45 Petty Counter-Terrorism

{Author's Note}

What's up my dudes and duds! Here is another chapter, fresh off the presses!

Unfortunately for all of you, it's not the one with the True Bonding Ritual of Earth yet. This is yet another setup chapter, but I promise you all that the next one will not only have the Ritual, but the unveiling of Kevin's Rock Type form: Obsideon!

Not really much else to say, other than that I'm hoping to be able to finish the next chapter in the next two days. Considering that this is yet another one that I've been anticipating writing for literally MONTHS, there is a higher likelihood of that happening...

...If I can stop myself from being distracted by Elden Ring.

Again.

Please save me.

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Anyway...

WE GONNA ROCK DOWN TO THE STORY AVENUE!

AND THEN IT WILL BE ON!

***

{The Next Day - Sabasa}

When the trio returned to the capital of the Safina Region, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the room they had previously rented at the inn was still available. In fact, according to the innkeeper, the King had sent a representative with a large sum of money to make sure that the room would be reserved for a few months, at the very least. As if that wasn't enough already, the King had also funded the replacement of every piece of furniture in the room with higher quality ones that were usually only available to nobles.

It was an obvious ploy to further smooth over the relationship between the royal family and Kevin, but not an unwelcome one. Alice, at the very least, got to sleep on a bed fit for a queen for the first time since she left Hellgondo (Her trip back to gorge herself on food didn't count, as she didn't sleep even once for the entire three days she was gone.) The queen sized bed was just large enough for her to fit her entire snake half on it without having to pile it up on itself, so she was more than content with it.

The final surprise waiting for them within the room was a small yellow orb sitting on the nightstand. It reminded the Eevee of the one that was given to him by the little dragon back in Iliasburg, so he took the red gem from his backpack. Sure enough, they were identical in size, texture, and composition, with the only difference being their color.

"Still not gonna tell me what these are for?" the boy asked, glancing toward the lamia lying on the bed.

She seemed to think about it for a moment before replying. "No, I don't think I will. It's not like their purpose is even relevant to someone like you, anyway."

"You're just too lazy to explain it, aren't you?" Sylph giggled from her host's shoulder.

"That too," the Monster Lord nodded, not even attempting to deny it.

Alice's laziness was only second to her bottomless gluttony. Kevin was pretty sure that the only reason she kept her position as the leader of all Monster-kind was either because A: it ran in her family; or B: there was nobody strong enough to take it from her. In the case that some other, more powerful monster came along, the boy was ninety percent certain she would just hand them the position as long as she continued to have unlimited access to the castle's kitchens.

The utter sloth of the world's most powerful leader aside, there were more important things that the Eevee needed to do before sundown. They had decided to leave for the Safaru Ruins tomorrow, so making sure that they had the right supplies was essential. Especially since they weren't planning on coming back to Sabasa after "recruiting" Gnome. There was nothing and nobody worth coming back to, anyway.

Except maybe the King. Other than the 'marry my daughter' slip-up, he was pretty cool in the trio's eyes.

Leaving the lazy lamia behind, the Eevee and Spirit left the inn and started making their rounds around the city. While food still wasn't an issue, with the contents of Kevin's backpack including almost a ton of both cooked meals and ingredients, there were a few necessities to gather. Water was, once again, the most important thing to purchase, and the 50 gold coins the teen had found in his bag from winning the 'fight' against Lily were enough to purchase enough to last them for months.

Of course, their stroll also included tons of what Kevin dubbed 'NPC Dialogue,' with the various citizens either talking about the princess's return, the sudden appearance of monsters in the castle, and the news of Witch Hunt Village being liberated from its tyrannical lord. None of it was important, though, so Kevin and Sylph ignored all of them.

The relatively laid-back mood they had fallen into was crushed, however, when they stopped in the Mermaid Bar to grab a bite to eat and gather whatever recipes the chefs were willing to spare. Anything new would be a welcome deterrent to the inevitable time when Alice would complain about 'eating the same thing over and over again.' Kevin had seen enough foodies in his last life to know that it wasn't a question of 'if,' but when.

He would recognise the long, greasy black hair, messy leather clothes, and scruffy bearded face anywhere. It was the asshole that blew up the mermaid school back in Port Natalia! Kevin may have been somewhat thankful toward the man for getting him out of his first encounter with Maia by causing the building's explosion, but the fact remains that it was a SCHOOL that he'd blown up. Out of all of the buildings he could use for his act of terrorism, he had to use the one that had Children in it! If the Eevee had been in his right mind at the time, he probably would've hunted the man down and beaten him to death with his own spine.

[Lazarus]

[Type: Normal]

Sylph also reacted to the man who was seemingly drinking peacefully at the bar. The wind blowing through the cracks in the building told her more about this man than Kevin's single memory of him, and none of it was good. A man who killed his own best friend, even if by accident, and was leading an organization of terrorists against all monsters, even ones who have become civilized. The fact that her host's System registered his name and Elemental Type upon spotting him somewhat proved that he wasn't here for anything good.

Although...the breeze also spoke of the man's self-destructive nature. How he couldn't sleep most nights, lest he fall into horrifying nightmares of his past. It was possible that, like the encounter with Tamamo, he was less an immediate threat, and closer to one that would be encountered in the future. She mentally relayed all of this to Kevin, just to be safe.

Hearing this, he took a closer look at the man. He did appear to be sleep-deprived, bags under his eyes and his skin pale. He looked like a walking corpse, unable or unwilling to look after himself in any meaningful way aside from just getting by. Even his clothes were in a state of disrepair, showing just how little the man cared about his appearance.

'...as long as he doesn't start anything, I won't either,' he internally sighed.

Sitting down in a corner of the room, the duo looked over the menu provided by the only waitress 'walking' around. It was the middle of the day, so the Bar wasn't as busy as it would be later that night. A single mermaid behind the bar, and another attending to the tables, were all that was needed to service the humans and monsters that wandered in.

Surprisingly, there were about five pages worth of items on the menus they were provided, ranging from appetizers to three course meals. Even specially mixed drinks from the bartender were listed on the back. Even more stunning was the fact that the waitress was willing to give them the recipes for everything, stating that the cooks in the kitchen were more than happy to share the fruit of their labor with other aspiring chefs, and had cookbooks already made in advance for such occasions.

The sheer kindness and hospitality of the few civilized monsters in this world would never cease to blow the boy's mind.

Stuffing the book into his Bag of Holding for safe keeping, he and his fairy-sized companion proceeded to have a pleasant meal. That didn't stop either of them from keeping a side-eye on Lazarus, who appeared as if he was drinking his troubles away at the bar. It would've been easier to believe if the Eevee couldn't smell gunpowder and other chemicals coming from the bag the man had set on the floor next to his stool. If Kevin had to guess, he'd say that it had another bomb of some kind inside.

When the man finally stood up and exited the building, leaving the bag behind as he left, it all but confirmed in both of their minds that the Mermaid Bar was his current target. With that in mind, Sylph quickly zipped across the room, grabbed the leather bag, and brought it over to Kevin before anyone could even notice its existence. The teenager held it up to his ear and, upon hearing a ticking sound coming from inside, immediately shoved the whole back into his own backpack. If his assumption was correct, it only had a few seconds left before it would explode, but the time-freezing aspect of the Bag of Holding compartment of the backpack would hold it back until it was taken back out.

"Next time I see him, I should thank him," Kevin grinned, setting his backpack down. "A bomb that can level an entire building could definitely come in handy someday."

Sylph giggled in response to both her 'husband's' statement, and to the look of confusion she could feel on Lazarus' face through the winds as he stared at the still-standing building he'd just left a bomb inside.

Considering the fact that he didn't have any backup explosive devices on him, or a way to procure one in a timely manner, the terrorist merely sighed and continued walking away. It was time for him to head back to his headquarters in the Gold Region, after all, and his subordinates might become restless if he didn't show up relatively on schedule.

***

{Two Days Later - Somewhere in the Desert}

What should've been only half a day of walking was turned into a two day trek when a sandstorm swept through the area. While Kevin could have easily dispelled it using the [Ideal Weather] setting, there was still a sizable part of him that was reluctant to meet Gnome enough to make him actually turn the setting off upon seeing the storm.

Upon receiving a disapproving frown from Sylph, he helpfully brought up the fact that it could be worse: he could turn it back on, and then use his Ground Type form. which would make the sandstorm permanent so long as he didn't change back into an Eevee. Him not considering doing that instead was proof that he was at least trying to fight his own reluctance.

As punishment, she refused to include him in the wind barrier protecting her and Alice from the sandstorm. Even when going to sleep at night, he had to create his own defenses, using his minor Rock abilities to solidify the sand into stone, and sleep alone in his Bag of Bedding. Let it be known that the Spirit of Wind may be kind and forgiving, but there is a limit to how much she is willing to put up with.

Kevin finally gave in on the second day, unable to handle constantly getting sand in his eyes, ears, and mouth anymore. Turning on the [Ideal Weather] setting, the storm finally cleared up. Luckily for the traveling trio, this was also around the time that they reached the outskirts of the Safaru Ruins.

Small pieces of stones littered the vast expanse of sand, with a few pillars able to be seen further off in the distance. Kevin suspected that the ruins themselves had been buried over the course of years, much like the ruins of ancient Egypt from his past life.

"I wonder how long it's been since anyone lived here," he thought out loud.

Alice, surpassing all of his expectations and defying logic, decided to answer in the weirdest way possible: by picking up one of the broken stones and licking it. Before he could ask her why the hell she would think to do such a thing, she furrowed her brows and spoke. "Hm...this is about a thousand years old. There's no doubt that the people here believed in animism."

Both Kevin and Sylph stared at her for a few seconds, their expressions a mixture of impressed, disgusted, and disbelieving.

'...Sylph?'

'...yes?'

'Is that normal for any monster?'

'No...not at all. Not even the previous Monster Lords were able to do that.'

'...'

'...'

'Shall we suppress this memory for our own sanity?'

'Absolutely!'

Coming to the agreement that ignoring the moment of madness they just witnessed was best for their combined mental health, the boy instead focused on the magical detection that his Eevee form excelled at. He once again found himself thankful for the fact that he could force the sixth sense into the background of his mind, as constantly being alerted to the equivalent to a nuclear reactor of Dark Type Energy was incredibly annoying.

That aside, his attention turned toward the wall of magical energy a few yards in front of him. It was the same type of barrier as the one around the Forest of Spirits, meant to keep the aura of the Spirit within from leaking into the outside world and alerting every man, woman, and monster to her location. According to Sylph, these barriers were automatically manifested by the Universe itself when the Spirits returned to their homes in their respective regions. Gnome's was unique, though, as it actually followed her around as she wandered the sand dunes, only anchoring itself when she stayed in an area for more than a few days.

Finished with confirming the presence of the barrier, he turned to address Alice. "So, are you gonna sit back and wait for me to return like last time?"

Her response actually surprised him. "Actually, I was planning to follow you from a distance and use my magic to make a record of everything that happens. As much as I hate to admit it, my position as Monster Lord makes me the highest ranking monster available to gather a first-hand observation of these [True Bonding Rituals.]

"Also, I want to make sure you don't accidentally kill any monsters that get in your way," she continued. "Considering what you did to that elf back in the Forest of Spirits, it's safe to say that you're likely to do whatever it takes to get rid of any obstacles between you and Gnome, which may include turning off your sealing powers if worse comes to worst. I really won't know until I see you in action."

"Alright, then," Kevin shrugged. "Then...I guess it's time to face the music."

"You can do it!" Sylph cheered him on, flying over to sit on Alice's shoulder. Something deep in her subconscious mind was telling her that she couldn't accompany him from the point he stepped through the barrier until he finished the ritual with Gnome. He would need to cross the distance and approach her without any assistance, even from another Spirit already bound to his own soul, just as he had in the Forest of Spirits. So, the fairy-like Spirit would wait for him, outside of his body, and anticipate her favorite sister becoming one with them.

"Thanks for the confidence," the boy smiled at her, before approaching the invisible wall of magic. "Okay...here I go..."

...

"Just gotta...walk through..."

...

"One more step...and I can officially start..."

"Kevin."

"All I need to do...is put one foot...in front of the other..."

"Kevin, stop stalling."

"Gotta...lift my right leg...and-"

"Of, for the love of me! GO ALREADY!"

The boy was so deep in his infinite loop of hyping himself up, that he wasn't prepared for Sylph's next move. Finally fed up with his stalling, the tiny Spirit rocketed toward her host and used enough force to shatter concrete in a kick to the middle of his back. This predictably launched him forward through the barrier...and face first into the sand, digging a furrow a few yards long before finally coming to a stop.

When she came back to sit on the Monster Lord's shoulder again, the lamia nodded. "Good job. I was tempted to do that myself if he took any longer."

Sylph was about to reply, when she felt a change happen through her link with Kevin. The infinite loop of indecisiveness had come to a sudden halt, and was replaced by...nothing. The Universe had judged him compatible with the Spirit waiting within the Safaru Ruins, and thus had triggered his instincts. It overpowered his logic and emotions, leaving only a singular purpose that burned in his mind, heart, body, and soul as he regained his footing:

Find the Spirit of Earth.

***

{Deep Within the Safaru Ruins}

Gnome had always enjoyed the silence. Ever since she was born from the primordial elemental energies of the world, she'd had an deep-seeded aversion to any source of excessive noise, to the point where her own followers back in the days when animism was still present in the Safina Region would edge runes that dampened sound into the very walls of their buildings, making Safaru the quietest town in the world. Even now, as the winds pushed the shifting sands around the ruins of the once-great town made little to now sound, the runic formations still functional after a thousand years.

Some may say that she was the loneliest of the Four Spirits, considering her preference of avoiding both humans and monsters as much as physically possible, unlike her sisters whose homes thrived with all sorts of life. While they regularly interacted with both monsters and brave humans on a regular basis, here she was, wandering the desert with nobody to talk to, or at least share the silence with.

She didn't think that way, though. Being a voluntary mute, to the point where she hadn't spoken a single word to any of her sisters or their previous hosts, socialization wasn't something she desired in any capacity. Some had mistaken this stance for her being shy and timid; but while this was partially true, the main reason was that she didn't see the point in interacting with other beings. They weren't as long-lived as her, after all, and even the monsters who managed to stretch their lives into multiple centuries would eventually die. What was the point of making attachments when they would all eventually fade away?

Instead of seeking companionship with the other living beings, she dedicated her days to something more constructive: creating her dolls. Over the thousands of years she had lived, perfecting her animated mud dolls had grown from a hobby to an ambition. They were nowhere near complete yet, with the majority of them requiring her direct attention to even move around, but she anticipated the day when they would finally be given a life of their own.

It was on a day like any other, as she kneeled atop a half-buried dwelling and crafted new limbs for one of the many dolls, when it happened. A being had entered the barrier that kept her boundless elemental aura from escaping to the outside world. Normally ,this wouldn't be anything to take note of, as both monsters and humans often wandered through without thinking about it, but this one was...different.

It took a moment for her to recognize it as the energy signature that had passed through the desert a few weeks ago. At the time, she hadn't put much consideration into it, as her deep connection to the earth across the entire continent assured her that whatever had emitted that wave was incredibly far away. However, now that it was this close, and she focused closely on it, she felt emotions that hadn't gripped her heart for more than a thousand years.

Curiosity. Longing. Anticipation. Instincts she didn't even know she had were coming to life, pulling her in two different directions at the same time. Her heart begged her to seek out the source of the energy, as they held something within them that would change her very being; but her instincts urged her not only to ignore that desire, but to go to a specific location in the center of the Safaru Ruins and wait. These instincts assured her that whoever was emitting that...intoxicating aura, was just as aware of her as she was of him, and would come for her even if she were to place an army of her dolls between them. Not that she would want to do that in the first place.

So, with a rare expression of intrigue on her usually-emotionless face, the Spirit of Earth headed for what used to be the location of the town square. Naturally her dolls all followed behind her, hundreds of them coming out of the ruins and following their creators orders.

What were these orders, you may ask?

Why, to prepare a welcome for the mysterious creature that was rapidly approaching, of course!

***

{Author's Note}

So...this chapter would've been done sooner, if I hadn't made the decision last night that SLEEP IS FOR THE WEEK! This led to me passing out multiple times throughout the day, and thus putting things off for more than a few hours. I knew it was a bad idea when I was doing it, BUT I'M NOT A FUCKING QUITTER!

Anyway, I will save writing the next chapter for tomorrow, as I am too tired right now to focus on writing anymore right now without creating a multitude of continuity errors. So, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and are anticipating what the True Bonding Ritual of Earth will entail!

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