Tyrant

After parting, I continued west to completely the other side of the world.

The night was darker than it usually is, perhaps the clouds were readied to water the earth. The view of nature from high ground altitude really beautiful, Its shape and general aesthetic change with different places making this journey more enjoyable.

The feeling of satisfied, I exhale. 

"I hope she's here with me too."

A quick flash to the past, I can see her face clearly, I remember her soothing voice in my ear eerily calling my name. The way I hold onto her cold hand. With the eyes on mine, I stopped to capture the view of this peaceful era in her place.

This calming moment was interrupted when I noticed the shift of mana surrounding me. It's from behind, like a wind blowing through the woods, my senses stimulated outstandingly. That's right, someone is following me!

Although I expected the tension to build up, the moment I turned to my back, I saw three pairs of eyes travelling at high speed straight into me. This sense of hatred filled within me, I couldn't stand the smell of this creature. After almost a century, this filthy animal has the audacity to show up here?

I blocked two swords that were swung at my neck, hardened my right arm to effectively break the third sword that was trying to hit it.

I recognised this shape and mana, those red glaring eyes, they're demons. They're not supposed to be here, why are they here? 

Steady on their feet, one of them opened their mouth to ask "Are you, Shin?" 

I can feel veins popping on my head, I clenched my teeth and drew my own sword.

"We're…"

I swung my sword at the one speaking, I already knew this wasn't going to be easy the moment they managed to evade my sneaky slash. They kept their distance between me and stood in fighting stands. I slowly turned to face them and declared.

"No need to introduce yourself. You are all warriors from the Demon Empire. I've been waiting."

This is going to be fun, from a single glance I knew they were no match for me. Only weak demons stick together. I showed them the sharp edge of my blade. I had that confident smirk on my face and involuntarily let out a quick uproarious laugh. I have never been this excited in a long time.

One of them held a magical bow, while the other two drew their own swords.

An archer huh?

I'm assessing the situation quickly with my magic eyes.

Both swordsmen bent their knees, dropping into a low squat while keeping the torso bolt upright, then stood up again and shuffled their feet into the proper stance. I can see two images for each of them and one with an arrow travelling straight for my heart.

Only two predictions?

To be honest, it was quite disappointing, I was expecting more from them than just a few easy predictions. Don't get me wrong, they are incredibly strong, but that is when compared to others. On the other hand, I used to be the general who led an army against these animals.

Taking a deep breath, I make a quick jump to the side out of the way of their attacks, but I did not expect the archer to shoot high at me, hitting me directly in my chest area and sending me flying a few kilometres away.

The second I landed on my feet, my eyes saw the two swordsmen in front of me.

They're fast.

The second later following the image, their physical bodies caught up.

I swung my sword horizontally blocking their attacks and at the same time blasting the ground with a fire spell to make a distance between us.

***

Hours after the fight started, we approached dawn as it eventually ended, leaving a large fire that ate the forest with three bodies on the ground. I dropped onto my knees, trying to catch my breath when suddenly. 

"Clap…clap…clap…"

Slow clapping sounds coming from behind.

My heart sank, I could feel chills down my spine. The shock in my eyes was obvious, a certain someone had appeared from the dark as he walked closer to me. I knew it, I recognised this overwhelming power. The power I wished I never had to face again.

"No, it can't be…" I murmured in disbelief.

Thousands of images appeared in my eyes, these memories are as clear as crystals.

It felt like an eternity before my views were clear. A man with black hair and horns on his head, bright red eyes, really bright, brighter than any demon. He's not wearing any real armour, but a black attire made from dragon skin. No, this skin is from Shadow Dragon. This is not my first impression of him, this crushing aura, not in a violent or dangerous manner, but rather, something I can respect.

"What are you doing here, Tyrant?"

He was smiling as he approached me as if we were old friends. His lips let out a familiar voice, the voice I relate with hatred. This man is The Demon King!

"Shin Naga… The general of Spasitel, it's an honour to meet you." he bowed slightly.

I know this is a fight I can't win, but this anger within me is flooding out, despite that, I had no fear of this man. Only hatred. He noticed my clenched fist.

Why didn't he respect the agreement for peace we've made? My fire mana leaks out, burning nearby vegetation. I can think of nothing but kill this fucker right now. I despise him.

"Just what the hell are you doing here?! The war is over! You have half of the world what the hell do you want with the Other Half!" I snapped.

"Do not misunderstand it, the war is indeed over but the peace is not achieved."

What is he trying to pull here? I am very familiar with this man's tricks, if he thinks that I would fall for it then too bad I wouldn't.

"What are you talking about, peace has been achieved since the day war was over!"

"That's true…for the half I conquered."

This guy just pissing me off, he had nothing but violence in hand. I knew he wouldn't be satisfied with what we surrendered! He wants it all!

"You can just shut your mouth. I will just kill you right here and right now!"

I swing my sword directly at Tyrant, but it is immediately blocked when Tyrant places a magic shield between us. The hit caused an explosion that blasted me away.

Blood was running out my mouth, I figured it would be bad if I lost. What do I do?

I can't beat him… I'm too weak.

For starters, I gradually control my breathing to concentrate my energy on my mind. Slowly, my body was covered with scales and my head shifted its shape into a dragon-like head along with a pair of wings that grew. A battle form of the Naga race.

I have never used this form in the peace era.

I clenched my fist stupidly believing myself, because that's the only thing I can do now. I turned directly at Tyrant, and with more speed and strength than before, I launched myself at Tyrant.

"Interesting!" Tyrant screamed as he maniacally smiled at me as I came straight at him at full speed.

***

The following day the clear evening sky, mirrored Dahlia's happy mood after arriving at the Henid Kingdom. That's when I noticed a martial arts tournament advertisement on a poster as we walked into the town.

"Dahlia look!" I pointed at the poster.

"What is it?"

"It's the martial arts tournament, it's being held here in the Henid Kingdom tomorrow!"

"And why is that, are you going to participate?"

She looked visibly nervous as I brought up the idea of me participating in the tournament. I also noticed that she grew more protective of me for quite some time.

"Look, you can be a warrior of the Henid Kingdom as the prize. Which means I would be able to meet the King of Henid Kingdom."

I tried to persuade her with the prize, but she didn't seem to understand the appeal of meeting the King of Henid Kingdom. I supposed most people wouldn't understand, but for me, it's different. I have to meet him.

"Isn't it dangerous?"

I could tell worries were building up on her face. That's right she's worried about me, I assured her to be safe.

"It's alright, I'll be fine."

"Alright then if you say so."

Although she adverts her gaze to the ground I can tell, she is still against it. I'm sorry to make you worry, Dahlia, but I have to participate in this once.

Thus, I took her somewhere to eat, I believed it would cease her uneasiness for the moment being.

A small ramen shop in the middle of Henid Town. I never saw this shop the last time I paid a visit here. We sat down at our table and I ordered to the waiter. She still seemed a bit worried, so I knew what exactly to order for her.

"Two bowls of ramen please."

"Alright sir, come right away."

Instance later, a guy in a black coat enters the premises, although he doesn't seem like a problem at first he starts to approach our table as we currently wait for our food.

I can feel my eyeballs vibrate as he comes closer to Dahlia, on her left ear the opposite from where I was sitting, and whispers.

"Hey cutie, what are you doing here alone?" 

You… I could rip you apart

My hands were itching to plant my sword to his throat. My mouth moved as my head filled with ways I could tear this guy. He crosses the line when he tries to wrap his arm around Dahlia. I grab onto his arm, and I can feel this fragile bone of his, I could snap it right this moment. Dahlia was uncomfortable, so I tried to compose myself.

"She's not alone, I'm with her."

Of course, in a mocking manner, he responds, "Oh… I didn't see you there tough guy."

At this point, I haven't said anything yet but continued to hold his arm. The tension in the shop building to a higher degree as he asked.

"Bastard, do you know who am I?" He glares at me trying to intimidate me, only to snatch his arm from my grip "I'm sorry to break it to you, but I'll be joining the tournament."

I wasn't impressed. It's not like you need any particular requirement to join the tournament. Some rando can just join it without having prior experience.

"Is that so."

"What are you after for joining this tournament?" he asked me.

"I want to meet the King of Henid Kingdom,"

What is this question, has he forgotten what he just did? Trying to buy time or something.

"Well you can say goodbye to that because I'm winning the tournament, and of course, I don't care about being a warrior, I just want the prize money."

"Well, that's good as the kingdom doesn't need a coward like you to be a warrior."

"What did you say!" The guy looked visibly pissed and he stand like he was ready to throw a punch.

Enough of this nonsense already, I cut your arm the moment you throw it.

"Do it, I dare you."

Before the guy could even react the owner of the ramen shop grabbed the guy's arm and pinned him on the table.

He growls. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

Camly, he said. "You're not scaring my customer."

The guy seems to have no way of breaking the hold of the shop owner. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go now, just let me go."

The ramen shop owner got him up and walked him to the door.

Before he goes, he turns to me and looks straight into my eyes. "You'll wait for me in the tournament, I'll tear you apart."

***

"That's quite a scene,"

"I am really sorry for that." the owner apologises.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it."

He handed me two bowls of ramen. "Here, it's on the house."

What? What does he mean by that? I could never take something like this for free because of some punk picking a fight with me. It made me guilty, the shop didn't have many customers, in fact, it was empty at the moment. I assume this guy couldn't afford to lose a customer.

"No, it's fine I can pay for these."

"Don't worry about it, I won't feel right if you don't."

I knew it wasn't his fault in the first place, however this guy is persistent. Had I not accepted it, maybe he would not be able to sleep well at night. Perhaps I should just take it.

"Alright then, if you insist."

With a single look, I can already tell, that this ramen is made by an adventurer. Not by the taste or smell, but by the way this man arranged the vegetable on top with the meat submerge. This is an effective way to cook the meat in the bowl with control fire magic. The man is probably an ex-adventurer.

"There weren't many bad people like that in this town, it must've been because of the tournament that a lot of outside adventurers came to visit here." The man sighed, as he wiped the table next to us.

"Really, it's been a while since I visited this town myself. I didn't even know about a tournament held here once every few years."

"A good conversation would be needed for that story."

"I would be delighted."

He took a sit on the table he had wiped. This man looks to be about 70 years old, with an innocent face. He had fully grey hair, a humble expression and a fairly eerie aura. His frame was small, with thin arms, at a glance people would assume this man was just a frail old man. And the smile on his face, nobody could ever guess he was capable of such a thing.

"How old are you two?"

There was a long history in the topic of age among non-humans. Basically, almost 1000 years ago the ages between races were largely different. It causes confusion among travellers and traders. Because in different races the ranges of their prime and maturity are inconsistence with each other. For instance, humans are considered adults at the age of 20 with their prime ending at 30. On the other hand, demons can live up to 1000 years if not killed. And they mature at the age of 20 but reach their prime at the age of 100 and end at 300.

Thus, the universal age was created based on human age, since they are the majority of species. Although it could be confusing for some, the calculation was simple, for each race was different though. Dahlia is a kemono, on average they could live up to 100 years. 80 is the age at which most humans would die of old age. 80 divided by 100. Lastly, multiply it by your real age.

80/100=0.8

0.8*25=20

"I'm 19 human age and she's 20 human age."

"Oh, you are a young man."

I noticed the owner studied the clothes we were wearing. The curiosity was evident on his face.

"Young man, where are you and your company come from?"

Well, we are wearing adventure attire. I guess that's what picked his interest, maybe he just liked to talk about it but nobody was available to him.

"Oh… We're from the northeast side of the human continent."

"Wah, and where you be heading to as you're coming from such a far place from here."

"We are going to Kemono's village… that's her hometown."

I patted Dahlia's head, as she sipped on her hot macha. Although she blushed, she looked slightly annoyed as she tried to stop my hand

"I see…"

The impressed look on his face reminded me just how big of a feat that was. I could tell, the owner was intrigued by our journey.

"By the way, I heard you're joining the martial arts tournament."

Now, that's an interesting topic, is he going to bless me with his wisdom or something? Well, it couldn't hurt anyone.

"Yeah, I want to meet the King of Henid Kingdom. Why are you asking?"

"Oh… It's nothing, it brought back memories… Back when I was young, I was one of the winners of that tournament."

No wonder this guy manhandled that guy so effortlessly, he had some experience in that level of tournament. Like a kid with his dad, my eyes filled with joy and excitement.

"Really!"

"Yes, when I was young."

Dahlia look weirded out, probably because she never sees this side of me. I love combat, but I never really had anyone to talk to about it, so everytime I got the chance, I kinda overacting. I was raised with it because of the war but now I live for it, maybe I should contain myself a little bit.

"Do you think I would be able to win the tournament?"

With a slight smile, he does not confirm nor deny the possibility, but I can see a proud dad in him that gives me closure.

"Don't sweat it young man you still have a lot to learn and I have faith in you."

Those kinds of words burned within me, and I almost did not take this tournament seriously. But now, I feel like dominating it.

"Thank you."

I remember talking to this man till the sun went down the horizon. A sweet old man is what I remember, and is what he is. Later that night, we rest in the inn getting ready for tomorrow's tournament.

***

The clouds covered the dark sky, not a single star can be seen by the naked eye. The gentle breeze flowed through the woods as it slowly rained. In the middle, Tyrant appeared to be holding something in his left hand as his left arm reached out.

I couldn't do anything, he was on another level. I knew I would lose. I, the general of Spasitel, Shin—had fallen on the battlefield.

"What a shame," I murmured my last words.

On the brink of death, I see Tyrant. His eyes, the strongest kind of magic eyes. Although I had lost, the expression he gave me was neither hatred nor anger, rather, he was sad, almost sorrowful.

What was your plan huh?

I was losing strength, my blood ran cold, and my face turned pale. My brain had stopped receiving oxygen, the coldness of night blanketed my body as I became limp.

"It's nice to meet you, Shin."

I was not mocked, nor disrespected. He lay my body slowly on the ground with my arms crossed. My opened eyes were closed by him.

***