The journey from New Jersey to Colorado took at least 30 hours. Honestly, it was the longest road trip Dim-Dim had ever taken. He didn't know what to do to kill time, and all he could think of was playing games with Velicia. Unfortunately, Velicia was very serious about her first mission involving Type A monsters and refused to play games because she wanted to discuss tactics with herself—like thinking about what color to dye her hair.V: "What about you? Didn't you ever think about wanting to transform into any animal before doing a mission?" Velicia had asked twenty minutes ago via the TIC message box, and now Dim-Dim found himself nervous.Of course, Dim-Dim always decided to become the most powerful animals in the food chain. But maybe he was wrong. He should have decided to transform into the most crucial animal in this mission, besides being a monster. But the problem was, what was the most crucial animal for this mission?For the first time that week, he had contacted Mr. Smith
When hearing the name Junai Zore, the leader of the 'Animal Lovers' or 'Monster Lovers' group, Dim-Dim immediately felt nervous. However, the monster within him was even more jittery.Filled with feelings of resentment and irritation, the strongest creature on earth was not ready to be captured by humans. He had never felt threatened by humans like this before."Relax, Monster," Dim-Dim reassured the creature. "This is part of the plan. Calm down.""You are human. Humans would not understand," the monster said, then retreated far from Dim-Dim's mind. 'I hate humans."Dim-Dim was stunned. Confused."Hey, this type A monster seems so calm, doesn't it?" one of the captors said."Looks like it just chowed down, man... am I right?" another replied. "Yo, Gus! Peep this Type A monster, it's chill as heck, ain't it?""Ugh. As long as it's not sick. That damn veterinarian has been refusing to cooperate lately and pretending to be sick.""I'm curious why Junai Zore hasn't offed him yet.""Of co
"Haha. Do your job first, then you can eat, Justin Damisch."The intense rage consumed Dim-Dim so fiercely, so ferociously, so urgently that Dim-Dim suddenly felt an overwhelming nausea, completely unrelated to the dragonfly body he was currently inhabiting. This is what is called Vendetta.Dim-Dim flew towards a narrow and quiet corridor, then transformed back into himself.He hastily tapped the communication device embedded in his ear."Damian, Damian!" he whispered in panic."Hullo! What's up?" Florence was the first to respond to his call."Dim-Dim, are you okay?" Clarinassa asked, while Dim-Dim struggled to control his rapid breath."He doesn't sound okay," said Oriyan. "Hey, Damisch, your brother's looking for you... Put the pie down first.""Dim-Dim, why are you short of breath?" Xavera asked."No, not like that," said Dim-Dim. "I feel like I want to throwing up," he confessed.Dim-Dim had just seen his father, sick and imprisoned, subjected to improper food, treated with disda
"Nullify?" Dim-Dim asked, horrified. "Do you mean, to vanish? Is he really going to make my powers vanish?""Just for an hour," his father said, mournfully. "But usually Junai Zore's victims don't last long, because, you know. Superpowered kids are turned into monster feed. Oh, thank goodness he still has some mercy on me. Thank God."Dim-Dim stared at his father in horror. Not because of the fate that befell those unfortunate people, that he already knew. But he was terrified to see his father genuinely believe that Junai Zore still had mercy."Stop it, you're making me worried," Dim-Dim said. "Father, just eat, please. Replenish your energy."His father said nothing more, as he began to eat eagerly.Dim-Dim closed his eyes, trying to calm his raging anger."Damian will come," Dim-Dim said to himself. "So we'll both be fine."But not fifteen minutes later, Junai Zore returned. "Justin, sedate those monsters and help move them to the truck." The man tossed a piece of red meat at his f
Dim-Dim and Velicia dashed out of the Monster Lovers' headquarters, veering towards the forest. They were immediately greeted by Venator-Venator, who promptly shot down monsters from afar."There are too many of them," said Xavier."I'm exhausted," panted Dim-Dim, running desperately alongside Velicia."Why don't you transform into a fast-running animal?" asked Velicia."I can't, Junai Zore stripped me of my powers," Dim-Dim explained. At that moment, two other Illicitors in blue uniforms joined them, causing the monster forces to split into four. "Junai Zore, he just touched me, and then I couldn't transform into animals anymore."For a moment, no one responded to Dim-Dim's words as everyone was too busy with their own tasks. The Illicitors dispersed to lead monsters into four different traps. Dim-Dim didn't know the locations of these traps, so he ran straight ahead, finding Charlotte Mew and two other snipers shooting monsters behind them.Dim-Dim felt like fainting from running, h
Back to Safe City New Jersey, Dim-Dim was immediately burdened with school assignments given by his teachers, which were quite a lot since he had been on break for a few days.So, for the first two days, he was busy doing those homeworks. Luckily, Dim-Dim was quite smart, and he was the type of kid who understood things better from reading books than being explained directly by teachers.Actually, those tasks were very helpful for Dim-Dim. Because if there was nothing to do, Dim-Dim's mind would wander back to his father. Damian said that next week his father would stay here with them, and at that time they would move to the housing complex of people with superpowers. This was Damian's request, as he said he wanted to live in Safe City as a 'family' with his father and younger brother. But for some reason, Dim-Dim was so afraid of meeting his father.Without anyone's knowledge, Dim-Dim kept having nightmares since the day he met his father. His dreams often revolved around transformin
Everyone was frozen in place. The buzzing sound of the AC, instrumental music, the faint sound of people chatting—vanished."I need to talk," Justin said without turning to Dim-Dim, flipping through the pages of his book."About what?" Dim-Dim asked. The silence around them felt suffocating, and he tapped his fingers on the bookshelf to break the quiet."Edel," Justin replied. "She's been telling everyone at school that there's some kind of vibe between you. But I gotta check with you directly. Are you two a thing?"Dim-Dim furrowed his brow. "Me and Edel? We are not dating, but we are good friends. What's with the interrogation? Unlike you, who enjoy hiding facts about your powers, I'm too busy working with the Venators."Okay, that was a harsh jab.Justin glared at him. "I can't let them know about my power, I ain't about to die over some stupidity" Justin said. "My life is too precious to be risked for people I don't even know.""Even people you don't know have something they want
The café was located near the Jersey Devil's hut; a mythical creature said to resemble a kangaroo with the head of a goat. Dim-Dim was actually quite curious about that mythical creature, but his curiosity was pushed aside when they arrived in front of 9 Prose-Musics café. The café was simple, resembling a wooden house. As they stepped inside, the AC immediately blasted their hair, accompanied by the scent of old books and coffee. They were greeted by a woman in a detective-like costume."Hi, may I know your names, and what caffeinated drinks you'd like to order?" she asked in an investigative manner. "And, not to be too familiar, I'm also curious about your reading preferences."Velicia laughed. Clearly enjoying the woman's game."I'll have a matcha latte," said Edel, smiling thinly. "I like comics about animals.""Just a cappuccino for me," said Justin. "Action comics about Venators."Dim-Dim ordered cola, Velicia ordered espresso with a preference for teen romance fiction, and Vali