He Who Fights with Monsters 10 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #10)

by Shirtaloon

“Sorry,” she said. “My god told me that Jason Asano was in here.”

“Yep,” Jason said happily, and Amos frowned at him. Jason noted that getting to know Amos was essentially a matter of studying frown variants.

“You realise I’m not just a laboratory for you to run experiments in, right?” Jason asked. “Where’s Gary right now?” Farrah asked casually. “And, I’m guessing, Clive?” “In my soul space,” Jason grumbled. “Running experiments.”

We are specks of sand on a beach that goes on forever, lasting only an instant before blowing away on the wind. The very world we stand on exists only for a fleeting moment in an insignificant corner of infinity.”

“You’ve been paying very close attention.” “No, Vesta Carmis Zell, I have not. My information comes from paying a regular amount of attention without you ever noticing. Perhaps you should dwell on the ramifications of that when considering my advice.”

“What is it that Jason Asano does to people that makes them so willing to disrespect power?” Healer asked. “He looks at that power,” Shade said, “and asks if its behaviour is deserving of respect.

“Did you see his reaction?” Healer said. “Where you provoked my friend and he threatened my god? Yes, I saw, Lord Healer.”

“I was thinking that perhaps we should devise a plan before rushing off,” Humphrey suggested. Taika, one of the few people that towered over Humphrey, put a meat slab hand on his shoulder. “The music’s playing, bro. Time to rock and roll.”

“Will I see you again?” Bellory asked. Jason turned his gaze back to her. “Do you want to?” She didn’t answer immediately, giving it some thought. “No,” she said finally.

She’s loyal to the Adventure Society, but she’ll burn it to the ground if that’s what her son needs.”

“I don’t think they understand how enthusiastic I am about the chance to eat them. I’m going to go for it with gusto because you rarely let me eat normal people. Monsters are fine, don’t get me wrong, but what I’d really like to do is devour every living thing on a planet. They’re not that, but they’re a start.” Jason let out a groan. “Colin, how many times do I have to say it? No blood apocalypses.”

“I’ll leave that to your judgement,” Jason told her. A shadow extended out to engulf him, and when it shrank back, he and his chair were gone. “Yes,” Arabelle said to the empty room. “Because why bother with the basic courtesy of a goodbye when there’s a dramatic exit to make.”

“Well,” Marcus admitted, “your friend Standish wasn’t wrong about them finding nothing. I didn’t think they’d be stupid enough to send their most politically powerful researchers instead of their most competent ones. Where I come from, Magic Society officials know how to let their skilled researchers do the work and then exploit them after. What kind of idiots try to do it themselves?” “You felt their auras,” Jason said. “There’s no way you missed that level of self-delusion.” “Yeah,” Marcus grumbled. “I just needed to complain out loud. I detest incompetent people.”

“Is that analogy even close to accurate?” Marcus asked. “No,” Clive said. “But unless you’ve got five spare years to study astral magic, it’s what you’re getting.

“At least your friends didn’t all sleep with your imaginary wife,” Clive grumbled.

“I like your hair,” Jason said as they shook hands. “I like your ludicrous power and ability to come back from the dead.

never used to get confused about right and wrong before I met you. Now I just do my best. Sometimes I’ll get it right and sometimes I won’t, and then I’ll do my best to fix that.”

“You never studied any magical theory?” “I did meet a scholar who told me I was an expert in applied kinetics, whatever that is.” “You didn’t ask?” “I didn’t get a chance before I beat him to death with a fruit cart.” “How exactly did you wind up as a Continental Council executive?” “They like to have different people for different situations. I usually get sent places where they need someone to cut through the politics. Not literally, obviously. Unless we want to. We get quite broad discretionary power and I find an axe through someone’s head on the first day helps set a tone.”

Allayeth gave him a sharp look; an unrepentant shrug was the closest he came to accepting her silent criticism.

Colin was on a mission to prove the tunnel was only big enough for one set of horrifying toothy worms.

The soul attack combined the immense power and domineering cosmic authority of Jason’s aura with the sanguine horror’s infinite alien hunger.

“How powerful is he?” Lorenn asked. “That is a question with a complicated answer. In some regards, he is but a silver-ranker. In others, he may be the most powerful being on this planet.”

“Bro,” Taika said to Rufus. “Your mum is kind of hardcore.”

“Don’t,” Humphrey said in a hollow, trembling voice. “Engaging only makes it worse. It doesn’t stop them, it doesn’t help. Nothing helps.”

“Not all pain is the same,” Amos Pensinata growled and everyone felt his aura surge.

“Oh, thank you for that,” Emir said. “I was just thinking that I wasn’t anywhere close to worried enough, and here you come to clear that right up. That’s tremendous, Clive, thank you.”

I’m the goddess of knowledge, Jason, not of very confident guesses.”

Clive let out an exasperated groan. “Mr Standish,” Miriam said. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t bemoan a lack of competence in our enemies.” “I’m just so sick of it,” Clive complained as he ran his hands over his face. “Why is everyone so stupid?”

“If all you’re going to do is stand there and agree that everything you want to do is impossible, then what are we doing here?” “The impossible, obviously,” Clive said.

Miriam frowned, her commanding voice lowering to a near whisper. “Operation Commander. Jason. I know you like to talk about doing the impossible. If that is anything more than just talk, now is the time.” “Why do people keep asking me to do the impossible?” “I haven’t known you that long, but you kind of talk about it a lot. Wasn’t that the whole reason they put you in charge?” “Just between you and me? It’s a lot easier when it’s just talk. I guess this is why they say put up or shut up.” “Does this mean you’re shutting up?” “You’re right; you haven’t known me that long.”

Behind him, Gary’s support team frantically called for him to return. He called out to them without turning or slowing his stride. “It has been an honour,” he yelled back. “You know what to do.”

“You know, I used to talk about my fancy diamond-rank connections all the time. Knowing you makes it very hard to be a braggart, Jason.”

In the Storm Kingdom, you opened a portal that shouldn’t have opened. You used it to rescue people it shouldn’t have been able to carry. Was that your first miracle, Jason?” “Doing that almost killed me. Miracles don’t kill the people using them.” “Yes, Jason. Sometimes they do.”

What kind of man would let his friends go off and do this without him?” Hero smiled. “The kind I will never meet.”

“Isn’t a choice,” Gary said, cutting off the god again. Hero made no sign of anger, his expression instead that of a proud but sad father. “The fact that you see it that way,” Hero said, “is what brought us both here.”

You have forged [Gary’s Medium Hammer] into [Gary’s Last Hammer].