image [https://i.imgur.com/XIZL0SH.png]

Victor watched Taiyo cast healing magic on her arm and leg, her palm glowed with golden light as she sent sun energy into her limbs.

“How are you feeling?” Victor asked.

“Great!” Taiyo flexed her bicep towards him.

Victor felt a surge of emotion go through him. His heart rate, which had been skyrocketing for what felt like hours, finally slowed slightly.

Taiyo smiled at him.

“You could have shown up sooner,” he said.

Her smile faltered slightly, and those piercing, brown eyes fixed on him.

Victor gulped, averting his gaze.

“So you were worried about me!” Taiyo began laughing.

Victor could feel his face turning red.

“Shut up. No I wasn’t–”

“I was worried about you too, Sir Victor.” Taiyo’s tone softened, and Victor looked up to see those beautiful brown eyes, still piercing, but piercing with warmth.

“How’s my brother?” She asked. “And the rest of the village?”

“Safe,” Victor said. “But only for now, Garyu is in the market square fighting off the beasts. We need to get there before–”

“Before the beast king,” she finished his sentence before he could.

Victor’s eyes widened.

“How did you know?”

“I’m sorry for doubting you, Sir Victor.” Taiyo said. “You were right, Garyu’s plan is nonsense. We need to find a way to protect the village without any more casualties.”

While saying this, she looked down the alleyway, Victor followed her gaze, but he couldn’t make out what she was looking at.

“Let’s get moving,” Victor said.

“At least acknowledge my apology!”

Victor got up, turning his back towards her. He could hear Taiyo humphing and getting to her feet.

He made sure to hide the smile that was currently on his face.

Feels good being right, he thought.

The howl echoed out again. Hardness covered Victor’s face.

He looked at Taiyo, and they nodded at each other.

“Let’s hurry,”

“Yeah,”

The pair dashed out of the alleyway, Victor made sure to stand in front of Taiyo, in case anything attacked from in front of them.

They made it into the market square. Garyu was still flying above the centre, he was currently facing off against two purple demon hounds like the one Victor and Taiyo just killed.

“We have to help him–” Taiyo said.

“Wait.” Victor held out his arm to stop her.

Garyu raised his arm, and sun energy coalesced into a spear above his head.

“Have a taste of this, you god forsaken demons!” Garyu said.

Garyu launched the spear straight at the left Purple demon hound, which growled and used its claw to swipe at the projectile.

The demon beast shrieked in pain as its paw was nailed into the ground with the spear.

“A blood enchant,” Taiyo muttered.

Garyu raised his arm, and seven more spears appeared, nailing each of the beast’s limbs to the ground. The creature growled in anger and pain, trying to snap its jaws towards Garyu.

Its companion howled in fury, and pounced at Garyu in the air. Garyu swiped his arm horizontally, and a line of sun energy cleaved the beast in half, black blood showering the floor, which let out smoke from the heat.

The bottom beast howled, and Garyu created another spear.

“Taste Yiho’s fury!” Garyu roared, and he sent it into the beast’s body. It yelped, crumpling to the ground. Garyu turned around, leaving it to bleed out.

Victor clicked his tongue in disgust.

“I’ll admit that guy is strong, but I really don’t like his methods.”

Victor looked at Taiyo, who was staring at the beast with her fists clenching her dress.

“All this cruelty, for what?” she asked.

Taiyo walked over to the fallen demon hound. It growled at her with its remaining strength.

Victor reached out his hand to stop her.

“Taiyo, wait it’s not safe!”

Taiyo put her hand on the demon hound’s head. Her eyes turned golden, and the creature slowly stopped growling, and closed its eyes.

Victor felt a tightness in his chest when he saw her sad expression.

“You did the right thing,” he said, putting an arm on her shoulder.

“If only it made a difference.” Her voice choked as she spoke.

“You’re still alive I see, Victor.”

Garyu arrived above the two of them. Victor turned around, he was scanning the area, barely paying attention to either of them.

“Garyu, what the hell are you doing?” he shouted, his fists clenched. “Why are you screwing around with random beasts, we need to evacuate everyone–”

Garyu turned around, his brows creased in irritation. “I’m getting really sick of you speaking to me like that…”

Garyu raised his arm, and 10 blades of sun energy appeared in the air next to him, each pointed towards Taiyo and Victor.

Victor gulped, those blades had just easily killed two purple demon hounds. They would spend no time skewering the two of them. He clenched his fists in frustration.

Taiyo stood in front of him, holding out her arms. “You dare to attack me, Garyu?”

“You weak woman, get out of the way!” Garyu growled at her.

“I will not,” Taiyo said firmly.

“You dare to oppose Yiho’s will?” Vibrations travelled through the air, making contact with their bodies.

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Victor looked nervously at Taiyo, but she maintained a neutral expression.

“If you want to kill Victor, you have to kill me first,” she said, staring directly at Garyu. “So go ahead, my only regret will be not watching my father skin you alive.”

Garyu gnashed his teeth in anger.

“This isn’t over,” he said, flying off.

image [https://i.imgur.com/DKj8I92.png]

John Fauster ran towards the Market square, one thought continuously plaguing his mind.

Why was Kitsu here? He wasn’t supposed to be a part of this attack.

”Why hasn't this village been destroyed yet?”

John felt a powerful anger grip him, and his back and chest burned like they were on fire.

“They seem to have some combatants left,” he said. “Weren’t you going to draw them away?”

”There have been some… complications…”

John frowned. Dashing over crumbling roofs and walls. Countless bodies of wolves and even some human corpses littered the once golden fields of sun grain.

“Serves them right,” he thought. The face of that girl that fought him earlier came to his mind. Her tears, and sadness were still vivid in his mind.

Let them learn how we felt, he thought.

John shook his head, making his way into the market square. A golden figure stood flying above the houses. Though it was far away, he recognised him immediately.

John clenched his fists.

That’s the bastard who did this to us.

A voice spoke above him

“I see a mouse,”

A golden figure appeared behind him.

John stared down the man, though he was currently golden and flying, that same face was the one he stared down while he nearly died.

If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have become such a monster.

John said nothing, readying his bow. His expression contorted to one of hatred, and purple energy swirled inside his veins, making them bulge grotesquely.

A purple arrow double the size of what the man had attacked them with appeared in his hands. The swirling energy made his arms tremble, and any moment felt like he would lose control.

“This mouse has claws,” the man chuckled.

“Speak your name before I kill you,” John said.

“Garyu Kamal, the trophy hunter.” The bald man smiled viciously, and John released his arrow towards him. A purple vortex of vile energy filled his attack, and howling skulls surrounded the air around it.

“What an unpleasant attack.”

Garyu raised his arm, and a circular blade of crimson energy cleaved through John’s arrow, splitting it in half.

John’s eyes widened in disbelief. How was he this much more powerful!

A piercing shriek came from nearby, and a sun fox leapt in front of John and growled at the man. The ground shook from its presence, and it slammed one paw onto the ground, sending cracks down like an earthquake. The Sun Fox was undoubtedly his treasured friend and companion. However, its fur glowed with a purple hue, and its eyes were a dark red. The Sun Fox looked nothing like the Kitsu he once knew, it was bigger, meaner, crueller.

“Kitsu?!” John shouted.

“Hahaha!” Garyu’s eyes widened as he laughed maniacally. “I didn’t think you’d lead the beast king straight to me! Finally, I found him!”

The sun fox growled, and the very sounds of its voice hurt John's ears. Its fur was matted with blood, and purple energy circulated through its body.

Anxiety shot through John's body. He glanced at Kitsu, who snapped at Garyu, its killing intent covering the area like a dark cloud.

“Kitsu, we have to get out of here!” he said.

Kitsu remained growling, unresponsive to his words.

John could feel his throat choking up.

“Kitsu, hey–”

“As appreciation for bringing him to me, I will give you a swift death.” Garyu gathered a ball of sun energy in his hand. The ball was red, like a dim star. John could feel the surrounding temperatures rise immensely, and the sweat on his body evaporated instantly from the heat.

“This kind of attack isn’t my style,” Garyu said. “But maybe my old man will finally be proud.”

image [https://i.imgur.com/GItwXiY.png]

The village of sun helm was on fire. Beasts howled, and the once beautifully ordained houses lay crumpled and broken.

Garyu stared at the grotesque beast king in front of him. It resembled a Sun Fox, but its markings were purple instead of red. And the usual beautiful white fur of a sun fox was marred with blood and strange muscular growths coming off the side of its body.

How did that man change its power level to this degree? Garyu thought. He stared at the pale skinned life villager below, who shouted anxiously at the beast king. Did he say his name was John Fauster?

Well, no matter. Garyu thought. He clenched his fist, an unparalleled sense of power filling his body. Sun energy swirled around him, he truly felt like Yiho had given him a part of his divinity. Was this how Pawan felt? He thought. No, Pawan was even stronger…

The blood enchant was a risk, one wrong move and he may have crippled himself, but it was a risk that paid off.

“Old man,” he said. “Look how far I've come!”

Memories of his father’s disappointed expression came to his mind.

“Father, I promise I can improve,” Young Garyu said.

“Son,” Kamal told him. “Cultivation isn’t for everyone. You’re already in your twenties. Don't push yourself, look at me, I’m managing okay, aren’t I?”

Young Garyu looked around their home. It was small, his father and mother slept in the living space, he got the bedroom to himself. They never struggled for food, but everyday Garyu watched the other kids, he saw the young high priest and the amount of respect they gave him. Every word, every action of his could sway the entire village.

Like the God Yiho himself.

He watched his peers grow beyond him as he ploughed the fields day in day out. All the cultivators ate off his hard work. They grew more powerful day by day, while Garyu was still stuck below Rank 1.

No woman would marry a weak man like him.

Did he have to remain weak forever? Like his father? And grow decrepit and die?

The thought made Garyu grit his teeth.

No, Garyu thought while he held in his breath. I need more, I won’t die in a small place like this.

“Mercy!” a tanned, broad shouldered man carrying a black bow knelt bruised on the floor before him. His hair was black, and he had a thick beard. Garyu stood beside him, holding a ball of flame in his hand.

“Teach me your technique,” Garyu said. “And I will let you live.”

Anger surged on the man’s face. “We have held an amicable relationship with the Sun God’s church for millennia! They never interfered with our lifestyles, so long as we stayed out of their influence. First you take my wife, now you demand my techniques! Aren’t our techniques considered hearsay, to you?”

“I’d watch your tone of voice,” Garyu said. It was by sheer coincidence that he found this man who had been attacked by bandits. Corpses of 3 men lay around him, each with large holes in their chests or skulls.

But his cultivation level was only 0.3. He was the same level as Garyu.

And currently, he was weakened.

Garyu dropped the ball of sun energy on the man’s arm. He screamed in agony as the flesh blistered off his skin.

“Stop, please!” The man said through tears.

“I won’t ask twice,” Garyu readied another ball of sun energy in his palms.

“You promise you’ll let me go?” The man asked, staring between the ball of energy in Garyu’s hand and his face. “Do you have any other option?” Garyu responded.

The man gulped, and the previous anger left his face, replaced by an expression of desperation.

“I have two techniques,” the man said. “The wooden arrow, and the blood enchant. Here.” The man handed Garyu an animal skin notebook, which Garyu accepted. Flicking through the pages, he turned around.

The man began to crawl away, looking fearfully at Garyu. Out of the corner of Garyu’s eye, he noted an expression of hatred on the man’s face.

Garyu turned back to face the man.

“It would be bad if you told other’s what happened here,” Garyu summoned another ball of flame in his palm.

The man’s eyes widened in shock. “We had a deal!” he said.

“You seem to have some hatred towards my church,” Garyu said. “Leaving you will only breed more troubles down the line.”

“Wait! Please, I have a son–”

Garyu sent the ball of energy onto the man’s body. He didn’t have the chance to scream before his entire body ignited.

Garyu watched the flames reduce his body to ash. He digested what he had just done.

“I will not remain weak,” Garyu said to himself. “Yiho permits us to take from those which are lesser. I will not regret this decision.”

And so, he hunted countless wild creatures with the technique of the life villager he killed. Each time, presenting them to Pawan with an ingratiating smile, who nodded in response. Pawan would hand him special grade sun whiskey, which Garyu drank greedily.

Rank 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, .0.8, all the way to 1.9. Where his cultivation stopped.

Garyu killed, hunted, and searched. His old man had long stopped asking him to choose a different path, he only sighed when he told him about his recent hunts. They stopped talking, they didn’t even sit together at the set feast anymore. Eventually, Garyu stopped staying home, focusing only on his hunts.

“I need more, Pawan High priest!” Garyu knelt on the ground, his teeth gritted.

“You’ve been stuck at the peak of Rank 1 for how long?” Pawan asked him from the stage. “Giving you anymore for weak killings is a waste, this is better spent on cultivators with actual talent.”

Talentless? Garyu thought. I’ve made it this far, how can he say that to me who stands at the peak? After all the work I’ve done?

“But high priest, surely there’s more. What about the blood of the gods–”

“You dare oppose me, Garyu?” Garyu stared into Pawan’s crimson eyes, and his entire heart went cold. The previous anger, his rage, his indignation. All of it was stifled. In those red eyes, before the apostle of a god, he was nothing.

I never want to feel like that again. Garyu thought.

“John Fauster,” Garyu stared down at the two of them. Hound and man. “I will remember this name, as you will be the lamb that brought me my redemption.