BEGINNINGS (3)

Marlin dashes at them at speeds faster than they can perceive, utilizing his chi on his legs and attacking them by striking in vital areas. After that, it became a one sided fight, with Marlin killing them all.

Now as he stands there, covered in blood, he begins to understand the world a bit more. In this world the weak are crushed by the strong.

"Well, that's that."

Excalibur reverts to its original form and Marlin sheathes it, continuing his journey.

Unbeknownst to him however, one of the bandits begins to get up from the pile of corpses.

"Damn Kid, wait till the boss hears about this!"

"Really? That's an interesting thought"

The bandit looks to the tree and sees none other than Michael, peering at him with his arms crossed.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Don't worry, it won't matter in a bit. I am just the clean up crew."

"What do you mean by that?!"

Michael pulls out his greatsword and it begins to glow with a crimson aura

"Excalibur, the Fated, Crimson Heaven!"

Michael slashes creating a red tower, erasing all evidence in the area then disappears.

…

Meanwhile, Wazuki and Shinji tend to the female thief's wounds while interrogating her. During this instance, they notice…

"Wazuki, she hasn't responded to any question we asked…"

"...Excuse me miss, are you just soft spoken or can you not speak?"

The thief tries to utilize hand gestures to respond but Wazuki and Shinji give her a confused look.

"...I have paper and ink so could you write it out for us?"

She nods and takes the paper on ink then begins to write some answers.

'Hi, my name is Ruka Chikai. To answer the most notable question, yes, I am unable to communicate as well as others but I can still relay my thoughts on paper. You asked me why I stole from your brother but the answer should be apparent as I was lacking some funds. In all honesty, it fell from his travel bag and I picked it up.'

Wazuki and Shinji read the note then begin to stare at her.

"So you thought it was a good idea to keep it rather than return it?"

Ruka shrugs at Shinji's question with a sigh then writes once more

'I do not regret my actions so you can do as you wish with me.'

The two looked at Ruka and back at themselves, then there was silence for a while. Wazuki was the first to speak.

"I don't have time for this. I have an exam in Nishikawa I need to do."

"Same. The Sect exam right? For the Red Hawk sect?"

"I do as well. We could all go together if possible."

The two look at each other then nod in agreement, setting off at night.

…

Earlier…

A streak of white is seen rushing through the forest, moving at exceptional speeds. Then it suddenly stops and throws something against a tree.

"Wake up! You are heavy!"

There stands the oldest female child of the Kemono Family, Haruka Kemono. Her white hair covers her back completely while sporting a completely white outfit. Upon further inspection, it seems she threw a child at a tree. His name is Kibe Kemono. He is a copper-colored male with c=brown hair and golden eyes, reminiscent of a beast.

"Damn it sis! That hurt bruh!"

"It only hurts because you're weak! And what did Father say about your weird sayings? If you had stayed any longer, you would have infected the other children with your odd terms!"

Haruka drops her fist on Kibe's head

"I can't help it!"

"Regardless, we have arrived in Misaki. Naganohara is just over the horizon. It's about time too, because of your need to prepare for the trip, you were late!"

Haruka and Kibe continued this back and forth for a while. Eventually, things calmed down.

"Well sis, have a good one, I gotta go"

"Hah! You thought it was going to be that easy to get rid of me? You have to pass my test first, Father's orders."

"Oh? If it's a test of Intelligence then why bother? Right Echo?"

"You said it boss!"

Echo is an imaginary friend of sorts. He has been with Kibe since birth, being the one to teach Kibe how to speak. From Kibe's description, as he is the only one who can see him, Echo is about 2ft tall and is a shadow-like entity with big white eyes.

"Are you seriously still talking to something that is not there?"

"Just give me the test already!"

"Sure, sure but who said anything about a test of intelligence?"

"...eh?"

Haruka jumps down with a dropkick from a tree but Kibe barely parries it with his right arm which had changed into the arm of a dragon. This is the Kemono's special trait, likening them to beastmen, they too can change their body to that of a specific animal. The potential of strength in the family is based on what animal you embody. The main branch, which Kibe and Haruka are a part of, is based around Dragons, which have been deemed to be one of the strongest species of beasts.

"Damn, you couldn't let me know when?!"

"You know I am not one to wait. Now then, you have evaded the first hit, but what will you do about the second?!"

Haruka's arm changes to that of a Dragon's with white scales, rushing in with a punch. Kibe, who could not react to the speed at which the punch was thrown, gets hit and launched through a tree. She follows up with an axe kick but he dodges that as well, leaning inwards and rushing to punch her in the stomach. Surprised at this, Haruka blocks by putting both arms in front of her.

"How was that?"

"Even weaklings get lucky. Now let's see how you fare against an attack at this level."

"Wait… chill!"

Haruka's mouth begins to unhinge and a green ball of energy begins to form in her mouth. Kibe, who is aware of the destructive capability of this attack, looks around his surroundings. There he sees Haruka's Spatial Ring, a pile of vines and the remaining tree bark from the last attack next to some rocks.

"I haven't used this in a while."

Kibe grabs the items that he sees and says a single chant.

"Upgraded Creation! Fusion Creation!"

While this happens, Kibe remembers a memory, where he sees a man creating a weapon, and a group of individuals with highly advanced weapons apprehending and murdering him in cold blood.

Upgraded Creation is a skill unique to Kibe that improves a concept that has been created by the user. Utilizing that memory, Kibe creates a Shield made of those materials to block the attack.

"DRAGON'S SHOUT!"

Haruka shoots the beam at Kibe but the shield deflects it but breaks immediately.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

"I am not sure. You survived though so shall we continue?"

"I'm taking initiative this time! Upgraded Creation!"

Kibe uses the remaining materials to create a longsword and rushes at Haruka, slashing at her. Haruka, however, dodges all the attacks and closes in on him.

"I am finishing this here."

With that, Haruka punches Kibe in the stomach using her dragon arm, knocking him out.

Some time passes and Kibe wakes up with a note in his hand and a stomach ache.

"Dammit! I lost again! I told them that I am not built for combat."

He then sees the letter and reads it.

"Hey! I may have knocked you out for too long, you have been asleep for 2 hours so I'm just gonna leave... So yeah. North of the Hole, there should be Naganohara, The Town of Beginnings. Good luck!."

PS: I gathered some materials that you may need and left it in the ring. Peace out little brother :)

Signed, Haruka

Kibe puts the Spatial ring on his finger and with a smile on his face, he heads towards Naganohara.

[END OF CHAPTER 3]