SSS Class Mythic Beast Master

Chapter 404 404: Final Day (2)

They found an artist quickly.

It was a woman with paint-stained fingers and sharp eyes who agreed to do a group portrait. Her small studio wasn't far from the beach, easels and canvases scattered throughout the space that smelled of oils and turpentine.

The positioning took time.

The artist arranged them carefully with the taller people in back, shorter in front, everyone visible. Klein, Anna, and Anasha ended up front center, flanked by the Dream Club members. Behind them, the Cups formed a solid line, the Four of Hearts spread across one side, while Marie, Joseph, Brunhilde, and Reinhard took the other. Vanna stood at the edge, her silver hair and calm demeanor somehow fitting perfectly.

"Nobody moves!" The artist commanded, brush already in motion.

Staying still proved challenging.

Bruno's grin kept widening until Jessie elbowed him while Scáth fidgeted constantly, wine-colored eyes tracking everything. Klein and Anna exchanged whispers until Brunhilde's gentle "Shh" quieted them. The artist worked with practiced speed, her brush capturing faces and positions with quick, confident strokes.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped back. "Done, come see."

They crowded around the canvas.

The painting showed all of them, not perfectly realistic but capturing something essential. The joy on faces and the bonds between them. The sense of shared experience that had transformed acquaintances into friends and friends into something closer to family.

Marie's eyes shimmered slightly. "It's perfect."

Roana hums before asking. "Where are we going to put it?"

"Can't we leave it in our house?" Anasha asked with a grin.

The others blinked before smiling, and they nodded their heads. Leading Anasha, Anna, and Klein to cheer as they high-five each other to everyone's delight.

"Alright, let's head to the carriage." Brunhilde says, leading everyone to start moving with Bruno holding the painting.

The carriages waited at the villa, horses stamping impatiently.

Four vehicles to transport everyone back to reality, back to the Academy, and missions and responsibilities. Their bags were loaded quickly, and after the final checks of everything once more, they saw that nothing was forgotten. Last look at the beach that had hosted so much, such as their fun, celebration, revelations, and growth.

They climbed into carriages with familiar groupings. Reinhard found himself in the same one as before with Klein, Anna, Anasha, and Marie.

The carriage lurched into motion, the wheels rolled across cobblestone, then dirt roads heading away from the beach toward home.

Within minutes, exhaustion claimed its victims.

Klein slumped first, his head tilting sideways until it rested against Anna's shoulder. Anna lasted perhaps thirty seconds longer before her eyes closed, her curly black hair falling forward as she leaned into Klein.

Anasha tried to stay awake with her blue eyes, fighting the pull of sleep, but finally surrendered, her head finding Anna's other shoulder.

The three children formed a perfect triangle of unconsciousness, breathing in synchronized rhythm, and completely at peace.

Marie had been looking out the window, watching the countryside pass in a blur of green and gold. But the rocking motion and warm air worked their magic.

Her platinum hair shifted as her head tilted, finding Reinhard's shoulder with unconscious accuracy. Her breathing deepened, evened out, and then joined the three children in their chorus of sleep.

Reinhard hummed as he felt Marie's head while looking around at the four people sleeping in contentment.

He smiled softly, the expression genuine despite everything weighing on his mind. Klein's peaceful face showed no trace of the curse that had defined his life for years. Anna slept without knowing the fate that waited inside her. Anasha rested with a faint smile and the joy she had experienced from this trip.

Marie breathed easily, unaware of how much she had helped him relax and become more determined for the future.

"This was a good trip," Reinhard whispered to the sleeping carriage as his light blue eyes took in each face, memorizing this moment. "I hope we have a lot more in the future."

The carriage rolled on, and through the windows, the world passed in comfortable blur. And surrounded by sleeping friends and family, Reinhard allowed himself this moment of peace before the real work began.

...

A week passed.

The beach vacation became a cherished memory. Now they continued their summer vacation, which had Reinhard and the others traveling once more.

Hunting for their Beast Sigils.

Colin Forest stretched before them, ancient and wild. Reinhard, Brunhilde, Joseph, Marie, Scáth, Roana, Nikki, and Gran stood at the forest's edge where civilization gave way to true wilderness. Eight Beast Masters, seven of them were Second Class, while the one that was watching over them was a First Class Beast Master.

Roana held a map covered in notes; it displayed locations of specific Phantasm Beasts marked in detail. Her grey hair was pulled back severely, gold eyes scanning the documented information one final time. "The Light Snakes are approximately two hours north in Inner Area 3."

Marie wore her black shirt and black pants with boots, ready for rough terrain. "Two of us should fight together every battle, so all of us don't waste our magic." Her light-gold eyes swept across the group. "And we can rest after every battle."

Roana nodded, her pale features showing approval. "That would be good, it would also help that most of us aren't exhausted if something unexpected happens. Even with Brunhilde, we at the very least shouldn't be a burden to her."

Scáth pouted as her wine-colored eyes showed disappointment at the cautious approach, but she nodded reluctantly. "Well, we can't be too careful in this forest."

Once they all agreed, everyone started moving into Colin Forest's depths.

The forest tightened around them as they traveled north. Trees grew older, trunks thicker, branches reaching overhead to create a canopy that filtered sunlight into shifting patterns. Moss covered bark, rocks, and fallen logs.

Brunhilde expanded her senses, covering a wide range of the forest. She noted some figures around but sensed their emotions and souls, which displayed they weren't hostile.

Two hours of steady travel brought them to Inner Area 3.

The forest here felt different. It was more alive with Phantasm Beasts moving around the area, paying them no mind.

"There," Roana pointed toward a clearing ahead where light seemed to gather and concentrate unnaturally.

They approached carefully.

The clearing opened before them, displaying a circular space perhaps thirty feet across where sunlight pooled like liquid gold.

And within that light, ten serpents moved.

Light Snakes.

They were beautiful and terrifying in equal measure. Each serpent seemed to glow from within, scales catching and refracting light in impossible ways. They looked less like physical creatures and more like solidified radiance given serpentine form. Their bodies move through the air and across the ground with movements that leave afterimages.

One snake's head swiveled toward the group. Its eyes were pure white luminescence. Then it hissed, and all ten snakes turned as one.

"Let's go!" Roana commanded.

The group stepped back while Marie and Roana rushed forward.

Marie's wings manifested behind her back, two golden appendages that gleamed with condensed light. Longinus appeared in her hands, the crimson-gold spear spinning once before settling into ready position.

Roana's transformation was more subtle as her skin shifted toward pale blue-white as ice gathered around her form. The spear Jötnarbrjótr materialized in her grip, black ice mixed with metal, radiating cold that made breath visible.

The Light Snakes attacked.