Empire of Monsters #4

"Oh Shyao I'm so glad you're okay," Shyao's aunt said her back bent from age as she hugged Shyao, "When I heard you were to be the next sacrifice I had feared the worst. Why don't you tell me who your little friends are."

"My name is Ling," Ling said straigtening up and trying to look formal.

"Ling tried to save me when I was about to be sacraficed," Shyao said smiling encouragingly at him, "We're close friends and I'd be terrified to make this journy if not for him encouraging me and keeping me safe. I think may love him aunty"

"I must thank you for saving my niece than young man," Shyao's aunt said bowing, "If not for you my daughter would be in the belly of a demon."

"That's not true madam," Ling said looking down at the ground clutching the common sword he had laid across his lap tightly, "I didn't save Shyao from the demon."

"Then who did?" Aunty asked confused her smile being replaced by a questioning frown, "Was it that tall man whose being washed up by several of my maids? He certainly looked like he'd taken some injuries from fighting the demoness."

"Sado? No he didn't save me," Shyao said, "We just met him on the beach and he seems to be a bit of a coward."

"Hey I am not!" Sado said angrily barging into the room before turning to Aunty and saying, "and thank you for the snacks in their madam."

"Snacks?" Aunty asked confused as Ling hurriedly changed the subject as Shyao held both hands over her mouth in horror and disgust.

"It wasn't Sado who saved us from the demons," Ling said still looking at the floor, "It was Sara."

"Sara?" Aunty said a look of surprise springing onto her wrinkled old face, "You mean that sweet little girl with the dagger who was covered with dirt? She doesn't seem like much of a warrior."

"No she doesn't seem like much of a warrior but she's tougher than she looks," Sado said massaging the spots where Sara had hit him, "But she's tough."

"She slashed the demon who was after Shyao to pieces and burned your demoness away," Ling said sadly wishing he'd been able to be the hero."

"She must be quiet a sorcceress to be able to defeat demons," Aunty said.

"Who are you calling a sorcceress!?!" Shyao demanded angrily bursting into the room with nothing more than a towel on, "I have no ties to demons! All of my magic is inborn power!"

Everyone froze awed by the transformation Sara had gone through after her bath. Her hair now free of branches and dirt had a silky black sheen like a piece of obision as she stood there. Her skin was no longer a deep bronze but only light tan as the dust that had covered it had been washed away. Not only this bust her rust colored eyes all but shown now as she glared down at everyone.

But what had caught everyone's attention was that poking out of Sara's hair was two small white horns pogecting back towards her neck just above her ears. Her ears now was shaped more like a fan or shell than a regular ear as they occassionally twitched to focus on a sound. Sara paused as she saw everyone looking at her in surprise and asked, "What?"

"Y-y-your not human?" Aunty asked trembling.

"Of coarse not!" Sara shouted angrily, "Could a human breath fire!?!"

"It's just that you've got horns now and your ears look a bit diffrent now," Shyao said holding up a mirror.

"Oh you're right!" Sara said looking at herself, "I guess I enjoyed the bath so much that I let my disguise slip some. Ah well, I rather like how I look this way."

"I agree," Sado said, "You looked far to human before, now other innocent monsters won't make the same mistake I made when I first saw you."

"m-m-m-monster!" Aunty quietly mumbled as she curled up on the floor shivering.

"Poor Aunty," Shyao said, "It's going to take her a while to calm down. Sara, Sado, why don't you two go elsewhere while we try and calm her down."

"Fine," Sara said heading for the door, "I need new clothing anyway. My old clothes are done for and I'm not wearing that dress Aunty set out for me."

"Don't go out in just a towel!" Ling shouted chasing after Sara.

A while later Aunty was sitting at her low table still shivering a bit as she said, "More monsters in town just wonderful."

"Aunty?" Shyao asked curiously, "Do you know why their have been so many monsters lately? Usually it's something like one or two monsters per hundred miles, but in the last day or two we've come across four powerful monsters and demons. Our village is far out of the way and has had a demon for ages so we did't recognize the change at first, but your town is right next to a major trade route, maybe you've heard?"

"Indeed I have," Aunty said sipping on her tea, "It is a horrible thing that has happened to cause this."

"What is it?" Shyao and Ling asked as one.

"The Empourer has recently been growing old and sick," Aunty said darkly, "He wanted to cling to life and rule for as long as possible and sent messengers out through the kingdom saying that he will pay any price for a means to extend his life. The only one to answer the call was a monster that surged into the throne room and told the king that he could make him immortal if he allowed several monsters into high positions.

"As a result dozens of advisors and law readers became monsters and demons who convinced the empourer that all monsters were like them and had the kingdom's best interest at heart and should be allowed to roam free of human hunters. The empourer believed this and passed laws that made it illegal to have a man kill a monster for any reason. This caused many weak demons and monsters to rush into towns and villages and take over in positions of power or use their powers to force the village to be dependent on them such as with your village Shyao."

"That's horrible!" Shyao gasped.

"I know!" Sara said coming in wearing clothing designed for a boy, "Monsters controling the villages? Demanding sacrafices!?! It's disgraceful and all to human! A real monster should grab a maden or ten to make hunters come after them and eat the hunters! A give and take relation like the sacrafice system or grabbing a position of power is simply disgraceful! Come on Shyao and Ling! We're going to the palace!"

Aunty, Ling, and Shyao all wore disappointed and nervous faces after Sara's little rant and Shyao asked, "Why do I have to go!?"

"Because I need you or Ling to read the map for me and Sado and if I don't bring the other your going to spend the whole trip moaning and complaining!" Sara said, "Now come on let's go!"

As Sara stepped outside she froze and cocked one of her ears as if listening to something causing both Ling and Shyao to stop while Sado walked out into the middle of the street before stopping. Soon a samuri on a horse came riding into the square nearly running over Sado who leapt aside with a yelp.

The samuri reigned his horse in and shouted, "Fear not people of this fair city! I have heard of your plight and have come to save you from the beast which holds you in it's thrall!"

Silence fell across the street and the samuri looked around under his armor obviously surprised by the silence. Sado got up and brushed himself off before walking back over to Sara and the samuri caught sight of him.

"Ah ha!" the samuri cried drawing his sword, "You don't cheer me because the sea serpent who terrorizes this village is here at this moment! Fear not for I shall kill him!"

"Eh?" Sado asked turning to see the samuri's sword heading for his face and hastily ducking before trying to scramble away a tail starting appear as he began to transform.

Sara dropped down on Sado's tail causing him to cry out in pain as Sara pivoted and hurled a rock at the samuri pegging him in his hidden face knocking him off his horse. The samuri groaned pushing himself upright as Sado blew on his tail which had turned red where it was stepped on.

"What was that for!?!" the samuri demanded angrily shaking a fist at Sara, "I was about to vanquish that foul sea serpent!"

"Exactly!" Sara shouted angrily pointing an accusing finger at the samuri, "You tried to kill him! He owes me a fair sum and I plan to get that back from him and I can't collect if he's dead. Besides you'd just have demanded a young maiden in return so you could eat her!"

The samuri twitched as he climbed to his feet and glared at Sara from under her helmet and growled, "How'd you guess?"

"It's fairly standard practice among monsters who are to lazy or weak to hunt," Sara said smirking and resting her hand on her dagger, "Chase off or kill another weaker monster or demon and take humans as a reward."

"Oh well," the smauri said squaring his shoulders and glaring menacingly down at Sara, "I guess I'll kill you and that sea serpent before I take possession of this village."

"Don't bet on it," Sara said smiling a crescent moon smile her eyes glowing menacingly.

"You have no idea how powerful I am!" the samuri howled as he errupted from his armor and reappeared as a long serpentine dragon towering over the town, "You don't stand a chance against me!"

The samuri dragon opened his mouth wide and a burst of blue fire roared out towards the town and Sara giggled flinging her dagger into the flames where it transformed into a towering shield that deflected the flames around the town. The samuri dragon was obviously surprised by this and flinched when he saw the widening smile on Sara's face.

"You Eastern dragons are mighty with your magic," Sara said her eyes flashing dangerously, "but you don't stand a chance against my Western strength! Right Arm of the Dragon!"

Sara's right arm seemed to burst like cloth and become a muscular scaled arm as black as night that swelled and stretched up wrapping around the samuri dragon's muzzle and slaming him into the ground. Long black talons appeared on Sara's left hand and she giggled like she was about to win a game as she approached the trapped dragon. The dragon burst into mist and hurriedly fled the scene before Sara could attack again.

Sara slowly returned to normal and sighed looking back at the cowering town and sighed, "Sado, Ling, Shyao, let's go."