*Bing-Bong*
As a reminder, the dialogue up until this point has all been in Tide Tongue, the usage of quotation marks was due to the fact that nobody was speaking any other languages other than [Chaos].
We now return to your previous chapter, thank you.
*Bing-Bong*
…
“Huh…so that’s Tortallion’s story, huh?”
“From the looks of it, yes.”
“Fascinating…]
Due to their lack of ability to connect Tortallion as the same level as their own kaijin, Jin Fang and Zhen Liu had to rely on the power of pure observation and speculation to guess what Tortallion’s intentions and thoughts were when he had initially thrown himself at the [Shadow Sovereign] and subsequently sacrificed himself.
Thankfull, they managed to get most of these answers by staring at the engraved murals on Tortallion’s back.
It made for an interesting read for sure, but it also generated a lot more questions inside the mind of the current Kaijin Lord.
But those were something he could ask Logos and Pathos on a later date.
…
‘You guys manage to record everything?’
=Indeed.=
<Recorded and engraved on a stone slab that we purposely carved into the shape of a turtle shell.>
‘Was that really necessary?’
<Every good replica needs to be a little bit of a knock-off.>
‘Fair enough.’
…
For the time being, Zhen Liu, Jin Fang and the rest of the people he was allied with now had to deal with the most annoying part after a big victory like this.
Cleaning up the aftermath.
With that in mind, Zhen Liu figured it’d be smarter to have the Neo Storm Knights as detached entities as opposed to still fused with his person. However, before he could do just that…
‘Alright, Storm Knights, let’s-‘
“Wait, wait, wait!”
“Huh?”
Jin Fang had suddenly floated over to where he was in order to stop him.
“Xiao Liu, when you fuse with the kaijin like that, are you strictly on a timer or anything like that? Like, are they actively draining you of your power?”
“Uh…no? Not really,” Zhen Aliya replied, a little confused.
Once she had received this answer, a strange smile appeared on Jin Fang’s face. “In that case, before we do anything, we should go back to Undertow’s with everyone else.”
“Okay…why?”
“First impressions are important. And I want everyone here to know for certain,that the Kaijin Lord has returned.”
“Ah….oh!”
Understanding what Jin Fang wanted to do after making this statement, Zhen Liu and her first went off to gather their allies. Namely, the ones that weren’t riding on the Storm Queen’s old galleon.
“By the way, do you think it’d be more or less impactful if Jinju Ren and I flanked your sides when we descend?”
…One dramatic shift in perspective later…
[Attention all citizens, attention all citizens. The evacuation order is now over. You may now return to your regular routines in an orderly fashion.]
“Screw that! I need to see what’s happening at the harbor!”
“Same!”
Most people, after a big world shaking battle, would love nothing more than to return to normalcy once the danger had passed and they could return to their homes.
In this case though, the people of Undertow were hungry for more information.
In an incredibly short amount of time, so much had happened.
For the first time in centuries, their city was both invaded,and visited, by outsiders. Outsiders that just so happened to be the descendants of their mortal enemies, no less.
The Fallen were fellow exiles of the Pearl Scale Empire, but they were invaders.
The Zhen Clan were the military dogs of the Pearl Scale Empire, and yet they were the ones to defend Undertow.
But that was just the beginning.
Later, during this exact same conflict, the Fallen had rolled up with warriors that were more adept at using [Chaos] than even the most veteran warriors of Undertow, due to them having surgically attached kaijin limbs.
When their city guardian, Tortallion, was assaulted by a loathsome bastard using Grand Blue’s stolen arm, those soft mentioned Grafted warriors began attacking the city in earnest.
Many citizens at this time assumed the worst, and that they were going to die at the hands of a bunch of pseudo-kaijin…only to witness a sight that was even more shocking.
Information was sporadic, but many of the people who were caught in the crossfire swore that they saw never-before-seen Kaijin appear out of nowhere to not only fight the Grafted, protect the city as well.
The younger generation weren’t sure if this was the case, but the older folks who were alive during the Storm Queen’s reign definitely recognized the kaijin for what they were.
Although, they were significantly more wild feeling than what they remembered kaijin to be like.
However, the biggest surprises, and the ones that almost caused the people to have a heart attack, came after the Kaijin had made their appearance.
First, a young woman who carried the aura of the Pearl Scale Emperor had appeared out of nowhere and began fighting the people attacking Undertow. This threw many old timers for a loop, as they never expected an Imperial royal of all people to protect them.
Second, the [Shadow Sovereign], an ancient weapon that had almost leveled Undertow centuries ago had returned under the control of the Fallen. It was only at the cost of the Storm Queen’s life that it was first defeated, and it came at the cost of Tortallion’s life to bring it down again.
Last, and most importantly, their lost princess had returned…and she appeared to have brought someone important with her.
Someone who hasn’t been seen in centuries after the Storm Queen’s death.
Someone who carried a title that only she had been worthy of.
The Kaijin Lord, had returned.
And now, after all of this time, they were going to see what kind of Lord this inheritor was.
…
“Is that…”
“It can’t be…”
“How did we not notice it before?”
At the harbor of Undertow, a majority of its population has gathered to see the return of the defending heroes, some of whom were returning on a very familiar ship.
During the First Siege of Undertow, the people of Undertow had evacuated to the surface with the help of a galleon-shaped [Chaos] treasure that belonged to the Storm Queen.
The plan was to have the ship return with everyone who had evacuated after the battle, but that plan went up in mist once the Storm Queen had perished. Because without the Storm Queen providing her energy, the galleon wouldn’t function.
So now, seeing it again after all this time, carrying a boatload of scared people rescued from a shitty situation no less was strangely…nostalgic.
[Land ahoy!]
[Everybody, jump!]
[Ay caramaba…]
And the sight of seeing a collection of Kaijin jump off from its deck in order to land in the harbor was even more so.
“By the gods…”
“They truly are kaijin…”
“Why are they’re so…varied?”
Unlike the Storm Knights, that were all sea creatures, the kaijin that lept off the Storm Queen’s Galleon were all…very different from one another.
There was a red horned demon woman that seemed to simmer with righteous fury like a volcano of justice, a mammoth man viking that had cold mist radiating off of his body, a woman that seemed to be wreathed in lighting and looked to be a mix of a variety of animals, a ballerina with razor sharp limbs and looked as if she was the embodiment of a shooting star, a spring-like snake-like gentleman that seemed to be accompanied by a pair of floating hands, a second horned demon woman with a flowing white mane and appeared to be made of bones and a judge that seemed to be made of a myriad of flames.
Once the kaijin landed, they proceeded to get to work. Namely, lightly pushing the civilians back in order to create what appeared to be a landing zone.
[Alright, folks! I know y’all can actually understand me for once,] the frog woman called out. [Please take several steps back so we can have a clean landing.]
[Move please, move please.]
[You either step back or I’ll make you step back!]
[Screamira! Be polite.]
[Please step back or I’ll have to make you stop back.]
[There we go.]
The eclectic group of Kaijin proceeded to push the civilians further and further back into the city until they had managed to clear a space that was big enough for several dozen people to fit without causing any issues.
As to why did they such a thing was obvious to the people present, but they still couldn’t help but feel that this was a little much.
That is, until they actually felt it.
“This…this feeling is so heavy.”
“It’s definitely [Chaos], but how can it be denser than Sir Tortallion’s?!”
“Ah…reminds me of the old days alright. She used to be this imposing too…”
Shortly after this immense pressure came down, it suddenly lightened up.
After all, the people needed to be able to look up to see who could’ve created such a sensation.
