Chapter 108: Where the True Monster Sleeps
Okay. So, let me set the scene real quick.
I am currently faceplanted on the ground. Yes, my handsome, lovable face is enjoying an intimate moment with the dirt of Sumeru. There are, like, four—no, wait, five?—warriors from Sumeru pinning me down like I just stole their goddamn lunch.
And I'm seeing three Dottores right now.
Wonderful.
"Who the hell said this guy can't fight?!" I scream into the sand. "FUCK THOSE LORE NERDS MAKING BULLSHIT ASSUMPTIONS!"
Rewind a few moments earlier—back when my dignity was still intact and my nose unbroken—we had our big dramatic face-off. You know, like in those old kung fu films.
Me vs. Dottore.
No backup. No moral support. Just me and that blue-haired, smug-faced, psycho science project.
We circled each other like beasts in a cage. His grin stretched unnaturally, eyes glinting with cruel curiosity.
"Time to die, blue-haired bastard," I muttered, cracking my knuckles like I actually knew what I was doing. Greg wasn't even here. He was chilling with Lumine and Paimon. Lucky lizard.
I charged in first, obviously. Because patience is for emotionally stable people.
I threw the first punch.
He dodged.
"Tsk. Predictable," he said with the most punchable voice imaginable.
So we did it old-school. Fists only. Bare-knuckle chaos. And let me just say—this guy didn't fight like a Doctor. He fought like someone who dissected fighters for a hobby. (Which... okay, yeah, he probably does.)
I got a few hits in. A solid right hook, a kick to the stomach. But he was grinning. Laughing even!
"Did you think intellect and violence were mutually exclusive, dear boy?" he chuckled while narrowly dodging another haymaker.
"I thought you were a lab rat in Gucci heels!"
The punches were fast—blindingly fast. Every time I blinked, he was somewhere else. A fist grazed my jaw. A foot slammed into my ribs. We were dancing in destruction.
And yet—
I matched him.
Strike for strike. Blow for blow. The earth cracked beneath our feet. Dust kicked up like thunderclaps. We weren't just fighting—we were rewriting the definition of chaos.
He tried to sweep my legs—I leapt. He jabbed at my throat—I parried with my forearm. Sparks flew. Our auras were colliding like angry gods having a boxing match.
It escalated fast.
I started throwing my elemental skills into the mix. Geo spears—check. Infused with electro and anemo? Double check. Tossed them like divine javelins.
Then came the Geo Bow.
Anemo-infused arrows? Boom. Electro-boosted speed? Bang. Precision headshots aimed at his smug little nose? Pew pew motherfucker.
And now, thanks to some Dendro mumbo jumbo I recently picked up, I added new tricks to the arsenal. Dendro chains burst from the ground, vines twisted to life, exploding in flashes of green energy. They lashed like angry whips, catching one of the Dottore clones by the ankle and slamming it into a boulder.
He was still laughing. This guy was insane.
"You fight like a cornered animal," he smirked. "It's adorable."
"You talk too much for someone wearing eyeliner!"
Then I pulled out the big guns—Haran and Mistsplitter.
"Let's see how your face handles twin swords of divine pain!"
I infused them with everything I had. Geo for sturdiness. Electro for speed. Anemo to keep moving like a wind-blessed lunatic. My arms were practically glowing.
I dashed in, Mistsplitter in one hand, Harran in the other. The blades hummed with energy, and I lunged into a flurry of slashes, alternating strikes between the two swords with chaotic grace. Sparks flew, metal clashed, and for a moment, I swear I had the bastard on the defensive.
Dottore blocked with a conjured Dendro blade, parried my Mistsplitter, and elbowed me across the jaw. I spun, kicked him in the stomach, then lunged again with Harran, slicing a thin line
across his coat.
"That was tailor-made," he hissed.
"So is this ass-kicking."
We traded another barrage of blows—steel against steel, movement for movement. I slashed low; he parried. I jabbed upward with Mistsplitter; he ducked and countered with a sharp burst of Dendro spikes. I rolled to the side, used Geo to shield myself, and surged back in.
"You're faster than you look," he grunted.
"And you're uglier than I expected," I snapped, ducking under his blade.
Blades clashed again. I crossed Harran and Mistsplitter in front of me to catch his overhead strike, then twisted them to force him back. Sparks showered between us as I pressed forward, blade locked against blade.
I spun, drove my foot into his side, and followed with a downward double-slash that shattered the tiles beneath his feet. He slid back, cloak fluttering.
"Tired yet?" I grinned.
"Amused," he replied. "But your flair won't save you."
"It's not about flair," I said, flipping the blades. "It's about making sure you remember who beat your ass in surround sound."
With a scream, I launched into a blinding chain of strikes—slash, parry, dodge, repeat. Every movement was instinct, adrenaline, and raw disrespect for everything he stood for. Blades whirled around me like a storm, and for a heartbeat, I saw something rare—hesitation in his eyes.
And then—oh, then—I pulled out the big dumb idea: the Geo Claymore.
Summoned it mid-air, charged it with Anemo and Electro, and jumped on it like a flying surfboard of death.
"WHO NEEDS GLIDERS WHEN YOU HAVE STUPID IDEAS?!" I screamed as I soared above Dottore's head, raining arrows from my bow like a medieval AC-130.
Dottore blinked up. "Are you RIDING a claymore?!"
"YES. SHUT UP. DIE."
Then—BAM! Two of his damn clones appeared out of nowhere.
I skidded to a halt.
Their faces were all the same—smug, calculating, soulless. They moved in eerie synchronization, their steps echoing like a twisted symphony.
"Oh come ON! I literally forgot you had this dumb trick!"
Now it was 3-on-1. I was swinging, jumping, dodging. The upper hand kept switching like a broken light switch. Blades clashed with eerie harmony, sparks flying from every parry.
"Hey, which one of you is the real asshole?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know," one of them said, while another clocked me from the side.
One clone grabbed my arm. The other slammed a fist into my stomach. I gasped. My feet barely touched the ground.
"Tired already?" the real Dottore asked.
"Kiss my ass!"
I twisted, flung the clone off, and slammed my Geo Claymore into the ground, sending up a shockwave that tossed them back. The ground rippled like a rug being yanked.
"WHO SAID A DOCTOR CAN'T FIGHT HAND-TO-HAND?!" I yelled mid-air.
"You did. Five seconds ago."
"FUCK THIS SHIT!"
I leapt high, flipped mid-air, and rained down a meteor arrow.
One clone exploded in a puff of smoke. I laughed.
"One down! Two to go, Doc!"
But then—
Suddenly a group of Akademiya scholars tackled me.
"Wait wait WAIT I CAN'T HIT YOU GUYS YOU'RE INNOCENT CIVILIANS—AGHHHHH—"
They dogpiled me like overenthusiastic librarians.
"NO! NO FRIENDLY FIRE! I'M ON YOUR SIDE, YOU IDIOTS!"
And that's how we got here. Me, face down, betrayed by Sumeru NPCs.
"Come on, fight like a real man you blue-haired pedophile weirdo!" I yell, still being smothered by people with zero muscle mass.
Dottore just smirks.
"You're brave, I'll give you that. But bravery alone can't stop me."
"Neither can your stupid clone army, dipshit!"
My limbs are twitching. My brain's spinning. I'm seeing stars. I'm 70% sure one of the clones kicked me in the ass.
But I'm not done yet.
Oh no.
This bastard's about to get Shigeru'd.
***
Alright. Buckle in, because this part ain't pretty.
My face was still kissing Sumeru soil, arms pinned by scholars-turned-zombies who had no idea they were helping a madman. I was trying to squirm, yell, even flick them off—but they just kept holding me down like I was the villain here.
I couldn't hurt them.
That's the worst part. I COULDN'T hurt them. They weren't enemies. They weren't soldiers. They were innocent people being mind-controlled.
And Dottore knew it.
He strolled forward like the smug prick he is, coat billowing behind him, every step a deliberate insult.
"Struggling already? How futile," he said, voice oozing superiority.
I gritted my teeth so hard I felt something crack. Maybe a molar. Maybe my patience.
Then I heard her.
"Shigeru!"
Lumine.
She came. Lumine, Nahida, Paimon, and even Greg—riding on her shoulder like the little legendary lizard he was. My breath caught in my throat. My vision blurred—not from pain, but from the overwhelming surge of something I didn't have a name for. Relief? Rage? Fear?
And that's when my worst nightmare hit me like a slap from reality's ugliest hand.
"Take her and leave!!" I shouted, voice sharp and cracking from the panic boiling beneath the surface.
Nahida stumbled forward, her expression pale as she saw the scene. She looked at Dottore like she was staring at the abyss.
Shigeru, still glaring down at the vanishing clone smoke, didn't even look back. "Take her and leave," he muttered coldly, his voice like a knife slicing through the tension.
"You're... the outcast, expelled from the Akademiya," she whispered.
Dottore bowed with mockery, his smile poisonous. "Indeed, I am. Although these days, they tend to call me... The Doctor."
My heart was hammering. No. Not Nahida. Not again.
"If you're looking for your researcher friend," Dottore continued, glancing at Nahida, "she's already in confinement. A pity. With basic caution, she might've spotted the listening device on her. Clearly, she lacks the rigor expected of a true scholar."
"You bastard..." I hissed.
Nahida's voice trembled. "The people of Sumeru City... What have you done to them?"
He chuckled like a game show host unveiling a new prize. "Oh, nothing major. I simply made a few minor adjustments to their Akasha Terminals. They now deposit information directly into the subconscious. Brilliant, isn't it?"
The people—gods, the citizens—started moving. Slowly at first. Blank eyes, robotic steps. They were converging on Lumine, Paimon, Nahida.
"As you can see, these lovely people now believe the Traveler is a hero who's just saved the world," Dottore said, gesturing like a magician. "Heh... My experiment is a success."
"Oh no," Paimon squeaked. "What do we do!? These are just regular people!"
They were closing in.
And Dottore—Dottore walked toward them, eyes fixated on Lumine.
My blood turned to ice.
"ZANDIK! I SWEAR TO FUCKING CELESTIA, IF YOU TOUCH EVEN A SINGLE STRAND OF HER HAIR I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU!" I roared.
He didn't stop. He didn't flinch.
He just smirked.
"And what can you do, clown? Look at you. Pinned like a bug. You talk so much, yet here you are. Helpless."
"I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"
Then—he did it.
He reached Lumine.
And grabbed her by the neck.
"NO!" Nahida screamed.
Everything stopped.
Every part of me snapped.
They say you should fear the brave.
But what you should truly fear—what you should run from—is when the clown stops laughing.
I stopped.
And I stood.
The people holding me down? Thrown like leaves in a storm. Bones cracking. Dust flying.
I rose with the sound of cracking earth beneath my feet. Blood poured from my eyes, turning my vision red. My body pulsed with raw elemental energy—Electro, Geo, Anemo, Dendro—all of it swirling like I was about to implode.
Lightning arced between my fingers.
My veins glowed with radiant fury.
My footsteps cracked the stone with every stride.
One of Dottore's clones dashed toward me, blade raised.
"You think I'm afraid of pain?!" I snarled.
I sidestepped, grabbed its arm, and ripped it clean off—but I wasn't done. I lunged forward and clutched the remaining clone by the throat with one hand, lifting it off the ground. It struggled, clawing at my arm, but I glared up at it coldly. Then, with a single sharp twist—SNAP!—its neck broke in my grip. I hurled the body like a ragdoll into the other, impaling both with their own blade in one final, ruthless motion. They vanished in a puff of smoke and sparks.
Another came.
I leapt. Midair, I twisted, slicing through three with raw Anemo force wrapped around my blade like a hurricane.
I hit the ground. The ground cratered.
The wind howled.
The world screamed with me.
"I warned you. Do not touch her."
Dottore's grin widened. "Finally... the hero has been corrupted."
He chuckled darkly, stepping closer.
"Tell me, Shigeru… does it ache?" he hissed. "That tiny flicker of humanity inside you, screaming while you tear through everything you once stood for?"
He tilted his head mockingly. "Or did you finally realize—heroes are just monsters with better excuses?"
He stepped closer, eyes glinting. "Come on, show me. Show me that rage. That desperation. The look on your face when you accept you're no better than me."
I didn't answer.
I just moved.
Faster than lightning. Faster than a thought.
I was there.
Right in front of him.
My hand around his neck.
The moment my fingers closed, Lumine was freed. She coughed, stumbled back.
Paimon floated frozen, too scared to speak.
Nahida reached for the Akasha, trying to wrestle control from Dottore's adjustments. Her expression was strained, fighting data with willpower.
She turned to Lumine. "Stop him. Please. If he loses himself completely... we might lose more than just this battle."
Lumine looked at me.
I wasn't me anymore.
"Shigeru... Shigeru... please. Let him go. You don't want this. I know you don't."
I didn't budge. My grip tightened.
I could hear Dottore's windpipe struggling, his lips twitching as if still amused.
"If you kill him... Nahida will still be taken. The people will still suffer," Lumine begged.
She started crying.
That's when it hit me.
What the hell was I doing?
Lumine... Nahida... Paimon... Greg...
I was losing everything.
She reached out. Her hand touched my face. My skin sparked from overload.
"Please come back. Please. We need you."
She forced Dottore out of my grip and teleported me.
Into the Teapot.
I didn't even realize it at first.
I was still went berserk. Screaming. Smashing the floor. Elemental energy lashing out in violent shockwaves. Furniture split. The air cracked.
Until they all hugged me.
Paimon.
Greg.
And Lumine.
Tight.
Tighter than ever before.
"You're safe now... it's okay... you're safe..."
I blinked.
The rage was gone.
I looked around. I was home.
And that's when the real pain hit.
Nahida...
She was still out there.
He took her.
Because I lost control.
I was about to teleport out, fists clenched, energy crackling—
And Lumine and Paimon clung to my legs, holding me back.
"Don't—please... don't go. Not like this."
I fell to my knees.
Tears flooded down my face.
"I failed her... I failed everyone... if I just—"
Lumine hugged me. Held me tight. Buried my face in her chest.
"Cry. Let it out. It's okay... we're here."
And for the first time in years...
I cried.
Me.
Shigeru.
The jester. The fool. The laughing idiot who always had something sarcastic to say.
I cried.
Because this time...
There was nothing funny about it.
__________________
End of Chapter 107