Chronicles of Eden - Act X

by Alexander Gordon

  Max looked up in thought to that question then smiled a little. Taking out some bread from the pantry he chuckled and glanced to the centaur who was watching him with a wagging tail.

  “I guess they’re not really that bad, if you’re not a monster of course. They’ve always been watching out for me since I was little, they’ve raised me themselves after we lost mom and dad. We may fight from time to time, I suppose all siblings do, but they’re always there for me when I’m sad or in trouble.”

  “Sounds like they care about you deeply,” Lelu pointed out.

  “It’s not just me,” Max reasoned with a shrug. “They care about people, a lot. Sometimes they discount the prices of our wares here or the price of a hunt to accommodate those who are greatly in need but are low on money. They just want to help people, that’s all they really want to do. They really are generous girls.”

  *****

  Silence filled the alleyway in Nibelvale where a standoff was occurring. A trio of monster hunters remained poised to fight while surrounded by enemies. The smell of blood and ash filled the air. A warm breeze came through the streets, carrying the stench of death and decay with it.

  Mika kept her glare focused ahead at Rio, the scorpia merely watching her with a cold emotionless look while her stinger gently swayed behind her. The hunter’s grip on her blade remained firm while her free hand had wisps of red light rolling off it. Mae kept her repeater aimed at the gremlins and mites that were facing them, her keen sight set through her glasses on the buzzing enemies while her finger rested on the trigger of her crossbow. Milly held her battle-axe in both hands while watching the trolls and goblins that were on the other side of the courtyard, her long blonde hair swaying gently in the wind while her glare remained focused on the monsters.

  From above an arachne skittered about on the webbing that was strung across the court, the monster keeping on guard while focusing its eyes on Mika. With a hiss it then lunged down towards the hunter, aiming to pierce the girl with her legs while quickly dropping from overhead. Mika kept her eyes on Rio as she darted forward to dodge the attack, her sword then being brought back around in a swift motion as she turned and slashed at the monster. She hacked off the arachne’s head and spun around to quickly block Rio’s claw from striking at her face with a loud clang, the scorpia having closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye.

  “Fast, but not fast enough,” Rio plainly said before her stinger whipped over her shoulder. Mika dodged the attack and held her hand to the monster’s side, a bright red light flaring up from it along with a casting ring that formed around her wrist.

  “Die!” Mika yelled as she fired a blast of flame out from her hand, missing Rio as the scorpia quickly dashed behind the hunter in a blur. The magical attack blasted the side of a building while Mika spun around with her sword, the strike being parried by the monster’s claw instantly. Mika swung her sword around repeatedly, each attack being blocked as the scorpia darted about with unbelievable speed.

  “Mika, you got that one?” Mae casually called out.

  “Or do you need a hand?” Milly asked with a shrug.

  “I’ve got this one,” Mika barked back at them before ducking down to avoid the scorpia’s tail. “But if I need to come over there and help either of you with those weaklings I’m going to be pissed.”

  “Understood,” Mae said then dashed towards the monsters ahead of her while Milly charged those in the other direction. The mites and gremlins raced towards Mae, with the buzzing monsters flying through the air while the gremlins hurled their alchemic pouches at the hunter.

  “So what kind of monster hunters are they?” Lelu asked. “They must be very brave and strong to go around killing the more vicious ones out there.”

  “They are,” Max agreed. “Don’t be fooled by their gentle hearts or good nature. When it comes to hunting monsters they excel greatly, so much that the queen herself offered them a job recently. They’re well known in these parts to be the best.”

  “Really? How so?”

  “Well, first there’s Mae, who uses an automatic crossbow to fight with.”

  “So she stays away from the danger and fights from afar?”

  “Not always,” Max chuckled. “She is an expert archer, but if attacking from afar isn’t an option then she’s perfectly fine fighting up close.”

  Mae dashed towards the monsters while keeping her repeater aimed at the mites, the girl then firing one bolt before switching to target another that she fired at again. As the arrows streaked through the air and struck down the airborne monsters in the faces Mae darted to the side to avoid an alchemic pouch thrown at her before she then slid forward on her knees under another one. The two bags exploded behind her into noxious clouds of acid while Mae reached up and caught the third flying bag, the girl then throwing it over and hitting a mite with it. The stunned monster spiraled off to the side and crashed against a wall while the fourth mite raced at Mae with outstretched arms and wide mandibles. The hunter slid across the blood-soaked ground before hopping up onto her feet, the girl’s keen eye seeing the three gremlins and mite closing in on her.

  With a flick of her arm she extended out a switchblade that ripped forth from under her sleeve and angled up alongside her hand, the girl slicing the mite into two with it before lunging forward and impaling a gremlin in the chest. She aimed her repeater at another gremlin and fired an arrow pointblank into her head before kicking off of the one she stabbed, dodging a swipe from the third gremlin to which she then sliced the monster across the throat with her wrist blade. Spinning around she aimed her repeater with one hand and fired a bolt into the bag the other mite was holding, detonating the explosive pouch into a fiery blast. The gurgling gremlin with blood pouring from her throat dropped to her knees choking before Mae spun around struck her blade into the monster’s head. She sharply flicked her crossbow, ejecting the empty steel wire clip before yanking her blade out of the gremlin’s skull, whipping her blade back into place alongside her arm under her torn shirt, then quickly grabbed another wire clip of arrows from her satchel that she clicked into place. Looking down the alley she saw more shadows of approaching monsters in the street further ahead while the cackles of the incoming reinforcements could be heard growing.

  “As much as she’s a capable fighter up close,” Max continued. “Milly’s got raw strength in spades. For her she’s a melee fighter through and through, and absolutely loves using big weapons or even her own fists to kill monsters.”

  “Her own fists?” Lelu wondered. “Surely she wouldn’t try fighting barehanded against a monster, would she?”

  Milly ran towards the goblins and trolls on her side of the courtyard, the girl moving incredibly fast despite carrying a very large axe and having very large breasts that swayed with heavy force. The goblins rushed at her with rusty swords, all striking at the hunter who then jumped over them while having her axe wound back behind her. A troll watched in surprise as the girl leapt over the monsters in front of her before soaring down and striking her axe right through the troll with a heavy strike. So heavy in fact that the ground below shattered and knocked the other troll back into a stumble. Blood splattered down across the ruined cobblestone bricks as the two halves of the dead troll split apart, with Milly then using one foot to propel herself back towards the goblins. She spun around and slashed a skull from one of the fiends into a bloody mess that flew through the air before following around and slamming the axe down into another goblin that was smeared onto the ground. Reaching back she grabbed the other goblin, her grip crushing the throat of the choking monster, then sent three fierce punches to the fiend’s face. After the third hit and hearing the cracking of its skull from the force Milly dropped the dead monster before yanking her axe up with one hand. She held it up and blocked a downward swing of the remaining troll’s axe, halting the attack with a clang and sparks while she merely glared at the monster.

  Milly scoffed then swung her axe down to the side onto the ground,
throwing the troll’s out of her hands, then swung her fist and knocked a tusk out of the troll’s mouth. She then followed with another swing, breaking the troll’s nose, then another which nearly snapped off the monster’s jaw, and then one more which did break the jaw clean off. The monster choked and dropped to her knees, staring up at the hunter with wide eyes before Milly grabbed the monster’s hair and started punching its face repeatedly. Each hit splattered blood, teeth, bone fragments, an eye, and gore onto the ground as Milly destroyed the head of the monster with one hand. Kicking the dead fiend back she then grabbed her axe and lifted it up, looking around at the downed monsters near her before hearing shouting and footsteps of many more approaching from down the street.

  “Don’t ever try to arm-wrestle with her,” Max laughed. “You’ll lose your arm.”

  “Wow, she sounds… very strong,” Lelu nervously agreed. “And… your other sister?”

  “Mika,” Max continued. “The eldest and certainly the most skilled at their job. She learned to use magic when she was younger, trained herself to wield it in battle to give her an edge over the monsters. She’s equally skilled with a blade as she is with sorcery, two talents that she uses with amazing ability.”

  “She can use magic?”

  “Yeah, she can. She actually knows some very dangerous and destructive spells, but she never uses them. She chooses to only use smaller spells even when in battle.”

  “Why doesn’t she use the more powerful ones?”

  “She doesn’t want to endanger our sisters when they’re with her. In order for her to fight with her all she would need to be alone, and that never happens during their hunts. But even holding herself back like that she’s more than enough of a fighter for any monster that tries to come at her. She doesn’t know how to lose a fight; she’s one of the best monster hunters in all of Eden.”

  While Mae and Milly ran towards their own fights in the crowded courtyard Mika was occupied in a battle with just one monster, one that was proving to be a very dangerous adversary compared to the others. Rio’s movements were incredibly fast, her attacks and blocks being made almost instantly with quick and firm motions, while her tail was able to snap at a moment’s notice from over her shoulder and was failing to strike Mika just barely each time.

  “I was expecting more from a monster hunter,” Rio plainly spoke while sidestepping Mika’s attack with quickly moving feet. Mika swung around with her claymore, blocking Rio’s tail that snapped at her again, then slashed at the monster with a fierce downward swipe. The scorpia again dodged back almost instantly, her high agility being on par with what was expected by the skilled hunter. Mika stood ready with her sword held up and hand off to the side where a sparkly blue and yellow light was wavering around her fingers.

  ‘Was not expecting to come across a scorpia here of all places. Something’s not right here.’

  “What are you doing here anyway?” Mika demanded. “You’re far off from the wasteland that is your home.”

  “I told we were invited for the party,” Rio answered before suddenly appearing before the hunter with her claws snapping at her face. Mika dodged back and parried one of the pincers while she held up her backhand to the other where it clashed against a circular barrier of yellow light. The magical shield had spinning glyphs around its edge while it held the scorpia’s claw back with a crackling light. Rio struck forward with her pincer, the stinger jabbing again and again at Mika who moved her head around to avoid being pierced before she tried kicking the monster back. In a flash Rio moved aside and snapped her claw at the leg, with Mika quickly pulling back then kicking aside the pincer, leaving the monster wide open in the front to which she lunged forward with her blade to impale the fiend. Rio countered with her stinger whipping over her shoulder and striking aside the sword, a dry laugh being made by the scorpia before Mika bashed her head with her magical shield. The hunter held out the barrier towards the monster where it dissolved with a bright light forming in her hand. From her palm a flash of energy shot out, striking the scorpia in the chest and pushing her back with a forceful blast. She skidded on her feet for a while before coming to a stop, her shawl being burned slightly while she showed no signs of pain or emotion still.

  “Was that it?” she plainly asked.

  Mika yelled and struck her hand down onto the ground, creating a large casting ring of purple and red light that spun around her. From the spell base five lines of glowing red energy shot forward along the ground in erratic lines, all closing in on the scorpia before they exploded into two bolts of energy each that flew up towards the monster. Rio darted about while keeping her eyes on Mika, the monster hopping up onto a small wall then darting and skipping off the side of a building before jumping up to an overhanging archway above the alley. The scorpia kicked off the stone wall towards the hunter while the blasts of energy exploded all over the alley behind her, the attacks having been avoided completely with the monster now lunging towards Mika with a blank expression still on her face.

  With a smirk Mika then snapped her fingers, the casting base below her exploding into a flurry of purple energy bolts that swirled up around her like a current. Rio swung her tail to change her momentum and throw herself aside, avoiding the torrent of magical light as she landed down on the ground near the hunter. The lights swirled up into the air then flew back down towards Mika, the girl lunging forward with a swipe of her blade at Rio. As she did the magical lights followed the swing like a wave, all of them being channeled into a current that struck at the scorpia who blocked Mika’s sword with her claw. The magical energy slammed into the monster and pushed her back along with Mika charging forward, the scorpia watching with a blank expression as the hunter yelled with a fierce glare while throwing her attack against the monster. Mika pushed the monster all the way back against a building, slamming Rio into the wall before her blade flashed with a bright crimson light.

  “No, this is it!” Mika shouted before swiping forward in a fierce slash, the magical stream of energy flowing against them flashing brightly before a large explosion of purple light and fire blew forward and annihilated the building. Mika followed through with her attack before holding her sword down to the side, watching as Rio was thrown into the light before fire and smoke erupted around her. The tall building that took the brunt of the attack collapsed into itself while the one behind it was seen falling into rubble from the powerful wave of magic slicing through them.

  Mika slowly stepped back while keeping on guard, watching as the building finished falling into ruin while smoke and lingering wisps of crimson light wavered through the air.

  “Did you get her?” Milly laughed from behind. Mika turned to see her sisters smiling amusedly at her, both of them having their weapons held aside while admiring the damage caused by their elder sister.

  “Not too often you have to resort to a powerful attack like that to finish a monster off,” Mae pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

  “Not too often we come across a scorpia,” Mika reasoned with a shrug. “You know as well as I do how dangerous they are.”

  “Is that why you chose to fight her and leave the weaklings to us?” Mae pouted playfully. “It sounds like you don’t believe in us, Mika.”

  “Yeah,” Milly sneered. “I could have handled that bitch along with all those goblins and trolls no problem.”

  “I believe I would have had a better chance against her,” Mika quipped with a smirk. “Besides, I was being generous giving you girls more playmates than myself. Don’t be so ungrateful.”

  “Be that as it may,” Mae said glancing around. “More are coming. It sounds like this town is still infested with these things.”

  “I haven’t even gotten warmed up yet,” Milly boasted holding her axe up high. “Bring them on. I’m still itching to pay them back for all the pain they caused these poor people.”

  “Then let’s put an end to their party here,” Mika ordered as they started walking back out into court.

  “You s
till do not understand,” Rio said from behind. The girls spun around to see the scorpia becoming visible in the vanishing haze, the monster lowering her claws which were scorched slightly to show she was unharmed and still had a blank expression on her face.

  “She’s still alive?” Mae questioned as she quickly took aim at the monster.

  “This is not the party. I told you before,” Rio continued taking a few steps closer.

  “She took that attack head-on and didn’t get blown to pieces?” Milly asked in disbelief.

  “What do you mean?” Mika demanded with a glare at the scorpia. “This hell that you’ve brought to the city of Nibelvale isn’t your little party?”

  “No, no,” Rio said shaking her head. “We were just stretching our legs and slaking our hunger here. That’s all. The real party has yet to begin, and we intend to be there for its wondrous merriment.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Mika shouted. “Just what are you after, monster?”

  “Why, the party to end all parties of course.”

  “And just where is that going to be?” Mae cautiously asked.

  “The kingdom of Rockhelm,” Rio answered, with the hunters staring at her in surprise.

  “Rockhelm?” Milly repeated. “You’re crazy, you monsters are planning on attacking Rockhelm? Haha, you’re out of your minds! You’ll be smeared across the fields long before you ever set foot in that place!”

  “What manner of joke is this?” Mae scoffed. “Do you have any idea the strength Rockhelm has? Not even opposing human kingdoms would rush into a conflict against Rockhelm, yet you monsters think you stand a chance in hell of bringing down the kingdom all on your own?”

  “I’m not joking,” Rio dryly said. “And yes, we know very well how strongly fortified your kingdom is. There’s no misunderstanding about that.”

  “And you think you can beat that?” Mika sharply asked.

  “We know we can,” Rio answered. “We will kill you all. We will not lose.”