A man walked on the fine grassy plains.

His long auburn hair flowed like an endless stream in the wind, and the blue kimono he wore danced as the breeze beat it.

He had a blade strapped on his waist—nothing too fancy.

As he kept walking, he laid eyes on a faraway place.

It was a large city located at the center of massive mountains. That was his destination, yet his movements were calm and precise.

He enjoyed the walk as he slowly, yet steadily approached.

Anticipation built up over time, and this Swordsman didn’t want to rush things.

Finally, after a while, he arrived at the settlement.

His unsheathed blade was now in his grasp, and his gaze was locked on the most important building in the entire settlement.

It belonged to none other than the Beast King.

>VWUUUUSSSHHH<

Instantly, blue particles of power burst forth from his body and passed through his blade as a conduit.

This happened so seamlessly and naturally, yet the power caused everything around the man to tremble.

“#01: Rend.”

A single swing.

All it took was a single casual swing… and the building came crashing down—no, the entire compound was sliced cleanly.

>BOOOOOOOOMMMM<

The swordsman watched the destruction from afar, satisfied that he had given his greeting.

The next thing he did was to seat atop high ground and await the retaliation that the nation would offer him.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for long.

Like a meteor, the current Beast King known as Gerard came crashing down a distance from the swordsman’s position.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and a surge of rage-filled emotions was stirred within the Beast King.

“Who the hell are you? How dare you strike at us? What the heck do you want?”

Upon hearing the question, the swordsman finally stood on his feet and faced Gerard. Usually, he would have communicated with violence, but it would be rude to do that out of the blue.

Courtesy demanded that introductions were made. Besides…

“I am known by many as the Martial Blade God. Upon sensing a great distortion here nearly three weeks past, I come to seek a strong opponent.”

The swordsman looked no older than thirty, if not thirty-five, but the way he spoke connoted maturity.

His blade was in its sheath, and he was completely defenseless. Other than the fine clothing he wore, the man had nothing else going for him.

Gerard’s glare didn’t disappear, though.

“My family nearly died because of that attack. If you wanted to say this, why couldn’t you just have knocked?” The Beast King’s teeth were now grating as his hateful frown deepened.

“But… that was a greeting. I was certain I used the weakest of my techniques. Besides, isn’t your kind motivated by dying at the hands of a stronger opponent? Besides… such an attack is nothing to you, right? The kind of energy I sensed back then… that clash and distortion was the strongest I had perceived in a long time.”

The swordsman began unsheathing his blade and used his right hand to grip it tightly.

“Now, then, I’ve said enough…” He didn’t have any particular form.

His stance was simply upright. A step slightly back, and his body balanced by his bladed hand being forward.

“… Let us exchange words with our blades.”

Gerard didn’t waste any time. He quickly assumed his most powerful form and roared with unimaginable power.

“I don’t care who you are! You’re dead!”

Compared to the time with Jared and Serah, Gerard was now stronger.

He had mastered the use of his abilities better, and he was more determined to win than ever before.

“I’ll rip you apart!”

With that, Gerard brought his mighty hand swooping down.

However—

“Hmm…”

It was stopped before even reaching the swordsman.

“… Are you underestimating me? I should have you know… I’m quite strong. It wouldn’t do you any good to hold back.”

Gerard looked at the dead serious expression of his enemy and realized he was being honest. The Beast King needed to take the fight more seriously.

There was one problem with that though…

‘I’m already in top form! How is this even—’

“Maybe I should start first?” The swordsman pointed his blade in Gerard’s direction, the latter still being stuck with his earlier attack.

A sharp blue light sparked, and before Gerard could even interpret its power, the energy burst and consumed Gerard’s body.

“GUAAARRRRGHHHH!!!”

With a pained scream, Gerard found himself being consumed by the blue energy.

Quickly, he leaped backward, using everything in his power to douse the power that ravaged him.

‘Mana isn’t effective? What’s going on? My healing… can’t keep up?!’ Gerard’s body was throbbing with pain and fear.

p anda nOvel.cO,m —The FEAR OF DEATH!

Who would have thought that a Beastfolk who once sought after death would grow to despise it?

Now that he had found a purpose, and also the ability to grow stronger, Gerard did not want to lose his life.

Not now, and certainly not for a while.

“No… I can’t die yet. Not until I at least…” The image of Serah Crimson flashed in Gerard’s head and he gritted his teeth, pumping every power he had to the limits.

“WUUUAHHHHH”

Finally, the blue energy dispersed, causing Gerard’s charred body to start healing.

“Hmmm… what’s going on with you? I’m even talking more than necessary. Our abilities should communicate. A fight is like a conversation, and it’s like you’re not responding to my messages. Frankly, it’s a bit hurtful.”

Gerard was nearly out of breath, yet this man had barely even started.

His gaze was calm, and he didn’t look the slightest bit disturbed.

‘What kind of person… what kind of power…??!’ Gerard tried to understand, but he couldn’t.

“Maybe you need to have an incentive. All life is life anyway. I might as well resort to this…” The swordsman suddenly turned his back on Gerard and faced the Beast Kingdom.

Its wide landscape was captivating, and the cultures of various species mixed in made it very unique.

“… Please forgive my selfishness.”

**********

A

/N

We’ve finally come to this part.

I’ll be honest with you, this guy is one of my favorite characters, if not my favorite, in this Novel.

You’ll understand more as you keep reading.