How I Was Murdered By a Monster King (How I Was Murdered By a Fox Monster Book 2)

by Unknown

  I got pretty engrossed in spinning Akito's stone grinding wheel for fun, until I was interrupted by a voice which softly said "Daisuke."

  I turned to see Nina's brother standing behind me. I hadn't even heard him enter. Maybe moving like a ninja was another one of his secret skills that he ripped off his superiors. He was holding an old book in his right hand. He held it up for me to see. I tried to ignore him, but eventually curiosity got the better of me and I turned to look at the page that he was holding open.

  “Is this the monster who you were talking about?” He asked.

  There was only a black and white sketch on the page, but there was no denying that it was a picture of the monster who I'd seen in my dreams. The name Ratmuncher was printed at the top of the page in bold letters followed by a short description. It felt like a punch to my stomach, but I couldn't let Arashi realise how mortified I was.

  “I don’t know, maybe,” I said with a shrug.

  “Don’t lie to me Daisuke,” he said with a scowl. “I showed this to Itsuki already, and he said it’s one of the monsters you encountered in the shopping mall today. Now have you, or have you not, been experiencing more memories from your time as an Obake?”

  I didn’t have the courage to look him in the eyes and lie. I lowered my head and chose to look at the floor instead. Nina’s brother stood there for almost a minute while waiting for an answer, but eventually I heard him close the book and sigh.

  “He's a low-level monster so we should be able to handle him,” he said and passed me the book. “I’m going to take everyone out to go find him, and I want you to stay here and think about your actions. We can talk about this again once I get back.”

  And with that he turned and left me alone in the darkness. I later watched as he assembled everyone outside and got ready to go.

  "Nina it's your job to stay here and guard Daisuke," ordered Arashi like a prison guard. "Don't let him leave, and don't hesitate to use charms against him if he doesn't listen. The rest of you will be coming with me to track down Ratmuncher."

  "Seriously," said Kiyori. "But I have math homework that I need to finish by tomorrow."

  "It can wait," said Arashi.

  "But my teacher is super strict," said Kiyori. "If I don't do it, then it will make my grades go down and make you look bad or some shit."

  "Fine," said Arashi. "Kiyori can also stay here and guard Daisuke with Nina."

  "But I have to-" Said Souta before Arashi cut him off.

  "No more buts, the rest of you are coming and that's my final word," he said. "Now let's move out!"

  With a moan the rest of my friends hesitantly picked up their exorcist gear and followed after Arashi. Only Souta took one last look at the toolshed before he followed after the others and disappeared into the forest.

  I wandered back into headquarters once everyone was gone. I didn’t want to lie to my friends, but admitting that I was beginning to remember things from the past might give Shinta a reason to take me away. I was too young to be cut up and analysed like a biology class dissection.

  I decided to chill in Taisei, Kiyori, and Souta's room. I sat on the floor and stared at the sketch of Ratmuncher like it could trigger my memory again. I thought that if I looked hard enough I could remember some super awesome way to beat him.

  I thought that dream had just been a manifestation of my worries and fears, but what if it was a memory of my old life? What if what Itsuki always said was true and I had been a terrible man-eating monster a decade ago?

  I read over the page in the hope that it could give me some clues as to why he was showing up in my sleep. I remembered reading somewhere that ex-human Obake were usually weak, so it said that his spiritual power was low, strength low, and he was last spotted stealing a chicken fifty years ago. He looked like the sort of guy that someone as powerful as Arashi would have no trouble dealing with, but it didn’t explain the strong feeling of dread I felt when I looked at his image. Maybe I still subconsciously felt bad about beating him up, or maybe I borrowed money and forgot to pay him back.

  It was difficult to put into words, but there was something very different about the Ratmuncher from my dream and the guy at the shopping arcade. Maybe it was just the coat.

  “Why did you come here?” I asked the sketch in the book, but of course it didn’t speak back.

  I sighed and threw the book across the room. It was pointless to worry about it because there was nothing I could do but wait for Arashi to come back and grill me. He would probably spend at least an hour trying to make up ways to sell me out to the organization and make himself look good. Just thinking about it was enough to make my head hurt. I grabbed a pillow and pulled it over my head. It was all too much for my mind to deal with so I decided to roll over and take a nap.

  And before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  In my dream I was standing in a forest in the middle of summer. I could hear the cicadas cry and the sun burned brightly in the sky. The tall trees and thick leaves weren’t enough to shade me from the intense summer heat, and I had to shade my face with my hand to stop it from fazing me.

  When my eyes adjusted to the shadows in the forest I saw the same exhuman Obake from my dream standing amongst the foliage. There was no denying that he was identical to the man who I saw on the bridge. His skin looked a little fresher, but he had the same creepy aura of someone who died. Instead of a large black coat, he was dressed in a filthy old fashion tattered white shirt and ripped brown pants, but his messy appearance didn’t seem to bother him at all. There was a smile plastered across his face and his large white teeth shined brightly enough to reflect the sunlight. He looked ecstatic to see me, but I couldn’t care less.

  “Why did you call me out here?” I asked sternly.

  “I have something to show you. Follow me!” He merrily said before he went skipping off into the depths of the forest.

  I sighed and crossed my arms. I had no intention of following after him like a dog, but I was curious about what could make him that ecstatic. I was certain there wasn’t anything positive about being a weak dead human, but he was bouncing with joy. The sound of him singing a merry tune echoed throughout the trees.

  I followed after him.

  “Just wait, you are going to love it!” He said as he walked ahead of me.

  I followed him until the thick foliage gradually began to clear. Finally we emerged into a small clearing.

  “Tada!” He sang with his arms extended outwards towards the middle of the clearing and what lay there.

  It was a bloodshed.

  There were twenty bloodsoaked bodies which had been stacked one on top of each other. They looked like they'd been there for days and the stench was repulsive. It was difficult to identify their faces amongst the carnage, but most of them didn't look any older than me. Their clothes were ripped and tattered, but the bodies were still mostly in one piece except for the gaping holes in their chests, and one boy who was missing his arms. Their faces were frozen in fear like it was the last thing they felt before Ratmuncher drove his fist through their chests.

  Behind them was a blood stained wooden shrine much like the one where my friends lived. It looked newer than headquarters, but the door had been ripped to shreds and the window shutter was barely hanging from its hinges. Amongst the wreckage I could see the bloodstained Chinese characters for exorcist written on the building, and the phrase we are shadows that move within the darkness painted on a flag near the door.

  They had all been exorcists.

  He had murdered twenty exorcists and the exhuman Obake didn't have a single scratch on him.

  “What do you think?” Asked Ratmuncher as he admired his work. “It was a little hard at first, but I practiced a lot and now I’m finally good at killing people. Even exorcists. Now you have to let me into your gang right?”

  A laugh echoed throughout the clearing. I assumed that it came from the monster beside me, but when I turned towards him his
mouth was clamped shut and his eyes were fixed on me.

  It was then that I realised that the one who was laughing was me.

  I saw the smile disappear from Ratmuncher's face and it was replaced by a puzzled frown.

  "What, what's so funny?" He asked.

  I laughed. “You idiot. Everyone knows that you never attack an exorcist base. Now they will never let you go. Those stupid humans will follow you to the ends of the earth to avenge their dead comrades.”

  "I know that!" Snapped Ratmuncher. "But I did it anyway just to show that I have more guts than any of you!"

  “Guts?” I said. “There doesn’t seem to be a big difference between guts and stupidity for you does there? The last thing we need is more hot blooded exorcists hunting us down. I told you once before and I’ll tell you again, I have no need for a dead human monster.”

  Ratmuncher’s eyes went as wide as saucers. He stood there stunned for a moment before he screwed up his fists with rage and his face began to turn red.

  “Well, guess what!” He cried. “I don’t need you! I don’t need any of you! I’ll become a great and powerful monster on my own. I’ll become the greatest monster that ever lived! I’ll become a monster king!”

  “You, a monster king?” I said with a laugh. “No one will ever follow or respect you! Even the most powerful monsters are useless without the respect and fear of others. Someone like you should just go dig their own grave and lie in it. You already look like a walking corpse."

  “How dare you!” He roared and his fists began to shake. “You’ll pay for that!”

  He lunged towards me with his hand extended outwards to drive it through my chest. And for the first time I could sense something unexpectedly terrifying about the weak looking monster before me. I understood how he could have killed those twenty exorcists without breaking a sweat.

  The last thing I could remember was his enraged and anguished face being only inches from my own.

  * * *

  The sheer terror was enough to jolt me awake, and all of a sudden I was back to being Daisuke Matsumoto the high school student. My heart pounded in my chest and I found it difficult to breathe. The image of him trying to shove his hand through my stomach replayed itself constantly within my mind and refused to end. It was impossible to reassure myself that it had all just been a terrible nightmare. The forest, the heat, the smell, it all felt so real like I had lived it before. I had been so terribly cruel towards him, and in return he tried to kill me. I must have survived through some miracle.

  I had to warn the others. Arashi had no idea about Ratmuncher’s real strength. If I didn’t call him soon he and my friends were going to walk head first into a slaughter house.

  I jumped to my feet and rushed to find Nina. Arashi had banned all phones on patrol, but I was certain that he must have taken one with him in case the organization called. There was no way that a suck up like him would possibly risk missing a call from his boss.

  I ran around headquarters in a panic and finally found Nina sitting in her room with her biology textbook laid out in front of her.

  “Nina!” I called out, and she jumped in shock.

  “Daisuke, you startled me. Daisuke, Daisuke what is is?" She asked when she noticed how freaked out I looked.

  “Hey Nina, do you have your brother’s number?” I asked.

  “Yes, of course,” she said as she fumbled through her pockets for her cell phone. “Why do you want it?"

  “There’s just something that I wanted to tell him,” I said.

  Nina passed me her cell phone with her brother’s number written on the screen. I dialed the number into my own phone and pressed call. The call connected almost instantly. I felt a wave of relief, but when I held my phone up to my ear, I heard an automated voice which said “your call can not be connected. The number you are trying to dial is unavailable. The phone may be switched off or out of range.”

  “That can’t be right,” I said. I hung up and entered the number once more (this time super carefully) but when I tried to call I got the same automated message that said “your call can not be connected."

  I tried calling another three times but all I got was the same voice over and over again. I dialed Taisei’s number as well (just in case he’d disobeyed Arashi and taken his phone with him) but I could hear his ringtone from within headquarters. I got desperate and tried calling Mana, Laurance, and even Itsuki, but no one answered.

  “Daisuke, what is it?” Asked Nina as she noticed my face turning paler and paler.

  “They’re all going to die,” I said without thinking.

  “Die?” said Nina. “What do you mean they are all going to die?”

  “I,” I wanted to tell her about my dream, but I knew it would only freak her out and make me look like an even bigger weirdo, so I had no choice but to lie. “I found something in the library,” I said. “I did some looking and I found a journal by a guy who watched Ratmuncher murder a bunch of exorcists in the past.”

  “Are you sure,” said Nina. “I didn't know the library had journ-”

  “There isn’t any time,” I said, and I slammed my hands on the desk in front of her. “Your brother has clearly underestimated this guy and we need to contact them now before it’s too late!”

  I did the calculations in my head. It had been at least an hour since they left. I hadn’t watched them leave and there was no telling which direction they went. I thought about tracking them with a locator charm, but it was difficult to get a proper fix on any Obake when I was around. Even with a charm we could end up chasing the wrong monster and never find them.

  Nina took the phone from me, held it up to her ear, and listened to the recorded message. “They must have gone into the dead zone,” she said.

  “The dead zone? What’s the dead zone?” I asked and prayed that it wasn’t a new slang term for being dead.

  “That’s just what Taisei calls it. It’s an area on the other side of the mountain where it’s impossible to get a signal, they are either there or…”

  I didn’t want to consider the possibility that my friends and her brother had already been crushed.

  “We have to go there, now,” I said. “We have to catch up to them before they find this Ratmuncher guy.”

  “But,” said Nina like she was going to protest, but then she nodded her head. "Okay, let's go find them," she said.

  “We need Kiyori as well!” Normally I didn't want to spend time with Kiyori, but it suddenly seemed like a great idea to bring him too. “And gather all the strongest things you have, there has to be something around here that will help us in case we get into a fight with this guy!"

  Kiyori said that he had homework, but Nina found him sitting in the living room watching TV and eating potato chips.

  “Kiyori, grab your stuff!” Said Nina. “We have to go help the others!”

  “But, it’s getting to the good part!” Protested Kiyori as Nina grabbed him by his arm and pulled him to his feet.

  Akito still hadn’t given me any cool exorcist gear like the others, but I found the wooden pole that Taisei once lent me, and Kiyori found a hammer in the toolshed. There wasn’t any time to paint new charms, so I grabbed a stash from on top of Akito’s desk. I had no idea what any of them could do, but knowing Akito there had to be something useful. Nina had her bow and arrows, and she was also carrying a small box of paper charms in her arms when we regrouped in the entranceway.

  “What are those?” I asked while looking into the box.

  “They’re barrier charms that Akito prepared in case we need to defend headquarters from the Raccoon King,” said Nina. “I guess they aren’t very useful in battle, but if worst comes to worst we can always create a safe area in the forest and hide out until someone comes to rescue us.”

  I looked at the flimsy paper skeptically and wondered if it would be enough to save us from an Obake who had killed twenty exorcists. I picked one up and tried channeling my spiritual power into the paper, but there w
as no effect.

  “Do these actually even work?” I asked.

  “They're a little different from the charms you usually use,” said Nina. “You need to put them into a special formation and chant.”

  “Have you ever done it before?” I asked.

  “Well…there was this one time,” said Nina nervously.

  “I heard you failed that test,” said Kiyori.

  “But that was a year ago,” said Nina. “Akito made me memorize the chant, so maybe I can use them now if we have to.”

  We were doomed.

  I didn’t want Nina and Kiyori to see how disheartened I felt, so I turned away and looked towards Akito’s exorcist relic case. I rested my head on the cool glass, closed my eyes, and tried to focus.

  I may have gotten a little stronger over the past few months. But if I was scared of him back when I was a real monster, then there was no way that Nina, Kiyori and I could possibly take down Ratmuncher. Hopefully there was no way that Ratmuncher would allow himself to be found so easily, but what if that was his plan? Maybe he showed his face in town that day because he wanted us to go searching for him? Without the headquarters protection barrier he clearly had the advantage. Maybe he was also plotting to kill as many exorcists as possible along with the Raccoon King?

  I opened my eyes and examined the ancient relics before me. Before they just looked like a bunch of small rusty metal disks which couldn’t do anything, but all of a sudden they looked strangely familiar, and for the first time I could see something that I'd never noticed before.

  “What about using these?” I asked Nina while pointing to the rusty disks.

  “But we don’t even know how to use those,” said Nina. “Akito found them in storage and put them on display to lecture us about exorcist history.”

  I could remember something.

  The memory was vague and fuzzy, but in my mind I could see an elderly exorcist in a white robe who was frantically turning the metal disk in a strange combination. I wasn’t sure what he intended to do with it, but I knew he was attempting something serious.