Beast Heart

Leo remembered the day he saw father died. He was planning to kill him himself, but someone else had beaten him to it. He came into his father’s den, and saw his killer playing with his severed head, like a cat with its dead prey. It was a boy a few years younger than Leo, and yet he was nearly his size.

“Huh?” the silver haired cat boy turned. His face was covered in blood. “Another playmate?”

“Who are you?” Leo asked. “Did you kill him?” He pointed to his father’s head.

“Yeah.” the boy nodded, a playful grin on his face. “He was pretty weak, so I took him out.”

“What’s your name, kid?” Leo asked as a drop of sweat fell down the back of his neck.

“Me?” the kid got up. Leo unconsciously stepped back. “Kagan. Call me Kagan.”

---

“Beast Heart!” Leo roared at the top of his lungs.

The thugs had fully cleared out of the alleyway, leaving only Natalia and Leo. Natalia readied herself, lunging forward with a punch. Leo reacted, blocking and countering the attack easily, planting his own punch into her stomach. She gasped in pain, just as Leo kneed her. With a quick combo, he struck her across the face and chest, showering her with blows of elbows and punches, before kicking her up towards the sky.

“What’s with this guy?” Natalia coughed, recovering and using Mana Flow to direct her fall.

She landed atop a nearby roof, ignoring the stinging pain in her knees from the landing. Leo leapt upwards, roaring like a beast. Natalia decided it was time to run. She used Mana Flow as she leapt from building to building, trying to keep her distance from Leo. She risked a peek, and discovered he was right behind her, bounding towards her on all fours.

“You can’t run!” Leo roared.

“Leave me alone!” Natalia cried. “I don’t even know you!”

“You bastard!” Leo bellowed even louder.

“What is that ridiculous skill?” Natalia wondered aloud, leaping across another building, before sliding down a rope, dashing into a nearby street. “Some kind of enhancement skill? It’s something like Mana Flow, I think, but something’s very different about it.”

Natalia dashed through a market, using the crowds and stalls as obstacles to help evade the pursuing Leo. Leo kept up, obviously smashing through the wooden stalls and evading the panicking townsfolk.

“It reminds me of Kagan’s Lion Heart,” Natalia banked, turning a sharp corner. “But that belongs to the Lion God Blessing. So what is it?”

Her legs screamed in pain; they weren’t used to the strain she was putting on this body with Mana Flow. She approached a river, moving at full sprint and leaping across. She landed with a hard tumble, only taking a moment to compose herself as Leo followed, landing closely behind her. Leo lunged, landing a hard kick. Natalia shot back, tumbling through a nearby stall and out onto another street.

“You’re dead!” Leo roared.

Natalia brushed herself off, before realizing she was standing in front of a group of adventurers.

“Will?” Alan gasped.

“We were looking all over for you!” Ren added.

“Thank goodness,” Mina gasped. “I thought Leo kidnapped you.”

“Leo?” Anissa questioned.

Leo landed on all fours in front of them, appearing more beast than man. His ears were pricked up, and his canine teeth menaced with each feral growl.

“I’m going to kill you all!” He threatened.

“Leo!” Anissa stepped herself between Will and Leo. “What are you doing?”

Leo stopped, seeming to recognize the green hair cat girl.

“Anissa brat.” He grumbled.

“Leo, you’re tearing the city apart,” Anissa scolded. “What happened?”

“Wait, you know Leo?” Alan gasped in surprise.

“He’s my uncle,” Anisa sighed.

“Wait what?” Ren exhaled. “If he’s your uncle, then that means!”

“Kagan is my dad, okay?” Anissa turned towards them, putting her hands on her hips. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you.”

Leo seemed to calm down, standing back up on two legs.

“Wait, that means…” Ren continued.

“It means she’s next in line for the Lion God Blessing,” Dan said.

“What are you doing hanging out with low rankers like us?” Ren asked.

“That’s not how the Lion God works,” Leo growled, crossing his arms. “Good thing I found the other two, I want my money.”

“Seriously, who is this guy?” Natalia asked as Mina helped her up.

“The Lion God is inherited by members of the beast clan, yes,” Anissa explained. “It’s not random like the High Priestess blessing, but…”

“It only goes to the strongest,” Leo said. “Not something I need to be reminded of. But your friends are right, Anissa brat. Why are you hanging out with these weaklings? When you disappeared, I looked everywhere for you.”

“They’re my friends. Plus, the guy you’re trying to kill saved my life, twice!” Anissa pointed to Natalia in Will’s body.

“You did?” Leo raised an eyebrow at Natalia.

“I did?” Natalia wondered out loud.

“He did.” Anissa said.

“Hmph.” Leo pouted. “Fine, consider this me letting you off the hook, cause you saved my brat niece.”

“Does this mean we don’t have to pay you anymore?” Alan asked.

“Like hell!” Leo roared. “Look.” He composed himself. “I might be willing to let it go, but Kagan isn’t. He wants his money. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

“So Kagan is extorting adventurers? That’s not okay!” Natalia yelled.

“You hit your head or something?” Leo asked. “Of course he is. He’s extorting half the adventurers in this damn city.”

“But that's…” Natalia shook the feeling off. No, it was not her business. Not anymore. She was done with adventurers. But to think, all this was going on while she was just going on in life made her heart ache a little.

“Uncle Leo,” Anissa interrupted. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry about it, brat,” Leo sighed. “I’m only overlooking this one time, but I will be back to get the money. Sorry. But honestly, I think you three would prefer my face over Kagan. He never really spares anyone that pisses him off.”

Leo turned to walk away, ignoring the carnage caused by his rampage earlier. How was he going to explain the damage to Kagan.

“Uncle Leo!” Anissa called out. “You’re going to be okay, right?”

Leo just gave a thumbs up. Anissa didn’t look convinced. He disappeared, leaping into the air up around a building.

“Jeez, that was close,” Alan said. “He almost killed you.”

“Yeah,” Natalia nodded.

Natalia recovered, dusting herself off. Her muscles ached, and her headache was starting to return, but otherwise she was still on her feet.

“I can’t believe your Kagan’s kid,” Ren laughed. “Actual royalty.”

“Don’t call me that!” Anissa hissed. “I doubt he even knows I'm his kid. There are like a dozen of us. Probably more. That bastard of a dad can’t keep it in his pants.”

“It’s bothering me,” Natalia muttered. “What he said about Kagan controlling half the adventurers, is that really true?”

“Man, your head injury really messed you up, huh?” Alan noted. “Yeah, a lot of adventurers are under Kagan’s foot. They work as enforcers and lackeys, paying half their salary to him. Remember? It’s why we’re always strapped for cash.”

“But we aren’t working for them?” Natalia asked.

“No, you insisted we keep away from them as much as possible,” Alan answered.

“I did?” Natalia titled her head.

“Good thing you did,” Anissa said. “Kagan gets adventurers killed. It’s why I left. I couldn’t stand it. It’s why I was glad I found Ren and Dan, two adventurers far removed from Kagan’s scheme.”

“Wait, that was the only reason you teamed up with us? I thought it was because you recognized our talents…” Ren whimpered.

“Seems we’re just a rebound," Dan added.

“Don’t say it like that!” Anissa hissed.

“But…” Natalia pondered for a moment. “Actually, not my problem. It’s been fun, guys, but I got a caravan to catch.”

“Wait what?” Alan questioned. “What are you talking about?”

Natalia Mana Flowed, dashing away before they could get an answer out of her.

“When did he get so fast?” Mina asked.

Natalia ran for a few minutes, bobbing and weaving through even more side streets before suddenly coming upon a familiar street. It was much nicer than the rest of the city, with familiar shops and rich patrons walking along the streets. She came to a halt, before slowly walking down, trying to remember which part of this city this was. She pushed past a crowd, before finally seeing it. Her home, the manor, lay in front of her. She gawked in surprise, watching as her body came out the front door. Her body was dressed in her evening gown, and had a confused expression on her face. Shisa was behind her body, pushing it along with more force than usual. Natalia felt a yearning in her heart. She wanted to call out, she still needed to tell Shisa she was sorry for running. Sorry for all the things she put her maid through.

“I…” Natalia hesitated, before taking a step forward.

And then, her and her body locked eyes.