1 CHAPTER 1: The Beginning

An ancient feudal Lamojua town, shrouded in mystery and off-limits to foreigners.

A group of magical islands, home to witches and demons,

A country of rival provinces ruled by a "Shogun" whose will is absolute and just.No one dares question the judgement of the Shogun.

The master swordsmen of the samurai keep the peace in the realm... tasked with protecting their Lord and their province at all costs.

Should a samurai ever lose or fail his master, he suffers the greatest shame in all society. He becomes an outcast among men.

It began with a boy. No one knew where he came from or how he found his way to the city tribe of Shitun. Some said he was a changeling, no better than a beast. Many believed he had been raised by the pengoa, the demons of the forest, who had taught him their dark powers... and trained him in their lethal arts of killing.

People said that the evil he had fled had left its mark on him.

The day was bright; the leaves were green with the morning dew dripping down from them; the stream was close by; there were butterflies; it was a beautiful sight to behold. "Zai," a young boy, was found lying unconscious by the stream. He was about the age of 22. He had managed to flee from his evil masters, but there was an evil mark that was left upon him. While he was lying unconscious on the ground close to the stream, a samurai from the village of "Shitun" found him on the ground. While the samurai was trying to check on him to see if he was still alive, "Zai" brought out a short knife. He had it under his sleeve to protect himself from danger. He stuck the knife to the throat of the samurai, attempting to slit it. Zai was a very skilled and talented swordman. He had been trained to kill by the master himself from the forest. No one except Zai has been able to flee from the masters of the forest. Those that wondered into the Masters' territory never returned. There was a boundary separating them from the outside world. While he was trying to slit the throat of the samurai, he passed out. He was exhausted. The samurai then in turn drew out his sword, ready to kill Zai, but he was stopped by his master, "Lord Dako," immediately. The samurai in turn said, "My Lord, it is a demon." With the samurai giving way, Lord Dako came closer to Zai to check what his soldier had told him, that it was a demon. But when Lord Dako got closer to check, he found a mark on Zai's head, but what he saw was more amazing. He's a child just like you.Lord Dako said to his samurai.Lord Dako instructed his samurai to pick up Zai, which they did swiftly. They placed Zai on one of the horses as they headed back to the village.

That day, Zai would have been killed. He was saved by Lord Dako of the province of Shitun. Lord Dako saw something in Zai that no one else saw. Even the daughter of Lord Dako, Rika, saw it too.

Zai was taken in for proper treatment for the injuries he had sustained in the forest. That night, Lord Dako's daughter, Rika, came to check on him to see how he was doing. While she was checking on him, Zai woke up. His eyes were wide open. Rika quickly stood up. She was a bit shy. She stood at the door with the rest of her maids, looking at Zai. Zai managed to sit up. He noticed that the girls were watching him. He gave them a charming look. Rika smiled at him before leaving the room.There was a strange connection between Zai and Rika.After several days of treatment, Zai was finally back on his feet, running around with the rest of the villagers.

Rika's father, Lord Dako, allowed Zai to live among them against the advice of his personal samurai, "Cheng."

It was one of those beautiful days. Zai and Rika were in the woods having fun. The chemistry between them is so real and unmatched by anything in the world.

Zai took a branch from a stick that was broken. He showed it to Rika and said, "Look what you see, a broken branch." Rika answered, "No, it's a deer." Zai told her, "Rika rose a head up." She noticed a deer was staring at the both of them. " "Oh, I see," she exclaimed. Zai explained to her that the deer had passed in their direction. Both of them were having so much fun in the woods when Zai saw a head pin that belonged to Rika on the grass. He bent down to pick it up. He handed it over to Rika, but she insisted that he keep it.

Lord Dako's Samurai believed that the presence of Zai would cause misfortune to their land, since they believed Zai was raised by demons and he also had their mark. But Rika only saw a gentle soul in Zai.

Although Zai lived as an outcast, he was determined to repay the love he had received from Rika and her father, whatever the cost.

Fifteen years had passed since Zai was taken in by Lord Dako.

There was a beast in the forest that had been killing and terrorizing the people of Shitun. No one has been able to see it or kill it.

Lord Dako's and his samurai decided to go for the hunt because the killings the beast was causing were too much and had to be stopped. While they were preparing for the hunt, Zai was left behind because he was an outcast in the village, despite his fighting ability.

Zai was well aware of the hunt, but he was not involved. Instead, he went into the forest himself to do his own investigation when Lord Dako's Samurai and their horses rode up to him. They were surprised to see him.Cheng was not a lover of Zai, even though he was taken in by his lord. There was this part of him that did not like Zai, even though Zai tried to be friends with him.

Cheng: Well well look who we have here.

Zai: There is something wrong with the creature.It's up there on the rise, but it will come down again to hunt. It would be safer to set a trap and wait for it here.

To Cheng Zai was doing too much. He didn't say a word to Zai. He turned and left Zai standing alone in the woods. He went back to give Lord Dako the information he had.

"The creature is on the rise," Cheng said to Lord Dako. Instead of heeding the plan of Zai, Cheng and the rest of his samurai, accompanied by Lord Dako, went in search of the beast themselves.

While they were in search of the beast, some of them went on foot since they were large in numbers, while orders were on their horses in case there was a need for a chase.

Some of the samurai on foot were with bows and arrows, while some were with swords. After some minutes spent on searching for this deadly creature, they heard a large grunt from the beast. Lord Dako showed a sign of alert. He knew the beast was around somewhere nearby. One of the samurai with arrows on foot followed the grunt of the beast, and while he was getting close, the deadly beast came out of his hiding place. The beast is the size of two horses put together. It has five tails and two heads. Each of the tails has a look resembling that of a scorpion. It was so sharp and strong that it could penetrate a tree. It has eight legs like that of a spider, it has eyes all over its body, it has a tongue as long as that of three horse tail put together, and it has three large horns on its head. It's look is so frightening that anyone on its part will be terrified to even approach it.

The beast leapt over the samurai, who was close by. Before the first soldier could pull its arrow, the best stung him with one of its tails on the neck. The soldier passed out immediately. While everything was happening so fast, the beast made its way directly towards Lord Dako, but Lord Dako was more alert than ever. The beast was so quick, before Lord Dako could reach out for his sword, the beast was already close. Lord Dako made a dive from his horse while also landing heavily on the floor. The beast ran into the horse of Lord Dako, smashing the horse against a tree before making its way into the woods.

Cheng: "Master, are you okay?"

Lord Dako: Yeah, I'm fine. Go after that creature and kill it.

Cheng was given the order to kill the beast. Lord Dako is the ruler of Shitun province. He has come of age. He is no longer as strong as in those days. Cheng and the rest of the samurai on horses went after the beast.

While they were chasing after the beast, the horse of the first Samurai that was killed by the beast was vacant. Zai saw the opportunity and took it. He climbed onto the horse while it was running.

While Zai also joined the chase, it was as if there was an evil force monitoring their movement. There was a black fox inside the bush monitoring their movements. Both their eyes were different colors, which no one could explain. Before getting noticed, the fox disappeared into the woods.

Lord Dako and Cheng chased the beast into an open field in the forest. The beast was too fast for them. They had to bring it down one way or the other. Cheng, the leader of the Samurai, charged his soldiers to go faster. While they were getting closer, they drew their arrows and opened fire on the beast. The arrows made little impact; the skin of the beast was too thick. They had to use another method. They threw rope with hooks at the legs of the beast in order to bring it down. At first, it was working. The beast was slowing down until it charged up again. They were close to the beast. One of the Cheng soldiers struck his sword into the body of the beast. His actions provoked the beast even more. While the soldier was trying to get away since his sword was already stuck to the body of the beast, he was unlucky. The beast got to him first with its horn, throwing him up before smashing him to the ground. Those that were close to the beast from behind were struck by its tail. Zai was far behind them. He could only watch as he rode past the soldiers that had already been killed by the beast