In the suffocating smoke of the burning city, chaos screamed from every corner. The angry villagers, driven mad by years of oppression, didn't see the small bull calf as a terrified child. They saw him as a living symbol of the old, corrupt royalty.
"Tear it down! Wipe out the bloodline!" a warrior roared, his heavy mace swinging down toward the trembling calf. "No more tyrants!"
Before the crowd could trample the boy to pulp, a blur of motion exploded through the smoke.
It was a miracle of pure physics and desperation. Because one of Bogo's legs was significantly shorter and his hips were completely crooked, he didn't run like a normal man. Instead, he threw his entire weight forward in a violent, synchronized swing. He launched his body off a burning market stall, using his long, wiry arm like a lever. For a split second, it looked like he would crash face first into the cobblestones, but he caught his balance with terrifying speed. He swung through the air with a strange, rocking grace, moving to a rhythm only his soul could hear.
With a clumsy, lightning fast dive, Bogo slammed onto the ground directly between the child and the raging mob. The coarse jute sack over his head flapped wildly against his neck, but through the jagged eye holes, his eyes burned with absolute, unbreakable focus.
"Back! Stay back haha!" Bogo babbled, but he didn't use his fists. He used his hands, the hands of a master sculptor.
While the villagers waved torches and iron clubs, Bogo's massive, calloused fingers blurred. He didn't strike them; he grabbed the burning debris around him in a flash. His hands moved faster than the human eye could track, matching weights, analyzing angles, and locking jagged edges together like a puzzle. Heavy stones, shattered timber, and melted iron clicked together under his touch.
In just three heartbeats, a masterpiece of defense rose from the ashes. It wasn't just a wall; it was a beautiful, abstract shell of perfectly balanced rubble, curving completely around the calf.
"Smash it!" a rebel screamed, slamming a heavy iron hammer against the barrier.
The strike echoed through the street, but the structure didn't even vibrate. The angles were too perfect, dispersing the impact directly into the ground. The screaming crowd fell dead silent all at once. The murderous rage in their eyes turned into total, paralyzing confusion. They stared at the large, crooked man with the sack over his head, who stood there panting, swaying violently from side to side, hunched protectively over his creation.
The only sounds left in the alley were the crackling fires and Bogo's heavy, rhythmic breathing.
A new sound cut through the silence, the rhythmic, iron clatter of royal hooves. The thick black smoke parted slowly, and the Corrupt Prince rode into the street, his dark armor glinting with the reflection of the burning city. He looked down at the scene with a cold, tyrannical sneer, his eyes shifting from the silent crowd to the rescued child, and finally locking onto the strange, deformed figure who had dared to break his chaos.
"What is this mockery?" the Prince hissed, drawing his blade. "Guards, slaughter this freak!"
While chaos was ripping the streets apart outside, Ren and Koda had ended up deep within the palace dungeons by total accident. It was highly likely that Koda had caught the scent of something delicious, or Ren had confidently claimed he knew a shortcut to the plaza.
The liberation of the old Bull King was anything but a royal rescue. Ren, utilizing the firm footing and newfound balance Bogo had taught him in the cave, rushed toward the iron cell. He drew his blade, attempting to slice through the lock with effortless speed. But his grip slipped under the immense pressure, and his sword clanked heavily against the bars, sending a wild spark flying directly into the guarding soldier's crotch and setting his pants on fire.
"AHHHH! MY LEGS! I'm burning!" the guard shrieked, running in circles like a maniac.
Koda's eyes widened. The massive wolf bear didn't ram the cell door with brute force. He saw the heavy ring of iron keys hanging from the burning guard's belt. In the most ridiculous display of enthusiasm, Koda began to chase the frantic guard. He wasn't trying to bite him; he just wanted the keys. The guard, fully convinced he was being hunted by an apex predator, screamed even harder, running faster as Koda enthusiastically hopped behind him like a giant puppy chasing a tennis ball.
"Stop running, he just wants the keys!" Ren yelled, tripping over a stray torch and face planting into the dirt.
Finally, the guard tripped over a water bucket, crashing into the wall. The keys flew through the air in a wide, glistening arc and landed perfectly in Koda's mouth. The giant beast let out a muffled, proud growl, shaking his head.
The old Bull King, a massive figure with a broken horn, a battle scarred face, and a heavy grey beard, watched the entire spectacle from behind his bars, slowly shaking his head in sheer disbelief.
"Stand back, Your Majesty!" Ren yelled, scrambling to his feet. Planting his weight deep into the earth just as Bogo had taught him, he delivered a powerful kick directly next to the lock. The door frame, already weakened, groaned loudly under the localized impact and swung open, nearly catching the King on the shoulder.
"I am here to rescue you!" Ren shouted bravely, instantly tripping over his own boots again.
The King looked down at the panting boy, then at the massive bear wolf wagging its tail with keys in its mouth.
"I expected many things from my liberation," the old King grunted in a deep, rumbling bass, "but a bear and a human child who cannot stay on his feet were definitely not on my list."
"No time, Your Majesty! Bogo is outside!" Ren gasped.
The King's eyes widened at the name. "Bogo? He is alive?"
Without another word, he followed them. Koda led the way out of the dungeon, letting out a proud huff with every step, fully convinced he was the tactical mastermind of the entire operation.
Back in the burning plaza, the Corrupt Prince advanced, his blade raised to strike Bogo down. But as the shadow of the sword fell over him, the small, brilliant Anting embedded deep into Bogo's neck suddenly flared with a blinding, earthy light.
The ancient core of the primal bull awakened.
Bogo's spine groaned as it violently straightened. Massive, jagged plates of stone slid over his skin like living, reactive armor, expanding his frame. In a violent explosion of flying rubble and dust, the clumsy, deformed artist transformed. He grew into a massive, brutal Stone Minotaur, his eyes glowing like burning coals through the torn sack.
Without a second of hesitation, Bogo charged.
The impact was cataclysmic. Bogo didn't fight like a trained soldier; he fought like a possessed, chaotic artist. He didn't just swing punches; he commanded the very earth beneath them. He ripped massive blocks of stone straight out of the street, slamming them into the Prince, pinning his armored limbs to the ground.
"You piece of trash!" the Prince roared, coughing up blood as Bogo loomed over him, raising a colossal stone fist for the execution.
"STOOOPP!"
The mighty voice echoed across the ruins as the old Bull King rushed onto the square, Ren and Koda flanking him. The King's eyes locked onto the scene. "Guards, citizens! The Prince is a fraud! Seize him!"
The Corrupt Prince, pinned beneath the rubble, burst into a crazed, hysterical laughter. "Seize me? You old fool! You are too late! This city belongs to the dark!"
Black, corrupted miasma began to ooze from his armor, his body expanding as he prepared to enter his dark form to level the entire city. "JUST YOU WAIT haha hahha! I WILL FLESH YOU ALL TO ASHES"
"No talk haha! No rewrite my art!" Bogo roared in a brutal, distorted voice.
He didn't accept the rejection. With a terrifying, echoing laugh that matched his old wooden cadence, Bogo slammed his hands into the ground. Two enormous walls of stone erupted from the left and right, crushing the Prince between them. Before the villain could shift shapes, Bogo conjured massive stone blocks from above and below, sealing him completely.
For fifteen straight minutes, the entire city stood in dead silence, hearing nothing but the deafening, rhythmic impact of stone hitting stone and Bogo's scary, echoing laugh as he literally sculpted the screaming Prince into an inescapable, solid stone prison.
When the dust finally cleared, the Prince was completely encased, nothing but a decorative, frozen statue of defeat.
Luna stepped forward from the shadows, her small hands on her hips, shaking her head with pity. "Bogo... enough! Stop it, or no candy for a week!"
The massive stone minotaur froze mid laugh. His glowing eyes blinked. In his deep, growling, monstrous voice, he pointed a giant rocky finger at the prison and protested: "BUT...! Pretty statue...!"
"Noooo! No more blood!" the entire village shouted in unison, backing Luna up. They had seen enough horror.
With a heavy sigh, the stone armor crumbled away, and Bogo reverted to his normal, crooked self. Inside the stone casing, the spell on the Corrupt Prince broke completely. His body began to change shapes uncontrollably, flashing every second into a different form, an old woman, a snarling monster, and suddenly, the face of Bogo's mother. The entire city gasped. The illusion was gone; they finally saw the true nature of the shape shifting liar who had ruled them.
The city was saved, but as Bogo reached up, his hand froze. The violent transformation had torn his jute sack completely to pieces.
"Ah! No! Face bad! Bad face!" In a total panic of shame and fear, Bogo grabbed the grand, ancient war shield of the Bull from his belongings, holding it tightly over his face to hide his deformities from the world.
The square went dead silent. The citizens wanted to cheer, to celebrate their savior, but they stood frozen, looking at this strange, hidden hero.
The old King stepped forward, his eyes scanning the crooked form. "To whom do we have the honor of our lives...?"
The King stopped talking the moment his eyes fell upon the shield. His breath hitched. He recognized the royal crest, the unique dents, the ancient lineage. With a trembling hand, the King reached out and ripped the shield away from Bogo's grip.
"No! Noooo! Look away! Haha... face bad...!" Bogo whimpered, clamping his giant, calloused hands over his eyes, waiting for the mockery.
But as Bogo peeked through his fingers, his jaw dropped. The entire village, the fierce warriors who had just been fighting a bloody war, dropped to their knees, bowing deeply to the ground.
A royal trumpet blasted across the smoking square, blown by an old guard. "ALL WELCOME BOGARD THE GREAT! THE TRUE PRINCE OF THE MOUNTAIN!"
The old King burst into tears, throwing his massive arms around the confused, rigid Bogo, hugging him with a force that cracked stones. "I knew it... I felt your presence in the wind, my boy... I never forgot you."
At that exact moment, the crushing truth hit Bogo's mind like a lightning bolt. His mother had never kicked him out. She had never called him a disgrace or left him to rot in a dark cave. She had been dead for a long time. Someone, the shape shifter, had fed him those horrific lies all these years, trapping his mind in a cruel, agonizing trick to keep him away from the throne.
Luna broke the heavy, emotional silence with her usual, completely unfiltered bluntness. "Sooo?? That's great and all, but now you're lifting his curse, right? It's kind of an eyesore."
Every single citizen in the square stared at her, their jaws dropping. It was like a bumper car had just crashed straight through the front doors of a sacred church. Even the shape shifting Prince inside his stone prison stopped groaning for a second, looked at her with a pure expression of total disbelief, and then promptly passed out again.
Luna didn't care. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, this ugly purple curse right here in his neck... watch."
She simply snapped her fingers.
At that exact microsecond, the plaza exploded in a magnificent, blinding torrent of Shining Light. A dazzling, pure white beam shot straight out of Bogo's neck, piercing the heavens. New energy fired in every direction, and thousands of glowing, spiritual butterflies rose from the cracked cobblestones as the earth shook from the sheer pressure. The heavy, dark smoke clouds above Oak-hart City were violently torn open.
Through the golden rift in the sky, a giant, ghostly woman's arm reached down, radiating absolute warmth.
"I am forever grateful to you..." a soft, heavenly voice echoed through the minds of everyone present. A part of her beautiful, peaceful face appeared within the clouds, looking down at Bogo with maternal love.
Everyone shielded their eyes, blinded by the divine radiance. But when the light finally faded, they wiped their eyes and froze in absolute shock.
There he stood.
The hunched back was gone. The crooked, asymmetrical arms and legs were perfectly formed, bursting with dense, royal muscle. Bogo had transformed into a powerful, towering Beast human, three times as wide as before, standing perfectly straight with a posture that radiated absolute majesty. He looked down at his hands, then at the crowd with a strong, clear, terrifyingly intense gaze.
He opened his mouth, and a deep, world shaking bass voice boomed: "Haha... Bogo...KILL"
The entire village held its breath, terrified that their savior had become a cold, unapproachable god.
But then, Bogo's face split into a wide, familiar grin, and he let out a roaring laugh. "Ha-haha! Had you there! I'm back, people, and I'm never leaving my city again!"
The crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers. The fear was gone, and within minutes, the burning streets were forgotten as the city began a massive, legendary feast.
In the middle of the roaring crowd, Ren walked up to the towering prince, looking up until his neck hurt, and pulled gently on the edge of his royal tunic.
"Mr. Bogo... wait..." Ren whispered, his eyes wide. "You could always talk normally like that, couldn't you? You were just messing with us?"
Bogo interrupted him right away, putting a massive finger to his lips. "Sssst..." He bent down, a massive, brilliant wink flashing across his face. "I wouldn't know what you mean, little man."
With a smirk, he extended his massive pinky finger toward Ren.
Ren looked strangely at the giant finger, completely confused. But Luna, who was passing by with a plate full of Bazaar treats, froze, her eyes going wide with pure excitement.
"Ooeehhh! A Pinky Promise!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "The highest, unbreakable oath of the entire Beast Realm! Go on, Ren, how fancy! Take it!"
The moment she yelled those words, the nearby music seemed to falter, and the festive chatter around them dipped into an awkward, sudden silence. Dozens of citizens, fierce beast human warriors, and royal guards turned their heads simultaneously. They stared at the giant, legendary Prince Bogard, and then down at his extended pinky finger, their eyes practically popping out of their skulls with utter bewilderment. A prince of the realm, a towering warrior of stone and myth, engaging in a toddler's game? The sheer absurdity of the sight left the onlookers looking completely lost, their faces twisting into intense, questioning glares.
Bogard felt the weight of a hundred staring eyes. His majestic posture didn't falter, but he casually leaned down just an inch closer to Ren, shifting his massive frame to block the crowd's view.
"Just play along..." Bogard whispered under his breath, casually winking the confusion away with a subtle, knowing smirk.
Ren, feeling a sudden surge of pride washing over his chest despite the bizarre pressure, took a deep breath and hooked his small pinky into the giant, powerful pinky of Prince Bogard.
The moment their fingers locked, Luna started to laugh hysterically, skipping away into the crowd. "Ha-haha! But now you can't go back! And you can't break it, or your soul turns to stone! Bye!"
She ran off into the festival, while Ren's proud expression instantly melted into pure, absolute panic. He turned and screamed after her into the crowd: "Wait! What does that mean?! Luna, come back! What did I just sign up for?!"