Chapter 18

When the sun has risen on the east, Dr. Baker and Dr. Rooney are now up and busy with their work as they started working on Grock and Gusion. The giant has voluntarily agreed to be experimented on to protect Harley who shall be retrieved by Mr. Ton from the grasp of Queen Aurora.

Gusion has been injected with anesthesia so he could not feel much pain while Grock is being taken care of by Dr. Baker with a different procedure for he is of different species. The work of the doctors is now starting to reach its peak since the city is in high alert now that Princess Odette has the thought of Mr. Ton doing his cunning schemes.

"Tigreal, did you send the notice to the two warriors that I have chosen?" Princess Odette asks and before the general could reply, Granger and Alucard come in.

"Your Highness, we have come upon hearing your summon," Alucard stated.

They bow before the princess who curtsies in return.

"I appreciate your immediate response, warriors," the princess announced.

Fanny has also made her entrance on time for the meeting, temporarily leaving the side of Harith who is healing faster than she thought. But before their meeting starts, the ninjas from Iga town have arrived and Tigreal is shocked to see Natalia by the hands of the royal soldiers.

"We have come to take the killer you have promised to hand over," Hanzo claimed which caused confusion in the throne room. Being able to grasp the situation, Tigreal immediately acted.

"Your Highness, pardon my rudeness but why is my student being held captive?" the general asks. His eyes are focused on Natalia who wouldn't even meet his gaze.

Princess Odette rises from her seat and walks towards the assassin who have been working under a different master.

"She had brought herself to an inevitable trouble for shedding the blood of countless warriors of the Shadow sect. The Iga town is an independent nation, thus, I have no power to pardon her. All I could do to resolve this matter is for her to be taken," she stated.

She halts in front of Natalia and with a simple touch, the seal of the royal assassin that once marked on Natalia's collarbone slowly faded. It only means that she is no longer a part of the princess' royal assassins.

Unable to tolerate the sight of the woman he loves being held captive, Tigreal pleaded on his knees.

"Your Highness, I ask for your consideration to pardon Natalia. It is I who deserve to receive any punishment for I have failed to discipline her," Tigreal announced as he got down and lowered his head towards the princess.

Princess Odette gazed at the three ninjas and remembered the promise she has to keep. Despite seeing the pained expression of the general, the princess did not agree. She, herself, does not want to lose Natalia but she has to learn from her mistakes.

"Natalia has done the assassination on her own free will, thus, it is only her who shall be responsible of her own actions," Princess Odette stated her final decision. Natalia may be a great loss but gaining the support of the ninjas is far more better.

Not wanting any further hindrances, Princess Odette did not give Natalia a chance to speak up for herself.

"You can now go and take Natalia with you. I shall wait for the time we join forces," the princess added as the royal guards escort the visitors outside.

"My team shall come to your aid, Your Highness," Hanzo responded before they followed the royal guards.

"With the tension rising against the abyssal demons, I have summoned you to form a new team under the tutelage of the Moniyan Princess," Princess Odette resumed the discussion for they have to make haste. The time they have left is not specifically stated or predicted so they have to act faster before the real danger comes.

"Harith may look fragile but with proper training, he'll become a great mage. Look after him especially that he's the youngest among you. Give Princess Silvanna the same respect you have given to me, behave well in your training," Princess Odette says at the end of her speech. She has explained to them the purpose of their team and briefed them about what has been happening.

"I wish you a safe travel, warriors," the princess bids her goodbye as she watches the team depart from Magical City.

After such, the five warriors head to the castle of the princess of the well-known ruler of the Moniyan Empire. On their way, Tigreal has noticed the gloomy mood of the blond-haired demon hunter so he asks him what is wrong.

"The weather is as bright as your blond hair yet you give off a melancholic aura," Tigreal commented.

Alucard is leaning near the window with his eyes looking at the distant horizon. He seems to have lost almost all his strength even without spending much energy that day.

"He had a serious fight with his girlfriend this morning because of this mission," Granger replies in his stead, and instead of pitying him, he felt amused for it is his first time seeing his tutor to be this miserable. And on top of that, it is a problem linked with a woman.

The general laughs in response for he has never seen someone as somber as Alucard because of a fight with a lover.

"Though, Miya knows that missions are way more important more than any other but why is she mad?" Tigreal asked for he has known Miya for a long time. She isn't the type of a woman to be childish and immature when it comes to such matters.

"He informed Miya about his leave just last night so she was enraged that I could hear her screams in my room which is five rooms away from Alucard," he chuckled.

Tigreal laughs harder for it has never crossed his mind that the best archer in the city would lose her temper in such way. He had worked with Miya many times during wars for she had led the archery battalion of their side. She has the face of a timid girl but wears a stoic expression, always formal in front of the soldiers but maybe, she acts differently when she's with her lover.

"That is your fault for telling her such an important thing at a late notice. Even if Miya understands it as your job, it is still a different story about telling her ahead of time," Fanny states without looking at anyone, she simply looks out the window of the carriage.

"I never thought it was that big of a deal," Alucard whined like a child.

Tigreal held him by the shoulder with a smile, "You have to adjust some matters when in a commitment. Remember that."

"I'll remember that advice, big guy," Harith stated with her ragged voice.

Tigreal turned his attention on the young mage with his eyebrows almost meeting at the center of his forehead.

"You still have a long way to go, young lad," he stated, patting the head of the sickly Leonin.

After a day of travel, the warriors finally reach the borders of the Moniyan Empire. Just as expected, the surrounding towns look better than that of Magical City. There are more people trading, walking and rushing, going and minding their own businesses.

But sightseeing is not the reason for them to be there, so they all go straight into the castle grounds. At the entrance, Gatotkaca awaits for their arrival. The huge metal gates clanked as they are opened with a loud creak. But instead of a warm welcome, a sudden attack greets the newcomers.

Gatotkaca who has charged his golden iron fist with the shape of heads of a growling tiger has jumped midair and is now landing a serious blow towards the group. His fist even gives off golden sparks which is a sign of serious battle.

Tigreal, being the leader and the only one capable of blocking the attack, charges forward, clenched his hand into a fist and raises it across his face. Two heavy and huge metal clang together, his shield has formed just in time as he blocks Gatotkaca's attack.

A strong wave force has thrown the others backwards as the two generals made contact with each other.

"Defend yourselves and guard each other's back!" Tigreal instructed before fully focusing on his pne-on-one fight against Gatotkaca.

Fanny unsheathes her swords and releases her cables. She swings around and is about to hit Gatotkaca from behind but a long, silver-haired man appears before her and swings his sword across, blocking off her strikes. But before Fanny could spot her new rival, he is nowhere to be seen.

"A camouflage?" she asked herself as her eyes scan the vicinity, not letting her guard down for a second.

A smirk forms on the edge of her lips as she uses her cable to go across the castle when she notices that the assassin she's against with could blend in with the walls. She strikes him but Ling manages to dodge and raises his sword in an attempt to cut the cables and fight Fanny on the ground.

Seeing Fanny having a hard time, Granger initiates to join in their one on one fight. He grabs his gun from behind and aims at Ling who is currently having a sword fight with Fanny. He aims perfectly and pulls the trigger, but before his bullet could hit his target, something has blocked it.

Granger is taken aback for his entire experience, no one has ever stopped his bullet from hitting the target. He looks around with his weapon ready to fire, he, then, jumps back when a tall girl lands behind him. She has some weird markings on her cheeks that seem to resemble the whiskers of a tiger. She also has a weird tail which made him wonder if she's human or not.

"No one hurts Ling except me," she claims as she swiftly moves in a different direction while releasing needles that is hard to be seen, thus, Granger is hit all over.

With Wanwan's attention focused on Granger, she has not given notice of Alucard's presence behind her. He hits her behind her neck with the hilt of his sword that is strong enough to make her faint.

Granger grunts as he falls onto his knees, unable to move his body entirely. Wanwan's needles has been soaked with paralyzing poison.

"That was the first time," Alucard states with a grin, "Seeing Granger lose is such a huge blow on my pride as your mentor."

While the warriors are seriously fighting, Princess Silvanna is currently watching from the foyer, observing the fighting skills of her soon-to-be students. While feeling a bit amused, her eyes get stuck at a Leonin who's staying inside the carriage. She counts from one to fifty but still, the Leonin remains quiet. She clicks her tongue in disappointment so she goes down from the throne room and goes to the entrance of her castle where the fight is being commenced.

"Halt!" she yells which gives an immediate order, everyone stops from fighting and face the princess by the entrance. The princess strides towards the carriage and opens it. Harith looks at her with a wary expression. Now that she could see him closer, Princess Silvanna sees his pale complexion and his lips a little bit purple.

Her anger suddenly fades as she realizes the situation of the Leonin.

"Follow me," she orders as she turns her back and leads the others into her castle.

"I have seen all your profiles and just as expected with the swan princess, she has the eyes for the strongest team," Princess Silvanna compliments for the five warriors she has chosen are the ones sent by Princess Odette, but her aura turns dark when she saw the condition of Harith. It would be harder for him to cope up especially that his condition is not as good as she thought.

"Gatotkaca, bring Harith to the royal doctor. Have him healed as soon as possible before he steps into the training ground," the princess orders but they all stop when a deafening scream escapes the Leonin's mouth.

"Granger! I do not want to go to the clinic!" Harith yells as he jumps onto the demon hunter's back. He grips him tight, almost choking him to death. That is the very first time Granger got touched by someone without his permission, making him freeze in place due to shock. His skin has gone as pale as Harith's because of the sudden contact.

It should be fun to tease Granger but the situation does not call for a joke. So Alucard, then, grabs Harith by the back of his clothes and forces him off from his student.

"Don't be a sissy and fully recover in the clinic. Man up, kid," he says as he pets him on the head which comforted the Leonin in no time. Harith nods at him before willingly going after Gatotkaca.

"I shall come back stronger than you think!" Harith stated with confidence.

"I'll buy you a catnip, then," Alucard responded as he grabs Granger for he has not fully recovered.

Princess Silvanna leads the remaining team to the training grounds as she discusses them about the areas they have to improve in their fighting skills, she has managed to pinpoint some of their weakness by watching their fight earlier.

"Just because you are attacked individually, it does not mean that you are to engage in a one-on-one fight," the princess pointed out.

"You have to drag your enemies into your trap, not the other way around," she added which the others listened to intently.

She has also called out her best soldiers to spar with the new team. She discusses to them about the schedules of their training and their daily activities within the period given to them before the approximate date of attack of their enemies.

"Train twice as harder as possible. Make it thrice, even, especially that we are short in time. Failure to abide by the schedules would result in expulsion from my kingdom. Follow the rules as well especially that you are inside my territory," she reminds them before leaving them to have their meal.

On the other hand, back at the Laboratory 1718, Mr. Ton has arrived with the remaining members of the VENOM squad. The doctors immediately proceed with the process of the transformation.

"Nephila is now ready, Angela would be easy to re-construct so rest assured, CEO," Dr. Baker says as he shows the documents to Mr. Ton. He simply nods in response as he looks at the wonderful sight, the complete team of the Venom squad.

"Good job, good job," he praised with much contentment.

Feeling assured, Mr. Ton decided to leave the laboratory and let the scientists do their job.

The exousia that Angela had collected is injected to each of the members of the team and only a few times is needed for them to be fully equipped. But amidst their experiment, the two doctors are startled by the changes happening on Grock.

"He's being deformed," Dr. Rooney states as he maneuvers over the monitors and checks on the vitals and power it has. The rock giant suddenly regains consciousness and it starts to hit the tube and causes some shakes in the laboratory.

"Give him the shot of energy deprivation," Dr. Baker demands but his co-worker looks at him with doubt. He gets what that look means but letting Grock go berserk would bring their efforts to waste.

Injecting another foreign chemical to the giant would cause some serious reactions especially that the exousia has been now inside its very core. The tube starts to crack and a few more hits would lead to destruction so Dr. Rooney is left with no choice but to inject the deprivation.

There is no effect on the first minutes but as time passes by, Grock slowly shuts down but this time, Angela has opened her greenish eyes. She starts to flap her wings slowly as if she's trying to get used to her new body. She stretches out her legs and arms and stares at her creator, Dr. Baker. Her antennas start moving back and forth and when she speaks, her mechanical voice still sounds the same which only means that her transformation is a success.

"I can do all the chores!" Angela suddenly bursts, her wings started to flap faster than before.

"She's ready together with Nephila," Dr. Rooney states with a proud tone as he switches his glance from Vespid to Nephila who is now also fully awake.

"But, Baker, of all the things she could say, why did you make that as her default?" Dr. Rooney asked.

"It makes her more human, obviously," he responded.

When they both thought that everything is fine, Dr. Rooney's eyes widened in shock upon seeing Grock who was just a rock giant a few seconds ago but now, he has turned into something else.

"You have to see this, partner," he stated as he shakes the other doctor's shoulder. Dr. Baker looked at the direction where his co-scientist's attention is focused on.

"Whoah, he's got to be called Monitor Lizard," he stated with a smile.