Atomic Rex: Challenge of Gurral

by Matthew Dennion

  Atomic Rex

  Challenge of Gurral

  By: Matthew Dennion

  www.severedpress.com

  Copyright 2021 by Matthew Dennion

  Author’s Note - A very special thanks to Richard Mullenhour for the use of Gurral the Smasher in this story and for his help in writing and editing the book. Please check out his awesome FREE Gurral webcomic at http://gurralcomic.com/

  Prologue

  Japan

  A harsh wind blew across the southern side of Mount Fuji. The sun hung low over the sky in the distance as it slowly crept behind the mighty mountain. A few birds and small mammals were standing on the slopes of the mountain gnawing on the grass that had grown there. There was a time when the animals would have needed to be on alert as they looked out for predators and humans, but that was no longer the case. On the day that mankind tested one of their nuclear bombs on an island filled with dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, they created the kaiju and giant monsters that spread out across the world. While monsters like Atomic Rex and Tortiraus would conquer the western hemisphere, other kaiju would set out to destroy the eastern part of the world.

  Since the kaiju had arrived in Japan and quickly exterminated mankind, the small animals that lived at the base of Mount Fuji had nothing to fear from humans or predators.

  When the kaiju first started occupying the mountain, the smaller animals were always in danger. The first monster to climb out of the ocean and lay claim to the natural landmark was a creature the humans called Marbo. It was a colossal, bipedal, gray skinned beast. The monster had a long thin body shaped like a cigar with two thin spindly arms. The creature’s face had the visage of a distorted toad with its eyes bulging out the sides of its face. The loathsome monster’s body was accentuated by a series of long pikes jutting out of its back. The beast was massive. It towered over the buildings the humans had created. Their largest structures barely reached the monster’s knees. With its sheer size alone, the beast was able to dominate the area around the mountain. Marbo wandered through the cities surrounding the mountain. The kaiju crushed everything in its path all while giving off radiation that mutated the life in the city streets and near the mountains.

  Vermin, including rats and insects, absorbed the creature’s radiation and grew into giant mutants. The mutated pests soon found a ready food supply in the humans that lived in their cities. Rats as large as elephants and beetles the size of trucks hunted the city streets searching for people to devour. All the while, the giant vermin themselves served as food for the colossal Marbo.

  When the human population found themselves at the bottom of the food chain, they were quickly forced to abandon the city and the factory where they were hoping to build giant robots to battle the kaiju as the Americans had. With the city too dangerous to live in, the people made their way into the forest which surrounded the great mountain.

  It didn’t take long when the humans entered the woods for the starving primates to turn their attention to the small animals and birds that lived at the base of the mountain. The tiny creatures were forced to hide deep within the ground whenever possible to avoid the humans hunting them into extinction.

  The threat from the humans did not last for an overly long period of time. Once the mutated rats and insects discovered that their prey had fled the city, they tracked the humans to the forest around the mountain.

  Giant rats soon ran rampant through the woods, devouring what was left of the humans. As the rats moved into the forest, so did Marbo. The titanic kaiju hunted down the rats and ate them even as they were hunting the humans. The bastardized food chain would continue in this method for several years with Marbo’s radiation mutating birds of prey and other smaller predators such as foxes. These creatures too would grow into giant mutants that would feed on the remaining humans and in turn be fed on by Marbo.

  Some of the smaller birds and mammals would also be affected by Marbo’s radiation and they would also grow into mutants but those that did were quickly eaten by their humongous predatory counterparts. Once all of the humans around the mountain had been eaten, the mutant predators started turning on each other. The giant rats were the first creatures to turn to cannibalism but the foxes and giant birds of prey were not far behind. As the mutated mammals warred with each other, Marbo feasted on the massive insects which moved back and forth between the city and the forest.

  The food shortage caused the populations of the large monsters to plummet as they battled each other to the death. As the hyper predatory state continued, the smaller creatures who remained unmutated were too small to be noticed by the larger creatures, and their populations grew. Within five years of his arrival, Marbo had eaten nearly all of the large mutants his radiation had created. This same scene repeated itself all over the Japanese Islands. A kaiju would come ashore, destroy the city around them, mutate local wildlife creating a group of hypercarnivores, and then a population drop would occur.

  When the kaiju started to run out of food in their own territory, they started hunting each other. Dozens of blood-soaked kaiju battles took place across what was once the nation of Japan as monsters fought and then fed off one another.

  As the monsters battled, the smaller wildlife on the island began to move into the areas left by the giants as they trekked across the country in search of food. Numerous monsters had come into Marbo’s territory in search of the potential food provided by the mountain. Within the past two years, the titanic brute had slain three other kaiju who had attempted to usurp his territory and what little food remained there. Since then however, the number of incursions into his territory had slowed down considerably. Even the dimwitted Marbo was able to come to the realization that he was going to run out of food with the majority of kaiju on the Japanese Islands dead. He and only one other kaiju remained, meaning there was nothing left to hunt and eat in order to sustain himself.

  Today as hundreds of squirrels scurried beneath the shadow of Marbo and thousands of small birds flew from tree to tree, the tiny animals kept looking nervously at the creature above them. At the same time, they also kept their attention on the vibrations coming from the ground. The squirrels could feel tremors moving through the soil beneath them and since Marbo was standing still and looking in a northern direction, they knew that the last of the other kaiju in Japan was coming to challenge the monster who made his home on Mount Fuji.

  Typically, Marbo would walk out to meet an advancing kaiju long before it reached the mountain, but these were not typical times. There were not enough animals left above ground for the monster’s radiation to create new mutants and replenish its food source. The kaiju that was venturing into Marbo’s territory was not only a rival but also a food source. It had been days since Marbo had last eaten anything that could sustain him. The monster was both weak and hungry. The lethargic creature was also aware that the approaching monster saw him as food as well. The invader would come right to Marbo. There was no need for the gray skinned behemoth to expel any of his remaining energy if his prey was coming to him. When Marbo saw a shape forming in the distance he knew it was the approaching kaiju. The King of Mount Fuji roared at his adversary, egging on the creature. As the gray goliath fixed his gaze on the approaching monster, his mouth began to water at the thought of devouring it.

  The Lord of Mount Fuji focused his eyes to determine the nature of the approaching enemy. The abomination that he saw gave even the horrific Marbo a moment’s pause.

  Like Marbo himself, the kaiju he was looking at was a True Kaiju. The True Kaiju were the monsters created on the prehistoric island itself. They were known for leaving the island, coming to the mainlands and destroying cities and towns as they claimed the
ir territory. In addition to overtly attacking cities, they also created other monsters. As the True Kaiju walked around the mainland, they were spreading radiation that turned other animals and insects into kaiju. Often the True Kaiju were far more powerful and aggressive than the lesser mutants they created. The amalgamated beast approaching Marbo had been dubbed Hagan by the people of Japan before they went extinct.

  Hagan was a grotesque fusion of numerous prehistoric animals that had been grazing and hunting in the middle of the island on the day the bomb was dropped. The creature’s head was that of wooly rhinoceros. It had the long thick face of a rhino covered in shaggy brown hair, with a thick face plate hidden beneath its wooly covering. A long brown horn jutted out from the end of the monster’s snout. Hagan’s mouth was filled with rows of sharp teeth fused into its form from a Tarbosaurus that had been hunting the grazing animals feasting on the grass in the middle of the island.

  Two huge horns jutted from the sides of the creature’s head, fused there from a part of a yak-like creature that had also been grazing on the island. Hagan’s body resembled that of the ancient ground sloth. It was thick, shaggy and powerful with a body structure that allowed him to walk on two legs or all four. The creature's arms also came from the ground sloth that had been fused into his body. Hagan had strong arms that extended out from his body and ended in sharp claws. Like his head, the rest of Hagan’s body was covered in the thick armor of a rhinoceros beneath its wooly exterior.

  Two fins jutted out of its back from what had once been two Spinosaurus hunting in the river that ran through the middle of the island. After being fused into the creature’s back, the Spinosaurus fins became razor sharp. When Hagan had first made landfall, his spines were able to cut through concrete buildings as if they were made of paper.

  Ideas about the misshapen beast were all centered around the concept that the different animals and dinosaurs it consisted of had been in the same area at the time the bomb was dropped on the island. Some humans had hypothesized that the Tarbosaurus was hunting and when it attacked it drove the ground sloth, yak, and wooly rhino toward the river where the Spinosauruses were hunting. Other ideas had the Tarbosaurus feasting on the remains of all the creatures at the water’s edge with the Spinosaurus eating in the river. Whatever the case, the nightmarish monster was now far more than the sum of its previous parts.

  As Marbo beheld Hagan, he realized that the invader was barely half his size. Thinking that he had an easy victory and meal in front of him, Marbo unleashed a challenge in the form of a roar that shook the very mountain itself. The oddly shaped reptilian beast then charged toward the oncoming Hagan.

  When Hagan saw Marbo charging him, the smaller monster also roared and charged his larger prey. The two monsters met in the shadow of Mount Fuji and the battle to decide who would be the last living kaiju on the island of Japan ensued.

  The larger Marbo struck first, by using his considerable reach advantage to strike Hagan twice across the face, first with his left claw and then with his right. Using this double strike attack, Marbo had shattered buildings, decapitated large mutants, and knocked other True Kaiju to the ground. The King of Mount Fuji was baffled when his attack did little more than shift Hagan’s head from side to side.

  As Marbo was pulling back his claws for another blow, Hagan charged forward and drove his rhino horn into Marbo’s waist. Radioactive blood spurted from the wound in Marbo’s midsection. The crimson liquid spread across Hagan’s face, and as it slid down towards the kaiju’s mouth, Hagan’s long sloth tongue extended out and licked up the blood from his wounded rival.

  As Hagan tasted Marbo’s blood, his animalistic mind became obsessed with the desire to feed. Hagan roared and pushed his horn further into Marbo, causing more blood to spray across his face.

  The thrust caused Marbo to back up several more steps. The taller kaiju nearly lost his balance and fell onto his back, which he knew would assure his death. In a desperate effort to save his life, Marbo placed his hands on the horned beast’s shoulder and pushed the creature backwards, forcing Hagan’s horn out of his body. Marbo held Hagan back with his left clawed hand as he brought his right claw repeatedly crashing into Hagan’s shoulder. The first few blows were able to force Hagan’s knees to buckle. With every blow however, Marbo’s strikes grew weaker and weaker as the blood pouring out of the wound in his abdomen sapped his strength.

  Realizing that his options were to end the battle quickly or die, the half-starved and wounded monster attacked with all of the energy he had left. Marbo wrapped his claws around the yak like horns on the sides of Hagan’s head. He then pushed the creature’s head down while bringing up his knee to strike the shaggy demon’s jaw. The blow forced Hagan’s jaw shut as more blood shot out from Marbo’s body, completely covering Hagan’s snout. The blow stunned Hagan and allowed Marbo the opportunity to end the battle he had been looking for.

  Marbo pulled his right claw back and struck the smaller Hagan across the face with it, and while the blow was still unable to fell the heavily armored Hagan, it did knock the beast off balance. With his opponent staggered and his neck exposed, the massive Marbo went in for the kill. The gray goliath reached down with his head and bit into the back of Hagan’s neck. Despite his incredible bite force, Marbo was unable to penetrate Hagan’s thick armor deep enough to severely injure the creature. Knowing that he only had one option left to win the battle, Marbo twisted his head to the side in an attempt to snap Hagan’s neck. When he was unable to move Hagan’s neck, the King of Mount Fuji realized how much stronger his opponent was than him. He also knew that he was going to die.

  After the failed attempt at having his neck broken, Hagan lunged forward and used his claws to rip open Marbo’s gut while simultaneously using his razor-like fins to cut deep into the grotesque creature’s throat.

  Marbo’s intestines spilled out onto the ground as blood poured out from his newly slit throat. In a vain attempt to save his life, the former King of Mount Fuji turned to flee from Hagan. He had only managed to take a few steps when Hagan’s horn came crashing into his spine, cutting it in half and paralyzing the dying creature from the waist down.

  Marbo fell face first to the ground as his life quickly slipped away from blood loss. The monster lived just long enough to turn his head and see Hagan take a large bite out of his spine before he expired.

  Hagan feasted on the corpse of the slain kaiju for several hours. By the time the kaiju was done eating, the pathetic Marbo was little more than a pile of bones and blood. With his wooly face dripping with blood, tissue, and bone marrow, Hagan turned and looked in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. The beast knew that there was no food left on the island of Japan that could sustain him. The killing and eating of Marbo was not an act to usurp the monster’s territory. Eating his defeated enemy was the means to an end. The energy provided by ingesting the radioactive monster would give Hagan the strength to cross the ocean and find new hunting grounds. The horned beast roared and then began making his way toward the sea.

  As Hagan walked away from Mount Fuji the squirrels that had watched the battle of the titans from hidden crevices underground and in the trees walked out into the sunlight. With the humans, predators, mutants, and kaiju now all gone, these meek creatures were now the rulers of what was once Japan

  Chapter 1

  Arena World

  Gurral was restless as he paced back and forth in the dark metallic hall waiting for the arena doors to open. The fifty-meter-tall creature had a thick and extremely muscular humanoid body. The monster’s skin was tan in color with numerous bony spikes protruding from his arms and knuckles. The same bone-material covered the kaiju’s back in a nigh invulnerable carapace that ended on its short tail. The most remarkable feature of the monstrous gladiator was its head. The beast’s mouth was wide with two mandible-like protrusions sprouting up and out from his lower jaw. His face and head had been completely overtaken by his thick skull with two curved horns extending from either side of
his head. The warrior’s dark red eyes were sunken into the skull that enveloped his face. The kaiju’s eye color and placement gave the intelligent beast a menacing visage. On many occasions, Gurral had found that his harrowing visage gave his opponents a moment's pause when they first saw him. That momentary pause was all Gurral needed to gain the advantage over those he was facing.

  The impatient warrior slammed his fist into the sides of the hall in which he waited, causing an echo to ring through his skull. He was in pain both physically and psychologically. It had been a long time since he was last able to indulge himself in the Impervium dust that his body craved. Gurral began to shake as he thought back to a time before he needed the dust on a regular basis. He had originally been tasked to mine Impervium, the same substance that he was now addicted to. As he tore into the rock which encased the precious super-hard element, miniscule particles of the Impervium wafted into his eyes, nose, and face. The tiny shards of the substance made their way into Gurral’s bloodstream and eventually into his brain. With each strike of his pickaxe, more of the dust made its way into his system. For any other miner, this would have meant a small irritation of the eyes and a headache. For Gurral however, his genetic make-up allowed him to absorb the mineral, infusing it into his every cell, especially the bones. As the dust strengthened its hold over the monster, the Impervium drove him to dig for even more of it. Rather than tiring him, the act of slamming his axe into rock which encased the Impervium only forced him to dig deeper because he knew that every blow would send more of the addictive substance flying into his face and quench his need for it.

  Gurral’s reliance on the dust caused him to dig at top speed for endless hours, pushing his body well beyond the point of exhaustion. The non-stop digging combined with the Impervium infusing into his body dramatically increased Gurral’s muscle mass and enhanced his stamina. As much as the intense exercise and absorption of the dust transformed Gurral’s muscles, it was nothing compared to what the constant exposure to Impervium did to his bones. His skeleton absorbed the substance until it was fully saturated, then it grew spikes that jutted from his forearms and knuckles. His skin peeled back from the top half of his head leaving the skull exposed, and his back grew heavy plating from the base of his skull down his back and the majority of his tail.