"Please be safe. Please be safe!!" Lein hurriedly sprinted to the nearby river where his parents were fishing.
Amidst the thick jungle, Lein swiftly navigated through it with ease. A mix of parkour and maneuver was displayed with precision and confidence.
It is Lein's innate talent. His father was the fastest man during his prime days. Tough reconnaissance and rescue missions were only a mere jog for him.
Because of his father's dense muscles, he was able to generate explosive energy that greatly enhances physical capabilities. Aside from limbs, he can also enhance other various parts of his body.
While his mother on the other hand is a human-mermaid hybrid. Blessed with the ability to stay underwater for weeks. Naturally, her heart and lungs are as twice as efficient.
Combined with his father and mother's traits, Lein was a prodigy. No one around his age could beat him when it comes to anything physically-related.
However, the drawback to his unique body is that every time he tensed his muscles, he could only hold it for 5 seconds or else it'll spasm.
To counteract this, Lein will only tense his muscles when needed, making it versatile and controllable to an extent.
Another restriction is that he was not allowed to tense anything other than his limbs. If he were to break this restrict, he will suffer a loss of that part or permanent damage.
Of course, this trait of having dense muscles isn't something that you can acquire immediately, you'll have to go through rigorous training to fully capitalize it's potential. Lein at the age of 10 had fully digested his father's training and teachings.
***
Before long, Lein emerged from the jungle unscathed, save for a few leaves and insects clinging to his tunic but that doesn't bother him the slightest.
A few moments later, Lein had arrived near the river. He could see his parents enjoying themselves and having an enjoyable time.
Their rods fixated between stones waiting for the fish to bite the bait—a light-blue tent made from waterproof materials was seemingly attached between trees.
'And they never invited me.' Lein sarcastically exclaimed as he grinned.
"Hey!!" Lein shouted, his father and mother looked towards his direction.
In an instant, his father appeared in front him without any anticipation. Lein immediately jumped and clutched his chest like he saw a ghost—Lein immediately became pale.
"What's up champ? Wanna go fishing with your cool papa?" This dead-pale fish lookalike is my dad.
Slick-back hair, prominent jawline, and pristine eyes. Those are the only parts that I understand of having to fall head over heels, but overall he looks like a dead fish.
Sure, he looks handsome and suave in the eyes of other people but to me he looks like he got reeled in, flapped around, and accentuated his jawline before being turned into grilled fish.
But despite that, he's still my dad and I'm grateful for the things he had done. But for some reason he's very secretive of his past, I don't know why.
Everytime I am with him, all of my worries seemed to disappear. He's like a hero to me, a really cool one at that.
"Something happened..." Lein stared at his father with a serious look.
"...I'm listening."
I sighed and prepared for the worst,
"Xerxes is dead."
"..." My dad's face shows a mix of anger and confusion. My mother saw what was going on and hugged him from behind.
"This is much worse than I thought." My dad mumbled. He went to the tent and packed it up instantly.
"I'll tell you everything. Give me a moment." He said as he went to pack up the fishing rod.
My mom looked at me with concern and fear, it's as if she feared that this day would come—but not this soon. She tried to keep an eye contact with me but continued to distract herself.
With their belongings packed, my dad firmly grabbed my shoulder and looked at me dead in the eyes.
"You need to get out of here. Continue down the river and grabbed a rock that was carved into an 'X' shape. At the end of the river, there's a cliff. Position yourself to jump and land at the water below."
"After that, look for a tree with the same marking as the rock and head top right. You'll see a cave with a note and a portal."
I tried to reply as to why, but he squeezed my shoulder as his narrowed his eyes in anger.
"Listen. To. Me." His playful and calm attitude turned into something more terrifying and sinister.
I nodded and he released his grip on my shoulders. From that conversation alone I know my dad is not someone to mess with.
Before we part ways, I couldn't shake off that rather... Vivid death of Gerard. It was gruesome, and I don't want him to meet the same fate.
"Hey, Dad. Can I ask for a favor?"
"If it's for new gauntlets then no, I'm not buying you until you're 18." He responded coldy.
I couldn't tell him that I saw how Gerard presumably died, but I wish for him to at least...
"Protect everyone, and don't die." I hung my head as I said such embarrassing words.
"..." My dad went silent and walked up to me. Instead of hammering my head, he ruffled my hair.
"I will protect everyone and come back alive." He smiled. It was a warm and bright smile.
My mom smiled as well. I ran and gave her a big hug. She couldn't speak because of what had happened in the past. Her vocal cords were damaged. Despite that— we communicated through writing letters.
"Are you done saying your goodbyes? Here, I made sure you'll be able to survive for a month." My dad tossed a ruck sack in my direction.
I quickly turned and catched it, but the moment my hands touched it—I was pulled to the ground by this inconspicuous and totally-not-heavy ruck sack.
"You'll get used to it! This handsome dad of yours managed to carry 50 of it in one go! And each one weights about 50 kilos!* "
'50 kilos?! And 50 of it as well‽' Lein's jaw dropped.
"But this handsome dad of yours is getting old now and can only carry 25 at once, what a pity! Back in my day-" Lein's father immediately sensed that something was wrong and threw Lein away.
"!" In a single moment, a massive boulder suddenly dropped on where Lein's father was standing.
"DAD!!" Lein's body continued flying in the air before tumbling down.
"LEIN, GO!" His father screamed.
Heeding his words, Lein immediately ran away into the forest.
"ITS BEEN A LONG TIME VELOX!!!" In a split second, a red-long sword cleaved through the forest, clearing out the trees in one fell swoop.
Luckily, Lein had already gone far away and is unaffected. However, for his parents—they are up against someone who could kill them both.
"Unholy Swordsman?! What brings you here?!" Velox equipped his gauntlets and formed a defensive position.
"I wasn't able to finish you off in Yuuyhrar City. Finally... Finally. FINA-FUCKING-NALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" A screech of laughter erupted the forest like a volcanic explosion.
"NOW THAT XERXES COMMITED BLASPHEMY, WE, CAN FINALLY DO WHATEVER WE WANT!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Another screech of laughter echoed throughout the forest. Velox signalled his wife to hide and standby in case something happens.
A moment of silence suddenly filled the dreaded air. The sky was as clear as water—yet the smell of iron and wood permeated throughout. The Unholy Swordsman stopped laughing.
Velox never lets his guard down, knowing The Unholy Swordsman will attack soon, he anticipated on where would his enemy strike.
He noticed something was odd. Velox, couldn't see nor sense where his enemy was. It threw him off but never showed doubt and kept composure. Not long after—The Unholy Swordsman spoke.
"Where are you looking at?"
"The voice... It came from the sky?" Velox immediately looked up.
A crimson-red color temporarily blinds his vision—it was the enemy's sword, and it was millimeters away from slicing half of his face off.
Velox immediately tensed his muscles and dodged in a less than a fraction of a second. The Unholy Swordsman couldn't believe that Velox would dodge it—but he did.
Bewildered by what had happened, Velox immediately put up his guard again. His eyes darting everywhere from the ground to the sky—he became more attentive and afraid
"What's wrong, Flash of The Northern Valley? Have you been resting well? You're sweating all of a sudden~" The Unholy Swordsman taunted Velox.
"What are you doing here? Why did you come here? When did you arrive?" Velox questioned as he began to sweat profusely.
"Suppose I should answer those questions first? But why should I?" The Unholy Swordsman lifted his crimson blade above his head—the tip of the blade pointing at the head of Velox.
"I will kill you and you would never get the answer, Hehehehehehe..." The Unholy Swordsman laughed.
"Yeah... That's right. How about I try to kill you first. And THEN get an answer from you."
Velox's body began to suddenly turn bright yellow—his sweat fizzled and evaporated as he steadied his breath.