Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1295: Sensitive Topic and Shattered Skulls
When Maggie dropped her bundled memento, nobody expected a stitched together horse skull to spill out of it.
To be more precise, the horse skull in question appeared to be made from the skull fragments of three different horses.
This was a subtle feature that could only be picked up those with an amazing eye for detail. Alternatively, one could also pick up this detail if they happened to have in-depth knowledge when it came to aether beasts.
"A Black Cloud Mustang's left skull plate, a Scarlet Strider's right skull plate and the jawbone of an Oceanic Charger..." Zhen Xing listed off as he examined each piece of the skull from afar.
"None of those are native to this region, but aren't they regularly used by the nomadic tribes back home?" Zhen Tai asked.
"They are..."
To most people, this strange skull totem had little to no value.
But in the eyes of a select few, they could make out the incredibly heavy meaning that was baked into it.
Especially a certain warrior that had been trying to find Kaijin materials that carried "meaning" as opposed to "value".
'What the hell...'
This strange skull totem, this random memorial piece, was crafted with such "meaning", that Zhen Liu could practically feel it radiating off of it like a torch in a dark cavern.
If Zhen Liu was there in person, he would've been tempted to use it right there and then to create a truly absurd Kaijin, one that could basically fix whatever was wrong with him at the moment.
But alas, Zhen Liu was still in an underground jail cell.
That, and the girl who had brought the totem here was incredibly protective of it. freēnovelkiss.com
So much so that when Corpse Doll and Porcelain Doll walked over to try and examine the skull up close, she snapped at them.
[Don't you touch them!] Maggie shouted in oddly accented [Chaos] speak. [None of you monsters will touch them, ever again!]
Soon after making this statement, Maggie started running with the horse skull totem in her arms while everyone else just watched with shocked expressions on their faces.
Evidently, nobody knew how to approach or react to this situation.
None of them were particularly close with Maggie, and she had been acting rather off-putting the entire day. However, she was also an escaped slave and would definitely accidentally lead that knock-off and his Kaijin to them if she ran off in the wrong direction.
As such, someone in the group still had to chase off after her.
It just had to be one of the two humans who weren't connected to her past trauma.
"Ah...screw it. Zhen Xing, can you handle taking care of the animals?"
"Huh?"
Unprompted, Zhen Tai proceeded to chase after Maggie so that he could try and calm her down.
As soon as he left, the kaijin began to share their observations about the events that had just played out.
...
[Well...that was unexpected,] Razorstella commented. [Did any of y'all pick up that she had Chaos or nah?]
[Nope.]
[Nuh-uh.]
[Had no idea.]
[On a more important note though, what was up with that totem?]Springerdermain asked in order to change the topic. [And I'm not talking physically. It was like it was just...radiating with...something.]
[The word you're looking for is meaning,] Blazejudicator answered. [The lot of us were made with value in mind rather than meaning, so that's why it felt off to you.]
[Meaning...huh.]
[Producer, do you want us to go and retrieve that totem off of that Bloodliner girl?] Screamira asked. [I'm certain that regardless of the Core used, the resulting Kaijin would surely be a force of nature. Moreso than any of us.]
'Screamira, you know I don't normally steal from others for my benefit.'
[Really?]
'Okay, maybe a little, but I usually take stuff from people who deserve getting their stuff stolen,' Zhen Liu defended himself. 'Usually.'
[You do kind of traumatize a lot of people in the pursuit of core creation though,] Blazejudicator pointed out.
'Oh, hush.'
[For real though, milord,] Nepeherage interjected. [Why don't you want us to secure that totem?]
'Well...I get the feeling that there is a lot more to the story behind that totem, and I would like to know what that story is.'
[I suppose...but I don't think that Maggie is willing to share whatever story is behind that skull totem of hers.]
'Perhaps...so I guess it's a good thing that I'm currently in the place where that story probably played out.'
[Fair enough.]
[Too bad we can't be in there with you.]
'Funny thing about that...'
______The next day, back at the mines_____
Despite the sparse nature of their cell, Zhen Liu, Lythero and Olstenna were able to sleep quite comfortably against the cursed stone floor.
The [Chaos] that flowed through Zhen Liu helped to repel most of the negative effects; Lythero was used to living in abject poverty so he could deal with the pain better than most, while Olstenna was just...built different.
That all stated though, the jailers of this trip didn't give a flying fuck about how well they slept. The wake-up routine was the same regardless.
A Kaijin that resembled a baboon mixed with a giant river otter, walked up to the cell door and took a careful look over the group.
[Which one was supposed to be sent to meet up with the boss, again? Was it the he purple guy, the weakling or the emotionally scarred one?] The baboon-otter kaijin asked himself as he scatched his chin
[Meh, I'll just wake them all up at once.]
Taking in a deep breath, the Kaijin began infusing his throat and lungs with [Chaos].
[WAKE UP YOU LAZY SWINE!]
"Bwah!"
^Huh?^
^What?^
Lythero, Zhen Liu and Olstenna all woke up with a start at the [Chaos]-enhanced scream that rocked through their eardrums...much to the disappointment of the Kaijin that roused them from their slumber.
The freaky bastard wanted to blow out at least one of their ear drums.
Whatever.
[Alright, now that you lot are awake and walking around, it's time to put you lot to work.]
^Work?^
^What are you on about?^
[Well, to be more precise, you two native lizards are going to be sent to the arena. The big man wants to figure out how you two were able to cycle through my fellow freaks. Even mentioned something about rewarding you two with something amazing if you can properly wow him with your abilities. You lucky lizards, you.]
Olstenna and Lythero looked at each other with shared suspicion in their eyes.
If these freaky ass Kaijin were any indication, then it sounded as if this guy was about to move to human testing...or worse.
Ignoring their expressions, the furry Kaijin directed his attention towards Zhen Liu.
[As for you, little tamer, the boss actually wants you to attend the arena as well. But don't worry, you won't be participating as a fighter.]
"That's...reassuring."
[Instead, you're going to be in the stands, sitting right next to the big man himself as a guest! Isn't that, great?]
'This psycho motherfucker tossed me into a cell, to sleep with possibly hostile prisoners, and is now offering me a moment of presumed luxury, watching said prisoners possibly die...either this man has no idea how to entertain guests or he is a master of psychological manipulation. It's probably the former,' Zhen Liu thought to himself.
[Now if you're done waking up, get your asses out of this cell and start marching. Or do I need to call the big guys to come and drag all of you out into the open like rats in a hole?]
"..."
Unappreciative of the baboon's candor, but unwilling to get into an unnecessary fight, the trio proceeded to get up from the cell floor and follow the kaijin's lead.
Once again, the trio was forced to march through what they could only consider a parody of the hell often described in religious text and folk tales.
And as of this moment, they had the feeling they were about to walk into its center.
The scent of stale blood began to enter the nostrils of Zhen Liu and his friends, causing them to lightly gag.
This was an unusual reaction to the lot since they were aether warriors who were veterans of many battles.
The scent of blood shouldn't be causing an adverse reaction.
[Hehe! Breathe it in, punching bags!] The baboon-otter laughed. [That smell is the spilled blood of countless beasts and slaves, being mixed with the cursed earth and being allowed to ferment and fester over the course of at least half a century. Another fifty or so years, and I imagine that smell might be strong enough to make someone's heart stop!]
^Eww...^
The trio were only briefly stunned by the smell before they started using aether to filter out the miasmic stench, allowing them to push that sensation out of their minds.
Unfortunately, this freed up their brains to focus on the sound of roaring monsters.
^That...is a lot of Kaijin...^
