"Because of... me?"
"Yes. After Uzoth overwhelmed us and had us under his control, you suddenly rose."
———
Uzoth panted, chest heaving, knees slightly bent. The Ghost's spectral speed and the Chameli's brute endurance were starting to take a toll.
Despite being one of the strongest Monarch in history, Uzoth was built for swift executions—clean kills in three or four strikes. But this fight... had stretched till dawn.
After he finally knocked Yuri unconscious, there was a moment. Barely a second of stillness.
That's when they struck.
The Ghost Princess and Nico charged in from opposite sides, fists clenched and blazing with fury. Saiken hadn't even fully formed yet, but his instincts kicked in. He raised his arms in a sharp X, catching both of their punches just in time.
His arms trembled.
These weren't ordinary fighters.
The Ghost broke off first. In one fluid move, she dropped low, sweeping at his legs. At the same time, Nico ducked beneath Saiken's guard and drove a brutal uppercut into his jaw. Both hits landed simultaneously—crack—and Saiken was launched through the ceiling of the bunker like a missile.
Boom. The roof cracked apart, daylight spilling in.
"My roof!" Nico shouted in horror. "Ohhh, you've done it now! I don't even want the damn flash drive anymore. YOU WILL PAY!" His eyes gleamed with rage as he kicked off the ground, following the path Saiken carved through the ceiling.
The Ghost was right behind him. She kicked off the broken wall, using its crumbling edges as launch points, zig-zagging up the hole.
Just as her head cleared the opening—whoosh—Saiken was waiting. His fist came like a cannon.
She barely had time to react.
Mid-air, she twisted—feet catching the punch just in time. She flipped backward using his own force, launching herself even higher into the air. From above, she flicked her wrists.
Thk-thk-thk-thk-thk!
A rain of glowing shurikens fell.
Saiken snarled, spinning violently as he swatted the airborne projectiles like buzzing flies. One shuriken sliced across his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood. His eyes lit with rage.
From deep within the forest, a bloodcurdling scream split the night. The ground trembled under heavy, stomping footsteps. Trees snapped and parted as Nico's hulking figure bulldozed through the brush, eyes glowing with fury.
Then—he stopped.
The tremors halted. His feet rooted into the earth like anchors. He opened his jaws wide... and kept them open, locking them in place like the barrel of a cannon.
The earth rumbled.
An ominous hum built up in his throat. Energy surged through his body and gathered in his gaping maw.
BOOM!
In a flash, his tongue launched forward with terrifying velocity, tearing through the air like a ballistic whip.
Saiken and the Ghost were in its path.
The Ghost vanished in a blur of motion.
But Saiken—caught off guard—was struck full force. His body was dragged like a ragdoll, blasted through rows of trees, bark and splinters exploding in his wake. His back shredded against trunks and stone, the world turning into a blur of agony.
Before he could even catch his breath, Nico reeled the tongue back—and with Saiken stuck at the end, he began swinging him around like a living wrecking ball.
WHIP. CRASH. SLAM.
Entire chunks of forest were obliterated. Trees fell like dominoes, the land cratered by impact after impact. Nico didn't care anymore.
The Ghost appeared beside him, watching the devastation with wide, impressed eyes.
"To think you were this strong... good work," she said, patting his massive leg.
But it didn't last.
Saiken's heel scraped the ground—resisting. Slowly, the wild arc of the tongue slowed... until it stopped completely.
Then—with a guttural growl—Saiken grabbed the tongue and began hauling it toward him. Muscles bulging, energy surging.
Nico staggered, trying to pull back—but too late. Saiken started spinning, gripping the tongue like a rope.
Now Nico was the yo-yo.
His giant body swung through the forest, leveling everything in its path. Trees exploded on impact, debris flew like shrapnel, and the air thundered with chaos.
Saiken grinned for the first time.
The Ghost tried to dodge the debris, but a rogue log smashed into her mid-air, slamming her into the dirt.
Finally, Saiken let go—and launched Nico skyward like a meteor in reverse. As Nico ascended helplessly, Saiken leapt, climbing through the air faster than gravity could pull Nico back down.
He soared above him.
And then—BOOM.
One titanic punch straight to the chest, stopping Nico's momentum and sending him crashing down like a comet.
CRACK.
He hit the ground, hard. The impact shattered the earth into a spiderweb of fractures. Saiken landed with a quake beside him.
Step.
Step.
Each footfall was like a war drum.
Nico was shrinking. His massive form twitching, body deflating. Saiken assumed he was done.
But just as he raised his fist—
Nico vanished.
No sound. No scent. No radia.
Nothing.
Saiken snarled and slammed his fist into the ground, cracking it further.
"Fucking cowards! Where the hell did courtesy go in battles? FACE ME LIKE A MAN, NICO!"
A voice whispered from behind—
"How about I face you like a woman?"
SLASH.
A dagger cut across his throat. Then more cuts—limbs, sides, legs—a flurry of precise, brutal slashes from the Ghost. She danced around him, a blur of death.
It looked over.
Saiken... laughed.
Low. Cold.
"Nice try."
The wounds closed. Skin reformed. Flesh re-knitted. His body regenerated in seconds, like the damage was just a dream.
"Shit!" the Ghost whispered, trying to retreat—
But he was too fast.
WHAM.
He snatched her by the throat and slammed her down so hard the ground buckled beneath them. His fist came down—again. And again. Each punch dug her deeper. Blood sprayed, her coughs choked by the earth closing in.
His grin widened.
There was madness in his eyes.
"Don't forgot about me."
Nico's fist crashed into Saiken, launching him out of the crater and into the shattered remains of the forest.
Saiken tumbled, flipped mid-air, and landed in a crouch—feral and poised.
"You don't even wanna know what I'm gonna do to you," Nico spat.
"Is that so?" Saiken growled.
He charged, blades forming from his forearms, gleaming and sharp.
Nico vanished again.
"Enough of this shit." Saiken froze, closing his eyes.
He focused.
No eyes. No sight.
Just sound.
Just vibrations.
Tiny pulses danced around his snout—electroreceptors picking up the subtle fields of life. He listened to the movement, the breath, the charge in the air.
There.
Nico dove from above, silent and deadly.
But just as he came within striking range—
Saiken sidestepped.
SLAM. Nico hit the ground. Dust flew everywhere.
He turned—
Too late.
A fist crashed through the smoke.
A flash of blue eyes.
A wicked grin.
Nico's life flashed before his eyes.
Everything slowed.
The death punch was seconds away, a blur of unstoppable force.
TING!
A deafening clash echoed through the broken forest, sending shockwaves that shattered what was left of the trees.
She was there.
The Ghost Princess—bloodied, battered—arms crossed in defense, twin daggers grinding against Saiken's strike, holding back a force no human should endure.
She was shaking. Her feet scraped against the ground, heels digging trenches in the dirt.
But she didn't back down.
"I know your weaknesses."
She smiled through the blood, through the pain—eyes sharp with fire.
"That doesn't mean I've lost," Saiken growled.
"No," Nico called out from behind, "but it does mean we have a way to make you lose."
And with that, the Ghost ducked—just in time.
CRACK!
Nico's fist connected with Saiken's chin, launching him into the air like a missile. Dust and leaves swirled around the impact site.
It wasn't much time.
But it was enough.
"What are his weaknesses?!" Nico gasped, catching his breath.
"Heat. Electricity. Anything that hits all at once. Otherwise, he's damn near immortal."
"Where the hell are we gonna get fire or lightning out here?!"
"Leave that to me."
She turned. Eyes glowing faintly.
"You got something in mind?"
"You'll see. Just hold him down."
"...Please don't take too long."
"You've got it."
Her smirk lingered like a spark before the storm.
---
Saiken blurred forward—faster than ever.
Nico braced and rolled into a ball, scales thickening, muscles tightening like armor.
This wasn't a fight anymore—it was survival.
Clang. Slam. Slam. Slam.
Each hit heavier than the last. Nico was holding him, but barely. His scales began to chip. Cracks spread like spiderwebs.
"So… this is your grand plan?" Saiken sneered. "Hide in your shell while you let her run away?"
He leaned in, pressing his blade harder.
"You're going to give out sooner or later. Why not make this easier for me?"
Nico chuckled, wheezing through the pain.
"Not buying the mind games... She's coming back. I know it."
But deep down, doubt crept in.
---
Far away…
She was running.
Then stopped.
In one breath, she undressed, tucking her clothes into a hollow tree. Her body trembled.
"Please... just this once... lend me your strength."
Her hands shook as they began to transform—reptilian, alien—then snapped back.
"No... come on... Come on!"
It was unstable.
Like trying to breathe underwater.
"I need this. I need you."
She bit down hard, fists clenched so tight her knuckles bled.
"FUCK. I'm NOT gonna let him die!! You're going to come out, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
She screamed.
A roar not of pain, but of defiance.
---
Meanwhile…
Nico's shell was splintering.
Saiken grinned.
"Say hello to God for me."
He pulled back his arm, blade gleaming with malicious energy.
Then… the wind shifted.
Saiken stopped.
A shadow passed over the rising moon.
Something vast.
The battlefield stilled.
Nico peeked out—and saw a living miracle.
Hovering above was a dragon.
Massive. Divine. Otherworldly.
Its wings shimmered like crystalized galaxies, scattering moonlight into blazing trails.
Scales refracted blue, violet, and gold across the world below.
And at its core—its chest—burned an orange pulse like a sun on the verge of supernova.
"What… the hell…?" Nico whispered.
BOOM.
The dragon snapped its tail—and the sky screamed.
Even Uzoth flinched.
"So the rumors were true…"
Saiken's eyes narrowed.
"The silverspine...what's it doing here?"
The dragon opened its mouth.
A low hum, rising like a charging reactor.
And then—
A PILLAR OF FIRE ERUPTED.
A column of divine flame shot down like heaven's judgment.
The battlefield melted. The air itself caught fire. Trees vanished. Rocks vaporized.
Saiken screamed, trying to resist—
But nothing could withstand that wrath.
Nico curled up, praying his scales wouldn't crack.
The world was light. And heat. And rage.
---
One minute later...
Silence.
Smoke spiraled into the sky. The earth was scorched glass. Black. Dead.
A massive crater smoldered at the center of it all.
And in the middle—stood a structure. Wood. Shaped like a bullet.
Then...
THUD.
A body crashed nearby. Heavy. Graceful. Barely conscious.
The dragon hit the earth. But just before impact, it twisted—wings flaring to catch air and soften the crash.
The transformation began.
Wings melted into arms. Scales into skin. Claws into bruised fingers.
Until all that was left was her—the Ghost Princess.
Naked. Bloodied. Scarred. But victorious.
She rose—barely. Limbs trembling, shoulder dislocated, leaving a trail of blood as she limped forward.
She was limping, every step a scream from her muscles, but she didn't care.
She had to check on Nico.
She had to know if she'd made it in time.
Pain surged with every movement, but she ran anyway. Ran through the haze, through the smoke, through the exhaustion. Her feet skidded to a stop at the edge of the massive crater—flames still crackling faintly in the distance.
Please. Please be alive.
She slid down the side of the scorched pit, dirt and ash trailing behind her. She collapsed next to a strange brownish-green spiral—scales splayed out like shattered armor.
It was Nico.
She dropped onto him, shaking him.
"Hey... hey! Are you alive in there?"
No answer.
Her breath hitched.
Tears welled.
The weight of what she might've done—what her power might've cost—crushed her chest.
"Please... please be alive. I can't—I can't be the one to kill you..."
"You almost did."
His voice. Dry. Cracking. But alive.
His scales creaked and snapped as he uncurled, revealing charred but healing skin beneath. His grin—tired, pained—was still as smug as ever.
She stared at him, eyes wide, overwhelmed with relief.
"YOU'RE ALIVE. Oh thank God."
"Just barely." He coughed. And stared at her. "Where yo clothes at?"
"It's a long story. Let's just get the hell outta here first."
She tried to stand—stumbled—and he caught her.
"Let me."
"Thanks" she murmured, climbing onto his back.
He began the slow climb out of the crater, each step heavy with ash and silence. But just as they reached the rim—
He stopped.
Turned back.
Staring into the heart of the destruction.
"...Was that there before?"
He pointed.
In the center of the crater stood a strange wooden structure. Charred, but untouched by flame. Tall. Unmoving. Symmetrical.
"Can't say I remember," she said, eyes narrowing. "Maybe some trees fused or something?"
"Yeah but... don't it look too perfect? Like... freaky perfect."
"Hmm. You're right. But, we've got bigger priorities right now. Let's just get outta here while we still can."
Nico sighed and resumed walking.
Neither of them saw it.
The wooden structure... shifted.
Its edges collapsed—not randomly, but in layers. Peeling downward like petals retracting.
Something was inside.
---
Then—Nico froze.
His heart dropped into his stomach.
His breathing stuttered.
He turned—slowly.
"No... no... Please."
At the center of the crater, rising from the molten remains of the structure—was a body.
Uzoth.
His skin bubbled grotesquely, like flesh in a pot of boiling acid.
Chunks of bone glistened, muscles reformed in unnatural pulses.
The fire hadn't killed him. It had only peeled him back.
Now he was being reborn.
Layer by layer.
The Ghost Princess stared, paralyzed.
"What was I thinking..." she whispered. "That wouldn't kill him..."
Uzoth lifted his head.
His face twisted—not in rage, not in agony.
But clarity.
He wasn't broken.
He wasn't afraid.
He understood now.
And that made him even more terrifying.
"So... this is the power of a Monarch," Nico whispered, a cold dread settling over him.
"Seems like this is the end for us" she muttered. "We don't stand a chance."
Uzoth stepped forward, fully upright. His form still dripping. Still warping.
But his eyes—sharp. Focused. Unshaken.
He had seen the edge of death.
And came back knowing exactly what needed to be done.
Uzoth started laughing. Maniacally.
"You almost got me there—not gonna lie," he said, voice rough and echoing. "To think you, of all people, are the Silverspine. You're just full of surprises, huh, Kierra?"
Kierra's breath trembled, but she stood her ground.
"What are the chances you let us go?"
"Not zero," Uzoth smirked. "But you're gonna pay for what you did to me today." His joints cracked as he rolled his shoulders forward. Shirtless, his body was riddled with burn scars, and his trousers were half-charred from knee to ankle.
"You might just die in the process though."
With a thunderous boom, he launched himself out of the crater, landing directly in front of them. The ground cracked beneath his weight. His grin twisted with rage. Murder dripped from every word.
Panic took hold. Nico turned and tried to flee—but his battered, burning body, weighed down by Kierra, couldn't keep up. He stumbled over a rock and collapsed.
Uzoth stalked forward, grabbed Nico by the casque protruding from his head, and hoisted him up effortlessly.
"I could care less what happens to you."
Nico chuckled weakly through the pain.
"Eat shit."
Uzoth laughed.
"I might've spared you if you begged... but I see you've already chosen death."
His tone dropped to ice.
"So be it."
He let go of Nico's head—then kicked it midair with monstrous force. Nico was sent flying, crashing through broken stumps and debris until he was impaled by a sharp wooden splinter. Blood stained the area.
"NOOO!" Kierra shrieked, tears flowing.
"You monster!"
Uzoth turned to her, his expression twisted in anguish and fury.
"Am I the monster?" he asked. Calm. Cold.
"Try seeing this from my perspective. I just wanted a quiet life—away from all the politics, all the chaos. But no! Two weeks in and I've already murdered someone and leveled a forest!" He gripped her face.
"All because of him! Because I had to meet Jim's son and get tangled in this cursed mess!"
"IS THAT FAIR, HUH?! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS NEVER-ENDING HELL?!"
Kierra flinched, eyes blazing with rage and fear.
"Leave me alone!"
Uzoth paused. Something in her tone pulled him back from the edge. He let go.
"Sorry, I'm just a little stressed right now." He exhaled, trying to compose himself. His gaze lingered on her.
Uzoth loomed over her, his shadow swallowing the light.
"You want to stay alive, huh?"
Kierra didn't answer. She just glared, blood on her lips, eyes burning.
Uzoth crouched beside her, voice dropping into a whisper.
"You know, all of this wouldn't have happened if you just stayed out of it." He tilted his head. "But now... you've made me do something I'm going to regret. Doesn't it feel unfair if I'm the only one regretting my actions?"
Kierra's eyes widened. She tried to crawl back, but her body wouldn't listen.
"It's too late to run now."
He grabbed her wrist—and in an instant, pain shot through her arm like lightning.
She screamed as his arm crushed her bones.
"STOP! LET GO!"
He smiled darkly.
"Oh? This is merely a taste. I'm gonna do far worse than what you did to me. Seeing as you're already dressed for the occasion, why not get this party started?"
Kierra writhed, tears in her eyes. Her bones were beginning to splinter from the inside.
"Please, someone...anyone...save me."
"We're in the middle of nowhere. No one's coming for you. Now then-" He lifted her by her wrist. "You have a fine body. I'm gonna enjoyyyy this." His gaze was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
"No...please...not like this." She was helpless. Her energy, diminished, her spirit, gone.
Uzoth went to touch her breasts when-
BOOOOM.
The crater behind them erupted.
The blast sent shockwaves through the clearing. Uzoth instinctively turned.
And that's when it hit.
A translucent, shifting foot—dark purple and otherworldly—collided with his face like a comet, sending him flying through the air. Trees snapped. Rocks shattered. His body finally skidded to a halt deep in the forest.
Silence followed.
Kierra gasped, staring toward the figure that had emerged from the crater.
Someone—or something—had come.
And Uzoth was no longer the only monster in the forest.