Chapter 67: Grilling up some Endbringer

  – Haru –

  The crowds had mostly cleared out by now in the Brockton Bay park. The heroes from the PRT had done a decent job guiding everyone either home or toward the nearest shelters. Even though Boston was the target, Brockton Bay wasn't too far away and the fallout could potentially hit.

  Not that I pnned on letting it come to that. Between me, Naruko, and Naruto, there was no way the Behemoth wasn’t about to get bodied.

  Miss Militia approached, pressing a finger to her earpiece, listening to whatever update she was receiving. "He's here," she said.

  Almost instantly, I felt the shift in the air. A figure appeared near us—a hero dressed in a mask and wearing a costume styled like an old-fashioned courier from the early 1900s.

  Dauntless stepped forward and waved at him. "Thanks for coming, Strider."

  Strider nodded curtly. "No problem. Is this the guy, then?" He tilted his head, examining me with open curiosity. "Saw the footage on PHO—everyone saw it. Honestly, I've never seen someone scare off an Endbringer before. Think you can give us a repeat performance?"

  I couldn't help but smirk confidently. "You can count on it."

  Miss Militia gnced at me again, a quiet hope flickering in her eyes. "You sound pretty sure of yourself," she noted.

  "I am," I replied, cracking my knuckles and stretching my tails out comfortably behind me.

  Ae stepped forward with an irritated huff. She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, looking around the nearly empty park with evident frustration. "Is there no one here worthy of my bow or bde?" she demanded. "Why can't I join this battle?"

  Miss Militia sighed patiently. "Right now, the Endbringer Truce is in effect. Heroes and vilins have agreed not to engage each other for about a week during and after an Endbringer attack."

  "A truce?" Ae scoffed. "You allow your enemies to roam free simply because a monster attacks?"

  Miss Militia nodded hesitantly. "The priority is the Endbringer. We can't afford distractions or unnecessary conflict. If a vilin breaks the truce, though, you're welcome to handle them yourself."

  Ae scowled and shook her head. "That's the dumbest rule I've ever heard. Vilins don't deserve that kind of mercy."

  I wrapped an arm around her shoulder gently, pulling her close to calm her temper. "Easy there. If a vilin acts up and breaks the truce, I'll let you stab them to your heart's content."

  She gnced up at me, her lips twitching slightly into a smile. "You better keep your promise, fox."

  “We’d appreciate you capturing the vilins rather than stabbing them…” Dauntless pointed out.

  “You get what you get,” Ae said and gave him challenging look

  He just raised his hands up and backed away. “You do you, scary viking dy…”

  …

  Strider’s teleportation was fast, and in a blink, we were standing on the outskirts of Boston. The moment we arrived, the sounds of chaos filled the air—horns bring, people shouting, sirens wailing. The entire city was in a full-blown panic as civilians scrambled to evacuate before Behemoth arrived.

  Around us, hundreds of heroes and even vilins stood near hastily erected FEMA tents, many of them looking nervous as hell. They were talking among themselves, checking their gear, or just staring off into the distance like they were trying to come to terms with the hell they were about to walk into.

  Naruto and Naruko stood beside me, their expressions grim as they took in the atmosphere.

  “This is bad,” Naruto muttered with his ears twitching as he listened to the distant panic. “No one here actually thinks they can win.”

  Naruko frowned. “I hate this…”

  Ae snorted, unimpressed as she gnced over the assembled warriors. “They’ve already lost,” she scoffed. “Cowards. A real warrior doesn't cower before battle. If these milk drinkers are this scared before the fight even begins, they might as well turn around and go home!”

  A ripple of tension spread through the gathered heroes and vilins. A few of them turned to gre at her for her words.

  I stepped in front of her before this escated further. “Sorry about that,” I said to the crowd. “She can be a little brash sometimes. She doesn’t mean anything by it...”

  Ae huffed behind me. “I said what I said.”

  "Wait… is that the guy from PHO?" someone muttered.

  "You mean the Case 53 who made Leviathan run away?" another voice added.

  That got the attention of even more people. I felt dozens of eyes shift toward me, expressions ranging from disbelief to hope.

  I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "Yeah, that was me," I admitted. "I’m Haru. Nice to meet you all."

  I took a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase my words so I wouldn't sound like a complete asshole. Taking a deep breath, I cpped my hands loudly and infused my voice with magicules so that everyone would hear me clearly.

  "Hey everyone!" I called out confidently. "I appreciate you all showing up today, really—but your help isn't needed anymore. You guys can rex, kick back, and leave Behemoth to us."

  The reaction was pretty much what I expected. Heroes and vilins alike stared at me, eyes wide with disbelief.

  A voice rose above the murmurs—a man in medieval-style armor, obnoxiously decorated with swastikas. "Who the hell do you think you are to order us around, you snty-eyed furry?"

  My eyes narrowed dangerously. I felt my tails bristle. Oh, someone was definitely going to die today—and it wasn't Behemoth.

  …Well, it was, but now this guy too!

  Miss Militia stepped forward, raising her voice angrily. "Shut your mouth, Kaiser! No one wants to hear your racist garbage right now." She gnced back at me, trying to calm things down. "Ignore him, Haru. Kaiser won't viote the truce—he’s all talk."

  “Twang–Thunk!”

  I heard the sharp twang of a bowstring being released.

  "Son of a bitch!" Kaiser screamed, dropping to one knee. An arrow had lodged itself perfectly in the joint of his armor in his other one.

  "Talk about my man like that again, and the next arrow goes straight through your eyeball!" Ae shouted. She was holding her Nord Hero Bow and it was pretty obvious who shot the Nazi…

  The assembled vilins erupted into outrage, yelling about how the truce had been vioted. Kaiser's fellow Nazis rushed to his side in anger.

  “We’ll kill you for that!” a little girl nazi yelled at us.

  “You’re nothing but trash, there’s no way you fought Lung or the Leviathan, you fakes!” a nazi that smelled like a mangy dog added.

  Naruto and Naruko stepped forward with their tails swishing aggressively behind them. Naruto cracked his knuckles loudly. "Just freaking try it. We'd love an excuse to kick your asses."

  "Yeah," Naruko added, baring sharp fangs in a fierce grin. "It's been too long since I beat some asses!"

  …This had escated quickly—but then again, Nazis usually brought out the worst in people.

  "Is there a problem here?" Alexandria dropped from the sky, nding between our groups.

  Kaiser immediately tried to compin. "She shot me in the knee! Are you just going to stand there and let these freaks viote the truce?" he pointed at Ae and the rest of us while gring hatefully.

  Alexandria cast a disdainful gnce at him and scoffed. "Go home, Kaiser. In fact, the Empire and every other vilin here can leave right now. You're not needed today. Actually, you won't be needed at any future Endbringer battles, either." Her voice dropped ominously. "Things will be changing soon…"

  A few vilins shuffled uneasily at her words. Alexandria turned toward me, her face softening slightly. "Thank you for coming, Haru. Behemoth is nearly here. Good luck."

  I grinned, fshing my slightly elongated canines. "You know what? Why don't you round up some grills? In a few minutes, we'll all be feasting on fresh Endbringer meat."

  She raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off guard, before chuckling softly and shaking her head. "Behemoth is still radioactive, you know."

  "Oh, right." I paused, then shrugged casually. Eh, that's fine. My new 'Chef' skill can probably cook out the radiation.

  …The ground started shaking violently beneath our feet. The tremors were getting stronger and closer.

  “It’s here…” Alexandria said, her confident smile fading just a bit. She gnced at me seriously. “The Behemoth travels underground by digging straight through the Earth’s crust. It's currently tunneling up about a mile from our position.”

  I turned to Ae, gently cupping her chin before pnting a quick kiss on her cheek. She blinked in surprise, but smiled softly. I did the same to Naruko, who blushed brightly.

  “Good luck, Haru,” Ae said firmly. She then turned towards Naruko, nodding respectfully. “Go kick some ass out there, sister.”

  Naruko grinned back eagerly. “Hell yeah, I will.”

  Ae stepped back and scanned the crowd of heroes and vilins with her eyes narrowed sharply. “I’ll stay here and watch these vilins… very closely.” Her voice dropped threateningly on that st bit, and I saw several vilins visibly gulp at her words.

  Naruto stepped closer, looking slightly nervous but determined. I pced a reassuring hand on his shoulder before gncing at Naruko.

  “You two ready to test out your new forms?” I asked.

  Naruko’s grin widened, her canines showing clearly. “Hell yeah! Honestly, I’ve always been a little jealous that Gaara could turn into a giant monster whenever he wanted. Now it’s my turn.”

  Naruto nodded beside her. “This is going to be so damn cool!”

  I chuckled softly at their enthusiasm, then closed my eyes, channeling the magicules in my core. Blue foxfire exploded outward, covering my body completely as my form began to shift dramatically. Bones grew, muscles expanded, and my vision rose higher and higher until I towered over everyone at a full fifty feet tall. Ten massive, golden tails swayed behind me, spreading out majestically.

  Two more bursts of power surged beside me, sending shockwaves rippling through the ground as Naruto and Naruko transformed as well. When the energy dispersed, they stood at about thirty feet tall each—nine-tailed foxes towering impressively over the stunned crowd. Naruko’s fur was a deep, brilliant red, while Naruto’s fur shone a bright golden-yellow. Both of them looked amazing.

  I leaned toward Naruko, nudging her gently with my snout. “You look very pretty like this, Naruko.”

  Naruko’s ears flicked down bashfully, and even through the fur I could tell she was blushing. “H-Haru! Knock it off, you’re embarrassing me!” Despite her compints, her tails wagged enthusiastically, kicking up clouds of dust.

  Alexandria flew upwards, floating right in front of my giant fox face. “Wow…” she muttered. “You’re much bigger than when you fought Leviathan.”

  “Yeah, things happened,” I said with a casual shrug of my massive shoulders. “Met a Demon Lord, she decided to name me. It was a whole thing.”

  Alexandria stared silently for a moment, clearly unsure how to respond. She opened her mouth to speak, but at that exact second, the ground erupted violently a short distance away.

  The Behemoth had arrived.

  A deafening roar split the air, echoing through the entire city. Heroes and vilins alike covered their ears or scrambled back. Smoke, dust, and debris filled the sky as the massive figure of the Endbringer cwed itself out from the earth.

  Naruto growled beside me. “So that’s an Endbringer…”

  “It looks nasty. Let's put it down quick.” Naruko added.

  “You got it,” I smirked.

  – Alexandria –

  Alexandria hovered in midair, her cape fluttering softly behind her as she stared in disbelief at the chaos unfolding below. If someone had told her a few weeks ago she'd witness something like this, she’d have called them insane.

  For most of her adult life, Alexandria had carried the world's burdens. Every crisis, every threat—the fate of humanity had often rested in her hands. She'd been forced to make ruthless choices, choices her old friend Hero would’ve never accepted.

  But she'd always done what was necessary. All to keep humanity alive, all to prevent the monsters known as Endbringers—and the even greater threat, Scion—from annihiting them.

  But this… this was completely beyond anything she'd ever imagined.

  Three massive, mythological foxes—creatures straight out of Japanese legend—were tearing the Behemoth apart.

  The rgest fox—Haru–was towering over the battlefield at fifty feet tall. With a fierce growl, he whipped his ten colossal tails forward, smming them directly into the Behemoth’s face. The impact was deafening, echoing through Boston like a thundercp and sending the radioactive beast tumbling across the ndscape for miles, carving a deep trench into the earth.

  The second fox, Naruto–if she remembered his name correctly–lunged forward with impressive speed and snapped his jaws shut around the Behemoth's massive front legs, powerful fangs piercing the thick, diamond-like skin.

  The beast roared in agony! Alexandria suddenly found that she really loved that sound…

  Then came the third red giant fox–Naruko. She leaped upward and raked her cws mercilessly across the Behemoth’s face, gouging out one of its red eyes.

  The Endbringer howled, thrashing violently as radioactive molten blood oozing from the empty socket.

  Back near the city’s outskirts, hundreds of heroes erupted into wild, disbelieving cheers! The civilians who hadn't managed to evacuate completely had paused their frantic escape and watched in awe. Overhead, news helicopters flew daringly close, cameras capturing every detail of the unprecedented scene. Normally, Alexandria would have shouted at them to keep evacuating, to flee before it was too te. Yet this time, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt. Something incredible was happening right before all of their eyes.

  Naruto growled fiercely, ripping and tugging at the legs he had locked between his jaws. With a sickening crack, one of the limbs tore free, spttering the ground with radioactive blood.

  Now crippled, the Behemoth howled again, thrashing weakly on three legs.

  Haru charged forward relentlessly and his giant paw pinned the weakened creature into the ruined ground. He and Naruko grasped the remaining limbs with their jaws, tearing them free from the monster’s battered torso.

  The endbringer let out an intense burst of radiation, since that was all it could do without its limbs, and yet the massive foxes were all unaffected.

  This is it…” she whispered to herself. She was finally going to see one of these monsters die.

  Haru snarled deeply. He plunged his cws violently into the Endbringer's torso, digging through its chest until finally he found something within.

  Alexandria hovered closer to get a better look. Was that the heart of the beast? Cauldron always specuted the Endbringers all had some kind of vital core.

  Haru pulled out a glowing crystalline orb from within the Endbringer's torso. It pulsed weakly between his cws.

  And then Haru opened his jaws and swallowed the core in one gulp. “Whoa!” Haru jumped a little bit after it went down and smoke poured out of his jaws… “That was spicy.”

  Without its core, the Behemoth stopped moving altogether. It was dead.

  Silence filled the battlefield for a moment before people erupted in even louder cheers!

  An Endbringer had been killed—in less than two minutes.

  Haru turned back toward Alexandria as he picked up the behemoth's body and its limbs with his tails.

  "Someone better find us some grills," Haru decred. "Because in a few minutes, we’ll be feasting on Endbringer meat!"

  …

  Alexandria thought Haru had been joking, but as she watched the surreal scene unfold before her, she realized he'd been completely serious…

  Right now, in the middle of what had just almost been a warzone, Haru was calmly grilling pieces of the dead Behemoth. A dozen outdoor grills had been set up in front of him, all raided from nearby stores. He stood casually in front of all of them, expertly flipping steaks, completely unconcerned that the creature he was cooking had been considered the world’s greatest threat just a few minutes earlier. Alexandria shook her head slowly. This was ridiculous. The corpse of the Behemoth y only a short distance away, chunks of flesh already carved out of it. A small mountain of meat sat near Haru.

  “You’re seriously cooking that thing?” Alexandria finally asked.

  Haru turned towards her with a rexed smile. "Absolutely. I promised we’d eat some Endbringer, and I always keep my promises when it comes to food." He nodded his head seriously.

  "You know it's radioactive, right? Even after death…?" she asked cautiously, still not entirely convinced this was safe.

  Haru waved off her concern casually. "I handled that. Trust me, it's totally safe. If it helps, I'll taste it first."

  “I think that would reassure everyone,” she replied dryly, a faint smile touching her lips despite herself.

  Haru chuckled, cut a fresh slice of steak, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, his eyes closing as he savored the fvor.

  …Finally, he nodded approvingly. “Perfect,” he decred proudly, handing the first prepared pte directly to Alexandria. "Your steak, ma'am." He smirked at her.

  Alexandria stared at the paper pte in her hand, struggling not to ugh again. After all she'd seen, done, and endured, she was standing here, holding a piece of grilled Endbringer meat. She couldn't help but gnce around. Nearly every cape present was staring eagerly, watching her closely to see what she'd do next.

  Taking a deep breath, she raised the fork in her other hand. "All right, here goes nothing." She took a bite, bracing herself for anything but what she actually tasted. Warm, tender, perfectly seasoned meat practically melted in her mouth, and she released a quiet, involuntary moan of appreciation. "Oh my god…"

  Haru grinned triumphantly, arms folded in satisfaction. "Told you. Pretty good, huh?"

  "This isn't just good," Alexandria admitted honestly, taking another bite. "This is delicious!” An Endbringer had no right to taste so amazing!

  After she decred that, the gathered heroes all piled up in a line, wanting their own tastes!

  – The Butcher –

  The test incarnation of The Butcher grinned manically. He had been watching as the three massive fox-like case-53s effortlessly took down one of the strongest beings on the pnet.

  He had been looking for someone strong enough to inherit the endless cycle of insanity inside him, and right now, each of those giant creatures seemed perfect.

  "They’re perfect hosts," whispered the first Butcher in his head.

  "Any one of those foxes would give us power unlike anything before," echoed the fifth, excitedly.

  "Then let’s go die already!" the eighth ughed wildly. "I’m tired of this weak-ass body."

  The current Butcher chuckled to himself, radiating bloodlust as he pushed through the crowd of shocked heroes and vilins. The idiots were all busy celebrating, oblivious to the monster walking among them. Some finally noticed him approaching, quickly turning hostile as they recognized who—and what—he was.

  "Not another step, vilin," a woman with striking braided red hair stepped in his path. She had a fierce, warrior-like appearance. "You won’t interrupt my beloved and my sister while they’re celebrating."

  "Ooh, she’s pretty," hissed one of the Butchers. "Kill her slowly."

  The current Butcher smirked, tilting his head as if amused. "Sorry, sweetheart," he said darkly, "you’re just in the way."

  Without hesitation, he activated his agony-inducing power, expecting her to crumple and scream until her heart stopped. But instead of falling, her eyes fshed with pure, raw hatred, and she unleashed an inhuman roar!

  "What the fuck?" the ninth Butcher shouted inside him.

  Before he could react, she unched forward, shifting rapidly into a huge, snarling werewolf right before his eyes. She smmed into him, driving him brutally to the ground.

  "YES!" the sixth Butcher cried in excitement. "She’s strong! Take her instead!"

  The Butcher felt cws tear through his flesh effortlessly, his supposedly invincible durability useless against her fury. He tried to scream, but her teeth tore into his throat, and blood erupted everywhere, silencing his test host forever.

  It didn’t matter—this was exactly what he wanted. His spirit surged forward, eagerly waiting to possess the powerful new body. But something felt wrong.

  …Instead of merging with the awesome sexy werewolf, The Butcher found himself standing in a strange, ethereal forest.

  He blinked, looking around to see the other nine Butchers standing beside him. They had all been separated again!

  HOW!? This was impossible!

  "What the hell is this?" the fourth Butcher demanded.

  "Where is the new host?" the second growled.

  A deep, resonant chuckle filled the forest around them, sending chills down their spines.

  "Naughty, naughty…" The mysterious voice drifted through the fog, mocking them. "Did you really think I’d let you possess my favorite huntress? Such arrogance deserves punishment..."

  "Who the fuck are you?" demanded the first Butcher.

  "I am Hircine, the Prince of the Hunt. Welcome to my eternal hunting grounds. Your souls belong to me now—and you’ll remain here, trapped, for a very, very long time..."

  XXX

  Thanks for reading!!!

  I have a patreo n. My subs can read advanced updates of my stories ahead of standard release and even check out pics for some of the more naughty chapters.

  Link:

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  Here is the list of Current Advanced Chapters:

  The Fallen Gamer ch 325-329

  Thunder and Bck Wings 16

  The Fox Hole 73

  The Fox Hole 72

  The Blood Queen 41

  The Fox Hole 71

  Thunder and Bck Wings 16

  The Fox Hole 70

  The Blood Queen 40

  Thunder and Bck Wings 15

  The Fox Hole 69

  The Blood Queen 39

  The Fox Hole 68

  The Titan 30