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人間とモンスターの距離Ar・Armorica the ARMORED QUEEN ARMADOGU

I am the Island Forest’s Northern Region’s RANKA of KING, Just like all monster in this world called RESMERE, I had been presented with a divine blessing and sometime can be considered a curse known as PREMONITION.

This premonition entailed that one day my life would end in the hands of a DEMON LORD, a very sorrowful DEMON LORD. I for one did not know why he was sorrowful I just felt it from the tears I saw in his eyes.

This was how it was laid after my birth:

.PREMONITION {

Settling down in an uncharted island the king in you is finally born, promised with dominance ye shall lead ye children to the summit.

500 generation past the island shall surface and hordes of mischievous evil shall enflame the west isle.

From those flames a grief of a Demon Lord shall rise destroying even the hardest shell that has withstood countless generations.

}

The bard like poetic premonition was so surreal almost unreal. It was as if looking at another’s life, but in reality it was my own. The images that went by the poetic premonition showed me my fate. One that was hard to swallow. After all it speaks of my own demise.

They say that there are two pinnacles of power in the monster world. For us they are both a great source of fear and reverence. And I am to meet my own demise by one such being –a Demon Lord.

According to the knowledge bestowed upon us by the gods and goddess of this world, there are two ways for monster (or any being for that matter) to become a DEMON LORD:

One is to get soaked by an extreme miasma then survived that very ordeal leading eventually to turn into a DEMON LORD, there are few cases for this eventuality to happen. After all only a handful can survive a thick miasma to live to tell the tale.

The other method is for one to succumb to great emotions of fear, grief and hatred that would be a catalyst for any monster to turn its MANA to miasma and eventually become a Demon Lord. Most monsters who became DEMON LORDs are through this method, after all we monster have our own hearts and become our greatest power when we become pushed to our limits.

And I am willing to guess that the DEMON LORD who would one day take my life is one who would became from the later. For the grief that I saw on his eyes was genuine emotions which should be enough to turn MANA to pure miasma.

*****

When one sees a Premonition of Death, monsters would often try to defer them. At first I thought that it would be fine to be killed by such Demon Lord, but then again it is sad to have my life end just out of someone else grief.

After all we were not born unto this world just to die. When I was younger I would think up ways of trying to defer that premonition, my family who also did not want me to die in vain helped me by providing me with lots of mana so that one day I will be able to defy that fate.

But as I grow older and my grasp for the knowledge imbedded unto us by the gods and goddesses of this world matured, I begun to realize that deferring that very premonition is futile.

And so at the middle of that struggle to defer that Premonition of Death I had stopped but instead tried to make a mark that I once was alive in this world.

The ARMADOGU is one of the Monster ORIGINs who are considered long lived. I have seen the passing of many eras and even saw the passing of my family until I was finally left alone in this isolated Island Forest.

Thankfully the ARMADOGU race can live on by reproducing asexually, through parthenogenesis. Although we can do it sexually, since I have no partner there is likely no choice and should not be so picky about my methods.

However, through asexual reproduction the maximum eggs I can lay is limited to 300 per 100 Generations and their incubation takes longer too, sometime if unlucky their growth becomes slightly abnormal and often times not all of them survive the harsh environment. But, Just like I said earlier I have little choice, I had to do it.

If you think I am raising an army to defer my fate, you are wrong. As I had said earlier I have already given up that thought eons ago. Now I just don’t want to be lonely, and I want to live a memorabilia that I once lived in this island just as I am a memorabilia from my parents who have live through this years.

Eventually I had started a new struggle for every 100 years not to defer my fate but to grow my children. However, most of them die giving me only roughly 50 healthy ARMADOUGU neonates, when lucky 100 neonates are born with only minor defective genes.

*****

Over 500 Generations past and I was gifted with 302 children who became my companion in this isolated Island Forest. However, while harsh environs could mean the extreme weather conditions there was also another threat that constantly lower the number of my children.

Monsters are in constant threat of being subjugated by HUMANS or even killed by other monsters which are our natural enemy. Thankfully this place is isolated from human populations and thus safe from their subjugation. In this Island Forest however, our race is constantly being targeted by the beings known as DEMI-HUMANS who eat our flesh to sustain not only as nourishments for a proper diet but also to fuel their powers.

Some monsters unlike humans strengthen themselves not only through practicing their skills but also eating through other monsters. This is especially true to the Demi-Human Origins. As the name suggest, Demi-humans have human like features and yet they are considered monsters because of their innate violent urges. There most savage difference from humans is that can only give birth to males and so could only violate other creatures to reproduce.

Currently the Demi-Humans known as ORCS who reside in the western side of the forest would constantly hunt for my children to bolster their defenses.

While we ARMADOUGUS have strong defenses because of our hard shells, we are hardly good when we are outnumbered. When put in a serious predicament, as a last resort coil our bodies and turn ourselves to a sturdy rock. However, once we are like this, we can no longer move and could only wait until our hard rock shell is broken and die by the hands of our hunters.

I happen to have survived all this years due to my parents who had gifted me with a lot of Mana and instantly learned magic that would become my strength against my would-be attackers.

My children however were not too fortunate since the hunters had become relentless in hunting me, one of the sources of great Mana. Thankfully, while my children had significantly lowered to only 102 over the generations I also gained some adopted children who I have given my protection alongside my biological children.

They are other Demi-Humans origin known as LIZARDMEN who a few years while protecting my eggs encountered and saved.

LIZARDMEN are indeed Demi-Humans but unlike the ORCS and the GOBLINS they do not violate other monsters to reproduce, instead sexually with their own kind.

These fresh LIZARDMEN GRUNTs who had taken refuge in my lair from their pursuers –the ORC hordes were hunted for the same reason as me and so had save them and made their population grow.

As generations past, as their savior they had considered me something like a queen, well, they are not too far from the truth as I have indeed achieved the RANKA of KINGs before I even realized it. And from then on, they would become my conversation partners and I would protect them together with my children.

Eventually together with the LIZARDMEN and my ARMADOUGU children, we have protected the northern forest from unreasonable hunts and their constant violation from the ORC hordes.

I even made sure to train them and proposed to have them paired up with, so that one LIZARDMEN would mount an ARMADOUGU so that even if I have gone and meet my ultimate fate, they can still fend for themselves.

*****

Thankfully or perhaps an unwanted convenience although vague one is able to know when that day of Premonition of Death arrives, it is another instinct implanted on us, one which most of us dread arriving.

One day, the one of the Ranka of Kings in the Western part of the island –the ORC king and his Horde finally invade in full force the northern region setting fire to the western part, thankfully the one of the Western Ranka of King who abhor the ORCS and GOBLINS also had a Water Core and somehow stopped the spread of the fire from the west to the east.

But even then I knew that the premonition was inching near –my demise as foretold by the Premonition of Death.

Although I have already accepted my fate, I was not really going to just lie down and let them kill me without having much as fighting to my death, that and I also have to make sure my all my children would at the least survive this ordeal. I was really grateful that I was born under a Water Elemental Core and somehow repelled them using the magic that was drawn from my own Magic Core.

While on my fight I had a chance meeting with the ORC KING, he had eyes full of lust for power and that of hunger to consume all. Just by looking in his eyes I doubt he would become the demon who would kill me and I for one would chose not to be killed by such a selfish monster.

And so continued to struggle until the time I get to see the sorrowful king that would end my life. But inside me as it that day grew longer, that simple thought of accepting my fate slightly wavered. Are monsters really just fated to die?

It won’t be too long though, after all the forest in the west would be engulf in flames. This was supposed to spread from the eastern side which was the only one side that was not currently protected by a RANKA of King.

But, the fire did not spread too much, as a Howl of Submission from the supposedly kingless forest side echoed and stopped the attacks coming from there. Then eventually rain came and stopped the forest from completely burning.

At first I thought that this was not the day foretold by my premonition, but clearly I had felt the impending doom that filled my instincts with fear. Was… I somehow saved…? Can fate given by the PREMONITION of Death really be deferred?

*****

Wishfully thinking that my death was somehow averted, I heaved a sigh of relief. But while it was not happening now, the threat of the ORC Horde were still eminent. I can’t have them continue terrorizing this island. There must be something that can be done…

That reign of thought was reinforced the day when the Western RANKA of KINGs arrived a few days later the ORC horde attacked. The western king seems to want a talk… for some reason I think I know this beast, but since I have never left the Northern Region or my Lair, I begun doubted my memory… was I getting too old?

The beast was with a HUMA, and he came here to negotiate on the matters of concerning the Island. Then while deep in our conversation I realized where I had seen this king. This was the beast that would one day become the DEMON LORD and take my life.

So I listened to him and found out that He wants to protect his family… If his family does not die, he will not succumb to great sadness, grief and hatred, and will in turn free him from becoming the DEMON LORD and in turn will stop him from killing me.

That youthful defiance in me was somehow lit… and for some reason, the beast who did not want to become the DEMON LORD found his courage from encountering this HUMA.

If I am given the power to defer my fates, I will take it and continue to protect my children. And so I consented to the western king’s alliance.

*****

Victorious with defeating the ORC and the GOBLIN horde that threaten the island, I was gifted with a new Premonition that entailed me to continue Dominance over the Northern Area for more generations to come.