Epic of Caterpillar

Lionel, known as the Tyrannical Lion Beast King of the Moonfang Kingdom, was not always like this.

He is now known for having dozens of concubines which he never loved, and a dozen children that he never cared about…

But why? What was Lionel seeking by acquiring wives and more children, if he never embraced them in the warmth of a family?

He never looked for love, neither people to be around him, he was always selfish and only cared about strength above everything else.

He seemed to be devoid of compassion, love, sincerity, and other emotions that made beastmen different than just monsters.

The Kingdom of Moonfang was not always ruled by Lionel, he was never the only King that had ever existed, there were many before him. They followed the church of Maeralya and her daughters and sons, the Living Deity, and Moonfang used to be a religious Kingdom that prospered through the blessings of such deities.

But as time went by, Maeralya decided to make her people more independent of her miracles and the help of her children (the Living Deities), she was told by her mother, Ova, the Great Goddess of Beasts, that mortals had all the tools to develop and grow on their own, and that she didn't need to waste so much Divine Energy in nurturing them.

Because Maeralya was reprimanded and almost lost the income of Divine Energy Crystals given by her mother due to this, she was forced to stop helping her children. Such events happened to many of the other Beast Demigods.

Due to this, Moonfang became more ruthless and distant from religion, beastmen began to rule with strength and not with faith or diplomacy. Although Maeralya and her children would still keep an eye on Moonfang, what they could do was now very limited.

However, amidst such chaotic ages, new Kings surged, and a royal family was created. They were the strongest feline beastmen, the Golden Lions. Strong Beastmen with golden fur and manes, strong muscles, good magic talent, and powerful claws.

They used brute force to dominate the different rulers of each small nation in Moonfang and unified the Kingdom once again.

However, Golden Lions were strong, but also had hearts of gold. They were compassionate with the weak and strived to nurture any talent.

They were not the most intelligent but were intelligent enough to gather other beastmen to help them in politics. Like this, a Royal Family of Lions was created, the first royal family of Moonfang.

In times when Maeralya and her children nurtured Moonfang personally, although it was called a 'Kingdom', Kings and Queens were selected through voting.

Now in these dire times, voting could not be properly done as peace was non-existent, so brute force was used to take hold of the authority of the whole Kingdom. After all, the most primal power that made anyone obey others was strength.

The first Golden Lion King, Arthur, knew this very well, and used strength and his talents to conquer the people… he took the head of the tyrannical rulers, and led the weak. He used his brute strength to protect the weak, and like this, the citizens of Moonfang unified before his commands.

Creating a 'Round Table' of many citizens, leaders of different tribes of felines, Arthur created new laws and finally made order take place in Moonfang once and for all.

It was a peaceful era for many generations, Moonfang once again prospered through the Golden Lion's amazing leadership and humble and compassionate hearts, the protectors of the people.

Maeralya and her children, the Living Deities, were happy about such things, and through these generations, they relaxed and lowered their guards…

An entity with hateful intentions lurked through the darkness, seeping his influence and provoking several independent beastmen tribes to become highly aggressive, seeking war and destruction, and attacking Moonfang.

At the twelve generations of Golden Lions, Lionel was born from the previous King of Moonfang and the Queen, both were renowned warriors that fought in wars and skirmishes, bravely protecting their people.

Lionel's father, Douglas Moonfang was a just man with a humble and brave heart, while his mother, Anastacia, was a brave woman with a heart of gold.

Lionel was raised with love and care… but much like several other generations, when there were times of war, his parents died fighting for their people when he was twelve years of age.

However, the rest of his family was there for him, his uncle, and aunties, and he was raised with much love as with his parents.

Years later, when he was around twenty years old, as Lionel developed his abilities and participated in a tournament held in Moonfang, he met Jessica, a Half Lioness and Half-Human Warrioress raised by an Amazon Tribe, who had recently moved to Moonfang. She had entered the tournament looking for money to settle down.

Both Lionel and Jessica reached the last fight, both their claws and fists clashed against each other, and through this intense fight, both fell in love with each other.

A fight never saw before in previous generation Moonfang Tournaments, lasting for many hours, even after the night fell, both warriors couldn't falter against each other, and both ended up collapsing when the dawn came, and the sun rose through the horizon.

"Jessica, become my wife!" said Lionel, resting over the ground, his muscles were incredibly stiff and beaten, he could not move an inch, yet he was immensely happy. It was as if he had finally met his other half, even without knowing her until yesterday.

"Lionel, you fool, what are you talking about?! We met just yesterday! And why are you asking me that while you are on the floor, you can't move an inch!" laughed Jessica.

"Well… you cannot move an inch either!" laughed Lionel.

"It is too fast, Lionel! But… we can know each other better, what do you think?" said Jessica.

Lionel was the happiest man in Moonfang that day.

After that day, he and Jessica spent two weeks in the hospital regenerating their destroyed muscles, but through those days, they talked about many things, and both got to know each other.

After those two weeks, Lionel and Jessica regularly visited Dungeons and fought in tournaments, developing their relationship until one day…

"Jessica, it has been four years since then… But I've been thinking about it nonstop!" said Lionel.

"Y-Yes?"

"Will you become my wife now? I will make sure to make you happy!" said Lionel, innocently.

"This is your number one hundred proposal, Lionel…" muttered Jessica.

"They say that if you want something, never give up!" said Lionel.

"Lionel, you're such a fool… but you're also an amazing man, I would love to become your wife," said Jessica.

"Ah! Really?! Let us make babies right now!" said Lionel, carrying Jessica to his room.

"W-Wait a second, isn't this too fast?!"

On that day, Lionel and Jessica finally became one with each other, and the next day, they married in the church of Maeralya and her daughter Maiti, the Living Deity of Lions.

Jessica met all the expectations that a Queen could have, she was strong, intelligent, and had an immense love for the people of Moonfang, she became a just queen and was beloved by everyone.

Through the years, the wars began to escalate, the surrounding tribes, which were once pacific, became hateful and destructive, and constantly held wars against Moonfang, chaotic times were surging, and Lionel and Jessica fought through the wars, leading their people.

The Lions were the strongest Feline Beastmen, it was obvious that they would lead their people in wars, even if they were the rulers, their strength would be wasted sitting down in their thrones. After all, they once unified Moonfang with their strength, and they also had to protect it with their strength.

On that day, Jessica fell.

Lionel was busy taking down one of the leaders of the tribe that was attacking them, and he lost sight of his wife.

When he met her again, she was resting above a pile of corpses that she killed, a long lance was piercing her heart, her arms were broken, and her legs sliced off.

However, she had somehow won all the fights like this and was glancing at the sky.

"Jessica! Jessica, don't die!"

"Lionel, my foolish husband… It seems that my time has come… but our child, is still alive… please, make sure… to bring him out, okay? I love you," said Jessica as she stopped breathing, her body becoming stiff, she died with her eyes open. It was as if she was resisting this whole time, for Lionel to come for her and say her goodbyes.

"Aaaah… Aaaaahh…! Aaaaaahhh! Jessica, Jessicaaaaaaa!!! GRAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Lionel was devastated, his face was covered in tears after tears, he kneeled in the ground, his body suddenly became so heavy, he couldn't move an inch, the loss of one's dearest was the most painful thing one could ever experience.

"Jessica… Jessica! Oooh… Gaaaooooo… Gaaaoooo…"

But amidst his tears, he remembered what she said.

"Our child…! Our child! Jessica, I will make sure… I will make sure that he will survive!"

Lionel braced himself, he had no time to cry, he had to save the life of his child, he carried Jessica through the war, fighting with whatever weapon he had at hand, his claws, his feet. After reaching the outskirts of the chaotic battlefield, he was covered in lances penetrating all of his muscles, his entire body was drenched in blood.

"Bring a medic! A priest! A healer! We need to take my child!" he shouted, as the people began to gather to help him.

As things were getting ready, Lionel could hear the cries of his child inside of Jessica's corpse.

He kissed Jessica's paws and cried.

"I promise you that it will come to this world, I promise you… I am sorry… I'm sorry for being so weak,"

"I will never be weak again"

As Drarus was born, his body shined brightly, releasing a golden Aura never seen before. Illuminating the whole battlefield.

At this very moment, Maeralya was looking at this in her Divine Realm, saddened by the tragic end of Jessica. Even the Demigoddess and her children, the Living Deities, were crying.

"What a beautiful child… I shall bless you, oh, children of fate…" muttered Maeralya, blessing Drarus the moment he was born.

The soul of Jessica was called by Maeralya and Maiti, and she was given the choice of becoming a Heroic Spirit, something similar to spirits summoned by Kireina such as Nereid.

However, she rejected the offer, with a smile.

"No, my time has ended in this world… I do not want to still be attached to it, sorry Goddesses. My son, I hope he can one day become as strong as his father, but being with him will only bring him weakness," she said.

Maeralya and Maiti could not force her, and they let her join through the cycle of reincarnation created by the Supreme Goddess of Souls and Reincarnation.

That day, Lionel raised Drarus with utmost care… but aside from the attachments he had with him, he became cold with the rest, he began to think that strength could only be achieved by leaving aside useless emotions such as love, compassion, and other things.

He became ruthless and broken… only seeing worth and beauty in pure and brutal strength.

Drarus raised as a true Hero and awakened as one, and because he always made Lionel remember Jessica, he never enraged or made his father hate him.

As these events unfolded, Lionel seeks strength, he looked to create an army of strong children. Due to this, he looked for exotic women to make them… but in truth, he also wanted to fill the void of losing Jessica, which he could never achieve with any of his concubines.

Even the children he had with them never filled the void, he left them alone and he barely talked with any of them, and even used some to make some negotiations, looking for material goods to fill the void.

But he never could.

And as more wars waged, and as Geggoron, the hateful entity that generated all of them seeped deeper and deeper in Moonfang, Lionel was caught in a trap.

His children, even Drarus, were already possessed by then, he was utterly defeated by all of them, trampled upon, and then brainwashed by Geggoron.

However, through Geggoron, the void on his heart… was finally filled.

He obtained greater strength, reaching higher and higher heights, he saw himself at the pinnacle of Moonfang, with all the strength he always strived for.

But it was all destroyed, once Kireina appeared.

Now, confronting a combination of Kireina and her wife, Rimuru, Lionel struggled and experienced what was truly fighting someone strong.