"What are you saying, Maha!? Why would I be anyone else's Bond, much less a human!? I am a mighty hunter of the Abulan! I am not going to—"
"This is not a discussion, Edissa."
It wasn't only Edissa who was shocked at the sudden news his father gave her. The other cenleons were also confused as to why their Chief would even utter such a disgraceful and humiliating order.
"Chief Maha, but you promised me Edissa as my bond!"
"Muran, you dare contest my words!?"
One of the male cenleons, Muran, quickly stepped forward, the largest and most muscular of them all; his limbs as he moved, contracting with each step. But of course, even with the domineering presence of Muran's physicality, Maha did not back down at all as he stomped his paw on the floor and hissed, and Muran did the same,
"I will not accept this, Issa and I are in love!" Muran confessed as he stood beside Edissa.
"No, we're not!" Edissa quickly pushed Muran away, "And Maha, why am I only hearing of this now!? You also promised me to Muran, of all people!?"
"Muran is the strongest hunter of our tribe," Maha grunted as he looked Muran in the eyes as the two of them were still not backing down from each other, "But unfortunately, I owe this human the life of 14. And when he only asked for one, I can only give Edissa to him."
"This human..." And as soon as Muran heard their chief's words, his hostility quickly strayed away from Maha as he walked toward Rhys; almost letting out a growl as he literally looked down on him, "...Retract your price before I retract your face, human. I am only giving you a chance because you did help us escape, even though we were fully capable of surviving our predicament without your help."
"That's not going to happen," Rhys only smiled as he completely ignored Muran's feeble attempts to show dominance. He then turned to look at Edissa's face blood-painted face, "I have taken a liking to her, she's very beautiful."
"Wh..." Edissa was too flustered to say anything. And right when she was actually about to say something, Muran suddenly stepped between her and Rhys; hissing as his claws started to show themselves.
"I warned you — but what can I expect from someone of inferior mind," Muran let out a small scoff as formed his arms into a cross, "Even with my claws shattered, you are no match for me. I challenge you for the right to claim Edissa as my Bond."
"No."
"You have no right to refuse, that is the law."
"Hm..." Rhys let out a small but very deep sigh as he glanced at Maha, who had a small smirk on his face. It was obvious what was happening here — the reason why Maha easily gave up his daughter without even batting an eye was not because he honored his words, but because he knew full well Muran was going to challenge him,
"...Are you going to back down on your words, Muran?"
"I will honor my words — but it is true that once challenged, one must accept. That is the law," the smile on Muran's face faded away as he looked at Rhys.
"Hm..." Rhys looked down and let out a small hum.
"Heh..." And as soon as Muran saw this, he could not help but also smirk as he glanced at Edissa, "...Do not worry, Issa. I will not let this human lay even a single finger on you."
But Rhys was not done, however, as he caught Muran's human body before he could drop to the floor; not to prevent him from dropping, however, but to lift his entire body that was probably thrice the size of Rhys with a single hand.
Rhys then turned to look at Maha and the other cenleons, and as soon as he met Edissa's eyes, he threw Muran up before grabbing one of his hind legs and then slamming him violently on the hard floor... again and again.
Muran probably woke up once, only to be knocked out unconscious as his head was the first to hit the floor several times.
"Enough..." Maha could really only grit his teeth, "...That is enough!"
And as Maha roared, the other cenleons started to surround Rhys; their shattered claws, all protruded as they started growling.
Rhys stopped slamming Muran on the floor as he looked at Maha.
"That is enough, human — you have won."
"No," Rhys shook his head as he tightened his grip on Muran's leg, "If I let him live, he will come after me — and if I don't show you the difference between us, all of you will come after me. I have warned you, Chief Maha, what is about to happen now is your fault."
"You have my word, human! None of us will seek revenge!" Maha raised his voice.
"I had your word earlier, that's not really turning out well, is it?" Rhys sighed, "Well then...
...Let's get to it."
And without even caring about the hostile cenleons surrounding him, Rhys twisted Muran's leg, which immediately woke him up from unconsciousness — perhaps a mistake, as he woke up only to see and feel his leg turning in a way that it shouldn't; his flesh, being torn by his own bones before finally being completely torn away by Rhys.
"Y—"
And before Muran could even let out a scream or say anything, Rhys used his torn leg like a bat and started hitting him on the head with it; his own bones, tearing away his face.
"Stop... stop it! That's enough!"
Once again, Rhys was asked to stop. This time, however, he did so... as the one who pleaded with him to stop was Edissa.
"I get it, I am your Bond now. Just please...
...please stop this."
"Hm...
...No."