Chapter 67 - Versus Hero?

Millibelle POV

It took a few days, but I'm finally recovered fully. Having learnt the hard way, I've decided to be much more careful about how I use my ability to directly manipulate Magic. In the meanwhile, my children have grown rapidly.

'Puyo', or Leraste, which is her chosen nickname, have fledged, and she's fully independent now, although she still spends most of her time near me. She still hasn't gotten her adult plumage yet, and won't for another year or so, when she becomes sexually mature.

Most of the others spent the time I was recovering by hanging about the grove, before leaving for more suitable habitats. 'Myan', the Tatzelwurm, 'Ame' and 'Mabe', the Bidra, have both decided to stay behind, having grown quite close to Huldr and Delpha respectively.

Ame is the name of the right head, Mabe is the name of the left one, though both respond to either name.

"The Hero's approaching... Can you feel it? That tension in the air?"

Shadow's voice almost crackles with anticipation. I can feel it too. Metaphorical dark clouds are gathering, not just here, but over the heads of the two waiting armies far to the north of here.

I say far, though with my speed it would probably take only a few hours to reach. No doubt they've chosen that spot for that very reason. As far away from me as they can manage without intruding on Yo'ud.

It seems that King Dervix won't be leading his forces himself. Not that he needs to, as he is the defending party, but it makes me wonder if he'll request my assistance.

"Would we answer it though?"

Maybe. Depends on how bad they're losing, I suppose. Not that I have much good will left over from last time I 'helped' him. My tail flicks with annoyance at the mere thought of that fiasco.

*Warning: Hero 'Seif Geistbane' has entered your Domain. Set aggression for them and their cohorts?*

... No. I'll go deal with them directly. I'm fairly certain this will be an easy win for me, considering...

"Considering Our Stats are nearly thirty times theirs?"

Mhm. Of course, I'll be careful.

"I don't doubt that for a moment. Should we go at them separately, perhaps?"

Perhaps, we'll see how things look once we get there.

"Huldr, Delpha, Grandma, a Hero has arrived, sent by Harmek to slay me." I inform them, trying to ignore their anger. "I don't intend to lose, but be on high alert in case they decide to try something." Huldr and Myan nod grimly before Huldr (with Myan wrapped around her shoulders) runs off to organize the defense of the grove.

"You'll be careful, right?" Delpha asks, her hands trembling slightly from either anger of fear, perhaps both. "Of course. I'll be back as soon as possible." Delpha throws herself at me in a hug. I startle slightly at the sudden touch, but after a second, relax into it. Grandma offers a reassuring pat on my lower arm, unable to reach much higher.

"I'll be back before you know it. Don't worry. Ame and Mabe will protect you, and so will all the others here." I try to reassure them, but it's mostly for my own peace of mind. I need to fight the Hero without hesitation or worrying about the others.

I slowly unwrap Delpha from me before taking off towards the Hero. Trying my best to ignore the building knot of anxiety in my stomach, I start formulating a plan.

Seif's POV

"It's close. Spread out into formation!" I order my entourage as I sense the Monarchs rapid approach. This place is like the Ancient Edens of my own World. Artificial biomes meant as monster sanctuaries made by the Ancients, though I've never seen or heard of any Edens as big as this.

We're currently in a large, open expanse of rolling hills. In the distance, the edge of a massive forest. The Monarch's presence is coming from that direction, so we fan out in a half circle facing the forest.

A blur of motion crests the treetops, slamming into the ground in front of us with great force. The shock-wave created from its movements forces me to brace to avoid being pushed back, and it knocks over a few of my companions who are not weighed down by heavy armor.

As the dust whipped up by its arrival clears, a magnificent being appears before us. The distinctly feminine torso of a humanoid replaces where the neck of a dragon would be. A crown of horns that glimmer with power adorn its head, and two pairs of eyes coldly take in the scene in front of them.

Its body practically oozes vitality and power, silver scales, each the size of my palm, cover its main body, and powerful limbs carry it with a grace that is hard to comprehend. This is truly the Ruler of all Monsters!

I swallow heavily and tighten the grip on my weapon. Its mere presence is overwhelming. Then, it speaks.

"Summoned Hero, turn around and return from whence you came. All you will find here is death."

Along with their words, a powerful aura starts emanating from them. I nervously glance at my companions, and they're all fighting to stay on their feet, some even to stay conscious. I grit my teeth, and respond.

"I've been Summoned to defeat you, Great Monarch, and I cannot return until my task is done."

I shakily bring my body into a fighting stance, to further enforce my stance on a theoretical retreat.

"A test, then."

I falter slightly. What in the World do they mean with that? I involuntarily take a step back as their form shifts, becoming viscous and Slime-like, before they split in two. Where the proud Ruler of Monsters once stood, there now stands two identical human girls.

One of them has an intelligence in her eyes, the other a blank, vacant stare, as if she's not conscious. The "awake" one glances over to the vacant one, and it slowly shambles over to me.

"This is the Skill 'Body Double'. The one before you should be identical to myself. Try killing it, and see if it completes your Task. If not, then I gladly accept your challenge."

The mindless woman stops before me. My companions, unable to move, glance at me with a budding anger. Would I really betray their trust, the trust of their Queen, in order to save my own life?

I take a deep breath, and decide. Yes. I never asked for this, and if this would work, then I will gladly grab this opportunity. In one swift stroke, I bring my halberd upon her neck. My attack has an uncanny force behind it, much more powerful than normal, and it cleanly lops off the head of the woman.

As the body drops to the ground and turns to that same slime-like substance that had heralded its creation, I await a sign of some sort that I completed my Task. A deafening silence comes over us, all I can hear is the rush of blood in my ears and the struggling groans from my companions who are more affected by the aura of the Monarch.

*... Task completed. User has defeated 'Great Monarch Millibelle'. Return to Original World in 24 Hours.*

My knees give out. It was that easy?

[Remote Override Activated]

Icy shivers run up my spine at the sound of that voice. I've never heard a voice so full of malice before. My body, or rather, the armor, Egis, moves on its own. Several clicks and whirs issue as something is jabbed into the palms of my hands with great force.

[Forceful Skill And Spell Activation Enabled.]

I cry out in pain, trying to move to cradle my hands, but my body has stopped obeying me.

[Activating Skill: 'Equalize'. Target: Great Monarch 'Millibelle'.]

An intense pain overwhelms me, and I black out.

Millibelle's POV

I might have overdone the landing, but first impressions are important. I subtly tense and stretch my legs, shifting my weight around, as I await the Heroes declaration on the success or failure of my little experiment. His accomplices are still more or less out of action due to my Royal Presence, so I'm not worried about them doing anything stupid.

Monitoring their emotions via Telepathy, I breathe a sigh of relief when I read joy. So it worked! The Hero, Seif, drops to their knees in apparent elation. I open my mouth to say something, but halt when their mood of joy turns to one of surprise and horror.

"AAH-Ahhh!" Seif cries out in pain as the odd armor they're wearing makes strange noises. It looks like power-armor of sorts, though modified to allow a wearer with a tail and non-human ears to wear it comfortably.

Alarm also overtakes the others. They're all humans it seems, dressed in what I'm guessing is Dark Dragon scale armor.

Another cry of pain, before their consciousness fades. The armor still stands and moves on its own though... What's going on here?

*Warning! User has been put under Equalization! User's Core Stats have been added together with the Heroes, and then the sum has been split evenly among you. This effect lasts until cancelled by the Hero, or the Hero or the User dies.*

My body feels heavy, as if it's drained of strength. A quick glance at my Stats reveal that they indeed have been halved. Though my Divine's Favored still increases the Active Stats, so I still have the advantage.

I react just in time to leap into the air to avoid the overhead swing of the Hero, or rather, the armor they're wearing. Using some of my greatly reduced body-mass, I sprout wings on my back to stay airborne. The force of the strike leaves a gouge in the earth, extending a few meters beyond the physical range of the halberd they're wielding.

If the Hero is unconscious, yet the armor still moves... Perhaps some form of remote control is being used? I focus my eyes, detecting a faint tread of Magic emanating from the armor and stretching into the distance. Shadow! Work on tracing that thread!

"On it."

My field of view shrinks down as Shadow overtakes the upper set of eyes to better track the Magic. No matter. The armor is passively staring at me from the ground, as I'm hopefully out of its range. Though I'm also out of range with my Royal Presence, so now the soldiers are joining the fray. Three of them have ranged weapons.

I need to regain the Body Double. I speed towards the pile of goop left behind when it was killed. To speed it up, I let myself dissolve via Viscous Body, rapidly enveloping and consuming the remnants of my clone.

Cries of horror and disgust come from the soldiers. Not that I blame them. Actually...

I coat myself in Thick Mucous before lashing out at the armor with a pseudopod. If I hit, I might be able to extract the Hero from the armor.

The armor effortlessly dodges, however, and the melee oriented soldiers move in on my extended appendage, no doubt hoping to sever it with their swords. The blades, sharp as can be, harmlessly slide off my body, unable to get at it due to the thick, viscous slime coating it.

I retract the pseudopod and return to my true form. No doubt some trickery needs to be applied.

"Grab it with Hidden Space?"

... Of course! It's inanimate, so I should-

*Error, unable to store living entities.*

Wh-

In my shock, I'm sent skidding by an explosion against my side. I glance around, trying to figure out what had hit me, when I see a female soldier wielding what seems to be a rocket-launcher.

*Magi-Launcher. Uses the wielder's MP to propel a payload of unstable Magic Crystals at the target. It reacts with the targets own MP, causing an explosion relative to the amount possessed by the target. Commonly used siege equipment for use against high rank monsters, this is a newly developed prototype exclusively found in Feyloche.*

"That's where the Magic leads!"

I barely recover from the impact before the armor is upon me again. Bristling my scales, the halberd shatters against my flank, the rest of the reflected damage driving deep cracks into the armors gauntlets.

Another explosion, this time at the site which the Magi-Launcher soldier was. A large slab of jet black rock has appeared, blocking the trajectory of the weapon, causing it to react to the inherent magic in the rock itself. No warmth though...

*The Soldier perished in their own attack.*

Ah. We technically didn't attack them, then. Thanks Shadow.

Having been distracted by the self destruction of the Magi-Launcher, I fail to notice what's happening with the armor. At first at least.

Its trembling, as if something's wrong with its actuators (if it even has those?). A black fluid is dripping onto the ground, originating from the cracks in the gauntlets. The peculiar properties of this liquid immediately makes me back up and out of the way of it.

"That's Malice!"

With clumsy, jerking movements, the armor brings its damaged hands up to its helm, letting the ooze drip into it, and onto the Hero. Dread grips me. All hope of saving them is lost if they chimerify.

A scream builds in my throat. One of anger, regret, and sorrow. I let loose my first Cry of the Damned, the effect of it knocking out all the other soldiers, their minds unable to handle the sheer terror I've inflicted on them.

It seems to have had an effect on the armor as well, as it slumps to the ground. I take a hesitant step backwards as thick black tendrils of Malice sprout from its back. I get into the air, well out of its reach, as the tentacles rush for the bodies of the unconscious soldiers.

Thinking quickly, I grab the ones closest to me, yanking them into the air via my webs. All but two are quickly assimilated by the Malice.

"Give them to me, I'll get them to safety. You deal with whatever the fuck the Hero's become!"

Shadow appears beside me, having taken control of my tail to make a Body Double with it. Her snake-like body coils around the soldiers before she retreats towards the forest in the distance.

G̴̱̯̪̯̙͚̟͇̼̦̭̀͊̒̓̑͛͒̀͛̓̈́̀̾͘͘ͅú̷̝̝͉͇͎̜̖͎͋̅̏̇̕͘͘â̵͈̺̗̩͔̜̆ǎ̷̛̛̜̭̤͎͓̯̖̅̆̀̒͋͊͂̕͠à̶̗͍̦̃́͐̈́̇̆͆̀̀̈̕h̶̡̤̱̘͍͈̜̖̹̘̩͍́̋͜͠ͅḁ̶̼̱̲̞̌̔̾̇̔͋̂̀͌̈́͝h̸̨̧̧̞̹͎̥̯̎ă̸̳̯̤͙̲̫̠̯̏̂̐̓̄̑͜ā̴̡̧̝̥̗̩̦͔̻̑ͅa̴̖̙͍̠͔͖̟̓͑͂͗͑̍̅̌̾̆͑̕͜͝͠

The chimerified Hero rises, opening their newly formed maw and crying out in mindless pain. Its body is reminiscent of a bears', though its head and tail is feline in looks. Pitch black plates of metallic-looking scales cover its body, its paws large and powerful, with massive claws of grayish white.

Its large eyes are completely blank. There exists no rational thought behind them, the Hero has lost all semblance of humanity. Its eyes lock with mine, and a bellowing roar that shakes the earth builds in its throat.

Several of the metal scales seem to bend to give way to something, and large, tube-like protrusions appear with a series of 'tch-k tch-k'. I'm still under the effect of Equalize, so to prepare for whatever it's going to unleash, I cast Barrier on myself, and Weaken on the Hero.

It lunges forwards, breaking into a gallop towards me, thick ropes of Malice-tainted saliva dripping from its mouth. Puffs of steam issue from the tubes on its body as it bounds along.

Quickly calculating the windup I'd need versus when it'd reach me, I dare try using Beam Breath: Death. I open my mouth wide, taking in power from the surrounding Magic and building a tightly packed ball of energy at the back of my throat.

Just when I feel like the ball's about to explode, a beam bursts forth, the knock-back almost knocking me out of the air. Unable to aim properly, I instead sweep the beam from right in front of me towards the horizon, hoping to hit the Hero.

As I recover, and the cloud of debris settles, I see the Hero knocked onto their side. I guess my aim was off, and I merely knocked them over with the blast-wave from the attack. It's struggling to put its feet beneath it, so I pepper their exposed stomach with Razor Winds.

Though there's damage, there's far less than I'd hoped, and the wounds are already closing up as they finally manage to get up again. To have some passive damage going, I cast several Dark Regalias.

Bellowing in rage, thick plumes of steam issue from their 'vents'. As their roar subsides, they draw a deep breath, bulging their body in an unnatural manner. Something appears to have emerged from their 'vents', as the steam stops abruptly.

With a series of pops, missile-shaped somethings shoot from the tubes, quickly orienting their trajectory towards me. The Dark Regalias do their best in shooting them down, but a few slip through, persistently following my desperate attempts to shake them off.

Two make contact. Large chunks of my body is blown off by their explosions, and I manage to just barely avoid falling to my death by activating Hover. Come on, Miracure!

My missing wing and left hind leg grow back, but they look... off. I have no time to contemplate the implications as the Hero bears down upon me, threatening to crush me under their weight. Locked in a struggle, me trying to force them off me, it trying to break my body. I open my jaws wide to prepare a breath attack.

As if it awaited just this, it retches, coating me in a thick layer of Malice laden mucous. Ignoring the smarmy liquid, I exhale my most potent attack, Dragonblaze, directly at its still gaping mouth.

Its poise breaks almost instantly, possibly driven by an instinctual fear of fire, possibly the sheer damage output of the Skill, regardless, I manage to shove them off me. Just as I'm about to exhale another plume of hellfire onto them, a tremor goes through my body. I- I thought Malice that's infected a humanoid wasn't dangerous?

Not wasting the opening, the Hero bears down upon me again, its steel teeth clamping down upon my right arm. Sparks fly as they grind against my scales, the reflected damage rapidly grinding them to dust.

The acid!

Barrier and Weaken wears off just as I pour the Tri-Ant acid from the palm of my trapped arm. Pulling back with a gargle of pain, it rips my arm from its socket, coating the Heroes jet-black armor in a spray of azure.

I keep pouring until it's all gone. My arm is lost as well, dissolved within the Heroes body. H-hah, Miracure!

As my lost arm regrows, I dodge the flailing of the monstrous Hero, their pain most likely unbearable as their insides melt. I hop backwards, locking them in place with Dark Shackles. Well out of their range, I start spewing more Dragonblaze to finish them off.

Finally, my chest runs cold from dealing the final blow to them. A half melted carcass is all that's left. I collapse onto my side, my body twitching from pain I haven't felt the likes of since before coming to this World.

As I lie there, my mind focused on managing the pain, I sense Shadow's approach me.

"Sleep."

I fade into darkness.