Ohan ruefully shook his head at the cartoonish exit of the Leviathan, but the various shades of violet, cobalt, rose, and black energy dissipating around her body made him frown—she’d used a Chaos skill, which, as she said, came at a price. It was truly a sight when seen in the light rainfall misting the area.

Nerea stopped struggling when Selvaria rolled out of the gaping snake’s mouth, fixated on the serpent, so he let her go. Unable to support herself, the Cuban woman collapsed to her butt, mumbling, “How … did you do that?”

Selvaria gave her a grinning, lifted eyebrow, more than a little proud at her handiwork, and placing her hands on her tiny hips, she stopped in front of them. “Did you not see my awesome performance earlier? Pfft, that snake wasn’t even that big. You should have seen the jellyfish crab thing I fought,” she boasted.

Her small, thrust-out chest and shrunken size didn’t do her any favors, seeing as she had transitioned from a filled-out woman to a reasonably thin teen. “I’m just that cool.”

Ohan hummed, folding his arms while scanning June’s body—a twitch ran down its length as she began to shimmer, shrinking down in the following emerald effulgence. “That’s all well and good, Selv, but I don’t think she’s dead.”

“Eh?” the girl flipped around to glare at the still woman that emerged from the light. “You gotta be kiddin’ me! I freakin’ sent a blast of Chaos energy into her brain!”

Nerea was still trying to come to terms with what she’d just seen, but Ohan wasn’t too concerned about the opposition on the island if they had to negotiate with June.

He moved over to the woman, Selvaria by his side. “I wanted to talk to you about that,” he muttered, his inquisitive stare causing her lips to tighten and find her elbow behind her back. “That can wait for a minute, though.”

Ohan grimaced while kneeling beside the woman; the light mist-like rain and damp soil caused June’s green snake-skin dress to shine. She’d shrunk to her current state around her head, and the trail of blood leaking out of her mouth had lessened with it, creating a path of crimson liquid to her current position.

Reaching down to check a pulse, he found it, albeit weak; her eyes were rolled back, and upon further inspection of her mouth, she saw the lingering colors of violet, cobalt, rose, and black against the roof of her mouth, yet it appeared to be trying to heal.

“Ugh,” Selvaria hovered behind him, “don’t tell me she’s healing? Really, after that super big attack?”

Ohan shook his head. “My guess is that a Reactive Skill came into effect to help her recover, but as far as I can tell, she’s on a thin wire. Your Chaos Energy blocks the tissue and bone from healing, making her continue to use whatever energy she has to restore lost blood. It’s a fight between how long your energy lingers and if she can keep herself alive.”

A short sigh shot through the Leviathan’s teeth as she turned to Nerea. “Alright, so … Are you going to finish her off or bring her to trial or something?”

Clearing her throat and trying to stop her shakes, Nerea struggled back to her feet. “N-No, I, umm … she’s a total monster … I don’t think we can hold her if she does recover.”

“A fair point,” Ohan whispered, sweeping back the woman’s olive green locks to stare at her face; she looked more black than Hispanic, but only by a bit. “I suppose we’ll need to discuss all of this with Kevin. He’s who’s been running your community. Right?”

She seemed conflicted, rubbing her throat and fixating on the unconscious woman. “Wouldn’t it be … easier to just kill her now? We don’t know how long it will be until she wakes up—or if she heals?”

Selvaria grunted. “Humph! Not all that worried; I can just pound her again.” Her cheeks swiftly colored, glancing at the ground, “Oof, phrasing … Uh, yeah, you know what I mean.”

Ohan shifted to stare at Nerea’s armored face, considering a few points that needed to be addressed—but that could be handled in front of Kevin. “Selvaria or I can handle June if that happens, and I doubt she’ll be in any state to resist after using so many resources to keep herself alive.”

The two women watched in confusion as he adjusted her dress to keep June’s modesty before carefully lifting the Mythickin into a princess carry. “Well, let’s find an abandoned truck or if there are any survivors around here.”

Selvaria was right on board, walking toward the gate, where they’d seen houses on the opposite side of the compound. “Sounds good. Umm, wouldn’t it be nice if Rachel was here to tell us where everyone is? Scarlet talks about her a lot.”

Not knowing how the girl’s brain got onto Rachel, Ohan looked over at the Cuban woman, glossed eyes still fixated on June. “Rachel certainly has that leader mentality—able to take charge and develop a plan. We need to function on our own, though … Coming, Nerea?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, uh … I just—she’s killed so many people. She needs to die!”

Ohan didn’t like the desperation in her voice; he was beginning to develop his own idea about the relationships of the groups.

Selvaria dismissed her words with a backward wave. “Isn’t that why we’re bringing her to your boss?” Her cheeks pulled to the side while glancing back. “And isn’t saving people more important right now?”

The woman lifted a hand to the side of her head, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. “I’m just saying…”

Figuring she would follow, Ohan pressed on, making Nerea trail off. The island dynamic evolving in his mind was more than reasonable—understandable, even—but this wasn’t his community. “We’re here to help, not be the judge, jury, or executioner—given we were able to subdue her, June’s fate should be decided by your governing body.”

“I … suppose that makes sense,” Nerea whispered, trailing behind them; there was an edge of frustration and fear in her voice.

Wandering through the town, Selvaria discovered a standard-type truck, and seeing as she’d lost tons of weight—literally—they would be fine to use it, luckily there was a spare key hidden in a rip in the sun visor.

Not trusting Nerea, Ohan laid her head against the seat and placed her legs on his lap before operating the vehicle—Selvaria had never driven before. The Leviathan and armored woman sat in the back, and Ohan had to smile at the girl’s ability to always stay dry since she just absorbed the water.

Turning on the air conditioning unit to defog the windows, Ohan pulled the car into town, listening carefully while scanning for signs of life—unfortunately, the area didn’t show much. Just about when he was about to abandon the search, a gunshot split the soft pattering of the rainfall against the truck.

“That way!” Selvaria called out from the back, pointing near a church.

Well aware of the direction, he increased their speed. Selvaria jumped out with Nerea to investigate, Ohan staying with the truck. They disappeared inside, leaving him alone with June.

Dark brown eyes shifting to her, Ohan breathed out a long sigh, watching the gentle stream of blood pushing out of her tilted mouth and soak into the seat; he’d angled her head to keep her lungs from filling with the liquid.

He didn’t have much sympathy for the woman—yet there was a little; she’d dug her own grave, yet he also had to wonder if her story was somehow related to Fiona’s sister, Nora. From what he’d learned on the trip to Cuba, The Oscillation had turned her into a feeding fiend, unable to stop herself from devouring life, and it took some doing to get it under control.

The world’s not so black and white … Although Nora didn’t have full control of her hunger or mind—she also managed to go after animals. Then again, given what we do know about The Oscillation … this woman might have actually been a cannibal, so … It’s really not the same, but who knows?

Selvaria soon exited, scratching her head while glancing around, and Nerea came after, pointing her to the side of the building. The Leviathan followed the woman over, soon returning with several people, hugging themselves and looking scared.

Exiting the truck, he took one last look at June to make sure she wasn’t going to choke and closed the door. Making his way over, he met up with the girls. “What’s going on?”

Scratching the base of the left illuminated horn on her head, Selvaria made a low note in her throat. “They were locked in a basement or something—they had a shotgun, but only five shells.”

Ohan nodded. “They tried to blow open the door?”

Selvaria grimaced. “It was metal, so the guy hurt himself trying.”

Getting the people into the back of the truck, Ohan took them to the city, opening the small back window to listen to their explanation; Nerea translated.

From what she said, they used to be in June’s gang, but her hunger grew more and more with everything she ate until all the food in town was gone. Now that there wasn’t anything left, they were locked away for a later snack—it sounded like June was literally changing into a monster, and it made Ohan wonder if Selvaria didn’t supplement her diet with water if she’d be the same.

Again, his mind was brought back to the issues regarding The Oscillation; sure, it provided fantasy-like abilities and amazing feats, but given the knowledge Rachel brought about gods or higher-entities being a thing, he had to think practically.

Life wasn’t going to return to normal; sure, companies and humanity would flourish, as it always had, but the change was evident. If a Demi could take over an entire country like Cuba, even if they were just unprepared for that kind of threat, it meant any nation, except the more militaristic and capable ones, would fall into chaos.

Naturally, the U.S. had the most powerful military, and it would retain the most order, but other governments like the EU, UK, Middle East, and Asian countries would be the leaders in how the world was shaped.

He didn’t have anyone he was particularly close to, other than his students, but he always kept it at a professional level. Again, he was reminded that he needed to think about his future; Ray was the closest friend he had, yet Ohan didn’t see himself joining the man in his current goals since they had differing approaches to life.

Clearing his throat, he watched Nerea do her best to support the people they transported; she cared—he knew she did. Life could be cruel, and even if people thought they were making the right decision, there were always consequences; he wasn’t to be that judge, though.

The drive back took longer since they were hauling normal humans to be treated, but it didn’t take more than fifty minutes on the dirt road. They passed the bridge, and the people were dropped off at a clinic using Nerea’s directions.

He would have had June checked, but it was a moot action; if she did survive, it wouldn’t be from modern medicine. However, the amount of blood now pooling on the floor mat would make even a tolerant man queasy.

Glancing back at Selvaria as the last of the group entered with Nerea, he drew her attention through the slid-open window. “Hey, how long will your Chaos Energy last?”

“Mmh—I don’t know,” she mumbled, leaning over to stare at her. “Oof! Is she still bleeding? How much blood does she have?”

Ohan wrapped his arm atop the steering wheel, watching the dribble leak out of the woman’s open mouth. “You did knock her cold before she had a chance to use any ability or skill. Hmm … by the way, what did you do to get that strong?”

“W-What do you mean?” Selvaria forced a smile, looking adorable in a way only teens could do when trying to avoid a question. “Haven’t I always been strong?”

“Mhm … But not that strong, Selv. That was something I’d expect from Rachel, not you. So, spill—what was the cost?”

A tight chuckle rumbled in her throat as she played with a lock of hair. “Well—you know like, eh—Shuckle from Pokemon?”

“No,” he flatly stated.

“Shoot, uh—hey, what’s with you and not knowing like … anything cool. Umm,” she grumbled, trying to deflect for a second, “you see … I know I’m not very strong outside of my Leviathan State—land sucks for me—but using my Chaos Branch, I can convert like … only 75% of my defense for like … a huge 25% boost to my strength. Mix that with funneling all my seawater into this Chaos Burst attack—cool sounding, by the way—and BOOM!”

Ohan reached up to wrap his knuckles against her forehead, making her dart back. “Hey! That was mean … Oh, is it an Itachi reference!” she asked, eyes lighting up again.

“Who? No,” Ohan growled, glaring at her. “That was dumb. 75% of your defense for a 25% attack boost, and you dumped your full Pool on a single attack? No wonder you talked about one punch because you weren’t throwing another.”

Selvaria’s lips bunched to the side, pouting a little. “Look, I knew I could stomp her, even without my Leviathan form—I’m a freakin’ Leviathan! I’d like to see her survive the Legend’s Quest ‘cause she’d get eaten by that creepy tentacle thing.”

“I’m not even going to ask,” Ohan sighed. “How long does your swapped attack and defense last?”

Her aquamarine eyes shifted to the left. “Umm … Well, heh, you see … The buff is like a full five minutes, which is insane! I mean, most fights would be over by then.”

“The debuff?” Ohan pressed.

“I mean, twenty-four hours, but … think about how cool I looked.”

Ohan sucked in his bottom lip and slowly nodded; she had no sense of danger, which might have been something to do with her Leviathan nature. Although, to be fair, it was a rather devastating attack, even if it came at a price—hitting Rachel-levels of stopping power was impressive, but who could say how much stronger the Lunar Hare had gotten after hearing what they were walking into … Who knew if they were still alive?

“Okay…” He hummed, scratching his forehead. “So, after this, we get you filled up on seawater—your defense is based on multipliers involving your seawater. Right?”

“Mhm,” Selvaria swallowed, unable to hide her nervous smile. “I mean, Leviathan State me is on a whole ‘nother universe on defense, but yeah … I get bonuses for it when out of water.”

Not turning away from the girl, eventually, she broke under his gaze. “Okay! Okay! Yeah, so … Chaos Blast may cap 20% of how much of my total Pool I use for an hour—percent wise.”

Ohan sucked in air through his teeth before letting it hiss out. “Great … We need to have a talk after all this is over, Selvaria.”

“Eh-he-he,” Selvaria shrank back to lean against the side. “I’ve gotta use my Skills to keep getting the proficiencies up, though.”

“Right,” he returned, “so the best practice would be to do the capping and debuffing skills on off-days so that you won’t be in danger—only using them when you need to. I’m worried about you, Selv.”

“I know…” she whispered, playing with her hair again. “I just wanted to show off because she had a super cool power suit.”

Relenting a bit, Ohan reluctantly said, “Okay, yes, Selv … I was impressed, and it did look pretty cool.”

“I know!” she chimed, soon falling into a sad mood. “I hear you, though. Umm … I am still really durable … just not invincible.”

A half-smile lifted his lips; her quirky nature was something he liked, and in a way, she reminded him of his best friend growing up—only a female version. His mind pulled back to those days Ray, Arris, and he used to practice Kendo together; they loved it because of various media references that he never got—it was the only time he had to really hang out with kids his age.

“We’ll work on practicing together when everything dies down. You’re one of the few things I can’t cut.”

“Ho-ho! Finally admitting it?!” Selvaria snickered, but Ohan’s attention was snatched by June’s sharp quiver.

He glanced over at her as a low whimper shook her chest; the blood seemed to have stopped. She’ll wake up soon, huh?

Selvaria pulled herself up to look through the window. “Is she waking up?”

“Soon, I’d guess, but not immediately; she’s probably beyond the danger zone, though,” Ohan predicted. “Her deadly wound is closing, and now she’s probably repairing the damage you did to her brain … She may even wake up as an entirely different person.”

“Oh!” Selvaria nodded. “So, I damaged her brain, and now it’s repairing it so … amnesia?”

He shrugged. “Maybe, or certain things are forcefully being rewired in the recovery process. It’s just something I thought of.”

“Mmh … Umm, can you still go to jail if you kill someone but don’t remember it?”

Ohan snorted. “In the U.S.? No doubt. I don’t know about Cuba. Even if she has forgotten everything, it doesn’t change the fact of what she’s done, I suppose. It’s one of those sticky situations.”

“Hmm…”

Four minutes passed as they thought in silence about what could be in store for the snake woman, and when Nerea exited, her helmet was down. There was a mixed expression on her face that told Ohan she’d calmed down and had time to think. She was scared but wouldn’t run away.

Selvaria began peppering her with questions about her power-suit when they were alone, not telling her about the recovering Mythickin. Ohan wanted to wait and see how she’d react when the result of June’s renewal was completed.

Nerea didn’t have much to tell, yet he figured it helped the woman cope with what was to come. Stopping off at the bridge to fill up Selvaria’s Pool, Ohan was forced to leave the truck to carry June on foot.

The Leviathan had regained much of her feminine figure, but there was a noticeable fade to the typically lustrous scales and sheen she normally boasted. On foot, they took the Cuban woman’s tentative directions to a government-looking building.

“Here…” she whispered, arms folded under her armored chest. “Kevin should be inside with some of the others.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with it?” Ohan asked, studying her expression. “You’ve brought us here.”

A somber smile touched her pained face before she shook her head. “I should stand by my actions.”

Nodding, he walked through the door as she held it open for him. “A brave decision; I respect it.”

A woman behind a reception desk jumped the moment she noticed them. “O-Oh! Umm…” she promptly broke into Spanish.

Nerea waved, giving her a short chuckle, returning a few words before gesturing for Ohan and Selvaria toward an elevator. Two big men wearing tactical police outfits hounded their progress to the device, but Nerea didn’t pay them much attention.

Once they were inside the elevator, Ohan’s lips tightened upon hearing it struggle to rise and caught Selvaria’s forced smile. However, given the decrease in her Water Pool, it managed to reach the third floor, and Ohan shifted to study the Leviathan. “I’m surprised people are still working at 3 A.M.”

Selvaria nodded. “I was thinking the same thing—and those police guys were giving you looks, Ohan.”

“He is carrying a woman that looks practically dead,” Nerea muttered. “Umm … yeah, there’s always something that needs to be handled lately, so we tend to get sleep when we can.”

“It must be challenging,” Ohan commented.

She smiled. “Heh … You have no idea.”

Following her through the hallways, they stopped in front of a door before Nerea knocked.

“Ingresar,” said a deep and tired voice.

[i.e. Come in.]

Proceeding through, Ohan saw a gray-haired Hispanic man in his late fifties. His black and red power-suit looked awkward while sitting in a rather unimpressive black chair that showed various rips in it—likely from the armor itself.

“Erik told me two United States monsters—his words—landed on our island.” His unguarded head lifted to observe them, but Ohan was a little surprised when he simply breathed a sigh of relief and sat back, hands crossing atop his lap. “Hello, I am Isla De la Juventud’s governor.”

His brown eyes shifted to June. “By the movement of her chest, I assume she isn’t dead … Consider me enthralled. Please, have a seat,” he gestured to the chairs in front of him. “If you wish, you may place June on the couch.”

Finding the exchange a bit suspect, Ohan slowly complied, pondering the angle. “I do not recall someone named Kevin being in charge of administration in this special municipality … a Kevin Biescas was on the line of succession list, though.”

A sad sigh moved his tired face, eyes closing in what seemed a silent prayer. “Luca Biescas, God rest his soul, was killed during a monster attack, and … there have been quite a few unfortunate incidents that have shaken our community. So, I look forward to hearing what you have to say because much of the infrastructure we have was destroyed by a coup attempt … If you could call it that.”

He shook his head, bringing his fingers to his forehead as Ohan placed June on the couch and took his seat next to Selvaria—the Leviathan tentatively curled her tail around to try and sit, but the light press of her body caused the base to give a loud crack.

“Oof … I’ll just stand,” Selvaria said, forcing a chuckle.

Ohan leaned against the side, supporting his head with the back of his hand. “The first week was rough?”

“Without question,” he replied, gesturing to the woman beside the door. “We lost three hundred and eighty seven people due to various reasons … including Nerea’s husband ”

Nerea’s voice cracked a little. “We … managed to get the materials Sergio needed.”

“Is that the Artificer that made those suits?” Selvaria asked, showing how much she was interested in the topic, as she bypassed her social fear.

Kevin licked his lips and sucked in a sharp breath. “One of my closest friends … Unfortunately, June got to him two days ago, sneaking into the city at night. It was an inside job, but we don’t know who helped her yet. I’m hoping we can get answers.”

Selvaria hissed, glancing at Ohan with a low hum.

“Something the matter?” Kevin asked, his vision moving from her to Ohan.

A short pause ensued as Ohan’s focus shifted to the snake woman. “Selvaria damaged June’s brain, and she only survived because of her recovery abilities … She may not know anything when she wakes up.”

“No…” Nerea mumbled, drawing Kevin’s gaze. “No, that’s not … She really won’t remember anything?”

Ohan’s teeth clamped down on his bottom lip as the dots connected; it was worse than he thought. “Nerea … What did you do?”

“I’m … not following,” Kevin said, studying the unhappy woman.

Selvaria’s tail whipped out subconsciously, accidentally sending her damaged chair flinging against the wall as her hands jumped to her mouth. “No! You didn’t!”

Nerea’s hands tightened, vision falling to the ground, her teeth grinding was practically audible throughout the room. “... I … have something to confess.”

A low groan rolled in Kevin’s throat; he brought up his hands to rub his eyes, sinking further into his chair. Voice haggard and hurt, he whispered, “Please, God … Please, tell me you are not a traitor, Nerea?”

Nerea’s hand closed around her bicep, unable to make eye contact. “I … never wanted to be, but everything spiraled out of my control. June was stronger—she kept growing stronger, and I tried to fight her, but—but she threatened to do hit and run tactics … Kill in the night and vanish into the forest … She had Angel’s son, and…”

Ohan puffed out a breath. “One small favor after another … step by step, she brought you into her web until you couldn’t get out.”

Kevin took a moment to collect himself, but there was only pity in his gaze. “Did you know Sergio was her target?”

She shook her head. “No … No, and I would have never…” Tears fell down her cheeks as she choked. “I’m—I’m so sorry…”

“I see … So, that’s why June’s been leaving us alone … I wish you would have come to me, but it’s something you’ll need to explain in court.”

Nerea nodded, unable to speak between hiccups.

Kevin’s gaze returned to him. “I cannot … ahem, thank you enough for the swift support you have lent our community … My, I don’t even have your names yet.”

“Ohan,” he promptly replied, “and this is Selvaria.”

She gave him an encouraging smile. “Sorry about what happened to your friend.”

“Thank you,” Kevin took a shuddering breath and nodded. “Right, work to be done. If you two can tell me your reasons for coming to our island, then … it would help to understand how we can proceed. Clearly, you’re strong enough to probably destroy our entire population from the testimony of those on the pier. Please, tell me your story.”

Ohan recounted the tale and their reasons for coming. Kevin was happy to take whatever support the U.S. government could provide; they were already running quite low on many supplies since imports had been non-existent for the last few weeks.

They took over guard duty over June, and just as he concluded, the woman had lost quite a few memories of her life, including the last three weeks. An emergency assembly was held to present the state of the world, delivered by Ohan, which followed the selection process for the jury on June’s trial.

Later that night, Tom reached out to inform him about what occurred on their side, putting a quake through Ohan’s bones. Compared to what they’d dealt with, Selvaria and he were practically in heaven, but it made him realize how much work he had ahead of him.

He decided to push his training and join Rachel’s group; if he could be a part of a movement that went against things like this, he couldn’t in good conscience turn it down. Selvaria thought they’d both already joined.

Two days passed before they could find a selection of jurors that could be impartial, having not heard of the woman since they lived in a small community on the other side of the island. She was found guilty, and sentenced to death, to Ohan’s disappointment.

He felt somewhat bad for the woman after spending time with her; she was horrified by the testimonies given against her by dozens of individuals she’d known throughout her life. In the end, she accepted the punishment herself.

Kevin delivered the crushing blow that would end the woman’s life—Selvaria couldn’t be present for the bulk of the proceedings, connecting a bit with June’s innocent love for Galatea, and spent time with her seal helping on the dock. The Leviathan was a hit among the children, giving them rides and proving to be an excellent sea jungle gym; although, the parents were understandably cautious of the giant sea serpent at first.

Nerea pleaded guilty and was sentenced to community service work with fifteen years in prison—she accepted the verdict without complaint.

Ohan had hoped for lighter punishments, but he’d come to help a free people return to normalcy, and this came with that decision.

He trained with Selvaria, preparing to meet up with Rachel and the others; the Lunar Hare was still unconscious after her daring gambit but Maria thought she’d wake up soon. Using the captain’s military ship to meet up with the group, Selvaria and he had new tricks up their sleeves.