Deranged Writer's Afterword

Leo Tigris was the chief of the 'Roar' village.

Leo was one of the first animals to adapt to mana and was one of the major powerhouses within 'Roar'. During the great war, Leo fought bravely on the frontlines with his contractual partner, Baryon.

This was a big deal since Baryon was the third strongest hero according to the list put forth by the Heroes Association. So it was fairly obvious that Leo wasn't just a normal beastperson, mothers sang about his bravery and courage to children.

In short, Leo was Roar's version of Luna.

Only, he didn't abandon them as she did.

Lydia swallowed nervously as she watched Leo stare down at the bloodied human called 'Max Reynolds' menacingly.

" Do you know that guy ?", Lydia asked suppressing the chills she felt.

Adam remained silent, the smirk on his face remained unchanged.

'Pssh'

The sound of Max being forced to his knees echoed throughout the silent arena as the beastpeople sat in their seats shocked beyond words, another one of the guards rushed forward carrying a mighty sword towards Leo.

" Now, I will use the gladius to bestow judgment upon this sinner !", Leo proclaimed taking the sword into his hands.

The Gladius was the ceremonial sword that was used within 'Roar', it was said that the sword was alive and the more blood it absorbed the more powerful it became. It was akin to the spear of eternity in a way since the beastpeople of 'Roar' revered the weapon as a god.

Leo swung the sword high up in the air, but just as he was about to swing the weapon down a loud voice resounded out within the arena,

" STOP !"

All heads turned to the source of the voice and almost everybody was surprised to see Augustus Kelmar, the current chief of Lupus village rushing to the raised platform. Leo raised an eyebrow, confused by Augustus's strange behavior.

Augustus jumped up on the platform quickly and whispered something into chief Leo's ears.

Upon hearing him, Leo's eyes widen but his surprise fades away as if it never existed in the first place. Leo's eyes were ice-cold as his eyes surveyed the audience until they stopped on Lydia and Adam.

Leo's glare made Lydia's skin crawl, comparatively, Adam looked much calmer.

Leo and Augustus slowly started heading towards the both of them, the beastpeople near them moved away and made way for them while glaring at the both of them.

" A-dam....why are the two chiefs heading our way ?"

" Mhmm...… I think I have an idea.", Adam whispered, standing up to face them.

Lydia got up along with him, she looked over at Adam wondering how he was staying so calm, looking at him Lydia realized that Adam wasn't blinking...

' He's nervous...', Lydia realized feeling a strange sense of relief.

Lydia wondered why Adam would hide his nervousness, was it to keep her calm?

Lydia felt strangely touched.

" You there....what is your name, human.", Leo asked emphasizing the word, 'human'.

"My name is Adam Creed....sir."

" It's quite a coincidence, isn't it?", Leo raised his brows, " Two humans appearing at the same time and we've already confirmed that the human 'Max' is the culprit....we never thought that he would have an accomplice.."

" I'm gonna stop you there, Mr. Chief.", Adam raised his hands in surrender, " I have no idea who that man i-"

" ADAM !!?"

Once again all heads turned as the bloodied man shouted,

Max, wiped the blood away from his face and looked more clearly at the familiar figure a few feet away from him, relief flooded his face as he confirmed that it was indeed...Adam.

" ADAM !, IT'S ME...MAX!", he screamed unaware of the trouble he had caused.

Leo chuckled hearing the boy screaming frantically and turned to face Adam once again,

" You were saying ?", Leo asked, bloodlust exuding out of him in massive amounts.

Everybody around him froze, fear paralyzing their very being.

Even Augustus Kelmar, the chief of Lupus village couldn't help but break a sweat from feeling Leo's anger.

Adam looked unaffected by Leo's show of anger, but Lydia could tell that he was acting calm.

Leo raised the gladius high up in the air as if preparing to swing it, the atmosphere around them started to shift and become more intense as Leo didn't hide the killing intent behind his eyes.

But before he could do anything, Lydia surprisingly came in front of Adam, as if trying to protect him. Lydia didn't know why but she knew that if she didn't intervene now then she would regret it.

She had to protect Adam.

After all....he was her only friend.

" Please, this is a misunderstanding. I've observed Adam all this time....he's not someone who would do something like this."

Leo's gaze softened considerably,

" You're Luna's daughter aren't you ?"

Lydia nodded, sweat pouring down her forehead.

" Look, child.....I'm sorry but this human probably tricked you, that's how humans are....you will learn when you grow up, now...move out of my way."

" Adam isn't like that !", Lydia insisted taking a step forward.

" Will you ju-"

" It's a bit ridiculous isn't it ?", Adam said interrupting Leo.

" What ?", Leo asked, perplexed.

" Tell me....why are you so sure that Max is the killer ?"

" We found him with the body, he was holding the murder weapon...", Leo said with a quizzical look on his face.

" So, you saw him standing next to the body.....you didn't see him stab the victim ?"

" No ?"

Hearing Leo, Adam sighed,

" So, you're telling me that you didn't see him killing anybody ?"

" That's right, bu-"

" Did you even question him ?"

Leo didn't have an answer for Adam.

" You're just parading him around as a killer and for what ?", Adam glared at Leo as he continued, " - because he's a human....is that it ?"

" I-"

" You have no proof and yet you're playing around with someone's life.....do you have no shame ?", Adam was slowly raising his voice now.

" THAT'S ENOUGH, BOY !", Leo shouted, enraged, and yet he didn't attack Adam.

" You have guts, boy....nobody has ever raised their voice against me and lived to tell the tale...but you have a point.....since you seem to love justice so much....we'll do this the right way and if we find out that you are....the culprit then I will punish you in the worst way possible."

" That seems fair.", Adam said with a slight smile playing around his face.

'SIGHHH'

Lydia sighed in relief, the worst seemed ove-

" There's no need for that.....Adam is guilty."

A low but clear voice resounded throughout the arena, Lydia turned around hearing a voice that was very familiar to her,

" G-grandma ?!!"

It was Georna.

The beastpeople made way for her as she slowly walked over to them.

" Miss Georna...", Leo said glancing at the old crone.

" That boy poisoned my Lydia...", Georna said in a low voice.

" Are you sure ?"

Georna glared at Leo as she raised her voice against him,

" Are you questioning me, boy !?"

….

" Take this human away.", Leo shouted nodding at Georna.

Lydia couldn't move.

She couldn't understand why her grandmother was doing this...

" W-why are you lying ?", Lydia asked Georna nudging her on the shoulder.

Georna ignored Lydia's pleas with an indifferent gaze.

" Hey...t-tell me why you're lying?"

All Lydia got was silence...

'Scosh'

Guards came and cuffed Adam and started dragging him away.

Leo stopped them and smiled at Adam,

" I hope you're prepared...boy."

Adam remained silent, satisfied with his reaction Leo let go and the guards dragged Adam away.

" Considering the new details that have come to light, we need to discuss some more before deciding on their fates....so don't worry, for now, Luna's child.", Leo said patting Lydia on the head with warmth in his eyes.

Lydia watched in silence as Leo and Augustus moved away to discuss matters, the beastpeople that had gathered around also started heading back to their respective villages.

Lydia fell to her knees, tears slowly streamed down her face as she asked her grandmother once again,

" Why did you lie ?", her face scrunched up as she tried to hold back her tears, " They're going to kill him..."

Georna who had remained passive until now had a flicker of emotion on her wizened face, it hurt her to see her granddaughter in pain. So, to comfort her Georna decided to tell her the truth even though Adam had told her not to.

" Calm down, child,", Georna narrowed her eyes, as if even she couldn't fully grasp what she was going to say next,

" I only did what the boy asked me to do."

~~~~