My (Monster?) Hero Life

Kace arrived to the monsters celebrating their victory prematurely. The ones that were in the streets were laughing and shouting as they pulled the bodies apart to make decorations. It made Kace remember the celebration in Stonefall when they took control of it.

It almost made him feel somewhat guilty about planning to leave them for a while. Almost. But Kace knew he had to get out on his own and experience the world in his own way. He doubted that they could easily find the other pillars and more allies by just slowly expanding.

Plus, he was growing sick of how he was constantly being used as a political piece. Kace sighed as he glanced at the ecstatic monsters while the sounds of battle still rung out in the distance. 

"My Lord, you're ok!" Shadow shouted as he popped out from a nearby alley.

However, his mood turned grim as his eyes fell on Rysa. Kace shook his head with a smile to show that her condition should not be anything serious. He carefully shifted her weight in his arms before setting off towards the airship.

"How's the cleanup going?" Kace raised an eyebrow at Shadow.

"It's going well, My Lord. We suffered heavy casualties during the initial attack. But it could have been worse." Shadow shrugged his shoulders as he kept his eyes fixed on Kace's expression.

"Tell me, what do you think of this country? Do you think that they can manage on their own?" Kace's tone had a hint of longing in it that made Shadow gulp. But he did not want to jump to conclusions.

"I don't see why not? They managed just fine without you before." Shadow scratched his chin as he considered the situation. "Their only problem is their internal conflicts."

"And I'm the source of most of that." Kace sighed as Shadow voiced the same doubts that he had. "Shadow... I'm going to leave for some time. Will the Tu'Thrag come with me? Or will you stay here?"

"That should be obvious, my Lord." Shadow grinned as he looked at Kace's expression.

"I guess so." Kace chuckled as he looked down into Shadow's eyes and nodded. "Then you'll have to prepare the tribe. We'll decide on the details later. But either way, we have to leave soon. Preferably before we return to Stonefall."

Shadow nodded solemnly as he understood Kace's intentions. "What about Grugda?"

"No. Taking anyone else with us would make them believe I'm showing favouritism. I don't want anyone to use my name to gain advantages." Kace's expression soured as they strode through the streets.

"So, where will we go?" Shadow asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"West... There was a book In Rysa's mansion that mentioned something worth looking into. I want to find the other Gates as soon as possible. Hopefully, we can find a way to destroy them in the process." Kace had a forlorn look on his face as he stared into the distance. "I don't want to spend my entire life here just fighting. I'd like to have a chance to live here peacefully."

"Fat chance!" Shadow snorted, causing Kace to raise an eyebrow. "We're monsters, My Lord. It's in our nature to fight. If we remove all the humans, then the races are bound to turn on one another. Sure it may settle in time. Once everyone has claimed a territory that they're happy with. But that'll be long after we're gone."

Kace thought about what Shadow had said. 'Indeed. The orcs were suppressing the goblins when I first arrived. Now, they're fighting side by side. Shadow is right, they'll probably return to those ways unless they can be unified under a single ruler.'

Kace's frown deepened as he considered that particular future problem. None of the current rulers of each race would be happy to bow to any of the others. They might accept him as their King, but Kace did not wish for that.

'I guess this is why they're fighting over who will become my partner. If I have a child with one of them, it will solve this problem. But it would also elevate my partner's race above the others.' Kace shook his head to clear those gloomy thoughts from his mind. That was still a long way off if it were to even happen.

"How are we going to sneak away? I doubt they'll let you just disappear." Shadow chortled as he imagined the looks on everyone's face when they discovered that Kace had left them.

"Josh is going to help out with that. I've already spoken to him briefly about it. So he'll probably join us for some time."

In all honesty, Kace was confused as to why Josh had agreed. He probably had his own plans, but it made Kace feel somewhat uneasy. Still, it was better than waiting around to deal with whatever the council would throw at him next.

" We're here..." Kace looked at the airship hovering above as he wondered how he could get Rysa up there. 

Luckily, someone had noticed his approach and dropped a rope ladder. Kace smiled as he slung Rysa over his shoulder and took hold of the ladder. All sorts of thoughts were going through his mind as began his climb. 

Meanwhile, in a rocky outcrop in an area of barren hills...

Soul-destroying screams rang out from a figure chained to a rock. He was naked while demonic-looking birds pecked at his flesh. It was difficult to make out any features due to all the blood smeared on him.

"What do you want?" The figure screamed in agony as it tried to understand why he had to suffer so much.

"Well... My pointy-eared friend. Sorry, used to be pointy-eared." A sinister yet handsome figure looked at the elf, who was being tortured. "I have this little feeling that you can help me."

The sinister figure twirled a warped dagger in the palm of his hand as he brushed his black hair behind his ears. The sun sparkled off of his horns as his indigo eyes stared at the elf. 

"There's talk of someone new to the game. And I'd very much like to meet him. You wouldn't happen to know who I'm talking about, would you?" There was a low chuckle as the figure stared at the bloody elf.

The elf tried to shake his head, but he suddenly felt cold steel pressed against his nether regions as the demon's mouth pressed close to the hole where his ear used to be. A chill ran down his spine as he waited for the demon to say something. But he was just treated to some steady breathing.

A bead of sweat appeared on the elf's forehead as he realised what was going on. The demon was basically threatening to cut off his third leg if he thought he was lying!

"Kace! The one you're looking for is Kace!" The elf broke down under the pressure. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the birds continued to strip the meat from his ribs.

"That's more like it!" The demon grinned sadistically as he glanced at the poor figure. "What else can you tell me?"

The elf wailed as he spilt everything he knew about the Chimera. Including the war between the heroes and monsters. The demon's grin widened to an unbelievable degree as he listened to the elf's story.

"I see... What an interesting guy! I can't wait to meet him!" The demon laughed heartily as he jumped up and performed a funny little dance in excitement.

"I told you everything I know! Please! Let me go!" The elf sobbed as the demon turned to glare at him.

"Let you go? My dear elf, would you really abandon your friends like that?" The demon gestured at the dead bodies surrounding the rock with glee. "No, no. I can't let you go. After all, it would be rude of me not to give them a grave marker."

The life fled from the elf's face as he stared at the demon who approached him with a dagger in one hand and a very large stick in the other. The look on the demon's face said that only something bad was about to happen to him!

"Wait! Wait! What are you doing!" The elf yelped with fear as the demon approached.

"What do you mean?" The demon wore a confused look as he followed the elf's eyes. "Ah? The stick? Well, I thought you'd be used to having one up your ass, being an elf and all. What could be a better grave marker?"

The fiendish grin on the demon's face as he continued towards the elf made the latter's mind go blank for a moment. When he finally realised what the demon had said, he fainted while foaming at the mouth.

"Tch, you're no fun. It's not like I was going to do it, anyway." The demon burst out into laughter as upbeat yet eerie music began to play in the hills.