The Monster Monarch System-Chapter 175: A Dark History Unfolds

"The mountain came crashing down upon you," Mika said, "I couldn’t sense your soul energy anymore so how... how did you make it out?"

Rem’s eyes widened, he remembered that she was a sensor – she had the ability to track a person down as long as they had soul energy.

’So she was sensing our movements?’ Rem thought yet he shrugged, it didn’t matter much anyway.

"Also your soul energy has changed, it’s more powerful," Mika said, "How did all of this happen?"

Rem shrugged, his crimson eyes glowing a bit.

"I don’t know, after the cave-in, I woke up and was able to use my soul energy to clear a path to the surface," Rem said, "It wasn’t easy, I’d have joined the fight sooner,"

Mika was silent, it made sense but at the same time it didn’t... she would have sensed him paving a way to the surface.

"If there’s nothing else, please leave," Rem said, "It’s been a stressful day and I want to rest,"

Mika nodded, standing up and making her way out of the tent – her eyes lingered on Rem.

"I’m just glad you’re okay," She muttered before leaving. Rem sighed as he settled down on the ground – he had to rest, the Reawakening had taken a lot of his energy.

#####

"Apprentice Rem!"

Rem was stirred from his sleep as a voice called him from outside his tent, he rubbed his eyes and made his way to the entrance. Upon getting to the entrance, Rem met the vice-captain standing with her arms crossed.

"The Captain wants to see you," She said, "Follow me,"

Rem silently followed her as they passed by several tents, one could tell by the silence in the camp that everybody was sleeping. The serene atmosphere was perfect for resting and Rem yawned, he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

The Apprentice soon found himself standing in front of the largest tent, it had a pale pink color but the width of the tent was perfect to house even twenty people.

"He awaits you," The Vice-captain said and stopped, she hadn’t been given orders to enter the tent. Rem didn’t stop although his guard was up, he pulled aside the curtains that served as the entrance and stared inside.

Yokama sat cross-legged in the center of the tent, his wolf-like ears trembling as his eyes watched Rem’s figure.

"You called me?" Rem asked as he entered the tent, the air was filled with tension and it was strange – something about the Captain seemed eerily familiar yet he couldn’t grasp it.

Memories raced in his head, flashbacks making an appearance but he couldn’t remember it... Even at that, Rem felt like this man had taken something important away from him.

"Even while standing before me, you still don’t know who I am?" Yokama asked, his voice dark and gruff, it was the exact opposite of the voice he used to talk with the squad.

Rem stared blankly at him, his crimson eyes slowly but surely recognizing him... they swirled with soul energy as Rem focused, trying to remember – forcing himself to remember.

And then it all clicked...

"Murderer!" Rem screamed out, his once emotionless voice giving off the fury of hell.

Yokama’s lips perked into a smile as memories resurfaced.

#####

The streets of Onio town were bustling and filled with lively activity, on these streets, two figures blended in with the rest – they looked peculiar to each other because they shared the same features, black hair and deep gray eyes.

"Dad," The boy said with a smile on his face as he held his father’s hand, "Where are we heading to?"

"The Casino, Rem," The man said, "We’re going to make a lot of money tonight, I can feel it,"

He pumped his fist and thrusted it into the air.

"Didn’t Mom say that gambling was bad?" Rem asked with a confused expression on his cute face.

"Shh, don’t say that," The man said while patting Rem’s hair, "Do you see your mom complain when we bring money home?"

"No," Rem said with a nod – his Mom never complained when money came home, in fact, she was very happy whenever they brought back money from the casino.

"Women are like that," The Man said, "You’ll understand it when you’re older and have a woman of your own,"

Rem nodded again, eagerly listening to his father’s words. They always had a hint of wisdom in them.

They soon arrived at the big building known as the Casino, its towering figure making Rem’s eyes widen no matter how many times he came here.

The man opened the wide doors of the casino and stepped inside with Rem at his side, the boy hugging his scarf at the chilling breeze that rushed by.

"Hey Greg!"

"What’s up man?"

"Brought your son with you again, huh? He’s really cute,"

"Came for another day of winnings,"

Moments after entering, a lot of compliments had already been brought their way. Why wouldn’t there be? Greg was a successful and well-known gambler in this casino, every night he came here – he always made a lot of money, although sometimes he was able to make away with a huge load of money.

Greg looked back at Rem and nodded. Rem knew what those eyes meant, it was time to get to work!

"Who’s up for a game?" Greg asked.

#####

"Argh, I lost," A middle-aged man gritted his teeth and dropped his cards on the table, Greg took the man’s chips to his side of the table and gave a small smile.

"Good game," He said and the man nodded, they shook hands before the man left the table. Greg turned to Rem who had stood a little far away from the man and gave a small nod, it was their signal.

The man soon turned to the chips that lay on the table, he calculated his profits for the night and smiled in satisfaction.

"A gold coin worth of chips," Greg said, this was one of those few days where he made a huge haul and like every good man, he knew when to quit. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself and lose all the money that he had earned with his son – Gambling was a game for the strong, not for the weak.

Just as Greg prepared to stand up, the doors of the casino parted and revealed a Burly beastkin who had wolf-like ears and a hardened gaze. His gaze met that of the beastkin and Greg subconsciously gulped, something felt wrong here...

Something felt very wrong.