Grendel stood in the artificial rain and smiled at his prey.

Grendel was out front of a compound that housed the elf terrorists and their many different and diverse magical allies, all who chafed under the reign of the UEF. However they never actually made a difference in the lives of those they claimed to support only spreading malice and horror. Which was why after interviewing and convincing Aaron Reinhard to help him, Grendel had managed to start a series of dominos that had led him here.

And not alone.

All around Grendel, adorned in the latest in stealth technology, was a regiment of humans who stood silently and invisible to any magical or mundane eyes. However as with most things it was easy to spot the discrepancies when you knew what to look at.

The artificial rain that was filling the city had been scheduled for later but had come early, possibly due to the magic that regulated such things being distorted, possibly at the hands of the elves. Normally the rain coming early would not be a problem, but in this shower of bleak rain, Grendel could see that the stealth technology was not working to well.

“You better be right about this,” said one of the humans that Grendel had brought along with him, a Lieutenant in the UEF’s army. “The Rustwood family is highly influential, and if we get this wrong there will be hell to pay.”

Glancing at the unnamed soldier, or more precisely the location that the unnamed soldier was standing, Grendel had to muse at the nature of the man. For while it was obvious that the human did not entirely trust Grendel, there was no malice present within the human’s words. A phenomenon that Grendel would have to look into later, as it could help with his future endeavours of uniting both the mundane and the magical together.

“Don’t worry. I’m not wrong, and even if things go bad you can blame it all on me,” said Grendel, his words meant to be reassuring to the human, only for the human to baulk at the concept.

“No, we do this together or we do this not at all,” said the Lieutenant with a conviction that gave Grendel pause. A pause that ended when he shook his dragon head and puffed out a plume of smoke, for Grendel was still constantly being surprised by humanity even after millennia of living amongst them.

“Alright then, follow me,” said Grendel as he began to march towards the compound not really bothering to pay attention if the humans were accompanying him, for in the back of his mind Grendel knew he alone was enough.

Walking up to the side of the compound, Grendel pulled back his fist and without hesitation he swung with all of his strength and punched a hole through the wall. A hole that was easily big enough for the four or even five men walking abreast to march through.

Knowing that he had most likely shocked his backup due to the inhuman feat, especially since he had not used any active magic, Grendel didn’t really care as he instead marched into the compound. For what was to come would soon overturn many of their presumptions about reality.

“Halt!” screamed out an elf that had seen the wall of his compound suddenly burst inward. An elf that was quick to raise a crystal wand and point it at the menacing figure of Grendel, who continued to march on uncaring about what the elf could do.

“You leave me no choice,” cried the elf when Grendel not only refused to stop but also paid the elf no minder.

Activating the crystal in his hand, the elf caused a bolt of lightning to snake out and hit Grendel in the chest causing the dragon shaped humanoid to slide back by about 2-3 metres, a singed mark of heat upon his red scales.

Glancing down at the glowing mark where the elf had attacked him, Grendel looked up at the elf, who in turn looked about nervously, as if expecting the UEF’s anti-magic systems to come crashing down upon him. Except the system that had been infallible for centuries remained inactive, a sign that made the elf smile clearly emboldened by what he had just achieved.

Annoyed at the fact that his chest was singed by the lightning, Grendel retaliated towards the elf with an attack that was a dragon’s signature characteristic.

He breathed fire.

Sending out a jet of fire that engulfed the elf, the elf couldn’t even let out a scream before he was reduced to a charred skeleton that was still holding an intact crystal in his hand. A crystal wand that was softly glowing with mystical light, that marked it out as being the source of the elf’s ability to use magic without attracting the UEF’s attention.

“You were right,” whispered the intangible voice of the Lieutenant from nearby, a voice that belonged to the human that had shown respect.

Truly intrigued by the fact that the human next to him seemed to not care about his magical nature, Grendel lamented the fact that he didn’t know the human’s name. For if Grendel could make an ally of the human then perhaps he could help propagate the human’s attitude throughout the rest of the UEF.

“The rest are coming,” said Grendel as he looked up at the main building of the Rustwood compound, a building that resembled a miniaturised castle, and saw multiple eyes looking back.

“We’ve got this,” said the human as he made some sort of signal and then suddenly the human military started to open fire. An attack that was swift and terrible, but this attack was not without resistance. For the many magical creatures that lived in the compound were counter-attacking.

Staring at the different forces that were attacking back and forth as science and magic went to war, Grendel looked on rather nonchalantly. Grendel was not interested in a battle between an invisible high tech soldier and a rampaging ogre or a Greek Cyclops. Instead Grendel was hunting even bigger fish.

Grendel was looking for any trace of Nidus Rustwood. For the elf was clearly high up in regards to this scheme and if he could get to him, then Grendel would have a chance to unravel the entire insurrection before it could even begin.

Spotting a familiar figure nearby standing at the entrance to the castle like main building, Grendel smiled in a way that only a dragon could and then he began to hunt. Walking forward, Grendel ignored plasma bolts that bounced off his body, he ignored a war-club made of frozen fire and he even ignored the bodies he strode upon. For his prey was before him. And he had no intention of letting it get away from him.

Marching through the maelstrom of violence, Grendel walked towards Nidus. Who in turn saw the indomitable figure cleaving through his forces. After giving the dragon a stare filled with both horror and recognition, Nidus turned and re-entered into the building. Seeing that Nidus was seemingly fleeing from the battlefield, either to save himself or to warn others, Grendel growled in annoyance before he turned his leisurely stroll into a running spring that allowed him to cover the distance between himself and the building in only a few seconds.

Arriving at the doors that Nidus had disappeared through, Grendel felt like cursing for the door before him was a mixture of Mithril and Orichalcum, an alloy that would be all but impossible for him to break. Especially since Norse Dwarves and Greek Cyclops had worked together to create something no dragon could break, regardless of where or what mythology it came from.

“Move Grendel,” said the voice of the Lieutenant, a voice that seemed to come out of thin air.

Stepping aside instinctively, Grendel kept his eye on the door as a small item was deposited onto it by an invisible figure. A device that started blinking as soon as it was attached to the door, a device that hummed with power as it slowly began to cool off the invulnerable alloy it was attached to.

Watching in amazement, the device caused frost to build up and outward from itself until the entire door had been coated and encroached by the frost. A frost that had caused the once invulnerable alloy to become so brittle that the door shattered into millions of tiny pieces as a bullet punched through the door. A supersonic bullet fired by an invisible gun wielded by an invisible man.

“You humans and your inventions, you never cease to make wonders that amaze,” said Grendel as he walked through the now gaping hole where the door had been.

“Of course we create wonders beyond belief,” said the Lieutenant in a boastful voice. “We taught the gods how to create and forge. In fact, the only reason that they’re winning at the moment is that they can practise their craft eternally. We humans on the other hand have to hope for a genius every generation or we fall behind.”

Chuckling at the sheer blasphemy that the human had uttered, Grendel was so distracted that he was barely in time to notice a magical trap that had been inscribed into the floor.

Seeing the magic activate as an invisible boot stepped upon it, Grendel reached out and grabbed the human by the back and pulled him out of the way as a pillar of enhanced gravity manifested. This gravity pillar was warping the air and created a shift in the light that was passing through it making it blurry and appear to be odd, like looking through thick glass or even water. But what was most troubling about the gravity pillar was that it was so strong anything that was caught in it would be reduced to organic paste upon the floor from a few simple seconds of being trapped within it.

“Thanks,” said a relieved female voice, a voice that carried with it the sincerity of one truly grateful to have been saved.

“Why isn’t it dispelling?” asked another voice, this one much older than the other two invisible humans that had followed Grendel.

“Because it’s using flaws in the UEF’s anti-magic system,” said Grendel as he tentatively poked at the pillar of gravity.

“What do you mean?” asked the Lieutenant.

“The UEF program their systems to ignore set types of magic, particularly Dwarven Gravity Magic,” explained Grendel as he started to scan the room for anything else that might be rigged with magic.

“What?” asked the female invisible soldier, her voice carrying with it a failure to understand how the two were connected.

“Mars never had Earth Normal Gravity, so to counteract this flaw in Mars’ gravity and the hurdle to terraforming the planet and living here upon it, the UEF got creative. They had the Dwarves create a magic system that would alter how gravity on Mars worked. They created a system that is propagating throughout Mars to this day. A system that makes gravity here the same as it is on Earth,” explained Grendel as he looked off in the distance having spied the route that Nidus most likely fled down.

“And because we, the UEF, didn’t want this system being cancelled out, we made it ignore Dwarven Gravity Magic,” said the old soldier in a way that made it clear that he was shaking his head at the giant flaw in their system.

“Don’t feel bad. It’s taken them years to get here. You only need a few days, maybe some weeks, to patch up your system to get around the problem,” said Grendel absently as he continued to eye the corridor where Nidus had disappeared through.

“Does this mean that the dwarves helped the elves?” asked the Lieutenant, his voice not really upset, just filled with idle speculation.

Blinking in shock at the idea of Dwarves and Elves working together even if united by a common hatred, Grendel turned and gave the space where the voices were coming from a hard look.

“If they had been working together your space elevators would have been ejected from this planet years ago,” said Grendel with a frown of his scaly head before continuing on. “We’re going to have to split up here. I can spot the traps easy enough, but the lot of you will most likely end up as stains on the carpet.”

“And we wouldn’t want that,” said the female soldier jokingly, “the red would clash terribly with these colours.”

Looking down at the blue carpet and then at the space the voice had come from, Grendel just shook his head before heading out.

And as he walked along by himself, he was glad that he had taken the humans with him, as without his magic he was much weaker than he normally would be, especially when it came to things like that Mithril-Orichalcum door.

But from here on out Grendel would not be just relying on his strength and physical characteristics, he would be relying on his magic and the solar infernos it allowed him to bring to bear.

Smiling in a way that could only be called wicked, Grendel continued on into the Rustwood compound hunting after Nidus Rustwood.

Wandering through the maze-like structure of tunnels and rooms that lay beneath the Rustwood compound, Grendel sniffed at the air trying in vain to figure out which room Nidus was hiding in.

Continuing to wander about checking here and there, Grendel was reminded on the old noir movies he enjoyed, especially the originals from so long ago back on earth. Recognising that he was the detective creeping about, Grendel was struck with an idea that made him smile even as he kept sniffing the air for a trace of Nidus.

Here buried deep in the underground vaults of the Rustwood compound, magic was much less restricted than normal. This meant that even Grendel’s innate fire magic would be able to function here. Stretching forth a taloned hand, Grendel summoned into existence a small globe of fire, a crimson red fire that lit up the tunnels causing them to change from simple tunnels into something much more eerie.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Seeing that the sensors of the UEF hadn’t detected his magic and that he was now free to change the world as he saw fit, Grendel reached out and grasped the ball of crimson red fire changing it into something else, something that mirrored the detectives of old.

Shaping the fire into a Luger pistol, Grendel grasped the gun made of fire and continued on as he now had a way to trace Nidus’ path through the underground.

Creeping forward, Grendel came to a door that was slightly ajar, a door that had clearly failed to close properly. What’s more, beyond the door Grendel could hear voices in discussion before hearing movement that indicated that one of the creatures in the room had left while another had stayed put.

Pushing the door open, Grendel slowly walked into the room and saw that it was something akin to a conference room with a large round table in the centre lined with chairs. Chairs that were each shaped in a variety of unique ways to indicate who, or more precisely what, sat upon them.

Seeing only one of the chairs filled, Grendel levelled his Luger pistol made of fire at the individual before him, an elf that bore a striking resemblance to Nidus. However there was a weight of time to him that marked him out as older then Nidus. A weight that indicated he might even be old enough to have originated back on Earth.

“Elburn Rustwood,” said Grendel with a smile as he recognised the patriarch of the Rustwood family. Before Grendel had led the UEF here, he had taken the opportunity to research into the other members of the Rustwood family and Elburn had been the name at the top of the list.

Elburn was reported to be an Elf that had been one of the first to cross over through the void of space to arrive here on Mars and more importantly he was also the one that had founded the Rustwood family. First as a means of protecting other Elves that had come across to Mars, but later the Elf had changed to become something else. Elburn had become a tyrant that longed to rule over all of the magical community of the Augustus Republic.

“Gren Delving, or do you prefer your real name Grendel?” asked Elburn as he sat in his chair not particularly bothered by the fact a dragon had a gun made of fire trained on him, ready to shoot at any minute.

“Grendel works for me,” said Grendel as he slowly lowered his gun curious to see what Elburn was up to.

“I thought so, but I would hate to presume, especially since it might start us off on the wrong foot,” said Elburn as he poured himself a drink of honey-like liquid into a clear glass.

Staring at the glass and the liquid it contained, Grendel shifted his gaze to Elburn whose golden hair and eyes matched the colour of the drink.

“What is that made from?” asked Grendel, aware that the drink was more than just a prop for this meeting. It was magical and it seemed to contain within it a wellspring of magic. This fact alone was enough to convince Grendel that the drink would allow Elburn to wield magic far greater than anything he normally could possess.

“Did you really come here just to talk about my choice of drink?” asked Elburn as he took a drink of the liquid, his eyes seeming to glow the moment that the drink touched his lips.

“No, I came to dismantle your entire organisation,” admitted Grendel without a hint of shame or remorse for his actions.

“And why would you want to do that?” asked Elburn, his voice genuinely laced with curiosity. “You are a creature of magic. You bear a name inspired from our ancestors legends and no matter what you think you will be hunted by the humans the moment that we stop being of use to them.”

“Because I long to see what they will create. What miracles they will work and how they in turn will make them purely mundane,” said Grendel as he made sure to grin in a way that Elburn couldn’t miss.

“Miracles made mundane?” asked Elburn clearly thrown by the idea, as to him a miracle was something only made by the divine.

“Of course, look at what human technology can achieve on its own, how far it has grown from simple beginnings. They once were nothing more than simple creatures wielding sticks and stones. That was their first level of technology. Then they figured out their first miracle: Fire. And from that fire they created so much more. Now they don’t even use fire. They barely touch it, because what was once a miracle handed out by Gods and Dragons is now something that they have outgrown. Now imagine what would happen when they start to use magic with the same wisdom,” said Grendel, not really caring if Elburn believed him, only speaking what he believed to see how Elburn reacted.

“You think humans will adopt and use magic? You are a blind, witless worm,” snarled out Elburn, making it clear what he thought about that particular idea. “Humanity will crush magic beneath their heel and never again let it see the light of day. They have done it before and they will do it again.”

“And why do you believe that?” asked Grendel, truly curious to know.

“Because humanity hates to be reminded about what they are,” replied Elburn.

“Which is?” asked Grendel trying to prompt Elburn to speak his mind.

“They hate to be reminded how transient they are! They hate to be reminded how powerless they are. They would rather destroy all that is grand and awe inspiring. They would rather live in filth and squalor. They would rather believe in pain and sorrow than ever let anything have power beyond their own,” said Elburn as he stared at Grendel with golden glowing eyes that were filled with such conviction that Grendel knew for a fact that Elburn believed everything he said.

“And why do you think that is true?” asked Grendel as he heard a faint squeak come from nearby, a sound that came from a door shifting as someone passed through it.

“You only need to look at their stories, to see their mindsets. They hate and rail against miracles and easy salvation. They say the ‘Deus Ex Machina’ is a flimsy thing that breaks a story. Yet you and I both know that it once was true: a wandering god, a questing hero, a depraved devil, a guardian dragon, a whimsical elf, we once altered the world as we saw fit. We allowed miracles to come to pass, for things to get better, but they rejected everything we were. They would rather suffer than accept help,” snarled out Elburn as he rose to his feet in anger, all the while clearly speaking from experience.

“That is why Mars is so important, why it is the perfect crucible for humanity,” said Grendel solemnly as if having to explain death to a child. “Here we can reforge humanity. Show them once again the wonder of the universe. We can force them to see the true nature of the world and accept that every once in a while something miraculous happens. That sometimes the Fates can not only be kind, but generous.”

“A pity for you then that they have left you high and dry,” said a voice from behind Grendel, the voice of Nidus.

Spinning around on the spot, Grendel looked towards the sound of Nidus’ voice and as he did so, two things caught his attention.

The first was a mosaic of different magics all interlocking and layered over each other. It was a mixture of magics from various different origins and myths, including Greek, Celtic, and Norse mythology. A mixture that would make all who looked upon it recoil in horror at the abomination it formed. Yet its purpose was explicit to Grendel. It was a magic created to render all who hid within it invisible, which was why Grendel had failed to see it the moment he walked through the door.

The second thing that caught Grendel’s attention was the figure of Nidus bursting out of the abominable mixture of magic, in his hand a miniature replica of a lance renowned for slaying dragons. A holy lance that Nidus was thrusting towards Grendel with the intent of killing the dragon, all the while a vile smile of hatred and wounded pride warped his elfish face.

Caught off guard by the fact that Nidus had been hidden within a mixture of magic that had rendered him undetectable to even his keen dragon senses, Grendel tried to defend himself but he was too slow.

Striking down with the lance, Nidus thrust the dragon slaying instrument into Grendel’s chest, straight into Grendel’s jacket. Yet instead of feeling overwhelming pain that would have rendered him next to helpless, Grendel instead heard a metallic crunch. A crunch that came from the section of his coat that Nidus had just stabbed.

Staring in disbelief, both dragon and elf looked at the point of contact between blade and coat, both having heard the metallic crunch, yet both in disbelief that something that should have been a simple victory had been overturned.

Blinking quickly, Grendel came back to his senses as he realised that the pocket that had been stabbed was the one in which he stored his vinyl recorder.

Laughing in surprise at the fact that his inane hobby had spared his life, Grendel used the Luger in his right hand and shot at Nidus. Except instead of shooting Nidus in the body like the elf would have done to him, Grendel shot Nidus in the arm. Specifically at the elbow of the arm that held the dragon slaying miniature holy lance.

Incinerating Nidus’ elbow and the area around it by about 10 centimetres, Nidus’ hand fell away from the ash encrusted stump, causing the elf to let loose a scream of pain, horror and despair as he saw the hand holding the one weapon that would be able to kill the dragon before him fall at Grendel’s feet.

No longer paying the now one handed elf any heed, Grendel stomped on the lance crushing it into fragments that were practically dust.

Making sure that there was not pieces left that could be used against him, Grendel turned his attention back to Nidus who had collapsed on the ground and was trying to crawl backwards away from Grendel. Seeing nothing but unending horror and fear in Nidus’ eyes Grendel made sure to check to see if Nidus had any more weapons before rounding on Elburn.

“You appear to have disarmed my son,” said Elburn calmly as he looked back and forth between Nidus and the Luger made of fire that Grendel now had pointed towards him.

“You attempted to stab me in the back,” replied Grendel calmly as he couldn’t help but muse on the idiocy of Nidus for shouting out while he attacked him.

“Indeed, and had my useless spawn been smarter you would be dead and dying on the floor instead,” said Elburn, clearly aware that Nidus had botched the job, and it was no one’s fault but his son’s.

“So what now?” asked Grendel, his Luger levelled at the older elf, the two of them both primed to unleash a maelstrom of magic upon each other.

“Now you are under arrest,” said another disembodied voice.

Recognising the voice, Grendel had to blink in surprise as three figures materialised around Elburn, each with a gun held up to Elburn’s head. One gun levelled at the back of Elburn’s head and the other two levelled at his temples.

“What?!” said Elburn in surprise at the fact that three UEF soldiers had materialised inside the room.

Chuckling at the sight of Elburn losing his composure for the first time since he had entered into the room, Grendel switched his attention to the UEF soldiers that had ringed up around Elburn. Recognising them as the soldiers he had worked beside and left back at the entrance Grendel was truly surprised to see them here, but at the same time he was excited to find out how they had managed to follow him here.

“Lieutenant, I thought I told you to remain behind,” said Grendel jovially as he lowered his flame wrought Luger to his side.

“No you said we would have to split up, not that we couldn’t follow after,” said the Lieutenant with a chuckle and a smile. A smile that allowed Grendel to see that despite his rank and experience the Lieutenant was still young, and more importantly that he still had hope for the future.

“How did you get past my traps?” snarled out Elburn clearly not happy that he had been bested by mortals that didn’t have magic.

“I used this,” said the Lieutenant as he held up his hand, a small, amethyst crystal hanging from his fingers.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Elburn saw the crystal and recognised the hedge magic that was woven through it. Magic that would simply allow the user of the crystal to detect masses of magic, a magic crystal that could have easily been created by even the most novice of mages.

Looking at the amethyst crystal, Grendel threw back his dragon head and laughed at the fact that Elburn had been taken out by a UEF solider wielding a magic item. For in this one moment, the Lieutenant had displayed the proof of everything that Grendel had ever said.

‘That the greatest of miracles comes from the union of science and magic.’

“I take it that it was you three I heard passing through the doors,” said Grendel as he got control of himself and looked back at the trapped Elburn. A trapped Elburn, who was keenly aware that if he tried anything, he would be doomed, as the guns that the UEF used had anti-magic bullets that no defensive magic could battle against.

“Yes, there are far too many rooms down here. We might have made one or two squeak,” admitted the Lieutenant calmly as he refocused in on the Elf he was now taking into custody.

Slapping cuffs on Elburn, cuffs that would block his ability to use magic, Elburn sank down into his chair. Now no longer a threat, yet even bound and magic-less, there was something about Elburn that made Grendel wary.

“Bind the other one, I need to talk to Grendel for a moment,” said the Lieutenant as he commanded his female subordinate to bind Nidus with magic suppressing cuffs while the older soldier continued to guard Elburn.

Following the Lieutenant over to a corner of the room while Elburn looked on with prying eyes, Grendel truly was curious about the human before him.

“Did you discover anything else along the way?” asked the Lieutenant, the upper portion of his face hidden behind the mechanical gear that the UEF wear into battle.

“Nothing that can’t wait for a proper debrief,” said Grendel as he focused his entire attention onto the soldier before him. “However I must admit that I was surprised you didn’t just call for this entire complex to be destroyed with me inside of it.”

“That’s not what we do,” said the Lieutenant sharply.

“That’s what your generals would have done,” countered Grendel in an attempt to measure what the foot soldiers of the UEF thought about their leaders.

“I can’t speak for all of them, but the ones I know are not so out of touch as to do something so barbaric,” said the Lieutenant, a bitterness tinging his voice at the fact that even one of the leaders of the UEF would act in such a manner.

“So the ones you know aren’t glory hounds,” said Grendel, pleased to note that he might not have such an uphill battle in the future.

“No, we’re not here to get glory. We’re here to bring peace and civilisation to a dead world. We’re here to spread and protect life, not death,” said the Lieutenant with a conviction in his voice that made Grendel smile, or at least as close as his reptilian head could smile.

“Even if the life you are protecting belongs to the mythical?” asked Grendel, already suspecting the answer he would get.

“We are here to save all lives. On a good day we save all lives, and on a bad day we save only most lives,” said the Lieutenant, his voice ringing with sincerity.

Impressed with the being before him, Grendel nodded his head in agreement before speaking again.

“May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?” asked Grendel earnestly, a question that seemed to catch the Lieutenant off guard before he chuckled and spoke up.

“Maxwell Clarke,” said Lieutenant Maxwell, “I’m sorry that I didn’t introduce myself earlier, but we have call signs built into our heads up display so we tend to forget that the names of everyone aren’t floating above our heads.”

“Let’s take the prisoners back and discuss our future working together,” said Grendel as he turned to look at Elburn who was seething under the watch of the UEF soldier.

“You foresee a bright future together?” asked Maxwell, curiosity in his voice as he tried to figure out if Grendel could divine the future.

“I’m no diviner, but I know quality when I see it, my future General,” said Grendel as he already began to plot how Maxwell’s help would aid him in the far off future.

Choosing not to respond to Grendel’s words Maxwell turned to look at his two soldiers. With a quick, silent, electronic communication between them, Maxwell ordered the soldiers to get the prisoners up and to begin marching them out of the room and back to the surface.

Yet as Elburn stood up, he stopped and glared at Grendel.

“Do not think that you have destroyed our movement with what you have done here Grendel Godsbane,” said Elburn with a cold rage that was measured and controlled to a point that the human present tensed up. “I have allies out there in the vastness of the world, allies that were not here. You did not catch us all. And when you let your guard down, they will hunt you down, even if it takes centuries. You will die a pathetic death worse than the creature you are named after, you and every other magical creature that has betrayed us to the humans and their precious science.”

Hearing the promise in Elburn’s words, Grendel knew that he meant it and that most likely there were allies out in the world who would one day attack him, but Grendel wasn’t too worried. However he wanted to clear up a misconception here and now both for the UEF and the elf before him.

“That pathetic creature that was killed by Beowulf all so long ago, I was not named after it. It was named after me,” said Grendel as he made sure that Elburn understood that he was the true origin of the name. That he was ancient enough to claim the name first and that he had become so famous that even strange and remote monsters named themselves and their spawn after him.

Wilting as he heard Grendel’s words, Elburn realised that Grendel was indeed telling the truth and that the being before him hailed from so far back in antiquity that more had been forgotten about him than was currently known.

Watching the UEF throw Elburn and Nidus Rustwood into one of the many prison ships that would send them to only the UEF knew where, Grendel contemplated on the threat that had been levelled at not just him but also at others who had helped him.

“What are you going to do next?” asked Lieutenant Maxwell so that he could arrange for a debrief with his superiors.

“I’m going to deal with a few loose ends,” said Grendel as he turned his mind to the werewolf family that had aided him. And as he did so he wondered to himself if he should contact his old friend for help.

Although Hades would most likely say that the two of them were not friends, just business partners.