Chapter 127 - ETCHERS

Captain Reel stared at the beast standing before the child and then at the little girl who smiled as she gazed into the large beast's crimson eyes.

"My demon!" Her voice echoed in his ears, bringing him both joy and distress.

Joy that she was unharmed and had managed to do something miraculous while distressed that she had done that same miraculous deed.

The Kingdom of Rosenhyde had a rich history and numerous accounts of people who had formed this special bond with a beast.

The beast could be of any form or species and usually, they would look like any other normal beast. 

What Yvonne had just done was to form a certain pact, a connection with the beast who now stood next to her.

The bond formed would cause the beast and its master to have a connection that made them comprehend each other on a better and deeper level.

The beasts that had the capability of choosing their masters were special exceptions among the herds of the others in the same species.

These special beasts with higher intelligence were rare and they could never be forced to form the special bond.

This low number of such bonds formed made them more uncommon and highly sought after.

One could capture such a beast but could never force them to accept someone as their master against their will.

The knowledge about these beasts was limited to the higher echelon of society which meant that only the nobles knew of the bond that could be formed between them.

They had a name for such beasts, they were known as 'ETCHERS'.

This name was given because the moment a beast formed the bond with its master, the connection would be etched in the very being of the beast and the master.

One etcher could have only one master and the same would apply for the master.

Since the number of etchers was sparse, the ones who were 'etched' were respected by the men in the society.

Desmo stared at the child who was merrily rubbing the chin of the monstrous etcher who was the same species as his Precious but the difference in their sizes was significant.

Noticing the gaze of her tutor, Yvonne turned towards the man standing next to the pure white horse and tilted her head.

Demon, Yvonne's etcher turned in the same direction and leered at the other pair of etcher and etched currently standing before them.

Oblivious that she had just made a lifelong commitment to this horse, to stay next to it and grow with it, the young girl stared at her tutor.

"You're late, Captain." She declared while shaking her head, disappointed at his tardy behavior.

The awe and marvel he felt a while ago were washed away when he heard what she had just uttered.

His scowl, however, was stopped in its tracks when he saw the big beast staring down at him.

He sighed to disperse some of his anger before taking a step forward.

Though the very next moment, Demon had taken a protective stance before Yvonne, shielding her petite body behind his large and sturdy body.

The large shadow that cast over her due to his body covering her, made her smile.

'So cute! He's like a large watchdog!' She remarked and patted his side.

"Behave!" She commanded in her childish voice which made the etcher grunt in reply.

Getting what she meant by those words, Demon stepped aside allowing Captain Desmo to be able to see her once again.

'He is already so protective of her.' He surmised after watching the horse's behavior.

This thought brought him to ponder over another matter.

There had been others who had successfully become the masters of such beasts but the fact that Yvonne, a child of 5 years was able to form this bond was baffling for the man.

'No woman had ever formed a bond with an etcher before, let alone a child this young.' He recalled and smirked.

His choice of training this little girl which he had made solely on a whim was turning out to be a great decision on his part as things were getting more and more interesting.

The anger inside of him after being asked to take a leave of absence by Duke Tanner seemed feasible now since he could spend more time with Yvonne.

Precious noticed the sparkling eyes of her master as he stared at the other etcher and this made her whimper.

Turning around, Desmo chuckled before rubbing her muzzle, displaying his love and care in this gesture.

"I still think that you are the best in this Kingdom, my Precious." He reassured his jealous beast.

The moment he had met his etcher was during a mission near the border of the Capital where some strange disturbance had been reported.

The young knight had been cornered by bandits when a hero had come to save his life.

This little horse had been the one who saved him and when he had petted her, the bond between them had formed before he even knew what had happened.

After bringing her to the capital, Duke Tanner had explained to him that though Precious appeared like a normal purebred horse, she was in fact, an etcher.

Of course, even the Duke had his own etcher but that was a matter for another day.

Right now, Desmo had to think of how to explain that Yvonne had just made a 'contract' with an etcher that lasted a lifetime.

Yvonne continued staring at the man whose face showed a plethora of emotions as he reminisced about the memories of his youth.

"Captain!" She called out to him, hoping that he would come back to planet Earth.

However, when she thought of this she fell into a dilemma herself.

'Is this even planet Earth? What planet am I on right now? Am I still in the same galaxy? Do I even exist?' She mulled over this weird thought that had popped up in her mind.

She knew that she was pulled into the crystal ball that Asmodeus had conjured up but was that all it was?

She had no clue whether this new world that she had been thrown into truly existed or was just a figment of the petty god's imagination.

'Do I exist? Or am I just another fictional character in the script he wrote?' She grimaced as she did not like the idea of being a piece of paper left on the shelf.

The existential crisis she was undergoing at this moment was nothing compared to the tidal waves of chaos that had hit the Royal Palace.