Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

~ Third Person POV ~

A gorilla dug his tower shield to the ground, several bolts of magic slamming mercilessly against the iron wall moments later.

The gorilla gritted his teeth as he endured the onslaught of magic. His chimpanzee rider, a friend he acquainted with during his free time, was already on the ground with his head split open.

He knew that he would be revived a few hours later, but seeing your friend die in front of you was no less a harrowing experience.

Roaring out once the final bolt of magic slamming against his shield subsided, he charged towards the deadly wall of spears surrounding the enemy mages.

Besides his charging figure, dozens of other gorillas, some of them having their chimpanzee riders already down for the count, charged as well.

The human soldiers all tensed up, their spears steady as they pointed them towards the charging gorillas.

Based on logic, the spears would've crumpled beneath the might of a gorilla hefting a tower shield, but magic was a giant factor in balancing the odds.

The spears met shields, and a booming sound resounded across the forest, gorillas and humans alike being pushed back. Not wasting the opportunity, mages from behind the human wall of iron quickly cast numerous elemental bolts to strike upon the exposed primates.

Elemental bolts met black fur and flesh, cries of pain escaping the lips of the gorillas. Flesh burned, blood dripped, and bones cracked.

A sizeable number of gorillas went down at that point, causing the rest of them to retreat for the moment to get their bearings.

"The monsters are retreating! Give chase!" The soldiers roared, their heavy boots leaving imprints on the ground as they advanced.

It was time to show these monsters the might of the human army.

Until a loud bang entered their ears and one of the leading soldiers tumbled to the ground like a puppet with its string cut. Blood pooled underneath the helm of the unmoving soldier, causing no small amount of confusion and dread at the sight.

"ARMS UP! DUCK YOUR HEADS!" Their squad commander yelled from behind, his figure protected by the various enchantments laid on his armor. Following his command, all the soldiers, front and back, planted their shields on the ground and ducked, sacrificing vision and mobility for defense.

"Mages! Scan, now!" Order after order left his mouth, the soldiers and mages under his command doing their best to follow through. Loud bangs entered their ears once more, causing the soldiers to jolt in place.

Some soldiers fell after that, with holes in their heads that bled profusely. This caused their morale to take a nosedive, their fear of death taking precedence over their mission.

When the mages were done with their scan magic, they saw outlines of monsters on the nearby hill. The commander narrowed his eyes at this revelation.

"DO NOT COWER!" Their commander, who was trembling slightly due to a bullet slamming against his invisible shield, gripped his sword tight and raised it in the air. "FORWARD MARCH! MAGES, CREATE A STRONG BARRIER AROUND US!"

The mages all chanted in unison, sigils and magic circles appearing all over the air around their group. More loud bangs and a few more added to the death toll, but the soldiers didn't stop, those behind the dead quickly taking their place with determined shouts.

The magic circles around them brightened, and the sigils all converged on them. A glowing barrier suddenly appeared over the soldiers, like some kind of ethereal coating.

More gunshots echoed, but this time, none of the human soldiers dropped dead, the bullets being unable to penetrate the barrier generated. Smirking, their commander gathered air in his lungs before shouting.

"FORWAAAAARDD!!!"

The soldiers roared, and their march quickened. No more gunshots boomed once the barrier was erected, giving the soldiers the safety they needed to advance.

Seeing their advance, Drake, who opted out of the first wave, chuckled in amusement.

"Well, they're smart. I'll give them that." Drake stretched his arms, readying himself to lunge into the fray. "Too bad they didn't count for me messing up their plans."

A grin forming on his lips, he jumped out of the bushes and into a high-spirited soldier at the front. The soldier's roars were cut short as a gauntlet separated his head from his neck, blood gushing out of the fatal wound like a fountain.

All around them, the soldiers stood still, their eyes focused on the man who dared murder his own kin in front of them. This caused their morale to plummet before exploding, with everyone wishing the heretic a gruesome death.

"AVENGE OUR BRETHREN! KILL THE HERETIC!" The soldiers' roar signified their eagerness to take down this monster in human skin. Drake, ever the joker, grinned madly as his eyes swept across the area, taking in every bit of detail he could before settling into a stance.

"Oh, I'll enjoy this." Drake laughed madly as he dodged a spear to the face by tilting his body to the side. Grabbing the shaft, he pulled, dragging the soldier along and giving him a love tap to the gut with his free hand.

Said love tap caved in his entire stomach, forcing it out of his body through a massive hole on his back. Blood gushed out of the wound and the soldier fell to the ground, dead.

This shocked the soldiers momentarily. Taking advantage of their temporary lapse in judgment, Drake rushed towards another soldier and gave him a knuckle sandwich. The soldier subjected to the attack instantly had his head and neck broken. His head tore messily off his body, staining the soldiers surrounding him red.

Not letting up, Drake grabbed the nearby soldier and tore his face off, his eyeballs dropping from their sockets. He then kicked the groin of the other soldier, still shocked from the sudden gore he had just witnessed.

His balls popped, and an ear-piercing scream shook the earth. Jionni, who was observing nearby with invisibility on, couldn't help but cross his thighs as he grimaced.

The soldiers, seeing the fate that had befallen their brethren, cried out in anguish and dread. Anguish at the deaths of their comrades, and dread at the thought of the incredibly painful death one could give a man.

The man who had his balls popped didn't need to suffer long as his head caved in when Drake put him out of his misery.

"So, are you going to come now?" Drake grinned as he made a come-hither gesture, his eyes blazing with righteous fury. He may be taking this fight like a joke, but he is far from joking around.

He is downright furious.

'Scare the cannon fodder, and kill the head.' Breathing out, he glared at the soldiers surrounding him.

Or more precisely, the man behind their strings.

With a yell, the soldiers all moved forward, spears in front and shields held high. Not daunted by the veritable wall of iron and spikes, Drake dashed forward, fully intent on meeting head-on their charge.

Once close enough, Drake vaulted, spears quickly adjusting themselves to skewer the man once he came down. In front of Drake, he saw elemental bolts heading straight for him.

Smirking, Drake held out his hands to block the incoming magic attack.

The elemental bolts landed against his gauntlets, but instead of crying out in pain, Drake laughed out loud. His gauntlets were now glowing, different colors shifting every millisecond as he poised himself to smash through the wall of iron.

Still laughing, he punched a spearhead with his gauntlets, the spearhead breaking underneath the massive pressure coming from the gauntlet. His gauntlets went all the way through the shaft as well, wood scattering all around, piercing the eyes of those unfortunate enough.

Soldiers screamed out at the sudden pain, but that didn't prepare them for the massive explosion that was about to commence a few moments later.

The gauntlet landed on the face of the shocked soldier who had his spear broken. He immediately died as his head popped like a balloon. His brain matter and blood flew all over the air as Drake continued his rapid descent.

Once his gauntlet met the ground, a thunderous blast caused the earth to rupture. Human soldiers near the point of impact were thrown away like ragdolls, their armor, once their safe haven, now their inescapable prison as they descended to the ground at an alarming rate.

For some reason, the explosion cancelled out the magic enchantments that were currently adorning their armor. This included their commander, who was promptly shot in the head by Chip's squad in the nearby hills.

At that moment, their morale plummeted. Some of the surviving soldiers, of which there were still a lot, in the area wished for nothing but to leave and preserve their lives.

Drake, rising from his kneeling position, glared at the soldiers who were staring back, metaphorical daggers piercing his body all around. Smoke rose from the crater he had just created, covering parts of his body.

There were still plenty of soldiers surrounding him, but his show of might earlier had made the soldiers tremble.

But that wasn't enough to cow them into submission.

A clapping sound from behind him made him redirect his gaze to the source.

"Well, well, well… I didn't think Drake, the God's Chosen and the Right-Hand Man of the Demon King, would be frequenting this lowly Dungeon." Linuel approached with laidback strides, a mocking sneer plastered on his face. "Alas, as much as I would like to fight you here, there is no possibility of me winning."

Hearing this from their general made the soldiers pale. If their general had no chance against this man, then what could they possibly achieve!?

"So, you're surrendering?" Drake raised an eyebrow, and Jionni, who was nearby, watched all of this unfold with a watchful eye.

Jionni felt a pit in his stomach, and his instincts told him to kill the new face right here, right now.

Hefting his Bloodweep War Hammer, Jionni lunged at the man, whose eyes swerved to the side and in his direction.

"No, I'm just evening the odds." Smirking, Linuel leaned back, dodging the swinging hammer by just a hair's breadth. Snapping his finger, Drake froze in place, his body refusing to listen to his commands. "Bye bye."

In an instant, Drake vanished from the spot, and Linuel's ring that was on his pinky crumbled to dust.

"And you… You must be the Dungeon Master.." Linuel stared at empty space, his smirk never leaving his face. "Let's have some fun then, shall we?"