บท 83: 81st Adversary: Violent Negotiations
Miko looked at the five guardians in front of him. He was reminded of the five Guardian Beasts of the Dragna clan.
"If I had those five on my side, negotiations would be a lot easier."
He mumbled to himself.
"Now then…"
He straightened his appearance and stepped out.
"Good morning, Guardians of Jara. My name is-"
"I didn't allow you to speak!"
Aiden the manticore roared and cut him off. Miko didn't say anything and kept a smile on the surface. But deep down he was thinking-
"This guy is gonna be a pain in the ass."
He spoke with a friendly tone.
"My apologies, but I thought that it was proper to introduce myself since I wish to talk to you."
"I refuse to talk with a human."
Aiden interrupted again.
"…..I see. But I'm trying to offer something that would benefit us all."
"Man, you're annoying."
Aiden sighed as if he was tired.
"I said I don't want to speak with you."
Miko continued to smile, but the feeling it gave started to change.
"Aiden, that's enough. At least give her a chance to speak."
The reptilian warrior, Barak spoke up as if he was getting tired of Aiden's behavior.
"Hmph."
Aiden turned his head away as if saying that he didn't intend to listen.
"Thank you."
Miko's voice was a bit strained. He coughed awkwardly and looked up at the remaining guardians.
"My name is Gamiko Dragna the third, but you can call me Miko."
He finally got to introduce himself.
"I asked Oden to help arrange our meeting because I would like to offer you a proposition."
"Which is?"
The female elf, Acacia asked.
"I want you all to join my country along with everyone in this jungle."
"Oh?"
"Arrogant human! Do you think that we're pets for enjoyment?!"
Aiden was the first to object.
"I never said anything about being a pet or a sideshow. I meant I want you as proper citizens with all the benefits that come with the status."
"Miko, was it? You said that your family name is Dragna, then does that mean that you're royalty?"
Acacia asked.
"Technically, Yes."
"Then, are you sure that you don't want us as trophies just to show off your wealth?"
"We've met countless humans who saw us as nothing but prizes. What makes you different?"
The reptilian warrior, Barak added.
"Also, There's the question of what's in it for us?"
The winged tiger, Arlan also posed a question. Miko didn't answer immediately and smiled.
(Now then, I've started negotiations without preparing anything. I've also broken the first rule of negotiations, which is to know your opponent. I don't know them, I don't know what they want, and even if I figure it out they might not trust me to deliver on my promises either.)
He analyzed his situation and knew that he was at a disadvantage when facing these guardians. Even so, Miko's grin never left his face.
"As for the question of what differentiates me from others, the answer is simple. They're them and I'm me. They might see you as prizes but I don't."
"Then are you saying that you care for us?"
The orc, Kris asked.
"Of course not. I've just met you and I'm not some messiah who loves everything equally. I don't see you as prizes, but I do see you as people I can relate to you."
"A human who can relate to us?"
Frowns appeared on the guardians' faces.
"I need to clear up something here."
Miko pointed at himself.
"I'm not human."
Azure scales appeared on his body before disappearing again.
"But you have human blood."
Acacia said.
(Hmm….their hate towards humans is strong. Countless humans must've hunted them before.)
Miko thought to himself and smiled.
(Maybe I can use this?)
"What are you smiling about?"
Aiden asked with a growl.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that I could relate to your hatred of humans."
He laughed to himself.
"Well, I doubt it's on the same level as me. Unlike you, I hated everything equally. Humans were just the tip of the iceberg."
The beasts didn't say anything. Their instinct told them he wasn't lying.
"Enough about that. Allow me to answer the question of what's in it for you."
He placed his hand over his chest.
"I can grant you freedom."
"Freedom?"
"Are saying that we aren't free?"
The guardians took offense to Miko's suggestion.
"While it's true that you rule this jungle and are worshipped as gods, in my eyes you aren't free."
Miko ignored their displeasure and continued.
"You're not Divine Beasts, however, you're not too far away from it. Yet, beasts of your stature can't leave this jungle and travel freely because of your duties. Isn't that a waste?"
He smirked.
"Or could it be that you're just using your duties as an excuse to shy away from the world?"
*Bam!*
Aiden immediately moved to attack Miko, but he was blocked by Oden, who stepped forward and held him off by blocking his claw.
"Oden!"
He roared.
"Cool your head, Aiden before you lose it."
Oden said with a provocative smile.
"Oden, this time Aiden is in the right. That human dared to insult us in our own domain."
The other guardians also seemed like they wanted to attack.
"From your reactions, it looks like I'm right."
Miko continued to speak, ignoring the bloodthirsty looks he was getting.
"You guys aren't here because of the kindness of your hearts. You're just scared."
"Insolent…!"
Acacia and the orc Kris jumped down from their statues and started approaching Miko with bloodthirsty eyes. Leon and Momo stepped out showing their intentions of protecting him.
"We're proud beasts. We have nothing to fear. Yet, you're hiding behind others and speaking down to us."
The winged tiger Arlan looked down on Miko from the top of his statues.
"I'm not hiding behind anyone. They just feel the need to step forward."
Miko laughed at her provocation.
"Before I came here, I was told about your existence so I did some digging, but I couldn't find anything about you that didn't have to do with the jungle. You weren't born here, according to Oden you all came here to receive shelter using the jungle's unique makeup. What are you afraid of? I figured out what it was just from talking to you."
"Shut up, human!"
Aiden shouted.
"You're afraid of humans. You've all been hunted by humans before and came here to hide. What guardians are you? You're just using everyone here as an excuse to hide."
Barak, the reptilian warrior, appeared beside Miko with his sword in his hand.
"You talk too much."
He swung the sword at Miko's head.
*Bam!*
The sword didn't reach him. It was blocked by Ishma, who turned her arm into a blade. Being blocked by a little girl came as a shock to Barak.
"Do you want to be made into some boots, lizard?"
Ishma showed a mocking smile. She swung her foot upwards, and Barak stepped back to avoid it. Her foot transformed into a blade. It extended and pierced into his skin.
"?!"
He jumped back with all of his strength to avoid fatal injury.
"I don't fault you for fearing humans. After all, there's no race that's craftier or more devious than humans."
Miko continued to talk as if what was happening had nothing to do with him.
"I mean look at me. I came here for one thing, but my greed got the better of me and now I'm facing off against you all."
He smiled.
"I'm prepared to kill you all here to get what I want. That's the type of beings humans are. However-"
He lifted his hand and everyone who was protecting him stepped back and allowed him to be at the front.
"You have nothing to be afraid of. I'm not human after all."
"Hmph. So you've finally stopped hiding."
Aiden was the first to approach him. He stood directly in front of him. He looked down on him as if he was prey that he was about to rip apart with his fangs. The other guardians also surrounded him with fierce gazes.
"As I said, I wasn't hiding."
"Shut up!"
Aiden lifted his claws.
"I've been wanting to tear you apart for a while now. I won't let this opportunity slip!"
"Aiden, It seems that you're the one most afraid of humans."
Miko didn't cower and showed a fearless smile.
"Did a human take everything away from you?"
"Die, human!"
He swung his claws down, but no one moved to protect Miko this time. This made Aiden rejoice inside his heart. His claws dug into Miko's flesh and cut from his shoulder down to his waist.
"Hahahaha! You're dead human!"
Aiden laughed hysterically. The other guardians seemed pleased with his actions for the first time.
"?!"
However, the smiles soon dropped from their faces.
"Huh? I can't take my claw out?"
Aiden pulled and pulled but his claws couldn't leave Miko's flesh. He looked and realized that something was odd about Miko.
"His muscles are tightening up?"
He realized that Miko's muscles were transforming before his eyes. They grew large and solid. It felt as if his claws were stuck in concrete. He looked at Miko's face and saw a cruel smile on his face. Azure scales covered a large portion of his face. These scales spread to the rest of his body, covering his limbs.
"As I said, I'm not human."
Miko started to get taller. In a few seconds, he was over 6ft tall and stood on the same level as Aiden. He brought his face closer to Aiden who saw his eyes darken until they were as black as the night. His azure pupils became slit like a reptile's. They were like a savage moon on the darkest night. His hair started moving like it had a mind of its own as it hardened and became spiky and stretched down until it swept against the ground.
"W-What the hell are you?!"
The change frightened Aiden.
"Who knows? I'm just me."
*BOOM!*
An explosive sound rang out. Miko's fist was embedded inside Aiden's stomach.
"Ugh?!"
Aiden groaned in pain and he was finally able to pull his claw out of Miko. He stepped back holding his stomach.
"You shouldn't let your guard down, Aiden. Look, I was able to get a clean hit in despite being far weaker than you."
Miko wore a mocking smile.
"Y-You bastard."
Aiden glared at him. He knew that he messed up. He underestimated Miko and thought that he could kill him with a single attack. However, he got caught in Miko's trap, especially when he was too focused on Miko's changes and allowed himself to get damaged.
"The 4th rule of assassination, if your target doesn't have an opening, create one. In battle, it's not always the strongest who wins. A weakling only needs one moment to kill the strong."
"Kill him!"
Aiden roared while shaking off the pain he was feeling.
"Kill that bastard!"
The guardians all rushed at Miko. They didn't want to make the same mistake as Aiden. Miko seemed amused by this.
"The more guarded you are, the greater the shock and the more vulnerable you'll be when the unexpected happens."
*Bam!*
Darkness exploded from Miko's body and covered the area like a sea.
"Wha?!"
This caught the guardians off guard. They all retreated to the top of the statues. While Leon and others retreated to the entrance they came through. A sea of darkness spread out below them. The darkness swirled like water in a blender. A hole opened up in the center, and something floated out of it. A limped Miko floated above the darkness. The darkness started to attach itself to Miko as if webs shot out by a spider.
The slimy darkness engulfed Miko and seeped into him. The guardians looked down. Their bodies were trembling. They didn't know why, but they were instinctively afraid of Miko. So afraid that they couldn't move.
"What the hell is this?"
The sea of darkness slowly disappeared as it entered Miko's body. It didn't take long before it completely disappeared, leaving behind a silhouette in its place.
*Crack!*
Cracks appeared in the silhouette. From the cracks, black haze leaked out.
*Bam!*
The silhouette exploded and a black wave spread across the entire jungle.
"?!"
Countless beings across the jungle felt a chill run up their spines, and unreasonable fear crept into their hearts.
"Ahhhhh?!"
The beasts started to go mad with fear. They screamed at the top of their lungs and some even started to harm themselves. Their howls sounded like they belong to the damned burning in hell. The guardians and everyone who came with Miko never felt fear like this in their entire life. It was like fear that came directly from their souls.
The fear mortals felt towards god. That was the kind of fear they all felt.
They saw an unknown being hovering in the sky. He was tall, lean but muscular, dark-skinned, had Demonic red eyes, black hair, a devilishly handsome face, and a black star under his right eye. He was dressed in a black trench coat with a fierce Buddha on the back, red pants, and red and black spiky boots.
"Is that Miko?"
Momo's voice was trembling.
"Oh? It's stronger than the last time."
"It looks like he was able to get better control over his power."
The only ones who stayed calm were Ishma and Regis.
"How can you two stay calm in front of that?"
Oden asked.
"We got used to it. I guess."
Ishma said.
"That form instills fear into everyone who's near it, without exception. However, if you steel your heart you can overcome it. Darius is the one who made us realize this."
Regis gave a better explanation. The first one to calm down was Leon.
"I see. It's overcoming fear. Once you've done it, you're no longer affected."
He said. The others tried their best to calm their hearts and soon became immune to the fear they felt toward Miko.
"You're all strong-minded. Most people can't just overcome fear like that."
Regis looked at Miko who was approaching the guardians.
"For those people, this form is that of the devil."
"....."
Miko looked at the guardians as he walked toward them. They couldn't look away from his eyes no matter how much they tried. He was like an abyss sucking the souls out of their bodies.
"...…."
Miko floated in the air with jet-black wings. He lifted his hand.
"Ekk!"
All the guardians fell to their knees. They no longer had the strength to stand and face Miko. All they wanted to do was run away, but they couldn't.
"Miko was right, the guardians are cowards who used the inhabitants of the jungle as an excuse to hide from the world. For people like them, Miko, who instills fear just by existing, is their worst enemy."
Oden looked pleased to see the high and mighty guardians cowering like wet puppies.
Miko looked at them and smiled.
"Tell me, do I still look human to you?"
The guardians silently shook their heads.
"Then, do you fear me more than humans?"
They nodded as if in a trance.
"Then how about this? Since I'm this scary I should be able to protect you from what made you hide here and help you regain your freedom, right?"
The guardians slowly looked up. They saw the usual Miko, instead of the Devil. He landed on Aiden's statue. He looked down on him who was practically kowtowing.
"I'm the most frightening being in existence, and that being is willing to protect you and give you back your freedom."
He smiled and started petting Aiden's lion head.
"Don't worry. There's no need to be afraid anymore."
The guardians looked at his smile face which was overflowing with gentleness. The longer they looked at him the more dependable it looked. The contrast between a terrifying existence to a kind and caring person made them all feel funny.
Miko stood up straight and beat his chest.
"Leave it all me. I promise that I'll make everyone in this jungle live as free as the wind."
The guardians looked at each other for a bit before bowing their heads in servitude.
"We are in your care."
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