Leave The Monster Alone

"Do you think it is alright to leave Rika at the base with Kuro alone? What if something happened to her in our absence?" Alan could not help but be worried for the scientist. Out of all of them, Rika was the most squishy one.

Well, not to phrase it that way but she could easily be trampled over if someone tried hard enough to do it.

"Don't worry. Out of all of us, they also have the least reason to hate her. She is also smart enough to keep her head low and follow along. We need to focus on our thing for now and not worry about her" Their mind needed to be on this exploration if they really wanted to make any progress.

As soon as he had moved in the direction of the possible lead, his system had picked up the activity again. The blink was far but easy to travel in their vehicle. Since there were only two of them, it also became easy to navigate through without any distractions.

Before Alan had asked this question, no conversations had really been started among them at all.

"What do you think we will find there?" Now that the gate of conversation had opened, Alan could not keep quiet any longer. He had to know everything the other knew and expand his box of knowledge.

"Hopefully something good that does not make me think I wasted my time. As soon as I pick up something I will inform you" the teen nodded, his body getting restless. This was another new addition to this nature, a result of the core likely.

Alan had felt his senses sharpened and his stamina improve. He had not tried out any other field he might have been enhanced in as well since there was not time but he felt his muscles become even stronger than before.

The biggest change in him was his energy levels. He had been a quiet kid and even Suzy had seemed pretty calm but now Alan found it impossible to sit still at all. He wanted to tire himself out and then go to sleep all day.

It was an impulse he had to squash down already but he could not fully control it. 

"Do you want to run around? Suzy was able to seep up with us easily on foot" Mark asked him, seeing his restlessness. Alan did think it over for a minute, liking the thought of letting himself go. 

The air would feel nice and it would help him concentrate a lot while he was out there. But he had to keep Mark company as well. The other was not doing as well as he had been acting weird.

Well, weirder than before which was a worrisome detail for Mark at this point. But he was going to deflect if Alan asked which would just make him even more cautious. So it was just better if Alan gave him the silent support without causing problems for the other.

"We're near. Once we enter the swamp be ready with your weapon in position. Shoot anything that comes too close or seems like a danger. Do not take a risk by letting anything go" Mark droned on to the teen who was hearing it for the third time now.

He had already categorized it two times before in his mind and now it was extremely easy to know what Mark would say to him. This was one thing that made Alan regret not taking the offer of the external run.

"I got it already. Please stop this lecture at once" he did not want to hear this again and again since it was irritating. Mark just let out a small laugh which made Alan just feel a little bit better.

As soon as the small alarm sounded, Alan was in a position to shoot any oncoming monsters. There were a lot of small ones who tried their luck. Since there had been a divine beast with a leaking core, many small monsters had fled.

Alan still did not know how to control his aura so he could not make them leave him and Mark alone, but he could still shoot them down when they came. The routine just phased his kind back at the moment he had come into his powers.

There had been pain and dryness around Alan and a wet feeling too. He was likely bleeding and needed to check for the injury. Mark would be worried and so disappointed in him, Luna would chew him alive once he realised.

Mom and dad, they would be disappointed in him, won't they? He had, after all, almost died. Or will die right now.

He also had a small weight on top of him. Suzy? Was this her body? Had she been harmed as well? It was not good then.

Alan needed to get up and help. 

Then Mark arrived and the feeling that took him over was relief and gratitude. Now that he was here things would be alright. He could hear their conversation but there was a wall in-between Alan and the words which were fading fast.

Something dropped on him which hurt. It burned and it weighed a lot? But it did not last and it was agony when it sank into his skin. Alan wanted to fade away but it would not allow him to.

Then it burned him from inside, his screams getting caught in the smoke as well and burning along with his skin. His bones were reshaping themselves as well into a new form and he was being born again.

The flame was too much and too foreign and Alan did not want to be burned. He needed water to stay alive, to not hurt, to be alright. Water, he needed it desperately and to get away from this fire.

'It's alright. It is helping you to repair your body. Don't fight it,' Suzy's voice told him. She was here too, her body almost transparent as well. She was burning with him too but she was not getting better at all.

She seemed to be worsening at a rate that was even more rapid than him which was saying something. Alan lifted his burned arms to reach her but his arms were alright and not burnt at all.

He was not burning at all?

Why? Then what about those flames?

'You remember our conversation before this right? About my core and your body? We do not have the luxury of a choice any longer. I'll help you as much as I can before I fade away completely so listen' Suzy told him a lot, prepared him for a lot.

She did not share everything but just enough to know what was expected of him. She did not talk about the other divine beast but Alan knew she had a brother and she loved him. She asked for forgiveness and a chance she had always wanted.

And now it was all Alan, the one who had to carry it all was Alan. He was a divine beast now with the burning flames and the rage that bruins around him.

'Control it or you'll lose control. The core guides our hands but it does not make us do what we do not want to. Even right now you need to take back control of your body' he tried but nothing made sense to him. He had nothing to hold onto.

'I'll help you out. Take this feeling into account' Alan felt himself float. The next thing he knew, his body was getting ready to shoot an arrow from a bow he had never seen. 

'It's your core's form. Mine was my claws. It turned into whatever suits you best. Now pay attention to how you shoot and what feelings you need to feel to bring it out' ALan heard her and he felt with his heart.

The arrow hit and the body fell. Behind was Mark who did not look that good at all.

"I, I did it. Somehow, I managed to make it in time. Mark, I made it" that was all he could feel. He had made it out just in time to save Mark. even when he had no idea if he did not, he felt as if he did and the other did not contradict him at all.

"I'm alright. The energy running through my body is just too much to handle right now. I'll be alright in a few seconds" that reply did help him feel better once he let it all out.

'Our powers are a curse on us. I welcome you to our personal prison and hope you the best of luck from here' Suzy's voice faded and so did her presence. 

Alan could only keep her words close to himself as a memory.

And he fired the arrow at the coming target which did not miss at all. A lot more came which he dealt with without much problem. Compared to what he had faced before and the fire burning inside, this was child's play.