Leave The Monster Alone

"You dare to do this to me? I'm a divine beast, the apex of the apex and one of your own species. How could you do this to me? The female cried out in rage, her body flaming from inside at the injustice she felt happening at her expense. 

However, Alan did not care for her complaints too much since he had already loaded his arrow and it was ready to go at any second now.

The arrow soared through the air but his mark was not met. The unfortunate stone that met it shattered into pieces on contact which made a loud noise. Kuro capitalized on the attack, following up with a strong attack of his own on the other person. The female twisted out of the attack range but she was undoubtedly pissed off at what was happening. 

She did not have any time to right himself and retaliate since Alan followed up his own attack through a series of attacks as well. She had to constantly right her posture to not get caught up in the aftermath. She was having a hard time, not that she was going to admit it to anyone. 

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We're under attack by someone who is likely a divine beast but I cannot say for sure. Make sure you do not tell Mark but come help out if you can. 

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Under such circumstances, Luna was the best choice since he was the most experienced out of everyone else. He also had powers that were more compatible for fighting such divine beasts than Mark. Also, Mark had a higher chance of getting killed or hurt than Luna had so it was a better outcome overall to have his older brother. 

"That's it. I tried to be nice but you are not leaving me with a choice. If you won't cooperate then I will have to make you cooperate" The female snapped with those words, her attacks turning vicious all of a sudden. She only had one window of opportunity but that was enough for her to cause havoc all over the place.

Alan felt himself sweat under the heavy onslaught of attacks that he had to face all of a sudden. His body was ready though, having sensed the incoming attack even before it had been made and then he had to jump back to avoid the next onslaught of dead people. 

Somehow his side got nicked by a bullet and blood began seeping out. His reaction to time suffered as well, having just taken such a heavy blow to his dominant side. 

He was not out for the course though and his core vibrated with power to heal his wound. It was slower than his normal wound but still incredibly fast for a wound inflicted by a gun. 

"Why won't you just die? You are not better than me and I have much more control than you? Then why?" The female raged on, her probing turning into a physical sensation rather than a mental push. 

There was a heavy knock in his mind, it was folding under the pressure from all the sides he was facing but it was much more manageable when he had a physical activity to ground himself with. Though he was getting distracted by his fight, his mind was still in an active field of information being passed around. 

And that was his downfall as well, his distraction has cost him his momentum and the female was inside his mind now. He felt her glee, her victory trump inside his mind all of a sudden and he felt choked. His mind seemed to be going blank, a blanket of darkness taking over his being and he felt himself move according to the others' will. 

It lasted for a mere fraction of a second, the most terrifying seconds of his life before the sensation was torn apart from his consciousness. Alan felt Kuro near him, her fur underneath his hands and came in contact with her tense muscle mass. She had been scared for him? It felt like it. 

There was a loud and sharp noise in his ear as well, his head feeling pained at the echo going inside his brain and he had to do his best to keep it in check. He did not want to do that anytime soon and would be all too happy if he never had to face such conditions again. 

"What were you doing? Being taken over like this is suicidal, don't you know? We might need to up your training and even add more parameters to the" Alan finally looked at the female who was laid down with her eyes closed.

Alan could feel her pain like a small throb in his head but nothing major was being transmitted. Whatever control she had on them was eliminated as soon as Luna had shot her down. Alan opened his mouth to thank his brother but he had a tense expression on his which made Alan shit his mouth off instead. 

"Something is not right here. I shot her with an ordinary bullet that should not have taken her out" Luna's words worried Alan too because this was concerning. As a divine beast, their basic health, as well as body conditions, were so much better than normal humans and a normal bullet should not even have hurt, much less reduced her to this state. 

"We should check her core first" That was the only thing that could reveal the secret of this mess and Alan made a move to check the other out. His hand was on her chest and it was a weird feeling to touch there for sure. Alan felt shy and his face was surely on fire but since he had his back to Luna the other would never know. 

His hand sank into that chest, his hand looking around for something solid but all he was met with was blankness and emptiness which was cold to his senses. Something collided with his arm and warped around it, small jerks making him lose his balance. 

It was searching him just as he was searching inside that body but both were in a stalemate of wits, neither giving in to the other. Alan slowly started to pull his arm back to himself, wanting to not participate in this mess but the other took notice and attacked him with a viciousness he had never seen. 

Alan yanked his hand out of the other's chest before he could be pulled inside fully and watched as the tentacles retreated back into that cheat. 

"A trap?" Luna asked, observing everything that was going on in front of him. His tense body betrayed the easy and carefree tone he had been trying to let past the other. Alan could even see his finger moving slightly on the trigger, eager to pull it in defence should the need arise. 

"Most likely a trap but this was not the true body of this person. We were fooled by them" This was likely a bait, a trap made to get us" And they fell for it like the fools that they were. Someone had known they would be here and that Alan might not risk Mark's safety but could call his brother for help. Someone who knew them intimately even and was not afraid to let this knowledge outside their sphere of knowledge. 

This, someone, was far too dangerous to mess around with without any precautions. 

"Mark! We left Mark alone inside there'' If they were not the target then it only left Mark as the possible victim who was specially separated from the group by that person. If that was indeed the case then it was a well-calculated work, not something anyone can achieve. 

By the time they arrived inside, there were no traces of Mark or anyone else inside there. The green light that filled the cave looked dimmer as well and the computer they had found was empty of any kind of information, having been formatted long before they had arrived at the scene.

"There are no signs of struggle. Do you think Mark is compromised?" The question was a simple yes or no in speaking but a big slump in questioning since they had no idea if Mark was still on their side or not.

Especially since the real power displayed by their enemy was mind control or something similar enough to even affect someone like Alan who was on the same power scale as their enemy themselves.

They had been outsmarted and now the decision to make was - how should they treat Mark once they meet him again? As an enemy? Or an ally?

"Kuro?" Kuro was growling softly, her eyes trained toward a section of wall distinguished from its surroundings by nothing but the slightest shift in colour. But Alan saw what she wanted him to see, the barest hint of green so different from the others inside that it was a dead giveaway that something was wrong with that section.

They had found a clue at least.