Hard Choice II

Inside the Man Beast castle, Pengo burst through his master's door without permission, making a beeline for Giret's imposing throne.

"What is the meaning of this, Pengo?" the two generals inquired, halting Pengo in his tracks as they blocked his path to the throne.

"Master, Master… the humans have invaded our world, and they appear to be coming here," stammered Pengo.

"What?! Impossible!" both the generals exclaimed.

"Let him pass," Giret commanded, and the generals stepped aside to allow Pengo to approach.

"Now, tell me, who is the foolhardy human daring to enter our world?" Giret inquired.

"It is the King, Master… King Aiden of the Akatsuki clan," replied Pengo.

"Haha, I see… so he has come, as I predicted," Giret said with a sly smile. "Go welcome him and bring him to my castle," he ordered.

"Yes, Master," Pengo acknowledged.

"Oh, Pengo, whatever you do, do not engage in combat with him. You will surely die," Giret cautioned.

"Is he that strong?" Pengo asked, overwhelmed by the gravity of his master's words.

"Now, go and do as I command," Giret instructed.

"Yes, Master," Pengo replied as he left to bring King Aiden to his master's castle.

Deep in the red desert, the King and his knights walked toward the castle when they noticed five Man Beasts approaching from a distance.

"So, they noticed us, huh? Those monsters… it seems we're going to have to fight our way to their castle," Fang remarked.

"But how? How did they spot us?" Lopi inquired.

"It doesn't matter now. Take your positions; we must fulfill our duty to protect the king," Temi declared.

"Do I look like I need protection? The only reason I brought you with me is that you're simply my knights. I do the protecting around here. We will continue to walk, and that's an order," the King asserted.

"But, my Lord…" Wramp began hesitantly.

"Do as I say or die!" the King stated with a commanding tone.

"Yes, my Lord," all four knights replied, fear in their eyes.

The Man Beasts finally approached the knights and the King, surrounding them with reptilian-like horse creatures they were riding.

"They are just circling around us… knights, draw your swords," Fang urged.

"You will do no such thing. Remain as you are," the King ordered.

"At least one of you has a functional brain," one of the Man Beasts remarked.

"How dare you speak to our king like that? I'll have your head as a trophy!" Lopi began to say, but Fang intervened, saying, "Lopi, calm down."

There was an intense silence as the Man Beasts realized the seriousness of the situation. Pengo decided to dismount from his reptilian horse and stepped onto the ground.

"Greetings. Please forgive our behavior, but my Master wishes to exchange words with you," Pengo said.

"It's about time I see his face again. Let's be on our way and stop wasting time," Aiden replied.

"Oh, he sent these horse-zillas as a gift," Pengo mentioned.

"Do I look like I want gifts? Keep your scaled creatures. We will walk," Aiden responded, as he and his knights continued on foot.

"So, this is him… Aiden of the Akatsuki clan, huh… What a prideful man," Pengo thought to himself as he mounted his horse-zilla to return to the castle.

They walked for about an hour and a half and finally reached the castle.

"We have arrived at last. So it is true… when it is night-time on Earth, it is the opposite here," Fang observed.

"True," Pengo confirmed.

"So you've been on our home planet too?" the King asked.

Pengo turned to look King Aiden in the eyes and replied, "My master only demanded your presence alone, not your knights."

"Of course he did. Now, you four will wait for me here," the King ordered.

"Yes, my Lord!" the four knights acknowledged.

As the King walked toward Giret's throne, he began to remove his knight's body armor, revealing a large scar on his chest. Meanwhile, Giret's two generals prepared to defend their master. Aiden was now just ten feet away from Giret and his generals.

Giret leaped from his throne and removed his body armor, revealing his own scar.

"Did you know… in all of my days in battle, no one ever scared me except you, Giret!" Aiden exclaimed.

"The same for me, Akatsuki. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Giret asked.

"Straight to the point, huh? You haven't changed a bit, Giret,"

"Oh no… but you have. I can see it in your eyes," Giret stated as he took a seat.

"Aiden, your reputation precedes you," one of Giret's generals, Rabe, commented.

"Not that I care, but thanks anyway," Aiden replied.

"Why you…" Rabe began, and Tac shouted, "Kneel before our master, Akatsuki; you're not in your Kingdom."

A moment of silence and a long, tense stare unfolded. Aiden finally replied, "Yes, I would be ashamed to call this filth ruined castle my kingdom."

"How dare you!" Tac retorted angrily.

"I am a king. Royal blood runs through my veins. Everywhere I go, I carry it with me, even in your castle, Giret. I may not be your king, but I am still a king," Aiden asserted.

"What's that?" Tac and Rabe exclaimed in disbelief, for no one had ever spoken to Giret in such a manner and lived to tell the tale.

"Hahaha," Giret laughed as he placed his hand on his chin before asking, "Tell me, Aiden, what brings you here? You didn't come here to show off scars and flaunt your kingship, did you?"

"No… as a matter of fact, I know that your Man Beasts are outnumbered. The attacks on my people have reduced to almost zero. At this rate, you're vulnerable. You can't even attack my four knights right outside your castle,"

"Is this a threat?"

"I don't make threats, Giret. You see, I might have a solution to your problem, but of course, some things come at a price,"

"Are you saying that you, Aiden of the Akatsuki clan, is offering me something? If you're looking for an alliance, you've come to the wrong person," Giret replied.

"An alliance? No, you see, I know your dirty little secret, Man Beast. I know that you can't survive on Earth with your Man Beast body. The gods have cursed your species, and you need a host. That's why you've kept the bodies of the dead humans," Aiden revealed.

Giret grumbled as his reality glitched in front of his generals. "Oh, don't be angry, Giret. I'm sure we can figure something out,"

"Huh! What do you have in mind, Akatsuki? Your father's corpses? Forget it," Giret replied.

"No, I won't ask for that. I'll just take them If I want. But for now, I need you to do something for me, and in return, you can take as many bodies as you want," Aiden proposed.

"Don't patronize me, Akatsuki!" Giret shouted as he slammed his fist on his throne.

"Go and destroy the village near the forest and take all the bodies you want for your Man Beasts. I couldn't care less,"

"What do you get from all of this, if I may politely ask?" Giret inquired.

"We are all serving someone, Giret. Sometimes we serve from the shadows without even being aware of our own actions. But I have my reasons, and that doesn't concern the likes of you," Aiden replied.

"I see… So he's simply following the guidance of those gods, huh? But… he doesn't know about his son? Could this be a trap? No, he is sure of what he's doing," Giret thought to himself.

"Fine, I'll take the job. Just be sure to keep your part of the bargain," Giret agreed.

Aiden turned around, started picking up his body armor, and slowly walked to the castle's door, "Deal."

As he exited the castle, Aiden added, "Next time we meet, it will be your last."

"You'd better keep your word, Akatsuki," Giret replied with a sly smile, raising his stigmata pressure, which frightened his generals and the knights outside.

"Man… that Stigmata is almost equal to that of the kings… I… I can't believe it," one of the knights said, clearly frightened.

As Aiden and his knights departed from the Man Beast world through a portal, Giret commanded his army, "Prepare for the invasion."

"Yes, Master," Tac and Rabe replied, getting ready for the impending invasion on Earth.