The Psychopathic Beast Emperor-Chapter 53: Actions of a Survivor

Bahamut knelt by the stream and set to work without wasting a single moment. He rolled his sleeves up and submerged the Treant Bear’s meat into the cold running water, washing away the dirt, blood, and clinging leaves with methodical motions. His hands moved with practiced efficiency, fingers finding seams in muscle and sinew, separating what could spoil from what would last. Ren sat on a rock nearby, paws tucked under his chin, watching the current with idle curiosity.

Behind him, Exildra shifted weakly.

"...That bunny," she said softly.

Bahamut did not look up. "And you..."

She ignored him.

"It is not... a normal companion beast," she continued, her voice thin but stubborn. "The way it looks at people, the pressure it gives off... it even speaks."

Ren’s ears twitched, annoyance almost clouding his expression. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Exildra then swallowed her breath, hitching.

"I feel the essence of Beast Arts," she murmured. "Advanced beast arts. The kind that blurs the line between contracted beasts and cultivated entities. Most do not even know they exist anymore. They think beasts are either tools or threats."

Bahamut paused the cleaning for half a heartbeat.

"You know a lot..." he said quietly.

She let out a weak, breathless laugh that turned into a severe cough. Blood spotted her lips, some falling onto her clothes.

"I come from a family that collects knowledge the way others collect weapons and relics. You can’t grow up around that and stay ignorant.

That bunny... It’s not bound to you in the normal way. It chose you."

Ren turned his head slowly toward her, red eyes narrowing just a fraction.

Exildra’s voice dropped further, fading. "And you... You’re not using normal beast companion techniques. You’re using something more dangerous and older... I can tell."

"Stop talking," Bahamut said, sharper now.

She tried to say more, but the words came out slurred. Her head drooped forward. The sack of meat slipped from her lap and thudded softly onto the ground.

Bahamut straightened instantly. He quickly moved towards her, reaching her side in two strides. He crouched, his fingers brushing her neck, then her shoulder. She was burning... obviously a fever.

"Tch!"

He turned and moved fast. Dry branches snapped under his grip as he gathered wood, stones, and bark. In moments, a small pit was formed. He struck two stones with quick and precise movements, something he’d done for so long that it had been ingrained. Sparks leapt into the waiting tinder, causing smoke to start leaking out.

Fire caught, small at first... then it became steady. The orange glow crept across the forest floor as evening shadows stretched longer. In no time, a large enough fire was created.

"Sorry," he muttered as he returned to her side and knelt beside her, looking at the place where blood had stained the most.

He grabbed the front of her ruined clothes and tore them open at the wound without hesitation. Fabric ripped away, exposing blood-matted skin and torn flesh.

The smell hit him immediately, strong, smelling of rot and heat. His nose scrunched up in disgust, while his jaw tightened.

"This is infected," he said flatly.

Exildra barely reacted. Her eyes were half-lidded and unfocused.

Bahamut slid one arm behind her back and the other under her knees and lifted her again, carrying her straight into the stream. The cold water splashed around his calves as he lowered her carefully until she was half submerged in it, the wound just beneath the surface.

Exildra gasped weakly as the coldness of the water bit into her.

"Stay awake," he ordered in a deep voice.

He then dipped his hands into the water and began washing the wound. Blood clouded the stream instantly, swirling away in dark ribbons. He pressed, wiped, and flushed again. Pus bled out with the water as Exildra cried out, her fingers clawing at his arm, but he did not stop.

"Bite this," he said, shoving a folded strip of leather into her mouth, which she obeyed without protest, her teeth clamping down hard as her body shook.

Bahamut’s movements grew faster and more forceful. He washed until the water ran clearer, till the skin was raw and angry red, but the heat did not subside.

His expression darkened.

"This won’t be enough," he muttered.

He then glanced at the fire, then at the Treant Bear’s remains, as he recalled something from one of his past lives, one where he was a knight sent to war. He recalled the survival skills he possessed at the time, helping his comrades survive fatal injuries with natural elements when they had no medicine or healers.

His gaze then settled on a thick, sturdy bone lying near the pit. Ren stiffened instantly, catching up on what Bahamut was thinking.

"You’re not seriously thinking of doing that," Ren spoke in a grave tone, already saying his prayers for the elf girl.

"I am," Bahamut replied, causing him to bow his head towards the barely conscious elf who was floating above the water.

Bahamut then pulled Exildra from the stream and laid her on a flat rock near the fire. Steam rose from her skin, but her breath was shallow and uneven now.

He hurriedly picked up the bone and held it over the flames, as Ren watched silently.

The bone gradually darkened, then turned black before it began to glow with a faint red color.

Exildra’s eyes fluttered open just as Bahamut knelt beside her again.

"What... are you... doing?" she whispered.

"Saving your life," he said, as he moved.

He did not give her time to scream as he pressed the heated bone against the wound.

The sound was sickening to say the least. Flesh hissed as the smell of burning blood and meat filled the air. Exildra’s body arched violently as a scream tore free from her throat, loud and full of pain. It echoed throughout the forest, cutting through the silence like a dying animal being slaughtered.

She convulsed, her fingers digging into stone as tears streamed down her face.

Bahamut held the bone steady, jaw clenched hard. His hands were firm, not shaking as he held Exildra down with the bone on her wound.

"I know it hurts," he said grimly, "but if I don’t do it, you will die."

Seconds felt like minutes to her. When she thought she was finally going to die, he pulled the bone away.

The bleeding had stopped entirely, though the wound was now scorched and the flesh looked cooked.

Exildra collapsed back against the stone, sobbing weakly. Her chest heaved, while her eyes turned glassy with shock and pain. Her voice was gone now from the scream. Only broken sounds remained.

Bahamut dropped the bone and immediately poured clean water over the wound, cooling it and washing away ash and charred tissue. He worked quickly, sealing the area as best as he could with a clean cloth and strips of vine.

When he was done, he sat back on his heels and exhaled slowly.

"That was very close..." he said with a tired sigh. Ren hopped closer and stared at Exildra for a long moment.

"She’s tough," he said. "I would have passed out from that."

"You would have died by twenty times over..." Bahamut said flatly while glancing at Exildra’s pale and trembling form.

"This motherfucker... Don’t rub it in!" Ren cursed under his breath, baring his teeth.

"She’s strong..." Bahamut completely ignored him and walked toward the bundled meat. It was time to prepare something for them to eat.

...

A/N: Hehe... a castle will be appreciated...