Chapter 9 - City

The group travelled through the forest. Akumi rode on Nightmare while Bunny-Bear, Monster Slayer, and Emma rode on the back of a horse-sized wolf-chameleon called Wolfeleon. Bunny-Bear had summoned the mount out of nowhere before explaining that she was a beast master as well as a paladin.

The sun was shining down through the giant trees, the alien flowers were blooming, and the cat-bats were chasing each other through the grass.

Akumi didn't know why, but she had the feeling something special was about to happen.

The group came to a cliff.

'Here we are.' Bunny Bear grinned over her shoulder. 'Come and see.'

Puzzled, Akumi rode Nightmare to the edge of the cliff.

What she saw below them amazed her.

It was a sprawling city of a thousand different architectures built around the trunk of what could only be described as a world tree. The city had medieval European castles, ancient Japanese temples, futuristic American skyscrapers, tree arcologies, mountains full of caves, and walking fortresses made of junk.

'What is this place?' said Akumi.

'This is Babel,' said Bunny-Bear. 'The United Worlds set it up 50 years ago as an experiment to test the limits of multidimensional multiculturalism. It's been thriving ever since.' She pointed to the world tree. 'That there is Yggdrasil, the capital and world tree of planet Manticore.'

Akumi whistled. 'And here I thought we'd been isekai'd into a regular old high fantasy world.'

Bunny-Bear laughed. 'Oh, we've got plenty of folks from the High Fantasy Universe 'round here. Plenty from the Cyberpunk Universe and our very own Space Opera Universe, too. Not to mention all us native chimeras bumming around.'

'I have so many questions,' said Emma. 'I don't even know where to start.'

'There's no public toilet,' said Monster Slayer.

Bunny-Bear flicked Monster Slayer's helmet. 'You girls ain't seen nothin' yet. Come on.'

Bunny-Bear and Wolfeleon led Akumi and Nightmare down the cliff path and into the city, where Bunny-Bear started her guided tour. They were immediately met with a variety of races: humans, wood elves, and dwarves from the High Fantasy Universe, cyborgs, androids, and holographic AI from the Cyberpunk Universe, and Earthlings, Little Green Men, and Nordic Aliens from the Space Opera Universe. Like Bunny-Bear had said, there were also many humanoid chimeras like her bumming around: there was a lion-hyena man reading a newspaper, a giraffe-zebra woman shopping for groceries, and a group of monkey-rat kids picking pockets. For some reason, the male chimeras were far more bestial than the female chimeras, who were much more human-looking.

Keeping the peace were United Worlds Peacekeepers: Imperial Knights from the Empire of the High Fantasy Universe, Corporate Samurai from the Megacorporation of the Cyberpunk Universe, and Republican Marines from the Republic of the Space Opera Universe.

Akumi noticed Dungeon Gates everywhere, usually in the form of medieval doors or giant castle doors built into the sides of buildings.

The group passed through the Bizarre Bazaar in the Market District, an indoor market which sold everything from enchanted weapons to power armour to extraterrestrial mounts. They passed the Omnist Church in the Temple District, where people could worship statues of Gods like Odin, Deep Blue, and Yahweh, Demon Kings like Satan, the Millennium Bug, and Xenu, and Titans like Gaia, Deep Thought, and Cthulu. They passed the Colosseum in the Arena District, where gladiators from all over the Multiverse could fight mythological creatures like drakes, hydras, and wargs, killing machines like robots, autonomous mecha, and nanomachine swarms, and alien wildlife like Martian Sand Worms, Neptunian Space Whales, and Giant Venus Flytraps. Finally, they passed the Tower of Babel in the Guild District, a Platinum Rank Dungeon created by a group of interdimensional conquerors called the Overlords, from which no Adventurer had ever returned.

'I think that's enough sightseeing, Bun,' said Monster Slayer.

By that point, the group had gone in a full circle and visited all four districts of the doughnut-shaped city.

'Aaaw!' said Bunny-Bear. 'Can't we at least visit the Mages Guild University? I heard they'll turn you into a frog for five coppers.'

'No. We need to get to the Adventurers Guild Headquarters and drop off Monster Girl and Gun Girl before it gets dark. I'm not babysitting them overnight.'

Bunny-Bear sighed. 'Alright, girls. Tour's over.'

Akumi and Emma were speechless. They'd never seen anything like Babel, not even in VRMMOs.

Bunny-Bear and Wolfeleon led Akumi and Nightmare to a handsome medieval guildhall. This must have been the Adventurers Guild Headquarters. Outside of the guildhall, someone was speaking on a stage before a crowd. The person talking was a sheep-wolf man in a grey suit. In the crowd were civilians, United Worlds Peacekeepers, and what looked like Adventurers: sellswords, street samurai, and space cowboys.

'Oh no,' said Bunny-Bear. 'It's Sheepwolf.'

'What's going on?' said Akumi.

Bunny-Bear frowned. 'Politics.'

'As the new Mayor of Babel,' said Sheepwolf, 'I promise to expand this great city across the whole of Manticore, the whole of the Space Opera Universe, and the whole of the Multiverse using Dungeon Gates! Why should we, the modern, hard-working citizens of a cultural, technological, and industrial powerhouse, be content with but a single city on an otherwise backwater world?! Why should Babel not have a seat in the United Worlds Senate?!' He pointed to Yggdrasil. 'The Carnivore Party up in that world tree have been holding us back for the last 50 years! But no more! Tradition, religion, and rural living are for old men in rocking chairs waiting to die! As your representative for the Herbivore Party, I will ensure Babel takes its rightful place as the capital of the Multiverse!'

'Huh,' said Emma. 'You know, for an alien, the rhetoric he's using sounds awfully familiar.'

Bunny-Bear shrugged. 'Manticore was originally colonised by Earthlings. We inherited most of our politics from them.'

'I thought it was a good speech!' said Akumi. 'Very heartfelt!'

'I thought it sucked,' said Monster Slayer. 'The United Worlds has enough trouble fighting the League of Monsters without idiots like this wanting even more open borders.'

'Don't blame me!' Bunny-Bear grinned with her big buck teeth. 'I threw my vote away with the Omnivore Party!'

Monster Slayer sighed. 'Come on. Let's dismount and drop these two off.'

The group dismounted. Akumi and Bunny-Bear unsummoned Nightmare and Wolfeleon. They were all headed through the crowd towards the guildhall when Akumi spotted a dark shape speeding across the sky.

Was that a spaceship?

A large figure fell from the sky and landed on the stage behind Sheepwolf.

BOOM!