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

[Just go already!] Zhen Liu shouted at the Kaijin as he kept punching Arbalest. [I'll be fine, you know how to tenacious I can be.]

[But my lord—!]

[It'll be fine. Just trust me and go find the others.]

The Kaijin were incredibly conflicted at this point in time.

On the one hand, they did trust Zhen Liu and knew very well that he was a big of a miracle worker. Case and point, he made all of them.

On the other hand, the kaijin had already lost Zhen Liu once for an extended period of time due to a freak accident, and had only just reunited with him for a couple of days at most.

Now, he wanted them to purposely leave him behind for some strange and absurd reason.

On top of that, their connection was still acting out of whack so they had no idea if their Lord was actually going to be okay or not.

There was a massive difference between knowing whether or not someone was still alive, and whether or not someone was actually healthy.

[They're getting closer,] Blazejudicator eventually announced to the other kaijin. [We gotta go, now.]

[You heard the judge,] Zhen Liu added while placing Arbalest in a chokehold. [Now, go!]

[...okay.]

[As you wish, Director.]

[Don't die on us, Producer.]

[Give them hell, Ringmaster.]

Heeding their creator's command, the kaijin led by Blazejudicator and Nepeherage proceeded to leave the area as quick as they could.

[Hey! Get back—hrk!]

[Nope!]

Arbalest had attempted to shout and release a hail of quills towards the running kaijin, with the aim of clipping one of them in the leg. Unfortunately for him, Zhen Liu's chokehold was a lot stronger than he was.

Once Zhen Liu's Kaijin had managed to escape the area, Zhen Liu released a sigh of relief. After all, he now had the chance to do something incredibly stupid.

'Okay, now that they're no longer in the danger zone for the time being, time for me to make a deal.'

Directing his attention to the Kaijin he was currently choking out, Zhen Liu began to whisper in the kaijin's ears like he was the devil about to sucker someone out of their soul.

A wholly ironic simile given how they both physically appeared to the wider world.

[Hey, on a scale of one to ten, how loyal would you say you are to your Kaijin Lord?]

[You motherfucker! I will tear you limb from...wait, what?]

[I managed to worm my way into the head of one of your kin, Constrictor. From what I saw in the brief moments I touched his memories, you guys are about a stone throw away from killing your maker in cold blood. Not exactly regular behavior from a Kaijin,] Zhen Liu elaborated. [Well, from my experience with Kaijin anyways.]

Arbalest was, needless to say, incredibly confused by Zhen Liu's words. However, for reasons he couldn't really process himself, he felt compelled to answer.

[Our rule for existing is survival of the fittest. Of the strongest. The one who uplifted us, the Boss, is the most powerful among us. We tear each other to shreds so that we may one day surpass him. Usurp him.]

[Really? Interesting...]

Understanding now that he was dealing with some "king of the hill" shit, a rather duplicitous plan started developing in the back of Zhen Liu's head.

One that required convincing Arbalest that it is was in his best interest to lie through his teeth.

[Arbalest, I'm going to be honest with you,] Zhen Liu began to say while adjusting his hold around the chimeric Kaijin. [I can see this situation ending one of two ways for you.]

[What?!]

[Well, three ways this could end but two of them overlap so it's technically three,] Zhen Liu corrected himself.

[Option one is I kill your ass and probably fight whomever or whatever pops out of that mushed up core of yours. I am curious if it's going to be Mauler again or another one of the half a dozen Kaijin I'm picking up in there. Then again, I could just destroy the core altogether and prevent y'all from reforming.]

[How did you—?!]

[Like I said, I poked through Constrictor's brain,] Zhen Liu interrupted. [Meaning I saw exactly how your boss chooses to execute you motherfuckerss if you ever step out of line. Which now leads to the second option, where we fight for real and you might win.]

[That means I can pulverize your skull in and—]

[And I leave you so horribly managled that your "friends" think it's a better idea to just eat you like a peach and claim your power for their own,] Zhen Liu retorted. [Don't act like I don't know what I'm talking about, because you did the exact same thing before Mauler clocked your ass and ate you in an instant.]

[I was caught off guard! Once I defeat you and drag you back to the boss, then I'll be rewarded!]

[Ah, so you anticipated what the third option was going to be. Brilliant!] Zhen Liu sarcastically praised. [That makes this so much easier to pitch!]

[Wait, what?!]

In order to help convey the seriousness of his offer, Zhen Liu repositioned his hold on Arbalest so that they were now staring each other face-to-face.

Arbalest's face was unsettling to Zhen Liu, but Arbalest was fairly certain that he was now staring into the eyes of someone who was absolutely insane.

What kind of psycho offers to be someone else's captive?!

[Let's say you capture me and present me to your boss, following the current script of me being like this and you spilling the beans. Now, I've been through your buddy's memories. It seems to me that the chances of you actually getting compensated is close to zero. Right?]

[...]

Arbalest couldn't even refute Zhen Liu's words, because they were completely true.

[The fact that you're not responding, ks more telling than an actual answer,] Zhen Liu said to fill the silence. [However...if you follow my instructions, follow the script I have prepared, I promise that you will be compensated. Beyond fairly, no less.]

Arbalest visibly clenched their teeth at the offer, before asking a clarifying question.

[What do you mean by compensation? You already know that to us kaijin, money, medicine and aether arts don't exactly have the same sway it has over us as it does over mortals.]

[Oh, I am very aware,] Zhen Liu answered.[Which is why I'm offering something that would definitely have sway over you.]

[And what's that?]

Instead of immediately answering, Zhen Liu opted to simply inject Arbalest with a small hint of his [Chaos].

But that little hint was all that Zhen Liu needed to convey what he was offering.

[You! You mean you can—?!]

[Yes, I can,] Zhen Liu said with a voice as smooth as a porcelain blade. [Now, are you going to accept this offer of mine, or should I drag out someone a bit more receptive to my deal?]

...Moments later...

So these are the little rats that gave you monsters such a headache?

[They are, boss.]

Hmmm. They don't look like much.

Bound in [Chaos] enhanced webs, Olstenna and Lythero wanted to do nothing more than rip this so-called Kaijin Lord's head clean off of his shoulders.

Which was a feeling that this wiry motherfucker seemed to relish in.

^Hey, Olstenna.^

^Whats up?^

^Is it just me, or does this guy radiate an aura similar to you-know-who?^

^Kind of, but...it's way too different.^

^Yeah...^

The longer Olstenna and Lythero hung around Zhen Liu, the more they realized that that man radiated an aura that seemed to enflame [Desire].

The duo figured that was just the way [Chaos] worked, since they didn't really have any other frames of reference.

But now that they had this "other" Kaijin Lord to reference, they could see that [Chaos] could enflame [Disgust], just as viciously as it could enflame [Desire].

And in all honesty, they preferred the latter over the former any day of the week.

You know. I don't think you two just randomly learned how to control [Chaos]. I get the feeling that someone showed you to wield it's power.

After making this statement, the wiry Kaijin Lord bent down like he was a king taking stock of a slave market's offering.

So tell me, oh proud warriors of the Dozing Salamander. Who was it that taught you fools how to shape the primal forces to your whim?

[Oi! Am I too late to contribute?]

Before Olstenna and Lythero could answer the question with a vicious lashing of their tongues, yet another kaijin appeared carrying a person over their shoulder.

Arbalest. I wasn't expecting you to come back so quickly after being swallowed by Mauler. Color me impressed. You're more resilient than I thought.

Before responding to their creator's praise, Arbalest had dropped off an unconscious human next to the captured Olstenna and Lythero.

[Resilience is something you demand of us. Who am I to deny such things?]