Rise with their eyes shined by the switched-on light, are all the quest takers who have woken before the dawning of the sky, lined up inside the cafeteria for breakfast, some of their bellies growling in anticipation. And sitting down with Nahshon is Ezek who yawns before he takes up his fork, his pointy ears flickering to the sound of the person who appears near, surprised at the sight of a familiar face that stops him from eating.

"Oh! I remember you," The boy grins. "It's me, Bjørn! Remember me? We did a couple of quests together?"

"Oh...It's you," Ezek sighs, his lips against his coffee that he sips.

"Aww, c'mon! Why am I the only one excited?? Come on now, scooch over," Bjørn pushes himself onto the chair with his butt, seated beside Ezek where he starts his breakfast.

"Tsk...you talk too much," Ezek growls, his eyebrow twitching to the annoyance of the boy.

"Now, now, I'm just a kid who's just a little curious, that's all. And if you want, you can ask me anything, anytime. Ah hey, you," He then points at Nahshon.

"H-Hm?" Nahshon stops drinking his chocolate milk, his attention now to the boy.

"Are you his partner?" Bjørn questions.

"I guess so, yeah"

"Ah! Man, is he always so cranky? My dude, I feel sorry for you. Why is he always this mean to everybody? Are you mean, a matter of fact? Hm! Did you know that mean people, are usually just sad on the inside??"

"You see what I'm talking about?" Ezek looks at Nahshon, already stressed as Bjørn laughs.

"Anyway, I heard you guys came in contact with the beast two days ago," Bjørn states. "I can't wait until I'm old enough to go on quests without supervision"

"Hm?" Nahshon questions.

"Didn't you know? To do quests on your own, you have to be 17 or older. In just two years, I'll be a big boy, and I'll need no adults having to watch over m- gah!" Bjørn stops, as comes another who locks him in a neck hold.

"Why the hell are you annoying people so early in the morning for?" The girl asks, strangling the life out of Bjørn.

"N-Nora, I-I'm dying," He taps his friend, his face going red in the grip he feels.

"You suppose to be a priestess or something?" Ezek asks, looking at the girl who's dressed in her long skirt, her head covered with barely any sight of her brunette hair that peeks out.

"Yes! I am a priestess of the goddess of love, harmony, and protection," She sets free of Bjørn, her hand to her small chest, proudly as she pushes it out.

"'Em. Say, my new pals? After I kill this beast, how about we go to my favourite restaurant and get some roast corn to celebrate?"

"You, kill the chimaera?" Nora laughs, slapping Bjørn against the shoulder.

"What is roast corn supposed to look like??" Nahshon asks, his face serious in his question that baffles Bjørn.

"Stop right there!! You've never had roast corn??" Bjørn charges, his hand banged against the table in shock of Nahshon's lack of his favourite food. "Tsk, tsk. My friend, after this, we shall march down into the capital city of StrongCastle, and give to you your first taste of roast corn. Trust me when I say...it will change your life"

"Heh...sure," Nahshon yawns as he rubs his eyes, and slapped across the head is Bjørn by Nora, missing as it had happened, as now the room has gone to silence, for Vernon who enters through the doors of the building, arriving with inside his hand a scroll.

"Alright, with this, we've now gotten the rights to this quest. Now, this isn't any normal monsters we're fighting, so if you're having second thoughts, you have time to leave before your tail goes further up between your legs," Vernon jokes, some laughing at his remark, but so does all remain seated, their selves brave in waiting for the rest of his words.

"I think we're all good, chief!" Bjørn salutes, receiving a gang of laughter for his silliness.

"Hmm...good. Now lift your hands and repeat after me," Vernon commands, and they all lift their hands, most steadily excited to make their mark on this mission, with some wanting to just get it over with.

"Almighty law of the world; Nature, and all its kingdoms. Protect us as we embark on our journey, aid us in our challenge. Breed in us the strength of your divine will, and rise from us the courage we possess deep within. As we lift our weapons for battle, and as we fight on the behalf of our people, so that no harm may come to our families, our friends, our lands. May our ancestors watch over us, may our sacrifices not be in vain, let them pass on to us their strength, wisdom, and formality. So even though we may not want to sacrifice our lives, even though some of us may be afraid, they will accept us, for those who at least fought, proud people of their kind!" ~All

And appear an orb of green light that comes before them all, marking onto them with lasers a symbol they now know as the brand of their alliance, engraved on their hands in clear form to them all. And so the company of soldiers and adventures cheer in the form of their bond alike, all quickly finishing up their meals in their eagerness to ride into battle, as into their rooms they run to, equipping onto themselves the gear that shall serve them in this quest, as for now they load themselves into the trucks they shall ride, with one who's fists clench in squinting his eyes, Nahshon who sits between his new allies, comforted by Vernon who touches his shoulder, smiling to show that he is not alone on this coming conquest.

"You said your name was Ezek, right?" Vernon turns to the Elf.

"Yeah, why?" Ezek answers, Vernon smiling as he nods.

"Huh. Just never thought he would be a family man, always seemed like he would live the rest of his life alone" He laughs, Ezek's face like a bothered one as he slowly shakes his head. "I'm talking about Marshall"

"You know him??" Ezek questions.

"Mhm, He's an old and close friend of mine. But it's not only me and you, because a lot of people also know him, has a lot of fans too," He teaches, pointing at the soldiers next to them who's faces become fascinated in hearing his words.

"Hold up, you're saying you're in the same gang as the 'red revolver'??" A soldier asks, excited as he leans in. "No way! That's insane! That guy's a freaking hero!"

"Hero?" Ezek questions.

"He never told you? Hmm...and I guess you're both not from here either, I assume," He figures as he looks at him and Nahshon, taking in a deep breath before he starts, as comes a collection of memories, ones he will never forget. "1978...the start of 'The Great Depression'. The now King Horik, as a boy, disappeared when the Highsword at the time, Derek Walker, took up the title as the new king of our land. Our economy dropped with the nation's morality, everything was in utter chaos; the streets of many parts of the country places were filled with people hanged, beaten, and many children were left homeless on the streets, some even resorting to really cruel, criminal acts just to survive...even the army got mixed into this chaos. I, for one, was in this mayhem, this hell, looking away from it all, but I couldn't ignore it any longer. Then five years later, after sending a scout to search for the king, we came into contact"

"You and Lenny," Ezek figures, his answer correct.

"Now that I think about it, meeting you resembles the first time I met him. He always looked like he was ready to shoot someone if we weren't careful around him," He chuckles. "Hm..it almost seems like it was one year ago when we fought for our country. I'm just glad everything turned out alright in the end...though we had many sacrifices. The soldiers at our side...broke down many times, too many times. But the King, because he had to be strong for his people, he couldn't show his weakness for them to see, because it was he who had to bring us through that hell, as in it all...we sacrificed many parts of ourselves, even losing some our dear comrades who fought beside us"

"I...I didn't know..." Ezek goes into silence, in the guilt he now aches from, sorry of the day when he cursed at Horik, as for the rest of the drive, is a moment of silence as Vernon reminisce on his past days, his allies, mistakes, victories, and for the younger ones especially to be thankful for the sacrifices that were made, as now they have reached the domain of the beast they are to face.

"We're here, Commander Vernon," The driver informs, all vehicles stopping at the different entrance points of the large opening inside the mountains, the cave the beast dwells in.

Thus everyone gets out of their vehicles as quietly as they can, leaving within them the drivers who will wait for their return, as group by group, they enter into the home of what awaits them. And already, creepier it becomes as some can't help but look around in fear of something catching them off guard, as its home is a shuddering place they hear all sorts of things clicking at their senses. Vernon stops his company, his fearless soldiers preparing without hesitation, waiting for the next order of their commander, but calmed is their spirits, as to them he simply points out the hundreds of bats hanging from above in their sleep, putting his finger to his lips, warning them of their level of noise. And so as they go further within, is the light of the sun that fades darker, the slight ruffling of bats and droplets of liquid tapping the ground, creating echoes that stretch through the cave. And in its ambience, to a crack of light that shines through, hearing growls and wings flapping, have the company stopped to.

Nodding to his group, through the crack Vernon squeeze himself into as the lead, accompanied by the rest who follow, Nahshon and Ezek being the last. And there they see with the light to their eyes once again, all the other companies that have made their way as well, greeted by Bjørn who waves from above, circling the beast that they see under the ray of light that shines gracefully from above, in its slumber that they haven't disturbed as they watch from atop its home. To one of his soldiers Vernon looks up to, and now played out is a form of signals he portrays to the lizardman and his squadron, and so they begin in moving down, closer to the beast as ordered by their commander. And now that they've done so, ordered by Vernon are the other units who are moved like chess pieces on a board, intriguing Nahshon who sees his brilliant form of strategy, as around the chimaera, is a one-way lane that is formed. And so is everybody fully prepared, as by the lift of Vernon's hand, their eyes locked onto their target, their bodies already warmed up in the anticipation of what to come next.

"...Now!" Vernon commands, and slowly waking is the beast that has had its full rest, into the item that is flung at its face.

"Wake up, motherfucker!!" A soldier shouts.

And off goes a firecracker that surprises it out of its drowsiness, into its instincts that jumps it back in letting out a mighty cry that shakes the cave. And so it commences its wild attacks, its giant paws all over the place as it yearns to escape the chaos that it has woken into, blocked off by the soldiers who roar as they bang their weapon to match its own roaring prowess. Then comes a single warrior in the midst of it all, Bjørn who lands a strike in its belly, into its scar that he reopens, burrowing his sword deep within. But shocked he becomes, as with his sword he tries to pull away, as stuck is his weapon within the hard flesh of the beast.

"It's deep...right in there," Bjørn struggles, and in his comprehension, thrown into the air is his body by the beast that flashes him off, scaring Nora who watches as it happens, but saved is he by the shout of the unit of tanks that stops its attempt in ending his life, it instincts led to who it decides to face instead.

"Not so fast, bestia!" The lizardman shouts, and unmounting their shields is him and his unit who tells the beast to bring it, as together in unity they shout a tremendous warcry, fazing the beast in its tracks where it then springs up, whooshing into the air with its wings flapping as hard as they can, it's only goal to now escape through the opening atop the cave, and unfortunately for it, its luck does not aid it in its desperation, as in its wings, through them are spears that drags it back to the ground.

"Captain Arnaldo!! You're up!!" One of the members of the tank unit shout to the lizardman, as in its return to a stance, sounding to them is its inhaling that roars to them a mighty blaze, and so they set formation, lifting to their chest their shields in hand, summoning to its attack an equal force that stops its development, and through the sheet of fire, comes Arnaldo and another member in a duo, thrusting their way through with big arms of muscle that tightens at the grip of their giant swords with a mighty overhead swing, cleaving through the great wings of the beast in one successful try as they roar.

"Break formation!!" Armaldo commands to his unit, as with their strike, the beast becomes free of its restraints at the cost of losing its wings, its powerful body running through their ranks at great speed as the soldiers triumph with achieving their first goal.

And so they follow, its body smashing and crashing with the cave, disturbing the peace of the other creatures within, forming swarms of bats who screech as everybody chases it down. And so has Vernon picked up on the light ahead, sensing in their midst the draft of wind that passes them by, as jumping out the cave, is the beast with its side bleeding of damaged wings, tumbling down the slope of the mountain and crashing into the forest.

"Checkpoint A! It's coming your way. Be prepared!" Vernon goes onto his radio, with appearing are the trucks that they load themselves back into, continuing their hunt down the rocky land within the forest, the soldiers clearly enjoying the thrill of their quest.

And there, Checkpoint A begins to hear the howling echoes as they come closer, the cheering, the shaking of the earth beneath their feet, as now in their vision, the monster's atrocious face that they quickly move out in its crashing into their roadblocks.

"Alright! Checkpoint A is cleared! Checkpoint B, you're up!!" Vernon informs them, as on their way to the second checkpoint, caught up within the chaos as well is another creature and her babies, a red drake running away with more animals by her side. And at last they reach Checkpoint B, to a unit of mages they see clasp their hands in order, their auras unifying with a chant they speak, erecting a wall of stone that becomes engrave with the old language of this world, meeting with the beast that crashes, its skin burning from touching the crest, forcing it into going down the path of left.

"Hm," Vernon smiles, seeing as they are almost at the fort. "Checkpoint C! You're the last one. Get ready!!"

And lastly they reach the end of all the checkpoints, and there they register their eyes to the structure that still stands mighty within the mountains, the Beastbane fortress, as they travel upwards to a construction site above it.

"Poor thing, maybe if you haven't been terrorizing people, I could've tried to tame you," Vernon says, as to the beast, its presence opposing the beast's size and power, comes a roller that challenges its might, as into the beast's side its rams, creating a struggle of force as everybody cheers the driver in the mission of ramming it off the hill.

And the struggle is won, as the beast had lost its footing in the clash with the driver, and begin its drive against the cliff, as it is then picked up into the claw of the roller and locked inside as its driven further down the incline, by where it is finally thrown off, in silence along the rocks that were also clawed up, embracing the strong breeze that gushes against it as it cools its damaged wings, down into where it becomes buried under rocks, within the walls of Beastbane.

"D-Did we kill it...??" Bjørn questions to them all.

"It won't die so easily... let's go," Vernon commands.

With their morale boosted, down the hill the band of 60 march, their bodies primed as they now face the gates before them, by the black fort that still stands strong, built by the people of the 9th century long ago. And so the iron doors hollow, as in its hold now open, is the band of those who will kill the beast, once and for all, as within there they see it, under the boulders with no sound or movement.

"It's dead. It's really dead," The man laughs, and so he begins dancing by the grave of the beast, kicking the stone in taunting its death.

"Tch...then it never made sense coming anyway...we're still getting paid, right?" Ezek asks, having Vernon and others crackle up.

"Well...that was anti-climatic," Another says, and at the moments end of his words, in front is the boulders they see begin to move, wishing he had never said that as they all back up to the sounds of growling, rocks falling off, and the stench clutching back to their nostrils, as in its bliss of rage, awakening is the beast who jostle the rocks off its body in breathing fire into the air as it boils with the shame of almost being defeated, its might scattering rocks as it thrusts around its claws.

"Here it comes!!" Bjørn yells, grabbing Nora.

"H-Hey!?" She says, blushing at his bravery, as Bjørn jumps atop a wall with her as everybody else spreads out, seeing as the beast scatters flames all over its path, as in its first glance after, it begins its chase of the target it has chosen.

"Well damn!!" Ezek shouts, as it is him and Nahshon it has decided to chase.

And through the complex spaces of the fortress they sprint, as the beast charges with absolute rage in its goal to catch them, nearly hacked by its claws in every changing moment as they've now reached atop a building, followed by the beast who brings its heavy build onto it as well, crumpling the structure beneath its weight, causing massive destruction with shaking their balance as it tries to snatch at them like a cat wanting its fish.

"Oh my fucking god!!" Nahshon shouts, feet wobbling as he tries not to die., and so they jump to another tower, Ezek landing on his back, as within his hands, summoned is his most prized possession, his eyes crazed with excitement.

"Roar at this, you fucking stink bag!" Ezek shouts, as in a halt of absolute surprise, black goes the vision of the beast, as to its hideous face, an engulfment of glow from the multiple rockets hitting it at them same, sending it off from atop the roofs, as the buildings collapsing causes the boys' own to do the same, both jumping off in different directions in avoiding getting buried within the rubbles.

"Wow! That was freaking awesome!!" Bjørn smiles, amazed by the show from Ezek. "Aww man, I didn't get to do much-oh"

The beast springs back to life once again, as it knows it does want to give up on its pride, showing to them the masterpiece of what Ezek had one, as its face oozes blood with its skin torn and dangling. And atop the rubbles, is the one who has done to him, whistling as he places his hat on, Ezek who's eyes angers its soul.

"Look at you now! Not so tough now, are ya?" Ezek spits, smirking at its torn up face as he's impressed by what he's done, as so the beast looks up to him, half of its face damaged to the point of seeing its hidden flesh and bones, and its eye swelled like it's about to fall out at any given moment.

"...Preposterous...!" They all hear, their skin quickly shuddered at the voice in disbelief, cold chills running down their spines at the demonic, damaged voice, still comprehending what it was that spoke.

"Did...did it just talk...?!" A soldier questions, as no way he believes that the creature had talked.

"N-No way...we've been doing this for a while now...I've never heard a monster talk!" Another says, as scratching his chin in wonder is Vernon who has also heard its voice.

"Oh! So you can use big words too," Ezek laughs. "Tell me, how are you feeling right now? You scared, little kitty?"

"Hmmmm," The beast sounds, into chuckles that hang its head low. "You are nothing...but an insignificant worm. How dare you treat a mighty beast like me this way, puny elven boy? Have you no fear for your life?"

"Meow, meow, meow, that's all the bullshit I hear coming from you," Ezek taunts it, ignoring its speech. "Look at how the tables turned, I know you see it. Now tell me, you either let me kill and skin you down to bones, or join the fucking circus, captured and turned into a clown's pet. Choose..."

"Y-You...grrrr," It sounds, it fangs clenching against each other, and comes something that begins sprouting out its head, horns that slowly tear through its tissue, masked in blood and flesh, shouting to its enemy a terrifying shriek that forms from out its damage voice, running towards Ezek as comes another threat into the battle.

"Look! Above us!!" Arnaldo shouts, as in their midsts, appearing is a large serpent that slithers its way into the fort, slapping away many of the soldiers with its giant body, as Ezek in grinning, embraces the challenge that runs forward to him, pulling into his hand a grenade he put to his teeth.