Sometime during the early morning hours, City Z on the 1415th day after Setsuka began her training regiment
Outside a secluded street located near City Z, a young man with long, wavy orange hair exited the door of one of the bars while carrying a trash bag that was filled to the brim. He wearing a black apron that had the logo of the bar that he was working at, a white shirt and ripped jeans which were barely hanging onto his waist.
'Man the crowd sure partied hard last night. I was barely able to collect all the trash they left before the boss came over.' the young man with the wavy orange hair thought to himself as he carried the trash bag towards one of the alleyways nearby.
And as he made his way near the alleyway where he planned to dump the trash at, his nose was suddenly bombarded by a foul stench.
'Pee yew! What the heck happened here? Did someone die here?' the young employee thought to himself once he had 'disposed of' the previous evening's garbage from the bar, before he decided to check out what was causing the disgusting smell in the alleyway and began to make his way towards the source of the smell.
Once he made his way to the source of the foul stench, he was greeted by a gruesome sight. And the gruesome sight he was greeted by were the remains of two men whose innards had been ripped straight out of them along with their bodies missing their heads.
The young man immediately vomited the moment that he saw the state that the dead bodies had been. Once, he was done puking his guts out, the wavy-haired youth screamed and ran away from the spot that he had stood at while screaming his lungs out.
Around twenty minutes later, around the area where the two dead bodies were located
Back at the place where the dead bodies had been found, a bunch of police tape had been put up in order to prevent the bystanders of the area from getting close to the crime scene as the police officers had begun to investigate the mystery that had recently unfolded in this area of City Z.
And among the officers that had gathered around the area, two men were observing the bodies of the victims with narrowed eyes.
"Only a monster could commit such a brutal murder." one of the senior detectives hypothesized as he observed the crime scene he and his colleague were investigating. He was a middle-aged man who was wearing a fedora over his short hair, a white shirt, khaki trousers and a black pair of leather shoes.
"Yep. I can't imagine that a criminal could do such a thing." the man who was standing next to the senior detective made his agreement clear to his superior. He was a young man with combed-back black hair wearing the same type of clothing that the senior officer he was standing next to.
"But just to be sure, we'll have to wait and see what the forensics team will say after they've examined the bodies." the senior officer stated to his junior officer as they continued to observe the crime scene.
But while the two of them were overseeing the investigation of the crime scene, a bespectacled man began to approach the two officers with a stern look on his face. He had short, spiky hair that had a single strand sticking out on his forehead, a black S-shaped scar at the center of his forehead and he was wearing an inner suit along with a pair of trousers that had suspenders.
'Great, another hero has come to mooch off of our hard work.' the senior officer thought to himself the moment he saw the pro hero approaching them.
"Good morning officers. My name is Funeral Suspender, and I was sent by the Hero Association to help you guys out in your investigation." the bespectacled hero told the two officers as he gave them a folded note that he had taken out of his pocket. The senior officer on the scene immediately took out the letter and began to read the contents of the letter.
"Wow, you're the C-Rank Hero Funeral Suspender! I'm a huge fan of yours sir!" the younger officer shouted out as he took out his hand in order to shake the hand of the hero he admired while his senior was reading through the letter.
"Why thank you officer. I'm glad that I have a fan in the police department." Funeral Suspender responded to the man's greeting as he shook his hand.
"Well, well, well, colour me impressed. You're actually known for being a decent investigator as a hero." the senior officer complimented the C-Rank Hero with a dry tone clear in his voice.
'Damn it, I was hoping I could make him leave the premise but the letter I got is legit so I'll have to bare with it for now.' the senior police officer begrudgingly thought to himself as he looked at the hero in front of him and led him to the scene of the crime.
"Thank you officer. I'm glad that I can hear such kind words from someone good at their job." Funeral Suspender replied to the 'compliment' of the officer.
And the three men began to conduct their investigation once they reached the scene of the crime.
Late in the afternoon, at the warehouse where Pura and Pureblood were hiding at
Inside the empty shade in which the two local vampires were currently taking shelter at, Pura was currently looking at a few of bounty posters that she was holding in her hands at the moment.
'Hm, I enjoyed killing those two humans and that eyed monster, but I think that it's time I hunted down the monsters in human skin for a change.' Pura thought to herself as she looked at the bounty posters in her hands.
*Thud!* *Clang!*
But as she was looking through the wanted posters that she had yet to check, she heard a loud thud coming from the roof of the warehouse.
'Hmm, that definitely isn't how my brother lands on the roof whenever he arrives. I guess I will have to deal with the intruder first.' Pura thought to herself as she sped her way towards the roof of her interim base.
And once she got to the roof, she was greeted by the sight of a fellow female monster covered in a number of small cuts on the black clothing she was wearing. The uninvited guest had a ninja mask that had a been covered in dust, a katana that was currently sheathed and strapped to her back, and hands and feet that contained three fingers and toes.
"Oh, its just you Tikal. For a moment there, I thought that you were an enemy looking to hunt me and my brother down." Pura said as she went to Tikal's side and held her in her arms as though she were a princess.
"Why do you have to carry me in such a humiliating manner? I wish you would have carried me on your back." Tikal said as she made her discomfort at her current predicament clear for her fellow monster.
"Oh stop your complaining Tikal. Anyways, who did you fight this time around?" Pura inquired of the female Subterranean with the ninja aesthetic.
'Not to mention that you look pretty cute when you are in my arms like this. Oh how I have wished to carry you as though you were my one and only princess~" Pura blissfully thought to herself as she stole a glance at the female Subterranean in her arms as her cheeks began to blush just moments after she looked at her secret crush.
"I am sorry, but I will have to leave for the time being. I forgot my-"
"Do as you must. I do not mind being alone for a while longer." Tikal reassured Pura as she gave the female vampire a thumbs up.
"Very well, I shall be quick about it." Pura responded to her secret crush's reassuring words before she promptly made her leave.
A few minutes later
"Alright Tikal, tell me how you came to be in such a sorry state." Pura asked Tikal while she gave her a look of genuine concern.
"Well, there were a few monsters that lived in the area had attempted to ambush me while I was making my way back to my home just a few weeks ago. They suddenly appeared out of nowhere making a claim that they would have to make a great meal out of me. Fortunately I was able to beat them, but I was unable to come out unscathed due to the attacks that their leader was sending my way." Tikal told the female vampire as she looked at her with her glowing red eyes.
'Damn those cursed monsters! If I find them I shall be sure to make them suffer for daring to hurt my beloved Tikal like this!' Pura raged in her head as soon as she heard what the monsters ad done to her secret crush.
"But I am still confused as to why you came all the way here. If I remember correctly, your home is closer to City Z right? What brought you here?" Pura asked her fellow monster as she sat next to her.
"Oh, well you see…" Tikal said as she began to recount the main events that led to her coming to Pura's hideout.
Out at the Ghost Town of City Z, 1401 days after Setsuka began her training regiment
"It looks like those foolish monsters have delayed my return to my home." Tikal spoke to herself as she looked over the dead bodies of the dozens of monsters that had tried to kill her, before she resumed her trip back to her home.
But not too long after she began her journey to her home, a large monster could be seen making its way towards one of the sewage ways that led to her home, she was suddenly stopped in her tracks before she evaded the slash attack that was aiming for her head.
And when she turned around, she saw a monster with blades for hands staring right back at her. He had long, messy black hair that covered his left eye along with bandages wrapped around his face and limbs. He was wearing an oversized t-shirt that looked to have seen better days. This was a monster known far and wide for his brutal way through which he kills his victims, Royal Ripper.
"Oh my, what is it that compels you to attack me fellow monster?" Tikal asked the messy-haired monster as she looked at him with a glare of her own.
"I just felt like killing you after I saw your disgusting figure." Royal Ripper answered Tikal's question before he sent a flying slash attack in her direction. This attack of course, was easily blocked by the katana of the Subterranean with the ninja attire.
But as Tikal was blocking the flying slash attack, Royal Ripper had closed the gap between him and his target ready to cut her to pieces.
Unfortunately for him, Tikal was able to block his attack and began her counter attack against her impromptu opponent. Royal Ripper was also able to block her attack with ease before he also attempted to slice her diagonally. The two monsters continued the cycle of blocking and counterattacking each other in a matter of seconds before they backed off from each other.
"Colour me impressed, you're a pretty good fighter." Royal Ripper complimented his foe while lightly chuckling to himself.
"I could say the same about you bladed monster. Especially when you caught me off guard on your first strike." Tikal responded as she sheathed her blade before taking out two shuriken from her person and throwing them towards Royal Ripper.
"Idiot, do you think throwing a bunch of shuriken at me is going to work?" Royal Ripper shouted out as swatted away all of the shuriken that were being thrown at him with ease.
"Of course not, it's just my way of distracting you for the time being." Tikal responded to Royal Ripper's question from behind him.
'Huh? How did she get behind me so quickly? How is she moving so fast without me noticing?' Royal Ripper pondered in shock when he heard Tikal's blade ready to cut his head off.
But before her katana could cut through his head, she felt something holding her arms and yanking her away from the bandaged monster.
'It looks like he was not alone. But I dislike the fact that I have to now face off against a psychic monster as well.' Tikal complained to herself as she scoped her surroundings in order to find the culprit responsible for stopping her finishing blow.
'Hehehe, you thought I came alone? There's no way that I would come out here and face you head on after what that sister of yours said about your skills in combat.' Royal Ripper thought to himself as he recalled the details that the female Subterranean with the spear had told him before he set out to get rid of Tikal before he lunged at her once more.
'Good thing I brought you along little one. Your abilities have definitely proven useful for this mission.' a monster with a number of eyes stitched onto his arms said as he observed his comrade fighting against their target as he floated above the two of them. And sitting on his lap was the short and pudgy monster that had been spying on the higher ranking members of the Subterranean People a while back.
"W-well, I-I'm glad I could be of help to oh mighty Evil Eye.' the tiny monster agreed with Evil Eye's words as he concealed the more powerful monster with his abilities.
As Tikal and Royal Ripper continued to fight against each other, Evil Eye would use his psychic powers in order to either give his ally a boost or hinder the attacks of their target.
'But I still don't understand why that fool didn't choose to attack her with me so that we could finish her off more quickly. Does he love fighting strong opponents even if he has to fight them on their terms?' Evil Eye questioned the reasoning behind his ally as he watched the two fight each other.
'Curses! Someone is interfering with my attacks and no matter where I look, I fail to see anyone who could possibly help this battle maniac.' Tikal wondered how she would be able to get out of her current predicament while she started to feel frustrated at the stalemate that she was currently in.
'Aaaagh! Why is she able to parry all of my attacks despite her being held back by that freaky monster? Is she that much stronger than me?' Royal Ripper complained to himself as he continued to attack his target with all that he had.
'This is getting nowhere. I'll just have to hold her still while that battle junkie cuts her up. I shall deal with his complaints after the mission has been complete.' Evil Eye thought to himself, having grown tired at the stalemate between the two monsters fighting each other before he went through with his decision and held Tikal in her place.
'It looks like his accomplice has decided to actually get serious.' Tikal realized as she was held in place by the psychic abilities of her unseen foe.
'Damn it! That damn Evil Eye really is pissing me off! And just as I was starting to get used to her fighting style!' Royal Ripper ranted in his head once he saw his target being lifted into the air.
"Hah, I was really getting the hang of your fighting style, but I guess I'll have to wrap things up. But not before I take my time cutting you up into tiny pieces.' Royal Ripper told Tikal as he rubbed his bladed hands.
"Hah! You think you can torture me and live to tell the tale? Please, do not kid yourself! I shall have you know that I have a high tolerance to pain. Do not think I will scream in agony just because you give me a few cuts!" Tikal taunted Royal Ripper with a great deal of confidence.
"Oh, shall we test that out?" Royal Ripper rhetorically asked his prey before he began to give her cuts to her body
'I suppose we do have some time for such leisurely activities. I'm pretty confident that I will be able to restrain her while he tortures her. And if I feel bored, I can simply kill her myself.' Evil Eye thought to himself while he was still hidden by the short monster sitting on his shoulder.
'Oh boy, it looks like Royal Ripper's gonna go actually go and torture the target! This shall be fun to watch!' the tiny monster thought to himself as he watched Royal Ripper cut up his target.
And after giving her a few cuts over the course of two minutes, to which the female Subterranean stayed silent, Royal Ripper decided that he should end her life right then and there.
But before he could even cut her up for good, he felt a strong gust of wind passing by him. This gust of wind was also felt by Tikal, Evil Eye and the tiny monster sitting on the shoulder of Evil Eye.
'What the hell was that?' was the question that echoing in the minds of the three monsters once they felt the abnormal gust of wind that had just passed by them. Evil Eye was so stunned by the events that took place that he had loosened his psychic hold on Tikal.
'This is my chance to escape.' Tikal , who noticed that the grip on her body would no longer hold her back, took out a smoke bomb before throwing it into the ground and vanishing from the scene.
"Wait a minute, where did she- Damn it! I let go of her while asking how that gust came out of nowhere! Stupid gust!" Evil Eye yelled in anger once he finally noticed the smoke that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Way to go idiot! We lost our target! What are we gonna do about this mess huh?" Royal Ripper shouted at his companion once he also realized that their target had fled the scene while looking up at the sky.
"You are also at fault you foolish battle junkie! Don't put all of the blame on me!" Evil Eye shouted back with the same level of anger in his voice before the two of them began to argue with each other in earnest.
'Oh boy, I hate it when the stronger monsters bicker with each other like this.' the short monster thought to himself while covering his ears with the parts of his arms that were not sharp.
Meanwhile, a few meters away from the three members of the Monster Association, Tikal was also thinking about the sudden gust that had appeared while she was trapped in the psychic grip of her unseen foe.
'I am glad that I was able to get out of that situation just now. If that gust had not appeared so suddenly, then I may have actually drawn my last breath at the hands of that monster.' Tikal thought to herself as she continued to run away from the area.
Back in the present day with Tikal and Pura
"After that, I had to fight off a few more encounters with the other monsters that had been popping up at the pathways leading to my home, I decided that going to your hideout was the best course of action. But as you can imagine with the state that my body was in not too long ago and other factors, the journey to your hideout was a much more challenging task to undergo." Tikal closed her story as she sat side by side with Pura.
"Oh Tikal! I am glad that you were able to come out of such a dire situation unharmed! Rest for as long as you need to!" Pura said to her secret crush while she gave her a side hug.
"Thank you Pura. I really appreciate your kind words." Tikal expressed her heartfelt gratitude as she leaned into the hug that her friend was giving her.