“Don’t falter! Take them down!” [Guard]

“Damnit! Where the hell did these humans come from?!” [Guard]

“HURRY! EVACUATE OVER HERE!” [Guard]

“WHY THE HELL ARE OUR OWN FIGHTING WITH THE HUMANS?!” [Guard]

The city was in chaos at the sudden attack of humans who somehow sneaked in and beastmen who sided with them for some reason. As the citizens who were in the warzones ran away for their lives, the soldiers guided them to safety or fought off the enemies. During this huge turmoil, the Catallards were also fighting their own battle. They scattered about, ran through the streets and headed for the battlefield.

“Damn, damn damn! YOU TRAITORS!” [Catallard]

“YOU’RE THE TRAITORS! YOU WORTHLESS CATALLARDS!” [Terdim]

For some reason, as they bravely fought for their city, they had to also deal with the Terdims. The clan that was like their rival and brother-in-arms suddenly became their enemy and a deadly battle ensued.

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLANNING THIS ATTACK?!” [Terdim]

“HUH?! THE HELL ARE YOU-!?” [Catallard]

“YOU ASSASSINS WANTED TO TAKE THE THRONE!” [Terdim]

“YOU LOTS ARE THE ONES WHO BETRAYED US, YOU DISLOYAL MUTTS!” [Catallard]

The Terdims traded blows with them while calling them things like “traitors” and “assassins” in a loud voice. They shouted it like they wanted their surroundings to hear them. Of course, the Catallards denied their words with some insults mixed in, but they kept accusing them without pause.

“YOU SOLD YOUR RACE TO THE HUMANS IN EXCHANGE!” [Terdim]

“WHY YOU! ACCUSING US! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!!” [Catallard]

The two clans’ superior bloodlines that granted each individual a considerable mana pool without fail made them dangerous opponents. That was why the guards and people present, though shocked and confused, let them fight it out. The two strongest fighting force of Ofauvra were at each other’s throats, something they didn’t ever expect to see.

Those who were branch members were basically those who inherited a lesser mana pool. They more often ranked C or B following the adventurer’s guild ranking system. Those who were of the main family possessed the largest mana pool and all of them were A rank with a few being S rank. That was why the two main families fought each other while the branch members stayed away from them.

So, when a Terdim, who was of the branch family and was B rank, fearlessly tried to stab Arka in the back during the confusion in his fight, he was grandly blow away. His sword only made a light cut on the skin before a side swing of the Catallard’s arm caved in his skull and broke his neck.

“Damn! What the hell, what the hell are you doing, GIL??!!” [Arka]

Arka yelled at the man of similar age that rushed in and threw a powerful punch to his chest which he blocked with his gauntleted arms. His opponent was the son of the Terdim’s head, Rowan, and looked just like him, only younger. He was a strong fighter, but Arka was better thanks to his larger mana pool. Yet, Gil was holding his own despite being A rank. The reason for that was because he had something to compensate the difference in strength.

“Grrr, we are making things right!” [Gil]

Snarls and growls accompanied the man’s voice who normally had dark red-hair. However, right now, he was covered in white fur and looked like a ferocious dog walking on two legs with two long fangs sticking out of his mouth. Arka had a hard time believing it at first when he saw him transform, but Gil had somehow obtained beastification. Even though, just like him, the relic didn’t react to him when he had dived inside the ruin, he now possessed that rare power.

“Was it a lie when it was reported that the relic didn’t grant you beastification?!” [Arka]

“It wasn’t. This is something I received thanks to his majesty!” [Gil]

“Our king?!” [Arka]

“Under his leadership, we’ll clear away the old grudges that had nowhere to go!” [Gil]

While exchanging blows, Arka also threw questions at him to understand why he and his clan would attack them.

“What are you talking about?! What grudge?!” [Arka]

“Not many remember the last war, but we do!” [Gil]

Gil yelled and roared as he delivered a sweeping kick, hitting his foe on his unguarded left flank and sending him rolling on the ground. The Terdim rushed him just as he got back on his feet, intending to claw him with his two hands. Arka caught them both and it became a contest of strength as they both glared at each other.

“Seventy years ago, we retreated because of our fear for demons! Pathetic! The cruelty that our grandfathers suffered, do we just look away from it all?!” [Gil]

Gil, with his face close to Arka’s, spit out his words angrily as he remembered the stories of the war he heard when he was a child.

“That’s what this is about!? The past?!” [Arka]

“And the future! After we’ve conquered the humans, we’ll expand our lands, amass power and deal with the demons! The beastman race will be greater than ever!” [Gil]

“SCREW YOU!!” [Arka]

Gil was shoved away by a furious Arka. Then, he traded blows once again with his enemy. Beastification made him stronger, but it couldn’t completely close the gulf between an A rank and a S rank. Although his strength increased, he was still weaker than the Catallard. His high speed regeneration allowed him to keep fighting despite the heavy blows his body received, but he was gradually being pushed back.

“How many of our people did you bastards kill for this!?” [Arka]

“It was necessary for the future!” [Gil]

“The future?! I bet this is really just because you mutts are jealous of us!” [Arka]

“Why the hell would we be jealous?!” [Gil]

Arka smirked.

“Because my father kept beating yours every time, so people consider us the strongest.” [Arka]

“ROAAAAR!” [Gil]

Amidst the chaos, Arka and a beastified Gil continued to fight, using only their fists and claws. But, an advent immediately ceased not only their death match, but every other battle in the vicinity.

Without warning, a chilling sensation fell upon every single beastman. Those with furry tails had their fur bristled with their ears twitching. Those with lizard tails tapped the ground a few times and stopped moving, frozen in place. Drenched in cold sweat, they felt like their heart was being squeezed. Because of this, some fell to the humans who had taken advantage of this opening. However, even they, sensing how weird the situation was, cautiously pulled back to observe their surroundings.

The battlefield had gone quiet. Beastmen were standing around, somewhat still on guard against their opponents, but shivering like threatened little animals. It was the same for Rowan’s group that had arrived in the city and was joining the fray. Their goal was to annihilate the humans that were hired to attack Ofauvra, sacrifice the beastmen fighting with them and demolish their rival clan, the Catallard.

Yet, they stopped in their tracks and vigilantly watched their surroundings. Rowan looked at his wife, Grisel, who, just like him, was in her beast form. In her hands was Supriya’s sword that had become a bit too small for her. As they observed the street and houses that were devoid of people, but had dead bodies lying around, he appeared.

No warning was given whatsoever before he made his presence known. Breaking through the roof of a certain house, he flew up vertically and stopped about twenty meters in the air. Clad in a long black coat with the hem actually turning into smoke, the creature looked down on those present in the city.

“Wha, what…” [Rowan]

Fear.

That was the best way Rowan could describe how he felt as he stared at the man that had white feathers for hair. A black horn that curbed backwards decorated the right side of his head and his right eye was of a golden color. He never saw any creature with such a queer appearance before, nor did he ever feel so frightened by someone in his life.

“(Mana pressure?)” [Rowan]

He reflexively thought that the being was using mana pressure on him and everyone else. It was like when waves of mana incessantly crashed down on him when Argos used it to intimidate him for a second. However, it only felt similar. His fur stood on end, his hands shook and his tail curled up. Argos’ mana pressure never rendered him in such a state. This was his basic instincts as a living being warning him of the danger he was facing.

“W-what is that…?” [Grisel]

Just like him, his wife was struck with this strange sense of fear and blankly stared at the unknown man. At that moment, as if noticing her stare, his eyes of different color gazed down on her, startling Grisel and the Terdims standing around. His line of sight went from her face, to the sword that was faintly shaking in her hands and to the group of six. Then, as if he was tracing the path from which they came from, his eyes went past them, down the street, to the city’s entrance and to a certain place outside of Ofauvra.

Rowan noticed this and wondered if he really was looking at the place where he had fought and killed Argos along with his wife and five other Catallards. However, even if that was true, the location was several miles away from here, so he wouldn’t be able to see anything with just his eyes.

Wasting time thinking about such things was a grave mistake.

The being materialized a black object in his right hand. It formed like mist gathering to take shape and resembled nothing he had ever seen before. There seemed to be a handle like a sword to hold it, but instead of a blade, there was another rectangular thing on top of it. Affixed perpendicularly on one end, the other end was pointed at his group. The next moment, a beam of bluish white light came out of it and passed next to him, blowing a hole in the ground.

“… Huh?” [Rowan]

He let out an idiotic sound because of the sudden occurrence. The intense heat that accompanied that blast felt like it burned his fur. When he slowly turned his head, he saw his wife, who was standing next to him, missing a chunk of her body. Everything from the shoulders to the head was gone. The arms, with nothing connecting them, fell to the ground and the body followed suit. The corpse, now lying on its stomach, was releasing a bit of blood from the huge wounds that were seared black.

“… Grisel…?” [Rowan]

Rowan called out to his wife, but obviously, she didn’t answer him. She couldn’t anymore. It was an instant death with her head destroyed. Not even beastification’s high speed regeneration could save her from that. The four other Terdims were also stunned by the sudden death of one of their leaders and stared at her blankly.

“… Bastard…” [Rowan]

A small groan leaked from his mouth.

“BASTAAAAARRRDD!!” [Rowan]

Then, a mad roar was released from the depths of his body, shaking the air. Hatred overtook fear and he dashed towards his now mortal enemy.

“SURROUND HIM! NOOOWW!” [Rowan]

His words spurred his men to take action and they quickly spread out. They were a martial clan. With the death of Grisel, there was no way these warriors would continue to stay frozen in place. As such, using body strengthening, all five of them ran through the desolate streets and jumped on the roofs of buildings, taking their position. Rowan charged from the front with his superior mana pool and enhanced strength granted by beastification.

He got on top of a house and, using it as a platform, jumped with all his might towards the black-cloaked man. His powerful legs broke the roof and took him above his nemesis. His parabolic trajectory would make him fall right on top of him in a few seconds. At that point, he would deliver a killing blow and rip off his head.

“(Let’s see if you can kill me!)” [Rowan]

If that attack that stole his wife’s life was fired at him, he would take it head-on.

“(With beastification, I am the strongest in the kingdom!)” [Rowan]

His wife was A rank while he was S rank. The defense granted to him by his superior body strengthening spell would definitely ensure that he survived. Then, his heightened healing abilities would automatically take care of any injuries he incurred.

“(I’ll kill you! I’LL KILL YOU!!)” [Rowan]

That was what he thought as he charged fearlessly and with the blood rushing to his head. His four allies also got ready to attack from their position. Since they couldn’t jump twenty meters high, they waited for their leader to knock him down and swarm him from all directions.

But, their plan was too naive.

Instantly, four black weapons appeared around the being and floated in place as if invisible hands were holding them. Then, while the horned creature was gazing at Rowan who was beginning to fall, they all released a bluish white beam of light like dragoons breathing fire.

All four Terdims were shot and killed, not expecting to be attacked in such an unexpected way while their enemy wasn’t even looking at them. Their heads were cleanly blown away. The wounds were burnt black from the intense heat and a small amount of blood leaked out from them.

“Wha…!” [Rowan]

At the instant and effortless execution of four branch family members who were all B rank, Rowan’s eyes were wide open and he forgot what he was doing for a moment. Then, as he fell towards his foe, fear took a hold of him once again. Before he noticed, the man that killed his wife was holding another weapon. In his hand was a huge double-edged sword. The semi-transparent blade had a bluish tinge to it and the handle was pitch black.

He lightly swung his sword upward and from it, a blue light in the form of a vertical arc was released.

Rowan instinctively crossed his arms in front of his chest, ready to take the blow. However, it wasn’t like he expected it would be. The moment the wave of light made contact with him, it went right through him and continued on its way before dissipating a short while later. As for Rowan, his scary expression remained unchanged and he stopped moving completely with his arms still crossed as he fell towards his nemesis.

Then, a vertical line appeared from the top of his head to between his legs and his body split in half right down the middle. The forearms were also cleanly sliced off and the hands fluttered in the air. The two big halves distanced themselves as they fell as if they were avoiding the unknown creature. Without batting an eye, he calmly floated in between them when they passed by him. Even the drops of blood that leaked out didn’t touch him.

Rowan’s two halves crashed into the ground with a wet sound and made a red stain on the streets of Ofauvra.

“… I’m wasting time.” [Ryner]

The monster, Ryner, muttered as he coldly looked down on the man he just split in two. As if responding to his feelings, the hem of his coat swayed lightly and two patch of darkness separated themselves from it. The balls of black smoke flew in front of him and suddenly expanded. The silhouette of a man soon became clear and the smoke dispersed to reveal a knight in sinister black armor.

The full face helmet completely covered the mouth and the visor had vertical openings to allow the user to see, though not too clearly. But, it wasn’t a problem for these things. After all, it wasn’t armor, but their body. Two glowing blue dots mimicking a pair of eyes were visible even through the visor and the tips of their fingers were sharp like claws. Furthermore, black mist was leaking out from their eyes.

The two soulless puppets motionlessly waited for their command.

“Protect.” [Ryner]

Right after Ryner said so, one dark knight descended and floated right above the Elkind’s house, which was were Myra and Snow were hiding in.

“Clean up.” [Ryner]

The other one flew away and went towards the populated areas where there were still humans and beastmen fighting.

Then, after he was done giving them orders, Ryner flew towards the ruin at great speed, breaking through the sound barrier and leaving behind sonic booms.