Ahoy my noble readers! This is So Far And Beyond with Dio Buccaneer! Today 's subject is Muzaka... not a rant like the other time, I promise. The main Muzaka story arc has come to its long awaited conclusion and it seems like it should be looked at with googles of hindsight. He was the bugbear of the series since the end of Roctis ' Island arc with his mystery and after we solved that he bugged us with his mistakes, outlook, goals and attitude. That is a lot to unpack but here we go...
First, his introduction to the series was when he was unleashed by Ignes to get back at Rai for killing her father. He ended up injuring Rai in his rampage which was continued from the last time they fought but was defeated by Rai though he survived and woke up to rampage again when he was approaced by Crombel. However, we first caught a glimpse of him when he was seen in a test tube with Roctis and the 9th Elder worrying that they might need him. This caused a lot of fans to speculate on his identity which ended with a poll which correctly guessed that he was a Werewolf (the clawmarks were a giveaway). The reveal that he was the long lost Lord of the Werewolves still caused a stir and the reveals of his fight against Rai and the reason he did it made him an interesting character to dissect.
Second, his past. Whether or not he was always protective to Humans is unknown but he must have been on speaking terms so as to have a kid with one of them. This, along with constant abandonment and disregard for the job of the Lord which he held, put him at odds with his kind. A particular comment about being willing to give up the position without losing a fight left a bad taste to many. Many of his subjects had been dissatisfied and many of those were willing to overthrow him from the position. In his travels to Lukedonia he came across Rai whom he befriended due to a similar sense of lonelyness and expectations that were placed upon them for their power. He spent many of his days there and was one day able to meet Frankenstein who made him happy that his friend had someone to take care of him and keep him company. After learning that he was an associate of the Noblesse (whom the Noble traitors wanted to get rid off) it was arranged that they would cause an incident in which the two would fight. The incident was the assassination of Muzaka 's daughter by seemingly Human hands. After being thrown into blind rage and vowing to kill all Humans, Muzaka and Rai clash and both end up losing but surviving. Roctis managed to get hold of an unconsious Muzaka and used him for experimentation for the next centuries up until recently. It is worth noting that Muzaka made a promise to his wife that he would not teach their daughter Ashleen to fight (possibly to keep her out of danger and/or because it was seen as unwomanly and would not get her married). This promise ended up costing him everything as being unable to dodge or survive a crossbow arrow from a Werewolf archer ended up killing her. He should have known that she should at least be able to combat Human soldiers with weapons such as those would be necessary in a wartorn Europe and there is no justification for it. It would not take a Werewolf to take her out even if there was no conspiracy.
After making himself known to the world, Muzaka went on to talk with Rai while mantaining a genocidal attitude torwards Humans but keeping it together through medicine. During that time, assassins were sent by the Werewolves to deal with him which alerted him to his current pariah status amongst his Clan. He also learned that his people had adopted Modification on mass. Further information is revealed about his rule which included long absense from his duties and the rather violent protection of the Humans against the desires of his people which lead to distrust and spite building up. At that point of time he wishes no farther contact with his previous family as things would get ugly between them. Personally, I think that the betrayal was a knife with two handles as Muzaka had betrayed his duties and responsibilities to his people leaving them with few options other than defeating the undefeatable in order to have a secure goverment. While he was aware that his Clan attacked the Nobles, he knew that his presence in Lukedonia would be an unwelcome one which he was fine with as he wanted to avoid farther encounters with his people who want him dead prefering to think his plan for the future.
During the latest finished arc, Muzaka run into controverses when he saved Dorant from Frankenstein who had just defeated him and was about to absorb him. This denied a great power up to Frankenstein who needed it in enemy territory especially. While it was easy to see Muzaka 's point of view (the kid was his choice of successor for the Lord position and he could not live his people headless as that would defeat the point of saving them), many could not help but point out that it is not the first time he appeared and was a pain to his friends. Later when fighting Garda and Maduke he was confronted with the fact that his long running absense had done no favors to his most loyal follower while Maduke told him that his beloved Werewolves were the ones to pull the trigger that killed his daughter in a conspiracy with the Humans and the Nobles. This sent him to a frenzy that overwelmed Maduke but was forced to work with Frankenstein, Rai and Raskreia to eventually win. The final blow was dealt by Rai who used Muzaka 's power to fully use the attack. At the end of the arc, Muzaka gave up the chance to take back the position which is something that was critisised but in actuality makes perfect sense. Not only has he been disillusioned with his people after learning that they killed his daughter but he also is aware he was no good to begin with as he was never there for them. They would not be happy to have him back in that position even if they are graceful for his help and I doubt that they forgot how he ruled or that they disliked it. He is at least self aware enough to know when he is not needed anymore.
Sidenote: Kentas is chosen as the next Lord which should surprise no one as the Modified Warriors could not have the face or the support to gain office anymore for a while and since it was he who martyred in the labs for standing up for the weak, he would be chosen over Lunark. He could also be stronger than her but only a little as they had the same rank in the hierarchy.
While this arc was going on, Muzaka came into quite a few realisations which I talked about but will go into depth now. First he learned that his people suffered at the hands of a guy he allowed to run things for the greatest part. He had given the means Maduke needed to run wild and that must have given to him insight on what happened while he was going into journeys while he was the Lord. Does he feel at peace having fullfiled his duty at last and does he turn his back to a race that he made suffer a lot so that they can heal? When fighting Garda he came to see what his selfishness had done to the people he loved. He must have seen that the common factor in all the people he loved suffering was him. His departure with Garda and his pep talk from Rai which broke him out of his rage must have been the turning point to his character as he saw how he was seen by others: A monster that hits hard, knocking out whatever is close and can only heal its own self but never others. The point he gave power to Rai to finish Maduke was the turning point for both me and him, helping not by punching but by standing by someone he should have helped a long time ago protect those he owed to protect. His road to redemption is not over but it is about as close you can conceivably get for someone like him.
I might rant on Muzaka for his credentials as a Lord but I want to see things from his perspective and find out just how much blame deserves to be thrown at him. He was obviously the kind of person to train hard and fight hard while possessing a natural talent and extraordinary growth that put him far ahead of his peers but that is not just that. He is more of a fighter than a leader, kind of like a roleplaying character with maxed out combat stats but with little leadership points thrusted in a leadership position. He is one of the only two Werewolves to have scars (Uzhir is the other but he only has one scar). Also, the Werewolves rarely get scars as their healing factor prevents scarring even to those with weaker regeneration like Zaiga, leading to the conclusion that he either fought to a suicidal degree since an age when he was too young to have a strong regeneration (assuming that a young Werewolf has that much weaker healing factor) or fought harder than any other of his generation at frequent enough rates that he got the scars. It is the fault of Muzaka for becoming that strong without thinking but it is the fault of the Werewolf hierarchy that he could not say no after becoming that strong. At one point he asked Maduke if he wanted the title and that he would give it to him if he asked. This is to me the final rift between the two as Muzaka dismissing the goal of every Werewolf would damage the office forever as the arguement that someone might have begged their way to the position of the strongest is of enormous threat for their society. One should not be able to dismiss it as unwanted especially when they are high up in the hierarchy and that goes even more for the Lord himself. What Muzaka wanted was to get away from a position he was not good at nor wanted but could not do it without losing which was almost impossible. My defense on him is that he did not want to have that responsibility as he lacked the credentials but not the ability to see that. Muzaka is mostly misblaimed for his failings as a leader. Bottomline is that he became focused on being a strong Werewolf rather than put thought on what it might mean. It was the bad system that the Werewolves used that did not account for the strongest not wanting the Lordship. His fault lies in him not growing up to the position instead.
Sidenote2: How is the next Lord chosen? It was said that Muzaka was chosen as the guy the previous Lord expected to be the one succeeding him which was the right guess. Then, Muzaka guessed that it would be Dorant who would succeed him. Both times it was said that the Lord saw the growth of the genius of the generation which leads me to these questions: Can a generation have two such geniuses? Can the genius be someone who dislikes fighting? How is a generation genius genetically decided? Do all families subconsiously agree who gives birth to that one genius? Is everyone else fighting for second place once that genius is dicovered? If so, why bother with challenging the Lord if you are not the genius or the genius is the Lord already? To keep his guard up? Did everyone else not notice that there is only one guy every generation that makes an appearence and beats everyone forever? Do they not expect it anymore? Are they genetically dispositioned to keep fighting that which only the next generation can beat?
One thing that I can say Muzaka has that it is good is love. He can be nice and courteous to everyone but what makes him stand out is that cares for the people of all species. That is one thing he has in common with Rai (even if it does him little good). The Werewolves, the Union and the Traitor Nobles with their agendas of world domination saw him as a big obstacle on the level of the Noblesse for his character that seeks to do everyone right and his great strength. Even after going nuts, he has in his mind that what he is doing to the Humans is kind of unjust but to his credit he thought they killed his daughter and he had killed his own people defending Humans in the past which makes him feel betrayed. I suppose he has a harder time believing that Humans can be so different from one another as his own people are much more close to each other when it comes to such things due to smaller population. Speaking of which, the idea that in the final steps of the battle against Maduke to protect those who conspired (even unknowingly) to kill his daughter must have rubbed him the wrong way. Judging from his hasty departure after the fight, they must not be his people anymore. He did not like the idea of killing his fellow Werewolves and while they are not on opposing sides anymore this cannot be the way he wanted this to go.
A mystery many have with Muzaka is his relationship with Humans. He loves us but he hates us but he likes some of us but he wants us all dead but he does not want to want it but Crombel does not fit in this. It is understandable (kind of) except for Crombel. Why did he not kill Crombel when he first met him after the death of Roctis? He was in his "All Humans must die" phase and was rampaging like the wind while Crombel, a Human who attacked him with his soldiers, talked about Ashleen. He was about to gore Rai, who was his best friend and not a Human, so how did Crombel possess the manpower or strength to get him to cooperate or even have a conversation? How did he made Muzaka trust him so much that he would allow pills that affect his mind enter his system much less become a willing experimentation subject for that shady Human. The next time we see him talk he was admiting in wanting to kill all Humans all the same and this time he was not berserk. The other moment he invites a Human (Tao) to join his Clan because he likes him and when going berserk he reaffirms his decision to kill all Humans. He propably does not hate Humans as much since he learned what happened with who killed his daughter but the question still remains: What did Crombel do that made Muzaka become so helpful torwards him?
As far as the future goes I am wondering what would Muzaka choose. On the one hand he has Rai who has done so much for him and took many injuries that he could not afford while fighting to protect his Werewolves. On the other hand we have Crombel who helped him when he was berserk at huge risk of being caught in his rampage, helped him get well with medicine, gave him a home and is now helping Garda get well too. Who will he side with in a case like this where he would have to betray a person who helped him a lot either way?
In the end, Muzaka has come a long way and the choices he makes for the future have me curious.
Alright guys, that was it. This was So Far And Beyond with Dio Buccaneer. Next time we will review the Werewolf Revolution arc as a whole. See you there and remember...
Live Nobly and take care, everyone!