A Last Chance At Redemption
Kael woke with a sharp, panicked breath.
For a moment, the world spun wildly—rain-slick darkness, clattering metal, the groan of wheels against mud. Then his vision steadied, settling on the cold reality of iron bars and damp hay beneath him.
Kael was in a cage.
And he was not alone.
Around him, his men stirred—bruised, bloodied, collared.
Their armor had been stripped away, replaced with iron rings that bit into their necks. Beyond them, across the muddy clearing, other beastmen were being shoved into cages by armored knights.
Two cages remained empty.
And outside them stood Brescia, Mariada, and Paxilous—bound at the wrists, but not yet imprisoned.
Kael’s heart lurched painfully.
“Brescia!” he shouted, gripping the bars until his knuckles burned.
She turned. And smiled.
The same gentle smile she always gave him.
Only now, it trembled.
“It’ll be fine,” Kael said desperately. “I promise.”
A knight slammed a gauntleted hand into the cage bars.
“Quiet, beast.”
Kael snarled, rage tightening his jaw, but he swallowed his words.
Rain fell harder now, drumming against the wooden carriage roofs overhead.
The air shifted with something subtle—an instinctive warning that only beastfolk could sense.
The storm carried more than water.
Mariada felt it instantly—the metallic taste of lightning thickening the air, the pressure crawling across her skin. Her eyes darted over the guards, the cages, the overturned crates slick with rain.
She waited patiently. Counting breaths.
Thunder growled in the distance, drumming the cloudy sky.
And then Mariada's voice fell to a whisper.
“Now.” She said.
And the sky answered her with a great show of lightning strikes. A chance she couldn't miss.
She grabbed Brescia’s wrist without warning. Brescia was startled—but she understood the quest instantly.
She seized Paxilous’s hand as well.
The lightning flashed.
Thunder roared.
And in that blinding instant, they slipped behind the crates, disappearing into the night.
When the light faded, they were gone.
From inside the cage, Kael saw them vanish into the forest.
For a heartbeat, his mind went blank.
"...Ah!" The knight responsible for loading them blinked.
Then he shouted to the whole crowd. "We have escapees!"
In that moment, Kael's protective instinct roared back to life.
He remembered Brescia’s words. Her faith in him. His promise. How much he adored.
This is it.
My last duty as a man of this tribe.
As their protector.
As someone who loved her.
He wrapped both hands around the iron bars and pulled.
A guard noticed.
“Hey! Stop that—!”
Kael grunted, muscles screaming as he forced everything he had into his arms.
CRACK.
The first bar bent.
Blood slicked his palms.
He pushed harder.
CRRRK—THWANG!
The bars tore free with a shriek of metal.
“One of them has broken loose!” a knight shouted.
And as he was screaming, he received a punch to the face.
Kael’s men saw it—and rose as one.
“For the tribe!”
“For our children!”
“Follow Captain Kael!”
They slammed their bodies against the cage walls.
Iron screamed, chaos erupted, and the knights rushed in.
Kael bellowed, lunging at the knights.
He wasn't intending to win, nor was he seeking freedom. He only desired to delay.
He grabbed one knight and hurled him into the mud.
Slammed another aside by the collar.
Again and again, he broke through—until a calm figure stepped forward.
Zrek.
“Stop resisting,” Zrek said calmly. “You won’t escape.”
Kael smiled through bloodied teeth.
“Who said anything about escaping?”
Zrek frowned.
“Then why fight?”
“Heh,” Kael laughed. “You wouldn’t understand.”
He charged.
Claws flashing.
With his hands bound and body exhausted, Kael stood no chance.
Zrek dodged effortlessly.
A boot slammed into Kael’s ribs.
A sword pommel crushed into his jaw.
The world blurred.
And while he was staggering, Zrek walked slowly and delivered one final blow that sent Kael to the ground.
Around him, his men fell—beaten, restrained, shoved back into cages.
But they were smiling.
They had succeeded.
Mariada escaped.
Brescia escaped.
Paxilous escaped.
That was enough. With them gone, their tribe can continue to live in them.
Kael collapsed, barely conscious, as they dragged him back into the cage.
Please… let them be safe…
Zrek wiped rain from his helm.
“Form up!” he commanded. “Squad A — transport these beasts to Count Juliq’s manor. Squad B — retrieve the runners. Move!”
Armor clattered.
Torches vanished into the treeline.
Kael slumped against the bars, eyes fluttering shut.
Run… Brescia… run…
※
Mariada ran, dragging Brescia and Paxilous with her.
Mud splashed beneath their feet as rain soaked their hair and cloak. Paxilous stumbled, sobbing, until Brescia hoisted him up to his feet.
“Just hold on!” she shouted.
They fled through bushes and darkness, torches flickering far behind them.
Then—a whistle sliced the air.
Mariada’s eyes widened.
“BRESCIA!”
Thup.
A needle buried itself into Brescia’s abdomen.
She gasped.
Stumbled.
“Brescia!” Mariada caught her.
“I—I’m fine!” Brescia hissed, forcing herself forward.
They kept running.
Above them, the assassin spy watched from the trees.
“…Tough little kitty.”
They made it deeper into the forest—then Brescia fell.
Her knees hit the mud.
Blood soaked the ground beneath her.
She was breathing heavily.
“SIS!!” Paxilous screamed.
Mariada dropped beside her.
“...Your wound hasn't healed.... Brescia, your regeneration—why isn’t it working?!”
Brescia smiled weakly.
“It’s… not working.”
Torches flared nearby.
Boots closed in.
"There they are!"
Brescia grabbed Mariada’s wrist.
“Take Paxilous,” she whispered. “ And run.”
“N-No!” Mariada shook. “I won’t—!”
“Please.”
That same soft smile.
“Take care of my brother.”
Mariada’s body trembled.
But Brescia shoved her.
“GO!”
Mariada ran, sobbing, dragging Paxilous with her.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Brescia stayed behind.
Alone.
But Paxilous wasn't going to accept this decision so lightly. He struggled hard, trying to break from Mariada's hold and run back to her sister.
"NO!" He screamed. "WE CAN'T LEAVE HER. NO!!"
But Mariada's grip only tightened.
She lifted her head and looked back as the knights surrounded her. Then she rose to her feet—not with fear, but with dignity.
A sister’s love.
A warrior’s resolve.
She had no strength to fight back, but she had the will to resist. To never go down so willingly.
The forest swallowed Mariada and Paxilous whole.
Mariada ran with Paxilous, tears streaming silently down her face. She never gazed back at Brescia being captured and dragged back.
They ran.
Fell.
Rose again.
Never stopping.
It seemed like they were out of the soldiers' sight, and that was the case. However, the soldiers were not the only people searching for them. The assassin had caught up with them.
A knife whistled past them.
Another.
The assassin dropped from the trees.
Mariada glanced back once—and that saved their lives.
The assassin reached out his hand to grab Paxilous, but she yanked him forward just as the assassin reached.
“Dark magic—!” Mariada said.
Nothing.
The assassin laughed.
Why isn't it working? She asked herself.
“The Holy Hourglass effects last longer than you think.”
Realizing that her spell was not activating, Mariada continued with her endeavor to run away.
But the assassin grabbed her chain and yanked her back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Paxilous froze.
The young beast boy stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Does he run? Does he rush in and try to help Mariada?
He was indecisive.
“...Run! Forget about me!” Mariada screamed. “Get away!”
The assassin struck her stomach.
Pain exploded in her whole body as she fell to the ground. But it broke Paxilous free.
He ran.
Screamed.
Cried.
The assassin tried to go after the boy, but Mariada grabbed his foot tightly. He struggled to get loose, but Mariada would not let go.
That gave the forest a chance to swallow Paxilous.
He wailed loudly in despair and sorrow. But there was no one to hear it but the forest.
The rain drowned his cry.
He fell and scraped his knees. That was his stroke of luck. It was not good, but it would be his saving grace from this whole ordeal.
He staggered to his knees.
“Sis… Miss Mariada…”
Then a voice spoke from the darkness.
“Hey. Are you alright, kid?”
Paxilous looked up.
The words may have sounded concerned for him, but the tone of voice was almost cold. And the eyes behind the voice were also frightening.
A leopard‑folk man stood there in a raincoat. And beside him—a fox‑folk girl.
Their eyes were sharp.
And looking at the strange combination, Paxilous had nothing to say.
