A clamorous cry sounded throughout the living room.
"E-Emory..."
Hearing the baby cry for the first time, Darian's eyes widened as his lips parted. What do I do…? He was wholly unprepared for this moment. Holding the wailing child with his trembling hands, he whispered in Emory's ear. "Now, now. Don't cry, little Emory…"
Using his bony, frail hand, he began patting Emory's small back softly. However, the cries did not cease. For the next 30 minutes, he tried everything, from soothing to toys to burping.
Darian pressed his lips together and tried to rack his mind. How do I stop a crying baby? His eyebrows furrowed as he paced around the living room, avoiding objects in his path.
It wasn't until a knock on the door that they both stopped. Darian's eyes lit up as he noticed Emory stopped crying. Unfortunately, that only lasted for a couple of seconds. Emory's screaming reignited fiercely.
As the color in his eyes slowly faded, Darian approached the white door. He reached his open hand for the brass knob and twisted it open. Outside was a child no older than seven years old.
"Grant." Darian acknowledged. Grant Ophul was Darian's neighbor's only son. He had soft ginger hair that covered his forehead and possessed grass-green eyes. Grant was sucking on a frozen fish, a delicacy in Trila.
"How can I help you?" Darian asked, bending down slightly. Grant grimaced from Emory's shrieks before replying, "Momma says your baby too loud." He took the fish out of his mouth, saliva dripping on the concrete, and pointed it toward Emory.
He's only been crying for 30 minutes... Darian's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, sorry about that." After not hearing a response from Grant, Darian continued, "I-I'll try to get him to calm down soon."
He gently brought his lips to Emory's cheek. "Is that the only reason you came here?" While holding the frozen fish near his freckled face, Grant nodded, "Yeah." He wore a light blue T-shirt and matching shorts. Dark brown sandals were strapped to his feet, leaving his chubby toes exposed to the air.
As Grant shifted his gaze to Emory once more, the latter reciprocated. Then, Emory looked toward the fish.
The crying stopped.
Darian's jaw fell as he felt taken aback. "Emory..?" The subject at hand's focus was pinpointed directly on the frozen, dead fish. Realizing that he finally stopped crying, a beaming smile plastered itself on Darian's face. "Oh my!"
Grant noticed Emory's eyes nailed toward the fish in his hand, so he kindly offered it to the newborn baby. "Here." He handed the fish to Darian, who was confused. "...?"
"Your baby likes it." Grant felt like he didn't need to expand further, and Darian got the message as well. After thanking Grant for his generosity, Darian waved at him before seeing him off. "Thanks again for the fish. I've been meaning to buy some for him, but the markets are all closed."
Grant looked back and replied, "Yeah, my papa says a lot of people are dying." Pausing at the young boy's dark remark, Darian's lips twitched. Why are they talking to a little kid about this? He questioned Mr. and Mrs. Ophul's parental methods.
Disregarding Grant's previous statement, Darian warned him, "Be careful on your way back. Go home straightaway." Grant nodded, "Yeah." He then hopped each step and landed on the ground with a thud before scurrying all the way home.
What a nice kid. Darian smiled before looking over at Emory, who was laser-focused on the frozen fish. "Who knew a fish would get a crying baby to stop?" Chuckling to himself, he opened the door and went back inside.
Placing Emory on the dark green two-person couch, he put the fish directly beside Emory. The baby's maroon eyes locked on to the fish the moment he noticed it.
As Darian was preparing food in the kitchen, a loud siren emanated from the area. Surprisingly, Emory stayed quiet, unbothered by the piercing shriek.
Darian, however, felt his back tense drastically. Like second nature, he quickly ran to Emory and the fish and picked them up.
He maneuvered throughout the house and ran to the hallway, where he was met with a multitude of floorboards that were a part of the walkway.
After he placed Emory softly on the ground, he used all the strength he could muster and lifted a larger-than-average floorboard. The creak was drowned out by the earsplitting siren, which left Darian lowering.
After he removed the singular floorboard, it left them faced with a chilling basement. A set of wooden stairs hid underneath them as Darian slowly descended, re-shutting the floorboard before reaching the ground.
As he landed down in the dark and wet basement, Darian felt like his stomach was spiraling. Rain droplets punctured the eerie vibe as he heard the footsteps of mice scurry along the corners.
The siren remained but was fuzzy now. Darian knew the severity of the alarm that showered Trila. It was only released if there was a monster sighting.
'Monsters' are alien-like creatures that feast on humans. They have multiple limbs and protruding devilish mouths. The muscles along their body bulge and convulse rapidly, giving them strength no regular human could ever fathom.
Some even had supernatural abilities like breathing fire or summoning lightning.
Was there a crack in the sky again? Darian subconsciously looked up, past the roof of his house and the sky that lay looming above the world. While cracks weren't uncommon, it was still an extremely dangerous occurrence. No one left their homes during a monster sighting.
Monsters appeared only when a crack in the air had occurred. It's like as if the sky was a mirror, and then a dark purple sliver runs through and tears it open, releasing single or multiple monsters at a time.
They can be killed by either the Elevated or by certain military personnel. For anyone else, a monster sighting almost always results in a brutal death.
Throughout Theales' history, monster sightings and the assassination have cratered their way of life astronomically. Despite constant efforts to combat them, the killings have and will never cease.
Darian hid Emory in a bed down in the basement; he covered him with a black blanket and silently went to a small chest. Inside was a sword; he grabbed it and went into a ready stance. Even though Darian's weapon was just a regular sword, it was all he had at his disposal.
The two waited in silence, praying that the siren would stop and the monsters would be killed.
. . .
Eastern Trila,
A couple of kilometers from Trila's Minister's Office.
A rabid, dark purple monster tore through the common houses of East Trila, leaving nothing spared. Its four burly, bulging arms ripped homes to shreds as it searched for people. The three eyes located on its head darted all around the area trying to locate flesh.
Despite being two meters tall and 190 kilograms, its movements were nimble but deadly. The bladelike claws on its hands sliced through poles like paper while its muscles continued flexing.
Its protruding mouth spewed cloudy foam, trapped between its jagged teeth like a prison as if it was being held in a prison cell.
It continued to traverse the area, destroying everything in its path. Despite all this destruction, the monster needed flesh, it needed blood, and it needed people.
In the corner of its eye, it spotted two civilians quite a distance away, one adult and one child. Both their faces were painted with horror as the adult banged on the door of a nearby house.
The man had short black hair that was disheveled from the stress he was undergoing, while the little girl had her hair tied into pigtails. She donned light blue jeans and a sweater, while the man wore a flannel and navy blue pants.
His dark brown eyes shrank when he noticed the monster looking at them both. The girls cries shot out instantly, even though they were drowned out by the siren.
The man's pounding increased. "Please open up! Please, my daughter is beside me!" He pleaded as his knuckles reddened. "There is a monster! Please! Have some compassion; a child is next to me!" However, the door would not budge.
In a split second, the monster landed right in front of the pair. Its breath is heavy, its claws are twitching, and its tongue is maliciously licking its jagged, pointed teeth.
The color in the man's and little girl's faces drained as they stood there frozen. The monster's enormous shadow was cast over them, removing any sunlight—any hope.
The man reflexively stood in front of his daughter, shielding her from the rabid beast that stood before them. Tears welled up inside the girl's traumatized eyes. "Daddy…!" She held on to his shirt, her face red and full of tears.
The father smiled before looking back at his daughter. "It will be okay."
To the monster, it did not matter who stood before whom. With no thought, it grabbed both ends of the man's body. Even though the man struggled to escape its grasp, it was of no use. Clenching the muscles on its arms, it tore the man's body in half, like a candy wrapper.
The daughter's face went pale as she processed this. Not paying any heed, the monster tipped the man's body and gobbled his insides before discarding him on the side, leaving his lifeless body to rot. A pool of blood began forming underneath the monster and the girl, who had finally processed what just happened.
As the color returned to the little girl's face, she wailed a cry that rivaled the sirens emanating from the puncture.
The monster licked the blood that stained its teeth, remnants of the man inside trapped between the crevices of its deadly mouth.
The girl remained standing there, her mouth agape as she voiced a shrilling cry. Just as the monster reached its claws to grab the screaming child, a shockwave of yellow aura blasted the area.
The monster was blown back, falling onto the ground with a thud. Jumping back up like a spring, its three eyes darted to where the power had come from.
A man wearing a white, clean suit and a yellow cape began walking slowly toward the monster.
With each step he took, the ground trembled beneath his feet. On his waist, an obsidian claymore rested, enclosed in a bone-white sheath. With his hand on the handle, he began unsheathing it. A blinding aura escaped as the black sword was exposed to the cold air.
His cape fluttered in the wind he created, the ground shook, and his golden hair that was parted down the middle danced. The mesmerizing deep blue eyes located on his face locked on to the monster and delivered a menacing glare.
The monster twisted its body, its claws vibrating with anticipation. There was about 19m of distance between the two.
Roaring, the monster tried to cement its dominance. However, the man was unbothered and continued advancing.
The muscles on its calves clenched as it pounced toward the caped man. As he continued glaring, the man slowly raised his blade. With a powerful horizontal slash, the air current created cuts the monster clean in half.
Squirming on the ground, the monster shrieked in immense pain. A gurgling sound escaped its wound. Its intestines and skin were slowly reappearing.
Regeneration.
The man's eyes constricted as he gasped. Just before him, the monster he had once slashed in half had fully regenerated. Taking a step forward, the man warped the fabric of reality and landed directly in front of the monster.
As their eyes met, the monster cowered in fear, succumbing to the man's aura.
The man raised his claymore, and with two powerful slashes, he cut the monster's face diagonally, in the shape of an 'X.'.
The cries of the monster and little girl slowed down before stopping completely. The man watched the monster in front of him slowly disintegrate. Sheathing his sword, he approached the traumatized little girl.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner…"
He embraced the girl, who was frozen. "I'm sorry." That was all he could say. The loud siren stopped, the girl was still frozen, and the man remained embracing her. The girl whimpered softly, "Daddy..." Quiet enough so the man did not hear.
Military officials arrived, and they took the dismembered corpse away. What was left was the little girl, who finally processed what was happening and broke down in tears.
The man in the cape and suit brought her close and lifted her off the ground. "I'm sorry, little one. Let us find your mother." He called over 2 men in military outfits, and they immediately saluted.
"Find her parent." It was one cold order; the men quickly ran off after affirming.
Another man approached him, wearing a black suit with many military badges. He had short black hair and a scar on his left cheek. "General Alanus," the man saluted at the caped hero. "Captain Turo," Alanus responded.
They were both a part of the Theales military; Alanus was a general in the Special Force, targeting assassins and monster sightings. General was the second highest rank one can achieve, only behind the commander. There are only 4 generals in the Theales military, Alanus being the strongest.
"While this was not the deadliest monster attack, it is most certainly the most traumatizing." Turo glanced at the girl with tears in her eyes in pity.
"Indeed, once we find her parent, make sure she gets into extensive mental care. I will recommend some psychiatrists to help with the trauma." Alanus walked, and Turo followed behind.
In the background, many soldiers were scouring the area for any extra monsters. Turo coughed before speaking, "With the assassinations increasing, and now more monster sightings, we most likely will not go on break any time soon."
"Right, get in touch with Commander Alvaron. I'd like to discuss some irregularities regarding the monster I killed." Alanus had never witnessed a monster regenerate nor seen any monster not cower in fear after sighting him for the first time. This monster did both.
"Yes, sir." Turo left quickly, saluting 2 soldiers who were walking with a crying mother on his way.
"Sir, here is her mother." Before Alanus could speak, the mother cried and ran towards her daughter. The moment the little girl met eyes with her mom, she broke down in tears.
"Kaila! My baby!" The mother was crying louder than Kaila. The mother kissed and hugged Kaila repeatedly before looking around. "Where is he?" Her voice was riddled with fear.
Alanus somberly shook his head.
The mother broke into pieces, wailing uncontrollably, "No!!!" She fell to the ground, her hands covering her moist eyes.
Alanus backed up to give them space. "You two, after she stops crying, make sure to give them a report on what happened. Don't leave them in the dust."
The two soldiers saluted before one of them ran off.
Alanus looked back at the mother and daughter with a solemn look. Why am I always like this...? He felt his face bubble up with hatred.
Soon after, his expression turned grim as he saw his commander, Alvaron, arriving in a carriage.
Alvaron was bald and had one of his eyes gouged out by a monster, leaving behind a nasty mark. His hands are full of scars, and his eyes are stained with countless battles. He was one of the two commanders of the Theales land military.
Although he is a commander and Alanus is only a general, Alanus is widely considered to be the most powerful land military personnel in Theales. His only other competition is Flora Wales, commander of the Naval Military.
"Commander," Alanus saluted. Alvaron acknowledged him with silence. He was a man of few words. Alanus took the initiative and began speaking, "I arrived at the scene at 12:36 PM; three of the four children were slaughtered, and one remained.
"I began my assault and released a shockwave; the monster didn't respond and pounced at me. I then sliced it in half with the wind of my weapon. The problem was it did not die but regenerated instead. I got closer to it, and it finally responded to my presence. I then slashed it twice on the head to ensure its death."
Alvaron listened silently, nodding occasionally. "Commander, they are evolving. No monster has ever withstood my authority in my life. I have also never witnessed regeneration. It looks like 'they' have begun their true assault".
Alvaron spoke, his tone grim, deep, "I understand. Our priority is to protect the emperor." While Alanus didn't dislike Emperor Magnus Van Selwyn, he worried about children like today. "What about the public? Should we not focus on them?"
Alvaron did not respond at first; he instead glared at Alanus before returning to his carriage. "My orders are absolute." He said it before the carriage left.
Alanus stood there, eyeing the carriage with a look of annoyance. He turned around and walked one step before warping out of the vicinity.