Life is Precious

Draven descends from the embankment and finds Arthur calmly brushing the dirt off his clothes.

"How can you be so calm after killing your first Direwolf?" Draven asks, curious.

He still remembers how difficult and intense the fight against such a creature was when he was twenty years old, but his son, only fourteen, handled it more calmly than when he talks to his mother about girls.

But that can't be helped; killing was very natural for Liam, while the awkward conversations with Aria are very tense for Arthur.

Yet, of course, Arthur can't explain this to his father, so he just smiles at him. "It's because I knew you had my back."

"Hahaha!" Draven laughs proudly.

And that is really true because Arthur knows his powerful father will always protect him.

"Congratulations, Arthur," Draven slaps his son on the shoulder. "I thought you wouldn't do so well, but it was an impeccable job."

Arthur just nods, proud of himself too, but then Draven's expression becomes more stern as he examines the dead body of the Direwolf.

"That trick of throwing dirt in the creature's eyes surprised me…" Draven comments in a not-so-proud tone. "Although that tactic seems more like something a Rogue would do, not a Warrior."

Arthur understands Draven's pride in his noble and honorable fighting style; after all, his Astral Beast is a golden lion.

And while part of him wants to be like his father, another part still thinks like Liam: any tactic is valid to defeat the opponent, preferably the most effective ones first.

But as Arthur loves and admires his father, he worries that his darker side might make him seem bad.

"Are you upset, father?" he asks.

"No," Draven quickly responds and smiles at his son. "How could I not be proud of you?"

"I myself only killed a beast like this in my twenties," Draven explains. "I had been training since I was five and was always considered a prodigy by everyone."

The sparkle in his eyes grows even brighter as he looks at Arthur. "I don't want you to overestimate your abilities, but you can be proud of probably being the most incredible prodigy this world has ever seen, even without using your Astral Beast."

Draven is right about Arthur being so incredible, but it's partly because of Nyx, who is always passively sharing her power with him, just as anyone receives power from their Astral Beast.

Arthur understands this; he feels how his body becomes stronger when he is having fun with Nyx, and for that, he is very grateful to her.

"No more boosting your ego for now," Draven laughs. "But, Arthur… try not to use such cunning tactics if you're fighting another honorable warrior, for the sake of our family's reputation."

"Got it," Arthur quickly responds.

Then he removes his sword from the wolf's head, and a lot of black blood flows from it.

"Damn," Draven exclaims.

As someone who loves and respects life, he despises Dark Magic with all his heart.

He takes another look at the dead bull and makes a sorrowful expression. "The wolf's corruption is entrenched in it; nothing can be recovered here… such a waste."

"At least this creature can't cause any more harm," Arthur comments positively.

Draven nods and looks at his son. "Do you understand why we had to do this?"

Arthur remembers all the lessons Draven had taught him, especially in the last few years when they began to train and hunt together.

"To protect our family and the people of the village," he responds.

"To protect life," Draven corrects him. "Every life is precious, so it falls upon people like us, blessed with the strength to make a difference, to protect those who cannot do it alone."

Draven's words reflect his ideals, and although Arthur admires his father for them, he wonders what kind of experiences Draven went through to become so determined to help everyone in that way.

"Understood," he nods.

"Do you really understand?" Draven asks. "I mean, if all life is precious, a blessing from Mother Nature, why do we have to kill sometimes?"

Arthur doesn't need to think to answer that question. "Sometimes killing is the only way to save lives."

"Hmm..." Draven makes a thoughtful expression. "That's quite a paradox, isn't it? But I agree with you; just keep in mind that killing to save is always the last option."

The part of Arthur that still thinks like Liam has its own ideas about death, but as Draven's son, he tries to see things from his father's perspective.

"Got it," he nods.

Draven is content with the outcome of their hunt and then looks at the bodies of the Direwolf and the dead bull. "Let's burn them and return home."

"Right," Arthur quickly retrieves a magic stone from the backpack he brought and uses it like a lighter from Liam's world to swiftly set fire to the bodies on the ground.

A stream of black smoke rises from the wolf's body, and a horrible odor quickly fills the area.

"We have to inform the Carpenters about their bull," Draven comments, as it is part of their farm.

Arthur climbs up the hill and looks in the direction of the Carpenter's house. "It seems they are still awake; the tavern is lit."

"The tavern??" Draven becomes curious.

The Carpenters have a small tavern near their house, and since the village is nestled between a large forest and a mountain, hardly any outsiders visit, so the tavern is usually used by the farmers and a few traveling merchants.

The farmers only use it during the day as they go to bed early, and the traveling merchants usually leave before nightfall, too, after trading with the local population.

"Yes, there are several lights on," Arthur tries to focus his vision to the maximum, but the tavern is a mile away, and he can't see more details.

Draven thinks it might just be the Carpenters celebrating something with family or friends, or even a lost traveler from the main road.

But he can't shake off a bad feeling, or perhaps it's just his responsibility as the village protector speaking louder, but he wants to go there now to check if everything is alright.

"Well, let's go there and tell them the Direwolf won't be a problem anymore," Draven says before running towards the tavern.

Arthur grabs his bow and backpack before following his father, also at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, they cross the pasture ahead, and both Arthur and Draven's senses reach the tavern at the same time, hearing male voices.

"There are people," Arthur comments and sees Draven stop, signaling him to stop as well.

"What's wrong?" Arthur stops and sees his father's expression become very serious.

"I don't recognize these voices," Draven listens silently to the male laughter coming from inside the tavern. "They may be travelers, but..."

Arthur has never seen Draven react this way before, and even though he understands the reason, he becomes concerned, too.

"Should we go in already?" Arthur starts to wonder if something is wrong inside the tavern, and he wants to help the Carpenters as quickly as possible if they need it.

But Draven stops him. "It might be nothing, but it's better if we try not to attract attention; just follow my lead."

Arthur can't help but think about how two big guys with incredible looks like them wouldn't attract attention.

"Okay," But he agrees to follow his father's plan, of course.

So, he follows Draven into the tavern, both walking calmly.

Upon entering the tavern, Arthur finally understands what's wrong. The place is naturally small, with just a few tables that are empty now, except for one.

At that table, near the counter, are three simply dressed men in their thirties, but that can always mean more in this world due to the power of lineage.

The group wears leather clothes adorned with metal, almost all of which are dirty with dust and even stains that look like dried blood, the same way as a few rusty swords on the table.

Seeing these guys laughing loudly while drinking beer, clearly already drunk, Arthur can only think one thing: "Trouble!"

Of course, he doesn't think this just because of the trio's appearance, but also because of the fact that Margaret and her father are behind the counter with frightened expressions.

When they see Draven and Arthur entering through the door, both she and her father breathe a sigh of relief.

But the father-son duo also catches the attention of the trio, who cast inquisitive glances at them.

Draven quickly nods at the Carpenters before the travelers see and then takes a seat at a table in the opposite corner of the group.

Arthur is confused but follows his father's lead and also sits at that table.

The Carpenters are equally confused, but Draven raises his hand and speaks in a friendly tone. "Two beers, please."

"Right away," Mr. Carpenter quickly starts pouring two mugs of beer from the barrel.

At that moment, a member of the trio bangs his empty mug on the table and shouts in an arrogant tone, "Three more for us too!"

"Sure," Mr. Carpenter tries to appear as friendly as possible, but he is clearly afraid of those men.

With trembling hands, he fills the two beers for Draven and hands them to Margaret, who quickly brings them over.

She is a beautiful woman and clearly catches the attention of the trio, who cast lascivious glances at her, not hiding the vicious desires in their eyes.

With Liam's dark experiences, Arthur can easily recognize bad feelings in people.

And those men reek of cruelty, and with such feelings directed at Margaret, it awakens a fury inside Arthur.

He doesn't love her, but he really likes her and finds her a kind and lovely girl, so he can't stand her being the target of those guys.

"Yu-" Arthur immediately starts to stand up, furious. But Draven puts his hand on his shoulder and forces him to sit down.

"What are you doing?" He asks his son in a low tone that only they can hear.

"It's just that these guys..." Arthur finds it hard to explain how he can see the trio's bad intentions so clearly inside their eyes.

Draven sighs. "You want to beat them just because they find Margaret attractive? Since when is that so wrong?"

Arthur has no argument to counter with and remains silent, but he keeps his eyes on the suspicious trio.

Margaret quickly brings the beers to their table and can't help but smile affectionately at Arthur.

"Here, enjoy!" She tries to be as professional as possible, but one of the guys at the other table notices the way she treats Arthur.

Some things really can't be avoided, and that man feels a deep envy of Arthur; after all, the boy looks like the most handsome and charming young man ever, besides appearing to be from an excellent family and attracting all the attention of the beautiful waitress.

Arthur sees when that guy casts a malicious look at him and an even more sinister one at Margaret.

At that moment, Mr. Carpenter is bringing the beers to the trio on a tray, but that guy gestures for him to stop.

"Not you, old man," the guy says arrogantly, then casts an even more lascivious look at Margaret. "I want the hot waitress to serve me, or is that treatment only for rich nobles?"

Margaret wears an expression of fear, and her father looks at Draven, but he only nods with a solemn expression.

"Father?" Arthur can't help but complain.

Draven looks at his son with a sorry expression. "We may live in a small village, but we're still part of the Continent of Eldoria, and we follow its laws..."

"We can't attack people just because they're drunk in a pub," he explains. "The Carpenters knew these laws when they created this tavern, so they have to be hospitable and kind to all customers, no matter their appearance."

Ah, the laws. They existed in Liam's world, but they never stopped him from killing those who deserved it.

However, it's different for Arthur; he has many things to worry and care about, so he can't break the law just because he wants to, regardless of the consequences that may fall on his family.

Upset, Arthur tries to contain his anger while just watching Margaret carry the tray with beers to the trio with trembling hands.

Unable to do anything, he tries to grab the beer mug on his table; maybe the alcohol can help.

But Draven quickly pulls the mug away before Arthur can reach it. "Your mother doesn't let you drink yet."

"..." Arthur doesn't verbally complain but gives his father a frustrated look.

"Okay... it looks like you need it," Draven sighs and pushes the mug back to Arthur. "Just don't tell her."

Arthur nods and brings the beer mug to his mouth, but before he can drink, he sees one of the trio's members trying to touch Margaret's backside as she places the mugs on their table.

"Bastar-" Arthur drops his mug and starts to stand up again.

But Draven forces him to sit down once more. "Look!"

Arthur sees Margaret quickly dodge the guy's sneaky attempt and move away rapidly.

That guy gives a disgusting smile directly at Arthur, making his vile intentions even clearer.

Draven can see that Arthur is close to his limit, so he speaks in a solemn tone. "I know you want to act, but this situation isn't as bad as it seems…"

Arthur is confused, and Draven continues. "The world is a nasty and dark place, but these people live in peace in this village because I keep them protected…"

He looks genuinely sorry. "But it's just a thin bubble keeping them away from all the crap outside... And I can't guarantee their safety forever, so they need to learn to handle situations like this."

"Even the weakest and most scared dog needs to learn to growl back, or the world will crush them like an insect." Draven's words are a harsh truth.

Arthur feels useless; he knows he can't change the whole world, but he wants to help Margaret now.

While he ponders that, the malicious guy overturns his entire beer mug onto the floor and casts his lascivious gaze on Margaret again.

"Hey you, bring me more beer!" He shouts.

She runs like a frightened rabbit, bringing another beer to the guy.

He tries to touch her again, and she dodges as before, but this time, the guy beside her catches her off guard and grabs her arm tightly.

"Why the rush, love?" he asks with a nasty tone and a cruel smile on his face.

Margaret panics, and fear takes over her heart...

But then that fear vanishes when Arthur's firm voice resonates loudly within the tavern. "What a mistake!" He stands up, ready to give those guys what they deserve.

Draven doesn't try to hold his son back now, as even he has reached his limit.

Yet, he calmly requests Arthur, "Just don't kill them, please."