Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

An hour had passed, and Mono's enthusiasm about the beast hadn't dulled a smidge. Climbing higher and higher, she kept muttering one or the other, trying to explain the inner workings of the complex machina to Raven. And though he was as smart as he was curious, the warlord had no clue what Mono was telling him, and the only thing he could comprehend was just how dangerous the machina could be when finished.

"What in the nine hells are you even planning to use this thing for?" Raven asked, squinting.

"Hmm?" Turning around while standing on the machina's head, Mono looked down at him still standing by the last step's edge. "Oh, that I haven't figured out yet. Still, I would prefer if Chimera could stand toe to toe against even a god."

Taken aback by her words, Raven's eyes widened, and his left hand moved onto his chest. Staring at her as if she had gone mad, he wondered what exactly was wrong with her, especially since while scouring through her memory and culling her insanity, nothing at all seemed out of the ordinary.

"A god…" Shaking his head in disbelief, the warlord heaved heavily. "Having ambition is good, but don't you think that's excessive?"

Placing a hand on the chimera's body, Raven climbed up its crab-like back. Moving closer to Mono with visible concern, he stood at the flat top and shook his head yet again.

"Have you forgotten Avarice? What if this monster gets out of control too?"

"What?" Seeming offended by Raven's claim, the queen frowned with anger. "Do you think I'm an amateur?"

Moving closer to the warlord, she pushed him away. Stumbling just a few steps, Raven's expression soured as well, but before he could utter a word, the queen barked at him.

"I'm the mother of all machina! How dare you even suggest that I would make the same mistake again?!" Her fingers balled into fists and her teeth gritted shut, Mono truly wanted to punch the man, but the cleanse of her insanity was holding her back. "Ughh! Why am I even talking to you about this? As if you'll understand the work of an artist. All you know is how to kill stuff."

As much as Raven's mind screamed at him to de-escalate the situation, he couldn't help but fire right back.

"Don't bark at me about morals when you're intentionally trying to kill off a majority of your population!" Having peered into her mind, there was no secret, at least none that had arisen in recent times.

Gasping at that suggestion, Mono moved forward with command.

"You bastard! You promised not to pry where you don't belong!" Slipping past Raven, the queen jumped back on the stairs and began making her way down.

Quickly turning around, Raven followed right after. But of course, glancing angrily at him from the edge of her eyes, Mono didn't appreciate his company anymore at all.

"You need to stop with the humans this, the humans that and see that they're no different than you!" For once, Raven yelled at her with all his might; however, with the click of her tongue, the queen let it be known that she wasn't looking to have her morals changed by anyone.

"Half-witted inbreds, that's what they are. You expect me to accept them as equal," Mono scoffed at Raven's suggestion.

"And you're made of metal, what difference does it make what they are!" Halting abruptly on the stairs, Mono jerked back around and tried to grab Raven by his shirt. But slapping her hand away, the hero stood his ground without being intimidated. "You truly believe this, don't you? That you're superior to them? Fuck…No wonder I couldn't cull this perverted belief out of you–it's a part of you that runs as deep as your soul."

"And so what?!" Spreading her arms, Mono waved around the room. "While they can't pick up a book and read, I can revive the dead, create absolute defense against physical attacks and magic, not to mention I SURVIVE AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT BY A GODDESS! OF COURSE I'M PRIDEFUL! IT'S CALLED KNOWING YOUR WORTH, DAMN IT!"

Panting heavily as her current form wasn't meant to handle mental distress, Mono continued to stare at Raven as he continued to stare right back. Neither of them was happy with where the conversation was going, and although each needed the other for countless reasons, their next words were brewing up as harsh, maybe even harsh enough to turn them into enemies. Yet of course, in her angered state, Mono did not care.

"Half-breed fucking fae, get the fuck out of my lab!"

Although Raven tried to hold his frustration with her, before leaving, he had to say some last few words.

"Forget the textile for your fashion, forget your ores and minerals for this damned monster, it will devour you one day anyways–nothing's coming into this city anymore, so good luck trying to finish this moronic project!"

"As if we need your help."

"Ohh, we'll see…" Walking down the steps backwards with his face turned to Mono, Raven flashed her a mocking smile. "A land where nothing grows, not a tree nor any crops, good luck trying to feed them the shitty food again–we'll see how that goes."

As much as the queen would've liked to retort, the mention of food made her see some sense at least. However, having come so far, she knew that she couldn't back away–not after saying so much nasty stuff about Raven and even her own people.

'AHHHH! What the fuck!? Why doesn't anyone just leave me to do what I want to?! Is that too much to ask!? Why does everyone have something to say about what I'm doing? ALWAYS COMPLAINING ALWAYS! MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY'VE NEVER INVENTED ANYTHING, BECAUSE ALL THEY DO IS COMPLAIN!' Even after Raven had left her lab, Mono's frustration continued to grow.

She was angry not just at the hero but also at herself. After all, with the mining of ores mostly done on the island and only a minor excavation on her kingdom, she knew better than anyone that her plans to complete the chimera had to be halted.

"I'll find some other place to get the materials; you just watch!" She said to herself, knowing full well that no other kingdom or island was close enough to even attempt to help.

As for Raven, walking out of the lab, he thought to himself.

'Diane and Shamisha, I should talk to them to supply food in secret.' Hoping only to scare off the queen for a while, he never planned to stop the import indefinitely, but until she changes her mind, his other companions in the city would have to help him supply fresh produce to the locals.

While deep in thought, he kept on walking even when outside the lab. But soon enough, as he heard a familiar voice, his attention turned back to the front.

'Regalia? What is she doing here?' Thankfully for him, he didn't have to wait long to get an answer.