Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?

Rewinding the clock a bit...

A little after Alicia had informed Zhen Liu of the existence of the [Hellfire Mountain Range], Zhen Liu immediately decided to make plans to go and explore the place in earnest.

If he could find a large enough deposit of this [Malevolent Gold] stuff, then he could use it to not only fix his key but maybe use whatever is left over to make some really nasty Kaijin or crazy dangerous cursed aether treasures.

He was already swinging around a hammer of the damned anyways, might as well use the thing to make some even more questionably vicious cursed items for his own use.

'That or make trojan horse gifts for my increasingly long enemy list,' Zhen Liu mused. 'Ah, and maybe bodies for those three divine fragments?'

When he informed his friends and family that he was going to visit this dangerous place, he half expected them to either outright stop him or refuse to join along.

Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised when most of them decided to come along with him.

"Really? Y'all are willing to travel to a mountain range that is supposedly nothing but curses as far as the eye can see?" Zhen Liu asked his travelling companions.

"You had the chance to just go home and leave me to deal with my vengeance on my own, but didn't," Lythero explained himself. "I would be a ripe bastard if I didn't come along to help with...whatever you have planned. That and you're probably my heart chance at figuring out how to fix my swords."

"I make no promises."

"I doubt that."

"Yeah...I got nowhere else to be," Antonio bluntly stated. "Plus, I hear there are curses there that causes one to dig up suppressed and traumatic memories. Maybe it can help me remember mine."

Once he had their approval, he turned towards his cousin and their sem-relunctant guide.

"What about you three?"

"The sooner you fix yourself, the sooner we can have ourselves a proper fight," Olstenna answered while drinking a gourd of tequila. "Besides, this just means I can absorb even more treasured flames to beat your ass with."

"Well...while I'm not excited about going to someplace cursed," Zhen Xing admitted,"hanging out with the kaijin has taught me that dangerous places like those are the best places to train. That and tagging along with you is probably somehow safer than letting you go by yourself."

"Safer for me or safer for you?"

"Yes."

"Sounds like a good place to catch up with you and Zhen Hai," Zhen Tai added. "Granted, I have no idea if I can punch a curse."

[You'll be able to once I finish teaching you how,] Quetzalcoatl commented as his tiny spiritual body coiled on top of Zhen Tai's head.

Even the divine fragments of the Tezcatlipocas were excited about the prospect of visiting the accursed mountain range, much to Zhen Liu's surprise.

"I figured divine beings such as yourself would be against places full of curse energy."

[One man's divinity is another's devilry,] Huitzilopochtli pointed out. [You of all people should understand that better than anyone.]

"That's...fair."

The three Tezcatlipocas then explained that while they weren't entirely familiar with all that this world had to offer, they knew that purified cursed materials had a tendency to make very potent items...and vessels.

That stated, only two out of three of them were going.

"Are you sure you don't wish to go with them, Monsieur Totec?" Harriet asked Xipe Totec.

[I am certain,] the tiny flayed man nodded. [I believe it is wiser to compare your medical knowledge with my own and see what can be combined and improved.]

"Bon!"

Of the people gathered though, the only ones who weren't going to be going with Zhen Liu on his mad expedition were all of the women.

Bellona, Harriet, Alice and Alicia were only in the area thanks to their academic arrangements with the Rainbow Phoenix Academy.

At this point in time, their scheduled expedition was about to end, so they had to get on the boat back to school first thing in the morning.

"Probably for the best, honestly. With my luck, we'll be stumbling upon a freaky cult that worships a rogue Kaijin or something."

"Does that mean there's a chance we'll get captured, forced into sacrificial robes that hide nothing and have you rescue us like some kind of copper novel protagonist?" Bellona asked in a very teasing manner.

"I mean...maybe?"

"Bellona!"

"Hey, hey, I didn't say anything...Lady Alicia of the Golden—"

"SHUSH!"

Speaking of gold, Kidanna clearly wasn't able to go too far as she and her company now had to process all of their recent gains and address and fall out now that the Silver Jungle Dragon Shipping Company wasn't a presence anymore.

However, that didn't mean that she'd be far away.

^Now, my little swordsman, this ring is a part of a set called the [Lover's Birds]. By wearing this, we'll be able to sense each other no matter how far we are, and even communicate with each other. So if we ever get in trouble, we can always find each other.^

^This...is a lovely gift. Thank you.^

^And, before you leave tomorrow," Kidanna slowly said as she leaned to Lythero's ear and began to whisper. "I'm going to give you a reason why you should keep me in your heart while we're apart. My swordmaster.^

As soon as these words left Kidanna's mouth, Lythero's entire spine shivered...while Alicia let out the biggest sigh in existence.

One that had the faint scent of jealousy.

"Should've been present for the otter hotpot incident..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

...

[Oh? Does this mean we're finally going to get more action?] Razorstella asked her compatriots. [Because I will admit, I am thoroughly disappointed we didn't get to eighty-six any of those fellows in the City of Mirrors].

[If anything, were probably gonna see these two grow into proper Kaijin because of all the cursed energy,] Blazejudicator pointed out while gesturing towards Corpse Doll and Porcelain Doll. [By the way, have you two figured out your own names yet?]

[Not yet, we're trying to get them to sound similar,] the twins answered back.

[Ah.]

...

With their plans of departure finalized, the groups decided to enjoy one last feast together.

Of course, some others enjoyed something a bit more than that afterwards but that was a story for another time...

...Now back to the present...

"Welp, I don't know about the rest of ya, but I miss the girls," Zhen Liu declared after adjusting to the sheer amount of [Desires] banging against his skull like a battering ram and getting off of the ground.

"Is it because you miss cuddling with them?" Zhen Tai asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Partially, but also because they probably pack perfume and we could use that to cover our faces with scented clothes instead of wasting aether in repelling this stink."

"Fair enough."

When Zhen Liu, Zhen Tai, Zhen Xing, Lythero, Antonio and Olstenna arrived to the Hellfire Mountain Range, they immediately noticed due to the dramatic shift in the general biosphere.

The Hellfire Mountain Range turned out to be a special tropical jungle/active volcanic shit show.

Over ninety percent of the trees in the area were either durian fruits or jackfruits, so there was a lot of rotting fruits scattered about.

There were a weirdly huge amount of rafflesia, corpse flowers, all over the place and made it very hard to determine if the constant smell of death was due to actual corpses or just these flowers blocking everyone's ability to smell.

On top of all that, the smell of sulfur from all the active volcanic geysers added a layer of rotten egg smell.

If it wasn't for the rampant aether, the literal black flame serpents jumping in and out of the volcanoes and the general ominous ass aura, Zhen Liu could've easily attributed the place as being cursed just by the smell alone.

At least, this was the consensus between all of the human warriors.

Olstenna, the only Ignarii in the group, took a deep breath of the air and released an incredibly relaxed sigh of pleasure after doing so.

"Ah...now this place smells just like home."

"It does?" Zhen Tai and Zhen Xing asked, as they were unaware of the norms of Aetherii home life.

"My family used to live in a volcano just like that one over there," Olstenna answered while pointing at one spouting three thick columns of smoke. "The Ignatii aether from the volcano kept us nice and warm during the winters."

"Huh...kind of makes sense," Zhen Xing shrugged.

"Wait...are you referring to the volcano that appears to be covered in the melted remains of an entire army, or the volcano that currently has a giant python chasing down what I think is an Antelope Bloodliner?" Zhen Tai asked aloud.

"I meant—"

WOOSH!

As soon as Nepeherage heard that someone was in danger, they immediately flew over everyone's head and towards the snake.

"Welp, should've seen that coming."