Arc 3 - Chapter 7: Roaron in the Burning Village

The rain was the heaviest it had ever been as the fall season was coming to an end. The clouds were dropping their drops down as if to extinguish the fire in the forest below them.

As the steam, a combination of rain and fire, rose upward, Kigaro sprinted, trying to reach his destination as quickly as possible. He was so focused that he didn't even realize that he was no longer behind the oncoming wagon. His only goal was to reach the children of his clan and ensure their safety.

He knew where the children's shelter was, both because he had visited this village before and because most of the villages were similar, since the roarons had poor architectural skills. In every village the shelter was near the center.

"I'll say it's the first time I've seen a naked cat, but technically all cats are naked, right?"

A demon appeared in front of Kigaro, balancing a black, cursed sword on the tip of his finger. Like the other demons, he had features that made Kigaro's skin crawl: an uncomfortable smile, red eyes and a confident demeanor.

"Wasn't it dishonorable for your people to turn tail and run? Why run away? Unless you have different rules for naked cats, which I'll have to respect... I guess..."

Kigaro did not want to let his dishonorable opponent make him angry. A warrior must remain calm and control his temper, because anger prevents people from seeing what lies ahead.

He often forgot this rule, just as he had forgotten it in the battle in his village, but now he remembered it, so he had to follow it. He had to rise calmly and not let his opponent gain the psychological upper hand. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his composure, even though the devil was getting on his nerves.

His opponent was a sinister, dangerous, deceitful, malevolent creature. He had a weapon and possibly magic spells. Kigaro had nothing more than his teeth and claws to fight with.

"That's enough for a lion."

"Answer me, why are you attacking my people ? What is your purpose?"

"Meow? Is this a talking cat-nyan? Huhaha..."

"Answer me!"

He did not want to get angry, but this was difficult to achieve as Kigaro was not a generally calm roaron. He was a roaron who valued honor and dignity and would not give up the warrior's pride, but he failed to keep the warrior's calmness.

The devil easily recognized this and managed to make Kigaro angry, then he laughed like a child and gave Kigaro a maddening look with his red eyes.

"I SAID ANSWER ME!"

He roared towards the opponent. Despite the distance between them, Kigaro's terrifying roar caused the devil's black hair to ripple. The demon grimaced, annoyed by the breath he felt.

"You want to know why-nyan? Uh-huh..." He giggled like a child. "Because it's fun."

He couldn't stay calm and his pupils contracted at the answer he received, his face flushed red with anger as his hair was stripped from his face. He leapt at the devil to finish him off right then and there.

"Meow..."

Kigaro's opponent spun around and escaped Kigaro's grasp like a matador from a bull. Kigaro had jumped so fast that he was unable to stop himself when his move went for naught and crashed into a tree, taking it down with him.

"It's fun, I feel alive. Tell me, I'll try to empathize with you, how do you feel-"

Kigaro stood up, picked up the fallen tree and swung it at the demon before he had finished speaking. His opponent could not dodge the blow and as the tree hit him, he flew into the burning bushes, tumbled into the bushes and his cloak ignited by the flames.

"Really meow... What did I do to you that you attacked me before I even finished my sentence? Can't we talk like two adults? Or should I just meow because you're a primitive creature who doesn't understand human words?"

"I'll meow your mommy," said Kigaro.

As the devil threw off his flaming cloak, Kigaro threw the tree he was still holding at the devil.

The demon jumped on the tree that was coming at him, ran on the tree flying through the air and jumped at Kigaro. The tip of his black sword was aimed at Kigaro's eye.

Kigaro dodged the sword and grabbed the demon's arm, knocking it to the ground. This time the demon was weaker than the one he had fought in his village, though it spoke more.

"Bastard!"

He felt a burning sensation in his hand and saw that his palm had turned black. Something must have happened when he touched the devil.

"Some devils are like that."

The fallen demon swung his foot towards Kigaro's ankle. Kigaro fell to the ground, hit harder than he expected, but the demon stood up and brought his sword down to stab him in the heart.

Kigaro rolled on the ground, dodging the first blow, but was now lying face down. He tried to turn again to get away from his opponent, but the sword was lodged in his back.

He roared in pain from the sword stabbing him. His back was on fire. It was different from the pain from the piercing of the sword, it was hot, it was a curse. He started foaming at the mouth like a rabid animal, but the foam was black.

"It's fun to play with primitive creatures like you, to see you suffer and struggle helplessly."

"Asshole!"

"Yeah, yeah. I love it when they talk dirty to me."

As a warrior, he was not supposed to give up the fight. He put his hands on the ground, his fingers digging into the earth, and used all his strength to stand up.

"To see that you still haven't given up... To see that you're still fighting... What are you fighting for? Is the little kitty fighting for his pride? Or does kitty kitty have something to protect? Meow, I think they're already dead."

The demon made a deep cut on Kigaro's back as he tried to get up. Kigaro roared in pain as he fell to the ground again. Tears welled up in his eyes as the cut on his back burned. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't stop his eyes from tearing up, and it broke his pride like a twig.

"Is little kitty-kitty crying? Baby, if you want, I can wipe your tears or better yet, I can take your eyes. That way you won't have to cry again."

He thought he was weak, how had it come to this? He was defeated and his pride was humiliated. The strongest warrior of the Ki-Gar'o clan could do nothing against a foreign invader from outside. Was roaron warriors so weak?

From birth, a male roaron was trained to be a warrior. He was tested by hunger, thirst, cold, monsters. To be a true warrior he learns to endure all hardships and Kigaro was a warrior who never lost. He was a warrior who didn't want to lose.

"I must not lose."

He didn't want to lose his pride even if he lost the war, but did he have the right to talk about pride now, when the devil was jumping on his back?

More than his mane or his clan was taken from him. His dignity as a roaron was taken away. Kigaro was humiliated and turned from a lion into a kitten. He was angry, he was mad, he was childishly denying it.

"Huh?"

When he saw Kigaro trying to get up again, he started jumping harder. As he jumped, he kept stabbing his sword into his back.

He stabbed him in non-lethal places because he wanted to cause him pain, and the pain throbbed in his brain. His body burned as if he were in flames again.

Kigaro didn't give up, using his remaining strength to lift his torso up as the sword slashed and burned his scalp. He hoped the demon would lose its balance and fall to the ground, but it only bounced slightly and got off Kigaro.

Kigaro was struggling to straighten his shoulders. The demon grinned and pointed his sword at Kigaro as his chest rose and fell noticeably from the heavy breathing.

"Meow, meow?"

Kigaro took out his claws and ran towards the devil.

The devil got rid of him again and slashed his leg with his sword, the cut burning. Kigaro roared and slapped the devil across the face with the back of his hand.

"I'm going to take you to my house and domesticate you, and there will be lots of fun things there."

He smiled masochistically as he ran his hand over the cheek where Kigaro had hit him.

This time the devil made the first move and drove his sword into Kigaro's leg, and Kigaro roared again.

Time had slowed down for him now, could he defeat this as he had defeated the demon in his village? Would the same trick work again? Or would he survive this time?

He had no choice but to try, he grabbed the devil's hand. Unable to get his sword out of his leg, the demon was caught by Kigaro and could not get away. Kigaro opened his jaws wide again, as he had done before, and attacked the devil's face.

His opponent had no time to laugh or speak, his face was smashed and his body turned to black pitch.

Kigaro roared as he pulled the sword out of his leg and ran, leaving his melting opponent behind after declaring victory. His body was full of wounds, but he had no time to stop and rest.