Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?

'Wait...now that I think about it, where did Lythero and Antonio go?'

...Moments ago...

^Are you sure you want me here to see this? This seems like the sort of the thing that requires solitude and the ability to express one's emotion without restraint.^

^Lythero, you are the closest thing I have to a friend right now, and I'm fairly certain I'm going to need the emotional support to be able to process whatever these weird curators have compiled together for me to process. Please don't go and leave me alone with my thoughts; I'm fairly certain half of them are manufactured.^

^...fair enough. Also, when did you suddenly get more verbose?^

^I think it's because of the library.^

^Fair enough.^

After Zhen Liu had informed Antonio that the curators had managed to figure out who his adoptive mama was, the soldier from Dozing Salamander ran out of the forge room like a cat on fire in order to get the answers he so desperately craved.

When he did, Lythero was dragged along because, as mentioned previously, the man needed emotional support.

After all, it's not an everyday occurrence for someone to suddenly be bestowed information in relation to their missing maternal figure. Especially when that aforementioned maternal figure was a Kaijin who actively manipulated memories so that they could be forgotten.

It had taken the duo a couple of moments to meet up with Logos and Pathos, the weird clown curators of the library, who both proceeded to guide them to a more appropriate setting for the sudden bestowal of life-shattering information.

Lythero and Antonio had been sat down in a private study room with nothing more than a table and chairs for furnishings.

The twin clowns first offered to acquire coffee or tea for the duo as refreshments before getting into the main meat of the matter.

Neither of the duo decided to partake of any hot beverages at this time.

=Alright, Mister Antonio,= Logos began to say as they manifested a folder that was about a half-inch thick out of thin air. =After studying you through our Lord's eyes and parsing your brain during your time in the library here, we have managed to narrow down who might've adopted you all those decades ago.=

^Really?!^

<Unfortunately, we narrowed it down to two entirely different cat kaijin. Neither of which are associated with the Hellfire Alpha.^

^Say what?^

With a thump and a flourish, Logos laid out the dossiers pertaining to two entirely different cat-like kaijin from entirely different eras.

^What the hell…^

A part of Antonio had assumed that he would've been able to immediately recognize his adoptive mother's picture the instant he saw it. But alas, that wasn't the case.

His memories were too fuzzy, to the point that he could only remember her silhouette, her voice, and her scent. Unfortunately, these pictures were all that he had to work off of, and the two cat-like kaijin had very similar silhouettes to one another.

Stunned by this revelation, Antonio couldn't even squeak out a question. Thankfully, Lythero was present and able to do so for him.

^Alright, I don't know how Zhen Liu normally operates with you two, but I get the feeling that you're supposed to explain who these are to us?^

<Well, for starters, it appears that whoever was your adoptive mother decided to add an extra layer of confusion in case you figured out a way to restore your memories that didn't involve us. Also, we're normally supposed to just forcibly download the information relevant to him directly into his skull, but we don't have that luxury when it comes to you two,> Pathos explained while making an overexaggerated expression of sadness. <As such, we have no choice but to make a long powerpoint presentation about the kaijin who may or may not have adopted Antonio here.>

^A power what?^

Ignoring the question posed by the ignorant locals of Valresta, Pathos snapped their fingers and caused the two dossiers on the table to suddenly float up into the air before exploding into a series of hologram panels to their left and right.

Following the reading style of the Stampeding Bison continent, Pathos started with the series of panels to their left.

<Our initial dive into your brain suggested that the kaijin who adopted you was a cat kaijin we used to know as Nine Claws.>

^Nine…Claws?^ Lythero repeated with a quizzical look as he stared at the aforementioned kaijin's picture. Antonio, for his part, was silently taking in the features of this kaijin called Nine Claw and tried to see if the image of his cat lined up with the one in his head.

^Are you sure that name is accurate? She clearly has all ten of her claws,^ Lythero pointed out.

<=Take a look at the fur pattern on her paws and torso.=>

^Oh…I see it now. Wait why does the texture look different in comparison to the rest of her fur?^

<Those are the parts of her that were originally sourced from an Eternity Serpent that was at least… was it nine hundred or nine thousand years old?>

=I forget and our records from that time are currently sealed.=

<Bummer.>

Nine Claws was of average height and build in comparison to a human, but the inhuman factor that characterized all kaijin was made evident by three main features.

First were those aforementioned scale patterns.

Second, they had a surprisingly comely face with a mix of feline and human facial features that looked better than most feline Bloodliners. However, there was this hint of inhumanity to them that made it clearly unsettling to look at.

Apparently, the uncanny valley applied to kaijin as well.

Third, and more noticeable than the face, was the fact that Nine Claws' claws were impossibly huge.

As in, each claw was about as thick and long as a heavy saber.

=Nine Claws was a Kaijin created by a Lord that we remember having the Moniker of...what was it...ah, yes. Fate's Fool.=

^Fate's Fool? I never heard of that Kaijin Lord,^ Lythero stated with some certainty to his voice.

A little after Lythero and Antonio were introduced to the reality of Kaijin Lords and their kin, the two of them began to listen to the [End Ballads], the song dedicated to various Kaijin Lords, a touch more critically than before.

As such, they felt they would've noticed if a guy known as "Fate's Fool" was the subject to one of these ballads.

<Wait, that's what we called him,> Pathos interjected. <I think the wider world called him Gambler of Ruin and Riches.>

^Oh!^

The Gambler of Ruin and Riches was a warrior infamous for never having actually thrown a single punch, but taking down entire kingdoms and empires by challenging their leaders to games of chance.

These games seemed benign on the surface, but the games themselves had this strange reality defying effect to them that made whatever happened to them law.

The ballads went that whenever these games were played, monsters would be born and they would either bring blessing or ruin to whomever participated in them.

=Every single last one of the Fool's Kaijin were spawned from the games he participated in,= Logos explained. =He believed that a person's true character, their truest [Desire], were born during these moments of intense play.=

<Depending on what these people were willing to gamble upon, their property, their loved ones, even their own lives, the Gambler would create a kaijin based on what was won or lost.>

^That...explains the ballad...^

The ballad dedicated to the Gambler of Ruin and Riches had lyrics that detailed all the times he had ever helped or hurt someone with no discernable reason.

There was a time he once turned a simple woodcutter into a king with the help of a bottomless pond that would regularly produce fish with golden scales and special spiritual pearls that could perform all sorts of strange effects.

Another time detailed how he destroyed an entire sect that had a long and lauded reputation for being bringers of justice and charity. It was said that after the Gambler had challenged the leader to a game, the entire sect and its property were turned into stone.

In sharp contrast to these moments of extreme riches and ruins, though, there were also some very rare times where nothing happened at all.

During the time of the Gambler's active period, many people wondered whether his appearance and games were matter of [Coincidence] or [Fate].

^Alright, now that we know who made her, why is Nine Claws one of the choices?^ Lythero asked. ^Last I checked, the Gambler of Riches and Ruin was active way before even the Storm Queen or the Damned Drunkard. In other words, way too old to be relevant to us. So what gives?^

=That would normally be the case,but recent events has caused us to...re-examine some things= Logos answered honesty. =Nine Claws was one of the kaijin that managed to survive past their Lord's demise, so there's a possibility she survived in the same manner as Buzza had or through some other means.=

<Nine Claws core was focused on [Eternity],> Pathos followed up. <So there's a chance that prevented her breakdown...maybe.>