Modern Monster

“I remember it was raining that day, just like it is now. It's funny how things come full circle, isn't Sen?”– Mr. Storm.

Asashi walked briskly through a cold steel hallway, his shoes clanking against the floor as his pace quickened. He turned right, continuing down another passage, noting how dull the interior seemed. He shouldn’t have been bothered by it; the building was specifically designed to withstand monster attacks so that the AOK could investigate and research the area accordingly—monitoring monster behavior, developing new vaccines to combat viruses found in nature. But the facts didn’t quite change the building’s cold atmosphere.

His wife had spoiled him with such a comforting and warm household that being away from it too long was unpleasant. The stark contrast between the two made him realize just how thankful he was. The saying was true: you don’t know the value of something until you lose it or are separated from it.

Artificial white lights shined from above, lining the hallway until it curved to the left, opening up to a large room where many AOK employees worked on massive screens displaying data and security footage of the forest. There were many rooms like this, monitoring different sections inside the forest where the contestants were engaged in their second challenge. But this room, in particular, piqued Asashi’s interest. He eyed one of the many large screens displaying unfamiliar code he couldn’t grasp. But something he did understand was the illustration of a map, with a red circle outlining the perimeter of a barrier.

This was something he had limited information on, and even the higher-ups were reluctant to say anything about it. From the information he could gather, the government had developed new technology that would deter monsters—a dome of energy, in other words. This could be used not only to deter monsters but also to trap them in a specific area, and it was already being put to the test. The academy would never be so reckless as to send out a bunch of novices to fight for their lives in a monster-infested danger zone; that would simply be ludicrous. Asashi wouldn’t have permitted his daughter to participate under those conditions.

The academy's board of directors had proposed the idea of trial-running this newfound technology during the exams, which Asashi was skeptical about at first, to say the least, but they had assured him that extensive testing had been done to warrant a mass-scale trial run.

He was still apprehensive about such new technology, even though officials had told him they had a full two decades' worth of data—which alone had raised many questions for him. Asashi had been with the AOK for a long time, and he had never even heard a peep about this technology they were developing. However, it didn’t matter much where the device originated; the results were what mattered, and he was reluctant to admit it, but they were quite astonishing.

So far, no monsters, above or below, dared to step foot within the walls, and the monsters they had hand-selected for the challenge had all stayed like livestock trapped in the confines of a farm. They also made sure not to include any monsters that would be deemed too powerful for the competitors to kill. The academy didn’t want a slaughter on their hands.

Nonetheless, they were still expecting some casualties, as almost all exams had—after all, it was still brutally dangerous. That was why Asashi, on multiple occasions, tried explaining the dangers to the contestants and identifying the weakest links to prevent needless deaths. But somehow, Asashi wasn’t worried about the monsters at all.

They seemed so paltry in comparison to the actual danger.

“Yami’s experiment was successful, huh?” Asashi clenched his hand into a bitter fist. “So I was right about that day.”

Asashi had received a very important phone call just an hour before the second challenge had officially begun—a call that cleared up years of gnawing contemplations and theories. He wasn’t sure if it was good that he knew the information he did, because the more he knew, the angrier he became, knowing he could do nothing.

“S-sir, would you like some coffe—” A helper broke off her sentence as Asashi snapped his head, his emerald eyes erupting with anger. Noticing it was just a simple helper, he sighed, forcing himself to cool off and adopt a friendlier demeanor.

“Apologies,” Asashi dipped his head. The young girl had brunette hair pulled back into a ponytail, with two strands loose on the sides of her forehead. Her beauty wasn’t that of a model, plastered with makeup and surgeries. No, she had a natural beauty, and it stood out to him—not in a weird way, either. “You don’t seem the type to work for the AOK,” Asashi said honestly.

The girl was jumpy, almost flinching with every word he said. Asashi eyed the name tag on her chest, which read Miku Mahama.

“I-I guess so. I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to respond to that,” she stammered.

Asashi shook his head. “Don’t mind me. Say, what are you doing all the way out here?”

“They needed more hands at this base in preparation for the exam. So, I managed to get a small job here, serving people when I can. My family's finances took a big hit, so this helps a lot,” Miku said with a forced smile, but behind it, Asashi could tell she was hurting more than words could describe. It was more than finances, he knew just from one glance. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to intrude with any more personal questions.

“Very well,” he nodded and added with a slight smile. “And yes, a coffee sounds splendid.”

The girl’s nervousness seemed to melt away as she returned his positive request with a bright nod. Before she could walk away to prepare his drink, Asashi spotted a silver-ranked Knight in the room calling out to her.

“Hey there, pretty, give me a coffee with two sugars. I’d prefer it be done quickly as well.”

Asashi didn’t appreciate the arrogant tone with which the young Knight spoke. Of course, Asashi recognized how angry he’d seemed a few moments ago, but at least he had tried to correct himself.

“Oh. Y-yes, of course, I’ll be right back.” The girl said before scurrying out of the busy room.

Once it was clear she was out of earshot, the man snorted, walking up to Asashi and leaning against the steel wall, watching how the employees frantically typed on hologram keyboards. “Pathetic,” the young man said.

Asashi scrutinized him, taking in his features. He was a handsome man with a defined jaw and short, black, middle-parted hair. He had an air of self-confidence, but something even more overpowering was the arrogant smirk that he carried. Real Knights didn’t have name tags, so Asashi didn’t know his name—but he did have a sparkly silver badge that represented his rank, and by the looks of things, he seemed new. Asashi could tell by his age and, more noticeably, by the badge itself. Newer Knights had a new rendition of badges, while the older ones were outdated.

Of course, as usual, Asashi refused to wear the uniform along with the useless badge of honor—or whatever people liked to call them.

“Don’t you agree?” The man asked.

Asashi blinked with confusion. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Were you talking to me?”

The Knight twitched. “Yes, you lowlife. Wouldn’t you agree that these people here are just wasting their lives away? Like seriously, what kind of honor does sitting behind a computer really have?”

It was obvious a few people had heard his rude statement, but they all seemed to know better than to speak out against it. Asashi didn’t like this cocky fellow, but he tried to remain composed.

“I wouldn’t say that. They’re doing fantastic work—compiling data, making sure the contestants are saf—”

“Cry me a river.” The man cut him off. “Who cares about the safety of those rookies? I think we should let them learn the dangers of the wild. If they can't manage to survive, then they simply weren’t strong enough.”

Asashi was getting close to his tipping point. “What’s your name, young man?”

“Ryan,” he replied. “Why?”

“So, Ryan, what is your point?” Asashi asked bluntly, his tone growing firmer from the boy’s disrespectful attitude.

Ryan didn’t seem to like that response at all. He curled his lip and looked at him with an air of disrespect. It was clear he had no idea who Asashi was.

“Hmph, I thought you old people could understand words better. But fine, let me put it in simpler terms. The academy has grown soft. Back when I took the exam, it was much harder and more dangerous than what these kids have to go through. But I guess you wouldn’t understand that. You don’t look like a Knight.” He insolently eyed Asashi up and down, noting his simple black trench coat.

This fucking asshole. Asashi wanted to punch a hole through his face, which he could if he truly wanted to. Unfortunately for him, killing someone was kind of illegal.

“So what if I’m not a Knight? How would that change things?” Asashi decided to play a little game with the stuck-up cocky Knight.

“Well, a lot of things would change,” Ryan snorted. “First and foremost, it would mean you’re weak. Second, it would mean… you’re weak. And third, quite controversially, it would mean you’re weak.”

Yeah I'm going to kill him. I wonder if I can frame it as an accident? Wait, no, that wouldn't work there are too many witnesses, he sighed sadly.

No amount of words could make Asashi feel better. Only his fists.

The moment he felt like he’d finally snapped, the young lady returned with two cups of coffee in her hands. Miku had quite literally saved him from committing a crime, and he was grateful for it.

“I’m back,” she said cheerfully, handing both of them their cups. He nodded in appreciation, taking the first sip of his coffee. But then he noticed something odd. Sweet? He realized.

“Fuck!” Ryan exclaimed, making Asashi snap his head toward him. Ryan spat out his coffee, making a small puddle on the floor. With a repulsed face, he wiped his mouth clean with the sleeve of his uniform, only to realize he’d accidentally stained his clothes by doing that.

“This coffee isn’t sweet!” Ryan spat at Miku, making her too shaken to respond. “And now my uniform is stained, you bitch.”

“I-I’m sorry, I must have mixed them up—”

“How do you mix them up?!” Ryan growled. “You had one fucking job.”

He began marching toward her with hate sparking in his eyes—a small flicker of blue light materialized in them. Backed against the steel wall, Miku kept stuttering out incoherent apologies that only seemed to fuel Ryan’s anger even more, his face red with rage and a vein visibly pulsing.

“It’s not that hard!” Ryan spat, his saliva landing on her forehead. “This is exactly what I mean. Everyone’s grown soft or stupid. How about doing the bare minimum and getting your job done?”

Tears started welling up in Miku’s eyes as she tried her best to find words. “I—I will, I promise, I—I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”

“Huh? Are you sure? Or are you just saying that so I’ll let you off the hook?”

“No, really, I had no right to mix it up.”

“Say it again…” Ryan muttered threateningly, his anger slowly manifesting into cold malice.

“I—I had… no right to mix it up,” Miku sobbed, tears starting to fall, making an even bigger puddle than the coffee spill.

“Huh? Why the hesitation—”

Before Ryan could lurch his fist at Miku, Asashi calmly seized his drawn forearm before he could attack.

“Huh? What the fuck do you think you’re doing, old ma—”

Asashi squeezed.

Ryan let out a bloodcurdling shriek of agony as Asashi tightened his grip, making him fall to his knees in pain. Panicked, Ryan tried loosening Asashi's grip with his other hand, but it was useless as Asashi seized it too, grasping even harder. Yowling, Ryan’s arms turned bloodshot, then pale white as his circulation cut off. With both arms now in his control, Asashi lowered his head to meet Ryan’s wide, throbbing eyes. Asashi stared with a flat, callous face.

“Who do you think you are,” Asashi muttered in Ryan’s ear, his tone almost resembling the low growl of a panther, “saying those things to a young lady?”

Ryan couldn’t answer through his screams of pain.

With no reply, Asashi tightened his grip further, beginning to feel the hard shape of his skeleton. The sound of Ryan’s grinding bones would have been heard if it weren’t drowned out by his pathetic screams for mercy.

“AGHHHH! PPP—PLEASE STOP; I’LL DO ANYTHING!” Ryan cried, his pitiful eyes also starting to well up with tears. Asashi heard horrified murmurs from the staff as they paused their work to look at the commotion. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the fact that no one tried to help the young man proved he wasn’t exactly liked among them. Who would’ve thought?

Before long, Asashi suddenly noticed Ryan’s screams had stopped. With a confused blink, he looked at Ryan’s slumped head, only to find out that he had gone unconscious.

Releasing Ryan’s arms from his grip, his whole body went limp, flopping onto the steel floor and landing directly in the puddle of coffee.

“Oopsie, looks like he might get a stain, huh,” Asashi mocked flatly. He checked Miku, who was still too stunned to understand what had just happened. But behind her shock, he noticed a slight smile of relief. And for Asashi, that was well worth the amount of trouble he was about to get himself into.

“It’s a shame,” he said to Ryan's unconscious body, “I wasn’t even using my Sense too.”