My (Monster?) Hero Life

"Hmph. What makes you think I'd give you that walking ashtray even if I had him?" Kace wore a confident smirk on his face even as he cautiously studied the figure before him.

Erik Stormbringer was no joke. He had gone head to head against Yul several times in his life and came out alive. He was far beyond Kace in terms of level and experience. The real question was, could Kace's sudden bumps in his attributes close the gap enough to let him come out of this alive?

As the two stared at each other, Kace began to wonder how Erik even knew he would turn up here. After all, Kace had not appeared outside of Stonefall or the area of the monster's influence since his return until now. 'Fuck me! Where did Jal go?' Kace quickly sorted through his memories and noticed a moment just before they all split up where Jal was suddenly missing. 

With the clash between the two sides becoming imminent, he had overlooked Jal's presence entirely. Kace's expression turned ugly as he stared at Erik. 'That doesn't make sense, though. The letter inviting me here arrived while all of us were in the other world.' Kace's mind reeled as he tried to come up with an explanation.

"Seems like you've half figured it out," Erik said with a stern expression. "Now, let me tell you why you'll return Phillip to us."

Kace threw a hateful look at Erik, but he could not afford to act rashly in this situation. "Go on."

"Right about now, your little vampire princess should be facing Sarah. We all know how that turned out for her last time. Imagine what will happen without her receiving any support? Your Eljein friend is paired up with a promising disciple of Sarah's. That lovely young lady's name is Kaitlyn. And finally, the man you know as Jal is just a disguise. One of the many faces worn by a hero named Charlie hat gave the vampires quite a beating. He's dealing with whatever that new monster is that you've got trailing you these days."

Kace's expression became dark as his aura dropped to freezing temperatures. Right now, each of his companions was facing powerful heroes on their own. On top of that, Erik was strong enough to keep him pinned down here. Lilly had no real battle experience. Sophia was not fast enough to counter Sarah. As for Grugda. Well, Kace had no idea what Kaitlyn was capable of, but the heroes had surely paired her with Grugda for a reason.

'Is Phillip really worth all of this effort?' Kace could not help but have his doubts. Sure, he could understand a master attempting to save their apprentice. However, this seemed like overkill. Kace had a suspicion that there was more to it than merely rescuing Phillip. Kace quickly wracked his brain for an answer since it might be their only real way out of this situation.

"Lady Rysa…" Kace replied as a smirk crossed over his face.

Erik's expression became grim as he stared at Kace. "What do you know about her?"

"Nothing much. But you went to a lot of trouble to deal with her. You've even kept assassins lurking around the battle site and in this city. You guys don't want to see her return. This isn't about saving Phillip. It's about keeping her from returning. Go ahead. Tell me, I'm wrong!" Kace had a wicked smile on his face as he ranted, exposing the heroes actual goals right in front of Erik's face.

Seeing that Erik did not seem inclined to answer, Kace kept stalling for time. "Let me guess. Jal was actually a real native at some point that actually sought out my help. You guys probably discovered it, interrogated him, then killed him. Forcing your guy to get to close to me so that you could pinpoint my arrival here and set up this little ambush."

Although Kace was smirking at Erik, he was also inwardly cursing at the heroes ingenuity. They had effortlessly used a cry for help to entrap him. If they still had Phillip, this would have been a death sentence for Kace. Instead, it had been used for negotiations. As long as the monsters had possession of Phillip and the spark he carried, there was a risk of Lady Rysa resurrecting. 

'I know what to do now. Erik is taking my people hostage to back me into a corner. He'd probably kill them even if I did hand Phillip over. Well, two can play at that game!' Kace darted towards Erik before he had a moment to realise that Kace had gone on the offensive! He had already closed half of the distance when he shot out his new Venomous Thread in a web formation to cover the entire street!

Erik snorted at the attack when he finally registered what was happening. He had seen the Chimera's famous Spider Thread before, so he thought he knew what to expect. However, a sense of danger entered Erik's consciousness as he picked up on something strange. He immediately released lightning to counter the attack before it could get any closer to him. 

As the Venomous Thread was ripped into ribbons, he noticed what had triggered his senses. The thread was green instead of its usual white colour. 'He's made some changes.' Erik frowned as he realised this. He had come prepared for the Chimera's usual tricks, but he had not expected for them to have fundamentally changed from what he knew. 

'How much has changed? Is it just this one spell or more? Does he ever stop growing?' Erik was shocked that in the short time since the fight in the vampire's world Kace had managed to make progress again. It gave Erik a sense of foreboding that told him that things were no longer as simple as he thought they would be.

When Erik's eyes moved back towards where Kace was rushing at him from, he discovered that the Chimera had disappeared! 'Where the fuck did that little monster go?' Erik frantically searched his surroundings. He was expecting some kind of sneak attack! However, he was instantly infuriated when he spotted Kace's figure escaping at full speed towards the main battlefield!

As Kace leapt across the rooftops, his phantom hydra-head kept tabs on Erik's progress as he raced to catch up. The Hydra would send warnings to Kace as Erik launched spell after spell in an attempt to slow him down. However, Erik only became frustrated when Kace entirely dodged each attack without slowing down or looking back at all! Erik was utterly baffled as to how Kace could accomplish such a feat.

In turn, Erik had to avoid the Plague Spears that Kace accurately directed towards him without even looking. 'That damned monster! What? Does he have eyes on the back of his head now?' Erik was seething as he complained about what should be impossible. If only he knew he had hit upon the truth of the matter.

Kace deliberately did not detonate the spears to lull Erik into believing that they were exactly like his old Ice Spear, just with a different effect. Erik began to use his vast experience and superior reactions to minimise his wasted movements. Eventually, it got to the point where the Plague Spears would only miss him by a narrow margin!

Kace grinned savagely as he kept his sights fixated on his escape route. This prevented Erik from seeing the face that his opponent was making in time to realise that something was wrong. Just as he manoeuvred to narrowly avoid the latest Plague Spear sent his way, he felt a sudden sense of danger! Erik had no idea where the sensation was coming from, but he instinctively reacted to it!

Lightning burst forth across his skin as he passed the Plague Spear. Right at that moment, his eyes caught sight of the spell detonating! Sending a multitude of shrapnel pieces in his direction! Erik cursed as he was forced to counter it with his lightning. Sparks and explosions erupted in the air behind Kace, even as he watched the poisonous gas from the detonation spreading.

Erik burst out of the cloud with a furious expression that screamed that he had completely lost his cool. The shards had failed to hit his body due to his lightning, but that did not protect him from the cloud of poison as it infiltrated his lungs. A trickle of black blood ran down Erik's chin from his mouth, it was clear that the poison was some kind of effect on him, but Kace had no idea how the level difference would affect its potency.

Still, it was enough to buy him the time he needed to reach the central battlefield where Grugda was facing off against Kaitlyn. The Eljein looked like a walking pin cushion with the number of arrows sticking out of his body. It was clear at a glance that each shot was aimed to weaken and incapacitate Grugda rather than kill him. 

As Kace stared down at the unfolding e battlefield, he realised the two sides were relatively evenly matched. That was because, hidden amongst the natives' ranks, were plenty of heroes. The whole situation would end in the monsters defeat in this area once Grugda fell. His determination to protect the monsters with his magic was all that was keeping the delicate balance from crumbling.

Kace leapt towards Kaitlyn, who sensed his imposing presence descending on her from above. She panicked and quickly retreated from her position. A small crater appeared when Kace slammed into the ground, knocking the surrounding enemies off balance. Kaitlyn's uneasy expression became one of relief when she spotted Erik on top of the roof that Kace had leapt from.

"Everyone halt!" Kace roared, causing everyone to falter, including Erik. Kace turned to fix the hero with his golden eyes. "Make one more move, and I'll make sure that no hero leaves here with any hope of seeing the future…"