Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

I led the group of humans to the classroom, which held the entrance to my Dungeon. I did spend some time pondering under the silence about why it was located there, but I'll chalk it up to RNGesus.

"We're nearing our destination." I called out, and the humans behind me tensed, the reporters recording live with their cameras. The president also braced himself for any kind of horrifying scene that lay behind the door to the classroom.

When I opened the door, not only were the humans behind me shocked, but even I was too.

"Jion! Finally! I've been waiting for you for a while." Catalina smiled, before narrowing her eyes at the people I was leading to my Dungeon. "And who are these guys?"

Her cat ears twitched as her tail stiffened slightly. The reporters, meanwhile, were busy recording the animal appendages connected to the young woman, various watchers from home and on the streets widening their eyes.

I'm pretty sure that some of them may have called this scene edited, were it not for the recording being live.

"The leader of this country and his people." I shrugged, and Catalina raised an eyebrow at the humans. "They're all humans. Are they supremacists as well?"

Her words got the attention of nearly every single viewer currently watching the feed. Behind me, the president narrowed his eyes at the claim about "humans" and "supremacists".

"No, you could say that the only intelligent species in this world are humans."

"So… No demi-humans? No monsters?" Catalina looked shocked for a moment before sighing wistfully. "Then, does racism exist here?"

Her question pierced the hearts and minds of many anti-racists, all of whom sympathized with the catwoman. At least, that's what I thought.

'Oh boy, western Chirper will be up in flames in a few hours.' I snorted at the thought. Looking behind me, I glanced at the president and his subordinates. "This here is Catalina, another one like me."

"Like you?" The president voiced his question with a curious gaze, intent on gaining as much information as he could from me. Smirking at his actions, I nodded and turned heel.

"Yes, like me." I ushered them to follow me. The humans glanced at each other for a short while before deciding to continue on their untrodden path. "Keep those cameras rolling; you wouldn't want to miss what's on the other side."

Entering the portal, Catalina, Drake, and I stepped through the swirling vortex, our feet landing on cold, damp ground. Behind me, the president and his friends stared in shock at the sudden change of scenery.

"What…?" The president couldn't help but wonder aloud at the sudden shift in locations, from a well-used schoolroom to a damp cave cavern. Along with him, the bodyguards and the reporters also blinked in confusion and awe at the veritable magic.

"Come on."

Urging them to walk faster, Catalina, Drake, and I moved quicker, our steps reverberating around the damp cavern. Tiny droplets of water dripping to the ground in puddles enter our ears as we walk along the passageway.

The moment we saw light filtering inside the passage on the horizon, I smirked, my troll spirit rising once again. Beside me, Catalina looked at me with slight confusion, and Drake shared my grin and thought process.

'This is going to be good. Although, I'd better hold back on threatening them too much.' My grin threatening to split my face in half, I calmed myself by taking deep breaths of air. Meanwhile, Drake was silently cackling to himself at the possible priceless expressions of the humans once they entered the forest.

The light grew blinding, and our feet stepped onto soft grass, eyes squinting against the light.

"Welcome to my Dungeon, president." Their eyes, now used to the light, grew clearer and the moment they saw green flora, their eyes widened once again.

"What the…" One of the bodyguards' words summarized the thoughts of all humans present. Possibly included in that list are those watching this live feed from the comforts of their homes.

"Sir Jionni." From behind a tree, Luke, garbed in his suit of armor with his impeccable looks, drew a quiet sigh from one of the female reporters. "I see you've brought guests."

"Indeed, I have. Guard the entrance, I will personally escort them to the town." Nodding in understanding, Luke went to a nearby tree and spoke with a gorilla hiding within the bushes.

Coming out in full view, the humans were scared shitless of the gorilla in heavy armor with a giant tower shield that covered his entire front and a huge mace in his other hand. Eyes glaring at the humans, the gorilla shrugged, before moving to another spot where he could hide.

Gulping down some saliva, one of the bodyguards trembled slightly at the scene. Silently laughing at their expressions, I gestured for them to follow.

"Come now, no need to get cold feet." Walking along the dirt path, our group passed by an area with arches, the portals within them no longer visible.

I had relocated them to somewhere inside the Monster Town to ensure faster trades and so that the enemies couldn't ambush the Dungeon on the other side.

One memory of one of the portals connecting to Catalina's Dungeon in the area with the most traffic made me wince.

As the humans continued to record the scenery, we continued on moving.

It didn't take long for our group to reach the gate leading to the Monster Town. The humans saw a gun turret resting atop the ramparts manned by a fantastical creature known as an elf, of all things, and had their jaws drop.

Snickering at their expressions, Jionni commanded the primates to open the gates.

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~ Third Person POV ~

Mason Downs was a practical man. As the man who led the country, he was, of course, swamped with work and his daily dealings in the pit of vipers known as political debates. Taking on this job caused him to lose some hair, but none of the situations he had encountered in his entire term serving the country would prepare him for this.

It was just an ordinary day. Meet up with some senators, give out some specifically picked out words so the media wouldn't pick him apart, and do some paperwork.

Imagine his reaction when an urgent report from one of the 51 states called for his attention. Apparently, a gorilla that walked like a human and could talk took over a college institute. He was tempted to call off this lunacy, only for the news to begin and his brows to furrow.

Quickly taking action, instead of telling a representative to head over there and resolve the situation, Mason decided to do it himself. Who knows what would happen if the representative he sent was secretly against his agenda?

He couldn't trust a single snake in this place; their tongues were silvery and their words sweet as honey.

So, without hesitation, he called for a chopper to quickly transport him to Massaware. And if this did boost his reputation as a result? Then bonus points to him.

Arriving at the scene, he was flabbergasted. The videos on the screen did no justice to the gorilla in front of him.

He was tall and was bulkier than possibly the bulkiest bodybuilder on the planet. And if his ears weren't full of earwax, then he'd heard that guns wouldn't work on him.

When he called him the leader of his kingdom, he quickly made a response that wouldn't make him out to be some kind of dictator in the eyes of the media. The gorilla then said something about a warning, which he wanted to hear.

It was a supernatural event, no doubt about that, but if his warning was pertaining to his appearance in his country, then all the more Mason should follow him inside the school.

He was technically risking his life here, but if the gorilla wanted, he would've died the moment he approached him. That would cause the army to deploy and possibly avenge his death.

This was a risky venture, Mason admitted to himself. But in these trying times, where countries were at each other's throats because of secret dealings behind closed doors, Mason needed a trump card, sans the nuclear warhead hidden in the country.

After calling some reporters who were pro-Mason, they made their way into the school in silence.

Then, another shocking event graced their eyes.

A catwoman. An honest-to-God catwoman, with cat appendages as real as his skin, greeted the gorilla with a warm smile, before it turned into caution the moment she saw them.

They were led inside the portal after the gorilla and catwoman finished exchanging a few words. Truth be told, Mason was anxious and worried, none more so than those accompanying him to the unknown.

Stepping into the portal, he expected anything to happen. So, when he landed his feet on damp ground, he couldn't help but be surprised, and slightly disappointed. After traversing the passageway and exiting the cavern, his disappointment vanished and was replaced with shock and wonder.

He knew this was a goldmine.. And he would be damned if he couldn't bring this talking gorilla into his good graces.