Wonderful Insane World-Chapter 89: Annoying Beast

Knowing the dangers of their environment, they didn’t linger near the corpse. And besides, none of them would have considered eating a creature with a humanoid shape. They recovered the anima gem and quickly left the area.

But this time, they didn’t return to their hideout.

Maggie had suggested they move straight toward their next target, and the group shifted in another direction, pushing through the mist into a more remote zone.

The gem was taken by Élisa. She didn’t ask. She didn’t explain — she took it as a given. A quiet but clear way of asserting her place in the trio’s balance.

The first gem, taken from a second-rank awakened beast, had gone to Maggie. The second, to Dylan. It only made sense that this one would go to Élisa.

She slipped it into her pocket without a word and continued walking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Dylan followed silently, making sure to keep some distance between himself and Maggie, who was leading the way.

"She’s definitely terrifying..."

He caught himself thinking that more and more often.

The more they fought together, the more he felt their cohesion improve. The three of them were becoming more effective, each in their own way. But Maggie... she was something else. She wasn’t just getting better. She was sharpening.

As if every fight honed her blade — or as if she and her weapon were closing the distance between themselves and danger until they became one and the same.

It wasn’t just her strength. It was her will. Razor-sharp. Unshakable. Absolute.

That’s what made her terrifying.

At least to Dylan.

Élisa, on the other hand, didn’t seem to fear her. Not even a little. And that... that sometimes disturbed Dylan. She was the weakest of the trio — at least on paper — and the most foreign to their world. His commanding officer should have been a monster in her eyes.

But no.

She spoke to Maggie like she was just another girl with an axe, and not a creature carved from war itself.

They walked for a long time in silence.

The fog thickened as they entered a denser part of the cemetery. Here, the stelae were older, gnawed by time — some half-buried, others leaning as if trying to collapse into themselves. The weapons planted in the earth were different too — larger, older, some carved with forgotten glyphs.

Dylan found himself wondering how many souls had been sealed here. How many warriors, how many monsters, how many things that were dead... or not.

"We’re close," Maggie murmured without turning.

Her voice didn’t carry. It just slid through the air, absorbed by the mist like a warning.

Élisa, bringing up the rear, nodded without a word. She’d already drawn one of her daggers. Not to fight, but to feel the air. The mist clung to it differently here. Heavy. Charged.

Dylan felt it too.

Not fear, but tension — like the ground itself was holding its breath.

And then, they saw it.

Their next target.

The creature wasn’t hiding. It rested atop a mound of broken stones, unmoving, posed almost like a statue. It looked like a massive feline — a monstrous hybrid between a leopard and a lizard, with black fur mottled by plates of red scales. Its tail ended in a long, sharp bony blade. It was asleep. Or pretending.

Dylan froze, just like the others.

"Third rank again," Élisa whispered. "But this one..."

"...is different," Maggie finished. "It knows we’re here. It’s waiting."

They exchanged a quick glance, thick with silent adrenaline.

This time, they wouldn’t have the element of surprise. A shame, really. That would’ve made things easier. But this... this would be a pure fight.

"How annoying," Dylan muttered.

And deep inside, he felt that warmth again. That terrible urge. That fire he couldn’t name.

He drew a breath. The machete in his hand vibrated slightly — not from energy, but from anticipation.

"Shall we?" he asked quietly.

Maggie turned her head, an almost imperceptible smirk on her lips.

"We shall."

⸻

This time, they advanced together, a triangle formation, each emerging from a different side to trap the creature between them.

And yet, the creature didn’t react until they were close enough. Like a true predator, it bared its fangs in a low growl. Then, once Dylan entered range, it snarled louder — and its tail, ending in that bony blade, snapped toward him.

Dylan was shocked to dodge it.

He mimicked what Maggie had done earlier — pushed off the balls of his feet and launched himself backward just in time. The tail sliced through the air in an arc, so close to his throat that it traced a thin line that welled up with a single drop of blood.

Instinctively, he touched his neck. The cut was shallow. But the message was clear: one millimeter closer, and his head would’ve been gone.

And that was just the beginning.

Maggie was the first to respond.

The moment the tail cracked the air, she sprang forward, pivoted, and swung her axe in a wide arc toward the creature’s flank. The strike wasn’t meant to kill — just to provoke a reaction. And it worked.

The beast coiled in on itself, muscles rippling beneath fur and scale. It dodged with a tight leap to the side, but the axe still grazed its hind leg, slicing a thin line that earned a snarling grunt — more irritated than hurt.

It spun immediately, fangs bared, and leapt in the opposite direction.

But Élisa was already there.

She appeared like a shadow — fast, precise. A dagger shot forward, aimed straight for the creature’s left eye. It turned its head at the last second, and the blade sank into its ear, drawing a hoarse cry.

She didn’t stop.

Another dagger slipped from her sleeve. She closed in at a blistering pace, sliding beneath a stone stele, aiming low — going for the knee joint.

But this time, the beast responded.

Its tail, like a serpent, whipped back through the air. Élisa had to leap back, the blade slicing through the space where she’d been. She felt it graze the air by her side — barely missed.

"It’s fast..." she hissed through her teeth.

"And smart," Maggie growled, already preparing to strike again. "It’s analyzing our patterns."

Dylan, still a few paces back, stood upright, hand pressed to his throat.

"Then we’re going to have to stop thinking like prey."

The three of them shifted again, slowly closing in, surrounding the beast as it turned in place, fangs bared, breath harsh.