In a dense forest a few days from the town of Sans, a lone figure is slowly making his way through the seemingly endless sea of trees. The reason he was out here was quite simple, there was a quest from the guild that had sent him out here and, for an added bonus, there was supposedly massive buffalo creatures that lived in the area. Their meat was a delicacy in some areas, so he had wanted to stack up on it before Rebecca gave birth.
The quest was for him to hunt down a pack of devil dogs, which were like the German shepherds of his old world. However, they were much larger in size and, were normally completely black. Luckily the ones around this area weren't as active, since their prey were much larger. Feeding them for much longer.
Currently, Leon was trying to find out where their den was, without allowing them to notice him. He had been following this trail for roughly twenty minutes and finally he found it. From what he could see, there were six in total at the moment. Luckily, that was all the guild had asked him to exterminate.
Pulling out his bow, he fired an arrow that blew straight threw ones chest and killed the one next to it as well. Before they could realize they were being attacked, he fired more arrows at the dogs, killing the rest.
Walking towards the bodies, he could hear a small and weak whimpering coming from inside the den. Casting illumination magic, he could see a tiny puppy with a single white streak running down its black face. Unable to kill this puppy, he cut up some of the meat he gathered from the buffalo and offered it to it.
As it smelled the meat, it carefully took it from him without breaking eye contact. Smiling as the puppy ate, he could feel him status plate vibrating. He pulled it out, and saw that it said he had tamed the puppy.
Hoisting the puppy into his arms, he smiled and muttered to himself. "What should i name you, little one?"
Searching his memories for the perfect name, he stared at the puppies white stripe.
"How about i name you Yuki? The white stripe is like your trademark." He said, as the puppy let out a bark of satisfaction.
Happy with how this adventure had went, he thought to himself. "Hopefully Becca or the girls chose a name for the baby. I suck at naming things."
Pulling some ore out of his storage, he made a quick collar for Yuki so nobody would try killing it. After being alone for the last four days, Leon started to miss the women who brought so much fun and chaos into his life. The reason they weren't with him was simple, Becca was pregnant and he wanted her to be as safe as possible. Before he left, he made the other women promise not to leave her alone under any circumstance.
If anyone who knew him before his time before them could see him now, they might have a heart attack at the difference. Leon had gone from a ruthless killer known as "The Walking Cataclysm", to a good husband and a soon to be doting father. When he was summoned and dropped into this world in the hopes he would die, he never expected to be happy knowing people were waiting for him. He was excited to see those people who he cared about, and in turn cared about him, it made him want to hurry and return home.
As he walked through the gates leading into Sans, he had gotten the idea to surprise the women waiting for him. Looking down at the puppy beside him he said. "I'm going to grab some flowers after stopping at the guild." Yuki confirmed the idea with a bark, which made it seem as if she understood what Leon was saying.
As he walked into the guild, there were three faces waiting to greet him. While they were happy to see him, Leon was not excited in the slightest. in a confused tone, Leon asked the group why they were there.
"Well then, what does the heroes party need of me?"
Indeed, the ones waiting for him had been Alexia, Ivan, and Anna. As he looked at each of them, Leon asked. "Where is the other one?"
Anna smiles slightly and replied. "He is waiting at the inn."
"We wanted to apologize for what happened last time we met. It wasn't good that he was so easily manipulated." Ivan stated, walking forward.
However, for some reason Leon felt extremely uneasy at the thought of Lou being left alone. Forcefully accepting their apology, Leon rushed home with Yuki barely keeping up. Before he got there, however, he could see an orange tint to the sky as he grew closer. Once the house was in sight, the only thing he could see were flames engulfing the house.
Standing in front of his burning house, he could hear two things. The first was the heroes coming to check what was going on, the other was Lou telling telling the lord of the region that it was Leon that had burned down the house.
"That's him, my lord. That's the monster who burned down this house with those women still inside." He was pointing straight at Leon, who was still standing in front of the house in shock and despair.
Walking over, the lord spoke to Leon. "Your under arrest for the murder of those women, and arson. Scum like you should be executed immediately."
The only thing on Leons mind was doubt. He didn't want to believe this was happening. With tears spilling down his face, he screamed as loud as his body would allow him to. He slowly started looking at Lou, who was standing behind the lord, wearing a smile of victory.
In a voice completely devoid of emotion, Leon warned everyone in the area. "I will kill every single one of you for allowing this to happen. Whether you are a peasant, a hero or even a god. I will destroy you all."
As he finished speaking, a symbol formed on his arm. It was a symbol with two swords behind a shield. The darker the symbol got, the voice in Leons head started to get louder. It was repeating a spell over and over, until finally Leon repeated it.
"However you may defend, seeing us means the end. I am but one of four. The Horseman... Of War."
As he spoke the words, the symbol started to glow crimson, A Long black sword started forming in his right hand, apparently made from his mana. His eyes started turning crimson as the symbol got brighter. He was still staring at Lou, who was now hiding behind the soldiers around him.
Within the time it took Lou to blink, Leon had moved right in front of him while decapitating the soldiers blocking him. Lou looked at the lord, expecting him to save him, but what he saw was horrific. Leon had sliced him down the middle, causing the lord to split in half right Infront of Lou.
Slowly walking over to Lou, he was suddenly blocked by the other heroes.
"I don't know what happened, but i cant let you continue down this path." Ivan said, bravely standing in between Lou and Leon.
Leon screamed in pain and despair. "He killed my family! My wives, my unborn child! There is nowhere in existence that will save him from me. He took the only things i cared about in this world."
Alexia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at Lou in shock and asked him if it was true. Instead of admitting what he had done, Lou doubled down.
"Look around. Of course this psychopaths was the one who did this, not me."
Leon had finally had enough, in an almost demonic voice, he told the heroes. "Move. If you insist on defending this piece of shit, i will have to kill every single one of you. Let me kill him and i allow the rest of you to live."
Even during all this, Leon never stopped walking towards Lou. Making it very clear that he was not bluffing. Ivan, lowering his sword, stepped aside allowing him to pass. Lou watched in horror as his comrades allowed Leon to pass them one after the next, slowly and methodically terrifying him.
Eventually he attempted to run, but as he took his first step, his right foot was cut off. The next victim was Lou's left knee.
Looking at him with his eyes dyed crimson, Leon started speaking to Lou.
"Your trying to run? You burned my house down. Killed my wives. My unborn child!" slicing off his left arm next, he continued. "You took everything from me." Next slicing off his right arm. "I am going to take everything from you. Die in fear and despair. honestly, you don't deserve death, i might just heal you like this. An armless and legless hero but unlike you, i don't get off on torturing people. So i will end your pathetic existence." Finally he sliced Lou's head off, spraying blood everywhere.
Leon slowly turned to his house, which was now just rubble and ash. Tears still rolling down his face, he apologized to his wives.
"I'm sorry i took to long. I'm sorry i broke the promise to always protect you. Please forgive me." He said falling to his knees.
After a few moments of crying, he took Yuki in his arms and began leaving the town. The heroes just staring in horror and sadness as Leon faded into the darkness. Soon, they decided to take Lou's body back to the capital and report what had happened.
In the dim light of the burnt house, several shadows stared at the smoldering rubble. As the sun started to rise, they decided to leave as well.
Stopping at a small town during his mindless wandering, Leon had decided to work his pain away with jobs from the guild. However, every job he took only brought up the past and his memories wouldn't allow him to sleep.
On his most recent quest, he was asked to help protect a merchant caravan to a distant city. He couldn't remember which one exactly, but he was currently on day three of eight. Sadly though, his memories hadn't allowed him to sleep once on this journey.
If it wasn't for Yuki keeping him sane in this hard time, he might have killed anyone who crossed his path. Luckily for him though, he wasn't required to do this one alone. This quest required six other adventurers. The other party that had accepted this job told Leon he could sleep with the help of their magic.
Before he could answer, Yuki barked at them to confirm the deal. Leon looked at her, smiled and pet her head as a way of saying thanks.
Leon closed his eyes as the mage cast their magic. "Allow this soul to dream and be at ease. Sleep." With that, Leon could feel himself falling asleep.
He dreamt of the time he spent with his wives. All the joy, sleepless nights, adventures and even the home they made. Sadly, those dreams also brought back the memories of what had happened, bringing back the fire and the hero had had killed.
"AHHHH!" He screamed, suddenly sitting up, fully awake. Everyone just stared at him with a startled expression.
He looked around, asking the others. "How long was i asleep?"
The mage that had cast the spell stepped forward, telling Leon. "About twenty-two hours. We were going to wake you up but your dog wouldn't let us close."
Leon looked down at Yuki, who was curled up in his lap asleep, then stared at his trembling hands. He then apologized to everyone for scaring them. They all nodded in acceptance, while none of them asked what he was screaming about. He figured, from then on, he should sleep at normal intervals so he wouldn't collapse from exhaustion.
As the days passed and the routine continued, the caravan finally reached its destination. The moment he got inside the gate, he decided to head to the guild to accept another quest. Walking through the guild however, he felt an ominous atmosphere in the building. It felt like everyone was staring at him. Probably because, they were.
What he failed to realize was, the heroes made it back to the capital and explained the whole incident to the king. As a result, the king had officially set out a bounty for Leon once again. This time, however, he was wanted alive so he could face the king himself. So far, in this world, Leon had had terrible luck when it came to royalty or nobles. Whenever one seemed to be in the vicinity, everything went straight to hell.
Staring at his picture on the wall, Leon read his old name out loud for the first time, "The Walking Cataclysm". While the name did fit him well, he no longer found joy in being known throughout the land. Realizing the people around him would be gunning for the one hundred gold piece reward on his head, Leon decided it would be best if he left before things got dangerous.
As he made his way to the door, several men stood up to block him. As they laughed, thinking they could win, Leon felt it necessary to make a point about being left alone. He made eye contact with the man slowly walking towards him, sword drawn.
"Anybody who touches me will be granted a quick death." Leon stated as he activated his intimidation skill. Feeling the force of his skill, all the men immediately started trembling in fear. He proceeded to walk past the scared men, and back out onto the street.
Seeing an old vendor out of the corner of his eye, Leon approached him and asked. "Do you know a way to get to the capital from here?"
Smiling, the man replied. "Your in luck, young man. There is a group traveling there for a job. It should take two days to get there. They leave tomorrow at noon."
Leon nodded to the man and handed him five silver pieces as a thanks. The next morning, Leon made his way to the group headed to the capital, Yuki safely stashed in his back on his back. Joining them, he only wished this trip to be a fast one. As they started their journey, Leon could tell from how lightly they were equipped, that this would be a relatively fast trip. Though it did strike him as odd that nobody was prepared for a worst case scenario, almost as if they had no worries in the world.
Putting it out of his mind, he decided to relax on top of one of the wagons until he was wanted or needed. As he expected, the group moved mast and didn't even stop, even at night they were extremely efficient. They would swap out roles every eight hours, so people could eat, sleep, and stretch.
As the sun went down on the second day, the capital walls came into view. Still unable to shake the uneasy feeling, Leon slipped from the group and snuck into the capital. Standing on top of a building just inside the walls, he discovered why he had the uneasy feeling. He watched as, within thirty seconds, a platoon of guards came rushing to the caravan he was with.
From what he could hear, the group traveling with him had planned on handing Leon over to the royal guards in hopes of staying in the capital. Since they couldn't find Leon, though, They took the group into custody to interrogate them about his whereabouts.
From atop the rooftop he scanned the capital, stopping at the massive castle. That was his destination, but he only wanted to speak with three people while he was there. He only had the intentions of speaking with the three heroes. He knew exactly what would happen if he spoke with the king. After all, it had happened before.
Leon knew the king would attempt to have him executed, he had killed a hero and a lord after all. It had been a few months since that fated day, and the memories still haunted him. So, under the cover of nightfall, Leon snuck into the castle. Sticking to the shadows, he searched room after room in an attempt to find the heroes. After an hour of non-stop searching her found them. However, it was the last place he had expected to find the heroes.
In the dungeon of the castle, Leon stood staring at the three heroes. They were beaten, bruised and had broken bones. It seems like Ivan was barely alive, laying in the middle of the floor, unable to move on his own. Anna and Lexia chained to the walls and gagged. From the looks of things, Ivan was used as an example of what would happen to them.
He leaned down to Ivan and slowly poured a healing potion into his mouth, muttering. "I'm so sorry. Why did they do this to you?"
Yuki popped her head out of the bag on Leons back and let out a small bark. Hearing the dog, the girls looked up in fear but seeing Leon helping Ivan, they started to cry.
"What happened for them to do this to you all?" Leon asked wearing a concerned look.
With a shaky voice, Anna replied. "They punished him for not killing you. Then, the god that summoned us all here 'spoke to the church' declaring you a heretic and a threat to humanity."
"They were going to kill us and blame you for everything." Lexia continued, standing up.
Feeling the rage in his body growing, Leon decided to get them all out of the castle. "Lets get you all out of here for now."
As Leon hoisted Ivan onto his shoulder, Lexia asked in a terrified voice. "What are you going to do now?"
Leon smiled in a psychotic way, and told her. "The exact same thing i did to the empire."
Her face paled as she remembered the reports that came back from the empire. The entire castle had been killed without anyone realizing it. The reason they were found was because a rancid smell had started, coming from the rotting corpses.
"First things first, though," He said looking back at the girls. "We need to get you all out of here to safety."
They slowly made their way out of the castle and into an inn on the outskirts of the capital. While the others rested Leon had left Yuki with the heroes to do some recon. Walking through one of the back alleys, Leon got a weird sensation in his arm. Stopping, he noticed a little girl being sold off by a slave trader. Normally he would ignore things like this, but something was telling him to help this child. Looking closer at her, he noticed she was no older than ten years old and had a black mark on her right arm, in the shape of bones.
Pointing, Leon asked the trader about the girl. "What's up with the little girl?"
The trader turned to face him and explained. "Her parents sold her off years ago, apparently she is cursed. They sold her off at such a young age that she doesn't even have a name." Stroking his beard, the trader gave his offer. "I will sell her to you for ten silver, but there are no returns."
Leon gave the man the money and proceeded to pull her out of the cage. The moment their hands touched they both stared at each other as they could feel their fate becoming intertwined. She stared at his mark, then stared at hers comparing the two.
"Come with me. you'll be well taken care of, i promise." Leon said as he pulled her out of the cage.
With an astonished look, she slowly got to her feet. the moment she stood up, he hoisted her onto his back and ran back to the inn. Walking through the door, he was met with Yuki jumping up on him and the confused faces of the heroes, as they stared at the little girl on his back.
"Who the hell is that and where did she come from?" Ivan yelled as he coughed hard, still in pain from earlier.
"She was a slave with no name. Something was telling me to help her so i did." Leon told them, as he looked back at the girl.
He then looked towards Lexia and Anna, asking them to do him a favor. "Could you two get her a bath and some decent clothes? And maybe think of a name for her? I'm not really good at naming things."
The girls looked utterly shocked. Not at the thought of naming a kid, but at the fact that Leon, of all people, had just asked them for help. Steeling their resolve, the two nodded and walked over to take the little girl from Leon. As he headed back out the door, Ivan asked a question that had been on everyone's mind. "What happens now?"
With a smile, Leon looked at him and told him. "I'm going to need you guys to be ready to leave when i get back. It would be better for us to leave once everything goes down." Saying that, he headed out the door. About to cause yet another castle to fall.
On a desolate mountain, where nothing grow or lives. There lies a lone church, one that has stood for hundreds of years. In it, lies a white room several floors beneath the main cathedral. Inside, lies a table with a blanket covering body. Out of nowhere, the dead body suddenly shoots up onto its feet and screams.
"Welcome back to the world of the living. Hero Lou Xian." Says a man who is standing in the shadows, not revealing his face. "God has granted you the chance to save this world, and even given you more strength to defeat your foes. Do not fail again."
With that the man leaves, leaving Lou to wonder what had happened and where he was.
"Leon Smith," He says, staring at his hands. "I'm coming for you. And nothing will stop my revenge."