Tamer Dallas Bison (POV)

Day 11 AFP 7:30 AM

[Video Message from UGP Communications Support Wing.

Tamer Derek Rayerson:

Good Morning, Bison!

Half an hour ago, the UGP leadership gave the green light to evacuate the Tamers and Non-Tamers taking refuge in your stadium. Tamer Battalion Commander Ethan Johnson personally leads the extraction team. They will be arriving within an hour on a JTD that can lift up to three hundred passengers.

It will vertically land inside your stadium, so be ready to open up the sunroof when you get a message directly from the Commander.

Inform everyone about the evacuation and that they have a small job for the UGP until the JTD arrives. It involves gathering at least a hundred tons of Icebug corpses.

As to why they are important to us, please listen carefully.

The Tamer Battalion's support wings worked round the clock over the past few days to study the best way to kill monsters and minimize the damage from their skills.

Their experiments created nonconventional armor and weapons that look straight out of Monster Hunter: World. You will see some of it on the twelve U.S Marines who are part of the security detail for your evacuation, which they will be testing on live targets when they arrive.

We aim to arm Non-Tamers with this battle tech to enhance our regular armed forces to allow them to fight alongside tamers in future missions in more significant numbers.

As you might have guessed by now, the new Battle tech can only be made by harvesting monsters invading the territories of the UGP.

Since you all have been battling them for several days whenever you went out to scavenge or rescue survivors, quite a few Icebug corpses have to be around.

That is why the UGP leadership requests you all to bring as many intact corpses into the second JTD that will land to pick up the heavy cargo.

I am sure you might be thinking, why don't we just send a separate team to handle corpse collection?

The Texas Ranger Battalion will be dropping a 'Rod of God' to make sure that the young Icebug Queen in your area dies before she can make a proper Fortress Hive. They have been holding back so far because we didn't want you all to be caught in the blast radius.

I hope I have conveyed how vital this corpse collection mission is for the war effort.

End of message]

Dallas Hernandez, a twenty-two-year-old American of Norwegian and Hispanic descent, stared at the Giant Holo-Screen, which he used to mirror the video message he had received from Derek.

Over fifty survivors watched the video from their seats and makeshift tents inside the stadium. Almost all of them had relieved expressions on their faces, while some were upset by what they heard.

"Those Puta Madres are out of their minds! Bison, send them a message that you won't risk your people's lives for their toys. I will find us another way to get out of here once my father bribes the Mexican Army to give us safe passage across the border."

A woman in her early twenties was sitting in the stadium chair next to Dallas. She is Gloria Iglesias, a Mexican who is against anyone in authority but doesn't mind exploiting them for her needs. Which included her father, who ran a Drug Cartel through the border to the US.

Gloria used her father's secret drug tunnels to help Mexicans cross the border to the US before the apocalypse. But after D-day, she began assisting Americans to use the same tunnels to get into Mexico.

She had helped over several hundred people this way before the Mexican Army blocked the tunnels and rejected her entry back into her own country.

Gloria's father was helpless as the Drug trade took a big hit due to the apocalypse that quickly dried up his profits from his US clientele. This left him vulnerable to his enemies who wanted to take over his territory.

The American refugees she was supposed to help took pity on her and brought her to this stadium, as they had previously found refuge here before leaving it to find a way into Mexico.

So for the last two days, Gloria had been trying to find a way to help Dallas and his people cross the border.

Unfortunately, she found out too late that Dallas had negotiated with the UGP to evacuate to Alaska before she arrived.

Dallas. "Did you also forget the part where Derek said the Rangers will demolish this whole area to kill the Icebug queen soon?"

Gloria. "Will they really do that? Maybe they just want to scare you all into doing their work for them."

Dallas. "Why bother going through all those mind games? They knew we were running out of food, medicine, and bottled water."

Gloria paused for a minute to process it and then screamed out several curse words in Spanish while kicking the chairs.

Dallas. "Calm down! I know you hate governments and militaries, but they chose to rescue us when they must be having hundreds of others on their evac list."

Gloria. "So the Icebug corpses and three dozen Tamers didn't affect their decision?"

Dallas. "Gloria, if I was in their position, I would prioritize my resources on those with future potential and essential resources."

Gloria. "That's a load of Bull coming from you, Bison! From day one, I heard you went out of your way to answer the calls of anyone who asked for help without asking anything in return. So why join their war where they will use you and throw you away."

Dallas. "It's not just their war, Gloria. It's 'OUR' war! I don't think we can ever get back our future if we let the monsters continue to grow and conquer everything we have left. But, unfortunately, the Tamers in the UGP seem to be the only ones bothering to fight the monsters head-on on a global scale while everyone else hides in their bunkers or tries to find a way into the countries that are just watching our destruction."

Gloria looked as if she had been stung by those words. She was vehement about getting everyone to abandon any thoughts of fighting the monsters and seek a way to flee to safety instead.

Gloria. "Bison, you know that I love your naivety, but the truth is the UGP is just using this apocalypse to make a new world order. All that nonsense of Fluffals being a Space-Time Reality bending, a dimension-hopping monster turning everyone into his minions by doing bad stuff is the imagination of people high on drugs. They just needed an excuse to allow their Tamers to kill those who don't listen to their new rules."

Dallas. "Ah... you didn't see the video of a Tamer in Miami using his monster skills to torture and kill entire families of Non-Tamers because they didn't give up their children for him to abuse."

Gloria. "When did that happen?"

Dallas. "Or the Tamer in San Francisco who caused a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Kentucky to see if he could break into Fort Knox to steal the gold inside?"

Gloria. "Are you serious? This sounds like a script for a movie!"

Dallas. "If you don't believe me, I will share the links to those two videos with your butler. Actually, I will do it now, and how about I send a folder of video links to more kinds of messed up stuff Tamers are up to in the US alone."

Dallas ordered his butler to send over a hundred links that appeared in Gloria's monster app.

Gloria opened several links at random and watched them out of curiosity. Then, after a few minutes, she closed the app with a horrified expression.

Gloria. "Where did you find this stuff?"

Dallas. "You only use the Monster App to play around with your new Worm monster partner and communicate with your family back in Mexico. I have been using it every day to see how people use their monster skills. It Turns out very few actually care about fighting the monsters. Seeing those videos every night made me pissed, but I couldn't stop watching them. Those with powerful monster skills are bullying the weak and destroying what little we have left for their amusement. They even record themselves doing it, which is the worst part. Five days ago, the US Admiral of the Pacific fleet announced that he was willing to send squads of Tamers to confiscate evil Tamer phones or kill them if they resisted. The number of Evil Tamer videos started dropping the same day, and it kept declining each day after that. Of course, that didn't mean crimes weren't being committed, but it sure as hell scared the crap out of those idiots who thought no one was willing to waste their time to come after them. I decided that day I wanted to be a part of the Tamers who deal with Evil Tamers. So I asked around what everyone else thoughts were, and most of the combat-focused Tamers agreed to sign up with me to punish those assholes once we get to UGP HQ."

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Gloria. "Is that why the UGP is giving you all special attention?"

Dallas. "You could say it is one of the reasons why they bumped us up in their priority apart from the Icebug Queen and Hive under the city.."

Gloria. "How come you didn't tell me about this before?"

Dallas. "I know how much you hate the authorities, and there was no guarantee from their side about an immediate evac because of it. Anyways I didn't join up to get them to do that. I want to be part of a force that will enforce the law on Evil Tamers while the Tamer Battalion focuses their attention on the monsters around the pillars."

Gloria. "I see... I can admire your goals, but I still feel those Icebug corpses are not worth your lives."

Dallas. "How many lives can we save by collecting those corpses? They could be turned into weapons and armor for Non-Tamers to help them join the war against the monsters. Plus, it's not a big deal to get them in here."

Gloria. "Not a big deal? Have you forgotten about the hundreds of scouts that are constantly patrolling the stadium boundaries? They will alert the swarm if you try to go outside for the corpses."

Dallas. "All we have to do is open up the stadium entry points and then bring the corpses in quickly before the scouts have a chance to alert the swarm about an opening in our defenses."

Gloria. "And how do we do that? Last I checked, you were the only one with the muscle power to lift that weight in combat form. Are you going to do that by yourself?"

Dallas. "Nah, I will have Albert do it."

Gloria. "Albert? He is so frail that my worm can knock him out with its tail. How is he going to do it?"

Dallas. "He evolved his monster to her third form last night. They got a new skill that I think will come in handy for this job without any of us having to lift a finger."

Albert. "That was supposed to be a secret, Bison!"

A sickly-looking boy of German descent sitting two rows behind Bison and Gloria spoke up. He had been listening in on their conversation and a Japanese woman seated next to him.

Albert Felwing is a nineteen-year-old who is suffering from brittle bone disease. Thankfully it was not severe enough to confine him to a wheelchair, so he could move around fine most of the time, but he had to avoid running, heavy lifting, and any physical activity that puts too much pressure on his body.

Dallas met Albert in a waiting room for a physical recovery therapy session several months ago. He found the kid very likable and found comfort in chatting about football with the boy since Albert was one of the fans who followed his brief athletic career in football.

Dallas had severely damaged his right leg during a game. The Docs could make him walk again, but they couldn't get him back to the state where he could play athletically in the pro leagues.

Dallas needed to pursue a new career once he finally accepted that his football dreams were over. Though he struggled to find a calling that appealed to him after several months, he kept exploring his options with an upbeat attitude due to Albert's encouragement.

Albert made Dallas try out the monster app, and they both decided to spend their hangouts encouraging each other to complete the tasks to hatch their monster eggs.

Albert hatched a Green Larvae monster that would later turn into the Luna Moth named Ashley. She spent most of her larvae period being clingy and overprotective of her Tamer. Dallas would always find her on Felwings back, eyeing him with suspicion and combing Albert's hair when it got messy.

On the other hand, Dallas hatched a young Bison calf with metallic bumps on its head, which he named Little horn. The calf was always running around and ramming into things whenever Dallas summoned him.

He felt that his monster was the same species as the nickname he received during his brief period as a sports star.

Game commentators always referred to Dallas as Bison because of his heavy bulk and how he rammed into his opponents. Dallas later changed his last name from Hernandes and replaced it with Bison in hopes of helping him stand out on the field.

When the apocalypse began, Dallas and Albert celebrated the New Year by visiting the sports museum inside the stadium in Dallas to admire the old celebrity athlete achievements and relive some of the greatest games in history. However, when the communication blackout occurred, they stayed inside the stadium while everyone else tried to make their way home.

They both learned about the monsters arriving at the major cities from their Monster Apps and decided to find the control room and activate the stadium's emergency lockdown mode. The old building was designed to withstand weapons used during the cold war between the US and China.

So no matter what the Icebugs threw at it, nothing could breakthrough as long as it was in that state. It wasn't long before they managed to evolve their monsters into their second form. Dallas fused with his monster to turn into an Ancient American Long Horn Bison.

His combat form turned him into a tank that could ram through Icebugs as if they were made of butter. Taking advantage of these abilities, Albert used the monster app to find survivors who still remained in the city and then opened up the front doors so that Dallas could go out to find them and bring them back into the building on his own.

Rin Miyo is a twenty-year-old Japanese university student who came on a tour with her classmates to see all the US states during their winter vacation. Unfortunately, Rin's flight back home was canceled when the apocalypse began in January, and she got stuck inside the Dallas International Airport.

By the time Dallas found her, she had lost everyone who came with her from Japan. He brought her back to the stadium, where she took a few days to recover from the shock of losing her friends to the Icebugs.

Dallas. "Trust me when I say that you don't have the luxury to keep it a secret anymore."

Albert. "You do know that skill has limits, right? A hundred tons worth of corpses will drain my entire Mana pool in several minutes, and I have no way to recharge until the moon is visible in the sky."

Dallas. "You won't have to worry about your Mana pool once you get them inside the stadium. We will be on our way to Alaska soon, so don't worry about overdoing it."

The Japanese woman sitting next to Albert didn't look pleased by the exchange. She whispered something into Albert's ear before he was about to reply, and he began to blush as he received her instructions.

Albert. "Fine... Bison, you have made your point. But you must hand over all the Twinkies we have left in the community food bank."

Dallas. "All of them? That's like thirty packets!"

Albert. "Fair exchange for my entire mana pool, don't you think?"

Dallas. "You know what? Fine! We don't need them once we are in Alaska."

Rin looked delighted and then whispered something else into Albert's ear again. Albert smiled back at her as if he had just been praised by a strict teacher.

Albert was the only one who knew enough Japanese to understand Rin. He had watched countless hours' worth of Japanese anime to understand the language.

It was not like Rin couldn't understand English, but she chose not to speak until she felt she was fluent enough to not embarrass herself in front of native English speakers.

Until then, she decided to whisper to Albert in Japanese in front of others and let him do the talking on her behalf. Sometimes she helped Albert grow a spine to deter others from taking advantage of his helpful nature.

Gloria. "Can you both fill me in on what monster skill you are talking about that will help with the corpses?"

Albert. "My partner Ashley evolved to her third form. I made the monster app to help her focus on Mind plus Moon. After that, I decided to swap out a useless skill that was a pain for me to level up in combat and got a unique ability to raise the dead instead."

Gloria. "Are you saying that you can bring people back to life?"

Albert. "Ah, no! I can make zombies from old skeletons, decaying bodies, freshly killed monsters, and human corpses as long as I connect them to my Mana pool."

Gloria. "Zo... Zombies? How is that possible? I never heard of a Tamer with that kind of power before."

Albert. "Well, I think it's because my monster is inspired by the powers of the Hindu Moon God Chandra. He is often credited with having the ability to give life to all creatures and even to spirits. But in Ashley's case, she can animate the dead for a bit by feeding them her mana."

Gloria. "Can I see the skill description? This seems too crazy to be possible."

Albert. "I will send you my skill sheet through the app."

Gloria. "The app can do that? I thought we had to write it down for others to see."

Albert. "Once you evolve your monster to the third form, many features get unlocked. For example, one of them is that I can now make and send PDFs to any Monster App."

Albert opened his phone and then ordered his butler to send the document to Gloria, who heard the ping on her phone and opened the file.

Tamer: Albert Felwing

Type: Mind, Moon, Intelligence, Insect, Poison

Mastery: Extra Skill Slot

Combat Style: Monster-User Fusion

Skills: Chandra's Wrath (Expert), Chandra's Aura (Expert), Chandra's Flaws (Expert), Chandra's Pure thoughts (Expert), Chandra's Blessed Followers (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Chandra's Wrath - The monster can shoot out beams of moonlight that will drain away mana from those who get hit by the beam. Skill does not need mana to activate.

Chandra's Aura - The monster can absorb the moon's light through its massive wings and convert it into mana. The intensity of the moonlight the wings emit will indicate the amount of mana inside them. The moon's phase plays a factor in the amount of Lunar energy that can be absorbed by the monster.

Chandra's Flaws - When this skill is activated, monsters' eyes will detect critical weak points of all those who enter the line of sight. Mana is required to activate this skill.

Chandra's Pure Thoughts - The monster can generate waves of moonlight that can purify the minds of all those nearby who are suffering from mental afflictions. This skill requires mana to activate.

Chandra's Blessed Followers - The monster will tether mana strings into nearby skeletons, decaying corpses, or freshly killed monsters and humans to revive them into fanatical devotees as long as mana is supplied them.

Gloria. "This is amazing! How many corpses can you revive at once?"

Albert. "Last night, Dallas suggested that I try it out while everyone was asleep. I found out the size of the corpse plays a large part in how much mana they need for me to revive them.

Since I activated it while the moon was visible, I constantly converted lunar energy into mana to sustain their reanimation, so there wasn't a time limit. Since the sun is up, it's not about how many but how long I can maintain it. I think I can revive a hundred tons worth of them for maybe six minutes before my Mana pool dries up."

Gloria. "So you will rush them through the entrance and into the field before the time runs out?"

Rin whispered into Albert's ear again before he replied.

Albert. "Nah! I will let Dallas and the other heavyweights carry the corpses to the field once I bring them all through the entrance."

Dallas. "Rin needs to learn to mind her own business."