Cultivating Anthro CEO RPG Hero Harem Reincarnation In Another World

The purple elder was as stunned as Akira and Kanna were, to see the object in Rumia's hand. Because even though it was shoddily crafted, out of wood and banana leaves rather than raw steel, there was no mistaking the design of a small-arms, automatic killing machine; designed for the express purpose of drilling holes through anyone and anything that stands in the wielder's path.

The elder's eyes widened in equal parts fear and incredulity as he stared down the barrel pointed at him until they abruptly honed on Rumia's determined face in a snarl of revulsion.

"So, we meet again," he disdainfully said to her, seething with resentment.

"Aww. You're still bitter, I see," Rumia replied, pointing it sideways at him in one hand. "This here is called the [BPRS], and you're gonna have the great privilege of being its first human test subject if you keep talking shit."

Akira gawked at her back. "You have a fucking gun?!"

Kanna smirked, glancing to the side at her. "She showed me earlier, while you were still out looking for Kiki. Ara ara, those macaques are aiming for nothing short of taking over the entire world, aren't they?"

"Fool! Don't shoot," said the elder, cowering, with his arms up in surrender. One of his hands was shakily clutching onto a thin, bloody pocket knife. which he then promptly let drop with a reassuring nod as his fright-filled gaze remained fixed on the barrel of the [BPRS]. "See? I'm unarmed now. And you need me alive, or else you'll never be able to find that girl."

Akira moved forward, resting one hand on Rumia's BPRS to gently lower her aim. "You have Kiki unconscious, turned invisible somewhere," she said. "As you put it, 'just like the others.'"

"Mhm." The elder gave a smug grin. "Now, lower that gun. I have business to tend to."

Akira growled in frustration at being caught in a lousy trap like this, as Kanna looked at her with confusion. "What's he going on about?"

Lowering her chi-infused fists, she explained, "this elder...he was harboring players who lost their limbs and couldn't look after themselves, as a result of taking the trial." She sneered, rubbing the back of her hand across her nose when she looked at him again. "Though, I remember I figured it was odd—the fact that you only seemed to have female players harbored in your room: kept in an unconscious state and turned invisible through the use of potions. Completely vulnerable."

The elder glared. "What exactly are you implying?"

"I'm just saying, if charity was truly your main goal, you'd be taking care of both men and women—not picking and choosing, as you have been—right?"

The elder huffed quietly, bearing a solemn frown. "Think as you please. It doesn't matter to me."

"It's because you aren't actually taking after all of those limbless girls out of the goodness of your heart, are you?" Akira continued, with a mocking laugh. "In reality, you're a sadistic pervert—it's more like you've secretly been harvesting them, adding more and more to your private collection!"

The elder glared, his voice falling to a low rumble. "I told you the truth. That's why I came here to put an end to it, while I knew I still had a chance!"

Akira turned to Rumia. "What about you? This crazy motherfucker told me he's met with you, asking about prosthetics."

Rumia grinned. "Yeah, but so what? I showed him what my boys have been working on, but he didn't have enough money." She rolled her eyes. "So, we turned his ass away."

Akira was incredulous. "Y-you...what?!"

"Uh, yeah." Rumia gave a nervous laugh, glancing at Akira through the corner of her eye. "But isn't that just cutthroat business? Same as you taught us?"

Akira could barely speak. "N-no, that's"—secretly, he was proud, but putting on a show for the sake of the purple elder—"utterly monstrous! Vile! Reprehensible! I completely wash my hands of any involvement, or future blame!"

"But Akira, I only did as—" Rumia began to protest, but stopped when Akira winked at her. Instead nodding, with an understanding smile.

The purple elder, remaining oblivious, continued his tirade aimed exclusively at Rumia: "That heartless witch refused to help, even after I told her everything! Even though I had brought one of the amputated girls with me, and fell to my hands and knees before her. I begged Queen Rumia and her ape scientists to have some sympathy for the plight of those poor girls; to have it in their hearts to allow them this one opportunity, at regaining some semblance of their former life."

Akira and Kanna both turned on Rumia, who bristled uncomfortably under their incriminating stares. "What? Should I really have just given him the prosthetics for free?!"

"Yes!" Kanna shouted in Rumia's face as Akira looked away, "disappointedly" hiding her face in her hands.

"But it costs us valuable resources and manpower to make those limbs," Rumia argued, as she lowered her BPRS and faced them. "It's only natural that we would try to make a return on our investment, or else I won't be able to buy so many nice clothes."

"Unbelievable!" Kanna raged. "Profits shouldn't matter if it involves a bunch of girls that had their limbs ripped off by sex golems!"

Rumia shied. "Uh, well, when you put it that way…"

"But there is no other way to put it!"

"Akira…" Rumia said, turning to her with a pitiful frown. "You've gone quiet. You're actually very pleased to know my people have lived up to your cutthroat ideals, aren't you?"

Akira stood frozen, "rendered speechless" at the realization of the error of her ways, when she was dealing with the macaque: how she'd given them a means to quickly grow their economy, but at a rate that far outstripped their subhuman capacity for morality.

In essence, she'd created the United States of Cimpanzeea; and now here it was, biting her in the perfectly rounded ass.

And she couldn't be more proud.

It was then, following this brief conference between the three, that Kanna started looking around the room warily. "Hey, girls," she said, with a tinge of fear creeping into her voice. "That elder's given us the slip!"

Akira and Rumia looked, confirming this was indeed the case. 

Kanna had an anxious face. "Did he run back inside, while one of those golems is still on the loose?" She looked at Akira. "What's he thinking?"

"No. Not if he's able to turn invisible," Akira replied—remembering how Ai managed to survive the trial without issue. "It's probably a trap, but we can't let him go either. Not while he still has Kiki." Her fists glowed with chi, as she started to run forward. "And there might still be time for us to save the golems, so hurry!"

Neither Kanna nor Rumia would budge, however. Both looking downcast and sullen.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Kanna said, biting her lip. "I didn't understand what the full deal was between you and the elder, until now, but"—she glanced sharply at Akira—"how do you expect me to fight when it's to protect the same fuckers that killed Vash?"

Akira stopped in her tracks, turning back just before exiting into the corridor. "I know it seems crazy. And I don't much like it, either…"

"Then why?" Kanna demanded.

"Because it would do more good than harm to let them live."

Kanna shrank away, shaking her head with a shattered look, just as Rumia stepped forward into the light wearing a sad, apologetic look. "We'll have to kill him, won't we, Akira?"

Akira stared at her, contemplating for a moment, before giving a firm shake of her head, saying, "nothing's for sure, yet." Then, shifting her steady gaze back to Kanna. "You can stay here and whine if you want, but this is something I have to do. Because what I know in my head is right, regardless if it feels wrong."

Kanna shook her head, smiling bravely. "No way. I meant what I said earlier, about us sticking together. Even if your crazy schemes don't always make sense to me."

Akira was glad. "I'm happy to still have you on board."

And with that, the three then departed with haste, proceeding further into the temple along the long stretch of an empty corridor with only the light of Akira's glowing fist to guide them. Discovering the strewn about corpses of the high-level players along the way, set here and there like a trail of breadcrumbs—leading them ever further into the deepest bowels of the dungeon.

"I'm still not done yet!" The purple elder could be heard yelling, sounding noticeably more muffled than before, once they'd reached the corridor's end that fed into the "amphitheater room."

"Tell us where Kiki is!" Akira said calmly, raising her light as she slowly crept forward. "We can talk this out!"

After a moment passed with no reply, the three then cautiously progressed into the pitch-black space. During which time, all that could be heard was their subdued, panting breaths; as well as an unidentifiable string of thumping and scraping noises, like that of two dense metallic objects grinding together.

Akira, Kanna and Rumia exchanged queasy glances—whatever the source of the sound might be, it resided just ahead, at the room's sunken center.

"Elder, is that you?" Akira asked.

"Yes," he growled in reply.

Then, she nudged Rumia in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Apologize," she urged in a whisper. To which, Rumia groaned.

"Oh, fine!" she yelled after a moment of silent fuming, annoyedly crossing her arms. "I'd like to apologize for turning you away in your hour of need"—Akira nudged her again—"and, I hope you'll accept my vow to do everything I can, as the Queen of the Macaques, to ensure that your [Pillow Girls] will soon enough be restored to [Real Girls]!"

"Elder…? Akira asked again.

They moved closer, enough that they could hear him grunting and moaning under his breath in rhythm with the metallic grinding noise, prompting Akira to raise her light to get a better view. Thereby revealing, the unknown entity lurking in the dark was actually—

[Purple Fox]! 

Only, something wasn't quite right…

"Elder, is that you?" Akira asked, dumbfounded; for, indeed, the name displayed above Purple Fox was instead [Purple Elder], which she noticed as it straightened itself up from a previously bent forward position with...an relieved sigh?! 

"Yes. It is I," the elder replied from inside the suit, which explained why his voice sounded so muffled. 

"And you're wearing Purple Fox?"

"Indeed. The Purple Fox exoskeleton, at any rate. I snuck in, while I was invisible, to the stage behind the curtains where he normally stays hidden. Since he only becomes active after the other golems are initiating a fight, I was able to safely deactivate him for long enough that I could crawl inside and wear him like a suit for a while."

Akira looked at Kanna and Rumia with perplexity, who could both merely shrug in answer. Then, returned to the elder with a confused squint.

"But why though?"

"Well, it was the only way I could properly get my revenge…" as he so spoke he swerved to the side, allowing Akira, Kanna and Rumia to view the spectacle behind him: [Red Bear], [Yellow Bunny], and [Black Cock] all lying faceup in a neat, tight row ith their limbs detached,. Their bulging round eyes, with glassy, unmoving stares, frantically lolling about in their heads with what might be seen as fear.

It was then Akira's gaze drifted downward...to where freshly "produced" chi was dripping forth, from each gaping hole left behind where their arms and legs had once been.

Akira could put two-and-two together.

"So, you killed those elder monks and the high-levels, just so you could—"

"I didn't kill the high-levels," he quickly corrected. "I merely put them to sleep, by sneaking my paralysis drug into their mouths while I was invisible."

"What about Kiki? Over the Peelphone, you made it sound like you hurt her."

"She's on the sofa in my chambers. Safe."

"But you didn't—"

"No, I could never! Your friend is fully intact."

Within a matter of a few seconds, the elder was able to climb out of the suit and stand before Akira and friends with a kindly smile. "Oh, and don't mind all the"—he circled one hand in front of his blood-covered face—"it's actually oil. Really messy inside of that exoskeleton, is all."

Akira was still cautious. "So...you're not going to kill the golems, after all?"

He crossed his arms. "Nope."

"Really? You only came here because you just wanted to—

"Rape them, yes. As they did others."

Meanwhile, Kanna nodded, finally feeling like she was understanding it now as she took a step forward. "Alright. Cool. I can respect that"—she cocked her head at the Purple Fox exoskeleton, smirking with devilish intent—"so how long is it gonna be out of commission?"

"Until dawn, five hours from now." He grinned. "That's the rules."

"So, do you mind if I go for a few rounds? In loving memory of my dear

pal Vash?"

As long as she didn't kill them, of course.