Oh, I am dead.

Before the claws can reach my throat Jer-kel basically throws herself in the way. Her chest plate cracks and she flies back.

I get caught by her moving body and also fly back and tumble on the ground.

Instead of crying in pain, she adjusts her hands on my ears to block it.

Wha—

I get an answer immediately. Her monster flies high in the air and screams. The sound is so powerful the very ground trembles and makes the shafeline wail in pain.

Good. If she keeps that up for long enough, she could make it faint.

However, I notice the fairy's ears are also bleeding, and not her alone, but also Jer-kel. Maybe because of the pain, the fairy stops her sonic attack.

The air and ground trembling goes from intense to nothing in a short time.

Jer-kel mutters something. It’s frustration. I think there is a high chance the fairy didn't have enough time to absorb enough ether from those organs.

I am not sure how much time it needs, but most definitely less than me.

Jer-kel tries to stand up but can't. She moves like a drunkard, having no sense of balance due to her destroyed eardrums.

The shafeline coats its body in fire and pounces at the fairy, like a cat.

The fairy barely evades. It becomes a game of tag, and with every passing second, the shafeline seems to be getting closer in catching up.

During that, I make Mon [fire spit] at it. Of course, the small fireballs are too slow to even touch the shafeline which isn’t paying attention to it.

I try to pick up Jer-kel to run(since the little recovery she got disappeared from that last attack). But holy shit is she heavy. Maybe over four hundred pounds(the armor surely adds to it). I can't do that!

But I have to…

My muscles strain and my leg trembles under the weight like I am having a nervous breakdown.

Come on… Come…

I skid on a pebble and fall in front. My chin hits the hard ground and it feels like my skull is shaken.

That hurt... Oh god, that hurts so much.

Jer-kel ears stop bleeding and many of her wounds suddenly start closing up.

I snap towards the fairy whose body is coated in white energy. I am wondering why it doesn't just fly very high in the sky to make it impossible for the shafeline to even get close to it, but I am guessing if it does that the shafeline would just target us.

Well whatever, the healer is back online, that's good news.

Jer-kel pushes herself up and says, "Go get cover…"

"What about you?"

"Don't worry."

"And the villagers?"

"There should be some alive. I made sure of that..."

She doesn't sound cold, but somewhat worried. I guess on the surface she puts on a tough act. Honestly, probably not. I think there is a difference between hating someone and thinking they deserve a painful death.

And there are most definitely other monsters alive. There could be a monster lurking at any corner.

I have a way to fix that issue.

I focus on Mon’s senses: hearing and sniffing.

I mainly smell blood, feces, piss, perspiration, and so on. Then I hear the low growlings of monsters that are inaudible to my human ears. About three of them.

They’re probably looking for villagers to kill.

I know what I am going to do.

I make Mon lead the way towards the monsters and I follow it.

The first time I fought a monster, I nearly died. So to any normal person, my actions are purely irrational or heroic.

It's neither. I am not foolish enough to take on suicide missions for heroic reasons. I once killed myself because I had no interest in what the future held for me. That ultimate disinterest in life made me not value life.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

However, I am excited and concerned about what my future holds in this world.

The reason I am taking this risk is because I am going to be careful with my safety, and because… I hate these monsters.

I want to kill them. I want to brutally torture them. I want to see them suffering.

Of course, I also want to save these people.

I spot a monster on a house rooftop. It’s looking down at a little boy hiding behind a house with his father and another.

The monster launches at the boy.

*Go!*

Mon dashes at max speed, kicking up dust in the process. Our eyes are stuck on the monster moving closer to the boy and just as it gets in the meter range, a [fire spit], the size of a tennis ball hits it in the face.

“Quaa!” it screeches as its pouncing form collapses and it falls on the ground in front of the three hiding individuals.

“What the hell?!” The father(I assume he’s the father) freaks out.

The monster claws at the ground to bury its head in it in the attempt to out the fire.

I don't waste time and make Mon bite down on the monster’s throat with all its force. There is a cracking and panicking sound.

I'm currently making my way to them. But I’m running around the building to get to its blind spot.

My ribs hurt!

The monster's claws are deep in Mon's. I move quickly, and finally, I arrive at the back of it. It has no idea I am here.

With both of my hands on the hilt of my blade, I strike its spine, aiming to paralyze it. I can’t go for the throat cut because Mon is blocking me.

My blade goes deep into its back, but the bone is hard, so while the monster struggles and tries to break free, I keep stabbing it in the same place. Well, I try anyway. My aim isn't so good.

Just die!

After a couple more stabs, its lower back stops moving. And finally, my monster rips its brother's throat open.

Personal Level: 4

Shuralene, Level: 9

It's my first time 'feeling' this. I just suddenly know I have gained levels.

My entire body feels much stronger. I guess that's the result of gaining three levels at once.

I look at the family, they seem slightly terrified of me, like I didn’t just save their life. Maybe it’s because of how violent I was? Or maybe it’s because I am covered in blood.

Both new blood and old blood from eating raw monster organs.

Or the reason is much simpler, I am working with a monster, the same kind of monster that most definitely killed many of their friends and families.

I leave without saying a word. Keeping my identity as a vlandos would have been preferred, but it's whatever.

I move again and quickly.

Now I can upgrade my body, but I am not sure of the negatives it could have, like making me tired because of the energy required to make the changes.

I should only use what I am confident in. I make my monster rip open its brother's abdomen and take its EPO. I take it, hold my breath, and eat it.

The texture and taste are still revolting… My stomach hurts terribly and my eyes tear up again.

It’s whatever. I can handle this.

We find another monster in a house. It’s sniffing the ground, moving to a room like a hungry doctor. This time we didn't catch it off guard.

It turns to us and gives chase. Mon rushes forward to confront it. The two clash against each other. Both their claws are on fire and deep into each other chest and back.

I move fast, much faster than I ever did. Probably double my previous speed(which isn’t that impressive since my body is twelve). I dig my blade into its hind legs, making them useless, and then its neck.

Level: 5

Hm. That one must have just been low in level. It’s impossible to tell anyway.

I heal my monster, making it completely healthy and…

Kill... kill... SLAUGHTER.

Ugh...

The monster's thoughts are getting loud. Like the barrier between my thoughts and it is also breaking.

But I can handle it. I know what my thoughts are and what Mon’s. It is putting a strain on my mind though.

I feel tired and like a headache is starting to form.

I leave the house and start moving to the next target. However, that doesn't seem necessary.

I suddenly can no longer smell the third monster via Mon's nose. That means the last thing to do is to see if I can help Jer-kel. Ah who am I kidding, I can't really help.

I look at her fight and just like before, it looks pretty bad.

Shafeline’s tail is wrapped around the fairy’s leg. He's swinging it around. The air is whistling.

That’s affecting Jer-kel, her footing is unsteady. Even if it looks like I can’t help, I have to somehow. A distraction is good enough.

*Mon, [fire spit]—*

A massive cone-shaped rock hit shafeline in the chest. Its body contorts to the force and is thrown to the ground with a loud thud.

Lo, Lo’jul, and Jim arrived on top of their monsters. A giant tree-crab-like one and a four-meter-tall dog with gorilla and shark features, but not in a Frankenstein way.

Jim tells Lo’jul, “Nice shot.”

“Always.”

It took them forever.

The shafeline confidence is gone. It doesn’t attack but raises its head to the sky. Its mouth glows white.

“It’s going to use that flash again!” I shout.

The tree crab monster swings its pinches up, causing massive vines to explode from the ground and strike the Shafeline in its jaw with enough force to make a big, 'bang!'

It screams and tries to leap back, but Lo’jul’s monster hits the ground with its gorilla fist, and the ground under the Shafeline disappears, and it falls into the hole. It tries to leap out of it, but the ground at the monster's side closes in on it like speeding cars crashing at each other.

Jim gets off his monster and approaches Jer-kel. “How bad is the bleeding?”

“Bad, but I’m okay for the most part. But damn, I almost thought you wanted me to die.”

“I was thinking about it,” he smiles.

She rolls her eyes. “I’ll make sure my death traumatizes for life.”

Her fairy flies above the shafeline that’s trying to breath free and sings a sound. It’s somewhat chaotic but not ugly.

It’s boiling rage in me. A weird rage.

I am unsure what its purpose is, but seeing how the shafeline is suddenly eyeing it and raging at it, like its only enemy. I am guessing a taunt.

It breaks through the rock walls and once again tries to attack the fairy, but as soon as it jumps in the air the gorilla-dog jumps after it, catches its leg, and flings it to the ground.

The tree crab ejects its open pincer which pins the shafeline’s neck to the ground.

It pins its waist with its other pincer.

Jer-kel clasp her ears and says, "Blow its head off."

The other two also block their ears. So do I, after making my monster return to my seal.

The shafeline is struggling against its restraints. The ground is cracking and the pincers are quickly being forced off the ground.

However, it's not fast enough.

The fairy is taking a huge breath in like it's charging up a deep exhale. And when the pinches do pop off the ground, it's hit with a sonic boom with the fairy.

This time the force is so strong that the air is violently vibrating, the ground is cracking, and houses are breaking down.

It’s too damn much!

My hand gets warm with blood.

…

I feel… shaky like the world is spinning. Oh, This is…

I fall forward, unable to move at all. My ears hurt, they hurt… they… hurt.