Arc 3 - Chapter 4: Attack on the Demi-lion Village (1/2)

This was the first time the town of V'roa'dek'triar, one of the few beastmen towns in the region, located in the interior of the forest called V'roa, as the Roaron people call it, had ever faced such turmoil.

Normally, people who lived outside the forest did not come here, and the only people who came here were hunters who had lost their way.

The people of Roaron were considered monsters by humans and were ostracized outside the forest. This led them to live isolated from the rest of the world in small villages built in the forest.

The half-humans were also beings derived from humans, but the people of roaron were completely derived from the lion.

Thanks to the power of the god who created them, they gained a form that allowed them to move on two legs, but their animalistic characteristics were more dominant than those of demi-humans. They were the standing and larger form of a lion. Because of their appearance, they were called beastmen by hunters who lost their way in the forest and encountered them.

Demi-lions were offended by the term. After all, who would want to see themselves as a beast?

They had legs that allowed them to stand upright, hands instead of paws and they could speak human language.

They too were sad, joyful and caring. Their emotions are the same as human emotions, although there are racial and social differences depending on their species.

Although the lost who saw them were at first frightened and some tried to attack and some tried to flee, the people of Roaron did not want the outside world to perceive them as a threat and were hospitable to the hunters who had lost their way.

In this way, the hunters accepted them as friends and allowed these demi-lions, who called themselves roarons, to guide them through the jungle and not interfere with their peaceful life.

Of course, every now and then there were individuals among the roarons who wanted to harm the lost, but since this could start a war that would harm the entire roaron race, harming the lost in the forest was strictly forbidden.

Thus, although there were minor conflicts between their tribes during their centuries here, the V'roa forest was never invaded by any enemy and the people of Roaron never had to fight outside forces.

They already knew that fighting humans from the outside would be their undoing. Even though they had stronger bodies than humans, humans were cunning, numerous and had magic they could not perceive. So they had never thought of fighting against them. 

So why were people attacking them now?

They had worked hard to preserve the days of peace and tranquility. Now what was the reason for the whole village to be burned by the people?

Rhuu'fu Ki-Gar'o, Ki-Gar'o's strongest warrior, had this question on his mind, but he had no time to think about the answer. Right now, swinging his axe and protecting the children behind him was more important than thinking about anything else.

His golden feathers and black mane were soaked in blood and his eyes were bloodshot. He could hardly hold his axe, which slipped from his grasp because of the blood, but he had no choice but to swing it.

The man Rhuu'fu was fighting was laughing. He was in a fight, facing a two-meter lion-man who wanted to kill him, but his opponent, whose eyes had turned from yellow to red, was laughing.

Rhuu'fu didn't care why he was laughing. He just swung his axe at the man's head but was stopped before the axe touched the man's head.

His opponent took the axe between the fingers of one hand and held it aloft. There were tears in the other man's eyes, but not because of sadness, but because he was laughing like mad. He was so happy now that his happiness was driving Rhuu'fu mad.

He drove his foot into his opponent's stomach, flying into a house engulfed by flames as his opponent continued to laugh.

"Rhuu'fu'ki!"

Trh'iii'ne Ki-Gar'o, the demi-lioness Rhuu'fu liked, the daughter of the chieftain, raised her hand and extended her furry fingers towards Rhuu'fu.

Trh'iii'ne's head was about to fall off. A human lay on the ground, stepping on her back with his foot, watching Rhuu'fu's face with red eyes. Rhuu'fu raised his axe and threw it at the human on top of Trh'iii'ne.

As the axe missed its target and struck a tree, the man on Trh'iii'ne swung his sword, which the people of Roaron called a toothpick, and Trh'iii'ne's head was severed from his body.

"Trh'iii'ne!"

As the demi-lioness's head rolled on the ground and went into the burning grass, her body spasmed and kept moving as the blood drained from her neck.

When Rhuu'fu saw Trh'iii'ne dead, all his vision turned red, he had forgotten the children he was trying to protect. He roared and ran towards his opponent.

He was running not only on his feet but also on his hands.

The man who beheaded Trh'iii'ne laughed like all the other people who raided the village; sadistic, cruel, burning hot.

His eyes were red with pleasure. The mocking look in his red eyes penetrated Rhuu'fu, causing one burst of anger after another.

The opponent Rhuu'fu ran at raised his sword and purple crystals formed around the sword and began to fly towards Rhuu'fu.

But even though they could have killed him, he kept running, not blinking an eye. Even though the crystals embedded in the demi-lion's body caused deep wounds, Rhuu'fu continued to run at his opponent.

As Rhuu'fu pounced on his opponent, the man was not angry, surprised or frightened. He only looked a little bored and a little disappointed that he had failed to stop his opponent with his spell.

He swung his claw at the face of the human who had killed Trh'iii'ne, but the man easily dodged it and punched him in the stomach.

Having been punched, Rhuu'fu rose a little in the air and then landed, while his opponent kicked Rhuu'fu backwards, sending him flying straight and fast. He had barely stopped when he crashed into a burning tree, knocking it over on top of him. His mane caught fire as he lifted the tree off him.

He was wounded, weakened, burning. The only thing that keeps him going now is anger.

For a moment he glimpsed his burning village. Not only fighters, but also women and children were being slaughtered by a handful of men, accompanied by giggles and laughter.

How could they do such a dishonorable act, massacring civilians?

All of them were red-eyed, and they had reached Tougenyu in pleasure.

Rhuu'fu threw the tree off him. Even if his mane burned, he would keep fighting. He stood up to the man who came at him with a mocking smile to play with him.

Instinctively, he raised his arms to make himself look big and roared.

"What a primitive and ugly creature you are."

The human created more purple crystals with his black sword and threw them at Rhuu'fu.

He saw no need to flee from the crystals because he had no intention of getting out alive. He would fight and die with honor as a roaron man.

He jumped as the crystals pierced his body. He fought using his claws, thrusting his own claws against his opponent's sword.

Finally the man got bored and in a move so fast that Rhuu'fu could not see it, he plunged his sword into the belly of the half-lion.

"I'm taking you with me, damn it!"

He grabbed his opponent's arms to prevent him from pulling the sword out of his belly and running away. Then he opened his mouth wide and tore his opponent's face in one bite.

Rhuu'fu heard a cry of pain from behind him as his opponent's face disintegrated and melted into black pitch.

"Rhuu'fu! The children are the last of the Ki-Gar'o clan, take them away!"

Zra'iii'ko Ki-Gar'o, chief of the Ki-Gar'o tribe, was in even worse shape than Rhuu'fu. One arm was severed, most of his body was burned, one eye was dislocated and his intestines spilled out of his ruptured abdomen.

Using the last of his strength, he shouted at Rhuu'fu and then breathed his last breath.

Rhuu'fu looked at the children, the boys had not even grown a mane yet.

Rhuu'fu suffered from his burning body and knew that he would soon die, but before he died, it was his last duty as a Ki-Gar'o to save the children who might one day take their revenge by carrying on the Ki-Gar'o name.

He used the last of his strength, roaring as he ran to the children and told them to follow him. The children were in awe and fear, because the flaming Rhuu'fu was fighting for them, even though he was about to die.

This gave them hope and they got up and started running. Rhuu'fu led the way, clearing the way, while the children followed behind.

"Faster!" roared Rhuu'fu.

As he roared, he sent a man flying with his hand. He didn't even question why he was laughing.

He left the village and kept running. When he turned his head to make sure he was coming from behind the children, he saw the huge three-headed dog chasing them.

"You guys go on! Run to the Lu-Dra'o clan!"

Rhuu'fu stopped and roared at the beast as the children ran away. Instead of going after the children, the three-headed dog chose to follow Rhuu'fu, just as he wanted.

Rhuu'fu ran to get the beast away from them, hoping the children would reach safety.