Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1561: Infighting Flockers: Developing War

The Bronze Bell Kingdom was... surprisingly small in comparison to other kingdoms.

Whether that was due to its origins as a collection of pastoral villages that were then formed into a kingdom or because of its location in the center of a lush valley that dissuaded both invasion and expansion was unclear to the wider world, not that anyone amongst the local populace cared in the slightest.

That stated, because the Bronze Bell Kingdom was smaller, rumors and news had a tendency to travel across its idyllic landscapes at a rate that outpaced even the most robust courtier system of the wealthiest kingdoms around the world.

Which is why, despite happening only a mere day ago, everyone in the Bronze Bell Kingdom was talking about a certain battle that had taken place.

"Did you hear? Members of Iona's flock tried to assassinate a high-ranking member of Alder's!"

"No way!"

"Seriously?!"

On a side note, due to the Bronze Bell Kingdom's origins as being founded by a powerful sheep-type aether beast progenitor, the crown princes and princesses have taken to calling their respective factions "flocks."

It made sense to a point, but if certain Otherlanders heard this term, they would do double-check.

"Yeah! Apparently Capitano the Thunder Claw used a fake body to lure Flavonous into a trap and try to kill them using a cursed axe. Unfortunately for Capitano, Flavonous somehow managed to overpower the trap and fight back."

"Damn, that's brutal! Wait, did he try to use the cursed axe as a weapon, or did he try to trick Flavonous into using the cursed axe?"

"The latter."

"Huh… Do you think that is at all relevant to the rumors about cursed treasures being delivered to various noble families and well-to-do merchants?"

"Rumor my ass; I used to work at the mansion of one of those victims. My former master got sent a statue that made his eyeballs implode. He didn't die, but he's definitely blind for life now."

"Fuck…wait, do you know exactly how Flavonous managed to overpower that cursed axe?"

"No, but someone did mention that the two of them were fighting in Baron Felipe's cabin. Maybe the old man had some sort of aether medicine or treasure to help counter the curse effects."

"Hmmm."

This war for the crown was one of the most interesting things to happen to the Bronze Bell Kingdom for a long time, and while the civilians were understandably worried about all of this infighting to an extent, they still found some modicum of entertainment and interest in all of this high-minded political violence.

As the civilians and bystanders continued to gab and share theories about what had occurred at Baron Felipe's cabin that evening, the actual participants and witnesses of that event were dealing with the fallout in their own way. Well, that and because they needed privacy in contacting a certain group of people who knew way more about this stuff than them.

…Wonder who that could be…

The Ecaredies estate was surprisingly cozy, to say the least.

Done in a traditional Stampeding Bison style, which resembled Southern Gothic in certain other worlds, the Ecaredies manor stood proudly amidst a rolling field of colorful flowers.

A majority of these flowers were of common colorful breeds, but one could find the occasional low-tiered aether-medicinal herb mixed in.

And it was in this idyllic locale that Zhen Yue and Santiago Ecaredies would tie the marriage knot. For the time being, though, it was where the young couple was going to be trying and contacting the former's puppeteer of a cousin.

"You know, I still find it kind of crazy that your cousin is able to talk over such long distances using these zakos," Santiago commented as Zhen Yue prepared to summon the stone zako she was gifted awhile back. "How does that even work?"

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure," Zhen Yue admitted to her fiancé. "As far as I can tell, it's like a more…intimate version of the contracts my family signs with aether beasts. Actually, it might be more accurate to call it a more invasive version, given what he told me about how they can share even sensations of touch and hunger…eh, whatever."

While answering Santiago's inquiry, Zhen Yue tossed out the stone zako marble and summoned the aforementioned being of [Chaos].

"Huh…it looks different. How very strange."

When Zhen Yue was first given the stone marble, the zako in question resembled more of a regular stone soldier that was done in the Roaring Tide style. However, for reasons Zhen Yue wasn't entirely clear on, the zako had transformed while under her care.

The regular gray stone had now taken on a significantly paler hue with additional mottling, as if it were now made of moonstone, while animal carvings were decorating its armor and helmet. On top of that, the helmet itself began to resemble that of a ram's head. The figure, however, remained incredibly androgynous.

Once the zako had fully formed, it bowed before Zhen Yue and Santiago, like a knight awaiting orders.

"You know, I still can't really wrap my head around these guys being alive and sentient," Santiago admitted to his beloved. "They look way too much like aether puppets."

Before Zhen Yue could add on her own commentary, the stone zako before her suddenly shuddered before going limp and standing straight back up. Immediately, Zhen Yue noticed that the eye color of the stone warrior was now different.

Before the eyes of the zako were a deep, calming yellow, like a full moon on a summer evening. Now, it had taken on a dark blue hue, and it seemed to carry a certain layer of cold, insane logic to it.

And Zhen Yue knew who exactly was piloting this zako.

"Hello Logos, it is good to hear from you."

"Mistress Zhen Yue," the stone zako bowed, an indicator that Logos had decided to present themselves as male for this meeting. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well…"

Prompted by Logos's question, Zhen Yue produced the cursed axe she picked up the previous day, wrapped in a layer of wool cloth. It only took her seconds to expose the axe to the open and present it to the zako.

"We picked this up from…a recent encounter…do you know what this axe is?" Zhen Yue asked. "Also, would it be possible for us to fix it up for ourselves, or should we plan to send this to Zhen Liu when we get the chance?"

"Hmm…"

…Meanwhile, at the library…

<Damn, that thing looks cursed as fuck,> Pathos commented as she looked at the presented axe through the zako screen. <And it does kind of fit our Lord's asthetic.>

=I am fairly certain he said not to get him more cursed equipment, though,= Logos added. =That said, let's finish analyzing it before we do anything further.=

<Agreed.>

…Back to the Bronze Bell Kingdom…

"Well, for starters, this axe is more or less unnamed since it was recently made," Logos answered after a couple moments of critically examining the axe. "I recognize some of the curses used, though."

"Some?"

"Yes, some," Logos confirmed as he waved a hand over the cursed axe.

The moment he did, several curse arrays appeared as illusionary projections over the malicious weapon. It was at this moment that Zhen Yue realized that she had been incredibly lucky that she knew how to use [Chaos] to protect herself from such horrific things.

"A lot of these curses are of the weakening variety, but these two are unique in that they trade off humanity for power," Logos pointed out. "That one causes ever-ramping insanity that could turn even the most peaceful of nuns into vicious, murderous cannibals, while that other one is a fusion curse that could cause the axe and wielder to turn into a monster, which I know is rich coming from someone like us. Wait, there might be a possibility this curse array may have come from our archives…"

"Okay, so that axe shouldn't be handled by anyone sane or alive," Santiago commented. "Wait, you mentioned that it was recently made. Does that mean you can identify who made this horrible thing?"

"Normally yes, I could just have the zako here touch it and send the information needed back through the connection, but our Lord is currently on a vacation, and the cursed energies sent through the zako touching this axe would most definitely cause him to slam his head against a wall in pain," Logos explained. "So we don't really have a choice there except to wait for him to be done or for him to somehow be in your area to send it back to us via the [Door to Everywhere]."

"I see," Zhen Yue nodded in understanding until the words finally registered in her head. "Wait, vacation? Zhen Liu is on a vacation?"

"Kind of," Logos answered. "It would probably be more accurate to say he is trying to take a break and avoiding conflict as much as physically possible. A lot happened these past few weeks."

"Huh...okay, dare I ask what he is currently doing?" Zhen Yue asked, knowing full well that Zhen Liu's existence at this point could be summed up as the simple term "trouble magnet."

"Well...he and the others are attempting to fight a giant murder cow right now."

"Say what?"