1 Prologue: Beast Born

In many worlds and in many myths, none such creature is more feared than a beast. They are ravenous, fearless, and brutal wild animals. Bloodshed is in their nature. But there is one creature that is far more dangerous. They call them Beast Born. A beast with a mind and soul of a human. Witchers, Knights, Hunters, Slayers, and Cultivators from all across the world of Zareth revered these creatures. They couldn't hope to match such imaginable power. To capture one beast born you would become a legend amongst your people. As such, that is easier said than done. For a beast born's power is far more destructive than the gods themselves.

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"Move out! And surround the area!" Thundered the commander of the Vanguard Rangers as he unsheathes his long-sword and storms into the ashen forest ahead. "Co-commander Steelarm… the maiden should be in the middle of this outskirt forest of Mistral. I swear in my life I saw the beauty." Stuttered one of the fatter rangers.

Steelarm slowly turned his fearsome head to face the pudgy ranger, "There better one here or I will gut your fat fucking ass and feed you to the Hellwolves." He snarled as he spat chewed-up tobacco onto the black wet soil of the ashen forest and pushed the fat boy aside.

"Ahem, don't worry about what Steelarm says. He can be quite a frightening man sometimes, but it's just words." Said a man dressed in a long black knight's robe and tattered black jeans. He carried two gunmetal great-swords on his back, they were tied up in a brown cloth to stay put. There was a glowing red sigil of a horned- sea serpent on the back of his robe.

"You must be a witcher!" Shouted the ranger with excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Correct. Well half correct. Haha, here have some, it will calm your nerves." The witcher pulls out a steel hip flask from his waist buckle and hands it over to the young ranger, who eagerly grabs his offering.

"Drink. My friend. This is the best wine in all of Zareth." Kindly insisted the witcher with a friendly smirk, his medium short silver, and stallion black hair dangled down his handsome rugged face as he walked forward. The ranger opens his mouth and says, "Thank you!" The witcher quickly places his palms over the ranger's mouth to shut him up. "Shhh. You don't want to give out your spot, boy. Beasts and monsters can pick up even the faintness of sounds."

"I am sorry… I am such a fool." The young ranger quietly blabbered out.

"No worries. Do you have a name?" Asked the witcher as he stealthily and quietly brisked away tree branches in his way towards the darkened forest.

"Yes, my name is Fig. What's yours?" He replied while drinking from the steel flask.

"Its Renzen Mountur of the tribe Basilisk Fang." Renzen shows him his necklace, below it was an onyx black pendant of a snake serpent with horns on top of its scaly head. Surprised by the response the boy almost chokes on the wine, the bitter and strong liquid burns his throat. "Your tribe is the one who has captured the most dangerous beasts of this land. People even say you have taken down dragons before." Fig grins and his eyes sparkle, he begins to admire his new ally.

"Renzen can you stop talking to that fat fuck and stand on guard. And don't fatten him as well. He's a waste of good wine and a waste of time," Steelarm throws down tiny mana spheres onto the ground to track down any footprints left in the soil. The mana spheres also traced for any human or beast scents nearby. They were the size of a common marble.

"You don't have to be so mean to Fig. Steeljerk." Interjected Sira with a growl, her silver long hair wildly swayed with the cool winds of Zareth. She was Renzen's apprentice and a brash one at that. Even with her short pale body frame and young age of 14 years, she still stuck up for the weaker kind.

"Now now Sira, that's no way to talk the one who is in charge of this mission." Renzen rubbed her hair into a messy nest.

''Um-ah… Thank you for standing up for me." Fig's cheeks turned a rosy red as he thankfully bowed to Sira.

"Don't bow to me and ya shouldn't let anyone talk to ya like that. Stand up for ya-self." She turned away her head and huffed, blowing her hair up in a sassy fashion. Fig still bowed down.

"Dammit, will ya stand up already." Sira snarls as she grabs Fig under his shoulders and brought him off his knees.

"Ha. Look at them. Weaklings, why did you even bring them along? Renzen? Maybe to use them as bait?" Steelarm sliced down a smaller tree and sat on the stump of the cut tree.

"No, to teach them. To show them the outside world." Renzen calmly replied.

"Sir the mana spheres look at them!" Another ranger named Richter shouted out with fright in his voice. All of the mana spheres turned from a light sea blue color to a dark blood red shade. The crystal spheres made a low humming noise and rattled about in every direction.

"Shit! Get down!" Rinzen pushes Sira into the ground. "What the hell ar cha doing?!" She yells out in disarray. In a blink of an eye, from the shadows of the forest trees, a gigantic dark black tentacle extends out of the tree branches and wraps around Fig's plump belly.

"Fig!" Cried out Sira as she reaches for her rapier and charges forward to the wiggling tentacle.

"Sira!No!" Thunders Renzen as he tries to hold her back.

"What in the gods is that beast!" Ritcher takes out his bow and arrow from his back and points it forward, his hands shook in growing fear, his palm's became laced in thick sweet. A tentacle went right through his chest cavity and threw him high up into the skies. "GrAahhh!" Cried out Richter as he kicked back and forth in the air, like a skydiver without a parachute.

Steelarm mightly raised up his knight's sword and shouted, "This is diffidently no fucking maiden! But a rare beast! We shall take its head! And become legends!" Roars out Steelarm as rushes the tentacle creature full-steam ahead. More tentacles sprang out from the forest trees. Steelarm swung his sword with an upward strike, he cleanly sliced off one of the tentacles that were getting close him. He then sliced two more off, warm ruby blood spurted all over his face. A loud bloodcurdling shrill was heard, the sound had to be from the beast lurking deep in the shadows of the forest.

Its severed tentacles wiggle wildly in the ashy grey ground below. They looked like fishes straight out of the ocean water. "Come on! Is that all you got! You filthy beast! I will show you why I am a Steelarm!" He arrogantly ripped off his winters jacket and chainmail to show off his muscular and toned body, his arms looked as big as iron anvils, for a man in his middle age, he looked godly. He was filled with fuming ego. The cutoff tentacles slowly regenerated, scaly tiny tentacle tips grew to the top, soon a set of new tentacles was formed. Being engrossed by his own ego, Steelarm didn't notice what was happening before his very own eyes. The bloody severed tentacles that were cut down by him suddenly gripped his legs and the newly regenerated tentacles wrapped around his stomach and neck. "What the!? Awk!" Shouted out Steelarm in surprise as his body was raised high up into the shadowy skies. The three emerald colored half-moons of Zareth shone over him. Steelarm frantically stabbed at the tentacles, but that did him no good. The more he cut them, the more grew back.

"You piece of fucking shit! Put me the fuck down!" Steelarm gives out a lion's roar as he shot out bright mana flames from his fingertips into his swords-blade and sliced away. Before he could land a strike, a pair of tentacles wrapped around his striking hand and tighten around his veiny wrists like an anaconda when it constricts its prey. The tentacles then quickly ripped off his arm straight from his shoulder glenoid. A loud "Crack!" and "Snap!" sound echoed across the grey skies.

"Aaaah!!!" He yelped out in agony as his blood gushed out of his ripped open shoulders and onto his bare chest.

Steelarm violently jerked back and convulsed, fresh crimson blood sprayed everywhere, some of it landed onto the ground below and on Renzen's shocked face.

"Steelarm!" Renzen pulled out one his great-swords and rushed over to save him. He was swiftly slapped away by a tentacle from underground. His body rolled across piles of ashy rocks and granite.

"Master!" Sira gasped, her pale cheeks were shaking with worry.

"I've had enough of this! I am saving you Fig and I am going to kill this abomination!" The foolishly brave girl sprinted forward, she dodges each incoming tentacle by jumping from side to side like a cheetah shifting positions when it sprints.

"There ya are!" She spotted Fig and went to cut him free, a cracking sound blasted against her tiny ears. Fresh warm blood splashed against her face. The tentacles had cracked Figs neck and took his body deeper in the forest. The beast may kill him or not. No one would know.

"Dammit!" Sira cried out, as tears and rage overfilled her eyes. She was too late, she had failed to protect him. She was unworthy to be a protector of this world. Sira fell too her knees, her silver-white eyes were widened and filled with emptiness. Purposeless she became.

"Sira! What are you doing!? Run! Run!!!" Renzen stood back up on his feet with a wobble, his face was covered in scratch marks.

Eight pulsating tentacles loomed over the little witcher's head. In the thickness of the tree leaves, a huge glowing dark red eye stared back at Sira. The mammoth-sized eye pierced her very soul. Inside the pupils of the creature was a glowing ancient symbol of a human skull.

Next to the giant eye stood a beautiful young girl with flowing golden blonde hair and bright emerald eyes. She was all dressed in a white and red tunic, she held a golden staff in one hand. "I am sorry." She whispered in a gentle and alluring tone as she prayed for Sira, with a remorseful look on her face.

The tentacles strike down in a velocity beyond the speed of sound. Nearby forest trees withered back and snapped in half by the sheer force of the attack.

A "Cling!" noise vibrated through Sira's ears. In front of her eyes, Rinzen was holding all eight tentacles back with his great-sword in two hands.

"Tch. You really are a stubborn brat~ I said run!" Renzen commanded, his hands were shaking by the unmatchable strength of the overly muscular large tentacles.

"This is my last order!" He shouted as his sword cracked and shattered into a thousand shards of Xalaron steel.

"No, I won't leave you behind!" Sira bites down hard on her lips oh so dearly, a stream of tears fell from her pale cheeks.

"I know you won't. Xeus Protos! (Lightbringer Portal)" Renzen tossed a glyph scroll into the ground and slammed his fist on top of a formation of ancient glyphs. Mana sparks started to swirl around Sira's body.

"What are you doing!?" She cried out as her hands began disappearing.

"Goodbye Sira. I will always be with you, my young apprentice." Renzen gave her a heartwarming smirk as the tentacles dragged him into the dark depths of the outskirts forest.

"Nooo!" Sira cried out as a glowing and sparking portal formed over the clouds and over her head. In a blink of an eye, she was struck by a radiant light and teleported away.