'It couldn't be... just how?! He killed all of them back then! I saw it with my own eyes...'

He was shocked as soon as he saw the small round creatures who held considerable strength even after being so small.

They were creatures with the blessing of elementals. They were the intelligent ones that were naturally gifted with fearful magical abilities.

They were strong... especially their leader.

That great wise being was someone even their clan respected.

These magical creatures had dominated the central part of their home for a long time.

But unlike the other four ruling tribes of the island, these small creatures mostly persuaded peace.

They loved being by themselves and their ruler wanted nothing more than the safety of her family.

She was a strong creature. This lizardman warrior could still remember how these small creatures had helped the other beings on the island many times.

Their tribe was naturally one of the beings that had received help from their tribes.

Even after being small, they possessed great strength. And even after having strength, they believed in pursuing the happiness and safety of their kind.

In a way, they all were indebted to them.

And even on the day of the destruction, their leader, that wise great being, even after being small, had calmed the enraged evil and saved countless lives on the island.

It was nothing less than a miracle that a small creature with such great powers was present at that time with them.

But he didn't understand the gravity of the situation until he saw the calm and sane evil spirit with his own eyes.

The epic of their leader had been witnessed by many familiars of all four clans. Her tale of bravery was already immortal among the people of the island. But the evil spirit had already destroyed a large part of the island before it calmed down.

'Their leader had claimed the evil spirit by almost sacrificing her life but the bastard...!

That fucker had killed them all! Then he didn't stop, moved around the island, mostly destroyed the other four tribes, and took the most special beings among the creatures with him and left them here.

He had turned many creatures it killed into filthy undead, impure creatures that spread death on their paths.

In the case of this lizardman tribe, Zuroro was the most special. He was their champion and hero. Someone who held considerable strength in the entire island.

He even gave a good fight to the weakened evil spirit but, in the end, he wasn't even strong enough to beat it in its weakened state.

He was weak... far weaker than he was right now.

But the evil spirit said something different.

'That bitch...!'

It said that it acknowledged the strength of the great warrior and even presented a beautiful artifact as a token of its acknowledgment.

Their tribe, the wounded people, the elders and leaders of their tribe, everyone was weaker than Zuroro, but they knew that the evil would never show kindness.

They knew there was something wrong with the goodwill of the evil. They all knew that it was a trap of evil that devastated their homes. They mustn't accept that 'gift'.

But the gift was attractive. The conditions were against them. The pressure from the evil spirit was so great that some of their children couldn't even breathe in the presence of it.

It was a one-sided goodwill, but it was also the only silver of hope they all had.

They all were going to die, just like the small magical creatures that were killed indiscriminately. This small light of hope was almost like a brightly rising sun on the horizon in their eyes.

But there was hope. There was still a chance that they would be spared if they quietly accepted the goodwill of the evil.

Any animal would do their hardest if it was for survival. And their situation was even more unique than any creature of that time on that land.

Their greatest warrior accepted the gift after the permission of his leaders. They were the people he trusted more than himself, after all.

And that... was the greatest mistake and sin of his life.

The gift, this accursed artifact... it was nothing less than a slave collar.

It was really a plot devised for their rune. The evil had truly sought their death. Zuroro.. was the slave that he gained from the mindless slaughter of the lizardmen.

The necklace was a cursed artifact, something that absolutely prevented the wearer from disobeying the commands of the owner.

It was a slave collar and the hero warrior was the eternal slave that had to unconditionally follow the will of the evil that had mindlessly slaughtered his kind and countless other creatures of the island.

He had probably survived alone among his people, and this was an unacceptable truth that had stigmatized him as an eternal sinner.

He was at fault, but he unwantedly followed the evil after the slaughter of his family.

He loathed the evil bastard who slaughtered creatures of many kinds and just returned to his tomb, his resting place, with the prisoners like him, the trolls, countless undead, the brainwashed goblins, and so on.

They all were scattered all around the paths to this tomb in either an imprisoned state like him or a mindless one like the brainwashed ones.

There were many creatures who he made into high-grade undead, but the lizardman warrior didn't know this.

So even Axion couldn't tell there was something more surprising waiting for both of them ahead of their path.

His train of thought was focused on the small round furball creatures.

He had seen the golden one among them, but at that time, she was just a small child. So he knew she wouldn't remember him.

But he could tell that this one was the same child that followed around her mother, the great savior of the island creatures.

It was surprising to see the creatures that he thought were completely vanished from these lands.

It was absolutely unpleasant to recall the memories that he had buried deep in his heart and mind throughout the unknown time he had been here, in this underground place, completely alone, gaining strength for the day that he could take his revenge or... maybe just pass away with the regrets still making his heart heavy.

But the memories, his goal, his wish once again returned to him because of this unknown being that even know the tongue of those special creatures that even the elders of their kind couldn't converse with.

But he was definitely doing it right now...

He was talking with them the same way he was talking with him.

And it was also without the use of any skill, Aura, or nature's power.

It was his own power, his own techniques, and his own wisdom that he was able to converse with those creatures.

It was fascinating...!

It was his thoughts, and he was in genuine awe of this sight, but, on the other hand, after a long talk and scolding from their mama, he had succeeded in his task.

[< "Alright? I will be fighting with that big uncle there. I will fight and you all just have to watch quietly from here. Maybe it will be boring or something that you can't even see or understand but I know my Celes will be able to tell you what is happening.

Ok? Mave, please take care of them if they get too confused.

It will be fun when they could still see us and it will be good for them, but still, if anything dangerous happens, don't get scared. I am here." >]

[< There's nothing for us to worry about as long as you are here, anyway. >]

The golden furball, their mom, smiled at him with a confident smile almost overflowing with trust.

And the innocent children followed behind her, almost jumping with joy because of the unexpected, but extremely exciting scenario.

[< Yeiiii~! Brother Axion will defeat the big lizard uncle~! >]

[< We will cheer for you, master Eon~!! >]

[< Hehe. I know brother Eon will defeat that big lizard uncle with ease. He has the blessing of all six attributes while the big uncle only has water and wind~! >]

[< But... isn't there a weird smell like that bad person around lizard uncle? W-will it be alright, brother Eon? >]

[< "It's alright. He's a good person. Just that his heart is wounded.The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0/v3l-B1n.

That bad thing also did something bad to him.

We will surely take him back with us, ok~?" >]

The little ones were then blasted out in cheers, excited voices, and joy to meet another cool person.

They talked about them, praised Eon and the lizardman, and even wanted to go greet them. But the ominous feeling around him was something that scared them a little.

These small furballs, these creatures, were afraid of the dark energy around him. Not his big, scary self with sharp claws and teeth.

It was interesting for them to see this new kind of creature, this new big uncle that they had never seen before, and that fascinated them even more.

But Mave knew of this kind of creature. He definitely remembered seeing lizardmen in her past, after all.

She knew they were dangerous creatures, but she also knew that they were good to her mom many times.

So, if Eon trusted him, then there was no need for her to worry about it.

It would be fine, and getting the chance to witness the fight of the savior she trusted so much and watching his strengths was a chance she didn't wanna miss.

So... they were set.

The audience was ready.

Celes was out of her mark and was now chatting with the povpoi after sitting on their soft heads.

They liked her. They actually loved her from the look in their eyes and now Celes was somewhat like a big sister to them.

And it all happened so quickly that even Eon couldn't help wondering just how great his partner was. Or just how innocent and pure these children were.

Anyway, this was concluded, so he said his bye-bye and took a step back, created a 'strong' Solnova shield around them, and returned to the lizardman warrior.

[< "Apologies worrier. But the audience is the important part of the ritual, right?" >]

He smiled at him, and this calm smile, filled with something deep and mysterious, confusing him more than his words.

[< What... ritual? >]

He was confused by what he was saying all of a sudden. But even before he could understand what was going on, the boy, the intruder, the small human Axion, 'tapped' his long weird weapon on the ground, and created a unique frequency of sound.

And as soon as the lizardman heard this sound, as if on instinct, he straightened his back, sharpened his eyes, calmed the muscles in his long tail, and looked down at the small Axion.

His response was instinctive, something he didn't think would ever happen in his life again was happening right now, in this place that he had never thought could be the grounds for this practice.

Not this scared one, at the very least.

The sound he heard was perfect. Something only the warriors who had trained all their lives could produce.

And this lifelong training and practice were for only one thing. For one fight in their life. For a goal they dreamed of achieving.

This was something that only a warrior, a true warrior, could perform.

This was a calling that they carried throughout their heart and soul until the day they die.

This was... the ritual of the sacred duel.

[< "Lizardman worrier Zuroro, the champion of Van green lizardman tribe, I, Axion, challenge you to the sacred battle of true warriors." >]

And his response, the response he had given to countless challengers in his life, also came out instinctively.

[< I, warrior Zuroro, accept the duel. Challenger, state the thing you want as your prize. >]

His answer was instinctive, so only after saying this much did he realize what was happening at this moment.

And by the time he realized that and looked at his opponent, at the divine smile on his face that was no less than the evil spirit's, a shiver passed throughout his body.

[< "I want you warrior Zuroro... your whole being." >]

This... those words genuinely horrified the strong lizardman who had stood as a champion for decades.