Harem King's Collection: Turning Beastkins Into Desperate Wives!-Chapter 77: A King’s Pride

Jagón barely managed to dodge another breath of fire from the overwhelming phoenix, rolling forward in his lunge as he hurried back to his feet.

A good deal of the fire had been cast upon the stands, and many a spectating, wailing beast and the lifeless bodies of the fallen alike were already being consumed by the insatiable flames.

The skilled knight continued his sprint, circling around the bird and drawing its attention away from his sons as he closed in range of the great opponent.

The panther held his longsword out to the side and slashed at the blackened leg of the beast with everything he had, barely cutting even an inch deep into the tough flesh.

The phoenix screeched loudly in pain, and flapped its giant, burning wings once more, kicking up heavy dust as more waves of that engulfing heat rocked forth, knocking the panther away with a harsh gust of wind.

The phoenix crouched a bit and kicked off, rising high into the air on those troublesome wings as its tail fluttered behind it like a trail of burning crimson ribbon. Cortist and Talan were already running to their father.

Talan yelled his question as he was nearly to the older panther.

"Father! Are you alright?"

Jagón quickly got to his feet, answering his oldest son as he pointed up to the phoenix that was now circling the arena. If the beast began raining down fire from that height, the panther wasn’t sure there would be anywhere safe to run.

Many of the soldiers around him had been deserting, or simply retreating with their injuries, such as the dragon Straga for one, but there were still many citizens still in range that he was duty bound to protect from such an impossible threat.

"I am fine... We need to find a way to stop that thing before it incinerates us all... Cortist, do you think you can hit it hard enough to bring it back down? We stand no chance with it in the air... I... I don’t even know if we stand a chance on the ground, but if we can get close enough again, Talan or I may be able to stop it with our bloodskill... If we can even sink a fang into the damned thing that is... It has one thick hide."

As the older panther trailed off, his younger son raised his arms high and began harshly chanting a spell. After about four seconds, the tips of his fingers were adorned with flashing sparks of electricity as the mage focused the power within his palms.

He yelled his final word in the language of the gods, and the largest thunderbolt Jagón had ever seen struck down from the sky, landing a direct hit on the great phoenix.

The beast only let out a piercing cry but never faltered in its flight, turning back to the mage and diving at the panther family. The bird parted its great beak once more, and Cortist watched in horror as more of the destructive flames spewed forth from the beast, directly to where he, his father, and his brother stood.

He barely managed to get a wall of ice up before the overwhelming force of the blazing blast shattered it into tiny crystals around him.

A clash of steel interrupted Amboss’s final thought, and the wolf looked up to see none other than his own father struggling to parry the blow with his sword while resting his weight solely on his good leg.

The younger wolf was never more elated to see the old knight than in that moment. The demon jumped back a few paces and only stared at the older wolf in silence.

King Alocer drove his sword through the demon’s side quickly, giving them a few seconds to recover before its inevitable return. The battle seasoned wolf spoke quickly, making the most of their fleeting time.

"My king, my son, both of you need to go. Amboss, tie off that arm! I won’t lose another cub today. No more of my children will be taken from me by these monsters before my time... I... I can’t feel Stahl anymore... I can’t feel your sister, Amboss... Please, just take Rust and go... While you still can. This... This is just like back then... When Silbern... This thing is far too much as we are, so please, my son... Run for your life, I beg you, I won’t lose you the same way, too."

The sword reappeared, marking the end of their reprieve. Just before the demon reemerged, Amboss quickly barked out a single question as terror rose within him once more, even as he finished securing a strip of his shirt over his own bleeding arm with his teeth to try and stifle the flow.

"Take Rust? Is, IS HE NOT WITH YOU?"

Byron turned wide-eyed to his son, finally realizing then that the fox wasn’t among the few beasts left on the platform. His mind raced to make sense of it all as he turned back towards the opponent at hand.

His grandson had run back up the slope... That’s why the old wolf came back in the first place, that and the deserters leaving few to defend the king.

Wherever Rust was, the veteran could only pray he was safe. Byron knew he was a mere shadow of the knight he once was. He could likely accomplish little that would hinder the demon in his state, but if it meant his son could get away, the father was certainly willing to lay down his life then and there.

The demon made no move and only gazed towards the older knight. Byron yelled back to his son once more in his desperate plea.

"AMBOSS! GO! TAKE YOUR KING AND LEAVE! PLEASE!" It was the demon that responded in that blood chilling tone.

"At last. The beast that knew mercy. The hand of the son will suffice for the sins of the father... For your own hand in this. You may leave with your cub, wolf. My debt, too, is now repaid. The king’s is not."

The demon turned towards King Alocer again. Byron took to raise his blade but was halted by his king’s hand as the lion spoke in a truly pained tone, never breaking eye contact with the demon as he did so.

"Go, Byron... My cub is gone... My queen is gone... This monster is here for me... There’s no need for your line to fall here today also... You were a great mentor, Sir Aschefell, one I should’ve consulted and heeded more than I did. Your wisdom will be needed for what comes after... But today..."

The mighty king paused and started walking towards the edge of the platform, to where the voice amplifying rune was still in effect. The demon made no move, understanding that the lion was accepting his long overdue tribulation at last.

In truth, King Alocer had accepted such damning consequences long ago, before his crusade against man ever began. This was nothing compared to what had already been taken from him.

Alocer ended his statement to the old wolf just before he stepped onto the magical circle to speak to the rest of the few soldiers still fighting on in his name. It was time once more to prove he was a king.

"I do this part alone."

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