Sea of Monsters Chapter 5:

King of Monsters

Day 11

Two days have passed since Asterios, Euryale and Stheno came aboard the Golden Hind. Unfortunately for them, Asterios remained below deck at all times due to his nervousness around the ocean. Not wanting to make him feel alone, the twins decided to stay with him out of gratitude for his protection. Thankfully, the crew was more than understanding, and occasionally made time to check up on them to see if they needed anything. Medusa came by to visit them constantly, and today was no different. The Rider was talking with the three of them when something was gnawing at the back of her mind.

"Sisters, how long were you here in this Singularity before Asterios found you?"

"Why are you curious?" Stheno asked.

"It's because we found a map a few days before finding you." Medusa answered. "And it pointed to the island you all were on."

"So they somehow figured out where we would run to." Euryale muttered.

"So you were being chased." Medusa said. "That brings me back to my question of how long you were here?"

"How long have you been here?" Stheno asked.

"Eleven days." Medusa answered.

"We've been here for almost a month." Stheno replied.

Medusa's eyes widened. "How long were you two at sea?"

"I'd say four to five days." Euryale answered. "We got lucky with the wind currents and how the animals distracted our pursuers, but they caught up to us eventually, and we had to run towards Crete, so that took another few days."

"I see." Medusa muttered. "And how long was Asterios protecting you until we came along?"

"About a week." Stheno answered.

"Then we came along not long after." Medusa said. The Rider turned to Asterios and smiled. "Thank you for protecting my sisters for as long as you did."

Asterios grunted and stared at her guiltily. "Sorry…for…..attacking….you…."

Medusa shook her head. "It's fine. I should have tried reasoning with you first, so I apologize as well."

The sound of footsteps put them on alert. The four of them turned around to see Alexander walking towards them with a bright smile. "Sorry to break up the conversation, but you're needed topside, Medusa."

The Rider nodded and hugged her sisters. "I'll be back at some point."

Medusa then got up and walked towards Alexander. The red haired Rider gave her a reassuring glance. "Tatsuko is about to come down to talk to them. Don't worry."

"Thank you for notifying me." Medusa said. The purple haired Rider passed by him, only to see Tatsuko coming down the stairs. They smiled at each other briefly before Medusa passed by her and walked up the steps towards the deck. The salty sea air hit her nose almost immediately as she looked around. Medusa found Mashu talking to Medea, with Fou in between them, so the Rider walked up to them and cleared her throat.

"I understand I was needed up here?" Medusa asked.

"Yes." Mashu said. "Senpai wanted to get some advice from you. He said that you would be the most qualified person to ask."

Medusa nodded. "I'll go find him right away."

"Before you go, how is Asterios doing?" Medea asked.

"He's doing fine." Medusa answered. "I think having my sisters around is making him feel better about this voyage."

"I hope they're treating him alright." Medea said.

"They are, don't worry." Medusa said. "In fact they've been really gentle when speaking with him."

"I'm glad to hear it." Medea said. "I've kept you long enough. Go find Fujimaru and see what he needs."

Medusa nodded and walked away. The Rider didn't have to look for long as she found the male Master near the helm of the ship, looking at the map again. A devious thought wormed its way into Medusa's mind, causing her to grin. The purple haired woman slowly walked up the stairs, hoping that Ritsuka wouldn't look up. She then got behind him, and covered his eyes with her hands. The black haired teen was startled for a few moments, but eventually sighed.

"Haha, very funny, Medusa." Ritsuka said sarcastically.

Medusa chuckled as she pulled her hands away from his face. "You're just too easy to tease, sometimes."

"I am not." Ritsuka said as he turned to face her.

Medusa rolled her eyes playfully before pushing her glasses back to position. "I understand that you want my advice on something. How can I help?"

Ritsuka pointed on the map to an island a few inches from the destroyed island of Crete. "I saw something like a lake or pond on this island right here. I was thinking we could take Asterios there so I could teach him how to swim."

Medusa raised an eyebrow. "You want to teach Asterios how to swim?"

Ritsuka nodded. "I just think it would be a fun thing for him to do. And it would probably be a good way to help him forget about….well…you know…"

"About not being able to leave his little abode?" Medusa asked.

"That's not an abode. That labyrinth was a prison, and he was the prisoner."

"Oh? And the people sent down there weren't?" Medusa said calmly.

Ritsuka shivered. "King Minos was an evil bastard. He could have chosen any number of things for those poor souls, but he chose the labyrinth deliberately. I don't even want to think about the implications….."

"A fair point." Medusa said. "However, why do you think he would want to learn how to swim?"

"It's just this hunch I have." Ritsuka said. "I get the feeling that, like me, he's wanting to distance himself from his past, and trying to be something different."

Medusa widened her eyes in concern. "Does this mean the kind boy before me is a mere fake personality? It's just some mask?"

"Nope. It's not a mask." Ritsuka said. "I've always wanted to help people ever since Doc taught me how to heal people. The only thing that's changed is that I'm trying to be more like this for Mashu's sake."

Medusa raised an eyebrow. "For Mashu's sake?"

"I just want to be a good senpai for her." Ritsuka said. "Oh! I could also teach her and Tatsuko how to swim as well!"

Medusa grinned. "Maybe you should leave teaching them to me."

Ritsuka looked at the Rider in curiosity. "Why?"

"Because the moment you see Mashu in a swimsuit, you're probably going to clam up and freeze."

Ritsuka blushed a bright crimson. "W-w-why are you doing this?"

"As I said before, you're fun to tease." Medusa said. "I must say though, you do seem to love the idea of swimming."

Ritsuka sighed. "Yeah, it was a way to forget about my problems."

"Problems?"

Ritsuka nodded. "Remember when I said that Doc and I faced discrimination from lots of people in the red light district we lived in? Well on some occasions, Doc would take me and Sora away from the district, lead us to the canal that runs under Fuyuki bridge, and taught me to swim."

"So she also taught you to swim alongside everything else?" Medusa asked.

Ritsuka nodded. "I always loved it when she did that. Because when I was swimming, I could forget about the district, the people, everything. I could feel what it would be like to have a normal life."

"She took the dog with you as well, then." Medusa muttered. "Did Sora ever play with you in the water?"

"Yeah, he did." Ritsuka answered.

"And Doctor Williams? How good of a swimmer is she?"

Ritsuka chuckled deviously. "That was the one area where I surpassed her in. After she taught me everything she knew, I actually ended up being the better swimmer between the two of us. She's pretty good, but I'm better."

"You sound pretty confident with that." Medusa said in amusement.

"I have every reason to be." Ritsuka replied. "She and I would race from one side of the canal, to the other. When I was younger, she would beat me easily. But after I turned thirteen, I would constantly run laps around her. Ever since then, I have been the better swimmer."

"Have you considered the possibility of her holding back?" Medusa asked.

"I considered that possibility, but she and I refused to use Magecraft during our races, so it's unlikely." Ritsuka said. "Okay I think we talked enough about my childhood for one day. I'd actually like to know more about you."

"I…don't think that my life was anything of note compared to yours." Medusa said.

"You don't need to say everything." Ritsuka said reassuringly. "I'm just curious if you have a funny story or a fond memory with you and your sisters."

Medusa's face softened as a smile formed on her face. "In that case, I have some things to tell you."

Ritsuka smiled. "How about you tell me while we look at the map a bit?"

Medusa nodded and walked closer to the map. As they looked at some of the islands, the Rider would tell the male Master about some bits about her life on the Shapeless Isles, and the hijinks she would get into.

"Nuh uh, there's no way she did that!" Tatsuko said.

Ritsuka grinned. "It's all true. She would hang a clothesline on the people she turned into statues and use them to hang laundry."

"That is….a little dark." Mashu said.

Medea chuckled. "It's still funny in a way."

Mashu said nothing as she rowed them all to the island. After finishing up his conversation with Medusa, the island they were hoping to find coincidentally showed up on their starboard. In the interest of saving time and to make this a speedy mission, only Medea and Mashu were going with the Masters to the island, meaning Fou had to stay behind with Medusa and Ushiwakamaru to look after him.

"Okay, do you have the map, Medea?" Tatsuko asked.

The Caster nodded and brought it out for her and the Masters to look at carefully. "After the incident on Crete, I got suspicious, and decided to take a more thorough look at these islands. In doing so, it only proved my intuition was correct."

"What did you find?" Mashu asked.

"Each island seems to be one of the island kingdoms of Ancient Greece."

The Trio looked at the Caster in shock. If this is true, then that means that this Singularity is more and more mysterious.

"I should have seen this sooner." Medea said. "Crete should have been obvious, but I still didn't see what was right in front of me, and thought that it was a random island."

"Don't beat yourself over this." Ritsuka said. "Only half of that island was standing, so it's not like it would have been completely obvious."

"It really doesn't matter now." Tatsuko said. "All that matters is which island we're going to be exploring in a few minutes."

Medea nodded and looked at the island in front of them, and then back to the map. "Okay, so we're heading towards Ithaca. And unlike Crete, this island kingdom seems to have only some damage, instead of it being torn in half."

"Okay, so what else do you know of this island aside from it being the birthplace of Odysseus?" Ritsuka asked.

"I do not know much." Medea said. "And I'm not interested in a history lesson from you either."

Ritsuka looked at her with a crestfallen expression, before turning away in sadness. Tatsuko looked at Medea sternly and crossed her arms. Medea saw this and noted that she was being a little too rude to the boy who's trying to help her cousin. Medea sighed and took a deep breath.

"I do appreciate what you're trying to do for Asterios, Fujimaru." Medea said. "I mean it too."

"Thanks." Ritsuka said with a smile. "I just want to put a smile on his face and for him to enjoy himself?"

"Excuse me everyone, but we're about to land on the beach." Mashu said. Everyone prepared for the boat to hit the bank of the shore. The moment they felt the resistance, everyone got out and pulled the boat to the shoreline and halfway between the beach and the waters.

"Okay, Medea can you stay here and watch the boat?" Tatsuko asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Medea said. "I should probably come along."

"It's essential that someone watches it." Tatsuko said. "In the event we can't teleport, we would need that boat."

Medea sighed. "Fine, just don't get careless."

"Do not worry." Mashu said. "I will do my best to protect our Masters."

"I know." Medea said. The Caster then watched as the Chaldean Trio walked off into the woods. It didn't take them long to find a good sized pond for their intended surprise, but what really made it awe inspiring were the beautiful animals drinking from it and cooling off.

"Wow, this is a sight to behold." Ritsuka said.

The communicator activated and Roman smiled at the sight of the pond. "It's definitely a good place to practice one's swimming."

"How deep is it?" Tatsuko asked.

"Deep enough for Asterios to be able to fully submerge himself in and have room for him to swim to the bottom."

"Perfect!" Ritsuka said. "This is exactly what we needed!"

"Then all we need to do is tell Medea to go back to the ship and tell the others." Tatsuko said.

Ritsuka nodded and was about to open up a telepathic link to the Caster, only for something to shine in his eyes. Tatsuko and Mashu saw the glint as well, causing them to try and find the source until they looked further into the pond. Down at the bottom was a pulsating light, but they could not make out what it was.

"What is that?" Mashu asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to check it out." Ritsuka said. Before anyone could say anything, the male Master dove into the pond, startling the animals for a moment. The two girls and Roman stared in shock and disbelief at Ritsuka's sudden decision and watched as the pond started to calm itself. Not a few seconds later, Ritsuka came back up with something in his hands. But the female Master, Shielder and acting director stared at him with serious expressions.

"What the hell, man?!" Tatsuko shouted. "That was reckless as hell!"

"Why are you getting upset?" Ritsuka asked. "I did this once before when I got the map, remember?"

"Yeah but back then we could actually see the bottom of that pond." Roman countered. "This one we couldn't see!"

"I still don't see what the big deal is." Ritsuka said. "I got what was at the bottom, and that's all."

"Senpai, I understand that we are in no present danger right now," Mashu said. "But please, you have to be a little more cautious."

"Mashu, I appreciate the concern, but I know what I'm doing." Ritsuka said. "Look, how about I only jump in without a prompt when there's another swimmer around."

"Okay, that's fair." Tatsuko said. Mashu and Roman nodded in silent agreement as Ritsuka came out of the pond and shook the water out of his hair. As he did so, everyone looked at the object in his hands, and immediately knew it was what was shining at them earlier. Before anyone could ask about it, the animals around the pond got up and started running away as if their lives depended on it.

"What the heck was that all about?" Tatsuko asked.

A powerful pressure answered her question somewhat. The Chaldean Trio looked at each other in confusion as they felt the pressure grow heavier.

"Are you guys feeling that?" Tatsuko asked.

"Yeah, this is…...I don't know how to describe it." Ritsuka said.

"I can taste it." Mashu said.

"Guys, I think something's coming." Roman said.

The Chaldean Trio looked at the communicator with surprise written on their faces. The only things inhabiting this island so far were them, Medea, and the harmless animals at the pond. They haven't seen anyone, or anything else in the vicinity, so why did he say-

The ground quaked beneath the Chaldean Trio. They looked around to see where the source was, but the tremors made it difficult. Tatsuko looked at Ritsuka and Mashu with a calm expression. "I'm going to try something, so keep an eye out."

The male Master and Shielder nodded. They looked around to see what was happening, only to feel another tremor. Tatsuko put an ear to the ground and closed her eyes. Another tremor shook the ground. The female Master took slow, deep breaths to calm herself down, and focused. She felt another tremor, which caused her to scrunch her face in confusion. This wasn't an earthquake. No, the tremors were too separated from each other for that. A loud thud caused her to open her eyes in shock.

They were footsteps. And whoever they belonged to, it was big.

She got up from the ground and looked at the others with fear in her eyes. "We need to leave. Now."

Their eyes widened as they heard the thumping of footsteps getting closer and closer. The Chaldean trio saw something in the tree lines, and froze at what they saw. A very large, bipedal phantasmal beast with forest green coloration and a muscular upper body. Its thick hide was littered with short, jagged spines that reached along the back and tail. It had a narrow snout with a large lower jaw, covered in multiple rows of teeth spreading outwards from the mouth. It had massive, powerful hind legs, but tiny, poorly developed forelegs. The creature saw them, its glowing yellow eyes stared down at them with absolute hostility. It peaked its head out from the trees, and snarled at them, before unleashing a mighty roar.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNK!"

"RUN!" Roman shouted.

The Chaldean Trio ran for their very lives as the large Phantasmal Beast gave chase. Mashu looked back and saw it opening its maw, and took a swipe at her. The shielder leapt out of the way and closer to Tatsuko, who didn't even bother to look back. The phantasmal beast then lowered its head to the ground, and used its lower jaw to scrape the ground, trying to use the debris to catch the Chaldean Trio. Fortunately, Mashu used her shield to block the debris, but that made it so the beast got closer to her, and Tatsuko instinctively activated her magic circuits to create a dust cloud from the dust in the air, temporarily blinding the beast before it swiped the air with its tail. The Shielder turned around and ran as fast as possible. While she could theoretically use her Noble Phantasm to stop the beast, she didn't know how long she would be able to hold out against it, and that fear caused her to continue fleeing, but also making sure she didn't outrun the two Masters so as to make sure they were safe.

The green Phantasmal Beast dove its head back down to try and bite her, but Mashu was quicker, and jumped out of the way in time once again. The Shielder did not bother to look back again as the beast started to catch up to the three teens. Mashu looked around, and saw some trees she could destroy to block its path. The Shielder swung her shield and broke the trees behind her, making a makeshift barrier to give everyone breathing room, but she knew it wouldn't hold. Ritsuka looked at Roman with absolute fear in his eyes.

"How much longer until we get to the golden hind?!" He asked.

"You're about to reach the tree line!" Roman shouted. "Just keep running like your lives depend on it!"

"What the fuck does it look like we're doing Roman?!" Tatsuko shouted.

"Everyone, we're almost at the tree line!" Mashu shouted. She turned back and saw the monster finally break through the felled trees and run towards them, but it wasn't catching up to them this time, instead it was running at a slightly slower pace. The Chaldean Trio then saw the tree line break, and ran out of the jungle. They saw Medea on the shore line waiting for them with a confused glance as she saw them sprinting for their lives. The Caster's eyes widened in fear as she saw the large Phantasmal Beast break through the tree line and gave chase to the Chaldean Trio.

"MEDEA, GET A TELEPORTATION SPELL READY NOW!" Tatsuko shouted again.

"ON IT!"

The Caster immediately went to work as the Chaldean Trio finally reached her. The large Phantasmal beast was almost upon them when Medea's spell activated, teleporting them to the Golden Hind. Everyone on the ship ran to them with concern as the two Masters panted heavily. They saw the monster on the shore from their location, and immediately widened their eyes in horror.

"That was too close for comfort." Roman said.

"What the hell happened?!" Medusa shouted.

"We…..we…we just ran into the fucking Eviljho, that's what!" Tatsuko said in between labored breaths.

"Don't you mean Deviljho?" One of the analysts asked from behind Roman.

"We call it Eviljho in Japan, Adam!" Tatsuko countered. "Now can someone tell me why the Eviljho was there?!"

Iris appeared on the communicator with a frightened look. "Ummmm I don't want to be that person…. but that's not its actual name. It's actually called a Ravenous Dreadlord."

"Okay….that actually sounds…much worse!" Ritsuka shouted through his laborious breathing.

"And it'll continue to get worse." Iris said. "Those things are alpha predators. Any area they enter immediately becomes their territory. Not only that, but they have a nickname."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" Drake asked.

"It is also called the King of Monsters."

The two Masters shivered at the name. It was definitely fitting though, given the size…

"Iris, What else can you tell us about that Godzilla ripoff?" Ritsuka asked.

"Well, the Ravenous Dreadlord is incredibly foul tempered." Iris continued. "And as the first part of the name suggests, it has a high metabolism, meaning an incredible appetite. And it's almost always looking for its next meal."

"I could've told them all that…" Medea answered.

"Now now Medea, let other people have their moment to shine." Davinci countered. Medea huffed in defiance.

"Well I am guessing the whole Dreadlord part is self explanatory." Mashu replied. "That thing was terrifying."

"You have no idea, Mashu." Iris replied. "The Ravenous Dreadlord is incredibly aggressive by nature, and when it fights, it doesn't stop until it, or whatever it's fighting, is dead. And it tends wins those fights."

"You can't be serious….." Tatsuko muttered.

"No, she's right." Medea answered. "The Dreadlord is one of the strongest Phantasmal Beasts out there. Usually the only thing that can kill a Dreadlord…..is another Dreadlord."

"Okay, any other terrifying facts you guys want to tell us about that thing?" Okita asked.

Iris nodded reluctantly. "They're also very intelligent. It can use its mouth to pick up trees, or even other phantasmal beasts and use them as weapons to attack its prey. And it can think of plans on how to take down their quarry."

"I noticed that when we were running from it earlier." Mashu said. "It was scraping its jaw on the ground to hit us with debris."

"Yes, it does do that as a way to disorient their potential prey." Iris replied. "But there's something else you should all know."

"What's that?" Alexander asked.

"The Ravenous Dreadlord is also incredibly persistent." Iris answered. "Almost nothing can stop it when it sets its sights on something."

The Chaldean Trio stared at her in shock. This thing sounded less like a creature, and more like a force of nature.

"Well, we've set sail already." Drake said. "So maybe we-"

"Cap'n, we have a problem at the stern!"

The Chaldean Trio and drake immediately ran towards the stern of the ship, and their eyes widened in shock. Of all the things to happen, this was one of the most terrifying, yet also the most ridiculous things they have ever seen so far.

Swimming towards them, with its head peeking out the water, was the Ravenous Dreadlord.

Tatsuko stared at the monster in utter disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me, that fucking pickle can swim?!"

"Yeah…..I was about to say that they're also excellent swimmers…." Iris said.

"Well that's just great!" Euryale shouted. "If it can swim this far, how are we supposed to get rid of it?"

"Why not use Medusa's eyes to turn it to stone?" Ushiwakamaru asked.

"My eyes are still not functioning properly." Medusa said.

"Is…..it….tasty?" Asterios asked. Everyone looked at the Berserker with shocked expressions. They were being chased by a walking, roaring force of nature, and he was wondering if it was edible?

"I don't know if it is," Alexander said. "But we're not sticking around to find out."

"Men, get the anchor up now!" Drake shouted. The men worked as fast as they could to get the anchor back up. The moment it was up, the sails were released, and the Golden Hind sailed as quickly as it could to escape the Ravenous Dreadlord.

Unfortunately for them, as the minutes passed, it was clear that even in the open waters, the Ravenous Dreadlord was fast enough to keep up with the Golden Hind. The Phantasmal Beast let out a mighty roar as it caught up to them, terrifying everyone. Their fear turned into horror as the monster scraped its jaw upon the back of the ship. The horrible crunch sent shivers down everyone's spines as they saw the damage for themselves. While it was bad, the damage could be repaired whenever they could get the time to make landfall. And as if by luck, on their right was an island they could land on, and hopefully take on the Ravenous Dreadlord with everything they had.

That is, until the Chaldean Trio, Medusa and Medea heard a familiar roar coming from that direction. A moment later, a large flying creature appeared from the island and made its way towards the ship. Its red scales and bulbous tail caused Tatsuko to scowl.

"Oh come the fuck on, I thought we were done with wyverns!"

"Actually I believe it is a Royal Wyvern." Mashu said.

"Why is that important?!" Tatsuko shouted back. The Royal Wyvern roared once more as it raised its talons to strike. Everyone was about to ready for a fight, when they watched in shock as the flying phantasmal beast flew by them, and attacked the most unlikely individual.

The Royal Wyvern struck against the Ravenous Dreadlord. The crew could only watch as the flying Phantasmal Beast clawed at the King of Monsters repeatedly, but the Ravenous Dreadlord continued to ignore it as it continued to try to attack the Golden Hind. They had no idea what to do in that situation, and their confusion allowed them to watch as after a little too many scratches, the Ravenous Dreadlord had enough, and attacked the Royal Wyvern. The King of Monsters tried biting at the wyvern, but the red scaled beast evaded the strike and shot a fireball at its opponent. The Ravenous Dreadlord did not even register the attack, and lunged its fangs at its wing, but the Royal Wyvern flew a little out of the way to try and swipe it with his tail. The Ravenous Dreadlord ducked its head under the water and then shot back up for another attempt at its opponent's wing.

"That's right, try to kill that fucking flying menace!" Tatsuko shouted. Everyone looked at her as if she was a psychopath in the making.

"Hey Iris, what are the odds of that Royal Wyvern winning?" Alexander asked.

Iris looked at the Rider sadly. "Very small."

"Are you sure?"

Iris nodded. "If it was a full adult, then it would have a better chance at survival, but as it is now…he practically flew to its death."

Alexander returned his focus back to the fight, and saw the Royal Wyvern scratch the Ravenous Dreadlord on its back, causing the King of Monsters to roar angrily. The Royal Wyvern flew high, only to soar back down for another attack, only for the Ravenous Dreadlord to open its mouth, and fire a black, smoky blast of magical energy straight at it. Everyone watched in shock and horror as the Royal Wyvern shrieked in pain as it was hit square in the chest, with the blast tearing a hole through its chest. The Royal Wyvern was bleeding heavily, and slowly flew back to the island, struggling to keep itself in the air. The Ravenous Dreadlord abandoned its chase of the Golden Hind, and swam after the Royal Wyvern. Everyone watched as the flying Phantasmal Beast slowly glided to the beach, only to fall to the ground, skidding on the sandy beach and into the treeline.

The wound it sustained killed it before it could even safely land. Everyone then watched in horror as the Ravenous Dreadlord made it to the shore, stomped its foot on the Royal Wyvern's head, and then sank its teeth into its flesh. The King of Monsters ripped a chunk of the corpse's flesh and roared in triumph.

"It can do breath attacks?!" Tatsuko shouted.

"That's its most powerful weapon." Iris answered. "Fortunately for everyone here, you can now sail without it chasing you since it will be eating that wyvern."

"Well regardless, we're gonna have to get the ship repaired at some point." Drake said. "We should probably try to find the next island soon."

Everyone gave a silent nod as they heard the roaring of the Ravenous Dreadlord get softer and softer as they sailed away.

Tatsuko looked at the stars glittering in the night sky. After the incident today, everything almost went back to normal, but the Ravenous Dreadlord's attack still weighed on her mind. Looks like she won't be seeing pickles the same way anymore…..

The sound of footsteps caused her to turn around, and she saw Medea coming up to the deck. The blue haired Caster turned her head as if looking for someone. Tatsuko turned her body a bit and rested her arm on the side of the ship.

"I'm over here."

Medea turned to her with slight surprise. "How did you know I was looking for you?"

"It was kind of obvious." Tatsuko answered. Medea shrugged and joined Tatsuko at the side of the ship and watched the stars with her.

"You can say it, you know." Tatsuko said.

"Say what?" Medea asked.

"That we should listen to you next time." Tatsuko said.

Medea patted Tatsuko on the shoulder. "I'm not going to say it."

"Thanks."

Medea grinned and leaned in close to Tatsuko's ear.

"Still, you should listen to me more." She whispered.

Tatsuko said nothing. Medea looked at the female Master and noted the look of defeat written on her face.

"Don't feel upset with what happened today." Medea said calmly.

"Don't feel upset?" Tatsuko asked. "We went to that island so we could help Asterios learn to swim and conquer his nervousness, only for us to have to abandon that and get chased by that fucking angry dinosaur. We wasted everyone's time….."

"No we didn't." Medea said. The Caster reached into her robes and took out the red pyramid shaped jewel Ritsuka found on Ithaca. "It was a very good thing we went to Ithaca today."

"What is that by the way?" Tatsuko asked.

"It's a teleportation Mystic Code." Medea answered. "With this, I can use my teleportation spells more than once a day."

"Does this mean you can teleport us anywhere in the Singularity?"

"Well theoretically yes." Medea said. "However, I need a destination in mind, otherwise if I use it, we will teleport somewhere at random, and that could spell disaster."

"Well it definitely sounds like a game changer." Tatsuko replied.

"And there's more good news." Medea said. "Fujimaru told Asterios about the idea of teaching him to swim, and my cousin was pretty interested in learning."

"Well that is good news." Tatsuko replied. The female Master narrowed her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Say, Medea, I've been curious about something, but you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Medea looked at the orange haired teen sternly. "I will listen to what you want to ask, but depending on what it is, I will probably not grace it with an answer."

"That's fair." Tatsuko said. The orange haired girl took a deep breath before calming down and stared at Medea.

"Why are you still treating Ritsuka the way you do?"

Medea said nothing for a while. The Caster looked at the night sky before sighing and taking a deep breath.

"He reminds me of Jason."

Tatsuko looked at her in confusion. "I read about him a bit, but how can you say that Ritsuka reminds you of him? Jason was this incredibly strong human, right? How does that translate to Ritsuka?"

Medea scoffed. "Jason was never as strong as the stories said. He lied about some things to make him sound more impressive. The only thing he was good at was being charismatic enough to keep everyone in line, and his tactics. Aside from that, he was a rotten person."

"Okay, now you're just projecting Jason onto Ritsuka!" Tatsuko said. "Ritsuka is a good guy. Sure he has flaws, but he's not this nasty person like you say Jason is."

"But you can't deny that they are similar in many ways." Medea countered. "That is why I can't help but be suspicious of Fujimaru."

"But how is that fair for Ritsuka?" Tatsuko asked. "He's got enough problems as it is. And all you're doing is reminding him of…..them."

"Them?" Medea asked. The Caster's eyes widened. "You mean his neighbors…."

Tatsuko nodded. "He has thick skin, but I can tell it still hurts him a bit. He told me some of the names they would call him and Doctor Williams. I…I can't even repeat them because of how bad they were…."

"I see…." Medea said. "I do have an inkling on what that's like. I remember how people looked at me when Jason and I returned to his homeland…."

"You don't have to say anymore." Tatsuko said. "It's not going to be good for either of us…."

"You're probably right on that front." Medea said. "Okay, let us speak no more of this for right now."

"Thanks." Tatsuko said. "I'm sorry if I sounded mean back there, but I just owe Ritsuka a bit of gratitude, and I just wanted to defend him a bit….."

Medea smiled. "You have nothing to apologize for. You were defending your friend, so don't let my bitterness ruin that for you."

Tatsuko nodded and looked at the Caster shyly. "There IS one other thing I've been wondering about, and it has to do with Ancient Greece in general…."

"Ask away, and I'll be happy to answer." Medea said. Tatsuko proceeded to lean in close to Medea's ear.

"Is it true all the Greeks at that time were bisexual?"

Medea's eyes widened for a moment before she giggled for a bit. "It's a little exaggerated, but a huge chunk of us swung that way. Including me."

Tatsuko's eyes widened. "You're bisexual?"

Medea nodded. "I fell in love with both men and women alike."

"Did you ever have a relationship with another woman back when you were alive?" Tatsuko asked.

Medea shook her head. "No, I had to remain pure for a potential political marriage. If I had any intimate relations before then, it'd be a scandal. However, I am not afraid to admit that I did have some…..less than pure thoughts about some of the women in court."

"Oh? So you had thoughts of bedding them before?" Tatsuko asked.

Medea nodded. "Honestly, it would probably have been more fun to have given my first kiss to one of my female friends back in Colchis, just to see how that would have gone down."

Medea laughed to herself for a few moments before realizing something odd. Tatsuko wasn't laughing with her. Instead, Tatsuko looked down at the sea, her face sullen and defeated.

"Tatsuko? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Tatsuko said. "I just think it must be nice for you to talk about giving away your first kiss so casually….."

Medea looked at the female Master in concern. She could tell that the orange haired girl was upset, but she didn't know what it was. She had to get to the bottom of this before another argument happened. "Please, tell me what happened."

Tatsuko fell to her knees, and put her back against the railing and curled up into a ball. The Caster felt her heart stop as she saw the female Master staring at nothing as she sat there.

"Do you want to hear the story of how I discovered I was a lesbian?"

Medea nodded slowly, and reluctantly. The blue haired Caster sat down next to Tatsuko and looked at the female Master's saddened face. "I'd like to hear it."

Tatsuko nodded. "I was ten years old when it happened. There was this senpai of mine who was one grade ahead of me. Matsuri was her name. She was really pretty, with her short black hair and pink eyes. She and I would hang out occasionally for the next few months. And everytime she talked to me, I felt my heart race. I didn't know why at the time, but I merely suspected what it was….."

"It sounds like you two were close." Medea said.

"I thought so too…." Tatsuko said.

Medea's eyes widened. "She was your first kiss, wasn't she?"

Tatsuko nodded. "And a few days after that, it became my biggest regret…."

Medea looked at the female Master in horror. It was apparent as to what happened now, and it made her stomach churn at the discovery. "Tatsuko, you don't have to continue if you don't want to."

"It's fine." Tatsuko said. "I need to get this off my chest anyway."

Medea looked at the orange haired girl and nodded reluctantly. "Okay, but if you start crying, I want you to stop talking about this, and I'll make you some tea to calm your nerves."

Tatsuko nodded silently before taking a deep breath. "I realized that I had a huge crush on Matsuri, and I was going to confess to her about my feelings when I overheard her talking to her friends…..It turns out she was bragging about having her first kiss. She refused to say who, so I decided to confess to her when we were alone. Before I even could tell her how I felt, I decided to bring up the kiss, and do you know what she said?"

"I think I do….." Medea said.

"Matsuri only kissed me so she could brag to her friends about having done so." Tatsuko muttered. "She was the one who suggested it in the first place, and I fell for it, hook, line and sinker. And she made sure I knew it by saying how easy it was to get me to do it."

Medea gasped. "She didn't."

"Oh she did." Tatsuko said. "And it gets worse. She also said that she was only pretending to be my friend for this sole purpose. That being around me was so exhausting."

Medea watched as Tatsuko started to shake and tremble. The female Master clutched her knees tightly as she closed her eyes to try and stop herself from breaking down.

"Do you know what the final thing Matsuri said to me that day?" Tatsuko asked. "She asked me if I really thought that anyone would ever want to hang out with someone like me. Well thanks to that little reveal, I got fucked up in the head. I kept thinking how I was a freak for-"

Tatsuko stopped as soon as she felt Medea's hand upon her shoulder. The Caster looked at her sternly, yet also gently. "That Matsuri girl clearly made the biggest mistake of her life for throwing someone as wonderful as you away like that."

Tatsuko's eyes widened as Medea stroked her shoulder. The Caster's face softened as she stared at the female Master. "You deserved much better than that. And I believe one day that you'll find a nice girl to settle down with one day, maybe even adopt a couple of kids while you're at it."

Tatsuko stared at the Caster for the longest time before a small sigh escaped her lips. "Thanks, Medea. I appreciate it."

"No need to thank me." Medea said. "Now, let's just look at the stars a bit in silence. I'll stay with you for as long as you want."

A small smile formed on Tatsuko's face as she nodded. The two of them decided to not even get up from where they were sitting, and looked up to the night sky to watch the stars glisten in the night.

OC: Holy shit, this turned out much more serious than I thought it would.

CV: Yeah, that last part added quite a bit of tone.

OC: Tone? Try a completely different path entirely…..Honestly, poor Tatsuko had to go through something like that….I just can't even fathom how that must have felt….

CV: Girl had it tough, but at least it's over, and she can begin to heal with her new friends.

OC: One can only hope. This is the kind of thing that needs a more subtle approach after all.

CV: Very true.

OC: Well let's try to discuss some parts of the chapter because there is a lot to unpack. To begin, we finally have a one on one conversation between Ritsuka and Medusa. How did you feel about it Vlad?

CV: It was nice, the way they both talked about the past was interesting, and I like how it paves the way for their friendship`.

OC: Yeah, it kinda had this feeling of an older sister teasing her younger brother, but Medusa also acted like a confidant and appreciated the fact Ritsuka immediately wanted to help Asterios get used to the water. And Ritsuka proved to Medusa that even though he wants to escape his past, his personality was always genuine. The good and the bad. And we got to delve more into the happy memories of Ritsuka where he learned to swim from Hannah.

CV: One of the happy moments from his childhood, how cute. Those memories will be coming back in the future lol.

OC: Yeah, unfortunately he had to remind Medusa that this was more of a distraction from his everyday life that was filled with him and Hannah trying to survive, and the two of them facing discrimination from a lot of their neighbors. I know that this was already brought up in chapter nine, but the Fujimura group has no power in this particular red light district because of how the economic bubble popped a few years before Hannah went there. So the people have been on their own there, and most are not looking forward to that group coming back to clean things up. I know it sounds edgy, but trust me, a little edge isn't bad. In fact that's why we're trying to focus on the happy memories of Ritsuka for a while to show that while his life was pretty terrible, he did have happy moments, and has cherished those memories. For someone like him, you have to balance the bad with the good.

CV: Of course, focusing only on the gloomy aspects would be no fun after all. I like my characters to suffer a bit but even I don't want a backstory to be all pain..

OC: Neither do I. But make no mistake, one day we will have to return to the nightmarish parts. And boy am I terrified of that. But now let's move onto the big part of the chapter! And that is the introduction of the Ravenous Dreadlord. And yes, I think we all know who this Phantasmal Beast is based off of. You know it, you love it, and most importantly, you all dread it! Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to say that my favorite (Non Elder-Dragon) monster in Monster Hunter has finally arrived. THE DEVILJHO IS IN THE HOUSE!

CV: Yep, we're bringing more dangerous creatures to the Singularities. But at least the Deviljho can't travel through Singularities so they will just have to deal with it this time… Right?

OC: Who fucking cares? PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY PICKLE! Sorry folks, I just got excited. I just couldn't hide it. Now the fun thing is that the part where Roman told the Trio something was coming to them, the Ravenous Dreadlord chasing them, and it swimming towards them, much to Tatsuko's disbelief, was actually a rough draft scene I had a few months back, and I have been waiting patiently to implement it. And it's also the very scene that the character Iris was created into being for Chronicles as well.

CV: The introduction of everyone's favorite monster-obsessed girl ladies and gentleman.

OC: And we also had the Ravenous Dreadlord show that it does not fuck around when annoyed. It just blasted a fucking hole in that Royal Wyvern to make it stop attacking him when he just wanted to chow down on the Chaldeans. As for why the Chaldean Servants didn't just attack it and try to kill it? Well Babylonia shows us that Phantasmal Beasts aren't exactly easy to fight. They're incredibly dangerous, and this guy is one of the apex predators, so that should tell you enough on how shit hit the fan when he showed himself. I wanted him to be a Godzilla level threat, and I am sure as hell making sure we deliver on that.

CV: An angry Deviljho is one of the scariest things anyone in the Monster Hunter universe can face, and here it's no different.

OC: And the best part? We actually decided to play up its role as the Godzilla of this series by giving it the actual Godzilla roar! Tremble before it! For when it is heard, you know shit's about to go down! Oh shit…. Vlad I almost forgot something we've been meaning to tell the audience!

CV: Huh? What?

OC: Servant heights! We forgot to inform them on how we're changing it. For those of you that don't know. Some of the Servant heights in the Fate franchise do look either plausible, or accurate. However, there are many more that make NO GODDAMN SENSE! Seriously, the idea that Abby is taller than Nero is just ridiculous! So we're changing that now. We are making the heights of Servants not only based on how tall they look in their artwork, but also on their age. So for example, for eagle eyed viewers, Drake in Chronicles was described as tall. Well in the game she's pretty short. Which makes no fucking sense whatsoever. So people who look like they should be taller, will be taller. While those who are taller but should look shorter, will become shorter. Servants like the male members Knights of the Round Table, Boudicca, Medusa, Quetzacoatl, and some others will keep their original heights because they actually make sense for them.

CV: I always just used heights as a way to make memes at the expenses of said Servants lol.

OC: Well hate to burst your bubble, but that won't be happening here. Sorry. Anyway, let's move on to the last part of the chapter, and perhaps the most difficult to write….. The conversation between Tatsuko and Medea. Honestly that one scene was pretty sad, and I can't help but feel…I don't even know anymore….

CV: It was a pretty heavy moment talking about her past.

OC: Yeah. We barely touched upon her past because we didn't want to ruin the energetic personality she had, but now I think it's safe to say to our viewers that her snark and comedic attitude is hiding some feelings of hers, and she uses said traits to cope with that.

CV: It's a sad reality for her, having to use jokes to hide her pain.

OC: I have known some people that have done this sort of thing, so writing someone like this actually came naturally for me, but it doesn't make it any easier mentally for me. However, I do know one day that we will push passed this.

CV: It happens eventually, there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

OC: Too bad that Matsuri isn't seeing a light. I'd make her go towards it for using Tatsuko like that. Seriously I know kids can be cruel, but that was just vile. Cozying up to someone and then acting like a friend and then taking their first kiss, making them think it meant something, only to throw them away like trash. Makes my blood boil.

CV: I think we've all found someone like that at some point. I did, but luckily I was mature enough to know when to walk away.

OC: Yeah, it might be tough to do so, but it's the right call. Oh would you look at the time. Thank you all for reading this week's chapter of Chaldean Chronicles. Please stop by next week to see what happens….next…hey, Vlad, do you hear that?

CV: I do, but… I can't tell what is it.

Boom.

OC: It sounds like…..footsteps?

(Ravenous Dreadlord breaks through the wall)

RD: SKREEEEEEOOOOOOOOONKKKKK!

CV: RUN! IT'S GODZILLA!

OC: It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws, it isn't.

CV: Still, WE SHOULD RUN AWAY LIKE IT IS GODZILLA!

OC: Which it isn't.

Both: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(Owen Chaser and Cosmic Vlad run away as the Ravenous Dreadlord chases them off the stage. Mini Nobu looks at the audience)

Mini-Nobu: Nob Nobu! Nobu Nobu Nobu!

(Special Translation: Please stay tuned next week!)