Monster

“Does it matter if he’s different in your eyes?” asks Niklaus. “To me, a monster will always be a monster.”

“Niklaus, that’s enough.”

“Enough? Louisa, are you so blinded by love that you can’t see him for what he is? He destroyed our home. He’s a disaster in human form.” Niklaus turns to me and says, “Why do you impersonate a human, anyway? Do you try so hard to hide your true form? Are you ashamed of your dragon blood?”

Louisa slaps him across the face. He stands there, stunned. Then, he turns to Louisa, who glares at him. “Niklaus, I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but you need to stop. I hate that I must agree with that woman, but Ivy was right. Your pride is only holding you back. No one will look down on you if you—”

“Shut up.”

“What?”

“I said, shut up. You and Ivy are too naïve to place your trust in this monster. When he goes berserk again, you will understand.” Niklaus leaves without saying anything else.

“I can’t understand him.”

A monster, huh? It’s been long since I was called that.

After calming down, Louisa and I get together in my room to discuss our findings. “When we were in town today,” she says, “Everyone was on edge. It’s like something or someone constantly frightens them.”

“After witnessing the Duke’s piggish behaviour last night, I’m guessing he’s that someone.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Father were working together behind the scenes. If so, then he wants to induce a war.”

“War?”

“Yes, war. A devastating war that kills millions.”

“Was this ‘war’ your father’s ultimate goal?”

“I believe his intentions were clear. He wanted to rule as King.”

“But he was a king.”

“Not the kind he idealised. He wanted to rule as the only king. The King of Leagard.”

“The King of Leagard? Is that even possible?”

“With war, it is. But I don’t think he understood the severity of the war he planned to induce.”

“What do you mean?”

“Raizo’s ancestor, the leader of the first generation of Grand Order, one thousand years ago, met a seer during his travels after the ancient war. With his dying breath, the seer said, ‘When Leagard reaches its ten-thousandth equinox, darkness will shroud the world. And from that darkness, the Order shall appear. They, who will reignite the sparks of war, will slay millions. Beware, for the Order of the Fly shall appear when you least expect it.’ After hearing that, Grand Order’s purpose has been to maintain the peace our ancestors have fought so hard to obtain.”

“When is the ten-thousandth equinox?”

“Well, we don’t have an exact year, but we estimate it to be in about ten years.”

“Ten years? That’s quite long.”

“Yes, it is. And it’s also perfect. Although Niklaus is strong, he can’t fight an entire war alone. That’s why we will build strong ties with the other kingdoms and fight together in the war.”

I see. But with the current state of the Aldrik Continent, they won’t be able to form good relations. What if…?

“So, what did you find, Haruki?”

“Last night, someone attacked me.”

“Yes, we know that. That’s why I rushed out.”

“My attacker, he works for the same organisation as Necromancer and Joker.”

“What!?”

“He goes by Hafiz. When I attacked him, my fist stopped before I could reach him. It’s like I hit an invisible wall.”

“An invisible wall? Is it a barrier ability?”

“I think so. Before Hafiz left, he said something about their organisation not being the assailants.”

“Well, our assumptions never pointed to them being the assailants. Did he say anything else?”

“Yes. He said the assailants were the Worshippers of the All-Seeing Eye.”

“So,” she mutters, “it is them.”

“Them?”

“The alias ‘Worshipers of the All-Seeing Eye’ is only one of two which that organisation works under. You heard their other name before—the Illuminati.”

“The Illuminati. So, it was them.”

“If we take Hafiz’s words as truth, then yes.”

“But why would they attack the Duke’s residence?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they want to curry favour with the citizens of the Port Town.”

“Recruitment, you say. But is that all?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you think of anything else they’d want to accomplish? Surely growing their organisation is not their only goal.”

“Something they want to accomplish? Come to think of it, they have a creed. Humans are an elite race. Following this creed, they target non-human races in Leagard.”

“They target them?”

“Yes. Ivy and Callisto were victims of this ideology.”

Is that why Ivy was adamant about including herself in this mission?

“Wait, you say they target non-human races, right?”

“Yes. Why?”

Non-human… Could she be their target? I jump up and race to the door.

“Haruki, what’s wrong?”

“I know who their target is.”

“Who?”

“It’s Selina.”

Just then, as I make my way to Selina’s room, an explosion sounds. I run to a nearby window and survey the area of the explosion. The site is the east wing of the mansion… the wing where Selina’s room is. I jump out the window and sprint to her room. What’s this I feel inside? Why is my heart aching? That was a massive explosion. There’s no way!! She can’t be…!! As I run across the prairie, past the fountain in the centre of the courtyard, towards the east wing, the only thing on my mind is Selina. I reach the east wing. The fire is blazing. It’s like the sun itself came down on the mansion. I jump into the flames. Smoke narrows my sight and dulls my nose. The sound of the fire crackling muffles my ears. My skin feels as though it is melting, and my throat dries. My senses are all but useless now. I search the room, but I don’t find Selina. Did she escape? Did the assailants grab her and make a run for it? Is this fire just a diversion? My thoughts run wild. Wait? Why am I panicking in the first place? And this, for someone I met yesterday. The sound of the fire dulls. My surroundings become pitch dark.

I can’t see anything. I can’t feel anything. My mouth only tastes ash. My nose smells only smoke. But in the distance, I can hear something. A voice. A woman’s voice. Even closer, though, I can hear something different. The beating of a drum. Tu-tump, tu-tump, it goes. It’s slow, almost rhythmic. I know this rhythm. I feel this rhythm. This incessant booming… it’s my heartbeat.

But why? Why can I hear my heartbeat now? Is it because I calmed down? Wait, why did I suddenly calm down? I was in a panic over someone. Who was it?

‘It does not matter, does it, Haruki?’

It doesn’t matter? Yes, you’re right. It doesn’t matter.

‘Why does it not matter?’

Because the person–whoever it may be–is safe.

‘How do you know that?’

I can feel it.

‘But you cannot feel it, right?’

Yes, I can’t feel it. But I know it. I can hear their heartbeat in between the crackling fire.

‘How wonderful! Is it not wonderful, Haruki?’

Why would it be wonderful?

‘Is she not your love?’

My… love?

‘Your heart beat for her, did it not? Your chest tightened for her, right? You thought of her only, did you not?’

I did.

‘Then she is your love.’

No… she’s not.

‘She is not? How so?’

Because… I feel it. My heart beats for another. My chest aches for another. The thoughts running through my mind are of another.

‘Louisa?’

Yes. Louisa is my love.

‘But she does not love you.’

Then I will make her love me.

‘Is that love, though?’

It is.

‘Forced?’

No. I will never force her into something she doesn’t want.

‘Then how do you plan to seduce her? She, who hides horrendous secrets.’

I will find a way.

‘And her brother? He calls you a monster. How will you befriend him?’

A… monster? What does he know? What do they know? Why am I labelled a monster? Who gives them the right to call me a monster? Have I committed such unspeakable horrors that I can only be called as such? Or am I feared to such a degree that they cannot comprehend the definition of the word? Hey, are all monsters evil?

‘Evil, you ask? What do you think is evil about being a monster?’

A monster does not show empathy. It devours. Destroys. Kills. And revels in such chaos. What makes a monster evil is its inhumanity.

‘Inhumanity. Who decides what is inhumane?’

Our morality.

‘Is it your morality? Or is a collective morality? Society’s morality.’

Society’s… morality?

‘Do you think society deems you monstrous?’

Why would they?

‘Because you destroy. You are like fire, burning everything in your path.’

I am… fire?

‘That’s what they believe you are.’

But I never… destroyed anything.

‘But you did. You destroyed Trist. You destroyed Ragnarök. Haruki, you are a living calamity. You are a monster.’

No, I’m not! I am not a monster!

‘Yes, you are. You devour.’

No, I don’t.

‘You destroy.’

No, I don’t.

‘You kill.’

I—

‘You revel in chaos, Haruki. You do. It is in your nature. It is in our nature. We are destruction. We are monsters.’

I am… a monster? Yes, I am. I am a monster. So, what?

‘Yes.’

I am a monster. I devour.

‘Yes.’

I am a monster. I destroy.

‘Yes.’

I am a monster. I kill.

‘Yes.’

We are monsters. We revel in chaos. Niklaus calls me a monster. He says I am a terror. Ragnarök calls me a monster. It says I am evil. My children called me a monster. They said I was a witch. If I am a monster. If I am so evil, then how about I show them what a monster is capable of? I will show them the power of a monster. We are Haruki. We are ALL. I am—

“Haruki!” yells Louisa. “Haruki, can you hear me?”

“L-Louisa?” My head throbs. “Where… am I?” I scan the undamaged room. “What happened to the fire? Where is Selina? Louisa… why are you crying?”

“Because… you’re back.”