Not So Fantasy World

My companions and I rushed through the tree line, shrouded in the shade the trees provided. The screams continued to grow louder and more frequent, causing my heart to race with adrenaline. I wanted to save this person fast, or I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. Julius and Leo were close behind, and the three of us were reaching the source of the screams.

We jumped out of the forest and into an opening, seeing a gruesome scene. There was a pair of soldiers from the city, blood covering their blades, and a bunch of bodies surrounding the area. There was a girl with canine-line ears on the top of her silver hair and a long tail hugging her body. I stare at the girl for a moment, because she looks familiar to me, but I'm brought back to reality when Leo moves up, fists balled tightly. "What in the gods name are you doing?"

One of the guard approached, while the other guard kept the girl cornered, blade ready to strike her down. This was outrageous! What were these soldiers doing, and to people that appeared to be civilians of all things! Taking another look at the bodies, however, and I notice that most of them are similar to the quivering girl: human like with animalistic attributes. "As a citizen of his Emperor's realm, you should know that Beastmen are only allowed in these lands as slaves. These people were breaking the law crossing the border and into our lands! Therefore criminals under his majesty's reign!" I felt my eye twitch hearing this. This empire was revealing that it was more and more like reality than I could care for. I then noticed that I was walking forward, towards the soldier, who turned to look to me.

He gave me a disgusting smirk after seeing my gauntlet and chuckled, pushing Leo aside. "Ah, the Gauntlet Hero. The Beast Lover." My eye twitched harder. It was possible this soldier didn't hear the Emperor's decree, but for some reason, my anger only grew. "Wanted to possibly save some of these filthy-" My gauntlet connected with his jaw, and the soldier was sent to the floor.

The other guard gasped, and reeled his sword up to strike the girl. My gauntlet switched to the blue slime form and the gelatinous hand shot out, grabbing the guard's hand. The hand began to fizz and I watched as the guard yelled in pain, his submerged hand dissolving into the gauntlet. What remained of the sword fell to the floor and the man gripped his newly acquired stump, falling to his knees as he screamed in pain.

I noticed that I had gained some experience to some gauntlets, but the only one I could see was the Weapon series. Checking it out, the Bladed Gauntlet(Sword) had gained some XP, but was not complete. It was possibly due to the way I had absorbed the blade. I focused on the two other pieces and grabbed them, dissolving them as well. More XP was gained, but still not enough. I decided to focus on the situation at hand, turning to see Leo on top of the other guard, punching him into the dirt. I turned to see Julius, hand on his blade, but not making a move. I glared at him, and saw him stay stoic. "Julius, you don't plan on interfering, to you?" The Centurion shook his head, and I nodded. Who was this person I was? I've been mad before, but I haven't ever had this much rage within me.

I returned my gaze to the man who had lost his hand, seeing that he was trying to choke the girl now. I jumped into action, sprinting to the two. The girl was trying her best to pull the soldier's hand away to no avail, coughing as her windpipe was crushed. I raised my slime hand and swung, the gelatin hand punched the soldier, then enveloped his head. Having known what had happened the last time, I moved and covered the girl's eyes, holding her close to my body. The other three watched in shock as the soldier's body fell lifeless.

Leo and Julius were focused on the act that the other soldier managed to kick off my companion and run away, leaving the forest. Leo jumps back up, growling as he looked around. He realized that the guard had escaped, and he turned to me. Julius removed his hand and took a more neutral stance, staring at me and the girl.

I backed away from the girl, but she grasped onto me, holding on to me tightly. She buried her face into my chest, and I could hear her whimpers and her gasps for air as she began to cry. I placed my arm around her and patted her back, trying to console her, but after looking up, I spotted it: two adults that had similar features this girl, their cloths covered in red. I then looked around some more and saw that there were some other families who had died together. I don't know why I had entered that fit of anger, but now I didn't feel all that bad about it. I turned to Leo and Julius, and focused on Leo. "We need to find that guard. It doesn't matter if he is a soldier of the kingdom, he needs to pay for this massacre." Leo nodded, and then I focused on Julius. "And you'll help as my Centurion, yes?" The Centurion stood still for a moment, silent as he always was before nodding, saluting me. I nodded, then looked back down to the young girl.

Her grip had not loosened, but her breathing had eased slightly. "Hey..." I pulled on her ripped shirt, stopping when it threatened to tear more. I grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her away. I knelt down to her level, revealing her red face. She had been crying pretty hard, and I wouldn't blame her. Her family was dead, and if this was a group, her friends. I give her shoulders a squeeze, and she looks up to me. Getting a better look at her, I realized that she was the same wolf girl I had seen in my dream the day I came here. She looked to me with those wet eyes and red tear stained cheeks. I looked back to Leo, wanting to not have my question answered. "Leo, are...Beastmen truly illegal in these lands?"

The hooded man closed his eyes, crossing his arms and sighing. "Yeah. And the thing about only allowing them as slaves is also true, at least in the lands where the Emperor's control is absolute." I felt my eye twitch again. I turned back to the little girl, who was staring at me.

"What's your name, little one?" I asked in a calm voice. She sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"M-my name? My name is Luna."