Artificial 7: Genesis Requiem

Chapter 13: Regalia

Male Terra's POV:

Everyone lands in the forest region of Regalia safely,
or as safely as they could get with Himiko strongly voicing that she doesn't want to do that again.
We traveled a trail and followed the wooden signs that were written in a different language and from the looks of it.
It's a type of Siberian language according to the AI in our helmets.
After a few hours of walking,
it was nighttime as the owls began hooting and the insects making noises. There wasn't a street light as far as the eye could see,
and we could practically see the galaxy with all those stars in the sky.
"Wow. This is a very romantic spot." Zoey says.

"Indeed." Seth agrees.
We kept on walking,
and somewhere,
we ended up coming across an old shack named Jalen's lantern shack with a tiny sign next to it,
saying,
for all your road traveling needs in normal English.
We didn't need a lantern,
but we did need intel,
so I checked to see if they opened and then asked the nice cashier if he's seen this man and pulled up a picture of Gundham Genesis.

The cashier types on his phone then shows me a rough English translation saying,
travel the road going straight into town, and we'll see two men in black with red hair.
I thanked the man and left.
The AI in my helmet started analyzing the words on the phone he typed and started forming an alphabet based in the language.
I gave everyone the directions,
and we kept walking,
walking,
and walking until dawn.

We all took a break at dawn and had lunch together,
as Zoey had made everyone sandwiches. We're talking,
no crust, lettuce, tomatoes,
and other ingredients.
Himko, Elain, Selena, and Kenneth ate from a bento box they packed.
Seth created a pot,
firewood,
a frying pan,
and cooked some dumplings for himself. Everyone was talking about sky diving and how fun it was or how terrifying it was.

Himiko and I were in agreement that it was a scary experience and would rather not do that again.
Reed fussed at Maddie for throwing him when he wanted to be flashy like everyone else,
and Maddie told him to shut up,
you big baby,
and we all laughed about it.
After eating, we got back to walking, and Seth used a creation rune to refill our waterbottles,
keeping us hydrated.

About two hours later,
we found ourselves on mixed terrain between a canyon and a forest.
Zoey took pictures on her old school camera that spit out pictures after every shot,
and Yuzuhara took a selfie with everyone on her apple phone.
We managed to cross half the open field in ten minutes,
and that's when we came across another Ogre like creature with purple skin and long silver messy hair.
They were humanoid,
looking with make shift axes or machetes.

They noticed us and instantly went hostile,
causing Kenneth and Elain to pull a gun, and Himiko put her hand out.
"It's been a while since I last fought anything. I'm afraid I'm getting a tad bit rusty."
Himiko says,
causing them to holster their guns. Himiko draws her Gabi Clan katana that looks like One Piece Zoro's Yubashiri katana.
Rather than ending the lives of these humanoid creatures,
she slashed the rope that tied the stone like axe head to the wooden stick and flipped her katana and struck them all with the spine of the blade,
knocking them clean out without drawing blood or ending their lives.

We all clapped except for Selena and Alexander,
who looked like they've seen it all before.
We crossed the wooden bridge over a large pond and continued walking the trail until we reached the canyon section of Regalia,
which was rocks, sunny, warm,
and sandy in some sections.
We climbed the mountain trail and saw these odd mutated looking birds that looked like a cross between a wood pecker and a Pterodactyl.

It attacked us,
and well,
let's just say Seth found his next meal that he's preserving in his ice, cold, pocket dimension.
Finally,
we entered town with a large broken sign that says welcome to Crashville. Crashville looked straight out of a wild Wild West cowboy show or movie,
and it was overrun with Ogre like creatures and these humanoid monsters that walked on two feet,
crazy long arms,
razor-sharp nails dripping in blood and a mask with one eye to see through with real tentacles moving behind the mask.

A cowboy breaks out through a window of a church and draws a unique gun.
A triple barrel revolver with 6 shots per cylinder and fired 3 bullets at a time, killing these things as fast as possible but also having anything thrown at him, from rocks to wood and glass!
We all spread out and started cutting down these things,
either shooting it,
slashing and stabbing,
or using our elements.
Himiko, Kenneth,
and Elain stuck to Azura like glue.
Now that I've thought about it,
shouldn't Azura be skydiving?
Even if you want to chalk up the science to a half breed baby,
the reality is the baby wouldn't be safe.

So mid skirmish,
I asked her in between cleaving these monsters in half with a single strike. "Professor Futaba Mine gave me this super soldier drug and told me that as long as I take it before a mission, I won't have to worry about hurting the baby." Makes sense to me,
whatever that drug may be.
I'm not about to question it as that's above my pay grade,
and I go back to killing anything humanoid that moved.
After the carnage,
we introduced ourselves to the cowboy who had odd colored hair,
half black, half white,
and red eyes.
Selena,
on the other hand,
flipped out.

Selena pulls a gun out,
causing Kenneth to take his left metal hand and block the barrel,
Selena utilized the elements of her Familiars and blew Kenneth's metal hand off with an element fused bullet! Selena draws her ninjaken,
and Elain uses her metal hands to sword catch Selena's sword!
Himiko,
in a blink,
grabs Selena's gun arm with Kenneth, and Himiko puts a finger to Selena's forehead,
telling her to stop in the most commanding voice possible.
"What in tarnation?! What the sam bloody hell did I do to you, lady?!"

The cowboy says reasonably agitated. "Selena, look at him."
Himiko says in a slightly less commanding tone even though Selena's body has stopped resisting.
Her gun arm is still pushing against Himiko and Kenneth's hand.
Himiko allows Selena to see the cowboy, and after a few more seconds, she stops trying to aim her gun.
Both back off from her,
and Selena holsters her gun,
apologizing to the man.
"I'm sorry. Your hair is the exact same hair color as the man who killed my parents. It was a trauma response on my end. Please forgive me."

Selena's normal voice always has this commanding tone or suggestive tone, so for her to sound this vulnerable...... it says a lot about her.
"Um, sir. We're looking for a man. Have you seen him?"
I pulled out my work phone and showed him a picture.
"Yeah, I've seen him. He went up Mt Lucifer up there."
The cowboy points to the edge of town and raises his hand up to a volcano with a head carved into it like Mount Rushmore.

"I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not the devil from your Bible. It's the Titan Of Destruction from Greek mythology. Ya see, the country of Regalia was said to be a creation of the Titan Of Balance And Order, Celestia, and she moved all her followers from Athens, Rome, and Sparta to here. Or so the legend goes."
Seth,
during this explanation of Regalia, he has sudden migraines and groans in pain while holding his head.
"Um, sir, sorry to cut you off, but we're kinda in a hurry to arrest the man."
I try and hurry this along.
"Sorry, no can do partner. Mt Lucifer is the Animal Skin territory. Those darn dragon Animal Skins are viscous groups of people I tell you."

I could sense two sudden shifts in Selena's aura,
which felt like the twins,
but we ignored it for now.
"The only way you're getting permission to hike that mountain is by getting permission from the city council and the law enforcement. Which we have neither due to lack of any government set in stone out here. The citizens are the new law, and I'm their enforcer. They don't know you, so they sure as hell ain't about to give you permission."

Reed and Maddie make a fuss,
causing Keeneth and Elain to hold them back from the cowboy.
Jeffrey asked what's stopping us from hiking it anyway,
to which the cowboy reiterates dragon Animal Skins,
getting a sigh out of him.

"I think we should do as he says. I read the file on the flight over here, and the organization doesn't have a say over this country. We can't just flash our badges and expect to be able to go wherever. I think we should play it by their book for a change."
Azura says with some mild hesitation, and Selena starts clapping.
"Oh wow, so you can be smart when you actually pay attention. Good job. And here I was, ready to smack you again for trying to be the first to kill anything none human."
Selena says with a mix of sarcasm and genuine praise.
"Uhhhh. Thanks?"
Azura awkwardly replies.
"Well, now that you fellers on board. I'm going to put you to work. Follow me, and we'll get you all situated."