John slowed down, carefully studying the direction Rain was pointing to. Through the trees, he could barely see what looked like a solid wall of rock that looked man-made.

‘... Ruins of a civilization that once lived here? It seems very primitive.’

“What’s up?” Dennis asked from behind them, standing in a tree. He seemed entirely fine compared to how much he had been running, barely even winded.

John turned to him and pointed ahead. “Uh, something that looks like ruins ahead. I’ll check it out.”

“Rain also,” Rain added, leaving no room for negotiation.

“... Yeah. Just stay here for now, Dennis.”

“Sure thing! But don’t leave me here, alright?”

“No promises,” John replied with a wink, turning back toward the rock wall.

The two of them traveled closer to the wall, seeing more of it with each tree they passed. It was massive, even going higher than the trees. And there was no end in sight in either direction John looked.

“What the hell? This almost seems like the walls around the cities on Earth. How did they build these? And how are they still standing?”

“Indeed,” Rain said, joining his loud thinking.

“When did you learn that word?”

“Rain pick up things.”

“Verily,” John responded, certain he hadn’t used it around her before. He didn’t want her to think she was fluent.

“Verily,” she repeated, accidentally using it correctly.

“... Should we fly up and look over the wall?”

“Indeed!”

John sighed, but he did as he asked and started ascending. The wall wasn’t finely cut or topped with a rampart, so it was impressive that they even managed to stack it so high. The rocks were huge, though, weighing at least a few tons each.

‘This… almost feels like it was made by giants…’

They reached the tops of the trees, ascended the final part of the wall, and saw an incredible sight.

‘It wasn’t a ruin after all…’

An entire city stretched out before them, built from rocks and dirt. And it was filled with monkeys, both big and small. Thousands of monsters, hundreds of demons, and two giant horrors overseeing everything from their thrones in the middle of the city.

‘What the fuck?! They’re… there’s an entire civilization?’

He moved closer to the wall as he looked at the horrors in the middle, scared of being spotted and hunted by them. With the black essence, he might have been able to deal with one horror, but two would be near impossible.

‘We should just fly past these guys, right? No reason to stay here.’

“John, look!” Rain whispered, pointing to the side of the city. There was an opening in the wall, seemingly the only one in the town. Many demon monkeys guarded it, protecting the city from the beasts outside.

But what Rain had asked him to look at was the demon monkey that just entered. The only white monkey in the city, covered in bone armor, walking toward the town's center.

“Kerchak?”

‘How did he get here so soon? Is this his home? Don’t tell me he…’

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this, Rain,” he said, wondering if they should leave immediately.

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“... Kerchak is home. Right?”

“Yeah, looks like it. But he might want to go after us, bringing some of his friends.”

“Oh… Maybe.”

They kept watching as Kerchak walked before the two giants in the middle, looking like a small child in comparison. One of the horrors, with dark blue fur, leaned forward and picked Kerchak up in a loving embrace.

‘Oh no, are those his parents? Did we mind-control a prince?’

The other horror, with orange fur, also looked happy to see Kerchak return. They seemed to communicate with each other through gestures, almost like sign language.

Animated gesticulations followed, during which both the horrors became increasingly agitated. Kerchak seemed to try calming them down, but then he pointed in the direction of the mist—exactly at John and Rain’s position.

‘Oh! Fuck!’

John dived away from the wall ledge, weaving through the trees and returning to Dennis. His mind was racing to think of a solution to this situation, but he had no idea what to do if the horrors chose to follow them.

Rain let out a small scream as they fell, clinging tightly to John's back. It likely wasn’t loud enough for any of the monkeys to hear, but with over a hundred demons, there could easily be some with aspects that enhanced hearing.

‘What the fuck do I do? I don’t hear anything behind us, so maybe they didn’t leave immediately. Yeah, that sounds more likely.’

“Kerchak not friend anymore!” Rain yelled sadly in his ear before looking behind. “Rain not see monkeys!”

“Good! Let’s hope it stays that way! We need to find Dennis and get the hell out of here!”

It didn’t take them long to return to where they left him, spotting him standing on a tree with a dagger in his hand.

“Dennis, we flee! Follow!” John yelled while flying past him, not giving any time for explanations.

Dennis understood something had happened and followed without a word, jumping after them at full speed.

John focused on weaving through the trees as fast as he could without putting too much strain on Rain. He was planning what he would do if the horrors started catching up to them, realizing their only choice was for him to fight alone.

And that’s precisely what he planned to do. Just like Rain had predicted.

“Rain, any suggestions for all of us surviving?” he asked, hoping her strategic mind had something in store.

“... Won’t reach fog. Can’t escape together. Split up means someone dies. Fly up will not escape power, but maybe not get noticed?”

John nodded, understanding each of her reasonings. If they took to the sky, they might all survive. But the ascent would be slow, and the invocation of the horrors would reach them just like the desert horrors had done.

“But if I fight alone?” he suggested, knowing what her reaction would be.

Sure enough, Rain immediately started shouting in his ears. “John super stupid! Already same day?!”

“Hey, I know, okay? You were right. But what choice do we have?”

From far behind them, a massive impact resounded, shaking the ground and making the trees quiver like a giant boulder had fallen from the sky.

‘What the hell was that? Well, I can guess who it was, but what did they do?’

Rain looked behind again, but she stayed quiet, not seeing anything of note. “Much sound!”

“I heard! But what could it be?”

Dennis shouted from behind them, still following closely. “I don’t see anything! What are we escaping from, exactly? A horror?”

“A city of monkeys! Ruled by two horrors!” John replied, still finding it hard to believe.

“What?! They saw you?!”

Rain turned around again, replying in John’s place. “Kerchak was there, pointed at Rain and John. Then we flee.”

“... God damn, he really had a plan to get back on us, then. Fuck…”

Before anyone could react, another impact was heard ahead of them, much closer and louder than last time. Every tree shook violently, causing Dennis to lose his balance and stab a dagger into the wood to avoid falling.

John stopped flying, knowing there was no longer any point in going that way. His adrenaline started pumping as he felt a fight approaching.

John removed the harness holding Rain on his back and flew over to Dennis. “Take Rain and escape into the fog if you can! I’ll stall this ugly orange bastard for as long as it takes!”

The horror was barely visible ahead of him, searching through the trees. It didn’t seem to know where they were yet, but John suspected that wouldn’t last long. Either way, an army of demons was probably approaching from the city as well.

Dennis was tense, staring at John with a mix of shock and respect. He took Rain in his hands, carrying her like a princess, and ran off without a word.

“John, survive! Survive!" Rain yelled, unable to do anything but look at him and cheer. Tears were streaming down her face, but she looked more angry than sad.

John nodded and gave a quick wave after them before turning to the horror in front of him. He stepped onto a tree and summoned six black spheres, choosing to attack with Larang before using it to fly.

After another few seconds, the giant monkey turned to John and locked its eyes on him. It was nearly fifty meters tall and could reach above the trees with its hands. After seeing John standing in place, ready to fight, it looked to the sky and roared.

It was deafening, making John’s entire body shake from the sheer vibrations—a declaration of war.

‘Come over here then. I’m guessing you don’t want to talk it over like adults.’