Chapter 2: A Monster and A Girl. (part 2)

Roland saw the effect that this creature was having on his men, so he stepped up with his sword raised towards the being before them. 

“Fear not men! It is but a simple humanoid creature, you who have faced far worse can deal with it!” Roland encouraged his men, “Go, dispatch of it so we may continue.”  

Eight men then let out a battle cry, pumping themselves up in order to ignore the rising fear that was consuming them. They rushed towards the monstrous creature with their swords raised high, however just as they were about to cut it down...  

The sound of the monster’s claws stretching out was heard...  

In but a simple moment, the monster had slung its arm and cut down all eight knights! Its elongated claws retracted back to normal shortly after.  

“Me said... Leave... not attack me... Bad.” it uttered in irritation. 

“W-What!?” Roland yelled in surprise, and why wouldn’t he?  

Those armors were crafted using Adamantium ore by the royal blacksmiths themselves! Not even a dragon’s claws should be able to cut through those armors that easily! 

“M-Monster!!"  

One of the knights screamed with fear in his eyes while seeing what that ‘thing’ had done to his companions. His face became pale and his body trembled a little. The others furrowed their eyebrows as their faces filled with uncertainty and dread.  

“Those eyes again, huh…” The monster muttered softly, although not soft enough to escape Elyenora’s ears. 

She gazed at its blank face and met with a dark, dead gaze that was preying on the knights. There was something inside the creature's eye, it was the same as the eyes she had once seen before, same as the eyes which were like a bottomless abyss of loneliness.   

‘He’s… Not like a monster at all…’ Elyenora thought to herself, coming to her own conclusion about the being that had appeared in front of her pursuers through seeing it with her own eyes. 

"What are you all waiting for? Attack it!" shouted Roland impatiently and a bit flustered after witnessing the previous scene, fear slowly built up in his psyche as his vision tunneled onto the creature's bright crimson eye.  

“C-Captain… With all due respect, that thing just decimated more than half of our group in one stroke!” One of the frightened knights spoke up. 

"Can we just leave?" chimed one of the knights as he just wanted to abandon the mission completely, this was beyond his pay grade!  

“Tsk, a bunch of cowards." Roland muttered, trying to get his act together. "You either die by its claw or die by my blade!” He roared while pointing his sword at them. 

"Captain has gone mad…" the same knight that suggested to leave suddenly had the urge to punch his egoistic superior, "Go fight it yourself if you dare then, captain!"  

“Bastard! I'm gonna kill you first!" Roland threatened, as his face flushed red from anger and embarrassment.  

The monster held no more patience for the idiocy of the brawny man that seemed to be the leader, “No… You die first.” It muttered as it suddenly appeared before the division captain, towering over him with its height of 6’4’’, it raised its claws once more before swinging downwards to cut the man in half. 

Roland's vision darkened, a shadow loomed over everything as the only thing he could see was the Monster's dark silhouette and glowing crimson eye.

He barely managed to react to the sudden attack as he raised his sword up to block the incoming claws. A loud screech sounded across the clearing as the claws tore into the sword’s sides and send gusts of wind flowing across the vicinity. 

Pushed back by a few meters, Roland steadied himself and shouted, “F*cker!” after which he retracted his blade, trying to counterattack the being before him. 

He quickly swung his sword towards the monster, putting all his strength into the blow, and even activating the unique ability of his sword, creating a lightning clad blade that should have been able to behead even the guardian of the forest were he still alive, however… 

The sword’s edge was simply caught by the claws of the creature, stopping abruptly midair as the lightning raged all over the vicinity. Roland tried to pull back his sword but soon found out that the blade was tightly grasped by the monster’s claws. Gritting his teeth, the captain grunted in struggle but to no avail. 

“Are you... Leaving?” The monster asked softly. 

“Screw you!” Roland yelled in anger, replacing whatever nervousness and fear he held for the monster with rage as he continued his struggle, he needed to focus if he wanted to survive till the end of this day. 

“Then... Me is done... with you.” The monster spoke and tightened its grip, shattering the blade with all but ease. 

“I-Impossible!” The captain yelled whilst falling down on his arse. “That was a famed sword crafted by dwarv-” He was cut short. 

“Don’t care.” The monster spoke and tore into his chest, piercing his heart with its spear-like tail. 

"H-Help…" muttered the captain in horror as his gaze wandered to his men. His lips spurting out blood the more he tried to speak. His hope, the men, only looked at each other and with just a moment of hesitation, they turned their bodies and ran with their tails between their legs, screaming in terror. They only had one thing in common in their minds right now, 'To hell with the captain!' 

The monster retracted its tail as the captain breathed his last, “All you had to… Do… Was leave…” it spoke in quiet whispers, before turning to the last person remaining. 

The girl with sunset colored eyes, Elyenora.

… 

The sun shone brightly over the bloody scene deep within the mountain’s forest, the Monster stood over the young girl named Elyenora as it looked at her with a blank stare. 

Elyenora herself was also staring at the being, gazing at it with interest and curiosity, a sense of sadness and pity began to loom over her the more she looked at it. 

“Will you... Leave me... Be?” it asked softly and with patience, snapping her from her trance. 

“Ah! I... Uh...” She was at a loss for words for a moment, before fixing her posture and bowing deeply, “First off, allow me to express my utmost gratitude to you, sir!” 

An awkward silence then loomed over the scene. 

“... What...?” The monster asked softly. 

“Um... For saving me.” Elyenora raised her head, now looking up at the creature’s face. “Whoa, you’re really tall up close...” She spoke in amazement as she looked him all over, moving from side to side to look over its monster like body. 

“Me... Ish...” It answered, confused at the girl’s behavior. “But... Me didn’t... Save you, on purpose...”  

Shaking her head slightly as she gave the being in front of her an innocent smile, she stated, "But it's a fact that I owe you my life. May I know your name, sir? My name is Elyenora." 

“... What is... A name...?” The monster asked, still very confused as it gazed into her eyes. 

“Huh? You... You don’t know what a name is? It's what other people call you. The way they refer to you when they want to get your attention, you know?” Elyenora tried to explain, moving her head to the side. 

“Oh... Monster... Me ish monster.” The creature gave a curt reply. 

“Um... No, that’s not a name...” Elyenora spoke, a bit gloomy as she continued “So, you don’t have a name, sir?” 

“Me is Monster, me has always been called monster.” The monster explained calmly. 

"No, you are not. I know you are not monster." Reaching out her hand to the creature’s face, Elyenora spoke patiently with a smile, "You are a human. Inside, you are just like me and anyone else." 

"Human..? Me... Is human?" asked the monster back in uncertainty as it was the first time someone had called it a human, the first time someone had spoken so calmly to it.  

"That's right." nodded Elyenora confidently with her smile becoming gentler, "You used to be human, just like us. I can see it. Your soul, it was much purer than most other humans. You are a good person, sir."  

"Good... Person..."  

"Yes, a good person." repeated Elyenora as she gently grabbed the monster’s hand with hers, "A good person is someone that would do their best to help others. I believe, that you used to be such a person. Someone who cared for others and did good deeds."  

Elyenora’s voice become warmer as she spoke, thinking how wonderful it would have been to meet a soul as kind as him. Unfortunately, a misfortune had befallen him and left him in this state. 

“Me... Doesn’t think me is a good person... Me ish always hated wherever me goes.” The creature replied with uncertainty. 

“That’s horrible...” She looked at him, her eyes filled with pity. 

‘This poor man has been alone for too long... His soul cries from the solitude...’ Elyenora thought whilst gazing deeper into the monster, she could see the colors of his soul due to her special eyes. 

Elyenora was a born as a noble, and like all nobles she had an inherent ability, a magical eye that in her case allowed her to discern someone’s soul and what it holds. 

Because of that, she knew that this was no mere monster. This was a human with a background she dreaded the thought of, she felt sad just looking at the fading humanity that this creature, no, this person had been losing. 

“You’re... no, no scared? Me is... Confused...” The man spoke in question.  

He had never once encountered eyes like hers, beauty aside they looked at him not with dread or hatred but with pity and kindness, things he had never known. 

She didn’t see him for what he looked like, but what he was deeper within. 

“Of course not, you saved me after all! It would be rude of me to act scared of you, now wouldn’t it?” Elyenora explained, puffing her cheeks. “You sir, need a name!”  

“A name? You can just... Call me... Monster.” He replied.  

“No, that’s not a name! That’s bad, you need a proper name. Like Julius? How about Julius?” Elyenora asked with a smile, only to receive a displeased look from the monstrous man. 

“Mm... Not Julius then... Lenard? Roggvir? Jenkins? Zack? Dorian?” Elyenora spoke in many names, however nothing seemed to peak the man’s interest. 

“Me is simply... Monster...” He spoke quietly, seemingly reluctant to part with the moniker. 

“Mmm... Fine then,” Elyenora seemingly gave up, before thinking of a new name, “if you want to be called Monster that badly... Then how about Mon’Ter? It sounds more like a name and keeps what you apparently are used to being called.” She said with a grin. 

“Mon... Ter...? Mon’Ter... Mmm... Me likes it, me is Mon’Ter. Yes.” Mon’Ter nodded, cracking a smile for the first time since his frowning face appeared before Elyenora. 

The girl beamed a smile, “Whoa! He can smile! He can smile! I’m glad you like the name Mon’Ter!” Elyenora grinned widely, happy to have granted a name to her savior. 

“Mmm... Thank you... Ely... Elye... Elu... Enli...?” Mon’Ter’s tongue began twisting, incapable of pronouncing the girl’s name. 

“Pfff! Hahahah!” Elyenora laughed, “If you’re having a rough time saying the full thing, then just call me Ely I suppose.” She said, placing her hands behind her back as she moved left and right, still amused by Mon’Ter’s attempts at saying her name. 

“Okay... Ely.” Mon’Ter spoke with a soft smile. 

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you Mon’Ter.” Elyenora gave a smile filled with confidence, still pleased at the fact the gloomy looking man had smiled. 

“Mon’Ter has... A question.” Mon’Ter spoke up.  

“Hm? What is it?” Elyenora inquired, curious as to what the newly named man had to say. 

“Why are your eyes... Different? Me has never seen... Eyes like that...” Mon’Ter asked. 

“Well... I have magical eyes that I was born with, being a noble and all, and well... I can see your soul with them, if that makes sense! Yours is...” Elyenora spoke, whilst placing a hand on Mon’Ter’s chest. “Human, from your chest to, most of your head... However, the rest is so jumbled up... It was hard to tell what you were at first really, but I know your base is that of a human at least. So, that makes you a human. It’s why I said you were one before too.” She said while smiling at Mon’Ter, carefree to the weight that her own words carried for the man. 

And unknowing that this wasn’t what he was asking about.

“...” Mon’Ter was still shocked by this girl, perhaps the most he had been in his whole twenty years of life that he remembered as a Monster. 

This girl held no fear for him, her eyes looked to him kindly and she even dared to call him a human? 

He was a human? 

“Indeed. You’re a human, perhaps not entirely due to your own circumstances but at your base you feel pain, loss and are... Lonely... Your emotions seem to be sealed as well, but they’re there. I assure you Mon’Ter... You’re a human.” Elyenora said whilst still smiling kindly. 

“Human...” Mon’Ter murmured, thinking back to all the humans he had encountered before. 

They all seemed so happy to be together with their kind, they laughed and look so joyful. He wanted to be like that too, but he was always alone.  

Always the monster. 

‘But, with this girl... Ely... She seems happy to talk to me, just like the humans usually are when they’re together...’ Mon’Ter thought, thinking over the entire situation around him. ‘Could... Could this be what being human is like? Talking... So normally... With someone else...’ 

“Ely...?” Mon’Ter spoke up softly. 

“Yes, Mon’Ter?” She asked, wondering what he might have on his mind. 

“Can you show me what being a human means?” Mon’Ter asked, his eye looking to her innocently with a bit more vibrancy and color than before.  

This meeting, this request, would end up sparking a turning point within history! One that would change the current course that things were taking. 

Whether it was for the better, we would have to find out while following the changes Mon’Ter would make to Elyenora’s destiny. 

...