forgotten about the quest of the Divine Sword Sect. And he wasn't a fool; he had noticed the key here.
It seemed his physique wanted him to achieve the highest form of sword comprehension, and that was only possible through the Divine Sword Arts.
"Bahh, only learning the sword arts is a limitation, I will learn other weapons as much as I can."
He was a staunch believer in Versatility, never limiting himself.
Vivianne blinked and stared at Rahu with a deadpan expression. Affinity? What affinity?
Ignoring her expression, Rahu looked ahead. They had arrived at the borders of the Divine Sword City.