In an underground cave, a dark lake rippled gently. On the rocky shore stood two figures - one man, one beast. Of course, it was Courage and Kabuto. And if you knew them, you'd know exactly why they were here. That's right good old silver vice fishing.
This time, however, things didn't go as planned. Courage used his usual method - first catching the lake's native creatures to use as bait for the prized silver vice. But when he tossed his line, instead of hooking the usual large silver vice, he caught several small versions. These were considerably smaller and lacked their elders' signature silver sheen.
At first, Courage was confused, thinking he'd caught some new species. But after some thought, he realized these must be fry , the adolescent of the silver vices. This could only mean one thing spawning season had begun.
Facing this fact, Courage decided to skip fishing today. The juveniles probably wouldn't be as valuable as the mature ones, and while he could release them and wait for bigger prey, he chose not to. Removing adults during spawning season might damage the population. This was their chance to replenish their numbers, and Courage didn't want to interfere with that. Besides, more fish now meant more profit later.
With that, he left the silver vices in peace, silently wishing them to grow big and strong... and to make him lots of cash someday.
Leaving the underground cavern, Courage strolled casually through the wilds. With his totem beast nearing the peak of its level and his thorough familiarity with the area and it's beasts, he felt safe enough to simply wander and enjoy nature. Of course, Kabuto remained cautiously alert - while natural beauty is rare back on Earth, here in The Blend it was plentiful, though always accompanied by potential danger. But in this well-known territory, Courage allowed himself to relax.
Only when you pause to truly look can you appreciate the beauty of things. Most travelers were too busy or tense to notice, though who could blame them? Not everyone was like Courage and liked to stop to smell the roses nor did they possess his strength (for his current level, at least).
he wandered through the sun-dappled woods, pondering alternatives to silver vice fishing, until a sudden commotion interrupted his thoughts. At first just faint rustlings, but when he focused, the sounds clearly revealed beasts fighting. Curiosity piqued, Courage moved to investigate.
Making his way through the woods, he stumbled upon the source of the commotion.
A pack of porcupine-like beasts surrounded a catalyser and his beast. The porcupines hissed and growled as they attacked the duo. Though outnumbered, the catalyser and his beast fought back valiantly, both bearing several wounds yet refusing to yield.
The beast—a bright orange octopus—stood in front of its master, weathering direct attacks while the catalyser brandished a knife behind it, swinging wildly to deter the porcupines. His efforts made them hesitate slightly, but it wasn't enough. The porcupines kept baiting and thrashing their quills, inflicting more injuries on the octopus.
From his hidden position, Courage could see the catalyser's desperate glances—searching for an escape route. But the porcupines had them completely surrounded. Even if they broke free, their injuries would make fleeing impossible.
Courage's mind raced. "What was this guy doing to end up like this? Overconfidence? No—anyone with common sense knows not to take on a pack of beasts alone. Was he lost? More urgently ,what should I do?"
Before he could decide, the situation worsened. The young catalyser tripped and fell onto his back. A porcupine seizing the opportunity lunged at him while his beast was still tangled with the others.
"Ahhhh! Somebody help me!" the youth screamed. Sensing his demise
Just as the porcupine's claws were about to strike
WHISTLE-CRACK!
A chain rattled. And whistle cut through the air.
A spiked flail, wreathed in a small light, smashed into the beast mid-air , with an small explosion it sent the beast tumbling away with a grievous wound.
Courage to the Rescue!
He and Kabuto emerged from their hiding spot, immediately attacking to draw the porcupines' attention away from the young man. Courage wielded his flail while Kabuto charged straight at them, forcing the beasts to divert their focus.
[Burst Charge]!
Kabuto dashed with incredible speed, covering the distance instantly. Using the momentum, it stabbed with its horn—impaling one porcupine and sending it flying. Two more lunged at Kabuto, but wielding [All Out] and [Flux], it swung its horn horizontally, carving a wide arc through the air. The sharp blade-like edge severed one beast's limb and split the other's stomach open. Blood gushed profusely from the wounds.
Another porcupine attacked from behind, attempting to puncture Kabuto with its quills but to no avail. The quills couldn't even scratch his carapace. It'd take a lot more than that to break through Kabuto's defense.
Activating [All Out] and [Flurry Strike], Kabuto retaliated by pummeling the porcupine to death, snapping its quills like twigs as it crushed its body before finally smashing its skull.
"SKREEE!"
Kabuto shrieked loudly, as if calling out for the next opponent.
Meanwhile, Courage fought aggressively nearby. Unlike Kabuto, his attacks targeted porcupines still near the young man and his beast. His flail the Little Comet , carved deadly arcs through the air before crashing down. Capable of harming even Level 2 beasts and masterfully wielded, it left heavy injuries on every foe it struck.
As the number of porcupines dwindled, an opening appeared.
"Retreat, quickly!" Courage shouted.
The young man, once dazed, snapped to awareness and immediately scrambled back with his beast, putting distance between themselves and the danger.
"Good," Courage sighed, watching them reach safety. Now, without needing to protect the stranger, he could finally go all out.
Swinging his flail wildly, he focused entirely on supporting Kabuto. The two launched a devastating combination—Kabuto smashing through enemy formations while Courage covered him from behind. The battle didn't last much longer after that.
Slash. Screech. Boom. Crack.
In the end, not a single porcupine remained alive. Courage stood amidst the carnage, corpses littering the ground around him. The stench of blood and charred flesh clogging the air, but he ignored it, calmly rewrapping his flail and securing it back into his belt holster.
Kabuto lingered beside him, eyes still blazing with fighting spirit despite the fight being over.
Silence settled over the once-chaotic battlefield.
Turning his head, Courage called out, "You there—you can come out now. It's over."
His words were directed at the young man, who'd hidden behind a thick tree some distance away. A sheepish face peeked out.
"I-is… are the beasts gone?" he stammered.
"As you can see," Courage replied flatly.
The young man's legs finally gave out. He slumped to the ground, gasping for air, his body trembling as he struggled to stand again.
"Whoa, take it easy there," Courage said, stepping closer.
"Hey hey, settle down—take it slow," Courage said, calming him. "Here." He handed the young man a water canteen.
The young man accepted it with shaky hands, drinking in large gulps, water streaming down his throat and soaking his clothes.
After he finished and caught his breath, Courage gave him another moment to compose himself.
Once the poor lad stopped trembling, Courage asked, "Better?"
The young man nodded weakly.
"What's your name?"
"W-Wally... Wally Rain," he stammered.
"Well, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Wally. I'm Courage." His tone was deliberately gentle—after intense trauma, kindness helped stabilize the mind.
"Oh, um... yes. Pleasure to meet you too," Wally mumbled, still dazed.
Looking at Wally's state right now, he looked truly pitiful. Still, Courage continued questioning him. "That was quite the predicament you got yourself into there. Can you tell me what happened?"
"What?"
"I said, can you tell me what happened? How did you get yourself into this situation?"
"Oh, uh, okay, uh—" Wally tried to answer, but his mind still seemed too rattled to form coherent thoughts.
"Okay, okay, stop. Why don't we go through this one step at a time? Were you lost?"
"No."
"I see. So you came here intentionally?"
"Yes."
"To hunt?"
"Yes."
"So fighting those beasts—was that intentional or accidental?"
Wally hesitated before answering. "Intentional."
Courage was surprised by this response. Initially, he'd assumed Wally had an unlucky encounter with the beasts, trapped without choice. Now, to hear he'd walked into it willingly...
"Intentional, you say? As in, you tried to hunt an entire pack of beasts alone?"
"Yes... I... I thought I could do it."
Most would have berated Wally for such actions. Anyone who thinks or acts like this would be considered stupid. Yet no matter how foolish Courage found Wally's decision, he couldn't bring himself to be angry or judgmental. For some reason, he felt sympathy instead.
"Still, anyone who tries to take on a whole pack alone is either stupid or... desperate," Courage thought, his suspicion growing.
"Now Wally, you don't strike me as the unwise type. Why did you try to hunt alone?"
"I had no other choice," Wally whispered.
Courage's brows arched. "What do you mean by that?"
Wally lowered his head further, refusing to meet Courage's gaze. He seemed hesitant to answer.
"It's okay. You don't need to answer if you don't want to."
A few moments of silence passed between them. Then Courage noticed something at the corner of his eye - on Wally's tattered clothes, a damaged but unmistakable sigil.
"You're a member of the Black Hyde Gang," Courage confronted him directly.
Wally, seeing that Courage had noticed, didn't try to hide it. "Yes," he answered honestly.
Courage couldn't help but grow even more suspicious. A member of the Black Hyde Gang hunting alone? And not just anywhere, but in the Eastern Wilds - the territory of his gang's rival faction? Nothing about this guy's situation made sense.
He continued trying to converse with Wally, making slow progress. While Wally was opening up slightly, he remained reluctant to answer certain questions.
Then, while they were still talking, a group of people suddenly emerged from the surrounding woods.
The group members all rode horse-like beasts as mounts - all except one who rode a wolf-like creature instead.
They stopped before the two. Watching them, Courage soon noticed the Black Hyde sigil on these newcomers too, which gave him momentary relief. Thinking that They must have come for Wally.
"Look Wally, your teammates are here for you," he said optimistically, hoping this would comfort the shaken young man.
But when his gaze fell on Wally, what he saw froze him.
Deep in Wally's eyes wasn't relief - but pure despair. This wasn't the look of someone seeing rescuers... but his worst nightmare made flesh. The young man shriveled where he stood.
Courage's expression sharpened instantly, his brows knitting tight. Something here smelled sour.
Courage stood by Wally as the group approached them. Once before them, their leader Jack Fangwood spoke:
"So this is where you've been, dead meat."
"Jack, I was just..."
"Oh shut up! You think I don't know what this is? You've been nothing but a burden to my party. Yet I was generous enough not to ask Goto to kick you out. And you ignored my kindness , you tried to score on your own so you wouldn't have to split the profit. Hell, you even crawled all the way here to avoid me, you little bastard."
"No, I...I..."
" shut up! When are you going to get it through that damp head of yours? It's either you hunt under me, or you don't!" Jack yelled with a cruel gaze.
Wally shrank back.
Jack roared through his teeth: "I've told you time and time again - trash like you has no chance to make it on their own. So just fall in line, and don't you dare disobey me again, or I swear I'll—"
"That's enough!" Courage interrupted.
Jack, now bothering to notice Courage, finally addressed him: "And who the hell are you?" His eyes burned red with aggression.
"The guy who's had enough with your squawking," Courage shot back. "Your teammate just had a brush with death, and yet you're here barking at him like a rabid dog. Have some decency, will ya?".
Courage had never witnessed such cruelty in his life. Watching Jack's treatment of Wally made his hands clench so tight his knuckles turned white. He stepped forward, boots crushing dead leaves underfoot.
Jack let out a mocking laugh as he dismounted, his wolf-like beast snarling in unison. His goons chuckled along like hyenas as their leader swaggered toward Courage, rolling up his sleeves.
"Well, well, well," Jack clapped slowly, the sarcasm dripping like poison. "Looks like we got ourselves a hero ! You get lost on your way to a fairy tale, hero?" The gang burst into laughter, one even doubling over to slap his knee.
Wally trembled violently behind Courage, his breathing coming in panicked gasps. "P-please...don't..." he whispered, too quiet for anyone but Courage to hear.
Jack's smirk twisted into something darker as he got nose-to-nose with Courage. "Let me explain something to you, outsider," he said, his voice deceptively calm. A vein began throbbing at his temple. "That piece of trash-" he jerked a thumb at Wally, "-is Black Hyde property. We handle our own."
Courage didn't flinch. "Funny way of handling your own. The poor lad was about die to a pack of beasts, yet your here drilling his ears out like he took your virginity "
Jack's eye twitched. The goons' laughter died as their leader's face flushed crimson. "You think you know anything?" Spittle flew from his lips. "That worthless sack of meat couldn't hunt a sick rabbit if-"
"Then why keep him?" Courage interrupted. "If he's so useless, why not cut him loose ,clingy much don't you think?"
The clearing went silent. Jack's breathing grew heavier, his fists shaking at his sides. The anger built in visible waves - first the clenched jaw, then the bulging veins in his neck, finally the wild, unstable gleam in his bloodshot eyes.
Wally made a small, terrified noise as Jack suddenly slammed his fist into a nearby tree, bark splintering under the impact. "BECAUSE I SAY SO!" Jack roared, his voice cracking with unrestrained fury. "This isn't a damn negotiation! That worm does what I tell him, when I tell him, or he gets GROUND INTO DIRT!"
The goons shifted uncomfortably, their earlier amusement gone. Even Jack's mount backed away a step as its master's rage filled the clearing like a physical force.
Wally had sunk to his knees, arms wrapped around himself like he was trying to disappear. Tears streaked through the dirt on his face as he whispered apologies to no one in particular.
Courage opened his mouth to respond when Jack's hand shot out like a viper, grabbing Wally by the collar and yanking him forward. "You worthless piece of-"
*THWACK!*
Courage's calloused hand clamped around Jack's wrist like an iron manacle. "Drop. Him." Each word came out as a separate growl.
Jack's nostrils flared. With a snarl, he swung his free fist at Courage's face-
*CRUNCH!*
Courage's forearm blocked the blow with bone-jarring force. In one fluid motion, he Wrenched Jack's grip open with a painful twist, Shoved Wally away with his hip Then Snapped his forehead forward in a devastating motion
SPLAT!
The headbutt connected with Jack's nose in a spray of blood. His legs folded like wet paper as he crumpled to the dirt, clutching his face. A thick ribbon of scarlet dripped between his fingers.
Wally scrambled backward on all fours, his breath coming in panicked whimpers. The goons stood frozen - their mocking grins replaced by slack-jawed shock.
Courage cracked his knuckles, blood still dripping from his forehead onto the forest floor. "Anyone else feeling handsy today?" He said his expression hard
Jack writhed in the dirt, his broken nose spraying crimson with every ragged breath. With a wet *snap*, he shoved the cartilage back into place, his entire body trembling with barely-contained fury.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
A pulse of dark energy erupted from Jack's chest as he slammed both palms onto the ground. The air rippled as his totem beast materialized in a burst of dark light - the Skeletal Armored Hound, its bone-white plating streaked with veins of jade. The monster's jaws yawned wide, reveling rows after rows of jagged fangs .
"ALL OF YOU - ATTACK NOW!" Jack screeched, spitting a glob of blood . His goons fumbled to summon their own beasts , soon a mismatched pack of beasts immerged .
Wally let out a strangled cry as he scrambled behind a tree, his entire frame shaking like a leaf in a storm. His fingers dug into the bark hard enough to draw sap. This was worse. This was so much worse than any beating he ever received.
Kabuto answered with an earth-shaking SKREEEEE!, its axe-like horn gleaming as it took position beside Courage. The beetle's carapace pulsed with barely restrained power, [All Out] already making its muscles swell.
Courage swung his flail in a slow, ominous circle. " Bring it on you shit stains"
The forest air thickened with impending violence, the scent of blood and charged energy pressing down like a physical weight. "Might've escalated things," Courage admitted to himself, rolling his shoulders. Yet seeing Jack's bloody sneer, he felt no remorse—if this bastard wanted more pain, he'll gladly deliver it .
Kabuto's horn hummed with gathering energy, [flux] making its edges glow white-hot. The skeletal hound opposite them paced side to side, it's jade-streaked bones clicking like a death countdown.
A second before violence erupted, the ground trembled. The approaching rumble crescendoed until a new force emerged - over a dozen mounted warriors clad in robes emblazoned with rising sun sigils.
"Shit! Band of Dawn!" one of Jack's lackeys shouted.
" How did they find us I thought we made sure to remain undetected "
" Were they attracted by the ruckess " another exclaimed
Their leader, astride a hulking rhino-like beast, took in the scene with a sweeping glare: the scattered monster carcasses, Jack's armed group with their Black Hyde insignias, and the battered duo of Courage and Wally.
"This is Dawn territory," the leader barked. "Since when do Black Hyde dogs hunt here without leave? And more importantly what's this mess?"
"Scram, bastards! This ain't your concern!" Jack snarled, wiping blood from his broken nose.
The Band members erupted:
"Who you calling bastards?"
"Know your place, scum!"
"You begging for a beating?"
Though rage burned in his eyes, their leader maintained control. He turned to Courage. "You. Explain this."
Courage let the silence stretch just enough before answering: "was Just hunting with my friend here when these thugs suddenly appeared and demanded our kills. When we refused..." He gestured to Wally's trembling form and the injuries on his body. "They attacked us. Even brought out their beasts."
Yep , courage was totally bending the narrative and totally instigating the conflict yet The lie landed perfectly. The leader's gaze tracked between Jack's aggressive posture, Wally's clear terror, and the battlefield evidence. The narrative held.
Hearing this, the leader didn't hold back his anger anymore and gave a clear snort of disdain toward Jack. The other members also displayed their anger.
"Bastards! Not only are you trespassing, but you're also extorting!"
"Do you Black Hyde members have no shame? Bullying the weak!"
"Enough talking—let's punish these scum!"
Each member roared.
Jack's eyes twitched in rage, watching Courage incriminate him so shamelessly. In a second, Jack's group lost any chance of explaining themselves—though that chance was already slim to begin with, thanks to Jack's bad temper earlier.
The rhino rider moved between Jack and Courage. "Stay behind me," he said, clearly intending to protect Courage and Wally. He then turned to Jack. "Take your group and leave this place. Never return." He ordered, "Do that, and that will be the end of it. If not, we will stop being civil with you."
The members of the Band of Dawn supporting Courage immediately turned the tables. Jack's group was now the one outnumbered.
Jack was seething. "Bastards! Do you think I'm scared of you? I'll take you all on!" Jack clearly had no intention of acting reasonably. But before he could dig them deeper, one of his group members stopped him and tried to pull him back. Jack gave him a murderous gaze, making him flinch back. Still, that member lowered his head and, in a low tone, tried to reason with Jack.
"Leader, we better back down. If we start problems with any other group, it would be fine—Goto could cover for us. But against the Band of Dawn… even if we came out victorious, we'd face consequences. If we create problems for our gang with the Band of Dawn, we'll definitely be punished. The gang will investigate, and we were clearly the ones overstepping here."
After hearing this, the spark of logic finally reignited in Jack's head.
If he caused trouble for the gang with the Band of Dawn, even his status as a high-grade awakened wouldn't save him from punishment.
Thinking about this, he gritted his teeth until they started creaking. Then, with a heavy tone, he ordered his teammates to stand down and retreat.
Just before they rode off, Jack turned his gaze to Wally and said "You might've gotten away with it this time, runt, but don't think this is over. I'll make sure you get kicked out of our team for good. And not only that—I'll make sure you have no allies or assistance in the gang . And with the debt you still owe… Heh… hehe… once the time comes to collect, I'll be there. And I'll make you crawl under my feet and beg for mercy."
His eyes shot knives at Wally as he spoke.
With that last threat, they rode off, leaving behind a trembling Wally and a solemn Courage.
After Jack left, all that was left for Courage to do was explain a few more things to the members of the Band of Dawn. He of course stuck with his previous narrative, whilst also hiding the fact that Wally was also a member of the Black Hyde Gang—even though that was tricky after Jack's earlier statement. But Courage fabricated a story for that too, using Wally's injuries as an excuse. He hastily left and rushed Wally to the bastion, avoiding further questioning.
And that was the end of that encounter