Monster Girl Menagerie – Celestial Archive

I never forgot that moment of helplessness when death had been rushing to meet me. Its cold and harsh grasps caressing my cheeks and ruffling my hair. I had never found anything more calming or accepting than death—even cold and emotionless, it beckoned me with a warmth I could only vaguely recall from my mother.

Despite its welcoming embrace, the seeds of resentment had rooted themselves in my heart. I couldn't leave this world without fulfilling my dreams. I couldn't leave my father without one last farewell. I couldn't die without living my life to the fullest.

But death cared for none of that.

For that fleeting moment, I recalled accepting its inevitability. To conform to the idea of letting go. But death had not been what I had come to face.

After that it had been a race against survival—trying to circumvent the goblins. If the dragon hadn't opened its doors, then I would've died. Or rather, I did die.

When I awoke after the dragon had given me its heart, I recalled the feeling that had been birthed in my core. It wasn't hate, anger, or even resentment. It was contempt. As if the very idea of hate was beyond me. Too mundane to even consider.

But I questioned myself: would I be able to hold onto my beliefs, even when faced with the ugliness of my past?

I couldn't have answered it before today—in fact, I couldn't have answered it before this very moment. But now, I could.

"Markus..." The words that left her mouth felt cold. Dead, even. Perhaps, from her perspective, that was indeed the case.

"How...?" The inability to accept the reality because your beliefs are set in stone. How could it be possible for a dead man to rise from the grave? I doubted I would fare any better in his place.

I shifted my attention to the last two, one wearing his signature scowl, as if perpetually etched on his face. Another stood stock still, blinking his eyes vehemently.

I smiled and turned to address Ed, who shuffled on his feet, oozing discomfort from his whole body. "Apologies, but would it be possible for us to converse somewhere in private?" I inquired, though my voice came out commanding.

"Er...?" Ed looked between our two groups, perhaps coming to a realization that our friendship might not be as good as he expected. Did I care about his thoughts, though? Not one bit.

"I will arrange for it," he said, offering a curt nod.

As we stood in silence against the refreshing breeze and bathed in the moonlit glow, I recalled the day of our hunt. Though it hadn't been nighttime, the weather had shown signs of being cold—telltale signs of upcoming rain that had lasted nearly a week.

For some reason, my former teammates had chosen to discuss in hushed voices among themselves. As cautious as ever, I thought. I remembered they had never explicitly made things difficult for me, except for hampering my chances to level up. They liked to play it safe.

I took another glance at my companions and saw Amara with her eyes closed and arms crossed across her chest, while Tania was glaring daggers at the squad of four. Given her attributes, I had no doubt she could rip them apart like wet tissue paper.

Just as I was beginning to wonder how long we would have to keep standing, I saw Ed running across the field and waving at us. I waved back and told my companions, "Let's go."

A few steps ahead I paused and turned around. "Do you want a separate invitation?" I questioned the four who had stayed glued to their spot.

They shared a look among themselves and strode forward with confidence. To say that my curiosity flared like a blazing hearth would be an understatement. I really want to know what's going on inside their heads.

Ed led us to an empty small hovel, a lantern hanging in the middle illuminating the interior. Judging by the scraps and refuse left behind, I would speculate that they had used it as a storage of some sort.

"This was the only place remotely isolated and empty," Ed said, in an effort to justify his choice.

I waved at him and said, "It's alright; this place will work just fine."

He nodded and turned to leave. The three men and one woman seemed to find our exchange a bit leery. I smiled and gestured. "After you?"

They shuffled inside, Amara and Tania following right after. I was the last to enter, closing the makeshift door behind me. Thankfully, the interior was somewhat spacious—enough to allow a few feet of gap between our groups.

"Alright," Elias said, "you brought us here where no one could hear us—now tell me what game you're playing at?"

As I leaned against the walls and crossed my arms, I took a good look at each of my former teammates. Elias still had that copper skin tone and looked every bit as rugged—if not more—than I had last seen him. Finn wore a loose garment that hung on his gaunt figure like a scrap of loose fabric tied to a stick. His hair had lost its oily shine and looked tangled and disarrayed.

"Get on with it, Markus; we don't have all night to waste on you," Theodore spoke with the same harsh tone, managing to come off more arrogant than irate.

"And if you're here to extort us, then you can forget about it," Edith added. "Because there is nothing you can make us do."

The blonde woman wore a sheer nightgown, her hair tied into a bun. Among her compatriots, she seemed to be the only one who hadn't changed much.

"What gall!" Tania voiced, forcefully. "Where do you even get all that confidence from? Not to mention the fact that you show no remorse over your actions. Are you really that heartless?"

I chuckled slightly, leaning forward. "You know, my father used to call guilders greedy morons," I said, moving closer. "At that time I used to think he was mocking me, and I hated him for it. Ironically, he turned out to be right. Even when I tried to ignore the glaring signs, I couldn't ignore you. And now I finally see you for what you've always been: narcissistic bottom-feeders."

"What?" Edith trembled, mouth agape and confusion apparent on her face. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Did you lose your brain when you fell inside the Event?" Finn derided, lips curled into a sneer.

"Just finish with the charade, Markus," Theodore added, sounding exasperated. "What the fuck do you want?"

I shook my head, feeling all the levity leave my body. "You never did learn the lesson, now did you?" I addressed the four. "Your problem is that you believe I came here to make demands in exchange for remaining silent. Because you believe that I wouldn't be able to do much else, isn't that right?"

"So what, you wanna fight us?" Elias asked, scoffing at his own suggestion.

"That's what I'm talking about," I said pointedly. "'Sucker Markus, can't even put up a fight,' isn't that right?"

"Oh gosh," Edith cried, heaving a heavy sigh. "I can't keep up with this drama for the whole night. Listen, if you've got something to say—just fucking say it."

I paused, mouth open but closed promptly. Shaking my head, I snickered. "Fuck, you're right," I said, nodding. "Why am I even bothering to play it light with you? You obviously like to take it rough, don't you?"

"What the fuck did you say, fucker?" Elias growled, stepping closer.

Just as Theodore was about to step in to add to the fire, we collectively heard a sigh echo throughout the hollow interior. "Alright, I've had enough," the voice sounded tired, but it was hard to ignore the annoyance that seeped through.

I blinked and looked down to see the shadows twist into knots and tentacles across the ground. The group seemed to have realized that something was wrong and followed my gaze.

"Holy shit!" Finn jumped into the air.

"What the fuck?!" Edith clung to Theodore like a hungry baboon. Even the men looked ashen at the writhing mass of shadowy constructs taking shape around them. And then... they flared.

I watched in morbid fascination as the thick, rope-like tentacles wound around their bodies, tightening their hold around their flailing limbs. They were pulled up and suspended mid-air as they screamed their lungs out and begged for help.

A tremor passed through the ground, and I lurched forward.

Hmm?

"Amara, I understand you're annoyed, but there's no need to go this far," I said, glancing back at the vampire. Instead I found her staring back at me, eyes wide open. "Wait... It wasn't you?"

Another tremor passed through, followed by a furious knock on our door. I flared my senses and pictured the crowd of vital motes shuffling around in a flurry. What's going on?

Another rapid succession of knocks sounded from the door, breaking me out of my ruminations. I glanced at my bound and gagged teammates and gave an implicit nod toward Tania. I moved to open the door and found Ed.

"Monsters!" He cried, panting deeply. "Monsters are attacking."