Soul of a Dragon Prince (Breath of Fire 3) Chapter 22 up! (2024)

Chimera Chaos

The trio of males made their way down the road. Rei was in the lead, with Teepo and Ryu behind him. Ryu was still uncertain about all this, but not knowing what else to do, he followed their lead. Suddenly, the bushes rustled, making Rei stop, his tiger ears flicking slightly.

He said, “Looks like we’ve got company. Be prepared you two. It might be a monster.”

Ryu gulped, “A… a monster?”

Teepo said confidently, “Relax, Ryu, the monsters around here are total pushovers. Even a beginner like you can deal with them. So draw your weapon and get ready.”

Rei drew his two daggers swiftly, while Teepo pulled out a short sword with the utmost confidence. Ryu struggled to draw his sword, fear in his heart, but he eventually held it in his hands. Suddenly something sprang from the bushes. Rather, three things did. They were very simple-looking creatures, being blue, somewhat gumdrop-shaped, creatures, made from goo, with a pair of eyes bouncing up and down off their gummy bodies.

Rei grinned, “Just a group of Eye Goos, nothing seriously threatening. But stay on your guard, as they like to travel in packs. Now… ATTACK!”

Rei made a swift motion with his large daggers, effortlessly spattering one of the Eye Goos like it was nothing more than a gnat. Teepo followed suit with a sword slash in a twirling motion, slaying the second. Ryu hesitated, closed his eyes, and blindly flailed his sword at the third. To his surprise, he not only succeeded in hitting it, but killed it. With the threat gone, the trio of boys retracted their weapons.

Teepo burst into laughter, “I can’t believe it! What a scardy-cat! You’re lucky that your sword actually HIT it, let alone killed it, Ryu. That blind flailing was hilarious!”

Ryu gained an embarrassed blush, but Rei stepped up.

“Don’t rub it in, Teepo. Ryu is new to this,” the tiger teen stated. “Remember when you first fought an Eye Goo? You were scared too, you know. I remember that scared look you had. It took a bit of time, but you got used to it. Ryu will, too, so don’t laugh. Considering it was probably Ryu’s first time using a sword, he didn’t do too badly. So let’s go and get to Yraall Road, unless you two don’t want to eat.”

Rei walked ahead, with Teepo following; Ryu bringing up the rear. As they did, they ran into a couple more packs of Eye Goos, along with small, green gremlin-like creatures. They were slightly tougher, but they seemed to lack the motivation to fight much, so the trio was able to dispatch the various packs of monsters. Ryu, however, was still terrified as he did, always struggling to get his sword out and flailing it blindly when he did. While Teepo laughed, Rei merely shrugged it off. It wasn’t long before they reached a T-junction in the road.

Teepo said, “This is Yraall Road. It heads all the way to Wyndia. This is where we work.” He looked to the sky, “Someday we’re gonna blow this joint and head to the big city like Wyndia. Right, Rei?”

Rei merely said, “Well, instead of worrying about that, let’s focus on getting some food first. In any case, we should find a place to hide.” He looked around before deciding on a spot, “Over there looks good, behind those bushes and near that tree. Follow me.”

He led the two young kids to the place he chose. After they were nestled behind the bushes, he turned to Ryu.

“So this is what we do. When someone walks on by, we jump out,” he swiftly drew his weapons, Teepo following suit, “Just like this! And we steal what we can grab.”

Ryu replied, “But isn’t that a bad thing?

Teepo looked at him oddly, “What’s with you, Ryu? Don’t get all soft on us now.”

“Don’t worry. We’re just a bunch of poor kids who are hungry. I’m sure whoever will forgive us, right?” Rei reassured the boy.

The blue-haired boy looked unsure, “A-Are you sure?”

Teepo brushed it off, “Relax, Ryu, it’ll be fine.”

Just then Rei turned his attention somewhere else, “Someone’s coming! Get ready!”

The three boys got into a position, though Ryu was still hesitant. A burly man with a shaggy beard, donning woodsman clothing, was making his way down the road, unknowingly heading in their direction.

Rei stated, “Okay, Ryu, show us what you’re made of! Go get him!”

Ryu protested, “B-But…!”

Teepo got behind Ryu, “Come on, don’t wimp out on us. It’s real easy. You just run at them… like THIS!”

He gave Ryu a swift kick, startling the boy enough that he unwittingly ran smack into the burly man, falling to the ground. The burly man barely flinched from the impact, but he looked down at the blue-haired boy, kneeling down to his level.

He asked, “What are you doing, little one?”

Ryu, highly intimidated, replied meekly, “M-Mugging you…?”

The man quirked an eyebrow, “Mugging me, hmm?” He looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else nearby, before returning his attention to Ryu, “We have enough trouble with those two rascals Rei and Teepo running around. If you see them, tell them this. If I catch them… they’ll be sorry!”

He got up and started to walk away. Rei and Teepo had ducked for cover during the whole confrontation. Rei gained a sour look.

“Whoops. Figures it would be Bunyan…” he sighed.

Teepo gave a strong kick in anger, “Who does he think he is, anyway!? The nerve of him!”

Ryu quickly scrambled back to the other two boys, “S-Sorry…”

Rei shrugged, “Don’t worry about it, Ryu. Bunyan is a tough nut to crack, and just as strong, so don’t think about it too much.” Something then dawned on him, “Hold on! If old man Bunyan is here, then that means his house is deserted!”

Teepo gained a grin, “Perfect! We can steal some food from him! That’ll show ‘im! Come on, let’s get back to Cedar Woods and raid his place!”

Ryu thought grimly, “Why do I have a bad feeling about this…? I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

The trio of boys quickly head back to Cedar Woods, slaying any monsters they came across, though Ryu still wasn’t very confident in his swordsmanship just yet. Just a little more than an hour later, the three boys reached Cedar Woods. Rei, obviously knowing the way, led the two kids to a small cabin. He noticed the door was locked, but he smirked nonchalantly, effortlessly picking the lock with a claw. The trio entered the cabin, which was devoid of any other being.

Rei grinned, “Just as I thought, no one’s home.”

“Great! So let’s steal some of Bunyan’s food and split. That’ll teach him not to mess with us!” Teepo said smugly.

“Right, but do so quietly.”

Rei and Teepo entered the heart of the cabin first, slowly creeping along, looking for any food. Ryu hesitated, but when Rei’s tail unknowingly nudged a plate on the table, the boy lunged to catch it before it fell to the ground. He managed to catch it, but slammed onto the floor.

“SHHHHH!!!” Rei quietly hissed, “We have to be quiet, Ryu.”

Teepo nodded, “Yeah, don’t get so jittery. Now let’s split up and see if we can find anything.”

Ryu placed the plate back on the table and joined the other two boys in their search. He noticed a ladder leading to an underground cellar.

He said silently, “Maybe there’s something down there?”

He climbed down the ladder, entering the cellar. Inside were various piles of firewood and a pantry cupboard. Nervously, Ryu opened up the cupboard and found what looked like a fair amount of beef jerky. He cautiously took it. Just then Rei and Teepo climbed down the ladder, joining the blue-haired kid.

Teepo asked eagerly, “Did you find something, Ryu?”

Ryu nodded, “Y-Yeah, I found some beef jerky.”

Rei smiled, “Good work, Ryu. Now let’s get out of here before Bunyan returns.”

Too late. They could hear the door click open and the creaking of floorboards under a heavy weight. The three boys froze instantly.

“Uh-oh… old man Bunyan’s come home…” the tiger teen gulped.

Teepo, now showing nervousness, asked, “W-What should we do, Rei?”

The humanoid feline thought quickly before replying, “I’ll go up and see. If it is him, I’ll distract him while you two make a break for it.”

He cautiously climbed up the ladder and vanished from view. This left the two kids even more nervous.

Teepo stuttered, “D-Don’t worry, Ryu. Rei’s smart enough that he won’t get caught. So everything will be fine…”

However, contrary to his statement, a struggle could be heard above them, followed by a scream from a familiar source.

“I… I better go check it out…” the purple-haired kid gulped. As he made his way to the ladder, he said in a shaky voice, “E-Everything will be okay. D-Don’t worry…”

He climbed up into the main house and vanished from view. Shortly afterward, another loud struggle could be heard, making Ryu gulp in fear.

He said weakly, “I… I guess it’s my turn…”

With fear racking his body and mind, Ryu climbed out of the cellar. He slowly crept his way around to the front door, and slowly emerged. He was greeted by the sight of Rei and Teepo tied up. With his attention diverted, a sudden punch came his way, knocking the azure-haired boy down, Bunyan towering over him. Ryu was frozen with fear, so the woodsman had no resistance when he tied the boy up and tossed him next to his “partners-in-crime”.

He growled, “I knew you were up to no good. But I never thought you’d sink this low!” He cracked his knuckles threateningly, “At a time like this, when everyone’s suffering. Don’t you know that if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”

Teepo spat, “Shut up! We were working!”

“Stealing isn’t honest work. I have half a mind to chase you three out of the woods. However…” he voice softened slightly, “If you promise to change your ways, I may be able to forgive and forget.”

Rei asked, “What are you going to do with us, Bunyan?”

The woodsman pondered for a moment before approaching the feline teen.

“You’re a strong lad, Rei. I want you to go to Mt.Glaus. You know it, right? The big mountain to the north of Cedar Woods. You’ll know it when you see it. I want you to take care of something at that mountain.”

He untied Rei, allowing the tiger man to stand freely. Rei started to make his way, but turn around, looking at his two kid friends.

“What about them?” he asked.

Bunyan replied, “Oh, I have something planned for them.”

“So, you’re going to hold them as hostages so I’ll do as you say? Fine, I’ll go. Teepo, look after Ryu, got it?”

As Rei quickly made his way through the woods, Bunyan turned to the two remaining boys.

Teepo spat, “Hey, old man! What are you expecting us to do!?”

The woodsman replied sternly, “Work, Teepo. That’s what.”

He went back into the cabin briefly, returning with several piles of firewood. He then untied the two boys.

“This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to chop firewood. It’s very simple: Teepo holds the log and Ryu cuts it with his sword. If you cut a good amount of firewood quickly, then I’ll be satisfied with that.”

The purple-haired kid laughed, “That’s all? Ha! We can do this in our sleep!” He turned to Ryu, “Come on, Ryu, let’s make this quick so we can get back to Rei.”

Ryu nodded nervously, “R-Right.”

Teepo positioned log after log on top of a stool, holding it steady for a moment, allowing Ryu to lash out his sword, cutting the logs in two. Ryu was surprised at how swiftly his sword cut the logs, wondering about his own strength. After about half an hour, they had chopped several pieces of firewood.

Bunyan stated, “That’s enough. Not too bad.”

Teepo smirked, “See? Told you it would be easy. Now you won’t get mad if we steal things, right?”

The woodsman gave the boy a stern look, “With an attitude like that, you’re bound to get into trouble sooner or later.”

Teepo gave a defiant kick, “Aw, who cares? One day we’re gonna leave this place and head to the city like Wyndia! So it doesn’t matter!” He turned to Ryu, “Come on, Ryu, let’s go find Rei.”

Ryu nodded, “R-Right, let’s go.” He then said silently, “I hope Rei’s okay…”

The two boys started to make their way out of the main woods and head toward a large mountain that loomed nearby. Teepo confidently led the way, Ryu following. Several monsters tried to attack them, but despite not having Rei around, the two boys managed to handle the monsters themselves without too much trouble. After about an hour and a half the two boys reached the base of the mountain.

It was a massive tower of dirt and rock, with a fast flowing river pouring out and around it. The two boys made their way, climbing the mountain. Newer creatures roamed the craggy domain, such as Eye Goo-like monsters that varied red and purple, Currs, and spiky floating orbs with hawk-like beaks. Despite that, the two boys managed to overcome these new monsters and continued their trek up the mountain. However, when they reached a certain point, dusk had started to fall, crows cawing in the distance.

Teepo looked around, “It’s getting dark, Ryu. Let’s call it a day.” He then noticed a cabin nearby, “We’ll rest there. I bet Rei is already there.”

Ryu nodded in agreement, obviously tired, following the other boy into the cabin. Inside was dark, but a familiar person was leaning against the wall.

Teepo exclaimed happily, “Rei! You’re safe! We were getting worried about you.”

Rei looked surprised, “Teepo? Ryu? What are you doing here?”

“Heh, we completed what old man Bunyan wanted, so we came after you. Aren’t you happy to see us?”

“Well, yeah, of course I am. But you shouldn’t be here.”

Teepo staggered briefly, “W-What do you mean? We were worried about you, so we had to come.”

Rei scratched the back of his head, “Well… I think the reason Bunyan sent me up here alone was because he was worried about you.”

Ryu asked, “Worried… about us? What do you mean, Rei? Is everything okay?”

Teepo nodded, now confused, “Yeah, wasn’t Bunyan holding us hostage so you do as he said? Why would he be worried about us?”

Just then they heard a loud, rippling howl echoing all over the mountain, catching their attention. Their bodies became tense.

Rei explained, “Have you heard of the rumors? About a powerful monster lurking in this mountain. Bunyan wanted me to kill it.”

Teepo, perplexed, asked, “But why would he send just you? I mean, isn’t it strong?”

Rei’s eyes shifted away, “Yeah, but I’m stronger… if I was alone… But now that you two are here… I can’t use…” He trailed off, looking out the window, confusing the two boys.

Ryu asked, “Use what, Rei?”

“Oh, never mind. We might as well get some rest, as we have a busy day tomorrow. Doesn’t this just beat all?”

Not knowing what else to do, Ryu and Teepo made themselves comfortable in the old cabin, slowing drifting off. Rei took one last look outside, gently gnawing his lower lip.

“I can’t… I can’t use it…” he whispered. “Not with those two around… my… my only family… I’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. I just hope Teepo and Ryu are ready for this.”

Finally, he silenced his thoughts, got comfortable, and eventually dozed off, but his ears stayed alert throughout the night.

Dawn barely broke, but the rippling howl could be heard. Rei was quickest to awaken, instinctively bracing himself. Teepo started to roughly shake Ryu awake.

He hissed, “Ryu! Ryu, wake up! He’s here!”

Ryu awoke, but was dreading what was about to happen. Making sure his sword was with him, the blue-haired boy stood up, bracing himself for battle.

Rei led the two boys outside, and there they heard another howl, one that was much closer. They looked up, and perched on the ledge above them was a formidable creature. It had the mane of a lion, the body and face of a monkey, several snake heads for a tail, and sharp claws and teeth. It leapt down to their level, snarling.

“Well… he’s sure up bright and early…” Teepo stated, trying to hide his nervousness.

Rei growled, “So the rumors were true. It’s a Nue chimera! It’s the cause of the poor harvest and lack of food in the entire area. I guess we have to do what we were sent up here for. Prepare for battle!”

He swiftly drew his two large daggers, Teepo and Ryu following suit with their swords, though Ryu was a bit slower out of nervousness. But they were ready, and so was the Nue.

It struck first, lashing out a large hand-like claw at them. Ryu and Teepo dove out of the way while Rei swiftly charged in. With two powerful swipes from his daggers, he managed to make deep wounds on the Nue’s flank, making it howl in agony. It turned to face Rei, but before it could raise a claw, it was suddenly engulfed in a fiery bomb-like burst. It roared angrily, its fur and skin burnt, directing its attention to Teepo, whose hand was outstretched.

He smirked, “Didn’t like that, did ya? Didn’t like my Simoon spell at all, did you, ugly?”

The Nue looked livid. It quickly jumped out of range of Rei’s daggers before charging in toward Teepo.

Whether it was hidden courage, adrenalin, or just not thinking, Ryu jumped in and gave his sword a slash, leaving a deep wound on the Nue’s left arm, stopping its charge toward Teepo.

The Nue looked at the three boys, each on at different positions, boxing it in between them. This gave them the opening then needed.

Rei gave another swift strike from his daggers near the Nue’s hindquarters, leaving two gashes with blood slowly oozing out. The Nue turned its attention to Rei, but in doing so gave the other two boys an opening. Teepo held out his hand, magical energy generating from it, stating an incantation of sorts.

“Simoon!” he cried out.

The Nue was engulfed in another bomb-like blast from underneath, further burning it and increasing the pain it already had from the previous strikes. As it turned its attention to Teepo, it gave the others another opening.

Ryu ran in, and although fear screamed inside his mind, he gave his short sword another strong swing. This one had even more power than before; leaving a very deep gash on the Nue’s other flank, causing blood to ooze out.

The Nue realized it was boxed in, so with a powerful jump from its four legs, it leapt to the higher area and disappeared.

Rei stated, “Come on! It’s retreating! We can’t let it get away!”

As the two boys followed the tiger teen, Ryu looked at his hands. They seemed to be giving off tremendous strength despite their small size.

“How… how did I do that much damage?” he asked internally. “I’m… I’m weak… and scared… but somehow… somehow I managed to overcome that and… I fought with strength I didn’t know I had. Is this my inner strength? The strength needed to protect what matters most?”

The strength needed to protect what matters most…

It’s as if something was slowly awaking within him, those words echoing deep within his very being, causing a strong force to stir from its slumber.

Ryu returned his attention to the matter at hand. The trio of boys entered the cave at the top of the mountain. As they entered, they noticed blood on the ground. Rei took a closer look.

He stated, “Yep, it’s the Nue’s blood. Let’s follow its trial and finish what we’ve started.”

Nodding, though nervous, the two boys dutifully followed their older companion. The followed the trail of blood deeper into the cave. However, when they came to a swift moving waterfall and river, the trail stopped just shy of the water.

Ryu looked concerned, “D-Did we lose it? Does that mean it’ll be back?”

Rei gave a deep sigh, “We’re gonna find it and finish it off. We can’t let it run loose anymore, as it’s caused enough damage. Let’s head back to the main part of the cavern and think of our next plan of action.”

As they returned to the main pathway, Teepo walked slightly ahead of the other two, grinning.

“Heheheh, okay, I think I got it.” He turned back to his companions, “The Nue jumped into the water in order to make us lose its trail. Yeah, that’s it.”

Rei and Ryu exchanged glances before returning their attention to Teepo.

The tiger man asked, “Okay, so if that’s true, then how do we get to it? It couldn’t have swum up that fast current, not in its current state. So where is it?”

A pause followed before Teepo replied, “…I dunno…”

Ryu then noticed that the cavern went deeper. Thinking about it first, something dawned on him before turning to his companions.

“Well, maybe if we go deeper into the cavern, we might find a way to get to the Nue. I think I saw a small cave under that waterfall, but I’m not sure. If that cave is the Nue’s nest, then maybe if we go in a bit deeper we might find another way in or something.”

Rei turned to his newest companion, surprised, but a smile formed on his face.

“It’s our best bet, so let’s try it,” he stated. Turning back to Ryu, he pat the boy on the head, “Good thinking, Ryu. It might be our only hope in finding and killing that Nue before it recovers. But that was some pretty slick thinking. And it’s only been one day since you joined forces with us. I must say, I’m impressed. Now let’s move out and see if you’re right.”

Feeling a sense of pride welled up inside Ryu, making his blue eyes twinkle brightly. But he kept the feeling down and out of the way: they have work to do. So, following Rei’s lead, the trio of boys walked deeper into the cavern. Other than small bat-like monsters, there wasn’t much else in the cavern.

The young boy thought, “Probably because they know that the Nue would eat them. Only those bat monsters can stay out of the way enough to avoid being its next meal.”

They finally came to a dead-end. It was a small ledge that looked over the fast-moving stream. Teepo balled up his fist and gently slammed it into his palm.

He said, “Okay, okay, this time I really got now. We jump in from here, let the current take us down to that spot we saw before, and we’ll land on that ugly brute’s front door, where he can’t run.”

Rei turned to Ryu, “What do you think, Ryu? Is Teepo right?”

Ryu pondered for a moment before replying, “Yeah, I believe he is.”

The tiger teen nodded, “Okay then… you go first.”

This startled the boy, “B-B-But…!”

Teepo stated, “Come on, Ryu, don’t be a wimp. Just jump in. We’ll be right behind you. Nothing will go wrong.”

Ryu silently whimpered, “I wish I was so sure about this.”

Taking a deep breath, the boy jumped from the ledge, landing in the flowing water. He managed to get his head to the surface in time to see Rei and Teepo follow him. The three of them coast down the current. It wasn’t long before they saw the top of the short waterfall. Bracing himself, Ryu went down first, but, to his relief, landed on a partly submerged rock, almost like a platform, before quickly scrambling in to the cave behind it. Shortly afterward, Rei and Teepo followed him in. All three of them were soaking wet, but Teepo had a satisfied smirk on his face.

He grinned, “See? I knew I was right.”

Rei shook himself dry before replying, “Yeah, this time. But what would’ve happened if we missed the mark and kept on going? We’d be back at square one.”

“Hey, if it works, it works. Don’t argue with the method and the ‘what if’s’. It worked, that’s all that matters.”

He and Ryu shook themselves dry before the trio noticed the same trail of blood leading deeper into the cave. The three boys only had to travel a short distance before they heard a growl. Looking ahead, there was a small cave, and inside was a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

Rei instructed, “Brace yourselves, here he comes.”

The Nue jumped out of the small cave, gave them an intimidating look, then jumped into a battle position. However, it was obvious that the Nue was getting worn out, and the wounds it has received were taking a toll on it.

Teepo grinned, “Looks like the big guy is getting worn out. Let’s finish him off!”

The battle begun.

The Nue tried to jump on top of the boys, hoping to pin at least one of them, but they managed to get out of the way for it to land on just the stone. Rei took the first strike, slashing out with his daggers, carving even more gashes on the creature’s body. It howled in pain. It tried to lash out a claw at the feline, but Teepo was prepared.

“Simoon!” he roared!

The Nue was blasted by the same bomb-like burst of fire and wind, severely burning its already battered and bloody body. It howled in rage and tried to lunge at Teepo.

Ryu, with surprising swiftness, charged in, slashing the Nue’s left hind leg, causing it to stop charging at Teepo and stumble. It then howled in fury, raised a claw up into the air, and seemed to be waiting for something. It wasn’t long before the boys learned what it had done.

A trio of moderately-weak lightning bolts suddenly rained down upon the three boys, striking them hard. However, Ryu and Teepo managed to get back up without much consequence, but Rei looked like he had taken the worst of it.

Ryu, seeing Rei in pain, his fur smoldering a bit, turned to Teepo, “Try another Simoon, Teepo. I have an idea to help Rei!”

Teepo, although confused, complied, generating more magical energy in his hand. Ryu quickly ran over to the tuckered out Rei, and started to channel his own magical energy through his sword. He then released it on Rei.

“Heal!”

Glowing sparkles of different colored light partly engulfed the tiger man. In a matter of moments, the wounds Rei had received from the lightning bolt were gone, allowing him to stand upright again.

“Whew, that’s much better,” he said, turning to the blue-haired boy. “Nice work, Ryu. Didn’t know you knew healing magic.”

At that moment the Nue roared in pain as another Simoon engulfed its body. Taking that as an opening, Rei and Ryu charged in, though Ryu still felt a degree of nervousness as he did. The battle waged on for a few more minutes before the Nue finally collapsed.

Rei was about to withdraw his weapons when the Nue suddenly sprung up, got into a standing position, and partly blocked the back cave, arms outstretched. The boys braced themselves again, but after that sudden motion, the Nue became motionless. A long pause followed before Rei retracted his weapons.

“It’s dead…” he said.

Ryu looked amazed, “It died on its feet? But why did it try to block that back cave?”

Teepo gestured, “Let’s check it out.”

Though the Nue partly blocked the back cave, the three boys managed to squeeze their way past in and into the back cave. It was there they met with a surprising sight.

Three cubs in a nest made of straw were there. However, they weren’t moving. Their bodies lay motionless, no signs of life in them, and they looked like they had been this way for quite some time.

Guilt, remorse, and sorrow washed over the three boys as they looked at the nest of dead cubs, realizing what the Nue was trying to do all this time.

Teepo gave a halfhearted laugh, “Heh, it wasn’t too bright, was it? I mean, its cubs were already dead.”

Rei sighed, “Doesn’t this just beat all? All it was doing was trying to feed its cubs. But… it must’ve not realized they were dead and kept bringing food back to them.”

Ryu could feel tears welling up in his eyes, “It was just trying to be a good mom… and we had to kill her for that…”

With heavy weights in their hearts, the three boys left the nest, squeezed past the Nue’s body, and with one final plunge, dove into the river. It washed them out of the cave and back to the foot of Mt.Glaus. After climbing out of the river and shaking themselves dry, they were greeted by a surprising sight.

Bunyan huffed, “So, how do you boys like doing hard work for a change?” He turned to the sky, “Come spring, the animals and wildlife will return, making it easier for everyone. Good work.”

However, as he started to walk away, Rei ran up to him, “Hold on! You knew that the Nue was only stealing food to feed her cubs! Why did you have us go and kill her!?”

He turned back to the boys, “If you knew she had cubs… would you have let her live?”

This shocked the boys to their cores: realizing what Bunyan said was true. Bunyan merely walked away, leaving the boys alone with their thoughts.

Next Chapter: Heroes for Hire