Dale (POV)

[Tamer Gong Shu (Beijing) - The impact took out all comms in the city. Lights and vehicle engines are still running. I don't see any loss of life on the streets, but people are confused.

Tamer Rahul Singh (Delhi) - The political opposition parties are leading protesters towards the Red Fort to demand answers from the government. They want the Prime minister to resign for letting the pillar of light fall on Delhi and disrupt comm towers. Damn idiots! They have to make everything about politics, even in a crisis.

Tamer Alexa Rodes (London) - Thank god I can still use this App! I was freaking out when everyone here lost their internet connection. My parents are wondering how I can still communicate with people online. Should I tell them about our App communication feature?

Tamer Alexi Petrov (Moscow) - I am at the site where the pillar of light landed. I see something coming through. Am I hallucinating? Are those God’s Angels? Why do they have Bird heads and metallic wings?

Tamer Xu Fei (Beijing) - A freaking army of Snakemen and Lizardmen covered in bone armor and wielding Bone spears are coming out of the pillar of light. Wait! Is that a Dinosaur? Wow, they are riding on a Brachiosaurus. Herds of Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Ankylosaurs have appeared. Oh, some of them are heading this way! I gotta go!"

Tamer Jagan Dev (Delhi) - Monsters are attacking us! They look like werewolves, werecats, werebears, were-any beast you can imagine! I saw one of them with an Elephant head using its tusks to skewer a police officer! If it is Ganesha reincarnated, I am done praying to him!

Tamer Jack Reed (London) - A fucking giant wart-covered Toad just passed through the pillar and crashed into Big Ben! There are short Frog-men dressed in monk robes leaping out of the Pink Light. They are using their long disgusting tongues to grab and choke people. My hand got paralyzed when its saliva fell onto it. There is a giant Salamander the size of an elephant spewing corrosive acid onto everything it comes across. God save us!

Tamer Zain Khan (New York) - You all think you got the worst, but we have helicopter-sized Dragon-Flys and Moths swarming over the skyscrapers here. My apartment got demolished by a tank-sized Hercules Beetle! I was lucky that I was out on the streets when it happened.

Tamer Sofia Katherine (Moscow) - I saw my neighbor Alexi Petrov cut down in half by a monster’s metal wing that looks like Katana swords. Am I a horrible person for saying that those wings look beautiful? Their movement is so graceful, and those Eagle eyes are mesmerizing...

Tamer Drona Patel (Delhi) - Centaurs! I see big hairy Centaurs covered in Tree Bark armor and wielding sharp-edged wooden double-blade axes. They are cleaving cars in half in one swing. Oh, Shiva! Is that a Rhino with a two-handed Warhammer in his hands? It's plowing through the protesters who were massing around the parliament building.

Tamer Dave Carson (Washington) - Where the fuck is the military? Why are there no fighter planes or military drones fighting back against these oversized insects? Humanoid Ice-sickle armed Mantises are slaughtering people. None of our bullets are piercing through their carapace. How the hell is Ice armor bulletproof?

Tamer Jacques Macron (Paris) - Everyone is escaping the city on foot. Most streets have building debris, half-dissolved bodies, and corroded vehicles. I saw the dead body of a Giant Toad on the way. Someone used a rocket launcher to blow its belly open. Oh, thank god! The army is finally here! What took them so long?

Tamer Andrei Volkov (Moscow) - Eat artillery! Eat missiles! Eat Lazers! HAHAHA! The army is throwing everything at these Garudas. Bombers are dropping munitions to level every building around the pillar of light. Let’s see if those overgrown metal birds survive that punishment. 

Tamer Gao Lu Bu (Beijing) - It's GODZILLA! A thirty-foot-tall T-Rex is shooting lightning from its mouth. It just took out six heavy tanks that were bombarding the Lizardmen infantry. Oh... it's not just him, but the other big Dinos have lightning arcing across their bodies... all the attack helicopters in the air were shot down. This is not Japan! You came to the wrong country, you stupid Kaiju wannabees!

Tamer Dimitri Semenov (Moscow) - Dear lord in heaven! Why are they still alive? Wait … is that a barrier? Oh shit, I think one of them used their Mana to create a forcefield.

Tamer Ragnar Lothbrok (London) - A General came here and told all survivors to evacuate. They will stay here and keep these monsters occupied while we gather the wounded and weak. I told them to stay and help them fight, but they said the others needed me.

Tamer Mustafa Belgami (Delhi) - The army is urging us all to head to the safety of the south. According to them, there are no signs of Pink Pillars in that direction. The beast men here are multiplying faster than they can be blown up. There is no end to those invaders unless we destroy those pillars]

Dale, Rebecca, and Mash watched several Holo-screens in the main hall, which mirrored the video messages shared by the Monster App Tamer. Missiles, precision-guided bombs, lazer weapons, and artillery shells rained down onto the Monsters that spawned around the Pink Pillars across the globe. 

Pools of fresh blood covered the streets with dismembered corpses of civilians, crushed vehicles, and rubble from the buildings that collapsed. Sirens, gunfire, screams, and monstrous cries filled the air. 

“I am glad the twins fell asleep before this nightmare began.”

Dale and Mash nodded in agreement with Rebecca. 

“Is there a Pink Pillar near us?” Rebecca asked Mash.

“From what has been shared so far, it looks like only four major cities in North America got hit. All of them are far away from here and are pouring out swarms of Ice-Bugs.”

“What about the rest of the world?” Dale asked.

“I had my Butler compile the info, have a look.”

Mash then ordered his AI Butler to share the data on one of the Holo Screens.

[The Union of America:

New York - Ice Bugs

Washington DC - Ice Bugs

Chicago - Ice Bugs

Los Angeles - Ice Bugs

Huston - Ice Bugs

 

The Eurasian Federation:

Moscow - Metal Birds

Saint Petersburg - Metal Birds

Delhi - Wood Beastmen

Mumbai - Wood Beastmen

Beijing - Lightning Saurian

Shanghai - Lightning Saurian

 

The New Europa Republic:

Berlin - Poison Amphibians

Paris - Poison Amphibians

London - Poison Amphibians

Rome - Poison Amphibians

 

The Oceania Confederacy: 

None

 

ORB:

None]

“Looks like ORB and the Confederacy were spared. But, on the other hand, the Federation got the worst of it.”

Dale commented as he studied the data.

“Now that we know Fluffals wasn’t bluffing about the end of the world, I wonder if anyone out there is fighting back by using the Monster App?”

“There are a few, but most of them are using their powers to escape the fight.”

“Do you think the President is safe?” Rebecca asked Mash.

“Tried to contact my colleagues in the secret service through our encrypted comms several times with no luck.”

“Have you tried contacting them through the Monster App?”

“Last I checked, the App only appeared in commercial phones with AI butlers. The Secret service, which guards the President, has a no tolerance policy for those things.”

“But you use one!”

“I am not guarding the President, and the threat from Fluffals wasn’t high on our risk list.”

“Rebecca, go easy on Mash. None of us expected something like this to happen.”

Dale came to Mash’s defense.

“So what do we do if the President is… gone? The twins… we need to tell them….”

“For now, we monitor the situation outside. If the President or his people survived the invasion, they would reach out to us.”

Mash reassured Rebecca while placing both his hands on her shoulders.

Rebecca took deep breaths and calmed herself while staring at the Holo-Screens. The invaders were battling the armies of the great power. Cities were being demolished, thousands of civilians and soldiers were being devoured every minute, and there was no end to the stream of reinforcements pouring through the pillars of light.

“Why are our armies being overwhelmed?”

“Our armies were trained to fight each other, not monsters with magical powers.” Dale pointed out.

“Not to mention that with all our comms down, they aren’t able to coordinate with each other. Our best weapons need network support to be effective. Otherwise, it's back to the weaponry that needs line of sight.”

Mash explained as he stared at a Holo-screen with a Tamer helping a soldier who lost a leg to an Ice-Bug. The wounded man needed medical aid, but the battlefield was so chaotic that it was impossible to find a medic by calling one.

Hope seemed lost, but then a Medic arrived at the scene behind another Tamer. The wounded soldier asked how they found him. The Army had reorganized around Tamers, who were retired combat veterans. These people are now serving as the new center of the comms network.

It was disorganized but better than nothing.

The other Holo-screens showed that Tamers worldwide had begun working with their national armies to coordinate and locate the areas that needed reinforcements. Soldiers with the rank of Commanders and Generals began appearing on the Monster App videos after an hour, each giving out orders for all their Tamers to relay to the forces on the frontlines.

The adaptation and integration of the Monster App’s internal communication feature weren’t restricted to the military. Millions of civilians activated the Monster App to communicate and search for their loved ones.

Those who were cut off behind enemy lines transmitted their locations for help. They were told to find a secure shelter and hide if there weren’t any soldiers nearby.  

Tamers, who had already evolved their partners to their second form, decided to transform and fight their way to safety. But unfortunately, those who fought alone against hordes and swarms were overwhelmed and ripped apart.

Those that fought together in large groups survived their battles intact. Their kill count was far higher than the regular armed forces. This didn’t go unnoticed by the top brass of the Great Powers. They wanted to get their troops to acquire the same power but were disappointed when they found out how long it took to raise a partner.

Fortunately, a few soldiers had experimented with the App and evolved their partners already. After being granted permission to use the Monster App in combat, they transformed into beings that slaughtered everything before them. 

The armed forces slowly began to rally around these soldiers and civilians. This strategy turned the tide of the losses suffered by the armed forces of the Great Powers. The fighting went on through the night until dawn.

Dale, Mash, and Rebecca did not sleep a wink through it all as their eyes were glued to the screens showing Tamer's learning to fight with monster skills in unimaginable ways. Some Tamers used their mana to create Tsunamis. Earthquakes and Hurricanes eradicate the hordes and swarms of monsters.

Those that focused on weaponry over elemental powers weren’t inferior in comparison.

In one of the videos, a Tamer of Chinese origin stood atop a shopping mall in a small town called Rockville, surrounded by a large swarm of Ice-Bugs. There was no sign of the military in the area, so he decided to fight alone to protect the town's people who sought refuge in the mall.

A four-foot-tall Golden-Metal Bee emerges from the Tamer’s phone.

Its body is covered in Black stripes, while its eyes are made of Cut Sapphire. Two massive conical black metal Lance Swords are attached to two arms. It has no stinger at the body's base, but it doesn't seem necessary since it has two lances. The thrusters on its back are generating enough thrust to keep it hovering.

The phone flashes and then creates an opaque sphere of light around the Tamer.

The Monster App shares the Tamer's details with those watching the fight through the app.

[Summoning Monster: Bee Paladin (Barbatos)

Type: Body, Sun, Attack, Insect, Metal

Mastery: Melee Weapons

Skills: Cross-Slash (Beginner), Lance-Dance (Beginner), Drill Lance (Beginner), Metal Brazing (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Cross-Slash - Monster executes two consecutive slashes with dual weapons on one opponent.

Lance-Dance - The monster performs a complex series of movements with a lance to increase the penetration power.

Drill Lance - The Lance can rotate at high speed, temporarily turning it into a drill.

Metal Brazing - Cracks on the metal body can be mended after one minute of rest]

The sphere shatters and reveals a Humanoid Bee Knight wielding two black metal conical Lance Swords. A Paladin-style Bumble Bee Battle helmet covers its head. Most of the body is covered in Gold metal armor and black stripes. On his back is a pair of thrusters.

The thrusters on his back boosted his thrust, allowing Zao to fly like a missile straight into the oncoming swarm at high speed. His two weapons aim straight ahead like a mounted Knight during a joust. The Ice-bugs release projectile Ice attacks at the incoming Zao, but they either miss him or get deflected at his traveling speed.

Zao activates the Drill Lance that creates embers and borrows through several Ice-Bugs in one charge. The dead bodies fall to the Earth while the other bugs screech in anger and charge toward Zao.

His Drill Lance is deactivated, then  Zao uses several X-Slash skills on the bugs who had come too close. Finally, when he is about to be surrounded, his thrusters produce massive flames, which allow him to break through the encirclement.

Once out of danger, he performs a Lance Dance, which causes his two black lance swords to radiate energy. Zao then repeats the cycle of his attacks from Drill Lance and again charges into the swarm.

Over the town of Rockville, a giant Rhino Stag Beetle with Ice armor so dense that it resembles diamonds charge toward Zao. But unfortunately, he is preoccupied with his Metal Brazing skill to mend all the cracks on his armor.

Every time the Ice bugs swarmed him in a combined attack, he received those cracks. Luckily his metal armor could withstand their attacks even if they were not the Defense type.

Just before the monstrous beast impales Zao with its Icicle Horn, the thrusters on Zao's back release enough thrust to jump over the incoming attack, which leaves the Giant Ice Rhino Beetle stunned.

Zao stops his thrusters and reorients his body to face downward. They re-ignite re-ignite once more while Zao activates the Drill lance skill. The thrusters now boost their penetration power.

Double Speed, Double Penetration, and Drill power hit above the Diamond-like shell. However, no matter how much the Ice Rhino Beetle shell looked like a diamond, it was still made of Ice and could not resist Zao's ultimate move for more than a few seconds.

Zao’s lances bore through its massive body and came out from its underside covered in Bug slime and guts.

The Giant Rhino Stag Beetle released a horrific death cry as its massive body fell on Rockville's police station.

Zao hovered over the town, his helmet sliding back to reveal his sweat-drenched face as he raised one of his Black Metal Lance swords triumphantly.

“Woah! This dude took an entire swarm on his own and came out on top.”

Dale said while clapping his hands at the screen, which displayed that incredible battle. It inspired him to join the war against the monsters. But before he could celebrate further, the screen showed another swarm flying towards Rockville.

The Tamer recording Zao yelled out that they needed more Tamers to come to their aid ASAP, or everyone in the mall would be wiped off if they took down their only guardian.

“Guys, I know our mission is to protect the President’s family, but I can’t live with myself if I don’t do something to help save lives.”

“Dale, I feel the same, but….”

Rebecca wanted to say something more but stopped when she noticed that Dale was determined to leave.

“Let me help Zao and his people!”