My (Monster?) Hero Life

Kace stood on the deck of the Freedom as it surged through the sea on a heading for Ulafor Island. He was rather enjoying the journey that had taken them several days so far without incident. Unfortunately, he had to leave everyone behind except Shadow. The army still needed its commanders to keep it battle-ready.

Terrell rested on a chair that he had brought out as he breathed in the scent of the ocean air with a calm expression. Kace got the impression that this Hero wanted nothing more than a quiet and peaceful life. 'But what do I want?' Kace asked himself this question more frequently than he ever had before.

He had begun this journey basically because he had been told to. Some part of him had resonated with the goal of pushing the heroes out of this world. But beyond that? He did not really have a clue of what he wanted. He could only guess that it would depend on who he had become by the time he was finished.

Kace looked back on his short life in this world so far and sighed in resignation. There was always something happening, and he never really got the chance to just enjoy the world. Would it be wrong of him to take things even just a bit slower? Give himself time to decide what he was fighting for other than because it felt right to do so?

'Forget it.' Kace snorted. 'That's just idle daydreaming. How can I possibly move freely in a world where there are heroes at every turn that would just try to kill me.'

Kace shook his head as he turned his gaze back on the horizon. The dark storm clouds that acted as a barrier to their destination looked menacing. 'I can't wait to see how Terrell deals with Yul.' Kace thought with a mischievous smile as they drew close to the rain that lashed down around the Island.

It was needless to say that the Freedom in its current state effortlessly traversed these waters. What should usually be a perilous and slow journey across the barrier became nothing more than a short jaunt. This was due to the Freedom's abilities of sailing without using actual wind, and the waves could not slow it down at all.

Soon, sunlight streaked across the deck as Kace and Terrell laughed at the experience. Josh had disappeared into his cabin ever since they had set sail. They had decided not to bother him and were sure that Josh would come out if he was really needed. Although, Kace actually wanted to hear more about what Josh had been up to.

He felt like the wraith was hiding something from him, but that could just be his imagination. As the Island grew in size in their vision, three large dots rose into the sky from a rocky cliff. 'Ah, that'll be the welcome waggon.' Kace grinned. He knew that these dots would be the airships that had been stationed here to guard the Gate.

However, as he stared at the coastline, he noticed that Yul's hulking figure was nowhere to be seen! 'Let's just hope he's having a nap or something. I don't really want to play hide and seek with the big guy. The captain of the airships soon confirmed their identity and let them pass. Though, this was only because of Kace.

As the Freedom's crew brought the ship in skilfully and anchored it off the beach, Josh finally strode out from his isolation. He glanced around with a severe expression on his face before barking some orders at his ghostly crew.

"Are we all ready?" Josh asked as he walked up to his two guests.

"All good on my end." Kace shrugged his shoulders as he smirked.

"Well… I could do with two or three more drinks first…" Terrell casually commented.

Both Josh and Kace glanced at him incredulously. Drink? At this time? Have you not had enough already?

Terrell burst out into laughter when he saw their expressions. "Of course I was joking! Just had to lighten the mood. You guys are so serious all the time. Live a little! No offence Josh."

Kace chuckled at that, but the joke seemed to hit a soft spot for the wraith who glared at the Hero. If Terrell were not as strong as he was, Kace got the impression that Josh would have tossed him overboard by now.

"Right, you two can settle this later. Let's just deal with Yul as quickly as possible. The sooner we get back and deal with Lady Rysa, the better." Kace cut in before the atmosphere could become too tense.

The other two grunted before all three of them casually leapt over the rail and landed in the water with a splash. Well, except for Josh. Who was flashing an eerie smile at Terrell as he stood on the water's surface? A faint green glow emanated froths bodies. He looked down on the Hero treading water.

"I'll meet you on the shore," Josh stated before taking off at full speed as quickly as if he were already on solid land.

'That's a pretty neat trick. I wonder if I can learn it.' Kace thought as he watched the wraith increase the distance between them. "Shall we?"

"Sure." Terrell chuckled.

Soon, this strange pair were swimming through the shallows as fast as they could. Their armour was weighed down quite a bit with the seawater that had seeped into the fabric parts.

As their feet finally touched the sandy beach, they could not help but throw cold glares towards Josh. The wraith had a broad grin on his face as he watched the duo drip seawater from head to toe.

"Shall we go find Yul now?" Josh chuckled as he stared at them.

"Maybe we should try off first." Kace sighed before glancing around.

The monster encampment on the Island was only a short distance from here, but he still had bad memories of some of the predators here. 'There wouldn't be any this close to the shore now, would there?'

Kace even found himself entertaining the idea of going on a hunting expedition. There was still plenty of creatures here that he could attempt to Assimilate. During his last visit, he had been in such a rush that he never really got the chance to find anything useful.

'Maybe later, I can come back once we settle things in the North.' Kace made a mental note to himself to return here. With a nod of satisfaction, he chose a place to sit down and wait to dry out.

They only had to wait for around half an hour. After all, the environment here was sweltering. Since everyone was now ready, Kace led the group into the jungle. It did not take long before they heard the guttural yelling of the various races stationed here.

With a sigh of relief, Kace began to jog towards the boisterous noise. Terrell even had a curious look on his face as he followed the others. The smell of something cooking entered their nostrils as they emerged from the foliage next to the noise.

On a platform, in the middle of the crowd, was Phillip. He was currently being burned alive on a spit as Yul laughed. The giant was presently lying on his side and propped his head up with a rocky hand.

Yul did not even notice the trio's arrival as he started at the show with a wicked look in his eyes. Kace was about to start laughing. That was when he saw that Terrell's usually friendly expression had become cold and dark as he stared at what was happening.

'Oh shit. Hopefully, he doesn't lose it!' Kace stepped back as he did not want to get dragged into this. It was evident that this was done on Yul's whim.

Yul seemed to sense that something was wrong as he began to search the crowd with his eyes. He felt like he was being looked at as if he were a punching bag.

When he spotted Kace, he was about to call him over with a wide grin. That was until he recognised the Hero standing next to him. His demeanour instantly became panicked as he suddenly tried to lurch to his feet.

Kace's eyes went wide as he witnessed this extreme reaction! However, Yul did not even manage to take a single step before a magical green light exploded from Terrell's outstretched hand. The bolt of magic struck Yul, whose eyes rolled back into his head before he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Kace was gobsmacked at how quickly Yul had been dealt with! He started at Terrell with a new sense of respect. 

"Can I ask?" Kace licked his lips nervously. "But what exactly did you do to him?"

Terrell shrugged his shoulders before replying in a calm voice. "I just made him remember what happened the last time we met..."