Grit

The S rank adventurer Salam was known as the Beast King. He was unrivaled in physical combat, said to have even surpassed his peers, Arthur Crestfall and Ronin. He fathered hundreds of children with hundreds of concubines. Each child was raised with the core tenet of the Lion God. The Blessing of the Lion God was inherited by the strongest. Each child was born with a single dream: to kill their father and take his skill for themselves.

–

Leo moved quickly, using the chaos of the attack to maneuver his men, dashing from alleyway to alleyway, all to fulfill their objective. The targets were easily captured, thanks in part to the sleeping potions they carried. Each an adventurer with a treasure seeking skill. The Forsaken King demanded them. Kagan agreed to it, and set Leo out to retrieve them. The Lion God user was the strongest; if Leo couldn’t kill him, he had to obey him completely. It was the way of the beastmen. And so he continued, ignoring the carnage playing out before him. He couldn’t look. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t worry about Anissa. Leo had to focus and do what he was told to do. That was the only way.

–

The dragon laid dead, a clean cut nearly severing its head. Will sat on his knees, his dress partially scorched and blood running down the side his forehead. It got in his eyes, temporary blinding him. Shisa knelt down, wiping away the blood with her handkerchief.

“Damn,” Ren cursed. “We actually took it down.”

“Yeah,” Alan nodded.

“Wait,” Lina spoke up. “Where is hero Will?”

“What?” Will wobbled to his feet, but found it hard to stand. Shisa reached out, catching him as his consciousness faded.

–

Natalia determined the situation was under control. It seemed that most of the invading monsters had been routed, given how quiet the streets had become. She dashed towards the caravan station. Due to the emergency, it would not be under operation, but she didn’t care. She wanted to leave.

“He’s a better Blade Princess than I’ll ever be…” Natalia muttered to herself. “He wasn’t afraid. He put himself in harm’s way.”

“Will!” Mina called out. “Will!” she cried again.

“Go away!” Natalia yelled back.

“Will! What’s going on! Why are you running?” Mina gasped.

“I’m not Will! Leave me alone!”

“Ah!” Mina screamed. Her cries were suddenly muffled.

Natalia stopped, turning to look at what had happened to her. Leo stood there, a somber look on his face. Behind him, two thugs had gagged Mina, and were dragging her away.

“You know,” Leo grumbled. “I always hated you. You never knew your place, never listened when the strongest tell you what to do.”

“What are you doing to her?!” Natalia cried out. She found herself reaching for a sword that wasn’t there.

“You just had to stick your head up, betray the natural order of things. It was like a stab in the guts for me every time You were everything I wasn’t. Everything I couldn’t be,” Leo spat.

“I’m not…” Natalia bit her lip. “Just let her go. Do you want money? I’ll get you money.” Natalia determined she would tell Shisa who she was, and use the Crestfall funds to pay the ransom.

“Not about the money this time,” Leo sighed. “Need her for something else. Don’t follow. Anissa isn’t around to keep me soft. I’ll kill you,” he threatened with a low growl.

“Wait…” Natalia reached out, but stopped herself. This wasn’t her concern. She didn’t know that girl, she was Will’s friend. She had no obligation to help her.

Mina struggled, freeing herself from her gag.

“Help!” She pleaded.

A memory came to Natalia. A memory from a long time ago. Of a little blue haired girl that needed help, and a certain red haired one that saved her.

“Don’t worry Shisa, I’ll protect you!” The little red head declared.

Natalia found herself rushing forward, a knife in her hand. She had to save Mina.

“Not smart,” Leo sighed. “I won’t go easy this time! Beast Heart!”

The air became heavy with Leo’s aura as his muscles bulged. Natalia moved with enhanced speed from Mana Flow, but found Leo even faster. If she had Attack Anticipation, she would have seen the punch to her sternum coming, but instead she took the hit, all the air in her lungs suddenly forced out by the weight of the blow. Natalia fell to her knees, her knife clattering into the dirt as her vision blurred. She collapsed face down.

“Stay down,” Leo relaxed, turning away from her. The thugs had subdued Mina using a sleeping potion, and were busy stuffing her into a large sack to carry away.

A hand gripped Leo’s ankle. Natalia mustered all her strength, holding onto the beastman.

“This is why I hate you!” Leo turned, and began to beat her. “If only I could’ve had half your grit!” He roared between strikes, the blows thundering out with each beat. “If only I had half the will! If only I had half the courage! Maybe then I could’ve done something about all this! Maybe then I could’ve given that brat a better life!”

Natalia’s, or Will’s face, looked like an utter mess of purple bruises and twisted meat. Natalia rasped a sob. It hurt so badly. And yet, she reached out, grabbing Leo by the arm just as the beating calmed down.

“Why?” Leo questioned. “Why!”

Leo’s ears pricked, catching the sound of metal as it cut through the air. With cat-like agility, he bounded out of the way just as Anissa landed over Will, sprawling her body to protect him, two daggers at the ready.

“Brat.” Leo gasped. “Why did you have to come here?”