The Longers. Also called "Monsters", "Calamities", "Children of the Apocalypse" or any other derogatory name. A species that has no form of its own, but easily recognizable because of their misunderstood language and their black aura. Their eyes are always a reddish-green color that is called "the Longer color". It is easy to see that a human is a human, because they have a basic shape. Some are bigger and some smaller than others, but their shape never changes much. The Longers, on the other hand, don't have that same characteristic as humans, as the Kemonos or as the Morris.

And the one that was heading towards Bibi was monstrous, disgusting and overpowering.

He was a level 6, one of the highest levels known for Longers. They could go up to level 10, but "6" was already a scary number. Levels 1 and 2 were little bugs, often child Longers, levels 3 to 5 were more mature, capable of quickly beating a human or an inexperienced Kemono in battle... but levels 6 and 7 increased the difficulty like a rocket. We went from Longers capable of defeating in groups to monsters that could reach tens of meters or even a hundred. They could easily defeat an army of men and it was not advisable to fight or approach such creatures. Their aura was nauseating and their power was to be feared.

Level 8s were the type of Longers that could defeat thousands of experienced fighters without any trouble. They were the ones at the highest level that were on the main continent of Arcave: Spital. The only continent where humans lived, cohabiting with the Kemonos. Level 8s were extremely rare, but they could destroy human civilization if they attacked in numbers. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be many of them.

Level 9s had only been seen twice in 500 years. Some remembered the horror they had brought... as they had shown up at the same time, 20 years before.

But they were defeated by a single woman.

After they had uprooted four entire cities in less than ten minutes.

Levels 10 were only legends, but in the ancient writings of mankind, it would seem that they really existed. Nevertheless, it was better if it was really just a legend... Because if not, the day they appear, then maybe that will be the end of humanity and the Kemonos.

Even if levels 8 to 10 were the most frightening, they were rare and calamities that could end humanity.

But the Longer that Na and Bibi had to beat was still scary, because to face it only with two people was suicide.

- And Na can't even fight...!

Bibi loaded her weapon with lightning, ready to fight. She felt her heart beating strongly in her chest and drops of sweat formed on her forehead. She never thought she would have to deal with such a monster... This was too complicated a test, even for her! If Na could fight, then maybe she would have a chance, but alone...

- .......

The Longer approached them ferociously, slime dripping from its slug-like head. Its rabbit body was torn in many places, its fur dirty and disgusting. Its legs struggled to carry his heavy body and it moved with difficulty towards them, but its urge to eat supported it. It let noises from hell come out of its throat, with each scream of slime flowing from its mouth. It was an ugly brown, as if it were polluted water. Bibi took advantage of its slowness to quickly check Na's condition. He had fallen on his buttocks, watching in terror as the Longer approached them. She wanted him to get up, to take courage and fill his heart with determination, but such a powerful enemy was risky... He had told her he had no Power, so forcing him would probably do no good... She was sure he could fight, that he had something inside of him that he didn't know, but telling him such a thing wouldn't help.

After all, they didn't know each other. Na didn't know who Bibi was, Bibi didn't know who Na was.

- If I'm wrong, I put him in danger.

Even though she was sure Na was not as weak as he thought, she could still be wrong. In the past, she had been convinced of things that had ultimately been wrong... She couldn't force him to fight if fear ran through his body. The Longer was meters away from them, but given its size, it could soon reach them with its giant rabbit feet. Bibi bent down and prepared to fight. To pass this test, to be able to go home and help Na, she would have to give all her energy to defeat this Longer. Maybe the test Bibha was offering them was just to test their courage, maybe giving up was the answer...

- BUT I AM NOT SO WEAK!!!

With that thought, Bibi started to run towards the Longer being meters high. Na blinked as she saw her go and hid his face from the dust flying in the breeze she had caused. She was so fast...!

- I CAN BEAT IT!

Bibi knew her own abilities, so she knew she could do it. Even if it was a level 6, even if this Longer could kill her in a few short seconds, she could do it. She was alone in this fight...

But she knew she was being counted on.

Winning was necessary for her and for Na.

She braked in front of the giant paw that had just hit the ground and jumped on it. She twirled her weapon in her hands and thrust it into the slimy fur. The Longer let out a high-pitched scream, which made Bibi flinch. The noise was awful and she blocked her ears with her shoulders, not wanting her eardrums to be shattered. The longer waved its paw, but Bibi managed to hold on to its fur. She touched her metal weapon with her right hand and gritted her teeth. It charged with more lightning and she nodded violently before releasing it. The discharge was overpowering, enough to fry a human on the spot. Bibi was not affected by her own lightning, so she was safe, but the Longer was immobilized by the attack. At least, its leg was. Bibi was quickly covered in the Longer's viscous slime and she spat in disgust. She took her weapon in hand, pulling it out of the Longer's skin and was about to attack again when something caught her throat. She coughed and closed one eye in pain. Bibi noticed that it was a hand…

And that hundreds of them were emerging from the wound she had inflicted.

- ????!!!!!

She tried to pull away, but the other hands began to grab her from all sides. Her legs were quickly immobilized as well as her hands. She clicked her tongue and took a deep breath, avoiding swallowing slug slime. She closed her mouth and concentrated on herself. She opened her eyes wide and forced her entire body... which electrified with intensity. The Longer screamed and the hands began to move their fingers in all directions, spasms running through them. Bibi pulled away with ease and grabbed her weapon before using all her strength to strike the paw with ferocity. The hands rammed into her and forced her off of it, bringing her to the ground. She braked with the help of her weapon, which she pressed into the ground and quickly stopped. She shook her head and her dark blue hair swayed from side to side. She clutched her scarf tied around her neck and took her weapon in her right hand.

- Longers are... disgusting.

She hated them.

- Hands sticking out of its insides...?

The world would be better off without them.

- It's giant and I don't know where its heart is…

For a test or not…

Bibi wanted to eliminate every last one of them.

She charged herself with lightning and did the same with her weapon. She stared intently at the Longer in front of her and gritted her teeth. Na was still behind, unable to muster up any courage. Even though seeing Bibi fight impressed him, she didn't seem to be winning and he was without Power. Despite what she had told him, he couldn't see himself fighting such a... gigantic monster.

- B-Bibi...

The girl tensed up before she started to run. The Longer's paw slammed into the ground, narrowly missing the girl. Bibi braked only with her right foot, taking some time to stop, and then crouched under the Longer. She propelled herself into the air and loaded her weapon with as much lightning as she could, her two hands carrying it. It might be heavy, but it would not stop her in her tracks. It was impossible to know where the heart of this monster was, but if it was inside the slug's side, she was going to have a very hard time piercing it. Bibi used all her strength to slice in front of her with her weapon, as if she had a sword. She aimed at the Longer's left knee and her metal bar went into its skin. She screamed fiercely, giving herself courage, and unloaded everything into the monster. The Longer sputtered and tore the skies with its scream, but this time she did not block her ears. She had to kill it... as quickly as possible!

- DIIIIIEEEE!!

She placed her feet on the Longer's fur and withdrew her weapon with violence, tearing a sinew in the process. Purple blood; the Longer's; ran down her, but she didn't move. She grabbed the monster's fur so she wouldn't fall and drove her weapon into its skin again. Her hands were about to grab it when she electrified it with force. She gritted her teeth and her hands shook so tightly, but she didn't stop. She picked up her weapon again at her side... and stabbed him again. She picked up her weapon again at her side... and planted it again. She took it back again......

And planted it again.

Each time she made a new hole in the struggling monster's skin, new hands came at her. New screams, even higher pitched, came from its slobbering mouth. Purple blood with a nauseating smell came out of the wounds, sometimes spurting on Bibi's body.

But she continued to hurt it, gnashing her teeth.

She did not smile, she would not laugh. Bibi hated the Longers and she would kill them with inhuman ferocity if she had to, but that didn't make her crazy. It didn't make her fanatical about killing and blood.

She just hated them.

Bibi could see part of the insides of the Longer's leg. She planned to pierce its entire leg and make sure it couldn't walk again. With one leg gone, she could easily defeat it. Her lightning bolts were far too powerful for this Longer: its hands were shaking, in spasms. Bibi would not let herself be touched. She would easily pass this test and show Na how to defeat one of these shits! She charged her weapon with a lot of electricity, using her other hand to send a powerful shock, and aimed at the bone she could see in front of her. If she broke it, its leg wouldn't be able to function...!

But the hands grabbed her weapon.

- ??!!!

They had managed to move, despite the spasms. They were holding her weapon tightly and Bibi couldn't move them anymore. She let a powerful energy discharge go out of her body, but the hands continued to hold the weapon.

- Fuck!

The hands began to grab her. Her legs, her body, her arms and her face. She closed her right eye and used all her strength to throw the weapon at that bone…

But the hands managed to throw the weapon to the ground.

Bibi did not have the metallic bar in her hand anymore and in such a position, taking it back to her side was impossible. She could not move, totally immobilized. Bibi tried to struggle, to use her lightning bolts, but nothing worked. The Longer raised its leg high into the sky... and then hit the ground with force. Bibi's head hurt and her whole body shook, reverberating with the violence of the Longer.

- S-S...

She had her eyes closed and resumed a breathing pattern. She had to find a way to get out of here...fast. Hands were trying to get into her mouth, through her nostrils or even her ears. Their fingers were scratching her skin and the hands were forcing as much as they could on her body. Bibi could not open her eyes, she had to resist and struggle even if it was useless.

- ......

The Longer's leg stood up again. When it reached its maximum height, it drove it into the ground again, although this time it created a small crater. Bibi felt the blow through her entire body and thought she would break, but she resisted. Her breathing became irregular. She—

- BIBIIIII !!!!

A distant cry. A weak, desperate cry. It was so low that it did not reach Bibi's ears.

Yet Na had screamed with all his might.

The young man with the dark, unkempt hair was still there, watching the horrible spectacle before him. He couldn't see Bibi anymore, especially at this distance... After all, the Longer was meters away from him. To Na, Bibi was as big as an ant. However, he knew it. He was aware that she was in danger, that she couldn't beat him. After all…

Her weapon had been sent further away.

The Longer's violent blows against the ground had created a furious wind that had managed to lift Bibi's metal bar and Na had seen it. He had to get closer to the Longer to get it, but his body refused. He was so afraid... He wanted to cry, to scream for help, to go get Bibha to beg her to save them, that they were giving up. He would find another way to reach them, if he had to, they would wait. Even if it took years before they could return home, Na would accept it.

If they saved Bibi.

Na was just that type of person. Thinking of the other before himself, not wanting to lose anyone. What he felt for Bibi wasn't even a great friendship yet, but she had agreed to help him, to take his hand and do whatever she could to get home. Even though they didn't know each other, she showed him a beautiful smile and didn't hesitate to fight for him. Even though she was also doing this for herself...

The compassion she showed him had touched Na's heart.

He was weak, powerless and fearful. He could never fight such a Longer, or even approach it. Tears threatened to form in his eyes and he could hardly stand, so afraid was he. He wanted to run, to escape further, to return to the safety of the Kemono Federation…

But he wouldn't.

Not without Bibi.

All of his emotions they felt were in his simple cry of distress. Even though the girl couldn't hear it from where she was, the fingers that were about to go into her ears prevented her from hearing anything and she was about to fall unconscious, her heart heard it. Because Bibi was who she was. Because she too had to fulfill her purpose.

Because she too had a place to call home.

For all these reasons, Bibi would always win.

- Oh?

Bibha squinted as she saw something shining in the distance. Hearing the man scream, she had gotten up and was going to go save them, but her legs stopped. Naim blinked, not seeing what her friend was watching. Na, too, could not see it. He was on his buttocks, as he had stumbled back a few steps.

- Thank you...

Was the word that Bibi thought before finally opening her mouth. She crunched the fingers before her and she managed to pull them out of their hands. Bibi's body began to glow with power and she opened her eyes suddenly, showing her bright pupils.

And the hands that had grabbed her began to fry instantly.

Bibi tore the wound she had inflicted on the Longer with both hands and pulled the skin apart with ease. The monster howled in pain, and raised its paw, ready to collide with the ground again... but Bibi reached into the wound and grabbed the bone she saw with her right hand, used the other to hold the top of the bone and her feet the bottom.

And broke it with her bare hands, as if it were cardboard.

Thousands of hands pushed her out and knocked her down, but it did nothing for her. She landed on her hands and knees and slowly got up, as if she had all the time in the world. The Longer was unable to put its left paw on the ground, now broken from the inside. Bibi raised her hand and opened it. Her weapon flew towards her and she caught it without worry. She sighed and looked up to where the Longer's right paw would crush her. She squinted.

- Let's go.

She avoided the Longer and ran toward Na with speed. She stopped in front of him and gave him the two small bars she used to tie her hair.

- You keep this for me?” she said. I will beat him. I'll be right there.

- B-Bibi...?

She smiled at him.

- I look different, don't I? One day you'll understand.

Na's eyes were wide open and he was speechless. The girl in front of her was indeed Bibi, but she looked so different…

She glowed in a white halo and her eyes, her hair… they were not the same color anymore.

On her head were fox ears and behind her back a tail of the same breed.

Her hair was floating and her eyes were much brighter.

Bibi was now in a state of-