BornAndTorn

79 The true monsters arrive

" So this is the world of Primal Survival we are supposed to join. So where are the fierce monsters, that we were promised?" a young man voiced full of vitality.

" All it took was a mere seconds before you lost your patience. Please just wait till everyone from our team has arrived before you decide to run off again."

The young men nodded as he was instructed by his senior.

" And please wear your uniform as everyone else does. Running around shirtless is not a feasible option for clothing as a representative of your Church. Or should I tell Sir Magist about your choice?"

The young men donned his uniform in a matter of seconds, without a word of complaint. He did not even think about the other option as those repercussions were not something he was willing to bear.

A wry smile could be seen on the face of his senior, as he seemingly came to term with the incompetence of his juniors. He could only shake his head as he was appointed as the leader for these misfits. At least his junior had appeared on time. That was something that could not be said about the rest of his team he was responsible for.

A deep frown appeared on his face, that even after 5 minutes no other person has shown up. He was still grinning and bearing it, but his facade was starting to show some slight cracks and the fluctuations of the magic surrounding him were getting increasingly violent over time. But his junior was oblivious to this as he was currently preoccupied marvelling his surroundings.

"Didn't you tell your sister, that this appointment is really important." He said gritting his teeth in sheer anger.

This time it was his juniors turn to his shoulders as he replied.

" I told her, that this time it was very important. But she did not even listen to one word I had spoken and went back to freshen herself up again. Just as usual." The young man did not see anything wrong with that statement, as if it was only natural.

The eyebrows of his captain had been twitching the whole time, but he did not notice that, as his mind had once again wandered off.

The urge to murder this pair of siblings had festered in the mind and it was only thanks to his iron will, that he did not start with the junior in front of him.

After gruelling 30 minutes, a beautiful young lady appeared in front of them. While her appearance may seem frail and weak. Hiding behind that pitiful appearance is a fierce tiger, ready to swallow any unsuspecting prey whole. Her doll-like appearance and her short brown hair had let to the suffering of many men.

" Rejoice, your queen is here. Lower your head my dear subjects, because I have arrived." And she has a very serious case of the superiority complex. That is the reason she was sent into his team to reform and become a model servant of God.

The expression on the face of the Captain had turned crimson and he was ready to commit a heinous crime. But before he got the chance to explode he received another piece of news, that sealed the deal.

" So let me get this straight, one person shows up way too late, one had anxiety issues and does not even want to come in the first place and the other person has gone ahead without informing." He said these words ready to explode any second now. What followed was him screaming at his underlings and surroundings about the unfairness, that he had been given such a spot and not someone else. Why did he have to suffer from such misfits?

This tantrum continued for several minutes and no person present dared to make a sound. His nickname was Captain anger issues for a reason.

After Captain anger issues had calmed down, he stared at his underlings and uttered the following commands.

" Do not stand around and wait for something to happen. Bring me that anxious fool to me, I will make sure to properly motivate him and do not get me started about that fool that had decided to escape from me. He better pray to his God, that I will not get hold of him."

" Obnoxious Princess, just do not open your mouth while I am present otherwise I l cannot promise to do something I would regret later on.

" Daydreamer, move your ass and make sure to bring anxiety boy with you. I have to discuss some small things here and there with him."

He was looking forward to receiving the respect he was due, but he got to know why the term misfit was very fitting. A loud shrill voice resounded has the little hope he had left was crushed entirely.

" Insolence, how dare you Peasant command your Highness. This crime is to be punished by death. Know your worth Pleb. If you kneel down and beg for your life I might forgive you. I am a magnanimous ruler after all."

Captain anger issues looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. He knew she was full of herself but to that extent? By the Gods how was she not killed by some people she had offended prior to her arrival here. He would have done so in a heartbeat if given the chance.

She was looking at him as if it was natural to fall on his knees and begging for her pardon. Deep down he was regretting each life choices he made that let up to this moment. He knew the ways of the Gods are mysterious and this is a test to his faith. But this was more of a punishment than a test.

He looked around to ask her brother how to actually deal with her as he should know for the best. But upon looking at his surroundings, he noticed that her brother had vanished and was nowhere to be seen.

It was the first time he had met his underlings and he already wished death upon them. If it continues that way he would surely head to an early grave and who could fault him for that. He was dealing with brats, who could not be reasoned with. Monsters are less of a pest, then these misfits and at least you were allowed to kill those darn monsters on the spot. You sadly could not say the same about this troublemakers.

He had no choice but to resort to his ace in the hole even though he did not want to use it.

" It is a shame, I wanted to present our team to my little brother Archos, but it seems like that's impossible. I am sure he would have loved it."

Those words stopped the Princess in her tracks and she proceeded to spoke with great caution.

" By chance, you are not talking about THE Archos right?"

" Yes, I am talking about THE Archos" he pronounced every syllable with great care to underline his relationship and the shock could be seen manifesting on her face.

" This Princess will forgive your sinning because we all are Gods children on this world."

Captain anger issues just wanted to shake his head. It was always the same once any person learned about his brother they all changed. He was so sick of it, why can't you be more like your brother, look at your brother, why are you not like him?

It has always been about his brother, he got all the attention from parents and family alike, he had the talent and skills to accomplish anything, his looks were enough to make countless women fall for him on first sight. He had everything, that anyone could ever wish for.

But was that ever enough for him? That selfish bastard has done his utmost to please everyone he can take advantage of, but those who are of no use to him might as well be nonexistent in his eyes.

Why else would deal with those misfits on his own volition? He would rather be stuck in this boring place, then being stuck in that rotten family. He left his family behind and willingly abandoned his family name for a new beginning. Not a single person had cared about his disappearance they all went their merry ways without any worry in the world about himself.

Of course, peace and serenity could only last so long before his dear brother would find a way to make his life miserable again.

Scouted for his talent to both wield fire and ice magic, he was taken in by the Church with open arms. Both the Fire and the Ice Church have laid out very generous terms to join them. But his dear brother showed great reluctance accepting their offers. Any outsider might have taken that hesitance as a sign of struggling to choose but behind the flowery language he had used about his struggle and unwillingness to choose was just to a tool to increase his standing.

In the end, it had been all about who was willing to offer more attractive terms.

Because of his "modesty", he was rewarded and was given the authority to act as one of the commanders for the Churches partaking in this mission. This privilege was nothing short of a luxury, as the troublesome work was to be carried out by the captains.

While Captain Anger issues was dreading the future prospects of having to deal with his underlings, he could only envy the authority his brother wielded.

Yet his brother was currently having a gigantic headache on his own. All that he was required to do, was to coordinate with the other commanders to ensure the cooperation of the youth representing the Churches. This task may appear easy on paper, but the rivalry between those Churches was certainly to be mindful of.

it did not take long before the first groups came into contact with one another. This resulted in a skirmish between said groups. This in itself is a big problem, but the worst part is, that the players are suffering the most.

In front of those violent magical fluctuations, they are just hopeless bystanders. This negligence was an error of judgement from the commanders. Prior instruction did not entail, any rules about general conduct and behaviour.

The fact, that these youths were now freed of any control induced him with even more worry. The fierce temperament of the fire mages ready to explode for the slightest offence. Or the arrogant wind mages, that feel far superior to anyone else. Or the sadistic ice mages, He shuddered just thinking about them but he would never forget about the water mages as well, they were the worst offender in any regard. Calm and tranquillity are nothing more than a bad rumour. They are the ones to impose their will on others no matter the cost.

Those mages had to be stopped before the situation escalates and becomes uncontrollable. He would already have done so if not for the fact, that he has to act with the other commanders in a joint manoeuvre. Yet, those guys ego were rivalling his own and nobody wanted to show any sign of weakness.

Despite general frustration, cooperation was definitely out of reach. The minutes went by and the situation continued to worsen.

Small skirmishes had turned into group battles, as those youths were enjoying their newfound freedom. The tension, that had been suppressed day after day, was finally unloading in full force. With no repercussions in sight, those youths were having the times of their lives.

And the fighting was far from ending any time soon, as each youth could return to the battle in a matter of seconds after their defeats.

Every onlooker suddenly knew, why the surrounding area had to be strengthened because if those people were to be let loose in the old environment, the world would have been devasted. Even after strengthening the surroundings, it could not escape the partial destruction.

Any monster or player, that dared to come to close was indirectly taken care of by the debris, flying through the air. They paid no attention to such minor details, as those things were of no concern to any of them.

But those players were content with just spectating. Despite being confined to not participate in any form, they were not displeased by the behaviour of those youths. Far from it, they were watching the fierce battles with admiration in their eyes. It was a demonstration of might and ability, that they could learn from.

Inspired by the might of their magic, many people were awestruck as the events unfolded in front of their eyes. Their blood started to boil upon and they desired to stand in their stead some day. Full of passion, these players started to cheer as the different representatives fought for supremacy.

The crowd got increasingly louder as more and more players joined in and started to cheer. The participating number of representatives had also increased as the different Churches had joined in and formed one gigantic battlefield.

The lines between friend or foe have become blurry, as the myriad of spells were thrown around without any care. This mayhem caused each commander to look at it in sheer horror. Every plan they had come up with after a long discussion could be discarded. as their underlings were currently behaving like monsters.

Since this matter could not be solved in a civilized manner, they saw themselves being forced to a more simplistic approach. If they enjoy fighting that much, they should not regret the chance to learn from their supervisors. A sinister expression manifested on the faces of every commander. If any of these youth had noticed this change of expression, they would have ceased any activity on the spot, but it was misfortunately they were currently too focused on the fighting.

This decision was made without any talk between the different commanders. A look was enough to understand their intention and these youths were the perfect targets to get rid of some pent up stress caused by this messed up situation. The magic particles in their surroundings started to dance around violently and seemingly began to flare.

Not even the spectators noticed the storm coming towards them, but the whole atmosphere lost its cheerfulness as more and more plays felt that something was horribly wrong. They could not lay their fingers on it but their instincts were nearly screaming at themselves to seek cover.

Even the representatives noticed this change, but they wrongfully deduced, that this might be nothing more than their heightened senses telling them of the danger in front of them. They started to suppress those urges on the spot because such thoughts would only hinder them in the battle. Each and every one of them threw themselves into the battle once more to fulfil their desire for battle.

Though this mistake would cost them greatly, as the tense atmosphere was foreboding the tragedy taking shape.

Without any other warning, the youth felt a deep chill up on their spine, as a flood of fearful magic came directly at them. Despite their year-long training and their honing of their senses, they could not realize in time what exactly was coming towards them before it was already too late.

In the wake of devastation, no traces of any youth could be found. They had been wiped off the face of this world. Leaving behind confused players, that could not fathom what exactly has just occurred right in front of their eyes.

The passionate fighting had been replaced by an eerie silence. With no indication. whether the youth would return or the demonstration had ended abruptly, the players were left wondering what they were supposed to do. The questioning gazes were fixated at the place, where the battle had just been.

The issue was not resolved until the group of plays decided approached the mass of players. It had taken 10 long minutes before the crowd was able to see these youth again, but this time their reaction had been a lot more restrained.

They saw these youths walking with their heads faced downwards. Their vigour and ferocity were gone. Left was only a distressing outlook. They stopped 10 steps in front of the crowd and tried their utmost to not make any other sound.

This pitiful demeanour was unexplainable to the crowd, but they knew better than to voice any question. After a short time, a small group arrived and placed themselves in front of those youths. Their clothing was vastly different in comparison to the youths. Instead of the typical uniform of the Churches consisting out of a shirt with long sleeves and trousers, they wore a golden robe.

On the backside was not the icon specific to their Church branch but a golden sun with seven rays of light coming out of it. They were symbolizing the 7 main branches of magic.

This small group acted entirely different than the youth. Their gazes were sharp and fierce staring straight at the players in front of them. They did not pay any concern to the youths standing behind them as they stood with their head held high. But even they did not mutter any sound.

Out of a sudden, a middle-aged man dressed in a white garment walked out of the crowd of players straight to the groups. His steps were calm and steady. After a quick look at the representatives of the Churches, he nodded in satisfaction.

He turned around to look at the players before beginning to speak in a composed fashion.

"Strength, might, power. These terms describe what each and everyone deeply desires. But these terms can also be applied and describe our common enemy, the monsters. The pursuit of power is a perk inherit to every form of life. It should not define us, nor shall we be bound by it. Our power is a gift by The Gods not born out of our desire for strength. "

He made a small break after finishing his sentence and looked around the crowd of players. His simplistic clothes and his harmless appearance did not match the level of respect he was shown. His aura and bearing were resembling a common peasant and did not fit the authority he wielded.

" Our God-given power is not just any gift, it is a burden we carry. With it comes the expectation of our Gods to represent their grace. it is not our duty to fight each other without any reasoning."

The heads of the perpetrators sunk even lower as they knew the enormous error they had committed.

" But committing errors is part of the process in our lives. The uncountable hardships we face mould and shape us. The trust placed is due to our ability to change. Therefore go out make mistakes, experience failure, but learn and grow with them. Feel the freedom our Gods gave us."

A faint trace of a smile could be seen as he spoke his words of wisdom.

" But never forget, true freedom can only be achieved after every last monster has been eradicated."