The scent of blood hung thick in the air, undeniable. Belial's sense of smell was sharper than any animal's, like a walking bloodhound turned apex predator.
Every trace of scent in the wind, no matter how faint, mapped itself clearly in his mind. And when it came to blood? That always lit up like a red warning sign on his mental radar.
High above the land, tucked between gusting winds and brooding storm clouds, he beat his wings and slowly began his descent. Even through the thunder and chaos, he could feel everything, like nature itself whispered in his ears. The slightest shift in elements, the tiniest pulse of mana, it all came to him with clarity.
"There's something up ahead. A mess… and blood, lots of it," he muttered to himself.
Normally, blood wasn't enough to catch his interest unless he was hunting. But the patterns he picked up now were telling a different story. Something big was happening, something chaotic and violent.
He could smell dozens of magical beast types, some he recognized from past meals. It wasn't just random hunting, this was war.
"Another beast tide? Seriously?"
He'd seen plenty by now. Waves of magical creatures charging across the land like mindless armies. But this time, he hadn't noticed any early signs. No buildup. No migration. Just… boom, carnage.
The strangest part? Beast tides didn't make sense. Carnivores and herbivores charging side-by-side, ignoring each other. It was like they forgot how nature worked and teamed up just to fight outsiders.
Especially him. The massive dragon everyone seemed to treat like the final boss. He wasn't out to destroy the world. He just wanted to eat it, piece by piece.
"Well, if they're already fighting, might as well swoop in and grab some snacks."
With a relaxed flap of his wings, Belial glided down through the clouds. Wind magic came naturally to him now. He barely had to think about it.
But even when he was just gliding, the sheer force of his wings stirred up storms below. Trees bent, rocks shattered, the land itself trembled, just from him passing over.
Even when he tried to be gentle, his presence was like a walking disaster alert. If he got too close, animals and debris were sucked into his compressed wind field like moths into a turbine.
"…Hmm?" He slowed, narrowing his eyes. Tiny cracks were spreading across his snow-white, armored skin. Barely noticeable, but they were there.
That… shouldn't be happening.
His icy shell was one of his most reliable defenses. It was usually rock-solid, especially in cold regions like this. With a quick thought, he forced his magic to smooth the flow of energy and fix the cracks.
It was just condensed ice, hardened with magic and compressed into an outer layer. Any ordinary monster would break their claws on it. So why now?
"…Is my ice control slipping?" He frowned.
The elemental particles that usually bent to his will were… resisting. Slightly.
'That was annoying.' Fine. If they didn't want to listen, he'd just crush them into shape.
Belial didn't get mad. He got firm. He focused, tightening his spiritual grip until the rogue particles caved under pressure and fell back in line. "…That's more like it. Maybe the connection was weak for a second. Still… something didn't sit right. It felt like the ice had been listening to someone else."
"…Weird." He flapped his wings harder, picking up speed. It didn't take long, just a few dozen kilometers, before he saw it.
A wall of dust and movement. There it was. A full-blown beast tide.
Countless magical beasts were pouring across the plains like a living avalanche, all crashing toward a giant walled city. There were all kinds, big, small, flying, crawling. No order, just chaos.
Even the skies were packed. Winged serpents, birds wrapped in tornados, metal beetles flying like battering rams.
On the ground, a towering woolly mammoth with frozen armor slammed into the wall like it didn't even notice the fireballs exploding on its back. It crushed smaller beasts beneath its feet without flinching.
Another massive beast let out a roar, spewing cold mist across the ramparts. Frost spread over the stone, creating a slick path. Agile creatures darted forward to climb it, but as soon as they reached the top, blades rained down and tore them apart.
Yeah. This was no ordinary attack. And Belial? He was ready to join the party.
Magic surged through the air like wildfire. The entire battlefield looked like a giant, bloodstained furnace, burning with spellfire, filled with smoke, and echoing with the screams of both humans and beasts.
But the monsters didn't even flinch. Even when cannon blasts ripped through them, they dragged their torn bodies forward, crawling with shattered bones and shredded limbs, their movements fueled by nothing but blind instinct.
It wasn't until a falling ice meteor crushed and froze them that they finally stopped.
And even then… some of their eyes still twitched beneath the ice.
Belial hovered above, taking it all in.
There were more humans here than he'd seen in a long time.
Armored knights with massive swords, robed mages glowing with fire and lightning effects, some standing atop turrets and flinging spells into the beast tide below.
Heavy-duty soldiers cranked huge ballista, loosing spears the size of trees into the wave of monsters. Runed cannons flashed with light, firing glowing shells that exploded in bursts of magic.
The whole thing looked like it was ripped straight out of a classic sword-and-sorcery war film. But something felt off.
"So this is what a beast tide assault looks like?" he muttered. "What's even the point?"
'Why were these magical beasts hurling themselves at the city like they had a death wish?
Was it just some migration path being blocked?''
He scratched his icy-scaled head.
Didn't make much sense. Sure, some wild herds went berserk when their route was cut off.
But this wall was at least ninety meters tall, any half-intelligent beast would just walk around it. And these weren't ordinary animals.
Magical beasts were usually smarter, more cautious. They didn't throw away their lives like this for no reason. And something about their movements… it wasn't natural.
Like something, or someone, was pushing them to do this.
Belial didn't detect any traps or illusions from up here, but that weird gut feeling made him hesitate.
Should he even step in?
The humans down there were already losing ground. The defense line at the walls was collapsing.
The monsters were climbing up the walls now, using makeshift siege ladders built from ice and rock. Some even used their own bodies as bridges. The defenders were doing their best, targeting the stronger ones, but the numbers just weren't in their favor.
Belial sighed. He used to be human. Went through the whole nine-year public education system and everything. Helping wouldn't really cost him anything now.
Sure, he was a monster now, but it hadn't been that long. His moral compass wasn't completely broken.
As long as no one attacked him, he didn't plan to start anything. "…But would they even believe that?" he grumbled.