Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1490: ...Losing the War...

[And it appears the intruder is about to make their move,] Nepherage noted as she watched the would-be saboteur enter the workshop. [We should...wait a minute...why am I suddenly now remembering that I haven't seen Rianna appear this entire battle?]

[Huh? What are you...oh, right...]

Hurricroak had initially wanted to be snarky and poke fun at Nepherage comments, until she also realized that she had forgotten about Rianna's presence.

To be more precise, she had forgotten that Rianna had existed entirely.

[How the hell...?]

[I...see...]

The only one amongst the kaijin who didn't seem to react to this information was Frosttusk.

Then again, it's often said that every element in the universe, [Ice], had the ability to remember everything.

[Miss Rianna…has learned…a new trick...]

...Wait, what?...

"Well...dang. I didn't expect them to be able to fight off the Calamity Triplets so...wait a minute, am I swearing less?"

While Alicia, Bellona, Zhen Tai, Zhen Xing, Lyona and Taurna were fighting against the Calamity Triplets, Axer did the smart thing and hid himself away in the workshop.

Despite his cultivation level, Axer wasn't much of a fighter, so he knew that he would only be getting in the way if he tried to assist his friends in fighting the bastards who were aiming to trash his home...again.

Besides, from what he could see, they were more than capable of laying the hurt on these bastards and then some.

"Okay, I can now safely conclude that I should definitely give Alicia and her friends a discount on their commission," Axer began to mumble to himself. "That or I should probably give them a reward in the form of—"

BOOM!

"—WHAT THE FUCK?!"

But before Axer could finish his thoughts, a crashing sound coming from inside of his shop suddenly stole his attention.

He was just about to freak out and sound the alarm that something had gone wrong until he suddenly remembered something important.

'Wait...wasn't there a seventh person who should be fighting out there?'

Unfortunately, before he could even think of the answer behind that question, a strange ringing sound suddenly echoed out and knocked his ass out.

Well, lulled him into a deep sleep.

"What the…"

...Wait, we need to rewind a little bit...

'It appears that Master Balen was correct. Those fools left their home base undefended because of how loud the Calamity Triplets were.'

When Balen Redoxa sent the Calamity Triplets to fuck with Axer and his newly acquired allies, something in the back of his head told him that it wasn't going to be that easy.

As such, he made sure to not only send those walking disasters but also a hidden factor: Bonda the Lullaby.

'And with this little bell that Master Balen lent me, I'll be able to finish this job quicker than those fools will get buried,' Bonda mused as they quietly entered the workshop and prepared to use the [Crane's Slumbering Bell]. 'I just know we're going to make wonderful music.'

True to his name, Bonda had a rare formula and even rarer aether art that made them able to become as [subtle as a lullaby]. In tandem with their skills as an aether musician, Bonda had found great success in jobs relating to stealth, such as kidnapping, information extortion, and assassination.

After all, everyone slept to lullabies.

Nobody questioned a conversation in a dream.

And who could be blamed for an accidental death, save the sleepy victim themselves?

And now, as subtle as a cricket's song in the middle of the night, Bonda was about to put on a performance that would lull Axer and his friends to their graves.

At least, that was the plan.

'Now all I need to do is…wait…why am I sensing the most vicious source of bloodlust coming from—'

"Hello there."

'Wait, what?'

Bonda had done this sort of thing a thousand times before. In those previous events, he would use a special technique to make his body, his very existence, to be akin to that of a lullaby, a song so soft, subtle, and known by all that most people would outright ignore it the moment they heard it.

[Stealth through acknowledgement].

However, this little trick only worked on those familiar with things such as lullabies.

While music is a fundamental part of nature, with many known species of animal using it as a means of communication in a variety of forms, some other species use these natural songs as a means of hunting. Not in the sense that they use music to hunt; rather, they listen to the singing of others in order to find their prey.

The moment Bonda had entered the workshop, humming his little song, he had painted himself as a big old target for keen-eared predators.

Which, in this case, was a rather tall woman armed with a very big bow and arrow.

Bonda was shocked to find that he was caught in the act of sneaking, so much so that he skipped right past the "lashing out in anger" phase and went right into the "how the hell did you find me" phase.

^How the fuck did you notice me?! ,^ Bonda cursed in alarm. ^Wait, I don't normally curse, what the fuck? Wait, how the fuck did I not notice you?!^

For a brief moment, Rianna had seriously thought of answering this question in an honest, straightforward manner.

She was tempted to explain that the reason why she was able to notice him so quickly was because she had learned from her time in Insect Hell that listening was crucial to one's survival.

Predatory insects learned to listen to certain songs to know which prey was safe to eat, while also learning to move silently in order to get the jump on their prey.

Meanwhile, prey insects learned to listen for any possible disturbances to their melodies in order to know when something had gone wrong.

On top of that explanation, though, Rianna wanted to explain that the reason why she went unnoticed was because she learned how to make her existence be equivalent to that of an insect.

People had a tendency to ignore music some of the time, but a lot of people and beasts had a tendency to ignore small insects going about their business.

However, Rianna immediately ditched this idea of answering Bonda's questions the moment she noticed that the man was about to try and pull some shady shit with that weird bell in his hands.

As such, Rianna did the most sensible thing she could think of in this moment…

^Fuck you, that's why.^

BANG!

"Grk!"

…which was to curse him out and release the notched arrow in her hands.

The bow in her hands made a vicious twanging sound as the arrow flew with such speed and ferocity that Bonda was sent flying through the wall of Axer's workshop and smashed into a neighboring building.

Now, this moment should've sealed the deal and secure victory for Rianna and her friends… but that wasn't the case.

In the process of being sent flying in such a brutal manner, Bonda had released his grip on the [Crane's Slumbering Bell] before he could fully activate it and direct its power. However, he did manage to charge it up with just enough power for it to still unleash its effect on full blast.

"Fuck."

To Rianna's credit, she did notice the falling bell and did try to make a move for it but failed to react fast enough to make a difference.

As the [Crane's Slumbering Bell] impacted the floor, a clear tone rang out and echoed not only through the house but beyond it as well.

To most warriors, at least those who had their guard up, this sound was enough to make them a little drowsy and a little more careless with their movements.

In other words, the effects were like a mild sedative.

To those who cultivated [Chaos] though, this bell was one of the worst things that could happen to them during a moment of intense conflict. In their case, this tone wasn't acting like a mild sedative; it was acting like a maximum-strength barbiturate mixed with pure grain alcohol.

"Whoa..."

Which was why Rianna was doubling over with woozy feeling as the tone washed over her.

As for those who were predominantly made of [Chaos], well, let's just say that they got knocked out colder than a boxer getting their jaw caved in.

[Shit! We have to warn the-zzzzzz.]

Hiding in the ceiling of the workshop, Nepherage, Frosttusk, and Hurricroak had all taken a simultaneous nap due to the power of this bell.

As for those beyond the confines of this workshop...well...

In the case of a recent team battle, it was a damn good thing a victor was decided beforehand.

In the case of a certain busybody who had just went through hell in pretending to be a honeypot, let's just say that he had a little too much to drink.