The King's Beast, Vol. 12

A smoldering tale of romance and revenge set in the world of the New York Times best seller Dawn of the Arcana!

Ajin boys who show signs of special abilities are conscripted to serve in the imperial palace as beast-servants—status symbols and shields for their royal masters, to be kept or discarded on a whim. When they were children, Rangetsu’s twin brother Sogetsu was ripped from her arms and sent to the palace to attend Prince Tenyou as a beast-servant, where he quickly fell victim to bloody dynastic intrigues. Now in a world that promises only bitterness, Rangetsu’s one hope at avenging her brother is to disguise herself as a man and find a way into the palace!

Rangetsu loves Prince Tenyou deeply, but she knows an Ajin beast-servant and an imperial prince can never be together. The best thing she can do for both of them is return to her rural hometown. But months later, Rangetsu has a sudden surge of hope when Taihaku arrives to drag her out of retirement to help Prince Tenyou achieve his lofty goal of improving the lives of all Ajin. Is there a chance for their love after all?

Rei Toma has been drawing since childhood, and she created her first complete manga for a graduation project in design school. When she drew the short story manga “Help Me, Dentist,” it attracted a publisher’s attention and she made her debut right away. After she found success as a manga artist, acclaim in other art fields started to follow as she did illustrations for novels and video game character designs. She is also the creator of Dawn of the Arcana and The Water Dragon’s Bride, both available in English from VIZ Media.