{Author's Note}
Hello everyone! Another chapter, shorter than most, and it's hot off the presses!
This is mostly a transitional chapter, and only has one big fight scene, but I still had fun writing all of it.
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~~~
The monster that came trotting up the road was one that could be found in most fantasy worlds. With the brown furred lower body of a horse, and the pale skinned upper body of a human woman, a centaur came into view and rapidly approached. It should be noted that the equine ears sticking up the sides of her shoulder-length white hair were twitching with irritation, and her cheeks were flushed almost as deep a shade of red as her eyes, and Kevin was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the only clothing she wore was the equivalent of a leather sports bra.
[Centaur]
[Type: Normal]
Stopping in front of them, she completely ignored the two Spirits the boy was carrying and focused solely on him. "B-boy. I have a request," she stuttered, visibly panting.
Kevin just stared at her for a few seconds, before sighing. "Haah…What do you want?"
"I-It's mating season," she replied, her face somehow developing a deeper blush. "M-my pussy is aching so much. P-please use that thing of yours to calm me down."
'...you know, despite seeing this coming, I can at least appreciate how polite she is being,' the Eevee internally admitted..
'It makes sense,' Sylph chimed in. 'The monsterpedia says that centaurs are usually proud and aloof, but during mating season they go into a breeding frenzy. Maybe she isn't too far gone for you to just say no?'
'...' Gnome wordlessly agreed.
'It's worth a shot,,' Kevin nodded, returning his attention back to the outside world. "Sorry, but I will have to decline. Hopefully you'll find some other loser to please you," he apologized, trying to walk around her.
Unfortunately, this encounter wasn't going to end just like that. The centaur reached out to grab his arm, stopping him with her immense strength. "You can use that tiny body of yours to pound my throbbing pussy," she stated, her eyes glazing over.
Needless to say, this was the wrong move. "Look, I get that you're in heat," the boy growled, the only thing keeping him from forcing her own hooves down her throat being the rapidly-decaying stability of his willpower.. "But if you don't let me go, I'm gonna turn your ass into glue."
"Ah," she moaned, obviously not hearing his threat. "You can shake that tiny waist of yours and mate with me endlessly, crying in rapture…"
Before she could continue any further, Kevin sprung into action. Suddenly jumping, he executed an impressive spinning kick that landed squarely on the centaur's horse half's ribs. Her eyes widened in shock when the blow held enough force to send her flying into a tree, almost smashing through the massive plant in the process.
Landing again, the boy let out a sigh of relief. "Glad that's over."
"I wouldn't say that…" Sylph interjected, directing his attention back to his downed opponent. The centaur was getting back up. Not only was she NOT deterred by the sudden act of violence; it seemed she was even more turned on than before. "It also says in the Monsterpedia that centaurs find strong men more attractive and will become more forceful with each failed attempt at mating."
"Fuck," Kevin groaned.
What made this even worse was that he didn't have any forms that were super effective against Normal Types. Only a Fighting Type would have the overwhelming advantage here, and he didn't expect to be able to unlock that until he either found the [Black Belt] Held Item, or met Alma Elma again and gave her another well-deserved beatdown.
"..." the Spirit on his shoulders drew his attention. "..."
"Oh! I completely forgot about that!" he exclaimed. "Thanks, Gnome."
As both of the Spirits took that moment to disappear back into his soul, the boy pulled up his [Status] screen. A quick mental poke of the [Weapon] option resulted in something appearing in both of his hands.
[Name: Kevin]
[Age: 17]
[Form: Eevee]
[Ability: Adaptability/Run Away]
[Type: Normal]
[Weapon: Normal Knuckle Dusters]
Made of a material that resembled perfectly polished metal, two sets of brass knuckles had appeared, his fingers already fitting perfectly in their respective holes. Each one emitted Normal Type energy that complimented his own, and he understood that they could do just as much damage as a Move without actually needing to execute one.
His musings were cut short by the centaur approaching him again. "I can't stand it any longer! Mate with me now!" she shouted, trying to bowl him over and use her weight to pin him down.
It was obvious that her horniness had overridden her ability to think logically. If she had been thinking clearly, she would've realized that him being capable of launching her a few yards away with a single kick meant that her horse body wasn't heavy enough to keep him in one place. Instead, she was shocked when subjected to a violent punch to the junction between her upper and lower halves, collapsing in front of him in the process.
Not giving her enough time to recover, the Eevee followed up with a series of five punches to the woman's face.
[Comet Punch - Normal Type Move]
[Description: The target is hit with a flurry of punches that strike two to five times in a row.]
While just hitting her with the Knuckle Dusters would've done enough damage on its own, the addition of the Normal Type Energy of a Move had the effect of doubling the damage output of the attacks. The reinforced metal shattered her jaw, broke the majority of her upper torso's ribs, and left a huge bruise on her left eye that was now swollen shut. If her face wasn't so deformed, her expression would've been a mixture of shock and unimaginable pain.
Kevin did feel a bit sorry for her. Having just experienced what uncontrollable lust can do to a person's decision making skill the previous night, and taking into account that she had at least started off polite, he didn't feel the need to make her suffer any more than necessary. Hell, if what Sylph said was true, the centaur most likely was a respectable person when not completely overcome with the instinct to breed.
With that in mind, he reached up with both hands, grabbed the sides of her head, and quickly snapped her neck. Her one untouched eye remained wide with shock as her 'death' caused her to be sealed. Within seconds, a small unconscious horse was laying in the grass in front of him, its neck back to normal and the only evidence of the battle having happened being the damaged tree.
[Monster Defeated! 500 Gold Added to Bag of Holding]
Both Gnome and Sylph reappeared in their previous positions on his shoulders and head respectively. Alice also came back, using the same magic circle as she left with, and immediately slithered up to the boy, her eyes locked the new additions to his hands.
"Where did you get those?" she questioned.
Kevin contemplated what to tell her for a few seconds, before settling on an answer. "You know that 'asshole patron deity' I told you about back in Port Natalia?"
"Yes," she nodded. "If I recall, you were quite pissed off at them."
"Well, last night they gave me these as a reward," he stated, holding up his hands. "According to them, these are bound to my soul like Gnome and Sylph and will change to whatever weapon suits whatever form I'm using. Apparently, the ideal weapon for my base form is brass knuckles."
She leaned forward to get a closer look. With her magic sight, she could see minute emission of magic energy being emitted from the unassuming knuckle dusters. The energy's signature matched the 'Normal Type Energy' the Eevee himself released when executing one of his 'Moves,' bringing her to the logical conclusion that they not only assisted him in dealing more conventional damage, but also increased his magical output as well.
Moving away again, she stroked her chin. "This 'god' of yours becomes more interesting every time you talk about them. Do you think-"
"I would recommend against completing that sentence, if I were you," Kevin interrupted her, his expression more serious than usual. "I get that you're curious, but if you value your sanity and DON'T want to experience an existential crisis, then I suggest you abandon that line of thought."
Alice was about to say something along the lines of 'she could handle it,' but was cut off again by Sylph. "Yeah…you really don't want to know about the Being. Gnomey and I do, and I think I speak for both of us when I say we really wish we didn't."
"..." Gnome nodded, visibly disquieted as well.
The Monster Lord was taken aback. It was one thing for Kevin to tell her that his mysterious 'patron' wasn't someone she could handle the knowledge of; but for two Spirits, who had existed since the world was first created and stood at the top of EVERY power spectrum, to tell her that THEY were uncomfortable with the information they had learned? Even after all of the atrocities they had likely witnessed over the thousands of years they had been alive?
A shiver of dread ran from the tips of her ears, down her spine, and all the way to the tip of her tail. "Duly note. I'll try not to pry any further," she said in the most even tone possible, turning and rapidly slithering ahead on the dirt road in the process.
The trio of elemental powerhouses followed shortly after her, all silent as they once again contemplated the info dump that the being had presented to them the previous night.
~~~
{Two Days Later - Early Morning}
Kevin was filled with more joy than one would expect when he was finally able to spot Grand Noah Castle off in the distance. He even went so far as to smile in what appeared to be genuine happiness, which usually didn't happen outside of the Dream Room. Why was he so elated to see the massive fortress surrounded by a sprawling city, you may ask?
It was because the last two days had been more irritating than they were worth.
The swamp he'd had to wade through due to it overflowing onto the path was the first annoyance. Despite being enhanced by the tailor in Enrika, the Eevee's clothes were neither waterproof, nor water resistant. So, he'd had to deal with murky swamp water soaking into his socks, shoes, and pants until he'd finally made it out of the area. Even then the steps needed to actually clean them and remove the bog smell took hours, even with his control over Water Type Energy.
To top all of that off, he was attacked by two Frog Girls after donning one of his spare sets of clean clothes. He was away from the camp at the time, with his Spirits staying behind to help prepare dinner, and he was too focused on washing his shoes in a freshwater pond to notice them sneaking up on him. Their presence was only brought to his attention when they leaped on him from both sides, enveloping him in their naked embraces and slathering him in slime.
His reaction to the combination of unwanted contact and having another set of clothes ruined was…less than calm.
~~~
{Flashback}
ZAP!
"Please stop! We said we were sorry!"
SNAP!
"My Legs! You broke my legs!"
A moment of silence.
"Wh-what are y-y-you doing with that pole!?"
CRACK! BOOM!
"AAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"
[Monster Defeated! 1000 Gold Added to Bag of Holding]
~~~
{Flashback End}
A quick shift to his Jolteon form and several acts of unimaginable violence had taught them the error of their ways. On the bright side, the teenager had learned that the [Blade of Evolution] transformed into a lightning rod in the hands of the Electric Type Eeveelution, which he had used to amplify and direct the thunderbolts he sent coursing through the monster girls' bodies. By the time he was done with them, they had been left unsealed by the edge of the pond, their bodies smoking and their eyes rolled up into their heads.
Fortunately for Kevin, both Sylph and Gnome were there to make him feel better as he shifted into his feral form and slipped into the Bag of Bedding. None of them told Alice what had happened while he was away, but the smell of grilled frog legs emanating from his body was a dead giveaway when she considered the monsters that usually lived in that area.
The next day was no better. An alraune had settled herself in the middle of the road and refused to let the Eevee through without allowing her to taste some of his semen. Attempts at diplomacy quickly failed, so he tried to go around her. She was rooted in place, after all, and it would take a lot of effort on her part to uproot herself and follow him.
That logic was crushed when she lashed out with her vines in an attempt to stop him.
He responded by evolving into Flareon, with the [Blade of Evolution] becoming a flamethrower.
~~~
{Flashback}
"You could've just let me go, but nooooo! You had to choose violence!"
"AGH! IT BURNS!"
"Well, guess what BITCH!? Violence is my middle name!"
"WATER! I NEED WATER!"
"Not gonna happen! You fucked around, and now you're finding out why trying to rape someone as high above your weight class as I am is a bad idea! Suffer for your mistakes!"
"I'M SORRY!"
[Monster Defeated! 500 Gold Added to Bag of Holding]
~~~
{Flashback End}
Fortunately for the plant girl, the flames finally died when Kevin's sealing powers kicked in, turning her into a small flower. Alice had even taken a leaf off of it and eaten it, which drew her some odd looks from Kevin. Her explanation that as a plant, removing a few leaves wouldn't hurt the alraune in the long run, didn't change his judging stare.
Now, with their destination finally in sight, there was nothing left to worry about! It was just a straight shot to the city gates, and from there they could check into a nice inn and -
"Oh, you four are quite young for travelers. Would you like to pray to Ilias with me for safety on your travels?"
'FUCK!' the boy shouted in his head, cursing himself for jinxing it.
Out of all of the people and creatures to encounter on the final stretch of road, a nun from the Church of Ilias was not what any of them expected. Although, something felt…off about her. Her blond hair and blue eyes may have been perfectly normal, and her light blue habit had similarly didn't have any oddities, but the energy she was emitting definitely wasn't human.
Alice, once again in her human form, immediately knew what was up. "What are you trying to pull? That disguise is disgusting."
"Ara, so you can see through me," the nun nodded, acting oddly casual at being caught. A quick surge of magic revealed that her legs were merely an illusion, quickly replaced by the long light blue tail of a lamia.
There was a moment of silence, before Kevin spoke up. "So…is this some kind of disguise so you can lure in unsuspecting humans?"
"Of course not," she shook her head. "It is no mere disguise. My body and soul are faithful to Goddess Ilias. It may be true that Ilias hates monsters, but I still want to teach others about her love and kindness. Though they are few, there are other monsters who think as I do."
The three of them that regularly met Ilias in the Dream Room deadpanned at her. They knew for a fact that, even when in the state of sanity imposed upon her by the room, she wasn't exactly the kind and charitable sort. Hearing her vent about every man, woman, and monster and their idiotic prayers made any opinion of her being a 'benevolent and loving' goddess die a quick death. They couldn't blame her, though, as her madness had put her in a position to receive these prayers, but that didn't mean they couldn't still tease her about it.
"I was on my way to the South to do more missionary work for other monsters," she continued. "But since I'll be heading down there, I thought it wise to disguise myself as a human."
"So what you're saying is: I don't need to disguise myself around here?" asked Alice, who was in her full-human form since the encounter began.
The sister lamia shook her head. "It sounds like this is your first time here, travelers. The Noah Region is home to many villages and towns, where humans and monsters live together. Of course, there is still some bias and prejudice, but people generally get along."
"Yeah!" Sylph piped up. "It's one of the safest places outside of Hellgondo for monsters to roam around!"
"...and you didn't tell us this in advance because?" Kevin questioned.
"Ehehe…I forgot?" the fairy-sized Spirit sheepishly admitted.
"..." WHACK!
"AGH! Gnomy! Why do you always hit me!?"
"..."
"I have seen some situations where stupid can be beaten out of people," the Spirits' Host admitted.
"Traitor! Meany! Idiot!" Sylph shouted, childishly punching the top of his head. "Maybe I should beat the stupid out of you!" WHACK! "OW!"
Ignoring their byplay, Alice took the opportunity to dispel her transformation. "Thank the First! I always hate having to hide my tail in human cities."
"It is much more comfortable to not have to hide," the sister agreed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going. It was a pleasure meeting the four of you, and may Ilias bless your travels." With that said, she disguised herself again and continued off on her own.
"Hmmm…" Alice hummed in thought. "To think that there are monsters here who follow Ilias, of all gods."
Kevin shrugged. "Sometimes, people would rather think with their religion instead of their brains."
"Whatever. They're free to believe whatever drivel they want," the Monster Lord concluded dismissively.
~~~
{Author's Note}
And that's a wrap! This chapter is shorter than my usual world by about a thousand words, but it is still an important transition! Next chapter will have Grand Noah Castle, and the inevitable interactions between Kevin and the royalty there.
Three forms of the [Blade of Evolution] have appeared!
Eevee = Normal Knuckle Dusters
Jolteon = Electric Lightning Rod
Flareon = Fire Flamethrower
Anyway…
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