The only way to bring change is through destruction. You either destroy yourself, or you destroy the world around you.
Now, focus your gaze to the last act of this story, as these aimless actors decide upon their paths and follow them to the very end of the world.
The time for peace is nearly over, the gears of conflict have already begun to turn.
A day that could be described like any other.
"Shouldn't we get something to eat?" Joseph asked.
"Like, what?" Terrence asked back.
"No idea. I was just saying."
"Let's get anything other than steak." Vert asid.
"Huh? Whaddya have against steak?"
"It's all we ever have when we're hunting, aren't you sick of it?"
"Not really."
"I'm fine with anything." Josh added.
"Oh, don't worry. I wasn't going to listen to yer opinion from the start."
"...Then why'd you ask me?"
"I didn't, ya just happened to be in the range of my question."
Joseph got yelled at for a little while for being too mean.
In another part of the city, two people looked around an armoury.
"Ah! Look at this one!" Anthony excitedly yelled.
"Yeah, it sure is." Riko replied, trying to hide the fact he generally didn't care for weapons beyond which one could hit things the hardest.
Just outside the city, Alexandra continued her regular training. Zino was by her side, training alongside her.
In yet another part of the city, Sean walked forwards quickly. He turned around.
"What are ya hiding there for?"
"Ah, so ya noticed." Alicia replied as she emerged from her cover.
"Of course I would. That still doesn't answer my question, though."
"Because you were wandering around suspiciously."
"I'm gonna go sell monster parts. My item box is too full."
"Why not just use 'em on building armour or whatever?" Matt asked, also emerging from his cover slightly further away.
"Because I don't need it, but I do need money."
"It feels like a waste, though."
"Are ya the type who hoards everything you get?" Alicia asked.
"No… maybe."
"I could never do that." Sean replied "Doesn't it start to smell bad after a while? Especially if you store food in there."
"It doesn't smell bad! It's fine!"
"Ya sure?" Alicia asked.
"Don't turn on me too."
In a different part to all of the ones so far, Ben and the twins strolled around aimlessly.
"Shouldn't we do something?" Natasha asked "Doing nothing's too boring."
"I mean, it's nice if we don't have to get hurt, right?" Natalie replied.
"I mean sure thing, but it feels like it's been too long without killing something. Plessy's getting tired, too."
"...Then I guess there's no choice."
Across the city, Ed and Revel stood ominously on a rooftop, looking upwards.
"Hmm… these stars are ominous… something terrible is surely brewing… very well! This is the exact situation a lord of darkness awaits!"
"Get down from there already." Callum told him "It's dangerous. What if ya fall?"
The final three also found themselves aimless.
"It's just one of those days where nothing seems to be happening, huh?" Lyra asked.
"Don't say that, nya." Shoot replied "You're gonna jinx it, something terrible'll happen."
"Yeah, just stop before ya bring the worst down on us." Zach added "I like peace like this, y'know?"
"No, I didn't." Lyra replied.
That everyday peace was finally disrupted by monsters appearing atop the city walls.
A roar was all the warning they had before they crashed down into the city.
Flying wyverns descended.
Ben's group heard the roaring in the distance and spun around in confusion, before something burst through.
The Gravios roared.
Zach's group saw the monster leap down. The Sand Barioth charged towards the first target it saw.
Riko and Anthony watched a Green Nargacuga crash through the streets, destroying everything in its path.
Sean looked up as a Seregios landed, immediately going on the attack.
A Rathalos crashed through the building Ed was standing on. Revel grabbed him in the air, safely getting him down, as both he and Callum watched the Rathalos land nearby and roar.
The last group watched a Yian Garuga land. It roared and charged straight for them.
Joseph ran up to it, leaving no space between them. The Garuga attacked first with a headbutt, which Joseph slashed around, before slashing at its side.
Another attack from the monster immediately followed, forcing him to get away. The Garuga turned to face him.
Both seemed to identify something.
The Garuga started paying more attention than before, seeming to have noticed his aura as he dodged.
Joseph noticed the wound he'd just created disappearing.
"This thing… it's another immortal monster!" He yelled to the confusion of the ones nearby.
At the same time, the Garuga roared, getting more monsters to appear. They'd identified a target of interest to them.
The assault of the immortal monsters began, tearing peaceful life to shreds.
"Whaddya mean, immortal!?" Shoot yelled at Zach.
"Don't worry, it's not exactly true, it's just a convenient way of saying it."
"My question still isn't answered, nya."
"They regenerate when you damage them. Not sure of the exact details, but I think they can only regenerate so many times before they went down. Just think of it as having more life in them than normal."
"Wait, you've encountered them before?" Lyra asked this time.
"A couple. Though, the weirdest thing was that those ones could talk. ...These ones don't seem to be doing that, so far."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it confused me too. But..."
Zach was cut off by the Barioth charging towards him, forcing him to focus on fighting.
Ben and Natasha charged directly at the Gravios, other hunters nearby assisting them. Natalie attacked from the side. The Gravios released a blast of steam from the gaps in its armour, knocking them back.
The Green Nargacuga pounced towards Riko, he blocked the attack. Anthony tried to hit it, but it jumped away and swung its tail around while mid-air, knocking him down with a crash.
As the flying wyvern descended through the air, it was unable to dodge the next attack. Wave bit into the Nargacuga's side, electrocuting it.
After a few seconds, the Nargacuga recovered and went to attack him as well. It was cut off by a strike from an electric wolf.
Alexandra ran in, slightly annoyed she'd lost to Zino but more focused on the monster in front of her.
Azure flew through the narrow streets pursued by the Seregios. Sean rode atop his back, firing at it. Ayano pursued through the air, trying to attack the opponent while it was distracted. Klaus and Matt didn't have that kind of maneuverability, so Klaus kept pursuing on the ground while Matt fired upwards.
Sanchez ran avoided one of the Rathalos' claw swipes, before Callum attacked it. Revel hurled a fireball at it, but the Rathalos didn't seem to care.
Joseph struggled to deal with the monsters surrounding him.
Nargy tried to help, but was cut off by one of the monsters which was staying out of the other fight to deal with the others.
The hunters continued to struggle against the monsters.
Fallon observed the situation below, getting ready to leave to fight the monsters on her own. She turned, seeing something approaching the window.
A Rathian crashed through, followed by a Barioth.
Fallon turned to face them.
"Did you get impatient and decide to charge straight for the leader? With such a large number, I thought you'd be a little smarter than that."
"No…" A voice from outside replied, before an Astalos crashed in. It seemed larger than normal, already being charged up. "This was our plan from the start."
"So a talking one finally appears, I was wondering how long it'd take. Though, on that note, you seem to be the only one. I take it that means you're the leader of this group?"
"Of course. I am Firmitas, one of the generals of Armageddon. Our objective is to wipe out you humans so the world can finally be at peace. Once you go down, the rest will quickly follow. For the sake of the world, we'll be taking your head."
"Hmm… was choosing a time when all the other warriors were out on purpose, or just a coincidence? It doesn't matter, I'm just curious."
"If it doesn't matter then there's no need for me to answer."
"So it was a coincidence."
"It doesn't matter. The part that does matter is that we all have experience dealing with humans of your type. Even if you are abnormal, there's nothing you alone can do against all three of us."
"You're not the full force, are you? Maybe just a scout? No… did you just go off on your own, trying to start the war before the rest of your side was ready?"
"Quiet!"
The Astalos attacked, tearing the room in half with a bolt of lightning. The other two went on the attack, trying to cut off Fallon's movement.
"You're too naive. Do you think that experience is something only you have?"
The monsters were undeterred, not stopping to question how calm their opponent was.
"We have more than enough experience with monsters of your type. So from that, we know the easiest solution."
Before they could reach her, the monsters were cut to pieces by an invisible force.
"You like to obsess over your ability to regenerate from anything. But if we just cut you up enough, there's nothing left to regenerate from."
The cutting continued, even when Fallon wasn't looking. The Astalos was stunned for a second, before trying to attack again. It was stopped by her.
"Did you think a surprise attack would give you an advantage? I already know everything I have to know about you all. If anything, you're the one lacking in knowledge here. Did you really think that just bringing this few would be enough to defeat us?"
The Astalos's expression had shifted from confident to afraid.
"A-are you really a human!?"
"What a stupid question. Of course I am. Isn't it obvious? I'm Fallon Bachika, the incarnation of human will. To call me anything other than human would be an insult."
With those words, the cutting began again.
Joseph continued to be surrounded by the monsters. When he dodged one, another went to attack, leaving him no room to fight back.
The voices in his head screamed at him. Unable to fight back, he decided to listen.
Flames surrounded him, forcing the monsters back out of surprise. Joseph immediately went on the attack, slashing at his opponents. The Garuga got over and swung at his sword, knocking it out of his hand.
It attacked again, seeming to think it had won, before another sword appeared out of nowhere, slashing at it.
Annoyed and confused, it attacked again, but the attack was blocked by the sudden appearance of a shield.
It disappeared, as Joseph gripped his sword with both hands again, cutting through the Garuga's chest.
It fell back, but wasn't dead yet.
"Not enough… I need to be stronger. Or I won't be able to avenge anyone!"
He rushed forwards with a boost in speed, closing the distance.
The monsters fought back this time, tearing away at him. He didn't seem to care about how much damage he took, all he had to do was tear away at them faster.
The battle continued until things seemed to be at their end.
Joseph was nearing his limit. The monsters were hardly in a better condition, but they retained their advantage in numbers.
The other group finally managed to defeat the monster that was holding them off, but they were too late.
The final charge had already begun. Not caring about the disadvantage he was in, Joseph pressed forwards blindly, all the powers he could possibly use activated at the same time.
The monsters closed in on him, seeming to mark the end.
A cut from outside. One of the monsters was cleaved in half. It didn't regenerate.
The other two looked over in confusion.
"Oh? It seems there's quite a few here."
Recognising their enemy, they charged straight for her. Effortlessly, they were defeated.
She walked forwards, seeing Joseph.
The onlookers reacted with confusion, with the exception of Vert, who only showed dread.
"So you're a warrior, too? Good job holding them off. I don't think there's any point in hiding things anymore, so I'll cut to the point."
Joseph looked up, barely able to think. Fallon continued.
"What do you seek revenge on?"
TO BE CONTINUED
I should probably include an author's note.
So, welcome to the final arc.
I already explained on the update for 0, but I might as well here since I don't imagine everyone has seen that. Well in summary, I wrote ahead a fair bit, so updates should be more regular now. Like, at least once a day regular.
Sorry for taking so long, but here we are I guess.
I haven't got much more to say here, I'll leave the getting emotional for when it's all over.