Let's play Minecraft in a world of Swords and Spells

(Kuzan)

The Kozawa Clan is a patriarchal society composed of twelve family lineages.

Within each lineage, there are multiple male Lizardkin, but only one will become the center of the lineage and also serve as the elder of the clan. In other words, these twelve elders are the ruling class of the Kozawa Clan.

The phenomenon of valuing males over females is common here, and polygamy is not uncommon.

As for me, Kuzan, I was born into this type of family. I have five half-siblings from the same father. Their names are Noman, Kewa, Lava, Moru, and Daigon. They are the ones I must protect as their older brother. That's how it should be... However, in the recent [Goblin] attack, Moru and Daigon were lost to the embrace of our ancestors.

Even though I was named Kuzan through the "Trial of Ages," with the meaning of the [Guardian of the Hunting Grounds].

Even though I won in the "Warrior Festival" and was marked with the sun emblem on my forehead, becoming the tribe's strongest warrior.

I still couldn't protect my family.

I couldn't protect them, not then, not now... My seventh sister, and her mother.

Watching her being beaten, insulted, and tortured by our people, even her father, just because she looked a bit more like a human.

Watching her mother die at the hands of her father for trying to protect her. And at that time, I pretended not to see it, and didn't intervene with what was happening.

Our people have been oppressed by humans for a long time. Looking like humans themselves, perhaps that's why they hated her so much... But when she was collared and taken away by humans, I remember the expressions of our people vividly.

Their expressions were that of revenge finally being achieved.

Isn't she one of our kin? Why did everyone have those expressions?

Our people were to become slaves, face the harshest of treatment. Why could everyone eat and drink like nothing was happening?

At that time, my seventh sister reached out to me for help, calling out, "Big brother, save me!"

Why— even though she clearly begged me for help, why could I just... keep thinking, "I must become a warrior who protects our home," and... watch my own little sister be taken away as a slave?

Her outstretched hand at the time...

In an instant, that hand took down the head of the [Goblin General], taking only three seconds to annihilate him.

"So amazing..."

"She just twisted it a bit..."

"She's even stronger than Brother Kuzan..."

Noman, Kewa, and Lava admired her skill in awe.

She came back.

In an unexpected way, with a strong personality to match her distinctive name.

Melon Liszar.

The road was destroyed, and the ground in the forest was muddy.

Yet we walked with steady steps... or rather, we were just following their steady steps.

The steps of Melon, and her black-magic-using companion.

"Miss Grace, on the left."

"Wind Blade Dance."

With their two faces remained impassive, without a trace of emotion can be seen. In just a couple of sentences, a large group of [Goblins] on the left were torn apart and devoured by the forceful wind.

"Sev— I mean, Melon, have you always fought like this, barehanded?" Noman struck up a conversation with Melon, who was leading the way.

"No, I also use weapons to fight, it's just that the current situation just doesn't really need me to use weapons." Melon continued forward, answering.

"...Melon's weapon looks really cool," the Miss Black Mage suddenly said, "It goes boom, boom, boom, boom."

Her description left me bewildered, but the atmosphere had undoubtedly lightened.

Actually, Melon had just answered our question, perhaps she might be quite approachable and just wasn't fond of smiling, I'm not sure.

How pathetic of me, to not even understand how my little sister is.

"...Melon."

"I heard you."

As our footsteps gradually led us deeper into the hunting grounds, the frequency of encountering special types of [Goblins] increased.

And my siblings and I, from initially being astonished by their prowess, gradually turned to admiration.

Then, the small [Goblins] no longer appeared. Along the way, we simply observed. Before we could even raise our weapons, the battles would end.

Indescribable strength, the absolute power reflected in their might.

How much of this power was cultivated through countless battles?

The rampaging [Goblin] horde that cornered the Kozawa Clan was pushed to its limits by the mechanical movements of these two people.

The ancestral altar, once the heart of our Kozawa Clan's homeland, was now a tattered tent, a sanctuary for the [Goblin] tribe.

In the middle of it all was a [Goblin].

Or rather, it was a [Goblin] originally, but now it was a monster covered in scales... it was enormous and exuded despair, its explosively muscular body brimming with strength, its towering six-meter height capable of crushing everything.

"Crack, crack." The sounds of Melon and the faint operation of equipment were ignored by us.

"This is... the [Goblin King]..." Noman's voice quivered, filled with fear... yet the essence of that fear suddenly transformed.

Melon had left the group at some point, standing less than two meters in front of the [Goblin King].

"Dragon's Soul Possession!" she shouted.

...A surge of red energy radiated from Melon's center, and for a fleeting moment, consciousness trembled. The remaining [Goblins] in the vicinity were blown away by this tremendous magic. In the center of the storm, Melon retracted her right hand, which had just executed a powerful punch.

A massive burnt hole appeared on the [Goblin King]'s chest, and the six-meter monstrosity was engulfed in roaring flames before collapsing.

The fiery punch, that terrifying weapon of unknown origin, was later named the "Demon Lodged in the Wrist" by us.

Everyone present, except for the two of them, stood still.

"...Melon, I heard through Aure's [Party Telepathy] just now, Walson..." the Miss Black Mage said in puzzlement, stepping over the [Goblin] remains as she approached.

"I heard, that's why I dealt with that thing immediately," Melon responded, then turned her head towards us.

These two individuals who had just killed thousands of monsters with expressions unchanged were now enveloped in a terrifying atmosphere... they were people we absolutely shouldn't provoke. That thought crossed my mind.

"I'll be back here later, you all should head back first."

Cherry-red petals appeared out of thin air, fluttering. Only Melon's words remained.

The Miss Black Mage and Melon disappeared like this. If it weren't for the very real [Goblin] corpses strewn about, we might have thought it was a dream.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..." The four of us siblings lost our ability to speak.

This scene reminded me of when, at seventeen, the tribe's priest had foretold to my father.

"The strongest warrior of the Kozawa Clan will be born in your lineage."

...For a long time, I had believed that it referred to me.

But now, it seemed I was never meant to fulfill that prophecy, and the prophecy itself wasn't accurate enough.

The seventh sister who had been sold as a slave once upon a time, she had returned.

In an unexpected way, with a strong personality to match her distinctive name.

And... the legend of the strongest.