Brace had seen the lizardmen speak, he was a guard of the village and a good-hearted man like Hector, he knew about his friend and the love he had on his childhood, but never thought he would reencounter her right here in front of him… He was really seeing her with him, she really came back. He always made fun of him for still loving a lizardman, a girl that wasn't even of his race… but it wasn't rare for people of different races to fall for each other, although it was less common due to cultural and appearance differences, he himself had married a wolf beast-kin girl, and his two kids were half-beast-kin. He stepped forward as he saw the sect disciples argue…
"But that doesn't change a thing!"
"Yeah, what if you try to betray us or something?"
"Lizardmen cannot be trusted."
"You're all monsters, go away!"
"Begone before we slay you! You would fetch a good price if we sold your mana cores…"
"Tch…" Kraxka muttered in silence, he wasn't going to argue with their provocations, but being treated like a mere monster really angered him, especially because lizardmen were really just people, they had their own cultures, lives, feel emotions and love, and were not warmongers by nature either…
In the middle of everything going on, Hector wanted to speak but felt overwhelmed by so many people talking all the time with one another, until Brace finally stepped in front and asked Hector why was he with the lizardmen, expecting the answer he got.
"Hector, why are you there?" He wondered. "Do you know these people?"
"Brace… I do." Said Hector. He was a trusted and well-known guard, in this battle he had led the entire village to battle and his heroic actions inspired the hearts of many, he was already widely admired by the masses as a hero of the village, and as he held his divine light spear given to him by Drake's slime, he looked even more heroic.
"This woman is… Miminga, she's my childhood friend. I know her for years and stopped meeting her long ago, but today in this fateful encounter I meet her once more… She's someone very precious to me, and she's a good person, she saved my life when I was in the verge of death, these people saved us from losing, without them, we would had been pushed back and slain, and the entire village could had been gone…" Said Hector, he was inspired by his own words. "They saved us, we owe them a favor, and I will stand for them no matter what."
"H-Hector…"
"So that's the girl he always speaks about?"
"She's a lizardman…"
"She's actually quite pretty, isn't she?"
"So slim and delicate…"
Miminga heard everyone's opinion about her, as she began to blush a bit, she was able to speak too but she had not spoken at all due to her own shyness, but now she couldn't really wait any longer and decided to speak out to the people and present herself as well.
"I-I… My name is Miminga, I am the chief's daughter… I… Hector taught me many things about humans, and you people… He's a good person, someone that is within my heart at all times, even after this time… I want to work together with him so we can make things up… I will continue working so we can be accepted as people!" Said Miminga, she suddenly held the hand of Hector, as the pair between human and lizardman left many opinions. Some were disgusted, others were surprised, many felt emotional, and inspired by their romance, it was a big thing.
"Y-You damn traitor, disgusting degenerate! So you're attracted to a lizard?!" Asked one of the sect disciples.
"This guy was always a deviant!"
"Disgusting…"
"What would the Ice Queen think about such a horrendous thing?"
"You're a sinner."
"Shut up you band of losers, you're literally the one imbeciles constantly annoying us all the time, what's your beef against lizardmen?!" Asked Hector, unlike the lizardman, he had no restrains and asked rudely to the sect disciples, with his spear he felt more confident, and the sect disciples couldn't see him as just a guard any longer after he showcased such level of growth and power. His presence emanated a bright aura of light, making them greatly intimidated…
"Y-You dare talk back to the sect disciples?!"
"You're courting death!"
"We were taught that monsters are to be hunted, not to be made friends of!"
"Your lizardman woman is but a monster, you're loving a beast, disgusting zoophile!"
"Shut up!" Roared Hector bravely. "Whoever dares to say another thing about Miminga will get their throat cut down!!!" Hector suddenly changed from his usual gentle demeanor, as his fury emanated from his body, his chest suddenly shone brightly, as his mana core suddenly reached Rank 2… the potions that Miminga gave them were also cultivation potions mixed with health potions, which were give to the lizardman so Drake could help them grow stronger without them even realizing it… At the end, as he drank two, he ended Ranking Up right there when he unleashed his mana aura, impacting the people deeply.
"R-Rank 2 aura…"
"H-He awakened to Rank 2 just like that?!"
"This guy…"
"Hmph! So what if you're Rank 2? I am Rank 3… And I won't tolerate your insolence. I have the right to punish anyone that dares to go against the sect…" Said a human with long black hair and sharp eyes wearing blue clothes of his sect, he was the man that had killed the chief's father, Kraxka's father!
"Liu Myung…" Said Hector, knowing very well the name of this bastard. He was raised in the sect and given a strange-sounding name that meant something that nobody knew, sometimes these strange names resurfaced a lot, according to history, they came from a reincarnated person that belonged to a world of martial arts, he imparted such teachings and created many sects, giving names to people which were then inherited over time.
Liu Myung unleashed an aura of Rank 3… as he smiled viciously at Hector, like a lamb to be butchered.
