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 as if it was being held in a prison cell.
It continued to traverse the area, the monster destroyed everything in its path. Despite all this destruction, it needed flesh, it needed blood — it needed people.
In the corner of its eye, it spotted two civilians, one adult and one child that were quite a distance away. 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 compressing 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.