Riaz's group fled along the river path towards the village. Celia hoped that the sound of the water would mask their steps.

It didn't take long for the young ones to run out of breath, while Riaz and Celia both had plenty of energy to spare. However, they couldn't allow the kids a single moment of rest.

Celia lifted Lissy into her arms and maintained her pace as the little girl tightly clung to her mother with a trembling body.

It was quite lamentable, but having to escort three children made it difficult for Celia to employ her full speed and she could only hope that the raiders wouldn't catch up to them.

Sadly, speed was not the only concern.

As they pressed on, it became increasingly more difficult to see where they were going. Every now and then, a lonely cloud would obscure the moon, making it even harder to see.

They had barely cleared half of the way when Kyle tripped over an exposed tree-root by the roadside and fell. The little redhead's cheeks were flushed red and the tears in his eyes had blurred his vision to the point that he stumbled.

Celia stopped to fetch Kyle; it was then that Riaz and Leria overtook her.

They had not noticed that the little one had fallen behind and stubbornly pressed on. Meanwhile, Celia did her best to smile warmly at little Kyle.

"Come love, we are almost there. Please endure just a little more. Just a little!" Celia forcefully grabbed Kyle by the hand and took off once again.

The moment that her feet shot forward, she heard a soft clang and then no longer felt a resistance from the tiny hand that she was firmly holding onto.

She felt a dark premonition that sent chills down her spine.

When she turned her head around, her face immediately paled, a horrendous sight stopping her in her tracks.

Celia released a blood curdling scream, prompting both Riaz and Leria to turn their heads and stop.

In her hand, Celia held a limp arm. There was no body attached to it. The only thing visible on the other end was the small trail of blood that was left behind her.

Celia was mortified to see Kyle lay on the ground not far away, his arm missing. Fresh blood shot out in spurts and slowly seeped through the dry cracks in the road.

Kyle's eyes had lost their usual lustre and his body twitched from time to time while his pained cries tugged at people's heartstrings.

It wasn't difficult to find the source behind the boy's misery, for a bloodstained katar was lodged in the ground next to him.

It seemed as though time had come to a still and Riaz, who was startled by the noises, finally understood what terror had unfolded.

Not far from him, Leria, too, was in shock, her hands covering her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. The color had drained from her face and her knees threatened to give in from the overwhelming shock.

"Mommy? What happened, mommy?" Lissy didn't quite understand, but from her mothers cries she was able to figure out that something very bad had happened and so she, too, cried.

Not long after, a bestial creature emerged from the heavy shadow of a tree and its nightmarish silhouette solicited fear from all those present.

"Hoh? I've missed? Che, and here I was hoping to skewer this little meat sack." The creature spoke sadistically, it's voice deep and gnarly.

Silver fur shone under the gentle moonlight, something that looked both beautiful and twisted at the same time.

Riaz could hardly believe his eyes. Here it was in front of him; it was a specimen of a race he had only read in books about.

'A beast, no... a beastman.'

It was an inhabitant of the western lands, The Savage Lands of Gillinor. One such wolfish beast stood before them and the reality of it sent shivers down his spine.

In the beastman's left hand was a katar, identical to the one that had lodged itself in the ground earlier.

Riaz clenched his fists so hard that the nails bit into his flesh, causing him to bleed. There was no doubt that it was this beastman who had wounded Kyle.

He was not the only one to arrive at that conclusion. Naturally, someone more experienced like Celia understood immediately that they had reached a critical junction.

There was precious little time to think and a decision had to be made. During such a time, Celia lowered Lissy to the ground and wordlessly reached for her sword.

The little girl, reluctant to part with her mother, tried to cling to her, but Celia resolutely pushed her away. The little girl didn't understand and cried, then ran off towards Riaz, burying her face in his shirt.

While everyone was frozen from shock, the beastman took the liberty of walking up to Kyle's body and bent over it. His free hand reached for Kyle's head and Celia, reading his intentions, yelled out intensely. Her vocal cords throbbed from unintentionally infusing her qi into her voice.

The beastman chuckled in response as he grabbed Kyle's head, easily lifting his entire body up.

Hanging down by the beastman's hand, the child's body faced the others; it was a sight that pained all of his family members, though only two of them see with clarity.

The sight was simply unbearable to Riaz and at that moment he couldn't think clearly. He didn't even realize that he was channeling qi into his eyes; the shock was simply too overwhelming.

'No, he wouldn't... or would he? No, please...' Riaz silently pleaded in his head.

He hoped to get a read on this madman and to think of something to do, but it was all for naught, as the beastman had already put things into motion.

As all eyes were fixed on Kyle's body, it became clear that the child had lost consciousness. His face was drained of color with the exception of blood slowly dripping from his mouth.

Enjoying all the attention, the beastman chuckled diabolically as he mercilessly crushed Kyle's head within his bestial hand.

"My baby, NOOOOO!" Celia cried and unsheathed her sleek sword, a layer of qi instantly engulfing her sword.

Without hesitation she leapt towards the beastman, closing the distance within a second.

Celia opened with a powerful thrust, swift and precise, aiming for his throat. The beastman growled and the muscles in his arm tensed up.

The moment she entered his range, her attack was easily intercepted by his katar and the thrust deflected towards her left. However, that was not the end of it.

The beastman followed up with his free right hand and clawed towards Celia's head.

Having quickly regained her balance, Celia avoided the claw by bringing her whole body down into a crouch. She pulled her knee closer while qi gathered in her leg and prepared to send a kick towards her opponent's knee. She hoped to cause crippling damage and to impair the beast's movements thus.

"Heh." The beastman revealed a sadistic smile and didn't move his leg, allowing her her kick to connect. Just then, he had already formed a clear picture of the woman's strength and felt confident in his strength. Instead of avoiding the attack, he focused his own qi into his leg and braced himself.

A small shockwave spread through the air as their legs collided, shaking the nearby ground.

Celia's face turned white as a sheet. She immediately regretted her move when the pain in her leg set in.

Having sobered up after the clash, she then realized that she was no match against her opponent. She herself was around the peak Expert warrior level, while, judging from the power behind their clash, the other should be at least of the Master level.

Additionally, he was a beastman with innate physical prowess; she couldn't compare to him in strenght. Specializing in agility, she could at most hope to match his speed... if they were of the same level that was.

Immediately, Celia retreated towards Riaz's group and called out to them in a frantic voice, not once taking her eyes off the enemy.

"Run now! I cannot hope to defeat this enemy." She gritted her teeth, thinking of Kyle, but she couldn't be reckless when she still had something to protect.

Her motherly heart was in shambles and she had no choice but to swallow her rage for now, as much as it pained her.

Amused by the despair written on Celia's face, the beastman chose not to pursue Celia during her retreat. This was his hunt and where was the fun in a hunt that is over too quickly?

He leasurely walked up to his other katar, which was still stuck in the ground and dislodged it.

Now that he had both of his katars, he grinned and swept his gaze over everyone as he licked off the bloodstains on his katar.

Celia watched with blood-shot eyes and the ground underneath her feet began to crack under the pressure of her surging qi.

Her grip on the sword tightened while her shoulders shook. After what she went through, her brown hair looked like a mess and her motherly nature had long been buried under the weight of her seething anger.

She didn't think for long and decided that she would not die, not before she at least crippled this monster. She gathered her qi once more and took a stance, in which she stood sideways with her free hand behind her back, whilst her sword pointed towards the beastman.

As her senses expanded during her moment of crisis, she picked up on the presence of her children.

"I told you to run, you foolish kids! Listen to your mother!" She shouted angrily, knowing that their window of escape was closing.

The kids remained rooted, neither able to move nor voice their grief. They could only stare blankly as the battle unfolded.

"You look appetizing indeed." The beastman smacked his lips eagerly. "Be afraid and know that I, Boffu, will take my time playing with you and when I'm finished, I will slowly take your other children apart too, limb by limb."

"Die!!" Celia shot towards Boffu like an arrow.

At the midpoint between them, she split into three exact copies of herself and attackted from different directions.

"Fool." Boffu sneered and his chest rose up with a deep breath.

"ARH-WOOOOOOO!" A powerful sonic wave attack shot out in a wide cone in front of Boffu, stunning Celia and blasting her off her feet as her clones dispersed into nothingness.

Before Celia had time to steady herself for a landing, Boffu had already chased her down and spun his body around like a whirlwind while one of his katars aimed for her chest.

Celia barely deflected one sweep of the katar before Boffu's other katar followed up, leaving a silver trail on its trajectory. The swing disarmed Celia, sending her sword flying towards Leria.

On the kids' side, Riaz was watching the fight, not afforded the slightest moment to blink.

For his eyes, keeping up with the movements was difficult and almost impossible at times. However, even he could see that Boffu was still holding back.

Celia's eyes focused on the sword's trajectory and a feeling of dread rose up within her.

Fortunately, Riaz saw Celia's sword whirl through the air, threatening Leria. He felt a twist inside the pit of his stomach and broke away from his daze. Quickly, he tackled the restless girl and pulled her out of harms way amidst her shrill cry.

The sword smashed into the ground next to them and bounced off, landing a few feet away.

Riaz's timely rescue solved Celia's worries, but little did she know that she had commited a grave error.

It was a mere moment of distraction, yet that instant was more than enough for Boffu to seize an opening. His bestial hand shot out, tightly grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

Muffled gurgling sounds escaped Celia's mouth as her hands reached for Boffu's furry hand. She clawed and tore at his hand, desperately struggling to free herself, but her nails sooner broke off than to put a scratch on his animalistic skin.

"Mama!" The girls cried out desperately.

Leria finally couldn't take it anymore and her legs gave in under her. She dropped to her knees and sobbed.

Unfortunately, no amount of sobbing could solicit pity from the gods, else they would not allow such attrocities to happen in the first place.

Riaz knew for the first time, since he had awakened, that peace had a flipside.

He looked on in horror as Boffu slammed Celia against the ground and pinned her down by the neck. Her blood burst forth from her mouth, splashing and sullying Boffu's silver fur.

Celia had lost.

On the sidelines, Riaz slowly watched as his final beacon of hope went to the ground. During all this, his legs wouldn't move and his chest felt heavy.

'Can you do nothing, Riaz? Why... why am I so pathetic?' he screamed in his mind.

Riaz felt tears rolling down his cheeks. Every tear that splashed onto the road felt like a nail driven into his chest.

He had to accept reality: he was weak. He was not the strong young man from his dreams; he was not someone with the means to defy this outcome.

Gritting his teeth, Riaz shook his head, as if to shake off his thoughts of self-doubt.

"The girls... I have to take the girls and run."

He shook off his fear and was about to take action, when a wave of pain assaulted him and stole his breath.

"Ugh... what... my chest?" Riaz clawed at his chest, gasping for breath. He didn't understand what was happening.

Lissy tugged at him silently and when he looked at her, he could see that her eyes had reddened considerably up to this point.

Riaz gritted his teeth and thought, 'I can't show weakness. They all depend on me.'

"Come on... Leria, let's go, we need to find your dad!" He winced and called out to Leria, approaching her with Lissy in tow.

He shook Leria by the shoulder, but she remained frozen, her face staring ahead to where her mother was being subdued. Her face gradually turned a shade paler and Riaz followed her gaze to see what happened.

He wasn't ready for the sight that awaited him.

Boffu, pressing Celia down by the throat, had at some point discarded his katar and used his freed up hand to fondle Celia's ample bosom. The beastman drooled as his basic instincts took over him.

At the same time, his worn out pants bulged above his crotch area.

Boffu spared no pause to lift Celia's beige dress and while Celia could only flail around helplessly, her throat tied down with no sound escaping, he tore away her panties.

"This animal! Bastard!" Riaz was in disbelief of what he was seeing. Celia, who had become like a mother-figure to him, was being shamed and abused in front of her own children.

Riaz groaned from the physical pain in his chest and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, but he was too pre-occupied to notice the latter.

There was little he could do for Celia, but there was one thing he had to try and so he reached into his clothing.

"Please! I beg you, let go of her. I'll give you... this." Riaz hurried to present the crystal pendant that was tucked away in his clothing. "It should be... worth a lot. It's yours, so p-please!"

Boffu paused for a brief moment and a glimmer of interest flashed across his bestial eyes, but nothing more. He grinned with his canines showing, after which he sneered at Riaz's attempt to pacify him and rubbed his crotch for him to see.

The beastman was clearly taunting Riaz.

"Big bro! You have to help mommy! The monster is hurting mommy!" Lissy cried and pulled on Riaz's sleeves.

Riaz glanced at her small face. The guilt for being powerless weighed heavily on his heart and her calling him big brother now, out of all times, grated his soul.

Turning away from Lissy, he forced himself to look at Celia's face.

She was unable to breathe while being suffocated by the hand at her throat. Her face changed multiple hues towards blue and purple; it was a morbid sight to behold.

Boffu, in his drive, unpacked the bulk of his instrument and commenced great atrocities against Celia.

For a moment, Riaz and Celia locked eyes. Her eyes seemingly peering directly into his conscience. He could tell that her eyes were pleading with him.

Riaz knew what she was asking of him. Even if she didn't tell him, he knew. There was but one thing that a mother would want in this situation.

He roared. He roared louder than he thought himself able to.

It was a roar filled with grief and unwillingness; it was a testament to how weak he was and a pure desire to wake up from what should have been another one of his nightmares.

But screaming would solve nothing; he understood that much.

There was no time to hesitate, he knew that more people were drawing near. He could see their faraway silhouettes, illuminated by the moonlight.

Riaz made up his mind and overcame the surging pain in his chest. His hands reached out for the girls, pulling at them.

Leria, blankly peered into his face. "Riaz?" Her voice sounded extremely meek and her tear-stained face had hardened.

Riaz pulled the girls along, picking up Lissy. He ran as fast as he could, no longer shedding any tears. He had to be a man, now more than ever.

"M-mommy!!!" Lissy could only cry helplessly while her sister Leria remained unresponsive, letting herself be dragged away.

The young people fled, but Boffu was, as before, in no rush to chase them whatsoever.

"Kheh, run little ones. It's more enjoyable that way. Oh yes... hah, I'll have you soon." He groaned in ecstasy, howling as the pleasure overtook him. The kids were lucky not to witness how the strength behind his grip crushed their mother's windpipe underneath him.

That night, Riaz lost the closest thing to a mother.

Riaz and the girls finally arrived at the village after running for a little while. Unfortunately, for them, the village was not the place to turn to.

Rooftops had collapsed in a blaze and the smell of burning houses and fields stung Riaz in the nose. Small parts of the village had been set ablaze and smoke rose to the dark sky.

The sound of clashing weapons rang out from afar and Riaz knew that they had jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Still, there was no going back now. He had to find Obrid. There was no need to think further at this point. Obrid would surely know what to do, or so Riaz hoped.

The group made their way deeper into the village. The smoke was denser at some points than others and the crackling of burning wood carressed their ears as they ventured onwards.

Not hesitating, Riaz pressed on, calling out Obrid's name. Luckily, there didn't seem to be that many threats around, but the deeper they moved in, the more Riaz picked up on new unpleasant smells.

The pain in his chest had lessened at some point, making it easier for Riaz to act and so, when they encountered danger, Riaz would tell the girls to hide while he snuck closer to the action. He had to take the risk, just in case Obrid was among the people caught up in the fighting.

As they made their way through the village, Riaz caught sight of the assailants. They were the spitting image of bandits. Scathed pieces of leather armor and blood-red colors painted them in a bad light when coupled with their gruffy hair and mutilated bodies.

He could see only a handful of them, but they were armed.

The villagers easily outnumbered the bandits, but they didn't have the weaponry or protection to fight back, nor did they have any experience fighting. To bandits, however, robbery and violence were just a routine task.

He scanned the crowd and a pair of youths caught his attention, because he knew them. They were the first people he had met: Bolen and Kolb.

The two of them helped a group of people escape by stalling three bandits on their own. They bravely struck out with their spears before ultimately being cut down by axe and sword.

Riaz clicked his tongue and looked away.

'I've been wrong about you two. I'm sorry, Bolen... Kolb.'

Children avoided them and adults disliked them. In the end, the two misfits were foolish, yet couragous, as always. While he grieved their deaths, he couldn't help but respect their resolve to protect.

'Compared to them, I am a sorry excuse of a man. All I can do is run.'

It took a few minutes, but they soon found Obrid, who, by himself, took down two bandits near the central square. He seemed to have emerged unscathed, further attesting to his prowess.

"Daddy!" Lissy broke away from Riaz and dashed towards her father.

She tackled Obrid. The previous events had taken a great toll on her and the warmth of her father gave way to more tears.

"Wahhhh, Daddy, it's Mommy... she... she... waaahhhhh."

"Kids! I'm so glad you're alright. Wait, where is your mother? Weren't she and Kyle with you?" Obrid's usual stern expression was replaced by worry. As if sensing that something was wrong, he looked at Leria and Riaz for answers.

"Riaz, what happened?" he asked with shaking lips.

"Obrid, we... we c-couldn't do anything. The enemy... i-it was a monster. Kyle and Aunty... they couldn't make it. P-please... forgive me." Riaz stammered.

His emotions finally took the better of him as he continued explaining, "We ran! We got away, but they couldn't make it. I'm sorry... shit, I am so s-sorry. I couldn't do an-anything. I was so useless, so weak. I ran... O-Obrid... I ran."

Being face to face with Obrid and having to deliver the news, he couldn't help but rue his weakness and how he, as the man at the time, couldn't protect them in Obrid's place. He felt ashamed and he hated himself like never before.

"Enough, Riaz!" Obrid didn't waste time and embraced him. He pressed him against himself and Riaz quietly sobbed.

"Enough nonsense, boy. You have done well. I can't express how grateful I am that you three made it here." Obrid gave Riaz a few pats on the back and pulled the other two into a group hug.

Obrid tried his best to conceal his inner turmoil, but couldn't. His face was red and the kids could feel his body shaking.

He was enraged, truly enraged at that moment. In his heart, he vowed that he would never forgive those bandits.

"Come with me, we have to find that old coot Misaf. He is the only one I can entrust you to. Only by leaving you with him can I feel at ease when I look for your mother."

Obrid lead Riaz and the children deeper into the village, firmly gripping his sword.