Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Inside a forest on the outskirts of a town called Pelith, there was a large concentration of monsters. The deeper one went into the woods, the stronger and stronger they became.

Eventually, at least for any person who was insane enough to travel as far as the center of the woods, the king of the forest would be found. He was the legendary S-Rank beast known as Fenrir.

Normally he slept at the heart of the forest, waking only every few hundred years to cull the monster population within his home, both to feed and to ensure no creatures could fight their way up to his strength.

Despite it not being another few decades before his rest was over, the commotion currently near an outer part of the forest had caught his attention. Presences he had not felt in a very long time had suddenly appeared and they were fighting against a weak monster.

"Well, this era will be quite interesting won't it…I could nip it in the bud right now but…no…he would scold me if I bothered them…so annoying…"

Fenrir laid its head back down on its massive paws and closed its eyes to return to its long rest.

*****

Sweat beaded on Lucius' forehead. There was a strange calmness as both he, and the monster between his legs tried to understand what happened. Neither could believe how things had progressed.

The first to recover was Lucius, who gripped tightly on the deer's antlers. Thankfully it was just in time to avoid being thrown off by his 'mount' as it began to jump, twist, and throw its head side to side.

Lucius quickly felt like his brain was being turned to mush as it bounced around in his skull. His muscles also screamed and begged for relief from their efforts to keep him from flying off.

After failing to throw and buck the boy off, the deer opted for a new option. It charged. Trees cracked and split as it slammed its head, neck, and sides into the trunks of the trees around the clearing. Lucius held fast onto the antler, but moved his body to dodge the incoming splinters and branches.

Pain was the only sensation that made up his world at the moment, but at least it told him he was alive. Suddenly, he had a moment of clarity. Or maybe it was that one of the voices in his head gave him the idea…really he couldn't know for sure.

Lucius leaned to the side of the deer's head and brought his mouth close to its ear.

"[Beast Arts: King's Roar]!"

An inhuman scream erupted from his small frame. Any sounds that were in the forest, were drowned out by the massive, bestial utterance.

The roar lasted for ten seconds and after it was over, the deer was completely stunned. Blood flowed from its ears and it wobbled from side to side trying to maintain its balance.

Lucius' throat screamed at him. He attempted to call out another skill, but all he got for his efforts was a cough with a smattering of blood.

Quickly, he grabbed a loose branch from the tree nearest to him. He stood and balanced on the deer's neck, twisted his body, and using the branch as a club, attacked the antlers of the monster.

One of the two massive antlers cracked, so he swung a second time. Then a third. Then, on the fourth hit, a large section of antler cracked off.

Lucius quickly picked it up, and jumped into the trees. Hopping from branch to branch, he moved faster than he had ever moved before. Even though a single mistake could result in him losing his footing and falling to the forest floor below, he could not stop.

His body moved quickly and naturally through the treetops. A pained cry erupted from somewhere behind him, but instead of getting closer, it seemed to be fading. Either the Alpha Deer decided to give up and stay in the clearing, or it ran deeper into the woods to hide away and recover.

It was likely the second option so that it could avoid being taken advantage of by a predator that felt like it now had a chance to take it down. Regardless of why, Lucius was home free, and with a trophy.

After nearly twenty minutes of leaping between branches like a primate, the light of day began to break through the leaves, signaling he was almost out. At this point, his body began to give way.

The boost he was given by adrenaline, or the mysterious voice in the void…whatever one it was, started to leave him. His jumps got slower, the distance between them shorter. Until at the last leap, the one that got him free of the forest, everything he had left him all at once.

Pain returned to his mind. His muscles screamed. Every fiber of his existence was enveloped by pain, with a singular exception. He had no energy to move. No energy to focus his eyesight. No energy to listen for danger.

The one thing he did have left was his sense of smell. Thanks to this he smelled something familiar.

"Fa…ther."

This was the last thing he was able to moan out, though it was scarcely a whisper.

"Good job Lucius." Wayne said sadly, although Lucius had long since passed out, unable to hear him.

****

Wayne looked down on his son with pride and sadness. Sadness was among the emotions because of two reasons. First, his son was only eight, going on nine, and yet he was laying in the dirt covered in bruises, cuts, and various different kinds of other wounds. Secondly, he was the reason his son was in this state.

Death was a very real possibility in this mission, but so was it in his son's upcoming trial. He had felt that if Lucius managed to survive this, then his shot of getting out of the forest for his real trial was an actual possibility.

However, whatever his plans were, things beyond his understanding occurred. Everyone in town heard a cry from the forest. It was as if a monster could shake the heavens itself. People in Pelith had started to panic, worried that a Monster Swarm was going to descend on their homes from the woods.

Thankfully, Wayne knew the likely source and was able to calm many people when telling them it was not a monster. He had traveled the world during his youth and spent a long time in the Beastman nation of Eroa. It was the one with the closest ties to the human kingdoms of the Five Kings Union, so his time there was very pleasant.

It was because of his time there that he recognized the sound as the Beast Art known as King's Roar.

"Good one son…though, that is an Intermediate Rank skill…how in the world did you pull that off."

Wayne was a Master Rank swordsman and as someone of a higher rank, he was capable of assessing someone's current abilities. When looking at Lucius, it was clear he had not even reached Novice Rank. Power beyond one's means was dangerous and there was always a cost. He could not help but wonder what price Lucius had paid.

Again that feeling of sadness settled on him as he cradled the small boy in his arms. He noticed the antler of an Alpha Deer laying on the ground.

"Well son of a…I expected you to tussle with it and then escape when you saw it was too much…but it seems you couldn't help but take a piece of him with you…that's my boy."

Wayne carried Lucius back to their home. When they entered, Rubellia ran to the doorway with a concerned look. Lucius was back on the same day he had left, though he had a few more days. Of course she was concerned about his well-being.

Her concerns appeared to be founded in truth given the state their son was in.

"Wayne! What happened!? Why is he so hurt…I thought you were planning to step in if…Why didn't you…"

"I only told you I was going to step in so you would agree to let him go. He needed to do this on his own Rubellia or else…"

His sentence was interrupted with the echo of a slap. A red mark appeared on the side of his face and a stinging sensation took over his cheek.

"You bastard!" Rubellia muttered with tears in her eyes.

She took Lucius from him and carried the boy to his room. Wayne watched from the doorway silently. He was not going to apologize for what he did. It was necessary to give his son a fighting chance.

Rubellia came out of the room, grabbed a bucket with clean water and a few rags. She went back into the room and began to slowly clean the wounds on Lucius' body so they would not get infected.

Wayne finally moved from the doorway and headed into town with the Alpha Deer antler still in his hand. As a token of Lucius' test today, he would have a memento made for him.

There were no longer any doubts in his mind. Regardless of the consequence he would face for unleashing mid-ranked arts before he was ready, Lucius would survive this. Wayne smiled to himself.

"My kid has to be the strongest one in this year's trial…no doubt."

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