The Mook Maker

I still had some doubts about all this. 

 

The humans, and the dragon they served, shouldn’t be allowed to do this to my people, but this, this felt like a trap. 

 

As adamant as I was in my decision to rescue Helmy and the rest of the girls that humans ‘sealed’ away, there was something inherently wrong, or at least suspicious, about this attack or the place where it occurred. I just couldn’t tell what it was. 

 

Maybe it was the devotion the girls had, not questioning the decision I made, or maybe it was the fact that the town wasn’t suspiciously under defended for the level of belligerence they had shown. The natives were always slightly suicidal - villagers throwing rocks even if it would put them in the harm's way - but this, this was a premeditated strike. 

 

Nothing suggested we randomly stumbled upon a hidden fortress of sorts. 

 

Judging from the reports I was given, a coastal town may be in better shape than some hamlets have been, but nothing I’ve heard suggested there was something out of the ordinary. They weren’t completely poor, but not exactly rich either, bringing some doubt to the assumption that excessive magical warding was paid for in money. 

 

They had a considerably large, and well-kept pier. Not the ill-kept, rickety one of the villages we blessed, barely safe and unworthy to secure even the poor fisherman’s tiny boat. Their wharf was, I was told, visible from a distance, likely fit for larger, more seaworthy vessels, which suggested they might once have seen some coastal - or even overseas - traffic, but that was about it. 

 

Judging from the knee-jerk reaction locals had, I would expect more of them. 

 

It was mostly rice fields and farmlands, and, of course, the forest, seemingly undefended, with the town proper, likely meant to service the dock in the prosperous times, lodged between the low cliffs.

 

There was supposedly a wooden fort that guarded the road in and out, which would suggest there would be a garrison present even without our violent clash with the locals, but at a glance, it was where their military capabilities ended. 

 

Our previous adversary, the Viceroy, not only had considerably more men, his castle was more heavily fortified, with the tall walls of solid masonry, and even the provincial city had been completely closed off. 

 

This coastal town didn’t have any of it. It was open from all sides.

 

They, however, oozed magic. 

 

There was something wrong with this.

 

A mere coincidence, or an elaborate trap that Helmy accidentally sprung, or was it some spiritual centre, with a higher-than-average number of casters lurking within, a sign of even greater problems ahead? 

 

Ultimately, I had no way of knowing.

 

Worse even, they had no way of knowing Helmy would travel south. How could they possibly have prepared!?

 

There was something off, something suspicious, prickling at my instincts as surely as the chorus of minds sung to me, which I hoped the ‘Eviscerators’ would unravel simply by lurking about the woods around the town’s magical perimeter, so at least some of my questions and worries would be answered. It wouldn’t harm to be careful. Although I had my doubts about finding hidden ninja villages, I realised I couldn’t rule them out. 

 

As much as I swore to avenge Helmy’s sealing, and deliver on the threats issued to the Red dragon, I wasn’t quite comfortable walking into his prepared trap, if it was the case. 

 

My indecisiveness was soon punished by the throbbing, head-splitting pain, followed by the sense of loss. A few of my girls re-formed from the red mist that once gave them life, but others were cut out, as the humans’ spells took the toll on my people. 

 

It hurt. 

 

Again. 

 

And it made me curse as the feedback from the ‘sealing’ travelled back to our network, upsetting the host in the process, moments before the ‘Displacer’ portal swallowed me and  threw me through the ever shifting void between or beyond. 

 

The host’s choir seethed with rage. 

 

I, too, was upset, angered even, a thought of retaliation - revenge even - flashed my mind

 

The thousands of voices kept heaving up, equally agitated, and I was forced to once again endure the dreaded sensation that some small, but important, part of me has been violently separated to me, demanding action to rectify this offence. 

 

Burn! Here, in the ever-changing where space has no meaning, I could sense the ‘Purifiers’ minds and their pyromania even stronger. I could hear the silent howl of the ‘Eviscerators’, as I could perceive other breeds - ‘Corruptors’ and ‘Fleshspeakers’ and ‘Mutators’ - and their desire to correct, to tame creation itself. 

 

Wouldn’t the world be beautiful if there were more of us? 

 

Then, normal space resumed, and I was left with that monochromatic dull window invading my view, visually unappealing, but still a grave reminder of yet another mistake. 

 

7 units sealed until the caster is dead.

 

I shook it off, and tried to focus back, the faithful yet unnamed ‘Displacer’ still tugging me in. Then there was a distant blast, the fireball exploding, smoke and fire, and disappointment - it wasn’t supposed to be combat recon, or whatever was the proper military term. 

 

The host took the solution into their own claws. 

 

My arrival at the coastal town, or rather its far outskirts, has been welcomed by the smell of burnt wood, a normally scentless ruby fog that spawned more of my monster girls, and the notification that always accompanied it. They appeared moments after I was spat out of the other-place all ‘Displacers’ moved through, to the point there was no need for others to cover me. 

 

The ruby mist gave me more of my girls. 

 

“For Master!” 

 

It alone made me pause, but this time, there wasn’t a crushing sensation of loss to accompany it. . 

 

Skill “Scorched Earth lvl.34” gained. Skill “Slayer of Men lvl. 34” gained.

 

Our host was growing, and it felt right. It felt good. Proper. Safe.

 

There was safety in numbers, power, companionship, love. The treacherous part of my brain was pleased we had grown, against all the adversity, and the tingling sensation of the fresh voices joining the choir of joined minds was now very alluring in and of itself. 

 

I had to be careful. 

 

There was something worrying about it, and I tried to push it away, trying to not think of the cost. 

 

The new batch of the ‘Eviscerators’ and ‘Purifiers’ rushed to me, greeting me, checking whether I felt well now I was out of the rift. I could even notice my ‘Displacer’ companion hugging the new ‘Eviscerator’ - the feline and canines living and loving together. 

 

Why couldn’t humans understand? 

 

“For Master! Master… Master…”

 

My beauties. More than ten anthropomorphic canines and vulpine girls swarmed over, all fresh additions judging from the notification that accompanied their birth to this world, eager to touch me, to show themselves. To feel my welcome. My love.

 

I hugged or smooched a few of them, briefly forgetting we were close to the future battlefield, and let myself be caressed by their smooth fur. It distracted me, ever so briefly, from the guilt that yet more has been sealed away. 

 

The still throbbing sense of loss made me want to check all of them personally, even if they, as all of my followers, always formed in perfect health. 

 

I would free their sisters and cousins and make more of my adorable monster girls. 

 

Miwah, emerging from another rift, stood watch, and was soon joined by Tama and Narita. 

 

More of my lovely monster girls arrived on foot this time. The group of the ‘Purifiers’ - one dressed in the combination of either clothing or armour pieces, waved to me, and then loitered around the larger, silvery vixen. She, with her multiple tails, and the silvery fluff, looked regal among them. It was still weird that the system referred to her as ‘brood mother’ - I wasn’t used to the term ‘bride’ either, but the strange notifications were odd like that. 

 

A pang of pain followed as the ‘Purifier’ materialised from the red fog, and collapsed on the ground, but was healed soon after. 

 

The ‘Devourer’ - an anthropomorphic rat girl, a grown-up version - accompanied by her smaller ‘Defilers’ - joined us, one using her power to treat the harmed ‘Purifier’ back to consciousness. This one, she was hit by the barrier. 

 

The  barrier allowed respawn, but left my people drained, exhausted and suffering, requiring treatment. The ‘sealing’ - the ‘sealing’ was worse than death, at least the host felt. Even if new monster girls were recently summoned, the ‘sealing’ was an offence we couldn’t forgive.

 

“For Master!” They agreed

 

A loud bang sounded somewhere far away, then a few more, and I looked up from the unlikely welcoming committee.

 

I was far away from the action, but close enough I could catch a glimpse of the event. 

 

There, in the distance, just beyond the thinning woods, a homestead burned, and its fields, and beyond them, in a haze of smoke and fire, was the fort. The wall of fire danced between them and us, obscuring some of the view, but still allowing me to see the overall shape of it.

 

There appear to be watchtowers, so it was supposed to be a fort, I presumed. It wasn’t a magnificent piece of architecture, no tall walls, no solid masonry. I couldn’t see it properly, but it could just have a one story building equivalent to a palisade wall with some watchtowers rising above, but no proper battlements and so on. 

 

Somewhere beyond it was something that made me sick through - an intersection of the barriers. Maybe, I didn’t know, but it was the local magic, must be one that was inherently inimical to us. Like the magical wards, and ‘sealing’ magic and …

 

There was an itching, strange, irritation, except not on my skin, but almost irrationally, inside my brain. I still scratched my hair, agitated, but to no relief. 

 

Was it the proximity to that accursed shield?

 

“Do you feel that too?” I asked, almost absentmindedly. 

 

“For Master…” One of the little ones remarked. They didn’t see the barrier, and neither could I. Its edges obscured to anyone but the ‘Displacers’ who perceived it as the strict no-go zone. 

 

A sudden sting of energy, the ordinary ‘Eviscerator’ appearing from the little burst of the ruby mist, collapsing down, to be tended by the ‘Defilers’ at the cost of small plants. 

 

Kirke, the moth girl, arrived by the next rift, her magic affecting the plants in the vicinity, accompanied by the soft glow of the changing gold to green to gold aura, leaving the soft haze behind. The ‘Mutators’ fine control was as fast as the ‘Corruptors’ work, but twice more elegant. It made me forget, at least, for a split second, there was a fight going on. 

 

A few loud explosions interrupted my thought, but they seem to have come from elsewhere. 

 

I joined the three of my mates, though the crowd of their smaller kin lingered nearby. Sora now also gated herself in, but she kept her distance, her sight dancing from place to place, tracking the targets I couldn’t see. 

 

“What happened?” 

 

“We are testing the barrier, Master.” 

 

“My sisters were sealed, Master.” Miwah informed it, sadness in her voice. “We didn’t manage to even approach the caster..” 

 

“...so we had to create a distraction.” Tama continued Miwah’s sentence, nudging towards the still burning house. Another group of the ‘Purifiers’ made it through the woods, those one dressed in the mismatched equipment salvaged from the natives. 

 

The smoke made me cough slightly. Were all the fields on fire?

 

“The farmland is not covered by the shield, and they couldn’t see us through the resulting smoke and flames to hit us.” She added - the blazing remnants of the house did obstruct vision. That much was true. I could even see a lone foxy adding to the fire before running away. 

 

Starting to burn the countryside wasn’t my plan by any measure, but we managed to suffer a few more losses from even scouting. It was painful to think about - the forced feedback from the spell made it so.

 

1 unit sealed until the caster is dead.

 

Another hit. Another tiny, but still precious piece of us, torn away from its place within the choir of others, a disruption that could not, should not, be forgiven. 

 

Nevertheless, I held myself back from barking out orders, demanding the death of the caster that did it. 

 

“We couldn’t say where the barrier is without Sora…” she explained. There was a hint of sadness in her voice as well: “...and if we got close enough, the woman could hit us with her magic.” 

 

“...and they know we would transport our cousins in.” The feline added, once again finishing the sentence for someone else. 

 

“They are targeting us now.” 

 

2 units sealed until the caster is dead.

 

Miwah’s words, failing to describe a rather chaotic situation, were punctured by yet another message, announcing that another loss to the unceasing attrition caused by the natives’ accursed magic, it was as infuriating as it was depressive. 

 

Even though I did know that some humans could see through the invisibility the ‘Eviscerators’ used to cloak themselves from sight, I still thought they would be safe outside the direct engagement.

 

I was wrong. 

 

“I am sorry, Miwah.” I said, approaching her. I reached for her face, and she looked at me with her azure blue eyes with devotion, and without a hint of blame, even if I personally felt that sending them to scout was the risk.

 

“Don’t be, Master.” Miwah answered, “Fifteen of my sisters had been sealed when we encountered the first caster and all had been returned to you. We will not fail you. We will fight back.” 

 

I wanted to say something in response, but the touching moment was interrupted by a burst of the familiar blood red fog that formed into the new ‘Eviscerators’. 

 

Skill “Slayer of Men lvl. 35” gained.

 

“For Master!” They cheered, while I shook my head to bring the offending floating windows away from my view. It obeyed, fortunately.

 

I decided to leave the touching moment with my pale furred mate for later and turned towards the fort in the distance. I coughed again - damn smoke. 

 

“We were clearing the woods of humans,” Miwah said. “But they expected us to come, but the priestess ran towards the barrier. This one could cast the fastest. A line of sight, the wave of her staff…” 

 

“There is a human male that protects her.” Tama continued, her voice annoyed, “He could deflect or block my sisters’ fireballs. I am certain I could burn through his defences, and then…” 

 

“Are you certain there is only one? Priestesses? Elites?” 

 

“No, Master.” Miwah confirmed as they take turns answering my question, “A warrior, there could be one. But the casters, there are multiple, we could see their flashy clothes from a distance, but they kept away…” 

 

There was something about the situation which irked her. She was uncharacteristically serious and didn't show a single trace of her usual flirting, and the loss of Helmy seemed to have a strange effect on the host as a whole. Risking Tama seems far too dangerous now, considering she was technically in charge of all the ‘Purifiers’. 

 

She was bringing order into chaos, for better or worse. 

 

If only I could get more ‘Alphas’ …

 

“Don’t go.” I decided, “Don’t risk yourself.” 

 

“Master?” 

 

“You are harassing each other now? Is that why the fields are burning?” 

 

“Yes, Master,” 

 

“They might be trying to draw you out…” I mused. “I have no idea how they know, though.” 

 

“I am certain they do, Master. But we could do the same. We will draw them out.” 

 

The new set of explosions sounded in the distance, and the vulpine grin appeared on the silver vixen’s face, and the outburst of fog gave birth to her smaller kin, eight more of the little yellow and red fox-girls came to existence giggling. 

 

“For Master!” They jumped around, and I had another notification to dismiss. 

 

Skill “Scorched Earth lvl.35” gained.

 

“We will see this world burn, Master.” Tama said, with all seriousness, and the slight growl undertone to it, “No human would threaten your progeny when they are born…” 

 

They managed to get Tama angry. Muffled screams pierced the distance, a background to the moment.. 

 

“They will come, you will see.” 

 

“What are you trying to do?” I asked, looking around, “Where are Arke’s drones?” 

 

“My sisters are wiping out humans in the area, Master.” she answered, “The priestess would have to come out eventually to face us. Arke’s drones are helping, but the larger ones are too slow and the fast ones are too small.” 

 

More explosions. 

 

Did she torch half of the forest? 

 

I still couldn’t see what they were targeting, but the fields, the ones I saw before must be entirely aflame now. Then, the other most dreaded sensation grounded me, and the system dryly announced the loss that felt like another tiny portion of my soul chipping away.

 

My girls … my girls…

 

2 units sealed until the caster is dead.

 

More pain, more loss. 

 

Two anthropomorphic rats - a little ‘Defiler’ and tall ‘Devourer’ caught me before my weakening legs would drop me to my knees. The infusion of power and vitality soon returned my strength. I caught sight of the ‘Devourer’ draining a small, veiny, organic sack, attached to her equally fleshy-armour, for the life force. 

 

Kirke walked forward. The canopy of leaves above didn’t allow her to fly, but her wings buzzed with restlessness. The pace of the changes she made was, however, slowing down, even if the direct line of sight between us and the fort was disappearing through the smoke and flames. 

 

I wanted to step forward. 

 

“Wait, Master! Arke. Lost thirty. Scout drones.” Narita narrated, speaking in her usual strange speech with a lot of pauses, but even she looked somehow agitated: “It is. Not safe! The sealing works on the line of sight, I think!” 

 

She stepped forward, gesturing to me to stay behind with one hand, while raising the other towards the general direction of the town. Her additional two scythed arms, the ‘Fleshspeakers’ added to her organic grafted suit, were raised. 

 

A series of loud noises, the explosions, sounded, then the few more. The breeze carried a sulphuric smell. 

 

Then a few more ‘Purifiers’ birthed from the ruby mist appeared, still sounding joyous despite all the mayhem, and the distant blasts.

 

More screams carried in the wind. 

 

“We could fire inside the shield as much as they could fire outside!” The vixen suddenly observed

 

This time, it was Tama who laughed, along with her smaller kin, while the ruby fog gave birth to more of fluffy, giggling menaces, along with more subdued scaly kind, and I … 

 

Skill “Scorched Earth lvl.36” gained. Skill ‘Green Hell lvl. 42” gained.

 

I knew their birth meant the death of more humans, but something within me tried to burst with the undisguised satisfaction at our growing numbers, as the recent addition to our host clustered closer.

 

“Master! Master! Master!”

 

“We must have cut off the escape routes, Master.” Miwah reported, “Except for the sea, we think there aren’t any ships in the harbour. Humans couldn’t escape.” 

 

“Arke lost more. Of her hound drones.” Narita suddenly warned. 

 

A ruby fog returned suddenly, with the new more respawns, the ‘Purifiers’ and the ‘Eviscerators’ and, surprisingly, the ‘Corruptors’. One ‘Ravager’ even. Then there were more explosions, dust, smoke, falling leaves falling down along with the soot ….

 

“They know we are here.” 

 

“This place is not safe,” Sora, to this point silent, spoke up: “Relocate, Master!” 

 

I was thrown through the currents of the void, only to be welcomed by another of those accursed windows, informing me of the worst once the material world restored itself. 

 

2 units sealed until the caster is dead.

 

The ‘Displacer’ steadied me when I landed, and I looked around. 

 

In one direction, the still green trees were licked by the flames, with the smoke rising up to the sky, dissipating before it could reach the clouds. 

 

In the other, there wasn’t much life left. 

 

We were at the very edge of the dead, decaying forest. A blackened husk of trees completely devoid of life dotted the landscape, not even a single plant unaffected . A column of mutated crabs advanced forward on the muddy country road, their chitinous frames grossly misshapen under the layers of chitin and spikes, their pincers transformed into the rough, slashing and cutting three-pronged claws. 

 

A number of small, but still dog-sized roach-hounds skittered around, followed by the mindless hulks of what once had been human, while the ‘Defilers’ and ‘Ravagers’ along with the occasional ‘Mutator’ were rushing the entire procession forwards. 

 

I could catch glimpses of the ‘Fleshspeakers’ - creators of all this - but they hopped on the ground, their wings folded and slightly droopy with exhaustion, only a couple of them riding atop the ludicrously oversized crustaceans. None of them flew. 

 

Then the bat-girl, seated atop of the leading mega-crab, noticed me, and I could sense her surprise, along with the command to stop the abominable cavalcade, and fell over with a flustered squeak, only saved from crashing to the ground far below by how tightly her talons were latched into the shell. After a moment of awkward scrambling and flapping, she was upright again. The one behind her wasn’t so quick to react, her tumbled impact announced by the cloud of black dust from the crumbling plants, which cushioned her fall.

 

“For Master! Master!” 

 

The group of ‘Defilers’ rushed forward, so did the ‘Ravagers’ and the bat-girl - an ‘Overseer’ rather than ‘Fleshspeaker’ jumped down her perch while the other one got back from her drop. 

 

“For Master!” 

 

I was rather uninterested in her explanation of why they couldn’t grow into their pet monstrosities any faster. 

 

My girls were in danger! 

 

“For Master?” 

 

She caught on to my thought, arguing that this part was, in fact, mainly offensive - the siege-crabs were, according to her, a solution more effective than sending their roach-hounds to reach the town centre, but it was not important right now. They were supposed to be there already! 

 

“What happened?” I demanded. However, the words soon froze in my throat as another spell struck and the unfeeling system announced a loss. 

 

3 units sealed until the caster is dead.

 

A blast. Then another, and I looked back, and saw the burst of bright blue flames sweeping the untouched section of the forest. Then the unbelievable agony struck as something - someone - has torn out a closest piece of my very soul from me, flinging me in rage. 

 

16 units sealed until the caster is dead.

 

One of my companions, my mates, was hit. I knew it. The damn system didn’t tell me so, but I could feel it. 

 

This was unforgivable. 

 

I couldn’t contain the hate flowing through me as the idiotic window announced another loss, and then, on the horizon, the sinister glow ate away the trees where they still cling to life, only to be snuffed out in an instant. 

 

A ruby mist rose up, spitting the girls out as they fought and fell against the unseen foe.

 

“For Master!” 

 

The bat-girl grabbed me, shielding me with her wings, and her body, while the ‘Ravagers’ charged forward, and I could hear the ring of metal against metal, as the blades clashed, but I still didn’t see what was going on. I was expecting the ‘Displacer’ to draw me through the rift once again, but it didn’t happen. 

 

Then, suddenly, out of the blue, I was washed with a sense of relief, unexplained, and unexpected, indescribable, and a new notification invaded my view even as I faced away from the action. 

 

Major Enemy was killed. One more to advance the General level. Skill “Great Devourer lvl. 72” gained. Skill “Great Devourer lvl. 73” gained.

 

“For Master!”

 

They cried. 

 

“I want to see.” 

 

Finally, I freed myself from the embrace of the leathery wings. I was surrounded not only by the force that escorted the ‘Fleshspeakers’ and their crab-pets, but countless of my other girls, all freshly spawned, naked and without their equipment. 

 

Miwah was among them. And Sora. It was who they hit; I realised. 

 

“What happened?” 

 

No answer. 

 

The human was flung out of the woods into the open. A robed figure, swordman from my vision. He crashed into the dusty dirt road, his body rolling over, yet still somehow managed to regain his footing in the most impressive display of their superhuman level of martial arts. 

 

The robed figure’s eyes zeroed in on me. 

 

He even dodged a few more fireballs thrown in his direction, dodge dancing away the several ‘Eviscerators’, even recovering his lost sword in the process to cut a few of my girls down in the process. My blood boiled, and I wanted to scream, demanding for that bastard to be put down, but Ekaterina and Kuma charged off the woods, from the direction of the blast and draining magic thrown around. 

 

A few blows connected. 

 

The swordsman tried to dance between the slashes from Kuma and Ekaterina, blocking a few blows that could dismember a lesser man. His flying kick sent both of the bear girls staggering backward and even shrugged off the psychic scream of the ‘Overseer’ off. 

 

Arrows fell around us. His comrades were coming. The blasts were deafening, but the swordsman didn’t get the due he wanted. 

 

The fireballs were thrown, and Ekaterina found her opening when she caught his sword in her gauntlet. 

 

His blade melted.  

 

The warrior still tried to roll away, dodging Ekaterina’s blow, only to be hit by Kuma’s sword. 

 

Blood splashed, and more of the ‘Ravagers’ descended on him like a shark feeding frenzy

 

I didn’t see it, but the effect was undeniable, and it felt glorious. 

Major Enemy killed. Level 9 achieved. Unit cap doubles.

 

The ruby mist descended on the dead lands around us, and voices without number sang in unison as the hundreds, even thousands, of my girls were released upon this world, all crying in unison, with cheer and with purpose:

 

“For Master” 

 

I loved them. 

 

“For Master!” 

 

The unbridled euphoria didn’t last long. 

 

“Is it over? Where is Helmy?!” 

 

At this very moment, the pain returned, and the system laughed at my confidence when it announced.

 

32 units sealed until the caster is dead. 16 units sealed until the caster is dead. …

 

The agony was beyond understanding, but I understood - they were hitting the crowd! More girls in the area, the more they could seal! 

 

“Fall back and scatter!” 

 

I ordered, and the sea of claws and fur and scales got into motion. 

 

“Crabs and thralls forward. Rest back!” I screamed, even if I didn’t have to, caught Miwah and demanded. 

 

“Miwah! What happened?”

 

“Tama drew some of them out.” 

 

“There are more?” 

 

“Yes, Master.” 

 

“Barriers?” 

 

“One down, two remain.” 

 

“Damn it.”

 

If I only knew what made this accursed town so special! 

 

The ‘Lady’ had chosen the worst moment to have her beauty sleep! 

 

I cursed and turned away from Miwah, then yelled once again, this time to open air, feeling quite mad. 

 

“Stupid system, give me water. Give me something useful. Select skill…” 

 

I must do something before it gives me something entirely random! 

 

The screen came out, a floating window in front of my eyes, heedless of the surrounding chaos.

 

Select your ninth element
Skill: “Slayer of the Blessed”	Element: Air / Poison
Skill: “Chaos In the Depths”	Element: Fire / Water
Skill “Terror From the Abyss”	Element: Force / Water
Skill “Powder That Hates”	Element: Force / Gunpowder
Skill: “Tyrant of the Realm Beneath”	Element: Steel / Stone

 

My eyes darted on the monochromatic window, the unnecessarily cryptic skill names, all of them a matter of interpretation, and then on the moving horde.

 

I was not in the mood for games! 

 

“Select skill…”