Chapter 136: The Monsters Of Varkesh

Tanaka was asleep. Not resting. Not unconscious from exhaustion. Asleep. The past week, Tanaka’s body had refused to wake him up. Tanaka’s slime body was still lying on the room in the Eldoris palace, barely moving with his Magic Core pulsating inside of it. The evolution process had changed him too fast at once. Rhazek’s skills were devoured with his body, his power, his traits and his past experiences. Then Tanaka had jumped the class of Demon Lord, and evolved again into an Emperor Devour Slime. His body required time to adjust to all of these changes.

The Endless Abyss had worked for the whole week to sort out all that he had devoured to adapt to his body, while his regeneration fixed all the damages the war had done to him. There hadn’t been any dramatic actions. No weird dreams. A little crimson slime was laying there, peacefully, with a huge amount of power being poured into his body. Then, on the morning of the seventh day, his eyes finally opened.

Tanaka laid there for a few seconds. He could perceive the room. He could feel the floor under his body. He could sense the mana flowing inside of him. His Magic Core was different. Denser. Stronger. The pressure that used to give him a hard time was gone. Tanaka slowly moved one of his tiny slime arms. Then, the other. "I’m alive".

A tiny voice screamed suddenly. "TANAKA!" Sora suddenly appeared in the doorway. Before Tanaka could turn around, the small slime jumped on top of him. Boing! Tanaka’s body was squashed against the floor. "You’re awake!" Sora bounced again. "You’re awake! You’re awake! You’re finally awake!" "Sora..." Tanaka’s voice was muffled. Sora bounced again. "I thought you’d never wake up!" Tanaka managed to push himself up. "I was sleeping". "For a week!" Tanaka paused. "A week?" Sora nodded enthusiastically.

"Everybody kept checking on you". The door opened. Relia came first, followed by Raishin, Raveana, Rogan, Ryuken, Razer, Drakar, Torga, Zephyr and other leaders. The room suddenly filled. Tanaka looked around. "You all came". Raveana crossed her arms. "We wanted to see if you were actually alive". Rogan looked at her. "You waited for three days outside of this room". "I was bored". "You were worried". "I wasn’t". Raveana turned her gaze away. Tanaka smiled. It was good to see them. After all, just seeing everyone around him was better than the victory itself.

Relia came closer and inspected him. "You seem different". Tanaka nodded. "I do". Raishin studied him. "Your aura is different". Tanaka looked at himself. "I became an Emperor Devour Slime". Everyone fell silent. Razer smirked. "So you finally became the next level". "Seems like it". Tanaka looked around the room. "What about the others?" The atmosphere changed suddenly. No one answered for a while. Relia looked down.

"We buried our dead". Tanaka fell silent. The smile vanished. Tanaka remembered the battlefield. The bodies. The aftermath. He had hoped that waking up would somehow change things. It didn’t. "What about Varkesh?" Raishin answered. "They have not stabilized yet". Tanaka looked at him. "Meaning?" "Their kingdom has fallen into civil war". Tanaka’s face tightened. "Tharven?" "Still alive". "Then let’s go". No one argued.

A few days later, Tanaka left Eldoris. Tanaka traveled the land in slime form. There was no need to transform, unless he had to, and he had already gotten used to traveling in slime form again. Raishin accompanied him. So did Razer, Raveana and Drakar. A group of Greater Goblins, Greater Orcs and Greater Ogres followed behind. They didn’t go as soldiers, but they were going to Varkesh. When the kingdom came into sight, Tanaka immediately sensed something was wrong.

The road that led to the city was empty. No merchants. No travelers. Just a ruined sight. The stone walls were broken. A few buildings close to the street were set on fire. The road was full of bodies. Tanaka’s face darkened. "They really tore each other apart". They entered the city. The sight was worse. Varkesh was drowning in its own violence. Two groups of monsters were killing each other in the middle of the street.

One group wore parts of Varkesh military armor. The other group was composed of civilians. Weapons clashed. Someone screamed. A body fell. Another warrior was about to attack. Tanaka stopped. His allies stopped with him. Tanaka looked around the fight. Then he released his aura.

Monster Lord Aura filled the street. The atmosphere changed suddenly. All the monsters felt it. A few warriors even froze. Then Tanaka released something else. Demonic Aura. Rhazek’s aura. The pressure doubled. The remaining warriors dropped their weapons. Some fell on their knees. Others just stood there, frozen. The street grew silent. Tanaka slowly walked forward. No one attacked. They could sense what he was. A Monster Lord. A Demon Lord. The king that had beaten Rhazek.

Tanaka looked around the crowd. "This is enough". No one talked. "You have already lost enough people". Tanaka’s voice was calm. "You killed each other after losing your king. You destroyed your own homes. You made your grief turn into another war". Tanaka paused. There was something that he remembered from his old beta-testing days. One of the war games he had played included an NPC commander whose speeches seemed to be remembered for years. Tanaka always thought of those speeches as too dramatic. But right now, in the middle of Varkesh, he suddenly remembered them. He decided to steal them.

"You think strength is having the power to crush everyone beneath your feet". The crowd was silent. "But strength is not proved by how many people you can kill". Tanaka’s aura pressed against the street. "Strength is proved by what you can protect". A few monsters lowered their heads. "Rhazek was strong. You followed him because he was strong. Now he is gone, and you are tearing each other apart because you do not know what to do without him".

Tanaka looked around the bodies. "You call yourselves strong on the backs of your own people". No one answered. "Look around". The monsters did as they were told. "These are not your enemies". Tanaka’s voice grew heavier. "They are your people". Tanaka let the silence fill the air. "You have already lost one war". Tanaka narrowed his eyes. "Do not lose your kingdom as well".

A voice called from behind the crowd. "King Tanaka". The monsters turned around. Tharven came forward. He looked worse than when Tanaka had last seen him. His armor was broken again. His body was filled with fresh wounds. His face showed an exhaustion deeper than physical pain. He knelt in front of Tanaka. "Forgive me". Tanaka stared at him. "I failed". Tharven lowered his head. "I was ordered to keep Varkesh together. I tried. The factions broke faster than we could keep them together.

Warriors fought warriors. Villagers armed themselves. The death of Rhazek broke the peace that kept our kingdom together". Tanaka said nothing. Tharven continued. "I should have stopped it". Tanaka shook his head. "It wouldn’t have been that simple". Tharven looked up. "Why?" "Because I know what I saw". Tanaka looked around the city. "Rhazek was dead, but the people that followed him did not suddenly believe that he was invincible". Tanaka looked at him. "To them, the strongest monster in Varkesh was unstoppable".

Tanaka paused. "Then they watched him die". Tanaka understood the panic now. It would be hard to believe. Maybe impossible to believe. If Tanaka had come back to Eldoris alone, and told everybody that Rhazek was dead with all his Monster Lord class fighters around, he didn’t know if he would have believed it. Tharven nodded. "You’re right". "I know". Tanaka looked towards the rest of Varkesh. The warriors that had fought against each other were looking at him. Some were afraid, some were angry. Others just looked lost.

Tanaka sighed. "I came here because this cannot go on". The crowd waited. "You have two options". The monsters listened. "Join Eldoris". A murmuring echoed through the street. Tanaka’s aura remained the same. "You will keep your lives. Your people. Your homes". Tanaka looked at the ruined buildings. "But you will live under my rule". Tanaka’s voice became colder. "The second option is simple".

Tanaka looked at the entire city. "Refuse". The street grew completely silent. Tanaka narrowed his eyes. "And Varkesh will be destroyed". Tharven’s eyes widened. Tanaka turned slightly, spreading his aura over the kingdom. "Choose". The monsters of Varkesh looked at the king that had beaten their king. The kingdom had already lost its king. And now, for the first time, Varkesh was not asked who was the strongest monster. But if it would kneel.