The silence after Ryuk's explanation was long, the Frost Wyvern True Being eyeing him with thoughts flickering in her piercing eyes.
Whether it was the thought of offence, anger, or amusement, no one—not even Queen Snow—truly knew.
The Frost Wyverns might have chosen them, the Nagas, over all other races as companion beasts, but when it came to this particular one—the most powerful of the Frost Wyverns—there wasn't much that could be said about her.
All Queen Snow had learned was to show her respect, as this Frost Wyvern had been alive since the era of her grandmother, bearing the highest power present in the clan.
She was the ultimate authority, one whose orders she, the Queen of the Nagas, could only follow.
Yet, she rarely emerged, spending most of her time slumbering away in the Snow Chamber.
The last time she had come out was when Isha arrived with Ryuk's battered body, and ever since then, she had been outside her chamber more frequently—playing with Isha, demonstrating arts to her, and being more than just lively.
Queen Snow couldn't understand the reason for this. The Lady before her didn't particularly like her own race, nor did she show much fervour for them.
Frost Wyverns were an arrogant race, disregarding anything and everything even themselves.
And the strongest of them was the epitome of this fact.
She cared for nothing, was moved by nothing, and her expression was as cold as ice anytime she left her chamber
But Isha seemed to change that rule for whatever reason.
Now, she felt like she wanted Isha for herself.
But unfortunately, Isha wasn't a lone beast.
She was contracted, and not just under some fool she could randomly eliminate without a second thought.
She was under the command of the greatest anomaly, a genius that probably existed as the most important asset on Endearth right now.
The person before her wasn't just some random ordinary boy.
He was held in absolute regard by the Ten Families.
His actions had earned him a position of respect, possessing an Eternals-grade expert behind him who knew more about the Knulls than almost anyone. A very important key instrument to their chances of winning.
But beyond that, he alone had taken care of three Pseudo-Eternal grade Knulls!
One had to know that Endearthians at the same cultivation stage were no match for a Knull due to the difference between Abyssal energy and Apex Energy with the former being more powerful than the latter.
Taking care of those three Knull Wanderers would have required the help of at least five Pseudo-Eternal grade Endergains walking in unison to bring it down.
But he?
He, a boy whose life aura didn't seem to surpass 18 years of age, had taken on a total of three Pseudo-Eternal grade Knulls and absolutely wiped them out of existence all alone, in a matter of a few hours!
Even though he had come out of it badly wounded, the news was something that sent shockwaves through the hearts of everyone important enough to know the truth.
Right now, the boy himself might not know it, but he was an incredibly important asset to the world.
His feat was something that could only have been done by someone at the Eternal Grade, but he had pulled it off.
And most importantly, he was young!
He was still malleable and possessed both compassion and bravery, as shown by his actions—instantly teleporting the Knulls away from the battlefield at the very beginning, reducing casualties for the army without fear of his own death in the process.
He had become a person any of the Ten Families would kill to possess.
If word got out that he had been killed by the Eternal Grade Wyvern of the Nagas Family, then an Eternal Grade War might just as well spiral out of control, and no matter how it ended, only the Knulls would benefit from their weakened forces.
That was something she greatly hoped wouldn't happen.
"Ahhhhhh..."
A long, cold breath escaped the lips of the Frost Wyvern Lady, forming a small, hazy fog that blew across the room.
She exhaled heavily before turning to look at Ryuk and raised her hands.
"I'm really trying to convince myself not to kill you this instant, but I'm failing—for exactly three reasons."
"One, you're a Beast Tamer."
"Your kind are nothing but disgusting cowards who place their beasts in the front and cower at the back. Always on the search for the next beast to add to your heaps, throwing them into senseless battles."
"Your so-called beasts are nothing but slaves. A few compassionate ones you might refer to as companions, but that doesn't erase the fact that you most likely took the beast not by its own compassion but by your own selfish desires for its talent."
"And in the end, you prevent a beast from its true existence."
"Everything in the world has its mode of operation, one that is entirely different when it gets separated from its kind."
"You Beast Tamers end up raising anomalies amongst the beast world, sometimes making your beasts fight their own races and sow chaos—a particular act most of you strongly seem to enjoy."
"Just because you're a Beast Tamer, that alone is one reason for me to already get rid of you," she said, her voice cold and filled with intense hatred when she mentioned them.
And Ryuk didn't even flinch at her words not because he couldn't feel the hatred, but because all she had said had nothing to do with him.
He was not a Beast Tamer in the traditional sense. He wasn't a beast hoarder, neither did hee ever hide behind Isha.
He was always at the forefront, only calling on Isha when he wanted to get serious.
And he also wasn't going around contracting beasts left and right whether they liked it or not.
Even though he had nine open contracted slots right now, Ryuk only had two beasts, both of whom had their own peculiar circumstances that led them to him contracting them.
Not just because he saw them as tools to be used.
He was a completely different entity from what a Beast Tamer would be, nor would he refer to himself as one.
But then, one didn't need to tell him that explaining to her was utterly useless. She wouldn't believe it, so he might as well shut up and listen to her.
"Secondly, your ignorance, which leads to arrogance, is another reason to kill you..."