The chase was on. At the crack of dawn, the monster that claimed the mountains its own hunting ground became the hunted. Trudging through snow with tunnel vision determination, Mark followed the trail of the beast he had wounded. It’s black blood perfectly reflected off the snow.
‘How’s the pursuit?’ Frank asked through the earpiece. But Mark could tell that Frank was bored and just wanted someone to talk to.
‘Better than ever!’ Mark replied in excitement. ‘I have a feeling I am close to finishing them off. Funny, come to think of it, the creature reminded me of some horror stories I read on the internet.’
‘That is how monsters are made. They are just the collective consciousness of humanity’s fears. It is why some monsters, if you look through mythological artistic depictions of them; they look different depending on the era.’
Mark shook his head, not satisfied with the explanation. ‘Ah, so they do evolve. I thought the bastards don’t do that and that is entirely… well, a thing that any kingdom could do but horrifica.’
‘Animals evolve depending on the conditions of the environment, monsters change to fit the social fears of the day. They are based on sociological outcomes, which are malleable and constantly changing. Making the idea that it evolves impossible due to how some rapidly change in appearance, which I may add, only affects appearance and nothing else. They don’t get deadlier over time or tougher to kill.’ Frank explained in an annoyed tone, like he had said the fact a million times. ‘They also don’t have any genealogical or mutational connection with any of the species in the horrifica kingdom that shows signs of change or evolution. For all tenses and purposes, every monster and spirit are their own species.’
‘Sounds like you are trying to classify something in the most simplest terms but is accidently making it complicated in the process. Like, last I checked angels and demons are in the same order…’
‘Family.’ Frank corrected.
‘You get the point. Aren’t they closely related or something?’
Frank chuckled to himself. ‘No, they are very different. Their biological signs indicate that they are worlds apart. We only put them in the same family because they both serve similar functions in the consumption of souls when their offspring is in utero. Frankly, it is weird.’
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Mark rolled his eyes. ‘Biological? How can you read their “biological” imprint if they are made of magic? Sounds like a whole lot of jargon that makes zero sense.’
‘They are made of flesh and blood. Like us, they have organs, DNA, RNA, etc. What they don’t have is genetic diversity, and technically, for example, every angel is related to every other. Not exact clones I will remind you, but their genetic blueprint indicates that they are all closely related. Though, unlike us, they are far more connected to magic and its ecosystem. Like it is holding their bodies together, or at least acting as the glue that keeps their bodies from falling apart.’
‘Incest angels,’ Mark joked to himself. ‘Ah, so I just need to cut them off from magic and they would just die?’
‘After a while, maybe, though it is only a theory and we are unable to test it out. We could create a dampening field similar to what a Silenced Sphere could generate and last longer than a few minutes, but really, I doubt anyone would make one because there is no value in the research.’
Mark paused for a moment, thinking for a response as he followed the trail of blood. ‘Can it prevent pregnancies? Or at least, cause miscarriages?’
‘If you mean having a pregnant woman being caught in a Silenced Sphere field? Then yes, it can cause a miscarriage depending on how deep they are in their pregnancy.’ Frank responded, his tone flat and usually analytical.
‘How the hell do you know those facts?’ Mark asked, unsure how his comrade-in-arms could accumulate the strange knowledge about magic so easily.
‘I have friends in the Order Magica. They usually do those types of experiments.’ Frank nonchalantly replied. ‘Besides, don’t you have a monster to catch? Or are you too focused on some magical facts and theories?’
Mark shook his head, agreeing that he should focus even if he was curious, knowing a bit about the strangeness of magic and its properties. At the back of his mind, he wondered if he should take additional training to be able to use magic himself. Seeing that magic is a wonderful and mystical thing that could be fun, to give him a deeper view of an unknown world. But after he shook his head, he remembered that if he failed to perform a spell, he could accidentally puke his organs out. Best not dabble in witchcraft, Mark thought to himself.