28 The Cards Begins to Reveal Itself

In the depths of the ocean lies a small castle made from stone. The castle was magnificent in appearance as if thousands of craftsmen spent their lifetime constructing it. Monsters of unimaginable horror guarded the gate that led inside. The stones replaced the sand and laid the foundation for the castle. An invisible barrier was placed around the castle for protection against attacks. A black portal appeared, and a horned skeleton, with eyes made from blue flames, rose from it. It adorned itself with a dark blue western suit. The being was the one that disguised itself as a human called Hunter. The skeleton placed its hands in its pockets and walked towards the castle. The monsters guarding the gate moved aside and let the being walk through.

The interior of the castle was highly extravagant that was only suited for wealthy aristocrats. The walls were decorated with beautiful carvings and large paintings. The floor was designed with beautiful patterns and lavish carpets. There was minimal lighting throughout the castle, and many areas remained dark. The skeleton was greeted by a being that stood near the gate with arms crossed, and its back against the wall. The being had black skin and white, glowing eyes. It had sunken cheeks and a wide neck. It clad itself in a long, black trench coat that remained unbuttoned with its collar popped up. Underneath it was a long shirt and pants that were seemingly black as well. The being had a large handgun strapped to its waist and wore a bandolier over its shoulders. It covered its head with an old western hat that was worn out from time.

"Where did you go, Vokaire?" The being turned its head towards Vokaire and asked.

"Ah, One Shot, was it?" Vokaire chuckled. "I just happen to go on a little journey, that's all."

"Having fun with the humans?"

The flames from Vokaire's eyes burned red, but he remained calm. "Now, now. No need to pry into my business, Mr.Contract-Worker."

"Hmph."

One Shot glared at Vokaire before walking away in large strides. Vokaire chuckled again as he stared at his back. He despises those that were inferior to him, especially the ones that fight back.

"You're back, Vokaire." A deep voice called out to him.

Vokaire froze in place before bowing down towards the voice. A devil-like figure gently flew towards him in a slow manner. It had a muscular build, and the upper body was white while the lower half was black. Small horns grew from the top of its head and had red-filled eyes as if they were bathed in blood. The figure had large, black wings that helped it hover above the ground.

"I went away to observe the humans' strength, my Lord." Vokaire calmly spoke. "Besides technology, the humans also have magic."

"This was out of my expectations," The devil-like being spoke. "My subordinates reported that these creatures never delved into magic."

"It's possible that they kept it hidden from us."

"Unlikely, perhaps they had help from someone in the shadows. I may have to delay my plans for a bit to constitute this new variable."

The being turned it back towards Vokaire and commanded, "Have your subordinates investigate the limits to their power, and find the culprit as well."

"Yes, my Lord."

The being slowly disappeared, and Vokaire remained in place, bowing towards it. Ian woke up and moved from the bed. He yawned and stretched his body. Ian scanned the room and noticed that he was back at home. Ian remembered the fight from before and analyzed it; he realized that he needed to improve. However, Ian understood that he can't predict everyone's abilities, but he should be patient and gauge the enemy's strength. Bounye barked happily and rubbed his head against Ian's legs in affection. Ian smiled and caressed Bounye's fur in response.

He picked bounye up and asked in a childish voice, "Who's a good boy?"

Bounye continued to bark until a door suddenly swung open. The door slammed against the wall and revealed Ray in a kicking stance. Behind him was everyone else was with worried expressions.

"Did you have to kick the door, you jackass?" Marvin asked.

"It's called making a grand entrance!"

Lily was the first to move and ran to Ian before jumping up on the bed; everyone else followed behind her and walked towards Ian. Ian wrapped his hands around her body and squeezed her.

Lily kissed all over his face and said, "Let these kisses heal you!"

"That's so damn corny," He laughed and pushed her away.

Ian turned towards the group. "Seems like you guys are healed up."

"It was all thanks to Lily's mom," Autumn said in gratitude.

When Mrs.Willard woke up, her body was in pain from the car crash, and she healed herself. Ray noticed Mrs.Willard was awake and begged her to heal everyone's injuries. Mrs.Willard used all her power to heal everyone, and she collapsed as a result. Ray carried her into a room and carefully set Mrs.Willard down on the bed.

"Where's Mac?" Ian asked.

"He's taking care of her," Conner replied. "The little guy was bawling his eyes out when she fainted."

A week passed since the attack, and Mrs.Willard smoothly recovered since then. Charlotte and Daniel would stop by to talk, and everyone would work at the farm. Ian has been training with Ray every day to improve himself. Surprisingly, Conner and Lily joined him to improve their ability usage. Occasionally, they would spar through hand-to-hand combat. It wasn't long after until Ray forced Marvin into training. Like a sergeant, Ray pushed Marvin to the limits through constant yelling and beating. The Lizardman joined in and sparred with Marvin, ignoring his anguish. Marvin finally snapped and transformed into a Lizardman. He grabbed Ray by his shirt and threw him away.

"Look what you made me do!" Marvin screamed. "I-I transformed into a hideous monster!"

"But you've gotten stronger, though." Ian laughed.

"Marvin's right." Lily nodded her head. "He's gotten uglier than before."

In minutes, his reptilian physiology disappeared, and Marvin's chest heaved. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and laid down on the ground.

"It's a good thing that I can't stay in this form forever," Marvin said.

"That time duration really sucks ass," Ray sneered.

A car screeched to a halt, and the window rolled down. Charlotte's face was revealed with an urgent look.

"Looks like y'all got guard duty cause we have monsters comin' our way!" Charlotte yelled.

"Damn it, already?" Ray grew frustrated.

Ian ran inside the house to grab his sword before he followed everything inside the car. However, Autumn and Mac were left behind to avoid any danger. The car drove off towards the town's entrance where armed residents gathered. A barrier was being built to provide extra protection for the residents. A look of fear plastered on everyone's faces as they gazed towards the incoming horde of monsters. Everyone got out of the car and rushed towards the barrier with grim expressions. The sound of gunfire echoed the area as residents continued shooting at the horde.

"Shit, that's a lot of em," Ray said. "But this is nothing compared to what I went through."

Ray transformed his right arm into a gun and his other arm into a sword with a smile. Lily simultaneously created ten fireballs; it was now possible when her ability leveled up. Her flames had a hint of white at the center. Conner rose from the ground as space distorted around him; he waited for everyone to charge forward as he took deep breaths to calm himself. Ian scanned the monster horde and notice many of them were rank F; rank D monsters were rare among them.

"I haven't fought yet." Marvin nervously said. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You'll have to get used to it, bro," Ray said. "Think about it like this, you're taking back the country from the government's evil hands by killing these monsters they created."

"You're right!" Marvin suddenly fired up. "We have to fight back against the government!"

Ian cracked his fingers and pulled out his sword, "Alright, let's fuck shit up!"

Ian disappeared, and a small crater formed below where he had stood. Everyone followed behind him with determined looks. Mrs.Willard watched them charge towards the horde; she stayed back to heal the injured.