Good afternoon my readers! It was quite the wait (even it was only more than a month), but the chapter is here!Before we delve into this one, a response to the commenters is in order!
To Exodus12345:Yeah, I can see why you would think that and, for the most part, you're right. But you have to keep in mind that Gaia is a good healer and that's someone the Monster Association might need. Besides that, you will find out who exactly suggested that kidnapping in the very next chapter. Also, while a team-up between Shinko and Saitama would be downright AWESOME, I have another thing in mind...but there WILL be an instance where the two team up like you said.
With that done, let's get right into the chapter!
It was 10AM in the Ghost Town of Z City, but the day was far from calm. The Wastelanders currently left their hideout and were hurrying to leave thst wretched place forever.
"Come on! We're almost there!" Monoculor shouted to his group, trying not to sound panicked and partly succeeding. The Monster Association, despite their previous assessments, was real. Very real as they were attacked by a good number of wolf and tiger levels. The Wastelanders couldn't fight them all, despite the powerful demon levels at their side, and so opted for a hasty retreat.
Monoculor's plan was simple. Get out of Z City, reach Mizuki to alert her of the Monster Association and go to E City afterwards. There they would ask asylum from the Monster Lords and think about what to do next.
The mono-eyed monster, however, knew that Mizuki was a hero and would defend the people with teeth, nails and muscles, so convincing her could be a very hard task indeed.
And if the Wastelanders couldn't convince her, then they'd fight alongside her. She was an honorary member, after all (even if she didn't know that yet), and she, along with Shinko, taught them the virtues of courage and selflessness.
The Wastelanders' escape was going well, so well that they could see the gates which delimited the Ghost Town.
But it was going too well, and so something catastrophic just had to happen at the last second.
"Here they are! Stop them!" a voice rang out from one of the surrounding buildings, and suddenly monsters began to flood the streets from the various nooks and crannies of the city. Hell, even from the asphalt road.
"By the number of heat signatures, there seem to be a little more than four dozens of monsters around us" Malware said with a not-so-monotonous voice, which reflected the state of mind the Wastelanders were in, the smaller ones being afraid or irritated while the two demons carefully sizing their enemies. But the situation got worse as from the plethora of monsters, an excited Royal Ripper and a serious Bug God emerged.
"Finally I get some action! You may not be heroes, but you'll do just as good!" the mad man said as he started cackling.
"I am disappointed to see you on the heroes' side, Wastelanders. Even though this will be your grave, I still want you to know that I would have liked to have you as allies" Bug God said as he put himself in a fighting stace.
"Eh, the Monster Association is too much of an hostile working environment for us, but the feeling's mutual" Monoculor replied as Sandscale Dragon got into a fighting stace.
The two groups were ready to pounce on one another, but they were interrupted by a certain monster, who jumped to the Wastelanders' side with a wide grin on her face.
"Changing sides at the last minute to avoid death? Deplorable" Ariol snarled at the newcomer, who turned out to be Sharp Stripe. "Nah, I was looking to join you guys for some time and this was the perfect opportunity!" Sharp Stripe replied nonchalantly, making Ariol's blood boil. He quietly scoffed at her, but it didn't go further than that.
"A mutiny among us? You'll pay for this!" Bug God roared and charged, but was instead showered in quick slashes by Sandscale Dragon. The demon was shoved back, his chitinous armour showing cracks and bleeding cuts.
"I thought that would do more damage, guess I'll have to sharpen my blades even more..." mused the reptilian swordsman, but with that single action, the battle started chaotically.
Monoculor and Belphomet worked together, the latter blinding the opponents with his oil spit and the former cutting them apart with his beams. "Reminds of the old times, big brother" Belphomet said between oil sprouts.
"Eye on the enemies. We'll have time to recall the old times later" Monoculor advised his little brother with a frown. Hulkaber used his psychic abilities to lift rubble from the buildings and threw it at some incoming monsters, turning them into bloody puddles.
"I must say, does any of our plans ever succeed without this much bloodshed?!" Hulkaber shouted in what would be one of the rare instances in which he lost his temper. "Welcome to my world, hope you enjoy your stay" Monoculor answered sarcastically, Belphomet quietly chuckled in the background as he spit a puddle of oil in another monster's eyes.
Gaia created a shield to block the barrages of a group of monsters and, as her shield broke down, they were greeted by a poisonous cloud in their faces. The affected monsters writhed and collapsed on the ground, dead.
"Great work, Lamia! Hopefully we can escape soon..." Gaia said, looking worried, to which the violet-spotted dog replied with "Don't worry, with all of our might we'll wear them down and escape, then we'll find Shinko and it'll be all right!"
Gaia was a bit calmer, but then panicked and shouted "Lamia, behind you!" as a monster sneaked up to them. The green elemental raised her hands to cast a shield, Lamia had toxic fumes coming from her mouth and nostrils...and Nark suddenly appeared and swallowed the monster whole from behind.
"Be more careful ladiesss, I can only ssswallow and digessst ssso many monssstersss at a time" the white snake said with a smirk, but Lamia could see that he was on edge. The slight trembling of his body gave it away.
Suddenly another monster, larger than the white snake, was behind him ready to attack.
"Not so fast, big boy!" yelled Beetle-Roach as he run up to it and swiped his clawed hand across its back. At first the monster didn't react, but now it was fully aware of enemy behind him.
But then he was cut in three pieces, which slowly slid off one another. Beetle-Roach looked at his claws in wonder and then shouted to the skies "I knew i was a powerhouse all along! Take that, Trash Eaters!"
As Beetle-Roach was excited over his 'kill', Sharp Stripe raised an eyebrow and asked "What is he cheering for?" and Nark answered with a shrug, while Gaia and Lamia were repelling more monsters.
Sharp Stripe shrugged in return and turned to an approaching horde of monsters. She smirked in pure excitement at them and charged as well.
She gave a roundhouse kick, which crushed four monsters' skulls, and swiped her claws, cutting two more apart. The remaining enemies launched their own attacks and Sharp Stripe was struck by nearly all sides, but she kept attacking.
Eventually, the monsters that attacked her lay dead and Sharp Stripe stood over their mangled corpses. But she had many bleeding cuts, staining parts of her fur in crimson red, and her smug smirk was gone.
'That was tough, i never fought that many opponents at once...' the monster thought as her left leg nearly buckled under her weight and fatigue. '...I gotta be more careful now, but i can't leave my new allies to die here!' Sharp Stripe thought as she sprinted in aid of Malware.
The rogue computer virus' abilities were balanced in offense, defense and regeneration. He was also good at multi-tasking, but the continuous onslaught of monsters made it hard for him.
Malware projected a green-black cybernetic shield to stop two monsters' attacks while facing in the opposite direction and firing a bright red beam at two incoming monsters, cutting them instantly.
Three other monsters were closing in on him and Malware was still regenerating his damaged sides. According to his calculations, the brunt of those attacks would be fatal. Except that the incoming monsters were torn apart by a bloody Sharp Stripe, who came at Malware's side and said "Need a hand?"
"Affermative, although your injuries draw my concern..." Malware said, to which Sharp Stripe replied with a silent smirk as the enemy monsters encircled them.
"Woah, luckily we have that she-monster on our side" Gobold said as he lazily tossed a golden flask at a monster. The makeshift bomb exploded and the monster's body was turned to gold.
"Huh, these new weapon could really make me gain a fortune..." the golden goblin muttered as he slashed another monster with his golden daggers.
At his left side Beeline was silently watching the ensuing battle and her body was trembling with fear, so much that Gobold thought she was going to break down in tears. At his right side was Beetle-Roach, who was sitting on the road, groaning about "how that muscular bimbo stole all of his kills".
"Don't be like that, Beetle-Roach! I'm sure you'll find an enemy all for yourself!" Gobold consoled the cockroach-like monster with a smile, then side-hugged Beeline to calm her down and finally turned his head behind him, asking in a friendly manner "Hey Gelgo! How are you holding up?"
The slime-like monster gave no response as his spirit was petrified and his body was vibrating in sheer terror as he repeated these words in a barely-audible whisper, like a mantra "We are not gonna die. We are not gonna die. We are not gonna die. We are not gonna die" over and over again.
"Eh, as good as anyone could guess" Gobold said nonchalantly and turned around to calmly watch the ensuing battle. Somehow, little to no monsters came attacking them. Luckily for both Beeline and especially Gelgo, who seemed to be about to pass away on the spot.
But all changed when a monster sneaked up on them, the four monsters not noticing in the slightest. Excited by his stealth abilities, the monster loudly shouted "Yes, i got you now!"
Gelgo yelped and immediately did something no one expected.
The slimy, slug-like monster's body emanated a very powerful white light, followed at the same time by a deafening exploding sound.
The attacking monster was blown back, unconscious, while Beeline, Gobold and Beetle-Roach were greatly startled by the sound, but luckily they didn't turn around and faced the light.
"...Is he okay?" Gobold whispered to Beetle-Roach, completely unprepared by his companion's ability and clutching his ears. Beeline's shivering only intensified as she quietly said "This is getting too stressful for me..."
"Yeah, Gelgo does that when something startles him too much" Beetle-Roach said and then shrugged at Gelgo's deflated form, his antennas being the only body-part still normal.
"Does he do that when he's scared too?" Gobold asked the roach, only to receive a shaking head in return. "Let's get Gelgo and Beeline to a safer place, the others will soon follow us anyway" Beetle-Roach said as he put an unconscious Gelgo on his shoulders and started running away, Gobold and Beeline following suit.
Just as the four monsters exited the scene, Sandscale Dragon's slashes finally caught up with Bug God and cut through his armour. With the demon level's shredded corpse hitting the ground, Sanscale took some breaths and said "Ariol, you take care of Royal Ripper while i give support to the others!" as he slashed through another horde of monsters.
Ariol growled as he used his arm-blades to parry Royal Ripper's wild slashes and deal damage to the mad man at the same time. Unfortunately, Royal Ripper was able to break through Ariol's defenses and dealt damage as well.
The two opponents took distance between one another, before charging yet again. Both Ariol and Royal Ripper's bodies had tons of bleeding cuts, the latter's blades were also slightly chipped as well. Another thing Ariol noted was that what looked like strands of greasy and bloody black hair were hanging from the wounds. He mentally shook his head in revolt.
As the two monsters slashed at each other, inside his mind Ariol was still shaking his head, but for another reason. 'This is ridiculous. Somehow, i have the feeling these guys aren't supposed to be this strong. Not just that, but Bug God could evade and even resist Sandscale's attacks' Ariol thought as he fought Royal Ripper. He could've definitely summoned a powerful tornado and kill this nuisance in under a minute or so, but Ariol knew he couldn't do that, because this fucker was circling around him and so the chance to kill his friends (or even his sister) was too high to even consider this plan.
But Ariol knew he could win anyway as he was more skilled than this crazy buffoon. That monster only had more endurance and nearly nothing else.
Meanwhile Gaia, Lamia and Nark were starting to have problems with the incoming monsters. Instead of dwindling, their numbers rose.
Nark was still busy digesting a swallowed monster and healing a few wounds at the same time, Lamia had some cuts near her stomach and a broken leg. Gaia had bruises and cuts too, they seemed to be healing extremely quickly.
"We're here for assistance!" Belphomet bellowed as he, Monoculor and Hulkaber came to their allies' side. "Thanksss, but we need to abandon thisss goddamn place immediately!" Nark painfully shouted, his distress now clearly audible.
"Yeah, Sandscale Dragon is helping out Malware and that new monsters while Ariol is still locked in a battle with Royal Ripper" Monoculor said with a bit of panic in his voice, then continued "My other plan was to send Beetle-Roach and Gobold to get help from Mizuki. They're already gone, and so are Gelgo and Beeline"
"Wait, did they abandon us!? How could they!?" Lamia screamed in rage as he breathed poison in another monster's face. "Beetle-Roach and Gobold surely didn't have that in mind! They must have brought Gelgo and Beeline to a safe place, likely because he used his ability!" Belphomet defended them and Lamia calmed just a little.
At least the situation was getting better thanks to Hulkaber's psychic abilities and his sweeping attacks.
But what came next truly left them unprepared.
X X X
"Guys, shouldn't we come back to help the others?!" Gelgo screamed in a distressed tone while Beeline floated around him as she said "Exactly! I feel bad for leaving them in that state!"
"Don't worry, I'll come back for them, but only when you two are safe. Plus, you are still unable to fight, Gelgo" Gobold said from over his shoulder, trying to reassure the slug-like jelly and the bee-like monster. "Exactly, if we go back now, we'll just get in the way of the fighting" Gobold said as he walked in front of Beetle-Roach.
The four were walking in the inhabited part of Z City and the situation was just as bad, if not worse. Monsters were running freely, wreaking havoc across the streets and scaring the hell out of the civilians. The few heroes that were on the scene were either knocked out or fighting weakly.
Luckily they remained fairly unnoticed in the chaos and slipped without problem. Eventually they arrived in a crossroad and found a trench made of monster corpses. The four monsters were fairly spooked, but when they peered inside, they found the unconscious body of Mizuki peacefully laying in the center.
The four calmed down and entered the trench. "Ok, so what's the plan now?" Beetle-Roach asked Gobold as he put Gelgo on the road.
X X X
"We are getting cornered here!" Lamia said after blowing more poisonous smoke at her enemies. "I'm doing everything I can! These marauders just don't stop coming" Hulkaber shouted behind him as he blasted more enemies with his psychic power.
"We can get out of this, just remain positive!" Gaia said as she created a barrier beside Lamia, stopping another horde of monsters in its tracks. "She's right. Ariol is just finishing to wear out Royal Ripper while Sandscale Dragon is almost done with helping Malware and Sharp Stripe!" Belphomet said in an attempt to raise the morale, just as he spit yet more oil in his enemies' faces. They were then cut in two by Monoculor's laser, but their numbers never seemed to be dwindling.
Nark, who was busy digesting a monster, noticed some shallow tremors beneath the ground and his worry spiked even more than it already was. Fearing an ambush, he wanted to tell this to the others, but they were focused on the monsters in front of them, and they seemed to more tired by the minute. Eventually Nark let go of the idea, convincing himself that it was just imagination playing tricks, and focused on digesting the monster in his stomach.
"Wait a minute, why aren't Gobold and Beetle-Roach helping us?" Lamia suddenly asked between breaths, Gaia creating a barrier to let her rest safely.
"Oh, they just left with Beeline and Gelgo, i think he was unconscious" Belphomet said between breaths of oil.
Lamia was NOT happy to hear that and decided to voice her anger by screaming to the skies "So they abandoned us!?"
"They did NOT" Hulkaber answered almost immediately while clutching his head with a few tentacles, trying to massage away his rising headache. 'If these marauders don't stop, then i might as well be done for' the alien thought, momentarily shutting his eyes.
Big mistake. A monster managed to get close to him and swiped at Hulkaber's tentacles. The octopus-like alien cried in pain as two of his limbs were cut off, but that monster never got to continue his assault, because Nark swallowed him whole.
"You alright there?" Nark asked Hulkaber as the monster in his belly stopped moving. "Not really, but i'll be fine. My tentacles only take a few hours to regrow" Hulkaber answered truthfully. Nark nodded and returned to his usual spot, but he could not because of an enemy monster.
That, however, was no average enemy. He wasn't even a demon level sent for support.
The monster was bipedal, feline-like and was a bit taller than Ariol. His cat-like eyes moved to Monoculor, Belphomet, Lamia, Hulkaber, Nark...and finally Ariol.
He was watching the cadre with undivided attention, everything else becoming a blur to him as saw his little sister, struggling in the cat's claw. Even Royal Ripper stopped to see what got Ariol so focused on Nyan, then his eyes were lit with psychotic rage, all because HE wanted to be the one to kill that excuse of a monster.
The monsters all around Nyan, once enemies the Wastelanders were fighting, were torn to shreds by Nyan's entrance from the ground, the rest of the Wastelanders were unharmed, fortunately enough.
"Well then, looks like the demons couldn't do their job properly, even with the aid of that creep...what a waste" Nyan said as he lazily licked his free paw "I got what Gyoro Gyoro was looking for anyway. That means...you're all going to die"
At that Nyan's expression became murderous, but Ariol didn't care one bit. He sprinted up to the dragon level, but Royal Ripper came in the way.
Ariol simply made a powerful downward slash, creating a blade of pressurized wind strong enough to cleanly cut the mad monster in half.
The blade zeroed on Nyan in a bit less than a second, but the monster was unfazed as he sidestepped the attack. The wind it carried almost messed up his fur, which made his expression contort into annoyance. The blade carried on as it clearly cut various buildings before dissipating.
'My Instant Blade Wind...a technique that i spent months developing with the help of Sandscale Dragon and Shinko...dodged like that? Who is this guy?' Ariol thought in disbelief, but he still charged Nyan to tear Gaia away from his clutches.
"You must be Ariol, huh? I have to admit, you're stronger than what i was told. An interesting toy, but now you're getting annoying" Nyan said and struck Ariol with his free paw. The wind elemental raised his arm blades in a defensive stance, but the power behind the attack was too great.
Ariol was struck in the side of the neck and was thrown right where he started, going limp as soon as he hit the ground.
"My Feline Faint Attack. A new technique that i wanted to showcase...and the technique that will break all of your necks" Nyan gleefully said.
"Brother!" Gaia screamed with worry "Let me go, you thin papered cat!" she then said as she tried to shake herself out of Nyan's grasp.
"How cute you are" Nyan purred at her with gleeful eyes "I would LOVE to play with you, but Gyoro Gyoro has other plans..." he said with a sad tone.
"Dammit! We need to retreat!" Monoculor shouted to the others, but still looked longingly at Gaia. The small cyclop didn't want to leave her, and he couldn't live with himself if anything else happened to her. Or he wouldn't live at all, if Nyan or Ariol got their hands on him.
The order was very well heard by the rest of the Wastelanders. Sandscale Dragon killed enough remaining monsters to make an escape route. Sharp Stripe forcefully grabbed Malware and sprinted to the samurai monster, having noticed Nyan's presence just now. Nark was fast to get to the escape route, with a distraught Lamia begrudgingly following him. Hulkaber lifted Ariol with his telekinesis, but everyone could see that he was tired. Finally Belphomet was at Monoculor's side as he whispered "Everything is going to be fine, we just need to regroup and get Shinko on this"
Monoculor nodded, but Nyan had other plans as he said "Don't think you can run away from me, after all i just arrived and the fun has just begun"
The cat-like monster was ready to pounce on the duo, but something else happened. Five golden projectiles came to Nyan's left, but the cat swatted them away, quite annoyed at his 'fun' being interrupted.
"You seem to be in charge of the monsters here, huh? You're going down" the A class hero Golden Ball said as he came from behind a building. As he did, more A class heroes came to his aid.
"Hmm, you guys all came here for me? Well..." Nyan said as he casually looked at his free paw, just to look at Golden Ball in the eyes with a wicked smile "This is going to be the most fun i've ever had in these years!"
He charged at the heroes with breakneck speed as Gaia yelped in fear. In the meantime, the Wastelanders ran for their lives, hoping this saving grace will buy them enough time.
'Don't worry Gaia' Hulkaber telepathically communicated with her 'We'll come to save you!'
X X X
"Did i ever tell you of that time when someone thought i was a normal detonator? Because that was one hell of a time!" Building Popper, a monster which resembled an old-style detonator, excitedly said to Flake Mage.
While nearly all the other monsters were attacking the human cities, the ice caster had cleaning duty, which consisted of dusting off the statues in the hallways and polishing high-ranked monsters who either had armor or were made of metal.
Flake Mage sighed as he moved to clean Building Popper's armpits. The latter giggled in pleasure and said "Man, if you weren't in such an odd position with the ranking, i would choose you as my right-hand mon!"
Flake Mage raised an eyebrow at that. 'Is this guy really that high-ranked?' he thought in confusion. In the Monster Association's hierarchy, demon levels were given the possibility to have some monsters of their own, who acted as followers, back-up and even meat shields. It was honestly weird that nearly none of the demons ever thought of using this feature to their advantage, although sometimes it was obvious why that was the case. Pureblood was a narcissist with a superiority complex as tall as Orochi and Food Tub ate whoever came too close, to make some examples.
After a few minutes Flake Mage was done with cleaning Building Popper and headed to the hallway, the latter waving his hand at him.
As he walked into the empty hallways, Flake Mage was beginning to question if his plan could really work. He wasn't worried about Catfish and Maiko in the slightest, because they were strong and had each other, but he really worried for Sharp Stripe. Not only was she reckless, sometimes to the point of stupidity, but he sent her in a battlefield with demon levels! Sharp was pretty strong, but she wouldn't come close with a demon in terms of strength or speed. And hadn't even taken into account that the Wastelanders could still see her as an enemy and kill her anyway!
In short, Flake Mage was having a mini meltdown in his mind, but he was broken out of it as he bumped shoulders with someone.
The small mage turned around, ready to apologize (and hope to get out of this situation without much lasting damage), but then saw who was the monster he bumped into.
She was a small, pink, oval-shaped cyclop with two parallel horns and a belt around her stomach. Flake Mage remembered that her name was Manako, a wolf level who really didn't want to fight.
"Oh, Flake Mage. Nice seeing you around here" Manako told him without any hint of happiness or annoyance.
"Manako, how is it going?" Flake Mage said amicably, since she was one of the few monsters that were actually decent. "Oh, not too bad. Just finished polishing G5 and dusting off some weird statues of centipedes swirling around a masked monster" Manako said, but then asked "Say, who are these statues representing anyway? There are so many around the base..."
Manako also muttered "They're also a pain to clean up..." but couldn't be sure, so he said "I think Gyoro Gyoro said that this base once belonged to some ancient monster civilization, but i don't remember clearly..."
The pink cyclop simply shrugged her nonexistent shoulders and said "Oh well, who cares. Have a good day, 'cause the next ones are probably going to be hell, if you want to hear the pessimists out"
She then walked away and Flake Mage was left alone again.
'Hopefully everything will turn out to be fine' he thought as he made his way nowhere in particular. Yet a yell brought his attention.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?! You still have cleaning duty!" an humanoid, key-themed monster shouted at him from down the hall. The monster's name was Master Joe, a tiger-level and the vault keeper of the Monster Association.
Flake Mage sighed and turned to him as he said "What do you want? I finished cleaning duty a few minutes ago".
Master Joe furiously shook his head and said "Nope! We still got one more thing to clean up!". 'We?' Flake Mage thought, confused, but Joe grabbed his hand and was dragging him down the hall.
They stopped by the large, steel door of the vault and Joe put his left arm in the lock. After going through the usual three combinations, he opened the heavy door by himself and pushed Flake Mage in the vault.
The ice mage never saw the interior of the vault, but now he was dreading the thought of cleaning it all. "If you really think I'm going to clean it up by myself, you have a lot of screws loose" Flake Mage bluntly said with his yellow eyes wide and glowing.
"What? No, you idiot! I already cleaned most of it, you just need to help me out with the last room" Master Joe said and walked into the inner part of the vault. Flake Mage was ticked that he had been called an idiot, but decided to follow him anyway.
When the two monsters entered the room, Flake Mage was NOT prepared for what was inside. A large tank, occupying almost more than half of the room, contained dozens of piranha-like monsters. But the most unsettling thing were the eyes in the water, staring at the both of them.
Flake Mage heard about the stories of the cadre known as "Evil Natural Water", Gyoro Gyoro's most dangerous experiment. Nearly mindless, it senses the bloodlust of living beings and attacks them relentlessly.
'So this is the guy...I've never seen it myself...Luckily it can't latch on fear, because then i'd be pretty fucking dead' Flake Mage thought as he swallowed loudly and began sweating.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's clean up and be done with it" Joe said cheerfully, but his voice betrayed fear too, and then added "Oh...and be careful to not touch the lever. It's pretty sensible and the technician oiled it too much. We don't want to free it for any reason"
Flake Mage absent-mindedly nodded and soon the duo began, slowly to scrub the tank. The fishes moving towards them, attracted by the sound, contributed strongly in growing their dread.
X X X
This started as a rather good day for Maiko. She was walking around the city with Catfish arm-in-arm and they were having a relaxing walk.
Sure, their boss ordered them to lay waste on B City, but they didn't feel like it. Besides, that part of the job was covered by other, much more eager, monsters.
That was before they had to fight an A class hero. They were a bit on edge, being tiger-levels and all, but it went better than they expected with the match-up on their side. Catfish even felt disappointed in the poor fellow because of that.
Now they resumed their peaceful walk in the park. None of them was talking, instead opting to just listen to the sounds of the rustling branches and enjoying the radiant sunlight.
Eventually Maiko decided to break the silence "You know, without the sounds of the battles unfolding around us, you could say this is a peaceful day" at which Catfish nodded.
"I agree. You know the time we were on the run from the Hero Association? Who would have thought that an entire city had to be attacked just for us two to enjoy a walk in the park" he said he lovingly looked Meiko in the eyes.
"You're right. This calm won't last for long, but let's just enjoy it for the time being, the next steps of the plan will be rough" Meiko said as she embraced him.
Catfish did the same and, before they knew it, the two were kissing as they reveled this moment in its fullness.
X X X
In E City, a large-scale battle between two factions of monsters was going on. The four Monster Lords were doing all they could to better command their troops and eliminate as many monsters as they could.
In the north-east quadrant, the situation was going splendid as nearly all the enemy monsters had been eradicated.
A large and beefy cyclop, clad in bloodied iron armor and wielding a giant greatsword, slashed at a horde of enemy monsters. They were obliterated by the slash rather easily and that caused Butin to scowl at the corpses.
'THESE guys were supposed to be a threat to the Hero Association? Hell, even the so-called future of monsterkind?' Butin thought bewildered, but had to give them a bit of credit. These guys took down the heroes by themselves, after all.
'Heroes'. That word awakened a memory in him.
A few years ago he called himself the strongest, so full of himself. Any monster that challenged him died rather quick. But then he heard of the 'Fighter of the Outskirts', completely unmatched in anything, and wanted to fight him as well.
His surprise at laying his eyes on him was titanic. He was just a measly human, not even that beefy compared to others!
But some details left Butin uncertain of that. He was standing tall, unflinching to his one-eyed gaze, and even had a small crowd of monsters around, cheering him on.
That was what led Butin to attack first. The two fought for some time, both landing blows, but never being able to defeat the other.
Butin was impressed at this human, whole blows were powerful and whose body could handle the slashes. But, eventually, he was defeated, much to his surprise.
He was on his knees, panting, with purple bruises and large dents in his armor. The young human was fatigued and had bleeding wounds all over his body, but he seemed to be handling them quite well.
Butin expected to be finished off, but the human extended his hand and on his face was a look of kindness and some respect too.
Butin was impressed by Shinko, the human's name, and swore to follow his example by protecting the weak monsters and the humans of E City. For this purpose he also had trained a number of monsters under his command. The same ones who won against the invaders.
"Sir!" a monsters said as he approached Butin, breaking him from his trip down the memory lane. "I see we have won, any casualties?" Butin asked with his deep voice as he sheathed his weapon.
"Only two of our own fell" the monster sadly said. Butin nodded in understanding, but the graves will have to be dug after the end of the battle.
"How are the rest of the troops?" Butin asked the small monster, who then answered "They are still pumped sir, it seems your fighting prowess has reinvigorated their fighting spirit!"
Butin smirked at that and said "I give you the task to tell the others that we're moving to the north-western quadrant. I'm sure they need our help"
The small monster nodded and rushed back to the other monsters, who were celebrating their victory with dances and songs. Meanwhile Butin looked at the horizon and thought 'Mocus, i hope you're alright in HQ. We're coming to get you out of this mess'.
X X X
The south-eastern quadrant was in a worse situation than the one above. Here the Monster Lord in charge was Leila, a large puffin who was used to working in peace. But now the situation was all but peaceful.
"Come on, we're almost there!" Leila shouted over the distressed of monsters and civilians alike, then turned around to launch a few attacks at their pursuers.
"Water Bomb!" Leila shouted as she launched a large bubble of water out of her beak. The projectile bumped with an attacking monster and exploded, the pressurized water killing about 10 monsters or so, but the horde refused to slow down.
Leila narrowed her eyes in frustration and said "Geyser!". She positioned her wings, forming an arc, gripped the asphalt with her talons and opened her beak. At that various parts of her plumage stood on end as the newly-opened hatches sucked in air. Only when the enemy monsters were close enough did she release the super-pressurized column of water held back in her throat. The attack tore through the horde of monsters and, though Leila found it hard to angle, completely wiped out the horde.
The puffin sighed in relief and looked back, happy to see that the monsters under her command made it to the shelter along with the civilians, both groups fortunately unharmed.
After all, the monsters under her were healers and farmers, certainly not fighters! Although Leila was sure that, after this disaster of a day, Butin and Markedus will make training obligatory for everyone.
She was so relieved that she didn't notice the monster approaching her from behind. And when she did, it was too late.
A powerful, clawed fist smashed her side and Leila went flying into a wall. The monster, much larger than herself, was closing in on her.
Leila tried to stand up and at the very least dodge any incoming attacks, but it was futile as any slight movement brought painful aches to her body. 'This monster is definitely a demon' Leila thought in panic 'If it manages to reach the hideout, it will be a disaster!'
But try as she might, Leila couldn't stand up, so she decided to glare at her attacker. At least she wouldn't go down whimpering.
But then a miracle happened as the monster's central body was blown to pieces. Leila knew exactly who saved her and her intuition was right as she saw the white hair, the toned muscles and the icy cyan eyes that greeted her.
"Leila, are you alright? I came here as soon as i found out that the city was under attack" Shinko said as he gently pulled her back on her feet.
"I'll need to see a healer, but i can manage until then" Leila said with a smile, as much as a bird could anyway.
"Okay, but now i have to go. I have to check if my family is alright" Shinko said, his eyes betraying worry as he said the last part.
"Alright then, good luck!" Leila said, waving a wing at him as Shinko bolted off.
Leila then sighed and promptly grunted in pain as her side ached with each movement. The puffin wisely decided to return to her people, but not before looking back at the path Shinko took.
This meeting reminded her of the first time they met. When she was just a lonely creature that wanted only to live in peace.
She was attacked by a demon-level monster just as she left the coast to live in the forests. But as she accepted that she was going to die, that human came to rescue her.
Now Leila knew that Shinko wasn't as strong back then, but he still fought with all his might. Eventually he killed the monster, but still sustained a lot of damage. That didn't stop him from going up to her and asking if she was alright.
Leila remembered how she was scared and dumbfounded by Shinko back then. At first she run away, but then decided that he was the opportunity to turn her life around.
So she healed him to full health and swore allegiance to him. Shinko was a bit taken aback, but decided to comply anyway.
At that point Leila finished reminiscing and started to fly in the direction of the shelter.
X X X
After the whole "House of Evolution" fiasco, Mountain Dragon thought that his days of fighting would be over. Boy, he was not pleased to be wrong.
The large mole was surrounded by monsters on all sides, who looked ready and eager to tear him apart. The worst part of this was that the only backup he had was Frog Man, who was armed with an, admittedly sturdy, frying pan instead of his usual shortsword.
"Before we meet our deaths, tell me something" Mountain Dragon said to Frog Man, as they were back-to-back "Did you really think that bringing a frying pan along in this situation was a good idea!?" he then screamed as the monsters laughed at Frog Man's choice of weapon.
"It was too sudden and i didn't have anything better at hand" Frog Man quickly replied, too focused on the opponents to bother with his hysterical companion. "Besides, Beast King is nearby and when he'll be done, he'll come to our rescue!" he then tried to reassure the mole, but with little success. The monsters seemed also unconvinced and pounced on the two modified creatures.
Mountain Dragon then sliced at the attacking monsters, shredding them with little effort. He kept slashing around, occasionally glancing at Frog Man to see how he was doing.
Frog Man was having less trouble than Mountain Dragon expected, avoiding the monsters' attacks and landing powerful bashes every now and then. But the pan, however sturdy it may have been, wouldn't last much longer and Frog Man knew that.
And when the handle finally couldn't take it anymore, the humanoid frog hastily retreated into a nearby hallway. This left Mountain Dragon with more enemies to deal with.
The mole still kept slashing, but the sheer number of enemies allowed them to get hits on him. The blood dripping off the gashes on his back and shoulders started to worry Mountain Dragon, when suddenly Frog Man came to his aid, slashing any opponent that got too close with his shortsword.
"Finally got your weapon? We're not going to stay here any longer" Mountain Dragon stated and Frog Man nodded. The two concentrated their attacks on one spot of the horde and managed to get away with few new injuries.
Mountain Dragon and Frog Man kept running as they were chased, but after they covered some ground they were pulled into an hallway. Before Mountain Dragon could freak out Slugerous showed up.
"Sorry, but i really had to use my telekinesis to pull you out of range. You'll thank me later" the psychic slug calmly said and, before Mountain Dragon could ask what the hell did he mean by that, the horde of monsters that was chasing them down was shredded into bloody pellets.
"It is safe now, Armored Gorilla and i have finished clearing the streets of monsters" The Beast King said to the three as he stepped into view. As Frog Man sighed in relief, Mountain Dragon was fuming.
'I'm happy that we survived, these monsters were going to kill us either way, but why did we have to go out of our way to save the humans? Not only we wouldn't even get any sort of positive acknowledgement, but they would surely want us dead if they knew what we really are' Mountain Dragon thought in frustration. But he couldn't voice these thoughts because at least The Beast King (god, that was a mouthful to say every time) was actually pleasant to be around now! Not to mention Genus' state of mind or Slugerous getting his anxiety problem fixed.
The pain coming from his back was another, more urgent matter and Mountain Dragon decided to return to the restaurant as soon as possible, along with the others.
None of them seemed to have noticed the shady figure standing behind another hallway.
X X X
The Monster Lords' HQ was in a secluded location and, ever since the defeat of the warlord Kabuya, it had been peaceful as well.
At least until today.
All around the amplied chateau blue-banded monsters were fighting both to protect their base of operation to save their own lives.
They formed a protective circle all around the base, stationing the bulkier monsters at their disposal on the front and monsters with ranged attacks within the base, for added support. This was supposed to be an effective strategy and, for some time, it was.
But the invading forces were much bigger than even Phoenix Man suspected and thus some of the defenses had fallen, allowing some of the invaders to enter the chateau and cause havoc...
...or so they thought.
"Come on, it can't be that hard!" one of the monsters shouted from around the table as they readied themselves for another pounce. Meanwhile, on the table, the slime known as Mocus was shivering, but still readied himself as well.
The monsters pounced on the Monster Lord and he shouted with narrow eyes "Dozen Needle Dance!"
Immediately the bony spikes shot out of Mocus' body and, using a trail of slime attached to them, began wildly spinning them around. The sharp spikes cut through the monsters without effort, their dismembered bodies falling in bloody heaps.
"Luckily these monsters aren't too much trouble for me. Hopefully the others are able to say the same, this day is getting worse by the hour" Mocus told himself as the spikes retreated into his gooey body once more.
As he was walking the halls of the chateau, now messier than before the attack, Mocus could see that his troops were actually gaining the upper hand and would no doubt push back the enemies before long. But he could also see the losses on their part, and that kind of saddened him.
He went to help his troops wherever he could, giving them the time to carry the wounded and regroup to a safer part of the mansion.
If someone asked Mocus in the past if he could ever see himself leading a group of monsters in a battle and indulging in acts of selflessness, he would probably freeze up and stare at them like they told some really bad joke.
When he first got to know Shinko, he was just a nobody that would, like so many others feed on the monsters that were killed by him. This surplus of food allowed him to grow the bony spikes he now uses as both weapons and armor, so he didn't see why he would ever stop.
But the more he stayed with Shinko, the more he witnessed his acts of kindness...something grew up in his metaphorical heart and, for the first time in his life, he gained a purpose in life. To help those of his group.
Although he still needed time and nourishment to grow a spine and actually be of any help, he became a good asset to the ever-growing group of monsters that followed Shinko. His actions also warranted him a place among the Monster Lords, even though he was not as strong as the others.
Mocus finished killing yet another group of enemies when one of his troops approached him and excitedly said "Sir Mocus! We finished off all of the enemies within the HQ. We are to draw them back as we speak!"
"Good, good, but instruct others to do another search. After all, we don't want to have unpleasant surprises in a time like this" the slime calmly replied. The monster nodded and returned to his post as Mocus began making his way to the opposite wing of the HQ.
"I wonder how Phoenix Man is handling the situation back in the city..." Mocus muttered.
X X X
It was supposed to be easy. Phoenix Man felt confident that he could beat Milotanus because he was an experienced demon-level while the ugly old bat was but a newbie. The monsters he had under his command were also fairly good and his strategy consisting of continuous ambushes would no doubt cause panic within the enemy ranks.
Phoenix Man's confidence, however, began dying in the exact moment Milotanus kicked him in the side of a truck. From there, it only went worse as Milotanus' speed, attack and flexibility were better than Phoenix Man expected.
At least "his" troops were faring better, his strategy working as intended. Although the strength of Milotanus' minions began to worry him.
"Goddammit, where did he go now?" Phoenix Man muttered as he panted. The bruises on his body, a result of his enemy's Cruel Jabs, were slowing him down more than normal. Probably because Milotanus' nails were infected with some kind of poison.
His mind was getting hazy and he was far away from his troops, so he couldn't know how were they faring. If the screaming of ten minutes ago was anything to go by, then the answer wasn't good.
"For shame, Phoenix Man, why did you take their side?" Milotanus said from an unknown location "You know the humans will never accept any of them, least of all YOU"
Phoenix Man flinched at that, but Milotanus continued "I know you used to be human, secretly still grabbing to whatever humanity left within. I've been there, just like Chiaranagna and even Fuher Ugly. No matter what we do, being destructive or even helpful, they'll never accept us. We've been rejected once, don't expect to be ever welcomed back" he then finished bitterly.
"And this is the better alternative? Do you know that moments before i turned into a monster, my entire work and dedication were tossed in the trash? I've acted like a monster since then, and i regret those times. Sometimes it takes just some will to right one's wrongs!" Phoenix Man shouted to Milotanus, but the former knew that he was lying through his teeth. He never had a revelation like that or even cared about doing the greater good. He just reveled in the feeling of being loved and appreciated and didn't want to have it all crushing on him again. Honestly, he just wanted to buy time, because he wasn't even sure if he could survive anymore.
"Sure enough" Milotanus snorted sarcastically. He really didn't think that was funny in the slightest and the tone of his voice made it clear that he was done with this battle "It's easy to say these words, but experience taught me that putting them in action is close to impossible. Do you want to know how i became like this? I was a noisy 80 year old who was kicked out of the house by some ungrateful adults while Chiaranagna chased romantic fantasies and became victim of a cruel joke. You'll never understand the struggle of Ugmons, scorned by society when human and hunted down when becoming monsters. There just isn't a choice and i'm just doing what's best for those under my command. It's even more frustrating when you look at that Ugmon posing as a hero and making all of us even more miserable"
Before Phoenix Man could ponder on that last part, he felt a gust of wind, two long and thin hands on his neck, a crack and then nothing else.
Milotanus just snapped his neck, but Phoenix Man wasn't going to lay down and die just yet. He had too many people that were counting on him.
Caroline, Gloria, the monsters under his command and the fleeing civilians. He willed himself to rise again like a mighty phoenix and scorch his enemies.
And then maybe ponder on these dilemmas.
Before he realized his newfound inner desire, an intense wave of energy filled his body and he felt his own being changing.
Now he could see his surroundings, but his body felt weird. It felt more humanoid, the long neck and the wings were gone and he felt two new limbs on his back.
The newly-resurrected Phoenix Man found a mirror in one of the broken homes. It was cracked, but at least it showed him his new form. Phoenix Man stretched the wings on his back and two gusts of wind raised dust in the air.
He was pleased by this turn of events and went back to his troops. 'So this is the power of my costume...It will be handy to say the least, but now i have to commence a more practical test!' Phoenix Man thought as he arrived at the new battle site, where his troops were, as expected, being annihilated.
Phoenix Man looked down to Milotanus, who had now noticed him, and shouted "Phoenix's Radiance!". The costume monster retracted his wings and then stretched them out, causing a large wave of golden fire to come crashing down on Milotanus and his brigade.
While the Ugmons were being scorched by the fiery wave, Phoenix Man realized too late that his attack hit his own troops as well. But, weirdly enough, the fire passed harmlessly through them.
Phoenix Man was transfixed by the spectacle, but then noticed a monster trying to call him down to earth. Phoenix Man looked at him and nodded, acknowledging his presence.
"Oh sir, thank you for your intervention! We were getting overwhelmed and in a hurry we sent the Dragonfly away..." the monster, who seemed to be pretty high in this troop's command chain, said rather sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it, our work here is done, but first i need to know the casualties" Phoenix Man asked him. The monster's canine face blanched and he said "...More than half of the troop is dead..."
Phoenix Man grimaced, but didn't have time to reply as another monster approached him and said "Sir! We've got the news that Shinko has arrived and defeated the Magmatic Lizard King!"
At that the remaining group erupted into cheers and Phoenix Man smiled. 'Things are really looking up today'
X X X
'Things are really NOT looking up today' Monoculor thought as they camped in Mizuki's apartment. He was really trying to find positives in this day, but was continously failing at it.
Their attempted escape failed, Ariol was still unconscious on the couch (on the opposite side of Mizuki's) and Gaia had been taken from them.
They also made a hole in the ceiling of her kitchen in order to enter the house.
Hopefully Mizuki wouldn't notice that or at the very least not get too mad about it.
The rest of the Wastelanders? Trying to forget that this morning ever happened at all, and to do that they formed little groups where they talked amongst themselves. Though that tactic didn't seem to be working too good.
'At least Belphomet is at my side now' Monoculor thought to console himself and so turned to his brother, who promptly smiled at him. This caused Monoculor to return the favor, but with this situation, his efforts were half-hearted.
"Don't worry brother, it will be all right. We just need to get Shinko on this and-" Belphomet was talking to reassure his brother, but Sandscale Dragon interrupted him.
He looked stoic as he said "And that's the problem. Despite being our friend, Shinko is first and foremost a part of the Hero Association. This attack won't pass unnoticed and the first chance they get, they will organize a punitive expedition, which Shinko will undoubtedly be a part of. This time we have to do things carefully or we get caught up in the crossfire. You know what that will mean, Monoculor"
The aforementioned monster looked at him, then lowered his head and said "You're right" then looked at the couch where Ariol, now wide awake, spoke at the same time.
"You're right that we have to do things ourselves" Ariol started, sounding calm, then exploded "But why did Shinko have to leave right in this moment!? Hostile monsters were appearing more and more! Why did he have to leave us wide open for an attack like that!? None of this would've ever happened hadn't he-"
Ariol's nearly hysterical ranting was interrupted by Lamia's growl, and she looked both sympathetic and angry at the same time. A combination hard to make, but Nark knew how good she was at it.
"I know that you're feeling something no one should go through, but you can't take your anger out on Shinko! He has a family to protect too. A mother and a little sister he really loves, just like you!" she said with such passion.
Ariol stopped, a few cords being struck, and feel quiet. Some of the other monsters, having witnessed that exchange, decided to go to the kitchen to prepare a meal.
With them gone, Monoculor seemed to hear some groans. Just like that, the large form of Mizuki awakened from the couch.
X X X
It was so easy. Find the correct body, walk the correct corridors and then use the correct key-cards.
Infiltrating this place was so easy, he wondered why everyone else thought it was impossible. Maybe because of the S class, but he should be able to deal with them just fine.
Now the plan could be finally put in action!
Well then, this chapter was quite packed. I hope you liked to hear the monsters' POVs, really useful to develop the Monster Lords' backstories. You'll also hear about the one of Markedus!
Until next time then, and a thanks for those who have joined!