Confrontation

Previously, in the Sacred Hawk Kingdom...

King Tertoro said weakly, “Please find Shinra... Please pass… my apologies to… to him...”

“Surely we will, King Tertoro. We will definitely find and protect him,” the royal army said.

King Tertoro then died of blood loss. He sustained serious injuries to his head and body. The entire royal army was flabbergasted by his death. Some of them went to look for Shinra because even the mightiest of armies fell with the loss of their commander.

The next morning, inside the border barrier…

Shinra restarted his journey. “Torto, let’s continue our journey.”

However, the Torto was puzzled by the scents he picked up. “Very well, Young Master. I have been wondering, I keep smelling a monster along with the scents of your friends. Young Master, does that monster have anything to do with them?”

I knew it was Kong, but why did he come with them? Shinra then picked up his pace. “I don’t know either. All right, let’s go.”

Meanwhile, at Roman and the others’ place…

One of the Wolfies appeared from behind Roman and said, “Ah, so this is where you are, brat!!”

Roman whirled around, surprised to see him. What??!! How come?! “You’re pretty fast,” he said.

Then, the Wolfie howled to signal the other Wolfies and the Sharkins, “Arh-woooo…”

“Calling your friends, huh? All right, I’ll beat this one first!” Roman said, assuming an attack position.

“Roman!!” Darma bellowed.

The Wolfie looked over his shoulder at Darma, then Roman hit him from behind.

“Take this, my signature kick. Hyah!” Roman said, throwing a spinning kick.

The Wolfie toppled onto his face and did not move.

Darma stared in mute amazement. What an incredible strength. “Roman, run fast!!”

Terry, Kenue, and Kong came up to them.

Out of breath, Terry said, “What were you doing, Roman?!”

She suddenly sensed tremendous dread. A Sharkin had appeared beside her.

The Sharkin was furious. “Humans, huh? So you killed our brother?! I’ll slaughter all of you!!”

Kong immediately jumped up and bonked the Sharkin real hard on the head, sending the Sharkin hurtling through the air.

Pounding his chest, he said, “Don’t you dare harm my best friend’s best friend who happened to be my best friend!!”

His heavy blow injured the Sharkin’s head, but it did not weaken the Sharkin in the slightest.

He was astonished. Ridiculous. I thought my punch could at least knock him out. What a sturdy body.

The Sharkin said, “How amusing! You’re pretty strong, Ape. I’ll kill you first!!”

Kong ordered Roman and the others to leave, “You guys, run. I can’t fight if I have to protect you at the same time. Go, I’ll stall them!!”

Darma grabbed Terry’s hand right away and strode off.

However, Roman was reluctant to leave. “I won’t leave you, Kong. You’re my friend. Friends should help each other.”

One of the Wolfies leapt up at Roman, spinning around intending to stab Roman in the stomach. “Die, brat!!”

Roman evaded the attack and hurled himself sideways. He then sprang forward quickly, ramming the Wolfie with his knees. “Sorry, I’m a melee fighter, so it’s best not to attack me at close range!”

Crack. Crack.

Those were the sounds coming from the Wolfie’s neck. He collapsed. One Wolfie and two Sharkins to go.

“You guys are so deep in fighting that you don’t leave anything for me, huh,” Kenue said.

The remaining Wolfie advanced on him. “I’ll kill you first, brat!! Arrrr...”

Kenue dashed forward, doing consecutive stabs at the Wolfie who jumped at him. The Wolfie was defenseless against his onslaught, seriously injured all over his body. Now, only two Sharkins remained.

“Don’t underestimate me, okay?” he said, twirling his spear.

“Where are Darma and Terry? Are they both okay?” Roman asked.

“Don’t worry, they’re both long range fighters. They’re looking for an opening to attack the Sharkins while we divert their attention,” Kenue replied calmly.

Then, Kong threw a boulder at one of the Sharkins, but the Sharkin easily crushed it with one bite.

The Sharkin gave them an intimidating grin. “You guys are weak, but you don’t know when to quit, huh? All right, we’ll make this quick and painless. Get ready!!”

The two Sharkins zoomed toward the three of them. Kong hopped, grabbing a tree branch to put some distance between him and their fangs. Roman stood still, wanting to face them directly. Kenue calmly pointed his spear at them.

Kenue said confidently, “This time, I’ll definitely win.”

“Not you, but us. We’ll win!!” Roman added.

Kong poised to attack, saying to Roman and Kenue, “I’ll attack them. Please make a follow-up attack. I’ll go first.”

He sprang in the direction where the Sharkins came from, followed by Kenue and Roman. Their fists clashed together. Kong was flung away.

Kenue leapt and made a quick stab at the Sharkin. Although the Sharkin dodged, Kenue managed to graze his face. As the Sharkin’s gaze had shifted to Kenue, Roman managed to land a heavy blow.

“Yahoo… Take it, my new move, the Monster Killer Fist!!” Roman said with a laugh.

The Sharkin fell to the ground, but the second Sharkin aimed for Kong. Kong stepped forward and was about to bonk him, but the Sharkin managed to bite his hand and throw him about ten meters away.

Roman was stunned. “What the heck? Kong was thrown like that?!”

Kenue assumed an attack position and said, “Come on, Roman, let’s get this over with quickly!”

Roman and Kenue prepared to attack the remaining Sharkin. However, a fist landed on Roman’s back. Turned out it was the Sharkin who had fallen. He bit Roman’s leg and threw him. Roman was thrown far away with a serious wound on his leg.

Seeing Roman, Kenue’s attention was diverted, so the Sharkin who was in front could attack him with his punches. Even though Kenue was able to block with his hands, he was seriously injured due to the Sharkin’s extraordinary strength.

The Sharkin said, “Where were you looking, brat?”

“You think this is a game, huh? You had underestimated us. Now, who do I start with?! Should I kill the two people who ran away first??” the fallen Sharkin riled them up.

Darma and Terry ran and hid because she still could not withstand the Sharkin’s killing aura, so she could not assist them because her arrows might miss and end up hitting Roman, Kenue, or Kong.

“Relax, I’ll bring their body parts here so you guys can get a little motivated!!” the Sharkin pursued Darma and Terry.

However, Kenue did not let that happen. He attacked the Sharkin. “I’ll beat you up. Take this!”

Kenue was enraged. He jumped up, fighting the Sharkin in a weak state.

“What are you doing? I can dodge all your attacks with ease!!”

The Sharkin crushed Kenue’s spear with just one bite. Kenue got punched and was flung away.

Roman tried to stand up. “Argh. Damn, this wound is too big. I bleed too much.”

Kong told him to take Kenue away, “Ah. I told you to run. Just one Sharkin is too much trouble. There are two Sharkins here. It’s much more troublesome. I can endure this. Roman, can you walk? Take Kenue and go.”

Roman retorted, “No way!! You’ve gone crazy, haven’t you? I fight on my own will, no need to protect me. I can protect myself!! You have to trust your friends. Aren’t we friends?! We’ve had a few moments together. If you think we’re no stronger than ordinary humans, you’d better run away. I’ll continue to fight until the end!!”

Taken aback by his words, Kong lowered his head slightly. “I’m sorry, Roman. I’m too scared. I don’t want anyone close to me to die anymore. However, we do have to run and regroup!”

The Sharkin came forward and swiftly attacked Kong, but an arrow pierced his right eye. His attack missed.

“That’s Darma and Terry. You take Kenue and hide him. My bleeding seems to have stopped. I can fight again,” Roman said as he prepared to fight again.

“Okay. Hang on, Roman. I’ll come back,” Kong said.

Once again, Roman accidentally managed to stop the bleeding using his mother’s Inner Power.

He approached the Sharkin whose eye was pierced by an arrow and pummeled him in the head with his leg until he staggered.

The other Sharkin came to help and attacked Roman. Roman managed to dodge his bite and gave him an extra kick.

“You think because you bit my leg you think you’ve won? Huh?? I can beat you with just one leg. Bring it on!”

The Sharkins clobbered Roman at the same time, hurling him far away. He slammed into a tree, his vision became blurry. The Sharkins tried to bite him, but a large tree trunk whizzed toward them, sending them flying.

“You can’t possibly fight anymore, Roman. Your wound is too severe. We’ll flee,” Kong said, taking Roman away. They ran away and hid.

The five of them left the two Sharkins who had been defeated. They were safe for a moment, but the Sharkins were able to follow them because Roman and Kong were injured.

Terry and Darma directed Kong to hide, “Come here quickly. We’re hiding under this cliff. Heal your wounds first.”

With some medicine in her bag, Terry treated Roman and Kong’s wounds. After cleansing their wounds with water, she put a salve on them as quickly as she can before binding them up.

She was worried and also slightly amazed by Roman’s strength. “I told you, don’t be careless. Even though you’re strong, we must work together. You always put our lives in danger!!”

With a low voice, Roman answered, “I’m sorry, I was wrong. I just felt I had to be strong, strong, and stronger. Little by little I started to remember what happened in my past.”

Darma recalled what Terry had told him about Roman. I remember Terry once saying “Roman’s eyes were full of pain and hatred”. Maybe it has something to do with monsters. Then, he tried to make Roman relax. “Calm down, Roman. You’re strong, but if we’re together, you can become stronger. I’ll help you to become even stronger because we’re friends, right?”

With his last strength Roman replied, “Thanks.”

After that, he fainted, having received too many attacks from the Sharkins. Meanwhile, Kenue was still unconscious from the impact of the Sharkin’s attack earlier.

Terry said, “Kong, you should take a rest. You’re hurt, too. Otherwise, you’ll run out of steam.”

“All right, I was just thinking if only Shinra were here. He’s very strong. Surely he can help us,” Kong said, hanging his head.

Darma tried to lighten the mood. “For the time being, the important thing is that Shinra and the villagers are fine. We have to survive this. We’ll definitely find the best way out.”

A moment later, Terry, Darma, and Kong stiffened, aghast, when they saw a huge figure on a cliff over there. The distance was probably 150 meters. It was a Baramus with six Sharkins with him. Neither of them could speak, they just stared. His killing aura was excruciating.

After he passed, they began to relax and calm down a bit, but they remained silent and terrified by what they had just seen. They rested for a while, but the two Sharkins managed to follow them

The one-eyed Sharkin came over and said, “I can sniff you guys in there. Do you want to come out and surrender or do I have to go in there and rip your guts out?!”

Darma panicked a little. Damn. What should we do? We can’t choose. All options are no good! Damn! Why should it be this way?

Terry was horrified. “I’m scared, Darma. I don’t know what to do. Shall we just leave them and go?”

Darma fumed, “Rather than having to leave my best friend, I’d rather die protecting him!! Whoever he is, if he leaves his friend behind, even though his friend has sacrificed his life to protect him, that person can’t be forgiven!! Even animals know how to protect their herd!!”

He came out. He could only surrender. He dropped his bow and arrows to the ground.

He pleaded, “You may kill me, but please let the others go. Please.”

The one-eyed Sharkin laughed and sneered, “Humans are predictable, very weak and very fragile. You guys are overconfident!”

“Which part of your body do you want me to destroy first?!” he said, inching closer and wiggling his jaw.

If only I were stronger. If only Dad were here. Damn. Now I’m going to meet Mom and Dad. Goodbye, Kenue.

“That face, it was clear that agony and terror were mixed into one. I’ll start with your hands first. Hyah!!” The Sharkin lunged at him and attacked using his sharp teeth.

Thud.

Suddenly, his head fell.

A silence ensued. It was Shinra who charged and slashed the Sharkin’s neck.

The Sharkin did not even have the time to scream before Shinra lopped his head clean off, turning his body into a fountain of blood.

“Sorry, I hope I’m not too late. How are you holding up??” Shinra asked in a calm voice.

Darma could not hold back his tears. He thought he would die right then and there. “Shinra!! Kenue, Roman, and Kong are injured. I can’t protect them.”

Terry also could not hold back her tears. She was touched by Shinra’s arrival. The terror disappeared when he came. “Shinra!! You came! Sniff… What took you so long?? I was terrified!!”

Kong was very happy to see Shinra coming. “Shinra, you’ve finally come.”

“I’m sorry, I had to escort the villagers to a safe place first. Now leave the rest to me!!” Shinra said, poising to strike the one-eyed Sharkin.

He said, “All right, you’re next. Let’s see if you can entertain me, Sharkin!!”

“Young Master, I will treat your friends first. I will catch up with you later,” the Torto said, assessing the wounds of Kenue, Kong, and Roman.

The one-eyed Sharkin was dumbfounded to see the emblem of the Sacred Hawk Kingdom and hear Shinra’s name. “What?? You traitor, Torto!! And you, Shinra!! You’ve disobeyed and attacked us. I’ll punish you right now!!” he roared furiously.

Shinra said, “Torto, you just take care of them. Let me finish this. It won’t be long.”

Shinra’s fingers found purchase on his other sword, drawing it out without a sound. He sprang into action.

“Don’t get cocky, brat!! Take this!!” The Sharkin jumped up with his bite toward Shinra, but he was blocked by Shinra’s twin swords.

“I don’t want to kill you, but since you’ve hurt my best friend, I won’t be so kind to you!!”

They were fighting on equal ground. The Sharkin was indeed extremely strong and agile. He could evade Shinra’s attacks. Likewise, Shinra was able to dodge his attacks.

Unexpectedly, the Wolfie, the first one to be beaten by Roman, rose up and charged toward Darma with his sharp claws. Darma, who stood still without his weapon, could not do anything.

Shinra jumped toward the Wolfie and slashed at him quickly. However, he was caught off guard because he overlooked the Sharkin.

The Sharkin managed to gain momentum to attack Shinra while he was off guard. “Take this, brat!!”

He sprang and bit Shinra’s leg, then flung him far away, slamming him into a big tree.

“Shinra!! I’m sorry, you got hurt because of me!!” Darma said.

“Young Master!! How dare you, Sharkin!!!” the Torto charged forward and attacked the Sharkin.

The Torto hopped, followed by a spinning punch attack, but it was caught by the Sharkin using his bite.

Just before the Sharkin was going to hurl the Torto, Shinra cleaved his body in two from behind.

“You let your guard down, Sharkin. I won!!” Shinra said in a calm voice.

The battle ended, leaving them with various injuries. They rested for a while nearby. Darma and Terry did not know what to say. They wanted to ask about the big creature they saw earlier, the Baramus. Shinra spoke first.

“Looks like you guys have something to say,” he said.

Darma nervously replied, “Ah, n-no. I just wanted to say, thanks for coming, Shinra!”

“Y-Yeah, I’m so glad we’re back together again,” Terry said.

Kong asked straightforwardly, “Shinra, how strong is a Baramus actually??”

Terry and Darma looked at each other, bewildered by his frankness.

“Did you see a Baramus?”

Terry replied, “Yeah, um, actually we saw a big and scary creature. He seems very strong!! We assumed it was a Baramus.”

“He was passing down there, by the cliff! I couldn’t even move my body when he passed by,” Kong explained.

Shinra said, “In the past, I’ve been to the Great Monster Kingdom, but I didn’t meet a Baramus. At that time, the entire monster council was summoned to the Central Monster Kingdom. It was said that it was where Satyr resided, the strongest monster rarely seen by humans. However, my father and I didn’t meet a single Baramus. We then returned after the matter was over.”

Taken aback, Darma and Terry asked, “The Central Monster Kingdom? You’re in an alliance with monsters??”

Darma aimed his bow at Shinra.

“What exactly have you been hiding from us?! Are you allied with the Monster Kingdom?? I’ll kill you right here. Does that mean you’re also the one giving information to them?? Damn you!” Darma snarled.

Terry tried to calm him down. “Calm down, Darma. Let him explain all of this. Shinra, please, explain to us so we understand.”

Astonished, Shinra hung his head and said, “You guys will have a hard time understanding it. I don’t even know where to start.”

“You’d better die in place of my parents!!” Darma roared.

“Darma, calm yourself,” Terry said, trying to calm him down.

Kong also tried to calm him down. “Darma, I used to think like you. Let him explain first.”

Darma was getting angrier because Kong actually knew something. “So you’re the same as him? You already knew it, but you kept it a secret from us??”

“I don’t want you to feel what I have felt before, but at least listen to his explanation. You’ll understand,” Kong said.

“Well, if I don’t like one word from your explanation, I’ll immediately fire at your head,” Darma said, preparing to shoot his arrow at Shinra.

“Hey, shut up, brat!! Young Master is innocent!!” the Torto was fuming at Darma.

“Yes, Torto. Thanks, Kong. All right, I’ll tell you everything from the beginning.”

Ten years ago, the Sacred Hawk Kingdom rebelled against the monsters, but they were not strong enough. Shinra’s mother was killed by the monsters. Then, the monsters ordered Shinra’s father to tell all the locations of the villages around the kingdom. If King Tertoro did not provide information to the monsters every month, they would start killing everyone in this palace starting from Shinra. After that, King Tertoro began to provide information on the whereabouts of the surrounding villages, even the village where Kenue and Darma came from.

It started about fifteen years ago. Satyr did not want to coexist with humans anymore because they tried to defy the monsters. Thus, he waged the war. He wanted this world to be ruled only by monsters, all must submit to him. Because it just so happened that the new monster leader election would soon be held, he wanted to spread terror so that he could be considered a successful monster leader for having succeeded in making humans submit to him.

He told Darma and Terry everything. Even he himself was ashamed to admit that he was the son of King Tertoro.

“I’ve told you everything. Now whatever you want to do to me, I’ll accept it as a form of penance for the sins my father had done,” he said, gazing into Darma’s eyes.

The Torto said, “Young Master, you are innocent!!”

With a trembling voice, Shinra said, “I can’t choose which family to be born into and its background!! However, I’m trying to be a good human being.”

Darma stood up, hugging Shinra tightly, and said, “I’m sorry, Shinra, I didn’t think about your feelings, even though you also lost your mother. All right then, let’s work together my, best friend.”

“Thanks, Darma. First of all we have to go back to my kingdom. I have to see my father. If necessary I’ll take over the kingdom,” Shinra said excitedly.

But the Torto reminded him about the Rhino’s matter, “But, Young Master, the Rhino is still chasing after us. Is it okay if we go back?”

“If necessary, I’ll kill Rhino there!! We’ll begin the era of humans and monsters living side by side again in peace. I’ll kill all the monsters that hurt humans!!” Shinra said confidently.

Terry looked happy and said, “Okay. We’re getting ready to go home!!”

“You guys are incredible!!” Kong said.

Roman woke up. His bleeding had stopped. He saw Shinra. “What’s all this fuss about? Wow, Shinra, we finally met. What’s with your feet?” he said with a laugh.

Shinra countered with a laugh, “What about your feet?”

The Young Master laughed. I have not seen him laugh since the day his mother died. So is this what he meant? Humans are good. The Torto’s face lit up with joy.