A few months later, the world had heard about Reno Gazor. The terrible ogre, the anomaly of this generation, the one who had almost become king after Nozras.
His feats spread throughout the country and everyone began to fear him. The warriors in the capital had been reduced by half after his passage. The warriors outside believed he was already king and no longer entered the capital. The atmosphere was cold and everyone was waiting for confirmation. After so long, a new king seemed to have been born. Without the influence of the book, he had imposed himself and marked his dominance over the country.
But when the inhabitants held their breath to know what was going to happen, Reno Gazor was missing...
Where had the ogre gone? Where had the new king gone?
Rita's feats were not hidden either. It was said that Reno had been able to rise to this position because he possessed a legendary assassin who covered his blind spots. Although her feats were less known than Reno's, she was also expected in the capital as a potential queen. But nothing happened.
No one became king.
The inhabitants then thought he had died in the capital. Others thought he had lost. Others still thought he had refused to remain on the throne because his wife was no longer there.
And those were the closest to the truth...
Rita had chosen to leave to preserve her child from war and blood. She did not want to see him born in these conditions. After all, she had lived in these conditions and had been treated like a soldier her whole life. It was only when she met Reno that she learned to live and then… Reno had changed. His eyes reflected the blood of his enemies and his insatiable hunger for combat had made him as terrible as a beast. Seeing him in this state had made her sad.
She had therefore chosen to isolate herself from him and give birth to her child in a softer environment. But in the end, the beast calmed down and Reno chose to leave the throne to see his child.
The quest of a lifetime had been abandoned for his child…
Reno was looking into the distance, his gaze lost and empty, thoughts floating in his mind.
Why had he left? Why had he not simply waited to be proclaimed king? He did not know.
His heart was heavy, so heavy… he kept looking in the direction of the capital he could no longer see. As if it would come back to him by itself. But nothing happened. Instead, he saw a small hand block his path, then a small face trying to eat his.
The little boy, not having any teeth yet, could not do any damage to the ogre.
"Hey? Do you really think you can eat me like that?"
Azraël did not consider his father's remark at all and continued to chew on him.
"Rita, your son is trying to eat me."
"And so? You are capable of defending yourself, right? But if you hurt him, I will make you pay."
"Ah…"
Reno felt defeated. His son was gaining more and more ground.
"I admit defeat, Azraël. You are far too strong for me."
The ogre let himself fall backward and accepted his defeat. Little Azraël smiled and laughed on his enormous torso that could be compared to a table.
"You lost?"
"I'm getting rusty…"
Rita brought something to eat and they sat together looking toward the capital. At least, in its direction...
The small village they had found had been abandoned long before their arrival. There were still tents and shelters. Not in very good condition but it was clear that the former inhabitants of this village took care of their belongings.
Even though they could no longer see the capital, both of them still felt its burning grip of combat and rage. It was as if they had never really left it.
Who knew who was the man closest to the throne now? Probably not them…
And that hurt Rita's heart a lot. Surely less than Reno, but it affected her a lot as well.
Since they had settled here, she felt as if a spark had gone out in Reno. As if the ogre she admired so much before was no longer there, leaving behind only a pale copy showing nothing but false emotions.
Yet, she was happy to see Reno every day still. She was happy to have been able to prevent her child from being born in such terrible conditions. She was happy to see her family whole, without blood or corpses nearby.
So Rita felt unwell. Balanced on a thread, wondering which side she should jump to in order to find peace.
While they were eating, she lowered her head, a sad and dark expression on her face.
"I'm sorry…"
"I already told you not to apologize. I'm the one who wanted to leave.I wasn't going to leave you alone anyway."
Reno's answer felt platonic. Almost robotic. It was maybe the thousandth time he had repeated that sentence to reassure her.
Rita no longer knew if he was sincere or not...
The two of them said nothing more while Azraël amused himself by throwing rocks as far as possible...
As time passed, warriors came across this village.
At first, not knowing who the small family living there was, they simply settled for the night and continued on their way.
Others stopped to try to defeat Reno and got completely crushed. But some talked with them and quickly understood that they were the legendary couple.
Very quickly, the atmosphere around the village changed drastically.
Some warriors stopped just to see them when the rumor spread, then others settled in the abandoned village because they had lost in the capital.
Some asked for training from them, others for advice, and with time, the abandoned village regained life. There were around fifty when Azraël was five months old, then 300 when he turned one year old and it was announced to Reno that Rita was pregnant again.
The whole village congratulated him with joy.
"Well then, those are ogre genes."
"These kids are going to dominate the world."
"I hope one of them can marry my daughter."
"Wait a minute, how do you know it will be a boy?"
And they were right, the second child arrived. Azraüs was born. The little boy was much more energetic than his older brother. Reno had trouble calming him down. Rita often used her assassin techniques to hit his vital points so he would calm down.
"Terrifying."
"I don't have another choice."
Very quickly, the two boys grew up in the calm and light atmosphere of the village, and Azraël was around 4 years old when everything started...
One day, while she had gone out to wash some things, Rita noticed that Reno was not there. He was neither in the village, nor in the tent, nor even nearby.
But for some reason, she knew where he was. Reno had never really put aside his call for the capital. Every evening, he looked in its direction, nostalgic, as if he could go back at any moment.
And that was exactly what had happened, Reno had gone back to the capital.
Rita felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She didn't really blame him. After all, nothing could kill her husband. But he had left his family behind, and most importantly, his children.
Rita knew that he knew she was enough to protect them, but could he really leave like that? The importance of family was enormous to her for the simple reason that she felt her mother had clearly not acted like one. Throughout her childhood, she had never really had a mother or a family. People treated her like a soldier or like a pawn for honor. They made her fight every day, hoping to carry on the Obu lineage properly even though it was already dying. So she had given everything for her family, she had given everything so that at least Azraël and Azraüs would never go through that. She had given everything so that no matter what the future held, they would be free.
But in return, she had in some way sacrificed her husband's freedom. Even though he was a good father, he was first and foremost a warrior who dreamed of the throne and who had given it up to take care of his family. Could she really blame him for going back?
Rita didn't know, and for some reason, she knew he would come back. And that was exactly what happened...
Only a month later, he was back.
Reno walked slowly, his heavy steps still as imposing as ever. He seemed to wear a slight satisfied smile. His tall and muscular body was covered in dust. The mace on his back seemed thinner than before, and the scars on his body had not increased. It was easy to tell what had happened.
Reno had entered the capital, had massacred everyone, had sat on the throne, then had left as if nothing had happened.
No one had been able to offer him any resistance, no one had been able to make him bend. He was there, as if nothing had happened. Satisfied to still be the strongest, satisfied to still have his family. But the smile remained faint because he could not stay where he wanted. Still, that didn't really stop him from smiling.
His smile had even regained some of its color...
As soon as his shadow appeared in the distance, Azraüs rushed toward him and hugged his legs. With eyes full of admiration and stars, he asked his father:
"Did you go to the capital, dad?"
Reno was surprised, then looked at Rita arriving with Azraël and the others from the village watching him from afar.
"Well, I wasn't that discreet."
Rita arrived in front of him and looked at him intensely. Reno didn't know where to put himself. The pressure coming from his wife reminded him of the beast of Ouhkor he had fought.
He scratched the back of his head before saying:
"Well… looks like I'm back…"
A heavy silence settled between the small family. Then Rita sighed before slightly lowering her head.
"You do whatever you want as long as you stay here longer than at the capital. I don't want the children to grow up without a father."
Reno was surprised by his wife's calm. He hadn't expected that answer. But even though the surprise was great, his joy was even greater. With a wide smile, he replied to Rita:
"You're the best, Rita."
With a slight smile on her face that she couldn't hide, Rita puffed her chest and turned around, saying:
"I know, I know."
Maybe she had finally found the perfect balance...