FanFic:MHAdvance Chapter 4: Xenobiology

Y>Introduction Page<

Wade busied himself with cleaning up after the Queen's execution. Although, he had to ask himself; Did he give the king the right answer? in retrospect, they could have kept her in the dungeon... but that was still riskier than killing her outright. Surely Venus would understand that. Either way, she would probably be leaving soon if the king had to talk to her. He cleaned up the last bit of blood and went to dispose of the corpse.

"Some of my spies stationed in Freia Village reported seeing Devon, which means a good portion of his legion is camped out with him." Schrade explained. Venus nodded in understanding. "If we can get him now, we can overthrow the rest of his army easily. And that's exactly what I want you to do. I need you to assassinate Devon." Schrade commanded. Venus nodded again and left. As she exited the courtyard, she stopped by the stable.

She unhinged the lock to one of them, and opened the door. Inside was a Mizutsune with dull purple fur and light markings. It looked older than it actually was because of it's poor living conditions. As soon as the door opened, the Mizutsune stood up and moved outside. Venus mounted the Mizutsune, which broke into a sprint.

As soon as she left, a dark presence began to emerge. A Gore Magala silently slid from the woods. But this was no normal Magala. It's left wing and leg were seemingly replaced by muscular, dark tissue, as was it's head and a small line on the left side of it's neck. It's virus had ceased production, and it instead left a black trail of spores as it moved. The talons of it's wings had been replaced with scythe-like razors, and it had similar razors coming from it's toes and neck. One of it's antenna was replaced by a grooved spire.

The Magala looked over Castle Schrade, planning it's move. But one look at it's pathetic defenses told the Magala this wouldn't need planning. It heard a drumming beat, and it looked over the horizon. It saw an army approaching the castle, made up of hunters with an X-shaped crest on their flags. It recalled observing the same symbol at a gathering area for hunters, a 'Guild Hall'. It made a noise almost like chuckling, and it backed into the forest again.

Meanwhile back at the village, Jack sat at the canteen eating breakfast. Devon sat at a table with the girl from yesterday, Raven. Jack wondered what she was doing out there. Coincidence seemed too obvious for him to accept it. He chewed on a piece of bacon as he watched them. Devon seemed like he was being nice, at least. Maybe he wasn't that bad.

Hilda sat down next to him with a plate full of food. "Whatcha doing?" she asked as she bit down on a loaf of bread. "I'm observing Devon." Jack replied. "That jerk from yesterday? Why?" Hilda inquired. Jack didn't respond and continued to watch. One of the hunters in a black jacket approached Devon and told him something. All Jack caught were the words Schrade and Guild.

"We have news that a battalion of Guild hunters are marching on Castle Schrade." the scout reported. "May I take the other scouts and observe the situation?" he asked. Devon considered all the possibilities, always wanting to err on the side of caution, but he decided to let the scouts go. He gave them the OK, and a group of black coated hunters left the hall. Devon turned back around, and noticed Jack staring. He narrowed his eyes menacingly, and went back to eating.

Jack stood up and approached Devon. Hilda followed in case he needed backup. Devon growled at them. "What do you want?" he grumbled. "I have some questions I want to ask you. If I may..." Jack said. Devon groaned. "Fine. Sit down." Jack and Hilda took their seats, and Devon prepared for his interrogation. "What was that hunter here for?" Jack asked. Devon shook his head. "None of your concern." he replied. Jack raised an eyebrow. "I heard the word Schrade get brought up. What's Schrade?" Jack asked. Devon stayed silent. "Look, since you don't know who Schrade is, you probably aren't associated with him, so I'll tell you." Devon sighed.

He explained the state and principles of the Schrade Kingdom, and more importantly Luka Schrade. Jack and Hilda listened intently as Devon explained the aim of his legion.Suddenly, it made sense to Jack why Devon had so many followers. He was basically an unofficial Guildmaster. Jack held out his hand. "I don't know how much help I can be, but if you need a hunter for hire, I'll try my best." Devon seemed surprised. The kid wasn't particularly hateful towards him, unlike most of the newbloods he insulted.

Devon took Jack's hand in his wounded one, and a little blood seeped into Jack's armor as the two shook hands. Raven looked up from her bowl of noodles. "While you guys are on friendly terms, I guess I should tell you what I was doing out there yesterday." Devon shot her a death stare, but it was too late. "Devon sent me on a mission to observe you. He's interested in your abilities." Raven explained.

It all suddenly connected. Devon sent her to find out more about Jack, but when the bandits attacked, she had to help us fight eventually. Jack laughed. "I knew it was too convenient to be a simple coincidence!" he replied. Devon was confused by this boy. Why was he so calm with this. He felt a tug in his gut at the thought of this. It almost felt like fear. "Raven told me your names. Jack and Hilda. I know this is sudden, but I have a request." he announced. Jack and Hilda sat up a little. "Will you form a hunting party with Raven? Think of it like an observation period. She'll travel with you and observe your skills." Devon explained. Raven looked at him with curious eyes. "So, will you do it?" Devon asked. Jack and Hilda whispered to one another for a moment, then turned back to Devon and nodded.

As night fell that day, Devon's men observed the two armies fighting in the distance. They weren't alone in their observation, as the Magala was also admiring the battle. It had already seen the scouts, and was waiting tentatively for them to join the fight so it could execute it's plan. The scouts crouched down for a quick meeting. "Think we should support the Guild? They seem to have Schrade's men handled pretty well." one scout asked. "i think we should. You know the saying; the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" another scout replied. The small party nodded and ran to join the fight.

As soon as the scouts entered the courtyard where the fight was taking place, Schrade's men seemed to be cornered. But they killed off Guild hunters all the same. They joined the Guild hunters, squeezing through the condensed group. This gave the Magala just the chance it needed. It made a great leap, soaring over the armies and landing in front of the courtyard gate. It quickly sealed the gate with spores and roared, forcing every human to cover their ears. It's head, which it had previously molded to it's normal form, split down the middle, and the Magala's head seemed ti completely rearrange itself until it looked more like a flower with fangs.

Everyone was frozen in fear of this strange monster. It clearly was a Gore Magala, or at least used to be one before something happened to it that turned it into an abomination. It's left wing morphed into a razor sharp blade, and it swung it around, instantly killing several hunters by making perfect cuts through their bodies. It made a maniacal laughing noise, and it charged forwards, blade at neck level. Droves of hunters were decapitated in an instant.

One of the scouts made a run for the gate and began to hack the spores loose while the others fought. As he sliced, a severed arm slammed into the wall next to him. He turned back while slashing to see the monster holding a hunter in it's mouth, moving it's fangs through their flesh like saws. One of his three fellow scouts was splattered beneath the monster's foot. After a few more minutes of cutting, the spores gave, and the barrier was no more.

The scout looked back to see the only remaining survivors, his fellow scouts. He called for them to run, which they did. The monster turned and morphed it's wing into three bladed tendrils. The scout ran with his friends, but they were too slow. His friends were sliced in half, and he was impaled with a long blade. The monster removed the blade and let the scout crumple to the ground. It picked up the scout, and flew off towards his presumed origin point.

In the middle of the night, the monster swooped down and dropped the scout in the middle of the camp. It let out a roar to wake up the camp, and it flew off. The soldier emerged, and all saw their bloody companion. Devon pushed everyone aside and felt sick as soon as he saw his scout. "What happened to you?" he asked. The scout coughed, and spewed blood on his armor. "A monster... that isn't from here..." the soldier replied. His breathing stopped, and Devon pronounced him dead.

"Men. What did this wasn't human. It wasn't any normal monster either. We must avenge our comrades that have died." Devon announced. His men gave a hurrah, but it was melancholy. His scouts had been good men. Devon wasn't prepared for anything to kill his soldiers aside from Schrade and his army. Adding another problem to his list just about made him break.