Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

"Yo, you feeling okay? You look like shit." I asked Drake, who was sitting in front of me as he sipped some coffee from his mug.

"Nope." Drake wryly chuckled as he placed the mug back on the table. "Had nightmares about some bad memories. Nothing new."

"… Dude, what the hell happened to you when you were isekai'd to this world?" I shifted my weight slightly on the chair, which was perfectly sized for my large frame.

"… Nah, I won't tell you much, yet. Just not in the mood." Drake sighed as he stood up and left the coffee mug on the table. "Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"… Yes." I stood up as well, and we both exited the house, leaving the building barren of sentient life once more. "I wanted to ask you about the group chasing you."

Outside, both of us spotted Catalina waiting for us with a cute smile on her face, her cat ears wiggling adorably and her cat tail swishing back and forth like a curious snake.

"Finally! You took a few minutes too long to get out of that house." Catalina quickly rushed towards my position and glomped onto my right arm with a purr.

"This is the girl you got to bang? Gotta say, I'm fucking impressed." Drake wiggled his eyebrows while Catalina looked at Drake amusingly. I, however, was sure to blush if I had the capability to do so. Deciding to be an asshole towards Drake's unashamed comment, I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a tiny smirk on my face.

"This, coming from a nearly 30-year-old virgin?" His grin dropped and he looked at me with jealousy. Catalina was laughing all the while at Drake's sorry state of a sex life.

"Oh, shut up." Drake pouted as both I and Catalina chuckled amusingly at his situation. "Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"… Right. Does the name Erika ring a bell for you?" I asked, and Drake hummed as his previous pouting disappeared and a thoughtful expression overcame his face.

"Depends on the description. I've met a lot of Erika's in this world." I facepalmed at my idiotic way of asking. Of course, there would be a dozen or so people with the same name, unless the name was incredibly unique enough that nobody would've even thought to come up with the name in the first place.

"An Erika, who is an elite knight under the Human Movement Federation." I said, and he stopped in his tracks, his eyes opening wide while his mouth did the same. He then twisted his neck slowly as he looked at me with a manic expression on his face.

"… Tell me you did not say an Erika under the Human Movement Federation…?"

"… Why? Is there a problem?" Drake looked up at the ceiling with his bangs covering his eyes.

"… Of course, there's a fucking problem…" His voice was tiny at first, but it slowly grew in intensity as it cracked. "First I had a nightmare about my partner dying due to my stupidity. Now this…?"

He chuckled, his depreciating laughter giving me an underlying tone of danger, and it seemed that Catalina felt it as well.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" He lashed out with a kick towards a lamp post, which sent it flying into the air and out of the Human Town. The other humans and demi-humans who were around the area screamed in terror at the sudden violence that was happening.

Not long after, Nicholas and Luke arrived with faces that looked like they were ready to go to war.

"What's happening here!? Sir Jionni?" Their faces soon morphed into confusion the moment they saw me, Catalina looking scared shitless as she clung to my arm, her tail puffed up and standing straight up, a clear indication she was spooked, and Drake, who was reigning in his temper from his outburst.

"… Sorry about that, Jionni. Just some more bad memories…" Drake sighed as he visibly calmed down, Catalina's tail slowly relaxing as her grip on my arm lessened. "To answer your question, yes, I do know her."

Luke and Nicholas decided to join our current group because they were already in the area.

"So, what you all talking about?" Nicholas was the first to ask a question before Luke did, and judging by his expression, that was the same question he was about to ask as well.

"It was pertaining to the leader of the incoming raid. Since both of you knew each other, I also assume you know Erika, an elite knight under the Human Movement Federation?" I asked, and both Luke and Nicholas had their eyes boggling out of their eye sockets.

"WHAT!?" Both of them practically roared out of their lungs, causing Catalina's cat ears to flatten against her skull due to the sheer loudness.

"I know, right?" Drake sighed defeatedly as both Nicholas and Luke stared at him.

"Drake! You were supposed to guide her away from that cult!" Drake winced at Nicholas' piercing gaze, while Luke glared at Drake with a look that could kill.

"I did! I wrote her a letter to move out of that hellhole and transfer to Kazanpan!" Drake defended himself with a grimace. "… Somebody must've blocked the attempt, and recruited her by focusing her hate… Fuck…"

Drake once again became depressed as both Luke and Nicholas glared at him, but their glares suddenly dropped, only to be replaced with melancholy.

"… Uh, sorry to break all three of you out of your funk, but the two of us here have no idea what the fuck is going on." I suddenly piped up from my position, with Catalina not minding the sudden attention as she nuzzled my arm like a cat would.

"… Right, anyway. Long story short, Erika was my disciple a year ago. She was a kind, young woman, but had a vendetta against a certain demi-human. She wasn't a fanatic, until now, that is…" Drake said solemnly as he sighed. "She was probably converted while I roamed the world, not before I tried sending her a letter to transfer her workplace."

"Somebody probably intercepted the letter to her. Must be someone high up in the Human Movement Federation." Nicholas theorized, while Luke nodded in agreement with his theory.

"… Shit. She's probably committed grave sins as of late, and as much as I don't want to do this, she must be punished…" Drake palmed his face.

"You and me both, Drake. You and me both… She was like family…" Nicholas sighed as well as he placed a hand on Drake's shoulder.

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~ Third Person POV ~

'Finally, dawn has come.' Erika thought to herself as she quickly decked herself out in her gear. 'It was time to continue finding that heretic.'

She exited the tent, her eyes gazing upon the already bustling soldiers that were under her command. Just a day earlier, the reinforcements arrived, numbering 200, and they spent the day readying themselves for a raid against a Dungeon.

Since it was for finding a heretic as well as quelling a possible threat to the town, the new town manager of Kazanpan was all too happy to send the extra manpower to help with the job.

Erika approached her lieutenant, who was busy making sure that everything was up and ready for the raid to commence. He also made sure that the scouts disarmed any traps that were between them and the Dungeon, to make sure that no unwanted casualties appeared when they were still on their march.

"Ma'am. The soldiers are ready and waiting for the order." The lieutenant saluted towards his superior, and Erika gesture towards to stand at ease.

"Excellent. Tie the horses and leave them to graze. We won't be needing them where we're going." The lieutenant nodded and quickly commanded a soldier to do as he was told. "Hasten your preparations. Dawn is upon us, and time grows ever short."

The soldiers gave off a cheer as they hastened their movements. Armors were fastened, weapons were hung, and determinations were hardened.

Some of them may perish, but if they are doing it for their Goddess, they will gladly pay with their lives. Although a minority of them would disagree, but they didn't want to die and early death due to disobeying the rules.

"Now, we march! Onwards! For Goddess Phoemis!" Erika raised her sword as she marched towards the entrance of the Dungeon, leading the borderline battalion of soldiers into battle. The soldiers behind her rallied and cheered as their morale soared high into the sky, intent on finding the heretic and making him pay for his transgressions.

Behind them, they didn't notice a black raven perched on a branch and staring at the battalion of soldiers with its red, beady eyes. The raven let out a caw before taking off, black feathers falling to the ground as it left the battalion of soldiers to their fate.

"Now then, show me what you're Dungeon is capable of, Jionni." A stern voice echoed in the chamber as their vision slowly left the raven's point of view, a smirk plastered on their face.. "After all, my close friend is currently with you."