I Raised the Beast Well

TL/PR :Nesta/YoruNoTsuki

**Before**

A faint shape of moon reflected on the spring water. A firefly flew in from somewhere with a light on its tail.

「We, the Shinsu, regularly visited this spring and held rituals to gain strength from it. In fact, the ritual doesn’t really give me strength, but I used to feel a little strange every time I came here.」

A hushed and low voice resonated weakly. It was sweet and gentle as if whispering a lullaby deep into the night.

There was no strength left in his already exhausted body.

「Whenever I came here, I got so emotional that it was hard to control myself. It’s probably because of you, Lapyan…no, Breedee. I guess it was because of the power you gave me.」

Aymon sat next to the spring water and gently swept up Belinda’s hair. He watched her body slowly shine in the dark.

The blood that got washed away in the spring water slowly disappeared. Instead, the spring was now filled with pure white light.

**Now**

It was the power that Belinda had since birth. Lapyan’s great divine power contained in the sword.

A few hours ago, he thought to himself when he saw the light emerging from Lapyan’s sword.

If there’s a divine power in that sword in addition to my own divine power, wouldn’t I be able to revive her?

Just as Lapyan in his previous life saved him by squeezing out her last drop of divinity.

Hanging into faint hope, Aymon ran in hurry in the goal to hug a warm and full of life Belinda.

Blood dripped every step he made as he dragged his exhausted body, climbing the hill without ever stopping.

At last, they arrived at the spring.

Aymon carefully put Belinda in the spring along with Lapyan’s sword. It was his last hope.

「You always die because of me. If you hadn’t met me, you could have lived happily this time.」

His quiet voice sounded so sorrowful.

Belinda wanted to open her eyes and answer that it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t. It was hard to move a finger as if every nerve on her body were cut off.

「You could have lived your life happily as a Goddess and this time as a Princess. But I always ruin it. If only I hadn’t been greedy for you.」

Aymon smiled quietly and rubbed his cheeks against her.

The sword and spring power filled up some of her life force, but that was all.

「I love you, Breedee」

As he kissed the corner of her teary eyes, he pushed all his power into her. Even grasshoppers held their breath in the quietness of the water ripple. The gust of wind shook the grass until it bent flatly.

A long time ago, when Belinda was Lapyan, she squeezed every last bit of her power to give it to him.

How much he regretted not being able to find her soul? How hard it was to endure this desperate longing?

Foolishly taking her divine power and forgetting about it right after for almost eternity. He pushed her to her death with his foolishness.

“We can meet again. So don’t cry. You’re a good boy, right?”

Lapyan’s last words rang in his mind like an old lover’s letter. It burnt faintly, leaving only painful ashes before flying away.

Just like what she said, the two met again. Spending time together like the old times, getting drowned in happiness during the short time they had.

Aymon was already satisfied with that. And with the warmth that embraced him. The warmth in his arms. Thinking about the time he was loved by Belinda was more than enough.

He lost her again because he was always greedy for something beyond his means. It was time to cut the foolish repetition caused by his greed.

The divine power Lapyan gave right before her death, it was time to return that power to its rightful owner.

Belinda’s cheeks regained it’s rosy color slowly. Aymon stroked her cheek and whispered in agony.

「I don’t mind if you will forget me, but as long as you can be happy…」

His last words, which trembled finely, were so weak as if it was going to disappear into thin air.

He nose-kissed Belinda to return the power she had given him, the divine power inside him. He kissed her for a long time as if he didn’t want to forget the warmth that touched his jowl.

A night where even the starlight was dimmed by the darkness. Aymon closed his eyes, all alone.Suddenly, a weak breath leaked through Belinda’s lips.

She could see the murky sky behind the grayish cloud.

Belinda looked up at the clouds that covered the sky and blinked her eyes slowly. Her body, which was filled with a strange power, was unable to move well for now.

Overwhelming sensation penetrated her whole body.

“Uh…..”

She struggled to get up and crawled out of the spring water. She didn’t even know how she ended up in this unfamiliar spring. Even the dark shadows of trees that covered the forest felt unreal….

I think I heard Aymon’s voice somewhere….

Blink, blink.

Whenever she closed and opened her eyes, a familiar force wrapped around her body. It was hers, but not hers at the same time. An uncontrollable power suddenly grabbed each of her cells so tightly.

“Ugh.”

Belinda grabbed her throbbing chest and crouched down.

The sleeping memories slowly flooded in like a wave.

A long time ago, there was a black leopard that she met for the first time. Then Death. Reincarnation. The time when she lost touch with him. Then, the time when they met again and spent time happily.

“Ah….”

She managed to get up and move slowly. Her head was spinning. She stumbled and leaned against a tree to catch her breath.

At that time, the moonlight poured down replacing the endless darkness. When the grim sky shone brightly and her blurry vision became clearer, Belinda finally came to realize:

“….Aymon?”

A black beast that was covered in darkness.

“Aymon!”

She ran frantically to him and hugged the leopard’s neck. He was lying down as if he were dead, but he was alive. She could feel life from the pulse beneath his neck.

Belinda could not believe it for a long time and then, way later, an overwhelming sorrow just suddenly poured down on her.

“Aymon. Aymon.”

Misery and despair made her break into tears. She sobbed and recited his name as if she was chanting a spell.

Her mate was definitely alive, but she was deeply anxious for some reason. She couldn’t tell exactly where that anxiety stemmed from.

Belinda finally understood everything. The existence in front of her was a memory that connected the past and the present.

He was her life, her dream, her past and present.

“Aymon…Aymon…..It was you all along. It was you….My cat….”

She finally met him after a long time, yet she was not able to recognize him before now. She blamed herself for not realizing it sooner and only shed tears.

How much did she cry under the moonlight?

When some of the hot tears fell down on the beast, he opened his eyes once more.

Belinda felt Aymon’s subtle movement.

“Aymon?”

She was surprised and straightened her back. Then she got up and stared at the lover she finally met again.

However.

Grrrr…..

In front of her was a black leopard flaunting its fangs like a hungry beast toward her. The beast, who lost his intelligence, was radiating cold hostility toward the unfamiliar human.

“Ah….”

Belinda’s eyes shook violently.

A sharp glow coming from Aymon’s blue eyes as he lost both his divinity and memory.

He emitted a strong killing intent, so much so that it wouldn’t be strange if he rushed into her and bit her neck to death right away.

“Aymon….”

She called out his name breathlessly and managed to raise her hand. She grabbed the beast with her trembling hands and rubbed her cheek against his stiff muscles.

She leaned on him as if she wasn’t afraid of his sharp fangs and blade-like claws.

Her whole world turned upside down at the thought of her lover forgetting her. That couldn’t be possible. Even her tears had stopped in shock.

Aymon bit her body and dropped her forcefully. He then crouched on the ground and growled, revealing his fangs at her, who was staring blankly at him.

However, the reason why there was no blood even when he bit the human in front of him was because a vague and strange instinct had kicked in.

You mustn’t hurt her.

An instinct that warned each and every cell he had.

“Aymon, please….”

Belinda begged with trembling lips. However, even after hearing her sorrowful voice, Aymon didn’t flinch at all. A blue flame sparked in the eyes of the beast who lowered its neck dangerously.

The beast, who had been staring at her for a while, soon turned his back and left her.

“No, No!”

Only then did Belinda, who came to her senses, stumbled to get up. However, the black beast had already disappeared into the dark forest.

“Aymon, please! Don’t go!”

We just met. I barely found you again. We finally met after another cycle of reincarnation.

Belinda moved her feet frantically to follow Aymon’s bloodstains. The forest was densely covered with trees, and it was dark without any light. After going through the dark path, she stepped on damp fallen leaves.

“Aymon! Aymon!”

Tears fell down every time she took a step strenuously. Even his blood, which had been scattered everywhere, disappeared.

The deep night was slowly going to sleep and dawn approached. The mountain birds flew up at Belinda’s cry.

Aymon might die

Belinda continued to run even when the branches scratched her body and blood was dripping here and there from the freshly newly made wounds.

Aymon was full of injuries too. It was too much for a beast to handle. He’d be driven into death soon with that wounded body.

As she wandered through the forest barefooted, her feet started to be covered in blood. The divine power, which was not fully established yet inside her, went out of control and ran through her body.

“No, no, Aymon….”

She muttered like a crazy person and eventually tripped over the tree roots and fell.

She laid there, still, and swallowed her endless tears.

I lost him again. I lost my cat again.

She didn’t even cry. Even silence was filled with a deadly despair now.

After a while, Belinda covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Tears spilled down from between her fingers.

T/N : Once again, another heartbreak. T.T

PR/N: My cry for despair is different. I’m sorry for all the heartbreak and all, but author-nim annoyed me A LOT in that chappy! Author-nim is always forgetting important details like Aymons’s transformation and then just mixes up human body parts words for when in beast form and vice versa when in human form. So we just never know when he transformed or IF he is still in beast form doing all the things only humans are supposed to be able to do… (like hugging a person while running, mmh!!??! T__T lemme cry in the corner with my bad headaches this Proofreading left me with…