When the battle outside from the village was about to start, Ignia had prepared a surprise for Rei's family.
"Let's go~ let's go~ the show is about to start!" Ignia spoke cheerfully as she pulled them out of their bedrooms and into the living dining room.
"W-what's going on?" Adam asked in confusion.
"W-where are we going? Ignia-san." Sheila asked as well.
But Ignia remained silent and dragged them to sit on the chair she had prepared to watch something that was about to happen together.
There was a magic crystal on the table and it created a hologram screen which took them by surprise.
"...?!"
"W-woah...what is this?" Emily asked while looking at the hologram screen curiously.
But then...
*TSSSS*
The screen slowly showed something.
"Ohhhh, it's about to start~" Ignia replied, pointing at the hologram's screen, which showed an army of monsters approaching the village.
"Monsters?!" Adam shouted.
Until...
*SWOOSH*
Their attention was focused elsewhere.
"W-what is that?!" Emily pointed out at the giant fireball that appeared out of nowhere, falling down towards an army of monsters.
*BOOM*
Then crashed directly towards them.
There was static on the screen, and the entire screen was covered with smoke after the explosion.
As soon as the fireball struck them, the masses of Hobgoblins that had marched in front of them instantly reduced to nothing but ashes.
Adam, Sheila and Emily were nervous as the smoke started to clear, which revealed the identity of the one who caused that destruction.
It was none other than their son and her older brother.
Ray Houston–also known as Kiritsuka Rei.
He's wearing full plate black armour with crimson lining and plating, and a menacing aura that could be felt through the screen.
A coat made out of his black flame appeared as he descended down and approached the army of monsters.
Adam and Sheila finally understood what Ignia meant from the sight of their son who had change for the past few years.
Ignia was staring at their reaction while watching the screen.
"Yes...this is your son, the son that had been missing for years." Ignia commented.
Then through the screen, the High-Orcs approached Rei at full speed.
"Watch out!!" They all screamed despite knowing their voices wouldn't be able to reach him.
The High-Orcs struck him with their giant club.
*BAM*
It was a direct hit.
And yet...
His body didn't budge at all, nor leaving any damage on him.
Until his body released a strange dark aura around him.
And then...
*SWOOSH*
The black flame that spread out engulfed his body, which caught the High-Orcs that attacked him.
The High-Orcs couldn't even scream after the flame touched their body, they were reduced into ashes just like the Hobgoblins that were marching a minute ago.
And the whole family saw it happened.
Shocked.
Disbelief.
But at the same time...
They were amazed by his change.
They didn't know how strong the High-Orcs or Hobgoblins are, but they know they are monsters that cannot be underestimate.
But their son, her older brother…
Managed to kill those monsters the moment he arrived at that place.
But now...the true fight was about to begin when Rei took out his black axe.
******
Cyrus was one of the elite members in the [Blood Rose] organization that the [The Femme Fatale, Minerva] created.
He was known to be cunning, smart and have a strong observational skill.
And his partner Darius was known to be the type who likes to brawl and do the action.
The two of them were inseparable, because of their combo and experience of working together for so many years.
They become elite members within few months.
But...
For the first time, in Cyrus' life.
He felt threatened.
'W-what is this....'
He was horrified.
'No...it can't be...'
From the scene that was made by a lone knight, who disrupted their plan to conquer the village.
It started when the High-Orcs began to charge at this knight who's currently holding onto a black axe.
*GRAAAAAAAA*
At first, the High-Orcs froze at their spots after they saw their comrades were reduced to ashes, but after knowing the knight extinguished his flame…
They became fearless and charged at him without knowing...
.
.
.
.
.
.
That they were just pigs that ready to be slaughtered.
*CLANK*
The knight–Rei lifted his axe.
*SWOOSH*
When 4 High-Orcs jumped at him.
*GRAAAAAAAA*
They shouted their warcry and lifted their giant club. Despite having a large body, their movements were pretty agile but...
.
.
.
.
.
.
That didn't bother him.
Rei gave them a full swing of his axe.
*SWOOSH*
And...
*SPLATTERED*
His axe struck the High-Orcs with a single swipe, severing their bodies and their intestines splattered all over.
Then 2 High-Orcs grabbed his arms, locking him in his spot.
*GRRRR*
Then one High-Orc lifted his club to strike his head.
But it was futile.
*GRRR?*
The two High-Orcs who locked his arms were lifted up with ease by his brute strength.
Then they were thrown towards the High-Orc that was about to strike him.
*BAM*
They crashed against each other, and Rei immediately lifted his axe.
*SWOOSH*
Then swung it down.
*SPLATTERED*
Crushing three of them in one go.
It was a great display of ruthless ferocity that made the remaining monsters fear him instinctively.
If that was the case…
"What are you doing?! Don't just stand there!! Attack him!!" From behind the monster's army, Darius ordered the monsters to march at him again.
Their fear vanished as if they were being brainwashed, and they instantly came towards him once more.
*GRAAAAAAAA*
The remaining High-Orcs charged at him, along with several beast monsters running at their sides.
Rei finally took his first step.
*TAP*
When he lifted his axe once more, his black axe started to be clad with a sinister aura.
After devouring 10 death, his axe unleashed its true strength.
[Notice!]
[Skill "Abyssal Feast" have been activated]
[You gained "Abyssal Heart" 10 stack]
Added with his black flame that clad his axe.
'[Hell Flame] + [Abyssal Wave] + [Wide Swing].'
*SWOOSH*
Finally, Rei swung his axe and unleashed a wave of black flame that devoured the entire army of monsters led by his enemies.
The trees around them were decimated, leaving nothing but ashes and charred land.
Darius was able to dodge that attack by jumping back before the wave of flames destroyed his entire High-Orcs army.
Leaving only the beast type monsters.
Luckily, he managed to order them to dodge it, because of their small and agile body they managed to avoid the destruction that laid upon them.
On the other hand, Cyrus who saw the whole thing from above was baffled by how strong this knight was.
But...
'I found his weakness!!' Cyrus and Darius shared the same thought.
Suddenly, the remaining beast type monsters received their order from him and they started to move with high speed.
The beast type monsters were known as [Gray Wolf], they have high-speed and agile bodies.
And now they began to run and surround Rei who's currently standing still on his spot.
"....." Rei observed them running in silence.
Until one of them jumped at him.
*GRRRR*
Opening its jaw and ready to bite him.
*SWOOSH*
But Rei anticipated it by swinging his axe towards it.
When it's about to hit the wolf…
*SWOOSH*
It jumped in mid-air and narrowly avoided the attack.
"....?"
*TSSSKKK*
The wolf used its claw to graze his helmet, before it leaped back and hid into the surrounding wolves.
Rei remained silent, but to his enemies, they believed they had figured out his weakness.
And that was...
'It's simple, he cannot hit an enemy that moves fast with a big weapon like that.' Cyrus thought.
'For those who use big weapons, they need a big move, but when pitted against monsters with small and agile bodies like [Gray Wolf]....' Darius smirked and snapped his finger.
*SWOOSH*
Something approached Rei from the sky.
"...?!"
*TSSSKKK*
Rei raised his axe but his shoulder and left abdomen was grazed by something.
His eyes followed its movement and saw the monster that attacked him.
'[Blood Raven].' Was the name of the monster. A raven with dark red feathers, flying through the sky.
'It's a monster with the same speed, and possesses an ability to cause [Bleeding] to an enemy, which often results in death.' Darius narrated within his mind, smirking widely as he found a winning chance.
With [Gray Wolves] on the ground and [Blood Raven] on the sky, it would stop Rei from moving carelessly.
'As long as he doesn't use that weird flame, I will be safe.' Darius thought.
"Such a good plan." Rei began to mutter.
"Using a small monster to stop my movement because you know that I am using an Axe as my weapon." Rei spoke while his eyes were fixated on Darius.
"But..."
Before Rei could finish his words…
The wolves began to attack simultaneously, four of them jumped at him.
"I am not an Axe user." Rei muttered, then let go of his axe.
*CLINK*
After that, he pulled out his black sword and spear from his [Inventory].
"Huh??—" It didn't let Darius and Cyrus to react...
*SWOOSH*
In a flash…
*STAB*
Rei thrusted his spear at the first wolf that jumped up high, then struck its head through its mouth.
'[One Thrust].'
Then he drew his spear back from its head and whirled his body in a smooth, leisurely motion while swinging his blade.
'[Horizontal Slash].'
*SLASH*
It wasn't his usual [Horizontal Slash], when he swung his sword.
He created a perfect circle as he cut off three wolves' head in a single slash.
"....?!"
His enemies were astonished by the fact he changed his weapons, but the thing that surprised them was not because of him doing that
It's because...
He's able to wield them perfectly.
"Cyrus...what am I seeing now." Darius trembled as he muttered quietly, seeing this unknown knight just butchered almost every monster they threw at him.
With the wolves reduced and cut down, only the [Blood Raven] remained.
Rei pulled out another weapon.
A bow.
"....?!"
He pulled the string of his bow and created a fire arrow which was also clad with his aura.
"[Fire Arrow] + [Homing Missile]." He spoke as he took aim at the [Blood Raven].
He unleashed his arrows, they soared through the sky, and followed them all.
However, Darius was unable to hear the explosion because he's still in disbelief after seeing such devastation and the fact that he and the elite monsters he had prepared before were the only ones standing out here.
When they looked at each other, Rei silently glanced at him as though he were telling him something.
[This isn't my best].
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Darius shouted in desperation, "KILL HIM!!!"
And finally, he unleashed every single monster he had.
The first one was a giant boar called [Mountain King Boar], a [Unique Monster] from a [Boar] monster.
It's gigantic and known to be able to destroy any fortress with its body.
*BOOM*
The giant boar came through the forest from his right side.
Charging at him with full throttle.
"After a giant pig, now a king size pig? You should know that there's not much difference."
Rei then switched his bow with his sword.
*GRRRR*
When the boar came near him. Rei lifted his sword one handedly.
*CLINK*
"[Vertical Slash]."
*SWOOSH*
Rei swung his sword effortlessly.
*SLASH*
Which immediately cut through the boar's body. It didn't take a minute after its appearance.
Then all of sudden, the ground shook and something emerged underneath him.
*BOOM*
A giant maw filled with sharp teeth like a saw, swallowed Rei into this hole.
The second monster, known as [Sand Dragon Worm]. It's the same as [Jormugand], in which this monster known as [Sandworm] turned into a [Dragon].
The size of this monster is bigger than [The Mountain King Boar] and big as a tower.
Darius thought that Rei would be defeated if his body got shredded in pieces after being swallowed by the Sandworm.
But once again, it was a useless thought.
*SLASH*
[The Sand Dragon Worm] stopped moving as its body suddenly spurted out blood through its stomach.
A sword emerged from its body, slicing through it from the inside like butter.
And....
*SPURT*
Rei emerged out of its body with his armor covered in blood.
Then the [Sand Dragon Worm] fell down after being killed in such a manner.
Rei remained calm even after he got swallowed by the monster, but as he jump out from the monster and falling in mid-air…
*BAM*
He was struck down by something big, flying through the sky.
The third monster was a giant bird, known as the [Blood Raven Emperor], similar to the Blood Raven from before but bigger in size and faster.
Rei got pushed off and lost his balance while falling through the sky.
And during that time, the Blood Raven Emperor flew back at him.
*KRAA*
"How..."
When the raven was about to strike him again...
"....annoying."
*SWOOSH*
Rei spun his body in mid-air, and then...
*BAM*
He punched through the head of the raven, while still holding the grip of his sword.
The raven couldn't react despite being proud of its speed, its body fell straight down and crashed to the ground.
And when it tried to crawl up…
*STAB*
Rei landed on top of it, striking his sword directly into its head.
His movement was clean, no unnecessary movement.
From dealing with those High-Orcs, Gray Wolves and Blood Raven.
Even the three [Unique Boss Monsters] were rendered useless.
"This is impossible...." Darius muttered, when Rei pulled out his sword from the corpse of the monster he killed.
"I won't admit this....I WON'T ADMIT THIS!!" Finally, Darius lost his patience and released this strange dark aura around him.
Cyrus who watched on the sideline shouted at him "Darius?!"
"I'm sorry, Cyrus! I have to do this or else he will kill us!" Darius shouted back as his skin changed color into dark gray.
His legs and limbs grew hideous, and his body grew larger. He developed a mane out of his longer hair, and his head took on the appearance of a cow's head.
The one who recognized his appearance was Ignia who watched them through the hologram screen back in the village.
"Ohhh, to think I would be able to see a chimera that took the appearance of a mythical monster of the past." Ignia muttered while watching.
His family who watched everything unfold got worried.
"Ignia-san...is that...?" Adam recognized it.
"Yes, it is a monster that was known in every kid's story, a monster guarding the treasure room in the dungeon." Ignia replied.
"And the name is...."
.
.
.
.
.
.
[Minotaur].
*"GRRRRRAAAAAAAA"* Darius growled ferociously towards Rei.
A name appeared on his head.
[The Minotaur Chimera, Darius].
A named boss monster.
Though it didn't matter for Rei who stood there in silence as he stared at him.
"....."
Darius huffed, his right hand summoned a giant axe and his body was clad in dark aura.
*SWOOSH*
Then he jumped at Rei with full force, *"GRRRRRAAAAAAAA"*
He swung his axe, filled with rage and weight from gravity.
*THUNG*
Rei simply lifted his sword and blocked the blow while remaining motionless.
*CRACK*
The weight of his opponent's size caused a fracture in the earth, but his body remained still.
*"GRRRRR."* Darius struggled and ground his teeth in frustration because his full force swing was blocked that easily.
*"IMPOSSIBLE!!" Darius pulled his axe and swung it again towards Rei.
*THUNG*
And Rei blocked the axe again with just one hand.
Darius did it again.
*THUNG*
And Rei blocked it.
Again, again, again, again...
"IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSSIBLE!!."
And again.
*THUNG*
During the final strike, Rei used his sword to deflect his axe to his left and let his axe stuck on the ground.
Rei then walked towards him with a raised sword.
*CLINK*
After that, he swung his sword swiftly in a horizontal motion as he went through the enormous beast.
Darius just stood there, not knowing what happened, "Huh?"
When he turned his head around to look at Rei who stood behind him…
*SPURT*
Darius' head fell to the ground, 'Why...is my body upside down?' Was his last thought before darkness enveloped his vision.
"Well, whether they are Minotaur or any other mythical monster...they still lose compared with a [Dragon] especially someone who absorbed their [Heart]~" Ignia commented on the last part.
The battle lasted hardly a second and concluded with a single strike from his sword.
"D-darius...." Cyrus, who witnessed his partner being decapitated, collapsed on his knees in disbelief.
*SWOOSH*
Rei swung his sword to clean away the blood on it.
But during that time, something approached.
*SWOOSH*
An enormous black wolf emerged from his shadow.
*GRAAAAA*
With its jaw wide open and ready to gnaw on him.
*BAM*
Rei let go of his sword and caught its jaw with both hands.
"Right, I was wondering when you gonna show up....it's been so long."
"[The Dark Wolf Leader]." Rei muttered its name that appeared on top of this beast's head.
The first [Unique Boss Monster] that he met when he first arrived in this world.
"Though, last time I blasted your head off, so...this time...."
As he muttered, his hands gripped on its jaw and forced it open even wider.
*GRRRR?!!*
The beast struggled desperately, it couldn't escape from his grasp.
*CRACK* *CRACK*
Its jaws started to stretch more and created those cracking sounds.
"Let me take your head."
*CRACK*
Finally, Rei broke its jaw by forcefully stretching it wide, then twisted its head 180 degrees at the same time.
*BAM*
After he snapped the beast's head, its body went limp and it dropped to the ground.
Rei didn't have to use his sword and killed the beast with bare hands.
Which terrified the second culprit of this incident.
Cyrus gulped and stood on his feet again, "W-what is this...."
"I have to report this—!" He turned his back, ready to leave the cliff top but before he could transform into his chimera form…
*SWOOSH*
Rei jumped from his spot and leave a giant crack on the ground.
*BOOM*
Then crashed right in front of Cyrus with just one jump.
"Isn't it quite rude to leave your teammate behind?" Rei muttered.
Cyrus lost his footing and fell to the ground, "Y-you..."
"It seems you and your friend there have been spying on my village....why?" Rei asked him.
Cyrus didn't answer him, his body froze on the spot and couldn't move at all.
"Right, a bad guy wouldn't answer such a thing...obviously." Rei suddenly approached him, then crouched down in front him.
"Huh??" Cyrus stared in confusion.
Rei's hand reached down towards his feet, and when his index finger touched him…
"[Hell Flame]." Rei mumbled and unleashed a black flame, which engulfed Cyrus' legs.
The flame started to burn his legs and grew larger until it slowly consumed the flesh.
"AAAGHHHHHH—!!! It hurts!!! What is this?!!" Cyrus writhed in unimaginable agony, and tried to crawl away.
But Rei kept following him, and when he reached him…
*BAM*
He kicked his face, and spoke coldly, "How noisy...it's night time, everyone is asleep."
"You tried to send an army of monsters here...raiding my village, you honestly think I would let it be?" Rei spoke at Cyrus who's still screaming.
Then, with his eyes bloodshot with rage, Rei seized Cyrus' hair and raised his head, forcing him to look at his eyes.
Cyrus was frightened by his appearance.
And due to the agony he endured and Rei's oppressive presence, Cyrus became delusional.
His mind twisted Rei's appearance, turning him into a giant monster.
"M-monster..." Cyrus muttered before he passed out afterwards.
"....." Rei didn't react to his words.
Few seconds passed and he released him from [Hell Flame], which had devoured his entire legs and turned them scorching black.
Almost immediately, a portal appeared behind him.
"I think that's enough, my disciple~" Ignia emerged from the portal, stopping him before things escalated further.
Rei silently turned to face her before releasing the unconscious Cyrus.
Cyrus fell to the ground, having his legs burnt to crisp.
Then Rei approached Ignia.
When he passed by her side, Ignia looked at him with a smile, "Just let me handle it~ torturing is my thing~"
"Understood." Rei replied to her suggestion and went through the portal.
When he emerged from it, he was greeted by his family, who were watching him from the screen.
Rei could see the disbelief on their faces after witnessing their own family did such a thing.
And before Rei could speak, "I...."
*THUD*
His family, both Adam and Sheila along with his sister Emily approached him and hugged him tight.
"It must be hard for you..." Adam muttered.
"But don't worry, no matter how much you change…" Sheila muttered.
"We will always love you...Onii-chan~" Emily spoke to him with a bright smile.
Rei could feel the warmth from their hugs, even when he's wearing cold armor.
At the same time, he was reminded of the word uttered by his enemy.
[Monster]
"...." He believed it's something that he had to accept, the moment he became the [Strongest Human] in this world.
Nevertheless, after learning that his family was safe and accepting of him for who he was.
For the first time, his body felt at ease, therefore he chose to silently return the embrace.
Rei closed his eyes.
"Thank you."
And relief washed over him.
To be continued…