EXPLOSIVE PET

16: EXPLOSIVE PET

The hill that confined the headquarters of the Scums was demolished by the grotesque and macabre form of number XII that propelled up. The Ancient landed exactly on its four, hirsute, and spider-like legs, creating mild rumbles on the ground.

I had never seen a more magnificent creature in my entire life.

"I know this is a wrong time to say this but I forgot that Ancients had some ugly folks in them," Crowley commented, scandalized by its appearance.

"I believe that nature takes beauty in many forms...but this form isn't one of them..." Garrison said.

They must be impressed with its superior beauty. A man with Garrison's standards was probably astonished.

What stood before our group was an Ancient, towering immensely in the form of a monster with four legs and six tentacles. The tentacles had honed needles at its suckers. A spherical head covered in scaly metallic petals that acted as its eyelids connected the limbs. The head had one red eye that peeked between the curtaining function of the lids.

Slowly, the spherical head grew a smile— a smile that was lined with serrated teeth.

"Watch out for Bebe's oil. It seems harmless at first but once you get covered with it, a fire will erupt with the oil's association with strong winds," Garrison warned.

Crowley's nod was stopped midway. He snapped his head to look at Garrison with bewilderment and disbelief.

"That thing doesn't look like a BEBE to me!"

"Watch out!" Ziru yelled.

I stomped my foot on the ground, creating a barrier of earth to protect us from the black oil that Bebe spat out.

"Harden that wall for me!" Crowley commanded.

I shifted the elements of the soil and made iron out of it. Crowley kicked the metallic wall with his foot. With the accompanying winds, the metal erupted with fire. The burning metal twirled towards XII's eye. The lids shut to protect the exposed parts of the sensitive organ. The spider legs retracted back to the spherical head before lowering down on its tentacles. The monster swiveled in our direction, not stopping any time soon.

"If we stand here and wait for that gorilla sea urchin salad, we'll be the perfect interracial meal, " Kox said.

"Please stand back," I told them.

"Bebe's weakness changes with every monstrous form it takes. We might be wasting your mana, Lucian," Garrison cautioned me.

"He has plenty to waste. If you don't let him intervene we will die before we can figure out its weakness," Kox intervened.

"That is correct, we will not know unless we try," I approved.

If I can only finish this as quickly as possible then my companions wouldn't have to risk their lives. No one had to fight for me. I did not want to involve people in managing my safety whenever these situations occurred.

The Higher-Order wanted me and these people did not have to suffer for it.

"May the earth trample the arrogant and the malicious..."

I landed my right foot on the ground, sending waves of tall and slanted jagged steel from beneath the soil.

Number XII's continuous spinning stopped once the steel blades skewered it. The waves of sharp metal continued past it until almost every tentacle was pierced.

"The big ball wasn't punctured!" Ziru yelled in disbelief. The blades merely hoisted the sphere instead of impaling it.

"I'll handle it!" He volunteered.

He leapt up from the ground, his arms took in the stance of an archer.

"Troublesome kid," Crowley huffed with amusement.

Sparkling white light spread out in Ziru's grasp in the form of a bow and an arrow. He released an extremely impactful shot that sent the little boy in a series of spins.

The beam of light separated into smaller arrows that rained upon the skewered XII, but proved ineffective against the protective scales.

"Hurl me," Garrison instructed Crowley who gave him a confused look. "I'll levigate him," he explained.

The Hanuman grinned and lifted him, knowing very well what he was capable of doing.

Crowley pivoted with Garrison on hold before tossing him high with his notable strength.

"Chalk him up!" Crowley cheered.

Garrison managed to grab one of the needles sticking to the tentacle. A gray color steadily erupted from that point.

"That thing is big. We need to buy time for Garrison so he can pulverize that fucker completely. Focus your attacks on that ball but be careful not to hit Garrison," Crowley told us just in time for Ziru to land.

"Oui (Yes)" Ziru responded, returning back to the skies.

I looked at Fenris and found him pacing back and forth for some reason.

"The wolf is frustrated that he couldn't contribute," Kox explained and sighed. "Hey, survivor of the Crowned Moon Howlers."

That caught Fenris by surprise.

"Prepare yourself for a very vital role. Only you can end this."

The wolf did not need to concern himself with my protection. He did not need to be anxious and force himself to do things that would cause him harm.

I was not worth his life.

"I shall keep you safe with all my power," I assured him.

Fenris' eyes glimmered red with resolve but made no attempt to move. I took that as a sign that his worry had ceased and that he trusted me with his safety.

I raised my arm to the side. The steel jagged blades detached themselves from the ground in my command, aiming at XII. The lids still shielded the spherical head and voided every attack. Once the eye took a peek after Ziru's series of attacks, I grabbed the opportunity and launched the blades right into the core.

My attempt failed when a certain force kept the blades still just as they were about to pierce through the eye. As I battled with the resisting force, my jaw tightened.

Crowley jumped and clapped his hands once. "Way to go, Lucian!"

The blades impaled my target, but the petals propelled the sphere up into the air. The rest of XII's body turned into chalk.

"Kuso (fuck)" came from Crowley.

The sphere smirked sinisterly, dodging Ziru's arrows in the air. A white beak protruded at its bottom. It was the source of the tentacles. New ones crept out and stretched the beak-like structure. The suckers of the flexible limbs did not grow any needles like before but instead, the tentacles spread out and released the oil.

Ziru was directly targeted with oil. The young Sky Hood swerved away before seeking refuge with us.

"Stay near me." I maintained the earthy roof above our heads.

"That thing will regenerate no matter how much we damage its exterior form," Kox drawled.

"Do you have an idea that you can share with the group?" Crowley asked in an annoyed tone.

"Bebe will have to detonate from within," Kox replied. "All of you will have different tasks. Do not concern yourself with someone else's duty as that would hinder the plan's success," the young child drawled. "Now...Let's start with Lucian."

…

…

…

I peeked from under the roof of the soil, looking at Garrison nearing us. He was holding a flowerbed umbrella as he waltzed towards us. He avoided the puddles of oil on the ground.

I bid the winds to hurl XII out of balance to momentarily stop him from releasing oil. I then extracted bits and parts of soil from the ground and set them afloat. They served as scattered pathways leading to XII.

Before I lunged out, Fenris' nose nudged my palm, causing me to kneel in front of him. I took his large head on my shoulder to embrace him.

"I will do my best." I darted my attention at Kox. "Please do not make him do anything dangerous," I requested.

Kox continued to stare at the turning pages of his book and nodded.

"I'll try."

"Are you ready kid?" Crowley asked.

"Please take care of me."

I allowed him to lift me with one of his arms and throw me over his shoulders.

"Let's do this!" Crowley yelled, leaping from one floating rock to another.

As stated by Kox, XII will avoid hurting me at all costs. With Crowley carrying me, XII will have no choice but to ceasefire.

"Hey, ball sac! We come in peace. We'll return your fancy prince to you!" The Hanuman tried to settle.

XII's eye relaxed a bit and his smile became less. Once we landed on the rock just one level below him, Crowley's hold on me loosened.

"Here...Take him!"

He tossed me to the side, making Bebe panic.

XII dove to chase my falling form. At the same time, his tentacles adducted together as his long tongue rolled out to grab hold of me.

I gathered venom in my mouth, spitting directly at XII's exposed eye. He crumpled back, squeezing his eyes shut in despair.

Crowley took that as an opportunity to gather the tentacles all together in his arms to give Ziru a clear shot at the beak. The arrow pierced through the eye. XII's mouth stretched open as a pained response from the arrow. Crowley appeared and slammed his fist against its side, eliminating him from my line of vision. A loud crash occurred, signifying that the plan was somewhat successful.

Zephyrs assisted me with a gentle descent. As soon as my feet touched the ground, Garrison grabbed my arm, hauling me away.

"What is the next course of action?" I questioned and looked at the disheveled state of XII.

His mouth was stretched open. His long tongue rolled out to the ground like a royal was meant to come out and walk on it.

"We get away from here as soon as possible." There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

"What about Fenris?"

I gazed back. I snatched my arm away from Garrison's hold when I caught the glimpse of fire enveloping the charging wolf.

What was this? Why was Fenris in flames? What did Kox make him do? He was being burned alive.

"Fenris!"

The wolf dove inside of XII's mouth. A bright light momentarily blinded us. A deafening and powerful explosion resonated, creating gales of dust and smoke. The light died down– were left with smog and small fires from the puddles of oil from earlier.

"Fe-Fenris..." I coughed.

My lower limbs wobbled, threatening to give up. Garrison caught me midway in my fall.

"It is going to be okay Lucian...It is going to be fine..." he comforted.

I stared endlessly at the clearing smoke. My teeth ground together with this intense and uncontrollable emotion within me.

How... Could they?

"Don't you ever fool me..."

I swallowed the ache in my throat. "Why didn't you tell me about that plan?" I broke away from his grasp to stand by myself.

"Forgive me, Lucian, I didn't mean to further upset you," Garrison meekly responded.

Silhouettes of three people came into view. Without delay, my eyes pinned at Kox who was behind the strategy.

"I know you want to ask me something, get on with it prince."

I sauntered towards the young boy, grabbing the neckline of his shirt forward.

"Why? Why did you do it?"

Why didn't he give me the most precarious task?

Kox shut his book to raise his head up to me.

"Gods are cruel aren't they?" he asked. "They can take everything away from you. They can create things and leave them in ruin."

"It's not safe here Lucian," Garrison murmured with concern, sneaking his hands under my armpits to lift me.

I refuse to move.

"Leave me alone."

With a few more back and forth disagreements with Garrison, a wave of voices and neighs of horses cut us off. Onii's group had just arrived at the headquarters that was demolished, newly embellished, and perhaps slightly reformed.

"What happened? Someone talk to me!" Lucius demanded, slipping off from Argo.

Crowley was quick to respond yet in an awkward manner.

"Uh... Hi, you must be wondering how this happened," Crowley sheepishly laughed, extending an introductory handshake. "I'm Crowley by the way."

...

...

...

I awakened in a simple room with windows that let the fresh cold breeze of the night enter. I sat up from my place. My stomach dropped when Fenris wasn't beside me. I was instantly on my feet, scrambling outside of the foreign corridors of dark brown walls and an ivory white embellishment.

Ancients who passed by tried to calm me and settle me in place, but I ran past them and continued to yell out Fenris' name.

Upon my descent to the stairs, my eyes widened when a certain wolf rushed with a basket of treats and flowers in his mouth. He stared at me at the bottom of the stairs with excited wags of his tail.

My breaths were accompanied by soft trembles of my voice. After I was done securing the fact that Fenris was indeed in one piece, I leaped from the very top of the steps. He released the basket from his mouth in a hurry to meet me halfway.

My pounding heart sped when his body shifted into a more man-like figure. Once we clashed, I sensed paws on my shoulders belonging not to a wolf but to a man.

My head snapped up. Our lips almost touched. My eyes connected with gold ones that glimmered with delight, elation, and so much more.

He was the man with the moon on his face.

"You... Did well," I whispered, growing limp against him.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to prove to you that I'm more than just a pet," he chuckled.

"You proved to be so much more...you are now my explosive pet," I deadpanned and made him droop forward in desolation.

"Lucian~" he whined. "Only you can turn a werewolf into a pet."

I detached myself from him. I warmed up when I realized that he was once again, bare. My eyes trailed from his well-defined chest down to his now hardening—

"P-please don't stare!" Fenris stuttered, covering his ling.

I blinked at his obvious embarrassment, deciding to show him that I bear the same characteristics.

"I have a ling too." I lowered my pants. "How can I make mine stand up like your—"

He released a screech of panic, bending down to yank my pants up. He squeezed my shoulders firmly to focus his spilling energy elsewhere.

"What are you guys doing down there?" onii's voice popped out from above.

"We are introducing our—"

"Lucian was scolding me for doing what I did," Fenris blurted out fast after covering my mouth with his fluffy paw.

Lucius cackled. "I see and I am glad that you finally introduced your other form, Caleb."

"You knew onii?"

Oniisan nodded. "I did for the longest time. Caleb is pretty bashful when it comes to you so please don't make him uncomfortable."

"I shall do my best to become a man of comfort," I assured.

I turned to look at Caleb who readied himself for the next thing that would come out of my mouth.

I actually had nothing to say.

'Ask him how babies are made…' a voice in my head suggested.

These voices were getting frequent but that was indeed a good inquiry.

"Would you like to make a detka with me?"

"Ha... HUH?!" Caleb shrieked.

"That is not one you'd normally ask in a conversation in front of someone, chii!"