Caged

<Again...>
<Sofia... Fukō... Asia...>

<Fukō?>

Josuke asked.

<Hm? Oh... Fukō was a comrade of mine...>
<He was tortured. They threatened his family, so he revealed the secret. Unfortunately, the torture led to his death.>
<As if that weren't enough, his family was killed anyway. >
<I was there with him, yet I couldn't save him...>

Josuke covered his mouth with his hands. Issei stared at the ground as he told the story, slowly thinking back to that moment.Shirou, rationally, knelt and stared at the ground.

<Wait... they're not running away without a trace.>
<Don't worry, Issei, they didn't seem intent on harming her. After all, they're both wolf-men. Maybe they thought we'd kidnapped her.>

Issei snapped his head up. Shirou approached him.

<They can't have gone very far. There's probably a village nearby. Issei, what do we do? The horses and carriage can't pass through the trees; we have to continue on our way.>
<But I want you to know that I have no intention of abandoning Asia.>

Issei nodded. Josuke stood there, filled with fear.
They climbed back into the carriage, and Shirou started the horses.

Shortly afterward, they came across numerous signs warning of the possibility of bandit attacks. The coachman quickened the pace. The terrain was becoming increasingly rough.

Not long afterward, they reached a very crude gate, made of long wooden sticks with sharpened tips. Above, there were two turrets with beastmen guarding them.

The armed men looked at each other and then laughed. What they had in mind was unknown.
The guards disappeared, and the gate opened. The carriage slowly advanced through the gate.

Behind the fence, the forest disappeared completely. Dozens of huts built from crooked logs and thatched roofs occupied a small clearing. The smell of smoke, roasting meat, and wet furs filled the air.

The villagers immediately stopped work. Women with ears of every kind hugged their children. Some men slowly placed their axes on their shoulders, others took up spears.

Everyone stared at the carriage; the silence was almost unreal.

<Attack!>

A dozen wolfmen armed with spears surrounded the carriage.

<What the heck?!>

Slowly, the beastmen approached them. Their spears clattered against the wood of the vehicle. Josuke covered his ears in fear. Issei drew his sword.

<What do these beasts want?!>

Issei kicked open the door and jumped out.

<Hey! Easy on my carriage.>

Shirou grew angry, but then realized that his carriage had already been in pieces since the beginning of the journey to the Eastern Continent.
Huffing, he also pulled out his sword and threw himself from the carriage.

<Let's see what you can do!>

The two began to fight. Unlike in a normal fight, they also had to be careful of the beastmen's unarmed hands. Their sharp claws could easily cut through the skin of the knights, who were not yet wearing their armor due to the scorching summer heat.

Issei easily overcame the guards, his monstrous strength unmatched. As much as he didn't want to, he began to fight back. His whole soul screamed at him not to kill, yet his body moved on its own.

I can't save everyone! As selfish as my desire is, I want to save my friends, with or without the use of force.

But his spirit kept him on a leash, and he was slowly losing strength. It wasn't from exhaustion; his gentle spirit was forcing him back to defend himself, unable to fight back.

<Shirou, protect Josuke!>

<I can't, I'm already busy saving the horses and my own skin!>

Just like during the war, Issei found himself surrounded, unable to swing his sword.
The beastmen weren't as gentle as the soldiers on the battlefield. They dug their claws into the knight's flesh, making him bleed everywhere, whether he was covered or not.

The battle continued relentlessly, Issei was losing too much blood; his stamina was superhuman, but the blood loss caused the knight to faint.

He couldn't help it; no matter how much he resisted and found a way out, the lack of blood caused him to lose.

Issei saw his family, Sofia, Josuke, and all his friends before him. He thought it was the end.
Then black.

When he awoke, he was in a cage with Josuke and Shirou, both unconscious. Issei's eyes widened, he scooped up the prince, and checked him from head to toe. Josuke's tiny body bore only a few scratches.
The knight breathed a sigh of relief.

Shirou, however, was in just as bad a state as Issei. Dried blood covered the bodies of the two knights.

Issei looked up; he found himself in a square inside an iron cage. The locals looked at them with contempt.

As if that weren't enough, before them they saw their carriage torn to pieces. The beastmen were eyeing the adventurers' gear like pirates eyeing a treasure chest found digging in the sand.

<My horses!>

Shirou awoke and was furious. His carriage had been destroyed, and his horses were no longer there.

<What have you done to my horses!>

<They've run away. Now shut up, human!>

A beastman laughed as he watched Shirou thrash around in the iron prison.

<If I get out of here, I'll kill you all!>

The guard approached and began jabbing Shirou through the bars with a spear. The beastman seemed happy to play, but Shirou, a little less so. Issei felt disgusted at the sight.

This behavior is really bothering me! So this is why the hatred towards Asia is so strong?! But no one knew that beastmen were truly barbarians. How is that possible? Maybe something in everyone's mind leads them to believe they're evil. Maybe this is why the beastmen became evil?!

Issei thought briefly about beastmen. They could have always been evil, or they could have become so after being hated by everyone.

Whatever the answer, at that moment our heroes had been caged and robbed.

A familiar werewolf caught Issei's attention.

<He... He kidnapped Asia! Hey! What did you do to Asia?!>

The beastman who had been contemplating the loot turned to the knight.

<What do you want? Oh, you mean the very pretty blonde werewolf?>

<Yes!>

<It seems obvious to me. We brought her back home.>

More than bringing her back, it seemed like a kidnapping done and done. Issei was as furious as Shirou was about his carriage and horses.

Josuke, on the other hand, stood there in Issei's arms, completely terrified. Between monsters torn in half by Issei, his father trapped in a magical barrier, and an immortal snake, that attack was the most terrifying thing he'd seen in his entire life. For the first time, he was afraid of dying.