CHAPTER 34 - MOMONKEY

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Monomia and Kain remained still, but on guard.

They were ready to face any enemy that would stand before them. The plan was clear: after defeating Polyvoro, they would escape using the ship to the nearest island, and they were only a few steps away from making it happen.

«"What do you have to send us, Polyvoro? Are you too cowardly to face us personally? Or are you scared of how we’ve decimated your crew? You're such a coward!"» Kain said, with a tone and expression almost vain. Monomia turned towards him, despite being in the middle of the fight, with a look that screamed

«"Don’t brag too much."» Sure, he was impressed, but now it was time to be serious.

«"Kain... How dare you..."» Polyvoro exploded with fury on his face. «"Out of everyone, you are the biggest coward, and also a nuisance. I still don't understand how I've had you around for so long, but now it's over, I assure you... Once this is over, you will beg for my forgiveness. I will kill you, and your death will mean nothing! You’re nothing but a miserable slave!"» Polyvoro laughed, trying to mask his annoyance at what had happened and the disrespect he was enduring. But he remained calm.

Monomia couldn’t bear anyone talking to his companion like that, a companion with whom he had built trust for so long, and who, even in a situation like this, had helped him escape.

Sure, the two didn’t always get along, but between friends, between comrades, you laugh together, you cry together, and you fight together.

Monomia felt a shiver of anger run down his spine as the enemy’s contemptuous words echoed in the air. Words had the power to wound deeply, but Monomia's determination was even stronger. He turned towards Kain, his adventure companion, with a look of solidarity and encouragement. They had been through so many challenges together, sharing moments of joy and sadness, and no insult could ever undermine their deep friendship.

Monomia suddenly walked forward, approaching the captain with determined steps, closing the distance between them to just a few meters. His face was twisted with anger, and he clenched his fist with firm resolve as he spoke to the captain with fiery words.

«"You're a disgrace of a captain!"» Monomia shouted with a voice filled with indignation.

«"A true captain, a real sailor, understands that insults to their comrades cannot be tolerated. And I will never accept the insult you’ve thrown at my crewmate! Pirate scum like you could never understand!"»

Monomia's words echoed in the air, vibrating with resolve. The captain, caught off guard by his fierce reaction, was left speechless, though his expression betrayed some disturbance.

Monomia raised his fist, displaying it as a sign of challenge and threat.

«"I will personally kill you!"» he declared firmly, announcing his intention to defend his companion’s honor at all costs and to put an end to the insult inflicted by the captain.

Polyvoro, realizing it was time to act, pulled out his last card.

«"Go, Momonkey!"» The sound of a sword being drawn could be heard in the distance, briefly distracting both warriors. In front of them appeared the figure they would have to fight.

Before them stood a small boy, seemingly short, fragile, and thin, but nothing particularly special. What was truly remarkable at that moment was the strange peculiarity of this individual. It was clear that he could be nothing more than a child, yet his entire face was covered by a mask that gave the appearance of an unknown animal, one neither of them had ever seen before.

The only thing visible was his thick and long purple hair. Without uttering a word, Momonkey pointed his sword towards the two warriors. The blade of the sword glittered in the sunlight, menacing and ready for action.

Kain, seeing Momonkey's sword pointed at them, almost burst out laughing. He couldn’t help but use this moment to mock Polyvoro.

With a sarcastic smile, he shot sharp words at the enemy:

«"I see you use kids to fight, I thought you'd be better than that. And… Momonkey?! What kind of name is that? Hahaha!"»

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

«"When you see the state he’ll leave you in, you will bitterly regret what you just said to me."»

Ordered the captain, and his orders were followed. That so-called kid, Momonkey, unleashed himself with surprising speed. With his sword pointed forward, he lunged at Kain with the intent to strike him down.

Kain, however, proved to be just as quick and skilled. With a swift move, he gracefully dodged Momonkey's blow, making his sword's blade embed itself in the floor with a dull thud.

«"Monomia, you should be able to handle him. I’ll distract him, you grab him."»

«"I’m not sure, Kain…"» Monomia showed some hesitation, he wasn’t going to go ahead so easily and quickly explained his reasons.

«"Look at him… He’s just a kid!"» Kain, who previously hadn’t paid much attention to Momonkey’s appearance, responded swiftly. «"Actually…"» After a pause, and when Momonkey was ready to fight again, Kain gave a quick response to convince Monomia.

«"Don’t worry, let’s knock him out and take care of Polyvoro, then we’ll see what to do."»

«"Alright!"» Monomia replied, fortunately convinced. Momonkey, once again, charged at them, this time attempting to strike Kain again, who, fortunately, was able to dodge his blow once more.

«"Damn… why are you only aiming at me?!"» Momonkey didn’t reply, continuing to relentlessly attack Kain while he dodged each and every blow. Monomia, who had been inactive before, now joined the attack.

«"Don’t worry, I’ll help you!"» Quickly, dashing towards Momonkey, he surprised him from behind, and with a swift, calculated leg sweep, made him fall to the ground.

However, Momonkey quickly and skillfully got back up, performing a somersault and kicking Monomia straight in the face, causing him to stumble a few meters back.

«"Damn, for a kid, he’s really agile!"»

«"Enough… We’re not here to play with kids!"» Kain, furious at the sight of Momonkey even posing a slight obstacle to their escape, started fighting seriously, this time genuinely aiming to strike the boy. Momonkey, who was now ready to attack Monomia, who was distracted by the hit he had just taken, raised his sword. But in a quick move, Kain disarmed him with a harsh blow, making the sword fall to the ground and then tossing it away.

«"Perfect, now what will you do?"» Kain said with a proud smirk, mocking the boy. Suddenly, Momonkey returned to the attack, sword or no sword, he would continue fighting against them.

He started throwing everything he had at Kain—punches, slaps, kicks—all of which were blocked or dodged by Kain.

«"You might be threatening, but I assure you, you're nothing special. Now… Get out of my sight!"»

With a direct hit to the chest, Kain surprised Momonkey, who froze for a second. It was time to end this annoying fight.

Kain, with an agile kick aimed straight at his face, knocked off Momonkey’s mask, making it fall to the ground, and essentially throwing him down as well.

Monomia quickly picked up the mask, analyzing it for a second. The two had calmed down; after all, it hadn’t been too difficult a fight, but this wasn’t the fight that mattered—Polyvoro was still there, watching the two warriors, and Kain and Monomia couldn’t afford to be distracted. They were one step away from escaping that cursed ship.

Polyvoro, however, watching the two defeat Momonkey with ease, couldn’t control himself; this time, he was truly furious. They had ruined his crew, and they were close to ruining him as well.

«"W-what…?! You defeated him! In such a short time! It's impossible, he’s one of my best fighters!"»

«"A kid…? Ha!"»

«"This mask is really bizarre..."» Monomia muttered, observing the mask and analyzing it more closely.

It was a brown mask, though it probably wasn’t originally brown, as it seemed hastily and poorly painted. The wood was rotten, who knows how long it had been worn, plus, it had two small holes for the eyes and creepy teeth painted in. While Monomia was examining the mask, Kain was walking closer to Polyvoro, mocking him even further for the mere thought that such a warrior could defeat them.

«"Did you really think sending some kid would be enough to defeat us, Polyvoro? You underestimate us. But now it’s over, we’re getting out of here."»

Momonkey, who had regained his senses, stood up, quickly realizing the loss of his mask, and looking at Monomia holding the mask fully.

Now his face was more visible, his eyes so long they covered his eyes, and a button nose. It was even clearer how young he was, but that wasn’t important. Small teardrops began to form on the boy’s face as he ran towards Monomia, and finally, he began to speak.

«"Hey! My mask! Give me back my mask!"» The boy exclaimed, as he was blocked by Monomia's hand, keeping him away and preventing him from retrieving the mask. «"Interesting mask, kid, where's it from?"» There was a hint of teasing in his tone, but genuine curiosity as well—why would a boy walk around wearing an animal mask?

«"Give it back! Give it back!"» The boy kept whining, as Monomia raised the mask to a height the boy could never reach, not even by jumping, in a mocking gesture.

«"Sure, so you can punch me again? Forget it."»

«"I told you to give me my damn mask!"»

«"Why should I?! You tried to kill us!"» The two quickly shifted from a battle to something more akin to a childish argument. Kain and Polyvoro, who had been exchanging words earlier, started watching the scene, looking on in pity at what was happening.

«"Even your ally isn’t that strong, Kain."»

«"If only he weren’t such an idiot…"» Kain, seeing the scene drag on, decided to end it.

«"Monomia! Damn it! Will you shut up so we can get out of here?!"» Immediately after the scolding, both of the bickering parties fell silent.