Chapter 133: The battle for Monas Kye (Part 2): A few days back

Sorry, I uploaded this chapter a week ago on AO3 but I forgot to do it here. And sorry for the late submission in general: stressful work, long commute, got sick for whole week+... I'm trying to wrap up this arc soon.

Turning back the clock to a few days before the demihunan's counter attack, the chain of events were set in motion after Kibadios had encountered the Chimera the moment he discovered his incubus mother encased within the laboratory pod. Before he could react, both Ayer and he were pulled inside Mu's crystal dimension, where three other chimera were waiting for him. Yet, despite being outnumbered, the outcome of the battle was decided the moment Kibadios unleashed the enslaved Ennead onto the battlefield.

「... Haa…. ha…. Haaa… Brother… I knew you lied to us when you said you've been weakened. Despite your smaller incubus form, you're still as strong as ever.」Mu laid defeated on the ground. Surrounding him were his chimera siblings, who were all restrained by Ayer's razor sharp strings, locking them in mid air. Though, even without the restraints, the chimera could barely move their finger, let alone resist the two overwhelmingly powerful individuals standing in front of them. 「What's …with your command over magic? Aren't you… a ?」

「Tsk, I've told you to watch out for him.」Ayer irritatedly scorned the chimera. Much like how the endo tensei-ed second Mizukage was during the war arc, Ayer has been continuously giving the chimera pointers on how to defeat him and Kibadios as he was forced for fight for the hybrid, yet, the result of the battle was pretty much what he had expected, with the chimera were completely crushed after a long, worn out battle.「Even without his command over the Spirits, he's still one of Seri's most powerful pupils. His command over magic is second only her… and maybe a few of the other High Elves.」

「Seri… the eternal?」Mu muttered. 「That High Elf progenitor? Who… are you… Kibadios?」

「Don't kill them… yet, Ayer. And also, shut up for now.」Kibadios commanded the enslaved Ennead as he activated a healing magic spell and cast it on his bleeding arm before crouching down in front of Mu and violently grabbing his hair, anger flared up in his eyes.「Answer me, Chimera. What happened to my mother? Why is she being kept in that pod?」

「Haa… "OUR."」Mu smirked.「Didn't I tell you? You're not the only one whom mother gave birth to, brother… All of us despicable chemira here are also her children…」The chimera paused as he tried to hide his anguish. 「At least, we all came from her womb.」

「... What do you mean?」

「You see, I don't know what memories you can recall about that fateful day, but after setting you loose down the Kidan river, she was captured by the Yinese soldiers that were chasing after her. It was unfortunate that in that moment, Hou Yi arrived there just in time to stop the soldiers from killing her on the spot. Instead of having been granted a quick end, which would have been a much better outcome, Mother was taken back here to Wei Shimin's laboratory, to be experimented on. That was when they realized that since she belongs to the rare succubus race, with her genetic makeup and physiology, she would be one of the best candidates to be used as a biological incubator to give birth to us. Their hunch was proven correct when they implanted me, a prototype chimera who possesses 97% genetic makeup of a human, into her womb. After carrying me for 3 months, she finally gave birth to me, the first successful chimera being to survive childbirth. Though that success sealed her fate. From that day forward, she was turned into a broodmother and her only role was to give birth to all of us. Most of the time, she is kept inside that pod, her body is constantly being rejuvenated by the elixir fluid she is submerged in to ensure her body is always at the peak condition when they implant a new chimera inside her. During the pregnancy period, she was forced into a half conscious state by the drug they're feeding her. Only after she has successfully given birth would they release her from her pod, letting her taking care of us and forming a bond with us during our first few months after being born.」

「A bond? Why?」

「Don't you know the concept of "imprinting"?」chuckled Eadur, the spider-like chimera, whose body was completely immobilized by Ayer's strings. 「That's one of the methods they use to control us. They biocrafted our chimeric mind and body in a way so that we would form a deep connection to the female who rears us in our first few months after being born. Knowing how much we love and care for Mother, they use her as a hostage, forcing us to obey their commands. Whether the feelings we hold for her are genuine or not doesn't matter… In the end, we cannot allow them to harm the woman who gave birth and took care of us like we're her own children.」

「If what you said is true, if you really love my mother, then why didn't you just rebel against Wei Shimin? Why did you not try to save her? There are many of you, all possessing powerful Arte. If you were to turn against Wei Shimin all at once, not even him could come out of the rebellion unscathed.」

「Heh, he's not an idiot. The moment we were born, he had already placed a seal into our hearts. If we were to lift even a finger against him, then our hearts would be pierced into thousands pieces…」Mu looked at Kibadios.「Tell me, brother, what should we have done? Even if we care not for our lives, if we were to turn against him and perish, he would deem the chimera project to be a failure and he would not have a use for our mother anymore… He would just end her life right there and then…」

「...Maybe… it would have been a better fate for her.」Kibadios clenched his fist.

「How could you say such a thing now, brother.」Galahan, another chimera subjugated by Ayer, shook her head.「Why do you think she tried her best to survive, even after knowing she would be turned into a chimera incubator, possibly for the rest of her life? Did you think she's scared of dying that much? Or that her mind has been broken by Wei Shimin? No! She's not a coward that's afraid of death! She wanted to live, to have a tiny chance of ever seeing you again!」

「... It's enough, Galahan… We're the vanquish. We have no right to argue with him.」Mu smiled.「I wasn't convinced before, but after being thoroughly defeated by you…Maybe if it's you, then mother would have a chance of breaking free from Wei Shimin. Take her and run as far as you can, away from Wei Shimin. You cannot win against him… Soon, he'd become even stronger than he is now… Just take her and leave Monas Kye. Mother would be thrilled to see you again… After all, that's all she has been wishing for.」

「Before that, kill us!」Commanded Eadur. 

「...」

「Will you grant us mercy and end our miserable lives, brother? If you take Mother and escape, then you may have a chance at living peacefully in some far away land… but we're bound to Wei Shimin. Sooner or later, he'd activate the Runecraft that enveloped our heart and kill us… This may sound cheesy, but between dying under his hand and dying under my estranged brother's hand… I'd rather choose yours.」

「...」Kibadios looked down at the wounded Chimera under him. 「Hm, if you have already forfeit your lives, why don't you give them to me?」Kibadios crouched down and leaned in closer to Mu.「I'll give you a third choice, beside serving Wei Shimin or death: serve me! Be my sword and shield!」

「Haa, how delusional are you, Brother?」Eadur laughed loudly.「Did you not listen to what Mu had just told you? We cannot serve anyone by Wei Shimin. He holds our lives in his hand.」

「...」Unlike Eadur, Mu was looking directly into Kibadios' greedy eyes as he extended the offer, and for the Chimera, Kibadios appeared as if he was the devil himself. Mu knew if he accepted the hybrid's offer, he would just trade one Master to another, yet, whether it was due to Kibadios' charisma or the ray of hope he presented in front of them, Mu couldn't help but relented.「...If somehow you can break us free of Wei Shimin, then I shall pledge my life to you, brother.」

「Good…What about you guys?」Kibadios turned to the other Chimera.

「... We…」

.

.

.

「How?」The defeated chimera was now fully healed by Maia's home brew elixir. What surprised them even more was that the Runecraft that bound their hearts ever since they first came to life were finally broken.「How can you remove Wei Shimin's spell on us?」

「Wei Shimin is a very talented Runecrafter, but don't you forget, I, too, am no slouch, either.」Yue smiled. 

After the Chimera agreed to Kibadios' proposal, they were absorbed into the hybrid's shadow and taken back to the pavilion. Just as he had suspected, since Wei Shimin's control over the chimera was made from Runecraft, Yue was able to neutralize them after examining the complex spell for hours. There were times when Kibadios thought such an attempt was futile since Yue seemed to constantly don a concerned look on her face, but in the end, the genius princess was finally able to analyze and counteract Wei Shimin's intricate Rune. 

「Good job, Yue chan.」The hybrid patted the girl's head before whispering into her ear, causing the girl to blush red「Maybe I will reward you later tonight. After seeing you struggled for hours, I thought it was impossible to dispel the Rune.」Kibadios turned to Mu and his brother and gave them a mischievous grin.「And if we were unable to break Wei Shimin control over you guys, I were going to devour you all with my skill so at least, I get a chance of gaining some new power.」

「Ha, didn't you forget that we've already resigned our lives to you. A threat like that doesn't really scare us, Brother.」Eadur stretched his arms after he was fully recovered thanks to the elixir. 

「Well, Wei Shimin's Runecraft was rather unique so it took me some time to figure out what to do. You see, unlike rigid magic and magic spells, Runecraft is much more flexible. To achieve an end goal via Runecraft, one can take many routes to get there. Just like how each person has their own writing style, each Runecrafters has their own logic in which they construct their Runes. For me to be able to undo a Restriction Rune like the one placed on them, I need to first understand the logic Wei Shimin used in order to construct his Rune… To be honest, it was a sheer luck that I was able to decipher it.」

「Sheer luck? Why is that?」

「Because his Runecraft is very similar to his brother, the current emperor of the Yin Empire. This was most likely because he was taught Runcraft by his brother and since I was his brother's teacher, I was able to familiarize myself with the style.」Yue explained. 

「His brother taught him? I thought he and his brother's relationship wasn't in the best of term.」Uri pointed out. 

「Yeah, wasn't it rumored that he is planning a rebellion against his brother?」Gyo recalled. 

「Yeah. After successfully performing the ritual and taking over Monas Kye, Wei Shimin was going to turn against the current Emperor… At least that's what we were told.」Mu nodded. 

「I guess their relationship broke down at some point?」Falkor suggested. 

「Who knows. We can only guess.」Kuron shrugged. His attention quickly turned to the Chimera standing next to him.「Anyways, Kibadios sama, is it wise to trust them?」

「What? You're afraid we'll betray you guys to that cursed man?」Galahan scowled.「If you're a dog who is chained to a pillar for the rest of your life while being mistreated, would you run away the moment you realize the chain is broken?」

「Depends. There is a small chance the dog would stay since staying bound to that one place is all it has ever known.」argued Kuron as he studied the Chimera's reactions.

「YOU!」Galahan growled. 

「Hmm… You do have a point, Kuron.」Kibadios turned to Mu, who was strangely silent.「So, Mu, will you betray me now that I have helped you breaking free from Wei Shimin?」Kibadios let out an evil grin, his purple eyes glowed sinisterly as he studied the chimera's response

 「... No.」

「See, my cute little brother said he won't betray us.」Kibadios grinned. 「Let's trust him for now.」

「...」The fact that Kibadios had just called Mu his brother did not escape the Chimera's notice.

「If they ever turn on us, I'll make sure they'll experience a fate worse than that of being Wei Shimin's dogs.」Kibadios' tone turned sharply serious. 

「... I don't doubt that, brother.」Mu sighed. 

「Hm… I guess that settled it then.」Uri smiled. The redhead Vice Captain quickly turned to the chimera group.「I've been dying to ask you: What was this "ritual" you guys have been mentioning?」

「That's…」The chimera turned to one another, hesitated for a moment, before Eadur decided to explain.「What we're about to tell you may sound like a make up story, but it's true.」

「Hmm… You've gotten my attention.」Kibadios leaned forward. 

「Do you know about the mythical race called Tengu? The race that according to the myth, sided with Zaeryn during the Second Holy War and rebelled against the Astrals?」Eadur asked. 

「It rings a bell.」Kibadios' expression quickly turned solemn. The remaining people in the group quickly shot one another a puzzled look. Since they all knew Kibadios was Zaeryn's reincarnation and that the Tengu race was supposed to be wiped out eons ago, they were unsure of what Eadur was about to say. 

「As it turns out, that supposed extinct race is still around, lurking in the shadow of history.」Eadur revealed. 

「You liar!!!」Ayer angrily screamed.「As if us Astrals would let them live after what they did during the Second Holy War! We hunted them down! Every last one of them!」

「Astral?」Mu raised his eyebrows.

「Shut up, Ayer.」Commanded Kibadios.「You said the Tengu are still around? How do you know?」

「Because a Tengu has been staying by Wei Shimin's side all this time.」Eadur, still confused by Ayer's outburst, answered.「And according to what Wei Shimin told us, with the help of the Tengu, he's planning to undergo a forbidden ritual to gain the power over the , and through it, transforming himself into the mythical race.」

「What did you say?!」Kibadios jerked.

「How did he know about the ?」Ayer gritted his teeth.「What knowledge did that supposed Tengu teach him?」

「Master? What's a ?」Maia asked.「And what's more important is that ... Didn't you tell us that what drove the Prime Minister crazy back in Lorian?」

「You know about the , Brother?」Mu curiously asked.

「Yes, more than you think.」Kibadios nodded, hesitantly.

「First of all, isn't really a race, it's more of a nationality.」corrected Ayer.「It's a nation that our Zaeryn over there decimated years before he and his party took on Kadesha, the first .」

「Zaeryn over there?」The Chimera were all shocked at the revelation. 

「Master decimated the whole nation?」Maia asked.

「I've read about this, though much of the book has degraded over millenia, but from what remained, I understood that this happened before the birth of Aspen the Hero… right, Master?」Yue recalled.

「You're right… It was about 30 years before his birth.」Kibadios nodded. 「At the time, there's a nation that made so much advancement in magical technology that they easily dominated half of the world at the time…」

「Woohoo, a powerful nation with advanced magic tech sounds like a final fantasy plot, Kiba chan.」Uri whistled.

「... Weeb!」

「Look who's speaking! I'm a gamer, not a weeb!」smirked Uri.

「Ha, anyhow, as you would have guessed, soon enough, the nation launched a war against all remaining states on the continent. At the time, their goal was to unify the mortals to rebel against the Astrals.」Kibadios looked at Ayer.「An admirable goal that I totally failed to appreciate then… Though I may have agreed with their goal now, their motivation was completely unjustified. They reasoned that because they have become so powerful, it's only natural for them to be the new gods of the land instead of the cowardly Astrals. To indicate their divine right to lord over others, the ruling class of the nation began to call themself the and they believed all others to be of lesser life forms. To us outsiders, we called them , for the magic technology had granted them mastery over the . They were able to deconstruct their bodies to the molecular level to allow their cells to consume the miasma that is usually associated with the infected individuals and convert that to a powerful form of Nen…」Kibadios paused for a moment since this reminiscing of the past suddenly reminded him of that nameless man who he had dreamed of once or twice. Wait a minute… Now think about it, was there a connection between him and that ancient nation? Would Ayer know? I have to interrogate him later.

「With our gracious assistance, the remaining nation states were able to fight back against the and push them back all the way to their capital. There, me in my homunculus body and Zaeryn fought against the man who proclaimed to be the , crushing him like a pathetic bug he was, ending their futile rebellion.」Ayer continued.

「Like a pathetic bug? If I recall correctly, your body was badly damaged after the battle ended.」Smirked Kibadios.

「That's because you slowed me down, you idiot!」growled Ayer.

「Sure sure.」

「Hmm… Ayer and Master are really acting as if they're close friends huh? I guess that is to be expected since even if they're enemies, they've known each other for a long time.」Maia noted. 

「Me being friends with this pathetic guy? Don't kid yourself!」denied Ayer.

「...now he sounds just like nii sama.」

「Right! He totally has that tsundere attitude Master was teaching us about.」Maia nodded

「Tsundere? What?」Ayer raised his eyebrows, his 

「... Brother…」Mu was the first among the chimera to finally break the silence 「what the hell have you been saying? Zaeryn? Fighting the ? Astrals helping you?」 

「Heh, long story. I'll tell you all about it after we crush Wei Shimin… Actually… After I devour him.」

「Devour him?」

「Yes. Thanks for letting me know about his plan, Mu.」The hybrid instinctively reached out to pat the chimera's head, much like he would normally do to his harem member. The gesture caused the chimera to freeze in place for a moment since the only other person who had ever patted him on his head was his mother, years ago when she was rearing him as a baby.「You see, I have the rare , an ogre racial skill that allows me to consume someone alive and have a chance at gaining their ability. Now imagine, if I can consume Wei Shimin and gain the ability to control , wouldn't that be fun.」Kibadios turned to the enslaved Ennead.「I would certainly help in my fight against you guys, right, Ayer?」

「... You're mad, Zaeryn.」

「But, what about that mysterious Tengu?」Falkor, the beastman, reminded the hybrid. 「Wasn't the Tengu your followers, Your Majesty? Maybe if we reach out to him, then we can plan this out better. If he learns that you're Zaeryn's reincarnation, he may willingly help us trapping Wei Shimin.」

「What if he's not willing? We don't know what his plan is, it's too risky to approach him. And there's no way for us to convince him I'm Zaeryn's reincarnation, is there?」Kibadios explained. 「Furthermore, it's been 10 millennia since my passing, who knows what the Tengu race is believing in anymore, even if they're still lurking around in the shadow of this world. It's better not to throw too much unknown to the equation.」

「I understand, Your Majesty.」Falkor nodded.

「Zaeryn's reincarnation… Your Majesty…」Eadur, the spider-like chimera, spoke to himself. 「I think I'm starting to understand what's going on with our Brother there. Perhaps, we are placing the winning bet right now, siding with him against Wei Shimin.」

「I'm starting to think so too」Galahan agreed.