[Flashback.]
"Master Alaric! Master Alaric, please come back!"
Little Ava ran after her master in the thick forest.
Alaric, roughly the same age as her, jumped down from the small cliff and landed on the ground.
Touching down, he turned around and looked up at Ava.
"Well? What the hell are you waiting for? The komodo isn't going to tame itself!" he yelled with an angered expression.
But Ava was scared.
Leaving aside the fact she was afraid of falling down after jumping from the cliff, the knowledge of what her master was after only added to her anxiety.
"M-Master A...laric, I beg you to reconsider. L-let's go back home," she spoke, her voice shaking.
"Are you dumb? This is the time for me to raise my family name, and you want me to go back? Stop speaking too much and jump down already!"
From the way he spoke, Ava knew he wasn't joking.
She closed her eyes and took a small leap. Though she almost fell, Alaric was there to catch her.
"So clumsy. If you're to be a knight, you realize you have to be stronger, right?"
Ava pouted. She pulled herself up, maintaining a stern expression. "I am a knight. Not a weak one, either."
Alaric laughed for a good while. "Whatever you say... Anyway, let's go find this komodo spirit so I can tame it."
With that, they continued walking through the thick forest.
In his own belief, Alaric was a beast tamer—weak, but still strong enough to tame beasts. If he was able to tame the strong komodo spirit in the forest, he would earn the praise of his family and potentially raise their reputation.
Or so he thought.
The fear on his face when he finally stood face-to-face with the komodo dragon spirit was evident.
He had tried to tame it the moment he laid his eyes on it.
He failed.
"Ava, run!" Alaric screamed as the komodo charged toward them.
And she did, but before she could get far, the komodo had bitten Alaric on the leg, his body immediately paralyzing as he collapsed to the ground.
"Master!" Ava stopped.
"Don't stop, Ava! Run!" Alaric managed to scream, even with the pain written on his face.
The komodo dragon itself wasn't interested in Ava. It dragged Alaric by the foot, heading back to its cave.
"L...ord... Alaric..."
Ava was confused. She was only a child. She had no weapon or knowledge on how to battle a beast.
On a larger note, watching as the beast dragged Alaric's body off made her feel like a failure.
Lady Meren had specifically told her to be the Montclair's bodyguard. If their son were to die on her watch—
She couldn't bear it. Her heart skipped, her blood boiling underneath her skin. Fists clenched, eyes glowing red.
"Give him back."
It started as a whisper, until she took a single step—
"Give him back!!!"
The little girl charged forward, her screams echoing throughout the entire forest.
—Baam!
She leaped onto the back of the komodo dragon.
"He's mine! Give him back! Give him back!" she screamed with every punch she connected to the komodo's back.
The beast was relentless as well, rolling its body on the ground, which caused it to push its full body weight against Ava and the ground.
But she didn't let go.
With each tumble, Ava kept throwing her punches, mana flaring up with the impact.
Her forehead slammed against a small rock, and even then, she kept going.
Her desperation guided her with each attack she gave.
Until eventually, she gave out a huge scream, her fist driving inside the belly of the beast, where she was able to puncture its heart.
Unfortunately, the attack also cost her, as both she, the komodo dragon, and Alaric went falling down the cliff.
It was a dangerous fall, saved by the small river awaiting them.
While the komodo lay dead in the water, Ava was still up, injured, but still alive.
She took a second to read her environment until—
"Master Alaric!"
Ava ran toward him.
He was lying in the water, no different from the komodo dragon.
Reaching his side, Ava immediately raised him up a bit, putting her ear on his chest.
Gbaam! Gbaam!
She could hear his heart beating.
Relief instantly washed over her—her eyes watering before the tears came falling down.
To anyone, she was just a girl crying from the fact she didn't lose Alaric. But within herself, she had made a vow, one that stood with her throughout the coming years.
[Flashback ends.]
....
Ava suddenly opened her eyes, only to find herself lying in a pile of broken rocks.
"What... happened?" she thought to herself.
She remembered she was fighting a giant snake when she got smacked out of the battle.
Raarrrrrh!
The snake's roar echoed.
"Shit! Lord Alaric!"
Ava wasted no time. She picked back up her blade and charged forward.
Her speed was fitting for a knight with the diamond rank. It didn't take her less than a couple of seconds to arrive back at the scene.
Expecting to meet her master in trouble so she could save the day, she was surprised to see him sitting on a small rock, with the snake completely submissive in front of him.
"Eh?" Her jaw dropped.
"Ah, Ava, you're back. You sure took your sweet time," Alaric spoke, his jaw resting on his fist.
"I'm sorry... I took so... long." Ava was still confused. The huge snake was bowing in front of Alaric. "Did you..."
"Tame the snake? Yes, I did. Turns out it's easier to tame these beasts after showing a bit of domination. It tried to eat me; I allowed it to digest my flames instead, and what do you know? It became my tamed beast."
Alaric said all this with a prideful smile on his face.
Ava was still trying to figure out how her master was able to tame a beast of that level. When did he become a good beast tamer?
She sighed.
"It's always one surprise after the other with you."
"Uhn? What was that?" Alaric placed his hand on his waist.
"It's nothing."
"Better. Come on, break is over. Let's get those lazy workers back."