Limitless The Strongest Revenant

It was something nobody expected. The whole time we didn't ask questions. We were told to blast the undead as they sought to kill us. Monsters and demonkin fell into the same category. It was natural to fear something you did not understand.

And with fear came anger and hatred. Over the centuries, how many reapers died at the hands of these monsters? How many monsters were butchered by reapers? Just today, haven't the Sirens and I massacred over ten thousand of them?

Even in war, the quickest way to get over killing people was to see them as monsters. Anime and manga never failed to drive this point home. Those who could kill monsters with ease might suddenly find themselves getting slaughtered when fighting humans.

Because once you recognize something as human, you start to see things you didn't see before. What motivated them. What they believed. What they valued. And most of all, what they would be willing to die for.

The Alpha before me began to break down all these notions.
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Unlike those who came before him, he appraoched us intent on changing the norm. While I still didn't fully understand what pale ones meant, it was clear that warm bloods meant humans. Or more specifically, Reapers.

This bastard had deliberately come to seek humans. And it did so because it knew that we were stronger than those it feared. That means this bastard understood the concept of rebelling against the status quo.

It sought allies when faced with an enemy it couldn't defeat. And contrary to what you might expect, instead of allying with its fellow monsters, it came to us instead.

{You warm blood. Warm bloods strong. I know. The pale ones fear warm bloods. I seek warm bloods. Warm bloods kill pale ones.

I follow warm bloods.}

My {kindred} link grew wild with the emotions of my harem. Each of my women had beliefs rooted in their history. Even for them, the possibility brought by this single monster shook all foundations. Funnily enough, their suggestions made things even more complicated.

'Beloved, this monster... how many are like it? Are the monsters in the North similar? If we can understand what they want, maybe we can negotiate instead of massacring each other.'

Liv naturally thought about the consequences for her homeland. All this time it had been Reapers against everything else. But if the monsters could be turned into allies, or even just neutral. The impact would be significant. As she saw the horrors of the conflict, peace was all the more important to her.

'So it seems that the three types of enemies are not allied, but rather have a complicated balance of power. Then it should be possible to interfere and break their alliance! We might even be able to turn them against each other! Dearest, this is wonderful news!'

Lilly went beyond Liv's assumptions and actively wanted to destabilize the power balance. After all, if the three factions started a three-way war, the Reapers could take advantage of the situation.

'Possum, do we really have to save this wanker? Can't we just kill him? I do not like all this cloak and dagger crap. It's not like us. I say we kill it.'

Robyn represented those who were, for lack of a better word, simple-minded. They were perfectly happy to give up all the benefits. For while there were benefits, there were also risks. For one, this bastard could be lying. Or he could lead my harem and me into a trap.

'Darling, I can detect no malice from Alphy. Alphy is even stupider than Robyn! He really hates the Pale Ones. Oh! And I read his mind, the Pale Ones are vampires. It turns out that a bunch of vampires slaughtered his harem for sport.

He has held a grudge against them ever since.'

Being able to read minds, Jo's thoughts were quite simple. This monster did not have the ability to scheme. And even the chance of someone using it was slim. From the story Jo saw, this Alpha was a victim and was simply driven by revenge.

'Honey, we have to be very careful about what we do from now on. Aside from the possibility of betrayal by this monster, we have to be wary of Hellsend's reaction. Gareth's group in particular has suffered losses as defenders. They may not like the idea of suddenly working with those they fought against.'

As always, Bella was looking at the big picture. She was right. Hellsend was still trying to lay its foundations. If it became known that I was suddenly working with monsters, it might cause a problem. To the reapers like Scott, Joshua and Angela, who had lost loved ones, such decisions would be seen as a betrayal.

'Husband, this monster is a gold mine of information. We know very little about vampires. We can use it's knowledge to make plans on how to hunt and kill them all. We just have to play along. Once we get all we can from it, we can kill this monster and turn it into supplies.'

Jasmine reminded me of a ruthless hunter. Her mind was already thinking about how to kill our next targets, the vampires on the 32nd floor. She had no qualms about betraying this beast. She fully intended to use it's knowledge and then stab it in the back when it had no more to offer.

'Anata, we should train and empower this monster. No one but us will know that we command it. We can enslave it. If possible, we will let this Alpha lead us to his colony and capture the ones still there. With its ability to render {Fates} useless, it will be a powerful card for the invaders coming in three months' time.'

Aki, much like Jasmine, didn't even treat this Alpha like a person. She treated it like an animal. Fully intent on weaponizing it, her thoughts were all about using this new wild card to win the coming wars with the other continents.

Liv and Jo wanted to treat it as an ally.

Aki wanted to use it as a weapon and unleash it on the other continents.

Jas and Lilly saw an opportunity to use the Alpha to wreak havoc on the undead.

Robyn wanted to kill it for the sole reason that it would complicate things too much.

Bella was more concerned with our response than the beast in question.

'You are all right. I am actually unsure how to proceed...'

There were pros and cons to using this monster. The plans the girls had were all solid. So much so that I was confused about which way to go. But while I recognized their plans, a more fundamental question needed to be asked.

Which was: Do we see this thing as an equal?

In the past, humans fought wars for supremacy, the defeated becoming inferior and thus enslaved. The slaves were not considered equal and could be beaten, tortured and killed without consequence.

As humanity evolved, most of the civilized world eventually came to believe that all races were equal. A common theme in fiction and media was racism. Whether it was cat girls, demons, robots, elves, or whatever else people could come up with, it was always racism.

After all, people didn't like to see their own family kill someone else's family. But if it was someone of a different race or species. It wasn't as bad. Especially if there were significant benefits.

Didn't people keep pets and livestock for the same reason? If you treated a normal human being like a pet or livestock, you would be considered inhumane.

But if you tied up a dog and ignored it for a week, you would be a lousy pet owner at best. If you raised cows to eat, you were not a monster, but a rich bastard.