58 when things begin to crumble part 1

Before a group of protagonists ambushed one of Mikhail's outposts, Greimor looked rather sullen as the regular citizens made their way to the underground bunkers his friend had provided him.

He sat inside the conference room of his palace, on the top floor, with eleven other beastkin that lessened his work.

The rest of the councilmen that helped watch over the kingdom were discussing their growing problems and the recent changes as they would glance toward their king every now and then in a rather subtle yet suspicious manner.

Even now, as he closed his eyes, trying to rest his weary mind, that one conversation he had with Mikhail still haunted him.

"You realize you have traitors in your midst, right?"

Mikhail looked at his friend while asking in a grave tone.

Greimor gave him a wry smile before replying.

"yes, I do."

"Then why won't you deal with them now!? Before they truly make things worse for you!?"

Mikhail couldn't comprehend why his friend was adamant about giving irredeemable people a chance to correct their ways.

So, he was practically lashing out at his friend in confusion.

The psychic may be a mind reader, but upon finding out who Greimor was, not once has he ever read his friend's mind, a rare sign of trust that Mikhail yearned to practice after dealing with so many worlds.

He knew what kind of person Micheal was and how he was still despite suffering so much!

"when the time comes, I'll clean out my kingdom of such ignorant children."

But alas, Mikhail decided to stop nagging the beast king and offered refuge for his race that wasn't a part of the traitors' plans.

"You better not die when the time comes, you bastard! You have a wife and seven kids in half a year, waiting for you!"

-----------------------------------------------

Darkness loomed of the beast kingdom, as one of the councilmen could help but mutter.

"Looks like the time has finally come~."

The king's fox ears tilted toward the source of the voice, but the next thing that happened confirmed his fears before he could ask them the lingering question in his mind.

The loud alarms of missiles and weather alerts resounded throughout the city as the Gatling turrets began firing.

Greimor slowly opened his eyes, looking at the remaining council members that seemed to stop hiding their smirks.

The Foxman released a heavy sigh as he removed the crown from his head, looked at it for a moment in sadness, and reminisced the past for a brief second before carefully placing it down, all while asking the beastmen that he had held hopes for a simple question.

"Why have you betrayed our kind?"

There was no chiding or emotion behind his words, just simple curiosity as he had done his best to supply them with the best training and tools to grow stronger, yet they never changed their ways despite his actions that should've made their lives so much better.

But that's how life is...

You can't satisfy everyone, and there are those who are never satisfied.

"We don't have to answer you, you old fool!"

The one who spoke was a goatkin.

Before a tigerkin added.

"You should step down and make this much easier for us unless you want to lose your first litter ~."

That was heading into some territory that some smarter councilmen were already trying to run for two reasons!

There was no sign of their backup yet, and none of them could handle the king one-on-one!

So the fools were just digging themselves a hole for themselves before ensuring their safety.

Greimor rubbed the side of his temple as someone just pressed one button, but before he could even act, another idiot fanned the flames.

"Don't worry. We'll take re~al good care of her if that happens."

*Snap*

All of the councilmen heard that ominous sound.

It was loud enough to make them all flinch in surprise!

Some smarter ones were already near the door, about to open it, then hightail out of the room as reinforcements were coming to help them subdue their former king.

Still, sadly, all of the promises and gains the councilmen had received as an aura-draining formation enveloped the council room made them forget the moniker their king had when they were younger.

The one-beast army, the render, the vicious hunter but the last one was the most infamous because of what he had to do to earn that title.

The blood lurker.

Before he was a king, he was a man; before he was a man, he was a father, and they just had to fuck up so badly before they could properly plan their survival!

In a split second, Greimor was already holding the tigerkin and the other idiot by their skulls as his Artes intermixed with his bodily changes.

"T̵̛̳̣̩̉̾̊͛̅́̋̀̈̐͜ḧ̸̛̼͕̱̖͖͕̩̫́ŗ̵̗̠̟̫̰̰̣̝͙͔̭̠̍̌̽̀͂̑̓́͊͂̕͜ͅȩ̶̛̙͎̠̹͔͖͒̂̋̿͌̾̾͛̍͗̑̚͝͠a̴̡̢̜̤̱̹̎̈́̐̊͂̈́͝t̵̢̧͖͈̺̱̜͈͚̫̮̣͉̲̥͇̿͑͑̓̐̌̍͌̓͝͝͝h̷̨̺̗̯̳̞̳͓́̆͑͊͘ė̶̼̻͓͌͋̏͋̿̋̋̃̕͘ṅ̴̟̯̘̘́̐͂̉̀̀͐̏̌͆͊̚ ̷̼̝͚͙̀̊̃́͒̒t̷̟̗̻̠͙̰͉͔̩̰͇̮͆͂͊̎̾̾̀͐̎̅̈̓̈́̆͜͝͝h̷̡̥͚̩̲͖͔͉͙̘͎̖̪͛̾͛̉̽̈́̍͑̈́̕e̴͖̠̖͍̯̩̣̣̘̟̞̰̝͇̭͌̿ ̴̡̦̠̜̞͖̳̦̞͉̹̰̣̝͈͒́̿̈́̿͑̏̑͘̕l̴̟̹̽̃̆̂̅̃̈́͂͂̂͜͝ï̵̭̻̱̘͖̟̓̐̓̋͗̈́̀̚͝ͅv̶̡̢̮̼̞̩̲͉̖͕͖͚̓͌̽̎́͜ͅͅë̶̡͙̲̄̓̿̽͘̚ş̶̢̛̛̳͇̤̗̤̺̲̬͓̣͎̹̺̼͐̀̓̌̑̈́͋̑̅͂ ̶̛̣̪͚͗̌ͅo̶͕͖͗͜͜f̷̦̳͍̦̝̀̅͒̆͑̀͌̇̀ ̸̛͎̻̠͉̲̜̗̑̆̈́̽͘m̴̧̛̪̮̗̺͇͇̻͚̘̪̱̜͍̓̽̅̇̓͑͆͂͆͘̕͜͠͝͠ý̸̢̙̙͕͇̰̝̱̻͓̙́͒̄̊̀͊͛̆̆͑͠ ̶̧̰̲͙̣̘̯̹̟̲̲͛̀̅̆̍̀̃̒̈́̅͛̍̔͘͝l̴̛̛̩̮̰͙͆̆͌͌̌̈́̐̿̃̆͑̚͝͝í̵̡̛̖͇̣̦͓́͒̋̽́́̽̈́̃ͅṯ̸̯̻̬͙̳̯̙́̽̌͛͐̉̏̀̇̒̔̕͜ͅͅț̸̺͔̺̪͇̹͔̤̥̙͙̳̋͜͜ȩ̷͓̭̪͈̘̙̻̫̘̙͍̱͚̒̾̈́̀̽̔̂̑̊́r̴̥̊̿͊̐͗̓̋̐̿̕͠,̴̨̡͖̙̱͇̼̭̞̰͕̺̬͇͉̣͐̓̏̃̂̆͌͛̆̐̎̓̈́̕͠ ̸̢̡̨̨̳̤͎̜͙̥̝̣͇̰̞̂̔͂̽̆͐̕w̷̛̭͈̙̥͕͕͊͊̂͐͂̍̎̐̈́̉̈͋̈́͝ͅi̵̧̢̨͓̭̣͙̝̗̻̪͎̮̥̇̿́̉̀̕ͅͅͅl̷̢̧̡͎̭͈͇̼̭͙̹̬̲̘̝̰͚͊̅̑̒͑́̇̈́ļ̷̧͙̞͈̙̲̲͓̪͙͖͊ͅͅͅͅ ̶͍̤̘̳̥̟̱̥̞̭̝͔͙̙͊͌͂̏̔̆́̑̏̄̔̈́̍̈́̕͝ͅy̴̨͕͎̮̔̏̾͗̿̊͊ó̵͉̟͖͈̜͕̝͓̖̈́̒̈́̿͒̍̓͠ͅǔ̶̩͎̟̲͔̞̾͐̚͝͝?̵̢̳͔̟̥͓̭̈́́̓̐̇̊̉͐͑̉̽͘̕̕͝"

The air shook with his wrathful words that grew louder with every syllable.

His fur turned gray, and his eight tails unfurled themselves, all while his muscles and bones shifted to accommodate its real size.

A husband's righteous rage to protect his children and his wife can be incredibly formidable as an attack fuel, especially for Greimor, who reached the 8th tier!

"Y̵̨̡͇̖̒̓́̊̆̚o̵̧̺̞͔̜̟̻͙͇̐̍̈́̀̀̊͛̓̇ų̶̛̠̦͔̰͇̫̟̠̞̈́̔͐̇͊̔̅̌̄̃͆̕͝ ̵̲̼̼̖̳̤̹͓͚͇̫̯̼̘̩̔͐͑̎̓̽͐̉̎̀̓͛̂͘͘ả̸̳̹̭̞̭̀̄̽̇̐̋͐̓̎͑̕͘l̴̫͎̝̝̬̭̩͚̝̱̎s̵̡̥̳̩̬͈͇͕͈̤̠̘͔̰͕͔̗̉͘͝o̸̢͈̫͉͈͚͖͑́͋͆̆̏̾̾̀̕ ̴̈̎̿̀́̎̚ͅD̴͖̼͈̞͙͑̈́̑̕À̶̢̧͕̠̪̮̗̺̜̱̝͙͇̿̄̅̅̓͌͠͝Ŗ̴̨̞̳̞̪̗͔͉̔̿̒̄̃̈́͂͗̈͜E̶̛̻̝̺̺͕̹̘̠͖͌͛̓̉̄̀̓̄́̚̕͜ͅ ̴̢̢̧̨͎̙͔͕̙̰̦̬̦̭̙͒͌͜t̷̡̯͎͔̰͚̃̓͑͗̐͛o̸̬͎̖̣̟̯̫̰̻͙͎̜̣͋͑̊̍̂̋̈́͠ ̶̨̩͖͚̌͗t̶̡̫̳̩̦̼̗̓̾̌̄̅̉́̚͘a̷̡̫̯̙͔̭̱̺̝̻̮̗̘͎̝̹̓̈̎̉̇̑͊̉̔̂̌̄͝͝l̴̢̙͉͕͎̝̲͓͇̩̯̞̏̀̔̈́̿̚k̷̼̗̺͇̝̺̳̭̙̘̝͚̐ ̶̹̲͇̝͔̠̺̠͋̓̍̋̕á̸̗̙͚̦̙͍̟̑̇͋͠ḇ̸͎̜̥̖͓̀͒̉̎͆̈́̏̒̌́͜o̷̗̺̝̣͇̯͎̫͖̭͈̝̓̆̀̌̉̓͜͜͝͠͠ư̴̢͖̮͍̑͛͌͘t̷͉͙̣̐̔̅͗̃̎̅̆̉͂̾̌̂̇̃̕͜͝ ̸̧̢̛̻͇̗͕̺̰̟̣̝̠̰̼̊̍͂̈́̉̾̄̒͆̚ͅm̵̢̛̛̻͎̗̗͎̞͔̤̖̹̜̭͔͑̒͘͘͝y̴̧͚͔͕̺̰̜̜̝̪̹̺̬̫̖̰̓̄͝͠ͅ ̵̠̝̌̉̇̎̓̊̍̽͜͝q̵̟̰̳͇̦͍̭͚̈́̾̋̈́̆̽̚̕ú̸̘̮̰̬̫ͅe̴̩̦͍͉̟̦̟̮͓̟͚̐̓̋͒͐́͜͜͝͠ẹ̶͔͇̙̠͓̤̲̻̖͙́̀̃͐̀̽́̈́̍̋͐̂̽̕͜͜͝͝n̸̡̛̮̝͉̥͇̲̣͔͚͒̐̄̂̈́̀̅͑̀̒̂͒͒̕̕͜͠ ̵͓̫̭͖̼̮͎̖͙̝̫͉̝̻̲̿̏̀́̄̓̊͒̆̓͋̚͜i̸̤̠͐͂̈́̌̈́͑̎͌͛̈́͘n̶̨̼̯̜͖͕͍̲̞̩̥͑͑͋͗̓͋͑̌͠ ̶̨̡̢̛̘̹̲͎̼̹͉̞̟͈͒́̌̇s̵̺̻͈̳̦͓̳̞̯̠̣̟̜̓̐̋̇̂̃̈́͑͂̅͗̕͜u̸̡̧̗̹͕͕͔̭̹̰͉̳͔̗͊̏́̽͠͝ć̶̛̹̼̤̲͎̳͔̰̒̔̑̀͑̈́̆̆̆̈́̎̔̉̈́̕h̵̥̪̹̬̽̎́́̉̎̈́̒̽͌́͘͠͝ ̸̨̨͓̗͎͈͓͎̼̲̼̻̫̟̥̅͗̌͜ȁ̵̡̛̗̼̮̺̤̻̻̞̥͓͎̫͓̇͂̌̽̈́̽͝ ̸̢̞͈̲̯̥̬̐̑̊̄̉̊̒̔͗̅̂͊̄̾͝͝m̶̨̤̠͈̺̉̇̆͌̅̈́̏͘͝͝a̵̲̜̳̥̬̘̙̳̾͋̂̑͋̓̈́̂̉̌̂̂̚͝ͅn̶̬̱̙̯̤̱̩̥̖͈̬̟̟̍͗͒̊͊̓͂͝n̴̢̩͈̫͚͈͕͙͚̞͓͕̾̋̉̋̾̃̿̊̃̉̽͠͝ͅͅe̶̢̝̼̣̯̰͙͕̝̟̮͎͆̑̇̒͊̋͒̈́͛͛́̈́̐̏͑̽͜r̸̢̡͎͍̘̥̣̝͕͍̪̙̬̳̅̒̈́̌̔̇͑̒̚̚!̸̡͇͇̫͈͕̆̈́̑́̔͘?̶̬̟̼͔̦̊͌̍̄̽̊̉̊̕͝ͅ"

The tigerkin snarled as he tried digging his claws into the arm that held him.

Sadly, the tier difference only led to those claws cracking and breaking from the effort!

The idiot, on the other hand, was too short and weak to do anything other than kick out with his hooves, failing to hit anything.

All he could do was whimper, and soil his trousers as the pressure on his skull increased with the size of the person they betrayed for various reasons.

One of the main genes, Greimor had taken into himself was that of the highest achievements in brutes.

So his former lean frame was merely the super condensed version of the beastkin-type brute!

He grew in size as the sounds of their skulls cracked under the increased strength of Greimor.

His enlarged palms muffled the pained screams of the two caught by him, but that didn't stop a shiver from running down the spines of the others.

Before the runaways could even touch the door handles, Greimor kicked a few chairs in their direction as his body, strangely enough, began to split until there were eight copies of himself with a single tail each and baring different weapons.

The flying chairs smashed into the slightly smarter councilmen with a loud crash.

*crack*

"Argh!"

The chairs exploded and broke something of the beastmen hit by them as they slammed heavily into the reinforced door that blocked their escape!

As the pressure increased on the skulls of the captured beastkin, they could only release muffled cries before their heads finally gave out.

*Crunch* *Splat*

A crunchy and bloody splat was heard as the tigerkin, and the idiot fell to the ground as blood spurted out where their head should've been.

All while Greimor maintained a smile that wasn't a smile as he moved toward the beastkin, crying in pain or begging for their lives.

Thanks to him being so much older than them, Greimor looked at them as his own children a long time ago, thus the patience and him waiting for them to correct their ways, but alas, not only had they failed, but they made him make up his mind, and his kingdom truly needed a culling for fools.

So, they'll get no mercy from him!

Multiple explosions soon resounded at the borders of his kingdom, destroying his walls, the lush forests, the large fishing lake, and thousands of lives that could not retreat to the bunkers in time.

All of them were burnt to a crisp only to fuel his growing fury!

His eight tails unfurled as seven disconnected from his body and gradually created seven other variations of himself carrying different weapons.

The remainder of the tails formed Red spiked gauntlets on his fists.

Multiple small pillars of light emerged inside the conference room.

Then from the pillars of light, Tens of humanoids holding guns and wearing strange, half-smiling, half-frowning masks appeared near him and raised their weapons before beginning their barrage of bullets.

The eight forms of greimor quickly spread out as the sizeable greyish form of Greimor with two spiked gauntlets charged forward with his arms crossed, taking on all the bullets that sparked and bounced off him.

One of the assailants dropped to a knee before lifting a bigger device onto their shoulder, then fired a rocket!

The Monk version of greimor charged forward with a growl and slammed into the rocket!

-------------------------------------------------------

Outside of the council room.

The ongoing battle could be heard from behind the rattling door, as the guards who betrayed the king had second thoughts about proceeding with this.

"Hey Judem, are you sure that this will succeed? Where are the councilors?"

A lizardman glared at the beastkin that asked before replying.

"Need I remind you that it is too late to turn back!? The informant told us all we needed to know, and I DO NOT want to face hundreds of those flying devices! It'd be a losing battle if we did, so we must do this to LESSEN OUR LOSSES!"

That terrifying scene of thousands of metal objects ten times larger than that floating disc they had seen before was a sight to remember.

Don't get him started on the firepower one had, which was enough to level a mountain!

But yes, Judem understood why the young beastkin guard asked him that.

Their king was their living hero, one that was most active over a hundred years ago, and due to him being out of the battlefield for so long, many had forgotten what he could do.

But alas, compared to the extinction of their race, sometimes some actions must be taken, even if they had to raise their sword against their hero!

The door to the council room got shattered as a mangled corpse of one of those masked humanoids slammed into the wall while being held by the person they revered and betrayed.

Greimor towered over them as dust obscured their sight, steam wisped out of the sides of his snout, and his bloodshot eyes looked at them filled with bloodlust.

Every guard shook both in awe and from fear, But Judem had to do his task even if it meant his demise.

More alien soldiers arrived, and the lizardman released a warcry that spurred on the others as they charged to their deaths.

Only Greimor was already crying at this very moment as he was unable to have children for so long that many of the beastkin of this generation thought of them as his own children, yet now, the Foxkin had to put them down.