"Quick! Over by that big tree!" Blackie urged, his usually calm voice laced with panic. "There's a hole at its base, sneak in now!"
Without questioning the urgency in Blackie's tone, Aziel ran toward the massive tree, its presence dominating the immediate landscape.
The tree was indeed enormous, its trunk easily as wide as a carriage, its bark a tapestry of age and weather.
Reaching the base, he spotted the hole, cleverly concealed behind a tangle of thick, gnarled roots.
It was barely visible, a dark maw hidden within the shadows.
Aziel didn't hesitate, his lithe body easily slipping into the cramped confines of the earthen burrow.
The space was tight, barely enough to accommodate his entire body, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves.
Dust and forest soil filled his nostrils, a gritty reminder of his precarious hiding place, but he ignored the discomfort, focusing on the sounds outside, straining to hear the pursuit that had sent them scrambling for cover.
"What is that, Blackie?" he whispered softly, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.
His heart beat rapidly, a strange feeling began to envelop him.
"Wait," Blackie replied shortly. "Look out of the hole."
Aziel peeked out through the gaps of the tree roots.
His eyes widened instantly.
Not far from his hiding place, only about fifty meters away, stood an incredibly bizarre creature.
The creature loomed, towering at nearly three meters tall. Its upper body was built like a muscular bear, but its long, spindly legs resembled those of a deer.
From its left shoulder sprouted a pair of fluffy owl wings, incongruously soft against its monstrous form, while its right shoulder bore the razor-sharp claws of a dragon. Its arms were unnaturally long, its bony fingers twitching and clawing at the empty air as if searching for something unseen.
But the most horrifying part—the thing that sent a primal chill down the spine—was its head. Not just a grotesque parody of a human, but an actual human head, twisted and deformed. Its bulging eyes twitched unnaturally, its mouth stretched into an unnatural grin, revealing rows of sharp, needle-like teeth.
Suddenly, the creature began to spin in place, wildly crashing through the bushes while kicking small stones into the air.
It acted like a madman, clearly insane. Its mouth moved, emitting disturbing sounds.
"PAPA!!" the creature repeatedly shouted in a hoarse voice. "Where are you, Papa? PAPA, ANSWER ME!"
It kept rambling, the same words repeated over and over, interspersed with frightening laughter and confusing roars of anger.
A chill of surprise and fear crawled up Aziel's spine.
What kind of creature is that?
He hadn't heard any noises earlier. Where did this creature come from?
"Blackie," Aziel whispered again, his voice almost inaudible. He didn't want the creature to hear him. "What is that thing?"
"That's a Crazy Beast," Blackie answered. The ring's voice remained calm, with no hint of whisper, since only Aziel could hear it.
"Crazy Beast?" Aziel frowned.
Just the name was enough to make him feel uneasy.
"Yes, Crazy Beast," Blackie repeated, the smooth, obsidian surface of the ring gleaming faintly in the dim light filtering through the tree's roots. "They're a bit different. Not like the Beasts that I've told you before."
Aziel peered cautiously through the gaps in the roots, watching the creature continue its erratic dance.
Its roars echoed through the trees, a disturbing counterpoint to the birdsong he'd heard earlier.
"Beasts?" Aziel mumbled, the question more to himself than Blackie. He strained his memory, trying to recall anything the ring had mentioned before.
"Remember what I told you about Beasts earlier? The ones that evolved from Mana?" Blackie prompted, its voice a low hum against Aziel's ear. "Beasts are a natural evolution, fueled by the world's Mana. They're part of its ecosystem. But these creatures? They're different. In fact, they don't even belong to this world."
The Crazy Beast paused in its frenzied spinning, its deformed human face tilting upward as if sniffing the air.
A low growl rumbled in its chest, shaking the ground slightly.
Then, it suddenly let out a shriek, a sound that was part animalistic rage, part human despair. It resumed its frantic movements, its claws tearing at the undergrowth.
Aziel watched, fascinated and terrified, as the creature continued its erratic display. It seemed to have no goal, no direction, just pure, unadulterated chaos.
"So... this creature... it's not from here?" Aziel asked, a shiver tracing its way down his spine.
Blackie remained silent for a moment.
"No, it's from somewhere else," it finally said. "About 20 years ago, deep chasms suddenly appeared all over the world. People called them the Abyss. No one knows where they came from or what lies at their bottom. But these Abysses weren't just in one place—they were scattered across the entire continent."
"And it is from the Abyss that Crazy Beasts emerge," Blackie added, its voice laced with an unsettling calmness. "As you can see, they are indeed..." Blackie paused, searching for the right word, a flicker of hesitation crossing its form. "...bizarre."
"Bizarre?" Aziel repeated, his gaze unwavering as it remained fixated on the Crazy Beast outside.
The creature continued its erratic pacing, its disjointed mutterings punctuated by its desperate calls for 'Papa'.
"That's all you have to say? That thing isn't just bizarre, Blackie. It's terrifying! Creepily terrifying. Or terrifyingly creepy. Whatever works."
"It is," Blackie agreed, its tone somber now. "All Crazy Beasts are indeed scary. They each possess a unique appearance, resembling a chaotic amalgamation of various animals but with human heads, creating a sight that is both grotesque and fascinating. Their behavior mirrors that of madmen, unpredictable and wild. Sometimes they're filled with rage, other times they wear a sorrowful expression, laughing one moment, crying the next without warning."
Aziel swallowed hard, the lump in his throat a reminder of the anxiety that gripped him.
The creature's erratic movements and haunting calls sent chills down his spine, amplifying the sense of dread that hung heavy in the air.