Inheritance

"Are you familiar with Bloodline Mages?" Ask Old Kyle as he looks around. Some of the villagers nodded while some shook their heads. "What I'm about to tell you is as old as tim-"

"Wait!" Aunty Jane interrupted. Old Kyle had already gained everyone's attention and was already immersed in the story.

"Let's restrain him first before you start telling stories." Aunty Jane suggested as she pointed towards Leo who was eyeing them like a prey.

"G-Good idea."

'Shoot. They almost forgot about Leo. But since Old Kyle said Leo would be fine, then isn't it fine if they just left him alone. Sure he'd destroy some houses but it's fine, they could just rebuild it one more time.' The people who thought like this were those who had their houses quite far away from the village square so they weren't worried about Leo destroying them.

"Calm down Leo darling" said a woman with blue hair in a kimono like dress. Like the others, she also had an engraved mark on her skin, it's on her left cheek.

"Grandma Silk, can you be a dear and lend me one of your silky cloth." The blue haired woman asked.

"Here, Maya. Avenge my baby!" Said by the old woman as she cried. She was the owner of the four horned cow that Leo savagely killed. Grandma Silk looked like a witch with a long nose and a mole on it. She was also a hunchback and she always carries a small basket with her. But despite her look she was a nice old lady who always gave Little Lu a whole pie to share with the other children.

"You were going to kill that stupid cow even if Leo didn't so stop crying you old psycho!" Karma said as he found the old woman's crying annoying.

The old woman suddenly turned towards him with a manic look. "Karma…" she said with an eerie voice that could make a grown man sweat in fear. What happened to the nice old lady? Well everyone has a bad side to them. "You would make a fine thread. Do you want to turn into one?" Asked by the old woman as a depraved look appeared on her face. She looked like a maniac but Karma wasn't perturbed and just shook her head. 'What kind of people am I living with?' He thought.

While Karma and Grandma Silk were arguing. Maya, waved her hand making the blue cloth on her hand danced like a Dragon. It danced in the air which annoyed Leo. Maya danced on the ground as the blue dragon moved gracefully on the sky. It was a magnificent performance and anyone would appreciate its poetry but Leo? no. He had always been brawn over brain, more now since he can't think straight. The bright blue color of the cloth greatly annoyed him as it kept moving everywhere. It almost has a hypnotic effect but Leo managed to snap out of it immediately. He roared to the sky and pounced on the cloth. Seeing that easy attack pattern, Maya twirled her hands and the dragon-like cloth turned into a mini whirlpool which trapped Leo in the middle. Before Leo could react, it snapped from all direction and tightened around his limbs, suspending him in mid air in the process. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief but suddenly something happened. Leo looked toward the forest. It seemed like his attention was drawn to something which produced a violent reaction from him. It feels like someone was calling him. A strong black savage aura seeped from his body as a silhouette of a Black Lion with horns appeared above him and roared to the sky. His hair grew like crazy and transformed into a mane. He managed to rip apart the cloth that was binding him. And seeing this Maya, Grandma Silk and everyone else was shocked. They all knew how strong and durable Grandma Silk's fabrics are. They were made from the tendons of and skins of powerful beasts after all. Leo dropped on all four before a black tail appeared on his behind. His hands transformed into a claw. He looked toward the forest and was about to make his way towards it when a huge bull blocked his way!

"He's turned into a hybrid!" Exclaimed old Kyle as his sunken eyes widened. "Don't let him get away!" He followed.

"Barak, hold him down!" Said Brian as he rode on top of the gigantic bull." Leo roared at the bull as if telling it to not block his path and for a second, Barak seemed to show hesitation as she took a step back. But after feeling Brian's caress on her head, Barak regained her bravery and resolutely stood her ground and also released a roar of her own. Barak felt like a prey in front of a mighty predator a second ago even though she was much stronger than Leo. It was her inborn instinct telling her that Leo was a predator she shouldn't antagonize and just be submissive if she wants to live.

Leo gathered his strength in his feet as he sprang forth toward Barak but before he could, his right leg was entangled with another cloth which made him fall face down on the ground. Maya was struggling at pulling Leo but Karma, Jackal, and the others held onto the fabric making it difficult for Leo to move but eventually he managed to stand up. He faced Karma and the others. "Shit!" Cursed Karma. "Oh dear" Maya said softly. "Well I'm outta here" Jackal said as he turned around and was about to walk away when Karma suddenly grasped his shoulder. "Brother, where do you think you're going?" Jackal was dumbfounded. "Who the hell is your brother?!"

'Karma dear, this shameless man always dragging someone to the pit with him' Maya thought as a smile appeared on her face.

Leo was about to attack when suddenly a metal string wrapped around his body. The metal string moved swiftly through the trees and houses and other sturdy pillars it could use to anchor itself to bind Leo.

"Maya hurry!" Screamed by a man with a fishing pole. He was tall and skinny. A lot of stitches and patches could be seen on his skin. It looks like his skin was sewn together using different skin from different sources. A bandage was wrapped around his neck all the way to his mouth and an engraved mark could be seen on his forehead.

"Good job Needle!" Said Jackal as he backed away followed by Karma.

Maya once again danced as the long red fabric in her hands transformed into a dragon once more. This time it wasn't graceful like before but wild and ferocious. It wrapped around Leo's neck and tightened. Leo struggled hard only to feel the dragon like fabric tightened more. Maya once again twirled her hands and the dragon once again wrapped around Leo's limbs but it didn't end there as Grandma Silk reached into her small basket and gave Maya a purple cloth which also wrapped around Leo. Leo kept struggling and Maya seemed to be losing her strength as it went on but she persevered. This lasted for minutes until eventually Leo passed out.

"Is he dead? You're toast Maya. Lionell's not going to be happy." Said Jackal as he poke Leo with a stick.

BAM!* Maya hit Jackal on the head. "Jackal dear, your jokes aren't funny" she said while her eyes squinted.

Jackal didn't refute and just kept his mouth shut.

"So what now?" Asked Karma.

"Just keep him binded." Said Old Kyle as he looked towards the forest seemingly deep in thought. "I hope the other's found the children already." He said and then sighed.

"We can only hope." Brian said as he got down from Barak and also looked towards the forest.

-----

Back at the forest where Little Lu and the others are. Minutes before Leo transformed into a hybrid.

The Beast growled! But it didn't growl in pain, it seems to be numb or immune to it. Even when its tail, which was covered in a hard carapace was severed, it didn't show any care to it. The Beast growled towards Leah. In its eyes Leah was a newcomer Beast which suddenly attacked it, all of its attention was on her. Gin and Mary were simply too weak and insignificant for it to care anymore.

Leah looked at the unconscious Mary on Gin's arms and then she looked at the Beast. Her teeth clenched.

Leah crouched like a tiger and then *swoosh! She lunges toward the Beast! The Beast swiped its claw in Leah's direction but it only managed to hit the air and not long after four deep cuts appeared on the Beast's face. The Beast looked back only to have four new cuts on its chest. Leah was moving so fast the Beast didn't have time to react. Yet despite having deep cuts all over its body, the Beast was calm, eerily calm, like it couldn't feel anything. Its blank red eyes continued to move trying to find Leah. And slowly but surely, it's adapting to her speed.

Gin tightly hugged Mary's lifeless body. He was in tears, silently staring at Mary's face. He could see her unwillingness and helplessness at the end of her life. And it's breaking him. This was the first time Gin held a dead person and it was his friend no less and the saddest part is, she died in his arms. Reality was still not sinking in for Gin, but the evidence in front of him is forcing him to accept that fact. 'Why the fuck is this happening!' He thought as his red eyes became empty. He closed his eyes and grief along with despair soon covered his heart.

Suddenly a man's voice echoed in his mind. "Gin... when despair and grief shrouded your heart. Your demons will manifest. Defeat your demons and you will gain power you never knew you could have, do not waste that opportunity. We are not like the others. We were born in this world with a purpose...we are… " The voice became distant but it managed to awaken Gin. He once more opened his eyes, only to find that he was in a different place. He was in a barren and desolate world and in front of him was someone he knew. It was himself, but it has the characteristics of something entirely different. It looks exactly like him. The only difference was its eyes, it was red just like his, but the sclera was completely dyed black and red veins popped around it. And its expression can only be described as depraved. It looked at Gin with joy as It's evil smile widened to an abnormal rate and its sharp jagged teeth showed. And then… it spoked "We finally met." It's voice was like a mixture of more than one entity.

In that barren and desolate world, Gin's state was the opposite of his state outside. He was in peak condition but his mind was still damaged by Mary's death, so was his heart. But after remembering what the voice said, his eyes sharpened and his will was resolute.

While Gin was facing his demon. Leah was fighting with the Beast. She moved fast and was able to dodge every attack the Beast threw at her and she was able to attack simultaneously. Heavily landing blows on the Beast's body. But it wasn't that easy because inside Leah's mind, a battle was also taking place. Leah was completely moving based on her body's instinct at the moment because her consciousness was trapped in a memory, a distant memory that doesn't belong to her.

Leah stood above a mountain, a mountain of corpses unaware of the bodies she was stepping on. At first she was confused but just like magic she forgot everything that happened prior to this moment. She was dazed for a minute until she looked down and saw her father. She was shocked and most of all she felt scared, she wondered why her strict but loving father wore such a scary expression right now. She stood there as she witnessed her Father slaughter people with beast-like appearance from left to right. Eventually she gained the courage to shout toward Linonell, but there was no sound. Even she couldn't hear her own voice. She ran down the mountain of corpses and when she reached the base below, a ferocious man with a cheetah-like characteristic jumped behind her. She was scared stiff but the man only passed through her. It didn't even look at her; it's as if she didn't exist. After that more people with different beast-like appearance ran past through her heading toward Lionell wanting him dead. But the result was the same as the others that came before them, they were ripped to shreds and the ground bathed in their blood.

Leah eventually gained the courage to run to her Father knowing that nothing can touch her. When she got near Lionell she shouted once more but no voice came out of her mouth. She tried speaking to Lionell and desperately tugged on his shirt only to find that she couldn't interact with anyone here, she couldn't even touch Lionell nor hear what they were saying, she only heard some gibberish sound. She was made to watch as Lionell faced many opponents and sometimes came inches away from death's door. His injuries piled up and Leah watched it all happen. She sobbed and screamed for it to stop! But nothing happened…

Her attention was eventually drawn to something or rather someone. Behind her Father, there was a woman. Leah would look exactly like her given a few years. The woman was pregnant and she was gravely injured. Leah's eyes suddenly widened when she noticed that the woman was also staring at her. The scene in front of her then suddenly changed. Like a flash, the surrounding blurred and she now stood above a small hill with ethereal blue grass that stretched for hundreds of miles and small fireflies that emit the same blue color as the grass flew all about. The sky above glistened with twinkling stars, it was bewildering. Leah found herself mesmerized by everything in this place. She snapped awake when her hair stood on ends. She felt a presence behind her, a huge presence like there's a mountain behind her staring intently at her. She struggled to look back and when she did, her pupils constricted. A humongous lioness-like beast with horns on its head and golden eyes was crouching down staring directly at her. Its body was pitch black but it glistened with a blue hue as it reflected the color of the grass. Leah for some reason felt no malice or aggressiveness from the beast. She subconsciously stretched her arm forward until she touched its nose.

*WHOOOSH!

Black smoke erupted from the beast's nose before covering its entire body. The smoke gradually disappeared leaving behind a beautiful woman with pitch black hair and golden eyes. The woman also sported two horns on her forehead. The woman gazed at Leah, there was love and care in her eyes. Leah was lost for words, there was something stirring inside her but she doesn't know what it was or what to do with it. Her heart beat loudly until jumbled up emotions piled inside her and tears unknowingly ran down her cheeks as she asked "W-Who are you?"

The woman smiled and walked closer to Leah, she bent down and wiped Leah's tears before lifting her up and carrying her. Leah was still a five year old girl so she wasn't that big. Leah just let everything happen and hugged the woman as she carried her. The woman then finally spoke "Now is not the right time, you will eventually know my name and you will carry it with pride, but for now you can call me.." The woman slightly separated Leah from her so she could look at her before finishing her sentence by saying...

"Mother"

Back at the forest. Leah and the Beast were in a heated battle. The Leah right now was only moving based on instinct. She was fighting with the Beast absentmindedly. While Leah barely received any damage because of her nimble movements, the Beast was wearing wounds all over its body. Its wings were already shredded and its tail was already like a stub. The ground was dyed by its blood yet even though it was in this critical condition, its blank red eyes still carried no emotion whatsoever.