Friend or Foe

One month had passed. They became very close, although Kenue still seemed unable to completely forget that night. They trained together day and night. Other villagers also trained to get stronger. The two villages thought of ways to fight the monsters. They were wondering that moving from place to place was really their destiny.

Roman and the others went into the forest and they found a cave. They decided to check it out. Then, something unexpected happened. A gorilla monster appeared.

“Is this the monkey, Kenue? He’s definitely stronger than Roman,” Darma said, poking fun at Roman.

“What the hell?! You’re being annoying, just like your brother,” Roman snapped in annoyance.

“Sorry, I’m just kidding. Looks like he’s not our enemy.”

“Hey puny humans, what do you guys want? Why did you enter my territory? Do you have a death wish or something?” Kong, the gorilla monster, asked.

“Wait, we were just wandering around, looking for a safe place we could live in,” Terry said.

“A safe place? Do you think such a place exists? This world is teeming with greedy humans and stupid monsters. No place is safe anymore.”

“Stupid monsters? Do you hate monsters? Aren’t you a monster, too?” Roman gave a sarcastic remark.

“Silence, you puny human. Don’t you dare compare me to those lowly ones. I’m different.”

“Are you from the Monster Kingdom, too? Do you hate humans?” Darma asked.

“I hailed from the monster planet, but I do what I want. Nobody tells me what to do. Unlike those vermin: Croco, Torto, Wolfie, Sharkin, and Rhino!! They’re lowly slaves!”

“You seem to hate them, huh?” Terry asked, curious.

“You know nothing, shrimp. You don’t know me. Humans are just as stupid and cunning, except him.”

Kong befriended a human named Shinra, a very strong swordsman. Shinra was his training partner.

“Ah, so you have a human girlfriend, huh? I guess even monsters have feelings,” Roman mocked.

Bursting with anger, Kong took a massive boulder and threw it at Roman.

Roman, who was laughing with his back to Kong, did not see a boulder flying toward him.

“Watch out!” Darma warned him.

“Roman, behind you!!” Terry shouted frantically.

Kenue swiftly smashed the boulder with his spear and it split into two pieces. Roman was astonished.

“Hey, what the hell?! You damn monkey!!” Roman snapped.

“How dare you insult my friend? I’ll show you what happens if someone dares insult my friend!!” Kong shouted furiously.

Kong dashed forward and jumped straight at Roman, hitting him with both hands. Roman was able to withstand the blow, but he fell to his knees before Kong.

“Hey, do you seriously want to fight with me? All right, Monkey, I’ll take you on!!”

“Stop it, Roman. You too, Mr. Monkey. Please don’t fight. We didn’t come here to fight,” Darma said, trying to stop their fight.

Kong’s strike sent Roman flying about ten meters away. Terry was still stunned by his attack.

Next, Kong took a large log and threw it at Darma, but he easily dodged it.

Roman got to his feet. “Argh!! You damn monkey!! You’re strong, but I won’t lose!!” he roared, rushing to Kong.

Darma said to Terry and Kenue, “You guys stay away. I gather Roman’s words earlier put him in a mood. You’d better apologize, Roman, before things get any worse!”

“But I refuse. Take this, you stupid monkey!!” Roman hollered, trying to attack Kong.

Roman jumped up, going to attack using his knees like he did against the Croco that time. His knee strike hit Kong’s face and made him bleed from his mouth. Kong was thrown backwards.

A moment later, he jumped again and was going to perform a spinning kick toward Kong, but with one hand Kong managed to catch his leg, hurling him far into the cave wall. Roman was bleeding quite a lot from his mouth. Laying limp, he could not get up again.

Kong charged forward, wanting to slam Roman with his body against the cave wall, but Darma and Terry fired their arrows past his face and made two cuts on it. Fortunately, they managed to stop Kong.

Darma and Terry said to Kong, “Next time, I’ll make sure it hits your head!!”

Darma then apologized for Roman’s words that had made Kong angry. “Please forgive Roman. We didn’t come here to fight. Please understand, Mr. Monkey. We came here in peace.”

Darma had not finished speaking, when suddenly Kong took a huge boulder and threw it at him, but once again Kenue destroyed it with his spear.

Darma froze because Kong’s throw was too fast. “Damn. I couldn’t evade that one. What a quick throw!”

Kenue was livid. “I’ve had enough of your tantrum. We’d better end this fight. I really don’t want to kill you. I watched people dear fall. I’ve seen too many people die to want to lose any more. Please don’t make me do it,” he said.

“You’re quite confident, brat. Those eyes are similar to Shinra’s. There was no hesitation at all when facing his opponent. You three can go. But this one brat, will stay here for insulting my best friend!! If you don’t like it, I’ll have to force you to leave!!”

“It’s inevitable. We really have to fight. I had warned you, but you brushed it aside,” Kenue said, preparing to attack.

“Kenue, don’t. He’s not our enemy!!” Darma said, trying to calm Kenue down.

“Why do you keep stirring trouble? Roman, you stupid!! I’ll beat him up later!!” Terry shouted angrily.

“Prepare to meet your maker!!” Kenue growled.

“Bring it on, brat!!”

Kenue attacked Kong quickly without hesitation. He swung his spear relentlessly at Kong.

Darma stared in mute amazement. For a moment, he saw his father in Kenue. Kenue fought really well and fast.

Kong kept dodging while jumping and holding on tree trunks. He could not launch an attack on Kenue. There was simply no opening.

Kenue managed to injure Kong’s right leg and left hand with his spear.

Damn. He’s too fast. I can’t attack him directly. There’s no opening. If so, I’ll simply create them. Kong thought.

Kong broke some logs and threw them at Kenue. Kenue managed to destroy them with ease. Then, he picked up some stones and threw them at Kenue.

Out of the blue, he flung stones at Terry and Darma to distract Kenue.

Seeing as Terry and Darma could not dodge the stones, Kenue moved to protect them using his spear. It was then that Kong had a chance to attack.

Kong jumped up and managed to land a hit on Kenue. A single punch to the stomach was more than enough to knock Kenue unconscious.

“No! Kenue!!” Darma and Terry shouted. They ran toward him.

Even though I can see the direction of the throw, my body isn’t fast enough to dodge it. Darma thought.

“You’re strong, brat, but anyone would find it hard to fight while protecting people, right?”

Something unexpected happened. Roman, who had been motionless all this time, suddenly jumped up from behind Kong and then performed his signature spinning kick to Kong’s head.

Kong collapsed and his body immediately went limp.

“Hey, Monkey, what do you think I am, huh? You just ignored me. I’m very strong, you know!” Roman boasted, getting ready to hit him.

“Roman, that’s enough!! Stop!!” Terry snapped.

“He was the one who attacked us first. I’ll teach him a lesson!”

Enraged, Terry picked up her arrow and aimed it at Roman. “Stop it, Roman!! Otherwise I’ll have to stop you by force!!”

Roman ceased his attack on Kong. Kong passed out for quite a while.

The four of them wondered why there were monsters not affiliated with the Monster Kingdom. They remained there until Kong came to his senses.

A few hours later, Kong woke up and said, “What are you guys doing here anyway? Just kill me, please...”

“I thought so, too,” Roman said.

“Shut up, Roman!! We’re not here to fight. We wanted to find a safe place for the villagers because we had an accident. Our village was attacked by the Sharkins,” Terry explained.

Kong’s gaze immediately changed when he heard that name.

He used to have a child and a wife. They were killed by the Sharkins. He allowed his son to befriend the humans. However, when the village was attacked by the Sharkins, his son and wife were also there, so they were slaughtered too. At that time, he was furious, but he realized that it was impossible to defeat the Sharkins.

In the end, he locked himself in this cave. A long time had passed until he met Shinra, a swordsman. They trained together and became good friends. They were like brothers.

Terry snapped at Roman and said, “Hurry up and apologize, Roman!! You’re the one who started all this.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kong.”

Roman was still reluctant to apologize. “Why do I have to?”

“You’re the one who got Kenue hurt because of your doing and your empty head!!” Terry snapped.

“Hey, my head isn’t empty, all right? It’s just not filled yet. Maybe. Fine. It’s my bad. I’m sorry, Kong. The name’s Roman.”

“I’m sorry, Kenue,” Kong said, ignoring Roman’s apology.

“Hey, you should apologize to me. You flung me onto the wall, you empty-headed monkey!!” Roman said in annoyance.

“Shut up. You’re the one who’s empty-headed, Roman,” Terry said.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry too, Kong. My name is Kenue.”

“I’m Terry.”

“I’m Darma. Pleased to meet you.”

“My apologies. Because of my past, I have a hard time trusting humans. Still, there was a human who was so kind to me. He’s different.”

Kong got strong and skilled in fighting thanks to Shinra. Shinra was a very strong and fast dual wielding swordsman. Even without using a sword, his strength was already on par with Kong’s.

Then, Kong told the four of them a little about his friend. “He’s very strong. I’ll introduce you to my friend later. He’s a quiet person, but he has a good heart.”

“Is it true? But, Kong, why are you different? You came from the same place as the Sharkins and the others, right?” Terry asked.

“That’s right. Most of the monsters were sent to Earth. I used to be a follower of the first monster leader, Firouza. However, after he was succeeded by Satyr, Firouza’s followers started to be targeted by them. That’s why we hid away from Satyr’s Monster Kingdom lackeys.”

“Oh, I see. I understand now. When did the succession take place?” Terry asked.

“The election of a new monster leader is held once every 500 years!”

Roman and the others were thunderstruck by this revelation.

“What?? How old are you?” Terry asked curiously.

“I’m still young. I’m only 6.5 centuries old. Actually, humans and monsters had a peace treaty 1,000 years ago. From the beginning of Firouza’s reign until the fifth century, the Earth was fine. However, after Satyr took over as the new leader and recruited the Rhinos and the others into the Monster Kingdom’s army, he began to gradually change the rules between humans and monsters. Moreover, the new leader election will be held in the near future. I gather that has made Satyr even more violent in the last twenty years. That’s all I know.”

Terry was taken aback by the story. “Wow. I didn’t know about this. Thank you, Kong, for explaining it so well to us. Oh yeah, by the way what’s your friend’s name?” she asked, curious.

Suddenly, Shinra turned up and said, “It’s me. My name is Shinra.”

He came riding on his gallant horse. His sturdy body and gravelly voice indicated that he was an exceptional person.

“What are you doing here? Do you guys want to harass Kong?”

Roman was offended by Shinra’s words. “Hey, get off your high horse. Who do you think you are? Trying to be cool!”

Kong explained to Shinra. “They’re good people. Come here, Shinra. They’re just wandering around here. They’re looking for a place where they and their fellow villagers can live in peace without being attacked by monsters.”

“Be strong. That’s all. If you’re strong, wherever you live, you’ll be fine,” Shinra said curtly.

“Oh, sorry. Shinra always speaks like that. He’s right. Nowadays, it’s not just humans, even fellow monsters like me are also in danger. So we have to keep training to get even stronger.”

“Strong? You look like a pampered prince. You don’t even know how cruel the outside world is,” Roman said, mocking Shinra.

“You damn vagrant. The way you talk reflects who you really are. I’m so sorry for the three of you,” Shinra said while looking at Terry, Darma, and Kenue. “He must be the one who always troubles you, right?”

“What did you say?? You want to fight, huh, Flashy Prince?? You think I’m intimidated by your swords, huh? Bring it on, you spoiled bastard!!”

“Stop it, Roman. Your head is completely empty, isn’t it? You’re so irritating. You always do what you want. You’ve hurt Kenue. Now you want to put us all in danger, huh?!” Terry snapped.

“But he was being flashy. Besides, don’t you remember, it was me who beat Kong with my spinning kick. Hyah,” Roman said, posing for a kick.

Shinra’s eyes widened. He beat Kong? With one kick? Is he really that strong? I still can’t believe it.

His interest piqued, Shinra challenged Roman to fight. “Okay. I’ll test your strength. I won’t kill you. I won’t use my swords, seeing that you excel in hand-to-hand combat. I’ll use my bare hands.”

Roman’s muscular arms and legs showed that he was indeed a bare-handed martial artist.

Worried, Terry said, “But it’s better not to fight. What should we do?”

Kong was also confused. He said to Shinra, “Shinra, why do you want to fight? It’s not like you.”

“I just wanted to make him realize that the world he spoke of was indeed cruel. I want to show him what I’ve been through so far!”

“Come at me. I’ve never lost in a one-on-one with a human. Especially in a hand-to-hand combat,” Roman bragged.

“Will it all be okay, Kong?” Terry asked worriedly.

“Take it easy. He won’t seriously fight Roman.”

“It seems we’ll be able to witness Shinra’s real strength, as Roman’s strength is remarkable,” Darma said.

“Strong? He just likes to talk big, really,” Kenue said, roasting Roman.

“Hey, damn you, Kenue. You think I can’t hear it? How can you mock your friends when they’re going to fight against an opponent?”

The fight began. Shinra rushed and stopped right before Roman. Roman, who was stunned, immediately tried to punch Shinra in the face, but Shinra avoided by jumping to the side while launching a kick toward Roman’s face.

With quick reflexes, Roman blocked the kick with both hands. Then, Shinra backed away and paused for a moment. Suddenly, Roman’s hands trembled.

“Is our fight over, champ??” Shinra taunted, smirking.

Damn. His kick is so strong. If I hadn’t parried it, my face would’ve been crushed. It was much stronger than Kong’s attack. He’s a monster in human form!! But Roman did not want to look weak. “Is this all you can do? It’s nothing.”

“Good. Because if that’s all you’re capable of, I’ll be very disappointed.”

“Shut it!!”

Enduring his pain and embarrassment, Roman advanced to attack Shinra. He threw his signature knee kick multiple times, but they were easily blocked by Shinra.

“Take this, my signature spinning kick!!”

Shinra kicked at the same time. The two collided in the air with their strong kicks. However, Roman was sent flying about five meters. He tried to get up, but his legs could not move. He fell to his knees.

Damn. His kick is so strong!! No. Actually, he was just holding back my kick and made a slight push toward me. Am I that weak? Is he too strong? He’s not fighting seriously. Damn!! “Let’s stop this fight for a while. I’m getting hungry. You’re so lucky that I fight you on an empty stomach,” Roman said, unwilling to admit defeat.

“You’re lying. Boo… The power gap is plain to see. You suck,” Kenue booed.

“What the hell? Damn you, Kenue!” Roman shouted, still motionless due to Shinra’s hard kick.

Terry joined in on booing him, “I agree with Kenue. The difference is too large. Boo…”

Darma scoffed, “It’s like a sensei fighting against his inexperienced student.”

“Hey, Darma, why are you being annoying? Argh,” Roman said, annoyed.

Kong, Terry, Kenue, and Darma laughed.

“Sorry, Roman,” Darma said.

Shinra walked over to Roman and said, “Are we done now?”

Shinra held out his hand toward Roman. Roman took his hand.

They ate and talked until late. In the morning, they woke up and immediately wished to return to their village. They said goodbye to Kong, but they did not see Shinra.

“Where did the Flashy Prince go?” Roman asked.

“Shinra went home when you all were fast asleep. He didn’t want to wake you up. So he didn’t say goodbye to you.”

“That pampered prince. Watch it, I’ll definitely become stronger,” Roman said. He could not admit that he had been defeated.

Terry, Darma, and Kenue bid Kong goodbye. “We’re going home, thank you for your kindness, Kong.”

Roman approached Kong and held his fist out. “Kong, see you later.”

Kong bumped their fists and said, “Take care. Until we meet again, Roman.”

The four talked a lot on the way home. They talked about Shinra and the peace treaty between humans and monsters.

A few hours later, they finally reached their village, but a strange thing occurred.

The villagers were nowhere to be found. There were no signs of damage or traces of fighting. They were confused as to what had happened exactly. However, there was one possibility that they suspected. It must be the Crocos and other monsters.