Trickster Wukong

"You bastards have been a thorn in my side since I arrived in this hell."

The Gremlins, their weapons drawn, raised their eyebrows for a second, the commander and Lieutenant both standing before the still seated King.

Despite his narrowed eyes and quiet nature, the King remained in the darkness, sitting on his throne as he watched.

"What's he saying?" The Commander asked, his heavy armour paired well with his axe that could be considered large for him.

"I'm not sure. But more importantly, that's him. The Crea…Human who took residence in the Dark Forest."

"Do not underestimate him. There's something else you should know…"

In a hushed voice, the Lieutenant spoke. 

However, his voice gradually increased upon realising the human couldn't understand them.

The commander spared the lieutenant a glance before looking back with a nod.

Staring at the human who remained unmoving, his golden-furred tail flapping restlessly behind him, the grin faded from his face.

-SNAP

Without wasting a second, the two gremlins shoot at the boy.

With the Commander heading low, pulling back his axe as he prepared to swing a devastating attack, the Lieutenant loomed behind him.

-SWOOSH

As the commander swung, his heavy axe was met with air; the human simply leapt back, pulling back his head and watching the attack pass by.

However, the Commander didn't falter as if he expected this.

His left hand released the two-handed axe and flicked forward a small dagger shooting toward the boy who still hadn't regained his footing.

Once again…

-SWOOSH

The boy's body arched backwards, the dagger shooting past him as he caught himself with an unexpected backflip.

Or at least, it was unexpected to the Gremlins who witnessed the almost unnatural-like feat of acrobatics.

'Are all humans like this?'

The Commander asked himself, regaining his composure as he felt the pressure on his back.

-HOP

Using the Commander's back as a ramp, the Lieutenant shot forward like a bullet, two daggers in each hand as he almost instantly appeared before the standing boy.

"Stand still, Monkey. I'm going to make you regret everything you've done."

Seeing this, the commander smirked, remembering what the Lieutenant had told him.

"You see his hands? They're crippled. He never uses them to block even the weakest attacks and they look like they were touched by Thanatosis himself."

It was true. 

Though the boy's hands were wrapped heavily in the same black cloth around his body, one could see the pale and black veined fingers sticking out from them, running up his arm.

It was because of this they knew this attack would work.

"A sneak attack that was almost impossible to completely dodge unharmed. He's a goner." 

The commander thought, his partner having the same thoughts.

However, the boy did not waver.

No, instead, they froze as they witnessed his hands come up in a manner that almost seemed practised, his dominant hand before the other.

-SHHHH

The boy's hand wrapped in black cloth brisked over the tip of the dagger in an elegant and controlled manner, with just enough force being put into them that they were sent off course, barely shooting past his throat.

Stumped, the Lieutenant, who still loomed in the air, looked up, meeting the boy's gaze only to see veins bulging in his neck and his teeth tightened as if he were enduring something.

"That hurt."

Despite this, the grin never left the boy's face as he mumbled menacingly, causing a cold chill to run down the Lieutenant's spine.

-BANG!!!

The Lieutenant hurled blood as his body curled around the foot of the boy which was shot into his gut.

Hitting the ground hard and struggling to catch his breath, the gremlin looked up, seeing the boy place his foot back on the ground.

For a second, he struggled to comprehend how the controlled and disciplined defence shown before and the crude and barbaric attack could be from the same fighter.

The kick possessed no technique of any kind, the boy simply striking with brute force as if he were kicking a football.

'I was right. He is crippled. Yet he's able to deflect perfectly in…a manner that requires as little contact as possible.'

The lieutenant noted, trying his best to get back up. 

However, upon noticing something, his bloody lips curled upwards as he grabbed one of his daggers, throwing it.

Seeing this, the boy didn't move. This further excited the lieutenant as he witnessed the Commander loom in the air behind the boy, his axe pulled back and ready to unleash.

'This is for my fallen army!'

The commander thought, ready to decapitate the turned human.

However, his eyes slowly widened as he watched the boy's tail flap behind his black cape, revealing itself once again as it flicked the cape upward. 

As it did, the Commander's heart skipped a beat upon noticing what the tail was holding.

Staring at the head of a familiar snake-headed female with green eyes and fangs. 

And though this specific head was bald, it was meaningless as the Commander instantly felt a gripping feeling of stiffness rise from within.

Meanwhile…

'W-Wha…'

The Lieutenant stammered.

Despite throwing the dagger, it barely travelled two feet, dropping to the ground, the lieutenant following it soon after as he failed to find the strength to get up.

Looking down the best he could, his eyes widened as he witnessed the three small gashes in his chest. 

So small it was easy to overlook while he was going through the pain of the kick.

Looking up, he ignored his stone partner, who dropped to the ground, shattering with a THUD. 

Instead, staring at the three dagger-like nails sticking out from the boy's boots, dripping with a see-through pink liquid.

'Empusa claws…Manticore poison…'

The lieutenant thought, recalling the female vampires and lion-headed creatures of Tartarus.

If he was right…

'That poison…I'll die within the next few minutes…'

Just as he thought this, his airway tightened as a boiling fever suddenly erupted from within.

Mustering whatever strength he had left, the lieutenant clawed at the ground, crawling away but abruptly stopped as the boy stomped on his nape.

"Where do you think you're going?" The boy spoke, his icey tone pairing well with his emotionless expression.

The lieutenant let out an awkward groan, his eyes moving upwards as he stared at the figure sitting on the throne in the dark.

"My King…"

Before he could finish, the boy's foot rose off the Gremlin, digging into his abdomen and kicking him upwards.

-BANG

The Gremlin shot into the air, blood flooding from his lips as he loomed in the air.

The boy simultaneously raised his leg once again, striking the Gremlin in the ribs as a loud BANG echoed in the hall.

-CRASH

The Gremlin shot toward the King at blurring speeds, crashing into the throne and through the seemingly wooden wall.

The boy watched this, stepping forward after a few seconds. 

The outside, just as dark as the inside of the hall, was quiet.

One would think the cries or battle between the gremlins and Dreadscale would fill the Dark Forest, but it was the opposite.

But this didn't bother the boy, almost as if he'd expected this.

His bright golden eyes, illuminating through the darkness, were all that could be seen stepping out of the throne room, then out of the village entirely as the attack had caused the Gremlin to shoot past the outer walls.

And as he did, standing atop the carnage which was the debris of dark wood, he surprisingly found a figure standing in the darkness facing him.

"You're the Gremlin King…" The boy spoke, breaking the silence as the two of them stood facing each other.

In the next second, he grinned.

"You're a bigger liar than I am." The boy laughed, smacking his knee and holding his stomach. 

However, he was still given no reply as his laughter rang in the forest.

"I know you can understand me. I'll give you three seconds before you meet a similar fate to your lackeys…"

"I'm sorry!"

In an instant, the mysterious and almost intimidating figure disappeared, replaced by a man with green skin and stick-like long arms, pairing awfully with his large potbelly with a brown rag around his waist, bowing before the boy with his forehead on the ground.

The boy watched with both eyebrows raised, his expression slowly changing to one of confusion.

'I knew he was a fraud but this seems…'

The boy sighed.

"Please accept my dearest apologies. I had no idea you were so powerful." 

The man begged, raising his head to reveal a bald head and short tusks.

"Is that so? If you did, would you still have relentlessly sent your Gremlins after me?" 

A vein bulged on the boy's forehead, the thought of what he'd been through because of this figure before him making him boil with anger.

"No, of course not. But now that you've attained your revenge, I hope you can find it in your pure heart to show me mercy." The King smiled while sweating like a pig.

'What a weasel.' The boy clicked his teeth.

"Though revenge…no, justice was one of my goals today, that wasn't my main reason for coming here."

"No, I wanted you, Grimnar the Whisperer." The boy smirked, staring at the blinking red light on Grinmar's brown rag.

Grimnar stared with wide eyes, his smile fading as he looked at the boy before him in a new light.

"How do you…wait, now that I think about it, how did you know I understood you…" 

Before Grimnar could finish, his look of bewilderment changed, his lips curling upwards.

"You bastard, I'll have fun listening to you die. This is what you get for messing with me." 

Grimnar twisted his head back, turning away from the boy as a bone-chilling sound entered both their ears.

-SSSSSSSS

The debris of wood cracked and broke as something heavy dragged through the dirt.

'Dreadscale, one of the creatures which perfectly depict the true nature of the dark forest.'

Grimnar grinned as he prepared to run after hearing the sound of flesh being torn apart as well as the screams of the boy.

'The Dark Forest's Glare is enough to play tricks on the mind, almost like Illusions, eventually making any intelligent being go mad after some time, no matter how strong you are.'

'But the Dreadscale is one of the few creatures to not only withstand the Glare but evolve to it and harness this power for itself, giving it the name 'Dark Ruler of the Forest'.'

Grimnar giggled simply at the thought of the events to come.

'Once you lock eyes with any head of the Basilisk, you'll fall victim to its illusions, forced to experience your worst nightmares come true in the form of shadows conjured by the second head. 

"That's if the Dreadscale does not get bored and kill you anyway…"

Silence.

Grimnar paused as his grin faltered, confused as a thought passed his mind.

'Shouldn't he be crying in pain right about now?'

Perhaps it was fear or maybe curiosity that made Grimnar turn his head, making sure to keep his head down so that he wasn't entranced by the Dreadscale. 

But as he did, his heart stopped with his breath as he watched in awe.

"You're not so bad."

The boys stood before the Dreadscale, staring straight into its eyes as he grinned.

As the seconds passed, the Dreadscale itself showed signs of confusion as the two heads glanced at each other, their gaze intensifying at the boy but to no avail.

"You call yourself a Basilisk? You're nothing compared to the Colossal Serpent I got in my pants." 

The boy laughed childishly, almost snapping the others out of their trance with his unnerving cackle.

'How is he…who is this human?'

-SSSSSSS!!!

The Dreadscale let out an ear-piercing hiss, the two heads baring their fangs as it leapt at the boy.

"Ruyi…"

The boy smiled, but this time, a small needle peeked from between his teeth, all while the Dreadscale prepared to devour him whole.

"Expand."

-BOOM!!!

A monumental pillar suddenly appeared with a BOOM, the dreadscale seemingly Decimated as the foot of the pillar lay tall and wide before the boy and Grimnar, the rest of it stretching over all of the dark forest.

Grimnar watched with a blank expression, frozen as he blinked a few times, unsure whether or not he was in a dream.

So much so that his lips moved on their own.

"Who…what are you? How…the Dreadscale's illusions…" He muttered mindlessly, unable to formulate a full sentence.

"What can I say, I have pretty good eyes." The boy turned, revealing his bright golden eyes paired with a cheeky grin.

"As for your other question…"

Turning and walking toward the still-lagged Grimnar, squatting before him, he rested his cheek on his fist.

"I am Illian Hale. And you have something I want."