Anomaly of Fate
Chapter 79: What Remains of the Beast

Chapter 79: What Remains of the Beast

Velren barely felt his knees hit the dirt. His limbs screamed in protest, and his muscles were trembling from the sheer strain of the battle. His breath was ragged, each inhale dragging through his throat like sandpaper. His body swayed, exhaustion weighing down on him like a collapsing mountain.

The fight was over. The wyvern was dead. And yet, he couldn’t rest.

"Job’s not done..."

Nico was still ahead, and he had wasted enough time already.

With a sharp inhale, Velren forced himself to move. His hand tightened around the hilt of his katana, using the weapon as a crutch to push himself upright. His legs wobbled, threatening to give out again, but he gritted his teeth and locked his stance. He was not going to collapse here like some half-dead fool.

He turned, ready to press forward—

Then, his gaze flickered back to the wyvern’s lifeless form.

’Just maybe...’

Velren exhaled through his nose. He took a slow step forward, approaching the fallen beast. The scent of charred flesh and fresh blood thickened in the air as he neared its motionless frame. His fingers flexed, adjusting his grip on his katana as he stood over the massive corpse.

Without hesitation, he drove his blade into the wyvern’s hide—

And this time, the blade sank through.

"Huh... would you look at that?"

Velren’s eyes narrowed. Earlier, during their battle, his katana had barely been able to scratch its thick scales. Every strike had been met with maddening resistance, forcing him to rely on this new echo of his to deal any real damage. But now? His blade slid in as if the wyvern’s defenses had vanished.

He pressed the hilt down further, the steel cutting through sinew and flesh with little resistance.

Why?

Was it just because it was dead? Or... did its Ka—its very essence—have something to do with this?

Velren frowned. It... sounded like it made sense. The wyvern’s immense durability had to be more than just physical toughness. Creatures like this—powerful beings—weren’t bound by normal rules. Their existence was intertwined with their Ka, with their life force shaping their very nature. And now that its Ka had fully dispersed... its once-impenetrable hide had lost its strength.

It was a strange, almost unsettling truth—but there was no time to ponder it further. He had a job to finish.

He continued to slice through the thick, scaled exterior, parting sinew and muscle with a wet, sickening rip. He had done this before—gutting game after a hunt, carving through skin to reach the organs beneath.

Well... never on something this massive, but the process should be the same, right?

He stepped onto the beast’s side, using his weight to help widen the incision. The heat from its dying body radiated against his skin, but he ignored it, working quickly. His hands were steady, his movements precise. He reached inside, pushing past layers of thick muscle, viscera clinging to his arms. The warmth of the beast’s insides was unsettling, but Velren had long since learned to stomach it.

His fingers brushed against something firm. Heavy.

There.

With a grunt, Velren dug deeper, wrapping his hands around the prize he sought—the wyvern’s heart.

It was unlike anything he had seen before. Massive, easily the size of a human torso, yet unnervingly compact. Its surface was slick with fresh blood, pulsing faintly with residual heat. The texture was rougher than he expected, the veins stretching across it thick and dark, like deep roots entrenched in ancient soil. Even in death, the organ seemed to hum with lingering power, as if the beast’s essence had not yet fully faded.

Velren tightened his grip.

With a sharp yank, he severed the remaining connections, tearing the heart free from the corpse. A fresh wave of blood splashed over his arms, thick and warm, the scent filling his nostrils. He exhaled sharply, shaking off the excess before adjusting his hold on the organ.

He stared at it for a long moment.

Then, he smirked.

"Now then..."

***

The mountain pass stretched endlessly before him, winding through jagged cliffs and steep inclines. The scent of blood still clung to his clothes, mixing with the crisp air of the highlands.

Beside him, wrapped in thick cloth, was the wyvern’s heart. Even concealed, its weight was unmistakable—a grotesque trophy of the battle he had barely survived.

His boots crunched against the dirt path, the rhythmic sound keeping him grounded as he pushed forward. The distant call of birds echoed through the ravine, a stark contrast to the chaos that had unfolded not long ago.

Then, in the distance, a familiar sight—

The carriage.

And with it, a certain old man pacing anxiously beside the horses, his usual calm demeanor replaced by restless energy.

Velren exhaled through his nose, curling his tired lips into a small smirk.

’Didn’t take you for the worrying type, old man...’

As he got closer, Nico suddenly froze. His sharp eyes locked onto Velren’s approaching form, widening in alarm.

"Kid—!" The old man broke into a hurried pace, rushing toward him. His gaze flickered over Velren’s disheveled state, the dried blood staining his clothes, the sluggish way he carried himself.

"Are you alright?"

Velren let out a breathy chuckle, raising his fingers into a lazy peace sign. With a tired grin, he simply said:

"All good."

Nico’s brows furrowed. He clearly didn’t buy it, but he didn’t press further. Instead, he exhaled sharply, shaking his head.

"You damn near gave me a heart attack," the old man grumbled.

Velren shrugged.

"Thought you would’ve continued on without me."

"Kid, if you didn’t show up in the next few minutes, I would’ve rushed there and gotten help," Nico said flatly, crossing his arms. "What the hell happened back there?"

"Had a... little disagreement with the local wildlife.

Nico narrowed his eyes.

"You better not be downplaying whatever reckless nonsense you just pulled."

Velren simply shrugged again. He wasn’t about to go into detail about the wyvern, the battle, or the absurdity of his new Vital Echo. Not now, at least.

Nico sighed, rubbing his temples. His gaze drifted downward—

And then froze.

His expression shifted, his sharp eyes locking onto the bundled object at Velren’s side.

"...Kid," the old man started with a low, cautious voice.

"What is that?"

Velren followed his gaze, glancing at the wrapped-up organ resting against his hip.

"Wyvern heart."

For a long moment, Nico simply stared at him. Then, his head jerked up so fast it looked like he might snap something. His eyes widened with something between disbelief and horror.

"...Does that mean..." His voice was low, as if he didn’t quite want to finish the question. His throat was bobbed as he swallowed.

"You killed it?"

"Yeah," he said simply. "I did."