There was once a mad reporter who traveled across the continent, asking every famous person a single question.
"What do you think of the Beast Supre?"
It was right after Renard had revealed himself as the Seventh Commander of the Demon Army and destroyed the Heavenly Archives. The fact that a human had sided with demons—and not just any human, but one from a prestigious house—had sparked intense curiosity throughout the continent.
Naturally, this drew reporters like moths to fla. But to everyone's surprise, few knew anything about the Beast Supre.
And so, one particularly determined reporter decided to dig deeper, seeking out anyone who had ever crossed paths with Renard.
The first was the rciful Blade, Jin.
"Beast Supre? You an Renard?" Jin had laughed, though his eyes held no humor. "Did that child grow that fast?"
There were rumors that Jin had once saved Renard, which had earned him heavy criticism. But as always, the wandering warrior paid little mind to such things.
"I think he is a pitiful child," Jin had said softly. "The heavens were too harsh on him."
Next, the reporter sought out Lady Eleanor of House Grace, Renard's forr fiancée.
"That monster?" she had spat, her beautiful face twisting with hatred. "We were betrothed when we were children. Even then, there was sothing wrong with him. His eyes... they were always filled with hatred." She shuddered. "Breaking our engagent was the wisest decision my family ever made."
Then, the reporter tracked down Old Man Reed, a bandit who had survived an encounter with the Beast Supre himself.
"I'll never forget that day," Reed had whispered, his one remaining eye wide with terror. "We thought we had found an easy target—just so noble brat traveling alone. But when he smiled... gods above, when he smiled..."
The old bandit's hands shook as he poured himself another drink. "He let live so that I could tell others of what I saw. Sotis I wish he hadn't."
Finally, the reporter visited Klein Weaver, who was rumored to have dueled Renard.
"Weak," Klein had said simply, surprising the reporter. "He is a weak man".
And that was the end of his interview.
After gathering all these accounts, the reporter wrote her final thoughts:
"The Beast Supre remains an enigma. To so, a victim of cruel fate. To others, a monster in human skin. Perhaps both are true. But one thing is certain—the boy nad Renard died long ago, sowhere between tragedy and vengeance. What walks in his place now is sothing else entirely. The seven houses should prepare for what's coming for them."
Years later, when Renard read this article, they say he laughed for a long ti.
No one truly knows.
✽✽✽
"Ha! Ha! I'm so... fucking weak!"
Renard gasped between heavy breaths as he finally stopped running. His bare upper body was drenched in sweat, and his legs were visibly shaking from exhaustion.
"You should take a break now, brother," Aria said casually, more interested in playing with a stick in the sand than worrying about him.
"Ha! This is nothing... for your mighty broth- ah! Jenny, please... hand so water."
He'd been so caught up thinking about the awakening ceremony and the bloodhounds that he'd forgotten his own limits.
Even though his providence state showed he was in the Awakened Zone, he could barely run two miles at a stretch. Sure, he could push himself further, but his physical strength was simply laughable!
"Let's do this again."
He took a deep breath to focus and activated his ability.
[Beast Mimicry - Copying the beast 'Hati']
The mont he activated it, his presence shifted, growing stronger.
While this ability didn't increase his raw power, it did enhance his stamina and endurance a bit.
He was mimicking one of his tad beasts—the giant wolf, Hati. Though not the fastest among Renard's tad beasts, Hati was a white wolf known for its incredible endurance.
And since Renard was trying to build up his own endurance, training by mimicking Hati was proving to be a smart choice.
Renard's body was weak, to say the least.
Despite consuming many elixirs thanks to his position and possessing plenty of Essence, his physical strength remained subpar. To properly use the Wild Heart Style, which relied on unpredictability, he needed to make his body more flexible. If he wanted to stand a chance at the awakening ceremony, he was determined to get as fit as possible.
Though worried about what would happen at the ceremony since he already had a Blood Crest, Renard knew that dwelling on it wouldn't help. He decided to focus on more practical matters.
"Gerald, how much money do I have?"
Renard asked Gerald, who had insisted on following him even during training. The old man was impressive, keeping up with soone young like Renard—though that made sense, given his fitter body and higher zone level.
"Money? We brought 50 gold coins for the journey's expenses. Everything else is managed by the Butler at Tiara castle, so I'm afraid I don't know the exact amount, young master."
"That's fine. How many coins do we have left?"
"That's... we don't have any left, young master. The carriage repairs were more costly than expected... and you gave all the remaining coins to warrior Jin..."
"Was that everything we had...?"
"Unfortunately, yes..."
"Damn!"
Renard groaned, he now regretted not holding back when Jin tried refusing the coins.
"You have enough money for Mathis's funeral, right?" Renard asked worriedly.
"Lord Augustus is taking care of that."
Well, that was good news. His grandfather was a king, after all.
Renard briefly considered if he should just ask him for a few thousand coins. Surely, his grandfather would give at least that much to his beloved grandson?
'Wait! What if I get Aria to ask him instead?'
The granddaughter's approach might work better than the grandson's, right?
Renard was seriously considering this brilliant plan when a maid appeared.
"Young master, the Blood Hounds are here."
"Oh!" Renard bead. "Tell them I'll be there shortly."
He tucked away his clever sche for later since there were more important matters to handle first.
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