Let's think about this later. Cyril shook off the distracting thoughts and focused on the present.
"What do we do now?" asked Cedric after resting a bit more.
"If their princess escaped and the vampires retreated, then this situation should soon be over, right?" Myra said.
"I guess so." Cedric shrugged his shoulders. "There are still some dangerous animals about; there is a need to recapture them."
"What about the tiger from the show? Has anyone seen it?" asked Cyril with interest.
Unfortunately, he received a negative answer. It seems like the beast was keeping a low profile.
"While we still have the opportunity I want to go see the lake." Cyril said after thinking for a short while.
There were already close. It would be a pity to miss it.
The rest didn't object to his decision, and they all went together.
Even Anna decided to go with everyone. Cedric guaranteed her safety.
Cyril and Rose no longer conducted their usual experiments. It would be rather awkward with the rest of the people around.
Instead, they held themselves back, still observing the animals, but to a limited degree.
In such a slightly less exciting but still interesting fashion, they've soon reached the lake.
The tranquil waters mirrored the dark clouds that still obscured the skies. It created a rather gloomy atmosphere.
Strangely, the closer they got to the location, the fewer animals they've encountered.
Now, standing near the water, not a single living being could be seen anywhere.
Looking into the lake itself, there was nothing but darkness inside.
"This place is rather eerie, isn't it?" said Cedric while looking around.
"Why is it so empty?" Myra stared into the lake, a suspicious glint in her eyes.
"Similar occurrences have been observed when a particularly dominant creature enters an environment. A powerful magical creature will scare away all the weaker ones." replied Rose with a solemn voice.
Many people came to a similar conclusion.
Looking around, Cyril noticed some orange fur lying on the ground. He lowered his body and picked it up, observing it in more detail.
Something about it was familiar.
"It's from that tiger..."
It was here? Did it leave or...
In thought, he turned towards the lake. Its stillness appeared slightly more dangerous.
Suddenly something changed in the air around them.
Tigris was cowering even more than usual.
Cyril found it harder to breath, his heart beating faster and faster.
"Something's not right"
"I am getting an ominous feeling," Cedric said with a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.
There was a phenomenon when a particularly powerful mage could exert influence on others based on only their own mana.
Cyril experienced this when he saw the archdemon Cosmas. Simply standing in his presence was somehow difficult.
The same could be felt here to a lesser extent. There was something incredibly powerful nearby.
The group stood in total silence for a few minutes, everyone thinking their own.
"Let's leave. It's too dangerous," finally said Cyril and turned around.
Cyril wasn't reckless enough to try messing with a creature much more powerful than he yet.
At this moment a screeching sound could be heard all around the zoo.
It was rather irritating.
Everyone clutched their ears, but it didn't help. It felt as though the sound was piercing their ears directly.
A moment later the screeching finally ceased, and the group breathed a sigh of relief.
"What was that?" asked Rose while massaging her ears.
Before she was able to get an answer from someone, the lake near them finally showed signs of life.
In the middle of the lake, a giant snake head emerged from the water.
Following it was a long, scaled body with spikes lining up on both sides across it—their tips made of what appeared to be crystal.
It slowly crawled onto the shore and advanced toward the tower, destroying everything in its path with its sheer size.
As it left, the water level of the lake has visibly dropped.
In a short time it reached the control center of the whole zoo and started coiling around it until its head reached the very top.
With a ferocious glint in its vertical pupils, the snake constricted with all its might.
The high-rise building surprisingly began breaking apart with a loud sound.
As one would snap a twig, the gigantic beast broke apart the tower of the zoo and dropped down on the ground.
With a gloating look, the snake flickered its forked tongue and began crawling back towards the lake.
All of this happened fast and unexpectedly.
The group could only stare in awe at the slowly disappearing serpent.
"How could there be such a magic creature?" Rose stammered.
"How could such a creature be here! Is the owner stupid?" Cedric nervously said,
They didn't even have the thought of escaping at the moment; it didn't feel like they would be successful even if they tried.
Thankfully the creature didn't pay any attention to the small fry around it and calmly got back into the lake, disappearing from sight.
The group breathed another sigh of relief, and some people even fell on their knees from tension.
Still, they weren't too keen on spending any more time here, and everyone started carefully going away.
"Myra, do you know anything about that snake?" asked Cyril once they went a certain distance away.
"Yeah... That's Theches, a beast from the Eastern Mountains, but what is it doing here?" She held her head in distress and continued in a nervous tone.
"There is no way some zoo owner was able to carry it away from its home."
Before she could continue, Cyril put his arm on her shoulder.
"Stop worrying about it. Let's meddle in this when we get stronger," he said in a calming voice.
Myra, though still looking a little disturbed, nodded.
"I never heard of a creature with a name like that," asked Cedric with curiosity.
He still looked rather optimistic considering what he just saw.
"The Empire doesn't venture far from its borders; how could anyone know about it?" replied Myra with a slightly mocking tone.
Cedric wanted to ask more, but considering Myra's rather unfriendly look right now, he held himself back.
"What do we do now?" cautiously asked Rose.
The tiger that Cyril was curious about was probably eaten by Theches.
And the encounter with the serpent, even though it didn't do anything to the group, left them drained.
"Let's go towards the shelter already," finally said Cyril.
Tigris on his shoulder was very happy with this decision. He had enough excitement for quite some time.
No one objected to his words; everyone walked in silence, following after Anna.
Just as everyone was wallowing in the tense atmosphere, suddenly a figure landed in the group's path.
It was a man wearing knight armor with a sword and a crystal shield on his back.
His sudden arrival scared Anna, who immediately got behind the group.
"Don't worry, students, the knights are here to solve the situation!" The man raised his body and put his hands on his hips.
He looked rather enthusiastic about his work.
The group wasn't really sharing his positivity.
Aside from Cedric, "It took a bit of time, but it's good that you are here." He said and made a dramatic sigh of relief.
The brow of the knight almost imperceptibly twitched, but he kept the same reliable expression.
"Haha, sorry for arriving late. There was a slight problem that needed to be solved first." The knight said with a forced laugh.
"Of course! No worries. Now that you are here, can we watch you fight the giant snake in the lake?" asked Cedric with hope.
"Well... I can't let civilians like yourselves get hurt; let's get you to safety first," said the knight with a complicated voice.
That's what everyone was originally planning, so they followed after him with no problems.
On the way Cedric continued asking questions in his genuine voice, but the knight evaded almost all of them, especially if they had anything to do with the serpent.
At least they've learned that the knight's name was Alfred.
In such a manner, they've slowly reached the shelter.
On the way they've witnessed soldiers clearing the place and capturing any rogue creatures.
The zoo's order was slowly being restored, but Cyril knew that unless Theches was dealt with, this place would remain just as dangerous.
He was curious how the Empire would deal with it.
"And I am curious how the zoo owner managed to get something like that."