Chapter 3: Arrival in Reignform

 After reminiscing about that day, the Mori family continued on their way. Although Kaoru hadn’t taken part in that rescue, he kept clenching his fists and nodding to himself, unable to hide his excitement.

They set off through the vast forest, where towering trees almost completely blocked the sunlight from reaching the ground.

“It sure feels strange to be leaving this place after twelve years…” Shiro said, glancing back at the path they were following.

“Yeah, and to think I wasn’t even able to help you guys.”
“What are you talking about, Mom? Without you, all the wounded people would have died.”
“...” Kaoru watched them talk, knowing full well that he hadn’t even been born yet.

“But I wanted to fight…” Mom replied, putting on a slight, amused pout.
“Sweetheart, let me remind you that a few days later, you actually did fight… even if they weren’t real monsters.”
“But the birth of my beloved little brother,” Ryo continued, turning toward his brother with a smile.
“You’re right, hahaha. It’s always exciting to see your own children being born.”

“If I’d been born earlier, I would’ve fought too,” laughed the little boy, shaking his fist.
“Of course, with your magical strength, you would’ve been a huge help to us,” replied his father, stroking his head.

And as they chatted carefree, they passed the edge of the forest and found themselves in what was a veritable plain. An endless array of flowers—red, purple, blue, orange, and white—covered the ground.

Miyu broke away from the group and began running and spinning around with her arms outstretched.
“Wowww, what a paradise!”

“Mom, let’s not waste time or we’ll never get there.”
“Ahhhh, ugh! Ryo, you’re such a killjoy!” she shouted as she ran off to pick as many flowers as possible.

“Just let her be… That’s just how your mom is…”

The three continued walking and were soon caught up by their mom, who had a dozen flowers tucked into the small pockets of her dress. “Sorry, I just had to pick a few, hehe.”

Their journey continued for several hours. The sun slowly began to sink in the sky, until, in the distance, the immense walls of the Kingdom of Reignform finally came into view.

The walls were so high that there was absolutely no way to see what lay inside.

“But they’re so tall!” the little boy shouted, stopping and looking up intently.
His father laughed, hearing how excited he was. “Yeah, just wait until you see how much there is to see.”
“You’re definitely going to have fun,” his brother added, clenching his fists and gazing upward.


They set off along the path leading to the main entrance, finding themselves in front of a tall metal gate.

Two guards stood on either side of it. They had an animal-like appearance; they looked like green and blue lizards, with long tails that moved rapidly as they approached.

They wore well-structured armor that covered them thoroughly, leaving few vulnerable areas exposed. In their hands, they held large double-bladed axes with long handles for better control.

Kaoru was speechless. It was the first time she had ever seen lizard-men.

The two guards advanced toward the family, immediately positioning themselves in front of them to block their path.
“Who are you?”

Shiro had the family step back slightly, then stepped forward himself. “We’re just adventurers… we’re here to visit Reignform.”

The other large green lizard studied the man closely, then turned to his companion and whispered something. “Hey, Grat, these people look familiar to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at them closely—a family of four, with blond hair, and the man with light orange hair.”

Grat turned and looked at them closely. “And why did they come here right now?”
“How should I know?”

“Um... Lizard Lords, so can we enter the kingdom now?”
“Not yet; we're not convinced of your motivation.”
“Well... um, how can we prove you wrong?”
“What are your names?” asked the hesitant green lizard.
“Ah, we're the Mori family—I don't know if you've heard that surname before.”

Immediately, the two took a slight step back, swallowing visibly, terrified. “It’s them…”
“W-we shouldn’t be scared… Who says they’re stronger than us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s face them. If we win, we won’t let them into the kingdom.”
“Are you crazy?! It’s four against two.”
“You’re right, but if they really are the Mori family, then just one of them will be enough to take on both of us.”
“Then I say we give it a try… the woman.”
“Great!”

The two took a step forward, looked at each other one last time, and spoke. “So if you really are them, grant us a fight.”
“We want to face the woman.”

Shiro craned his neck slightly, trying to get a good look at them. “A fight, you say? That’s fine by me—my dear wife will crush every hope you have anyway.”

The blue lizard advanced quickly, raising his axe. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“We’re not ordinary guards—we’re going to hurt you,” added the other, resting his paws on his companion’s shoulders and pulling him toward him.

“I don't doubt it. So when does the fight start? Too bad I don't have any chocolates...”
“Are you making fun of us, too?”
The blue lizard pointed to a flat, open area behind the family. “Let’s go over there, so we can humiliate your little wife without any trouble.”

“Sure, go ahead. My kids and I will stay here.”
“Honey, I’ll do my best to take out these little monsters,” replied his wife, clenching her fists as she watched the two opponents.

The three advanced toward what was now the new battlefield. They positioned themselves at a distance that wasn’t too great, allowing for some unpredictability.

“Go, Mom!”
“We’re with you, Mom,” the children cheered, while the father sat on the ground with his knees up and his hands under his chin.

“So, it’s two against one. How are you going to proceed?”
“We’re not telling you that.” The green lizard shifted to his right, planting his right foot firmly in the ground, while his torso bent slightly to allow for a better grip on the axe.

The other lizard remained upright, sizing up his opponent.

When Miyu saw the first lizard move, she drew her sword and smiled. She gripped it with both hands, but remained standing straight, with only the tip of her left shoe jutting forward.

“So, are you the type who waits to be attacked, or do you strike first?” asked the lizard on the left.
“Well, you’re about to find out.” The woman braced her left leg, planting it firmly on the ground. Her right leg moved backward, scraping away a thin layer of dirt.

She began to move; her legs moved in a straight line—she didn’t waver, and she wasn’t in danger of falling. She ran at a controlled speed, never accelerating too much, making it difficult to predict her next move.

She held her sword at her side as she ran, ready to strike.
“Grat, watch out—she’s going to attack you first!” the green lizard shouted to her companion, who had remained standing still.

ZANG.

The clash of weapons echoed through the air, causing it to vibrate. Miyu’s long hair trembled along with her arms, slightly obscuring her vision.

“Gagor, kill her!”

The other lizard didn’t need to be told twice; it began running toward her quickly, its tail swelling as its legs clenched tightly around the axe handle.

It was now just a step away from Miyu’s back; it leaped, raising the axe above its head before slamming it down toward the woman.

CLANG!!!

Miyu had moved out of the way, and the blow simply struck Grat’s axe; he was quick enough to block it.

Grat was knocked back a few meters, while Gagor stood frozen, his eyes wide open and his paws trembling slightly.

“I’m sorry, Grat!!! I didn’t mean to hit you!” he shouted, beginning to breathe more heavily.

His companion approached and placed a paw on his shoulder. “Don’t worry… Now more than ever, we have to join forces to kill her.”

Vicini turned and watched the woman closely. She had moved quickly to the right and was standing still, her hair obscuring her face.

“You did well, but now we’re going to get serious, too.”
Miyu looked up, her gaze fixed on them, then smiled as she gripped her sword more tightly. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

The two lizards looked at each other and nodded. “Perfect.”

Gagor moved away from his companion and began running quickly to his right, holding the axe in one hand while keeping the other straight and steady to maintain balance as he ran.

Grat, meanwhile, began moving to his left, in exactly the same way as his companion. Miyu, who was standing between the two at that moment, planted her feet firmly on the ground and held her sword horizontally.

Gagor approached her and raised his axe high, ready to strike. The woman quickly turned toward him.

CLANG!!!

The two weapons clashed, making her grip burn from the force of the impact. Gagor gritted his teeth as he tried to knock the woman off balance.

“Go, Grat—she’s yours!” he shouted, tensing every muscle in his body to keep Miyu from moving.

Grat twisted his torso, swinging the axe horizontally, preparing to strike with all the strength Miyu could muster.

FLUSH!!!
ZANG!!!

Miyu turned completely red with the effort; she put all the strength in her body into the blow, managing to push Gagor back a few meters and turn to parry Grat’s strike.

Her strength was now at its limit; as she blocked the second blow, she clenched her teeth tightly while slowly staggering backward due to the powerful impact she could no longer withstand. Her legs began to buckle slowly, and her grip on the sword started to slip.

“Go, Grat, don’t stop!”
“Arghhh, I’ll never stop!” The two companions cheered each other on as they watched the woman, now completely exhausted.

But in the distance, someone kept encouraging his mother.
“Mom, don’t give up!”
“You’re stronger than those two ugly things!”

Miyu’s blood began to boil as she heard her children’s words of encouragement. She shook her head, brushing all the hair that was obscuring her vision out of her eyes. Her face was visibly red, and her hands were beginning to tremble from the strain.

But she didn’t give up; her muscles didn’t give way. Her right foot stepped forward, while her left foot turned to the left and quickly spread out. She had positioned herself with one leg facing Grat and the other facing Gagor.

“Gagor, what are you waiting for? Attack her!”
“I’m coming!”

The green lizard resumed his charge toward Miyu, a smile spreading across his face. It was the smile of someone who already knew he had won.

But just as he was about to strike, the woman moved backward with a swift motion that nearly caused her to lose her balance.

Gagor’s smile vanished completely, and his eyes widened as he tried to dig his feet into the ground to stop his forward momentum.

CLANK!!!

The only thing that could be heard was the sound of their armor clanging together as they fell.
“Ahhhhh, what are you doing, Gagor!”
“Arghhh”

Both lizards were on the ground, their weapons lying far from them. Miyu, who stood beside them with her face smudged with dirt, didn’t even allow herself a smile.

She took a step toward them, raised her sword, and rested it on the green lizard’s back.
“Don’t make another move, or I’ll kill you.”

Grat, who was pinned down by his companion, immediately pushed him aside and began waving his hands at Miyu. “No, please spare us!”

She remained silent, narrowing her eyes as she pointed the sword at them. “I don’t know.”
“Ahhhh, please, ma’am, we have families too!” Gagor shouted, visibly trying not to tremble.
“Then let us into the kingdom without any arguments.”

The two swallowed hard, their faces falling. “All right...”

“Mom, you were amazing!” Kaoru’s heart pounded at the sight of her mother.
“Way to go, Mom!”
The children ran quickly toward their mother with open arms; as soon as she saw them, she smiled, her face lit up by the last remaining rays of sunlight.

The three of them embraced warmly, while their father walked over slowly and stood beside the two guards.

“I warned you. In the end, just when you thought you’d won… you lost.”

The two of them glared at him with anger and menace, but remained silent.
“Come on, get up and open that door for us... you've wasted far too much of our time.”

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CREEK!!!

The giant metal gate swung open; the two guards continued to glare menacingly as the Mori family walked through the entrance.

“Thank you so much,” the father said, smiling at the two.
His wife looked at them and smiled as well. “Thank you so much for that fight, too…”
Meanwhile, their two children merely glanced at the guards.

They walked through the gate, finding themselves—for the first time in years—somewhere other than their village. A new adventure had begun. That day, none of the Mori family knew that Reignform was no longer the kingdom they remembered.