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Hero

Summary:

On the island nation of Infant Island, the family of the High Priestess must sacrifice one of their own to appease the destruction god Desghidorah for the blasphemy caused by their people. Leo had volunteered to do so and finds himself before the monster sent to their peaceful island to claim him. Yet as the beast goes for him, a kaiju suddenly comes to his rescue and fights back against the wicked sea monster.

Inspired by the Greek myth of Perseus and his act of saving Andromeda from the monster Cetus.

Notes:

This one was pretty big and I actually had to create a meme for the pantheon of gods for this story just to get an idea of how to approach it. For those interested, here's the link to the meme I made: https://www.deviantart.com/gojinya38/art/Major-Gods-of-Chikyu-1255827058

Anyway, without further ado...

Work Text:

Among the many kingdoms and empires that make up the world of Chikyū lays the island nation known as Infant Island. The island was seen as one of the most holy sights in the world, for it was where the goddess Gigamoth first came to rest and created one of the many species of kaiju – the guardian moths. And when she departed, she turned the island into a paradise with help from the goddess of life Biollante and her lover Tiamat, goddess of the ocean.

Yet the island – with its green forests and bountiful fields around its many mountains – is cast into darkness on this day. A vicious storm brews around Infant Island as the ocean begins to churn and rain starts to fall onto the homes of those who live there.

And inside of a small makeshift tent close to the shoreline, a lone guardian moth stands in silence as their body shakes. They are much like the rest of their kind, appearing as a moth standing on their hind limbs with a pair of forelimbs tipped with three claws and a pair of smaller arms tipped with scythe claws under them. From their upper back sprout wings seen on moths or butterflies while from the base of their back is a stubby, short tail with a thin and sharp stinger visible.

Yet this one stood out from many, having black fur patterns with the white fur and a black underbelly rather than a brown one. Their wings were triangular at the tips – a trait of male guardian moths – with patterns of black, green, white, and orange while they had feathery antenna above their green compound eyes.

Over this guardian moth's body is clothing which seems so out of place for a guardian moth to wear.

The normal clothing for such kaiju are cloaks, robes, tabards, and tunics along with shorts and dresses which are all of various colors inspired by the patterns on their wings. Many of the clothes they wear over their upper bodies have either open backing or slits which can be closed to allow for their wings to be out.

But none of this matches the plain white cloth which appears like a skirt which covers his lower waist and thighs before stopping above his knees. Around his waist is a golden metal belt embedded with several jewels which holds the cloth he wears in place. His upper arms have golden armlets which feature a dragon with three heads while the ankles of his lower legs have gold bands with talons that point down towards his two clawed feet. All of this makes the guardian moth look less like a kaiju one would see in the rest of the world and more like one who'd be sacrifice.

Which unfortunately is exactly what will happen to him.

Rubbing his scythe arms against each other, the guardian moth lets out a quiet whimper as his body keeps shaking against his will. He is trying his best to be brave, but he can't control the fear that he feels as he hears the rain overhead and knows what will happen to him.

For this guardian moth is Leo, the eldest son of the High Priestess of Infant Island and the next in line to be High Priest. He had lived a comfortable life as a protector of his people and had just become of age to begin taking over his mother's role with his twin sister.

Quite unfortunate that some of their people had spoken ill of the destruction god Desghidorah who sent a sea monster to rampage across one of the major cities on the island. His family prayed to Gigamoth to spare them from another attack, but the dragon god appeared before them and stated that he wanted retribution for the crime against him. Thus, he demanded that one of member of the High Priestess' family be selected and sacrificed to the sea monster to appease him if they truly wished to spare their people.

Leo had volunteered to be that sacrifice to spare both the people of Infant Island and the other members of his family. That isn't to say that he wanted to do this, but he would rather it be him losing his life over seeing one of his family being claimed by the sea monster.

As he stands there, the flap of the tent opens and the guardian moth looks up to see another of his kind enter. This guardian moth looks almost exactly like him, but is a female given her thinner feathery antenna with her compound eyes being a lighter green. She wears a light green tabard which covers her body and reaches down to her knees while having a white cloth belt around her waist that holds the scabbard for a kris sword. This tabard had the symbol of Gigamoth – a cross stylized as the sun in a circle – in yellow which matches her wings which have patterns of black, pale green, white, and yellow with the tips of her wings being rounded.

“Lea,” Leo says quietly, looking upon his twin who looks back at him in worry.

“Leo,” Lea replies, her lower arms trembling as she looks upon her brother.

Both of them stare for a moment before they step forward and hug each other as the male guardian moth trembles in the embrace. Feeling this, the female gently rubs her right upper hand over his back between his wings to try and calm him down a bit.

“I don't like this,” Lea tells her brother as she holds him, “I wish I could just slay that beast and we'd be done with it.”

“You know that wouldn't work,” Leo replies solemnly, “Desghidorah would just send another beast in retribution against our family as well.”

She really wanted to argue, but the guardian moth knew that her brother spoke the truth. Desghidorah was the god of destruction for a reason and had become the primary one when it came to punishing mortals for their slights against the pantheon.

Yet even knowing that, she wishes to keep her brother safe as he was her brother, her twin, her second soul. If his soul is calmed by the gods and sent down to the Rift, she'll never be able to sense him again and will only see him when Slattern brings the night. And that's only if her brother's soul was chosen to appear as a star and she recognized which star he would be in the night sky.

Pulling away, Leo looks into his sister's eyes as he quietly says, “I'm scared, Lea...but there's nothing we can do.”

“I...I can't just stand by and watch,” Lea replies, her body trembling much like her twin sibling.

The male guardian moth simply nods in understanding and takes a deep breath as he tries to steel his nerves. After a moment, he says, “Lea, I need to promise me something.”

“Please, don't,” Lea pleads quietly, tears pricking her eyes as she has an idea on what he's about to say.

“Promise me that you'll look after Libra for me,” Leo tells her, “Promise me that you'll watch over her and ensure she's safe when I'm gone.”

His twin sister hesitates as she looks at her brother before finally nodding to him as she keeps her mandibles shut. She truly wishes to say anything else, perhaps convince her brother to flee while she leads other kaiju to slay the sea monster to protect their people. But even she knew that such an idea was foolish, for they did not have the gods on their side outside of Gigamoth who wouldn't want them to war with another god.

Moments later, they hear the faint sound of fabric moving which causes them to separate as Lea turns around to look upon two more guardian moths and a pterosaur. The first guardian moth is an adult female with brown fur with white spots around her blue eyes with thin feathery antenna marking them as a female. She wears a majestic robes over her body which covers much of body which are orange in color with yellow and white patterns and the symbol of Gigamoth on the center. Her large wings appear out the back with them having elegant patterns of black, orange, yellow, and white.

The second guardian moth is actually a young one in their larva form, their body covered in brown, leathery skin on the back as they rearing up to lift up their head and thorax. Their smaller six arms – tipped with small claws – tapped against each other as their tiny pink eyes look up at the other two.

The pterosaur with them stands out – a given due to being a different species – with them having two horns from the back of their head and a black chipped beak. Their wings are folded up to allow their two fingers and thumbs to operate as hands which also hid the molten appearance of their wings. Over their body is a pair of short pants which stop at their knees with a black belt around their waist that holds a black scabbard for a curved falchion. Their chest is bare, showing off their chest which has rows of spikes adorning it along with their dark red scales and a necklace bearing a silver pendant of the symbol of Gigamoth around their neck.

Both Leo and Lea instantly recognized them, for these three are the other members of their family. Their parents – High Priestess Mothra and Captain Phenex of the island's guardsmen – stand their with somber looks upon their faces while their younger sister Libra carries an innocent look. The twins understood that their youngest sibling didn't know what exactly was going on, just that something bad was happening.

“Brother?” Libra asks, tilting her head, “Why are you wearing that?”

Her older brother swallows before he calmly walks forward and kneels down to be more at her height. Leo gently wraps his arms around her while nuzzling her forehead affectionately which causes Libra to chirp as her six arms grab onto him.

“I'm going to need to leave, Libra,” Leo whispers to her, “And...I won't be coming back.”

“Why?” Libra asks, looking up at her older sibling, “We were going to play today, remember?”

“Yes...yes, I remember,” the male guardian moth replies, sucking in air before he continues, “But I have to go. Please behave yourself. Can you do that for me?”

Hearing that makes the larva nod even as her tiny eyes appear to grow wet with tears before Leo nuzzles her forehead again. When he separates from her and stands up, he finds himself embraced by his parents as he hugs them back as they nuzzle his face.

“I prayed to Yokuryū to see if she or Heiki could intervene on our behalf,” Phenex quietly tells his son.

“And?” Leo asks, his voice having that little bit of hope that the prayers were heard.

“I have not received any signs from either of them,” his father tells him, looking down in sadness, “I...I'm sorry, Leo.”

The guardian moth looks to his father for a moment before nodding his head in understanding even as a shiver runs up his spine and wings. Yet Mothra nuzzles his cheek as she hugs him tightly, her eyes still full of hope despite how things have gone against them.

“Leo...you are brave for doing this,” she tells him quietly, “I know Gigamoth has not abandoned you...have faith and she shall be with you even if you must go. Always remember that no matter what...you are and always will be loved.”

Leo keeps his mandibles shut – not wanting to scare his younger sister – as he looks at his mother and nods in agreement. The older guardian moth gently takes his head into her upper hands and leans it down as she presses her mandibles against the gemstones on his forehead. Moments later, the pterosaur gently nuzzles and preens the fur on his neck as his little sister hugs his leg and Lea hugs him from behind.

In that moment, the male guardian moth shivers as he allows himself to enjoy this final moment with his family. He can still feel the fear within his body, but his parents and siblings allow him to calm himself from what he's about to do.

It'll only brief, but it's still enough for him.

As the family embraces the male guardian moth, they hear the movement of fabric but they seem to ignore it as they continue the hug. But then three voices began to speak all at once, breaking the peaceful moment.

“High Priestess...it's time.”

The trio of voices are chipped, stopping any argument even as all three carry remorse and sympathy for the family. Mothra lets out a sorrowful sigh as she's the first to break the embrace and gently picks up her youngest offspring. Phenex gently nuzzles his son's forehead before he pulls away with Lea pressing her mandibles against the back of his head as she releases him.

They all look over to see a ghidoran with reddish golden scales with their pure red eyes look right at the male guardian moth while conveying a sense of sorrow. Their wings are tucked in to allow their three fingers and thumb to operate with their body covered by black clothing including a tabard with a stylized seven pointed star in orange.

The symbol of Desghidorah, god of destruction.

Leo looks up and nods which is returned as the ghidoran steps out of the way while pulling back the tent's flap to show the outside. The other members of his family slowly file out before a minute passes and the male guardian moth takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. Upon walking out of the tent, he finds rain coming down in a light shower and several of the island guardsmen stand at attention. They are made up of various kaiju in reddish brown clothing covering their bodies while holding wooden shields and spears in their hands.

The ghidoran comes out of the tent and walks past the guardian moth as the guardsmen all turn in tandem with his movement. Once all are ready, the guardsmen and Leo follow after the priest of the destruction god who leads them up an incline which leads to a small cliff on the shore line of Infant Island. As they continue walking, the guardian moth glances over his shoulder to see many of the people who live there along with several guardsmen and his family up front. His parents and sisters keep their eyes on him which makes him swallow as he turns his head back forward just as the group reaches two stone pillars.

Two of the guardsmen gently grab and get the guardian moth in between the pillars as two more take steel shackles linked to chains attached to said pillars. The guardsmen gently lift up Leo's upper arms as the shackles are clamped tightly around his wrists with little room for his arms to move. His body trembles and shakes, but takes a deep breath to steel his nerves even as the ghidoran sees right through it.

Yet the ghidoran doesn't reveal it, instead turning around to face the choppy ocean as waves crash against the cliff and the shoreline. Raising his wings into the air as the guardsmen begin to head to the rest of the islanders, the ghidoran begins to shout in the sacred language of his people. Leo doesn't understand what he's saying, but he knows that such a thing is necessary when conversing with Desghidorah as one of his priests.

The priest of the destruction god continues to shout towards the ocean which causes the rain to come down harder and the ocean seemingly begins to rage. Leo could only watch as the waves crash against the cliff with the water spray reaching over the edge with each strike as the clouds grow ever darker. The flashing of lightning racing across the sky and within the clouds can be seen followed by the echoing thunder with him hearing the cry of Libra from it.

The guardian moth's body continues to quake as the shaking becomes visible and his hands clench in a vain attempt to ground himself. He cannot scream, for help wouldn't be coming if he tried to call out. Leo had chosen to be sacrificed to the sea monster to protect his people and he intended to see if through even if he didn't want to.

Finally, the ghidoran finishes with a final shout which causes a loud boom of thunder before he briefly turns to look at the guardian moth. The priest doesn't say a word, just gazing at him in sorrow before he takes his leave as he heads to the rest of their people.

His job was done and he could do no more. Leo is now truly on his own.

Watching the ocean, the guardian moth feels the cold rain sting his exoskeleton even with the fur on his body which only makes the shaking worse. He keeps his mandibles closed tight even as he lets out soft whimpers as he lightly tugs on the chains. In his mind, Leo begins to pray to every god that comes to his mind – including Chikyū himself – to stop all of this...to come to his aid and rescue him. To show that his fate is not sealed and that he could continue living for both his family and his people.

Yet the water close to the shoreline suddenly erupts as a sinister howl echoes through the air.

As the water falls back into the ocean, it reveals a massive beast with a round head that has a mouth full of needle teeth and a green glow coming from the crystal orb embedded into its forehead. Red fins adorn the face and top of its head which is itself attached to a reptilian body thanks to a relatively long neck. Large fins come out of the shoulders as slime covers the dark scales that make up most of its body except for its light colored underbelly. The beast lets out a second howl as the water behind it explodes upward as the tail fluke of a fish rises up for a brief moment before coming back down.

It lets out another howl – one that sounds like the mix of raspy laughter and gargling – as Leo looks on in horror as he recognizes the creature. For it was one of the oldest monsters to ever exist in Chikyū, one of the first monsters ever made by the ocean goddess herself.

Kaishin Muba.

Kaishin Muba

The chains begin to rattle as the guardian moth looks upon the sea monster with his heart beating hard against his chest as if trying to escape. His whimpers grew louder as his lower arms begin to move on their own, flicking the scythe blades at the beast in a vain attempt to intimidate. At that moment, his body is reacting as any of his kind would with him unable to do anything given the situation he found himself in.

As he continues to struggle, Leo watches as Kaishin Muba looks down at him and gains a wicked grin before it let loose another of its sinister howls. The crystal ball on its head flashes with a bright light which causes the waves to crash higher onto the cliff. Within moments, the water begins to stay and flood over the small cliff as it reaches up to the guardian moth's ankles.

He attempts to move his feet out of the water, but the guardian moth quickly finds his efforts futile with his arms shackled to the stone pillars. And as he watches, two swarms of tentacles suddenly emerge from under the water as they move right for him.

Despite trying not to scream, Leo still finds himself whimpering loudly as the tentacles begin to reach him with the first ones grabbing onto his right leg. He attempts to pull it back, but their hold is strong as more tentacles wrap around his waist and chest. And as these cold, slimy limbs grab onto him, Leo suddenly felt his arms fighting harder against the chains despite knowing that his fate is sealed.

Yet as he tugs, one of the links to the chain holding his left arm begins to fail as one part begins to crack which widens with each passing second. This single link is far softer than the rest, having been made of lower quality materials compared to the other links in the chain. With the strain from the guardian moth and the rain, the link is reaching its limit as Leo struggles against the chains.

Then, without warning, the stone pillar suddenly shifts due to the ground under it becoming mud and causing it to sink. The strain put upon the link becomes too much and it shatters, freeing Leo's arm as the stone pillar falls backward with a large splash.

Upon his arm being freed, Leo's brave face completely shatters.

The guardian moth screams, his arm swinging down as his claws attempt to slash into the tentacles around him with his scythe claws doing the same. Each strike is accompanied by a cry before the gems on his forehead glow with energy as three green lasers blast forth. While his claws do nothing other than get slime on them, the trio of green lasers do burn a few tentacles with one being severed from the combined blast.

“Brother!!”

Hearing his young sister, Leo turns to his people as he sees them watching this all unfold in terror with many obviously scared of the sea monster. Yet he sees his family, his mother holding onto Libra tightly as his father and twin sister are held back by guardsmen. Both hold their drawn swords, but his father has two other kaiju holding him while his sister is being restrained by far more. But that doesn't stop Lea from firing a trio of lasers which are yellow, green, and blue that spiral together into a single beam. This beam strikes Kaishin Muba's neck and head, yet do nothing as the slime covering his body is simply too slick and allows the energy to wash over its body.

Leo would not blame the guardsmen for thinking of their people, but right now he is terrified and only wanting away from this dreadful sea monster. As he feels the tugging around his waist and his feet sliding from it, panic fully sets in as he looks up to the heaven and screams as loud as he possibly can.

“Gigamoth!! Chikyū!! Noa!! Anyone!! PLEASE, HELP ME!!!”

And as if the gods heard him, a red beam with orange energy spiraling around it streaks across the sky as it slams right into the right side of the sea monster's face. The beam causes an explosion, causing a howl of pain to rip itself from Kaishin Muba as bright yellow blood sprays from the wound.

Instantly, all kaiju freeze as they watch the sea monster thrash its head around before a second beam lances at the tentacles with several exploding in half from the force alone. As several tentacles loosen and fall from his body, Leo snaps his head in the direction that the beam attacks had come from.

And there, in the darkened sky among the pouring rain, he sees them.

A kaiju traveling through the air without wings, racing right for him with a cloak covering much of their body except for a shield shining in the rain and a sword in their right hand. Each moment they come closer and closer as the water recedes back into the ocean due to the monster's focus being broken. Just as the wet grass and soil can be seen, the kaiju lands and advances while raising their sword as Leo sees that it's a tsurugi with a blade of nanometal – a substance only the gods could forge with.

The light greyish blue blade comes down and chops through several tentacles in a single strike causing Kaishin Muba to let loose another howl of pain before several more are cleaved through. Each strike causes more tentacles to fall from the guardian moth's body until another blast of that red and orange beam causes the sea monster to retract them.

A shaky breath comes from his mandibles as Leo looks upon the kaiju who saved him as the winds from the storm cause their cloak to billow in the air. And just in time, for he sees the head of a gojiran turn with him staring right into their light orange eyes. The darkness of the storm means he couldn't make out their scales, but those eyes stand out like a beacon of hope to the guardian moth.

“Hold still!” the gojiran shouts with a masculine voice, “I cut you loose!”

Leo instantly nods as he turns his body and pulls against the chain still on his right arm, getting the links to be taut from his pull. Moments later, the tsurugi cuts the chains with a single swing and the guardian moth stumbles back a few steps as he looks at the gojiran. Said kaiju gives him a genuine smile – one fitting for a hero from the old tales – as Leo opens his mouth to speak.

Yet before he could utter a word, the sinister howl of the sea monster echoes as the two turn their heads to see Kaishin Muba staring at them in anger and hatred. The crystal ball on its forehead glows brightly before a green energy beam is fired right at the two kaiju.

The guardian moth barely has time to react when the gojiran wraps an arm around him and suddenly takes to the skies right before the beam hits. The Water Mirror Ray rakes across the cliff, causing it to explode and sending chunks of it flying around with the gojiran barely managing to avoid being hit by the debris. For his part, Leo holds onto the gojiran by his clothing and the armor they wear as a growl comes from him.

“Balkzarden!” the gojiran shouts, twisting his body to avoid another blast of the Mirror Water Ray as he seems to glide across the sky. Moments later, a feminine voice echos from around the two.

Kaishin Muba is interfering with my control of the skies. I can send down lightning to draw its attention, but you'll need to stop its powers to slay it.”

A sigh comes from the gojiran as he keeps his eyes on the sea monster and Leo turns his head to look upon the beast. The guardian moth notices Kaishin Muba's head turned to keep its eyes on them as the crystal orb flashes green again.

Suddenly, he makes a realization as the guardian moth turns to the gojiran and says, “It's forehead. That must be where its power comes from.”

The gojiran glances at him before they suddenly drop to avoid the Mirror Water Ray with them flying lower as the sea begins to rise. Leo watches as the water begins tp spin as it raises further and further towards the two when the curved, comma shaped bead on a necklace the gojiran wears glows and radiates heat. Seconds later, the guardian moth watches the other kaiju launching the red and orange beam from his mouth which almost instantly vaporizes the forming water spout.

Kaishin Muba howls and moves forward while tentacles shoot out of the water towards the two who realize just how close to the water they've gotten. Yet moments later, a lightning bolt comes down and strikes the sea monster's body causing another howl of pain. Another lightning bolt follows, raking across its body before more bolts come raining down upon the beast with each second that passes.

Seeing this, the gojiran begins to fly forward and low as he moves through the tentacles with those that got to close being blasted by lightning bolts. Leo holds on tightly, his body shaking as they flew dangerously close to the sea monster who is thankfully too busy launching his green energy beam at the sky above. The two kaiju manage to get away as the gojiran flies right for the people and lands on the shore before gently letting the guardian moth go.

“Brother!” Libra and Lea shouts at the same time, seeing their brother safe.

The guardian moth quickly runs to his family who embraces him without a moment of hesitation, ignoring the events happening for a moment. That is until the sounds of lightning stop and they hear the sinister howl of Kaishin Muba right as something lands softly on Leo's wings.

“Put that on him, quickly!” the gojiran shouts, “It'll make him invisible to the monster!”

Upon hearing that, Phenex grabs the cloth on his son's wings as he and Lea quickly cover the male guardian moth with the gojiran's cloak. Within moments, the cloak hugs Leo's body and presses his wings against his back as he pulls the hood over his head before tucking his arms under the cloth. Upon doing so, his body feels heavy and his senses seem to dull which results in that sinister howl to become far more quiet.

Turning around to face the two kaiju, Kaishin Muba swims forward as it spots the gathered kaiju only to stop as it scans all of those on the shore. It sees many kaiju from tyrannosaurs and praying mantises to ghidorans, pterosaurs, and a plentiful amount of guardian moths. However, the guardian moth acting as a sacrifice has vanished from its view before its eyes go down to see the gojiran who attacked it.

Said gojiran stands unafraid, holding onto their tsurugi while the silver circular shield covers their left arm and side. They wear a breastplate with armored plates at the bottom covering its hips over their clothes while a harpoon hangs off their back due to a rope tied to it.

Kaishin Muba lets out another howl as it shoot out its tentacles to attack the gojiran with the curved bead on his necklace glows brightly as he fires his beam attack. The red beam with orange energy spiraling around it rake across the tentacles which shred them with ease causing a howl of pain. Yet the sea monster doesn't back down as the crystal orb on its head glows with energy before firing the Mirror Water Ray at the gojiran.

Leo watches as he stands with his family – unseen by Kaishin Muba due to the cloak – as the gojiran angles his shield and reflects the green ray back at the monster. Struck in the chest by its own beam, the sea monster howls before that same red and orange beam strikes nearly the same area causing explosions and spraying of blood. The water continues to churn as the beast's blood mixes into the water and the rain continues to beat down onto the island as Kaishin Muba charges up for another attack.

Yet this is when the gojiran acts, launching the red and orange beam just seconds before the Mirror Water Ray could be fired. The beam strikes the charged up crystal orb causing a massive explosion and a land quaking scream to come from Kaishin Muba. As it shakes its head with blood pouring out of the wound, the rain suddenly stops and the ocean begins to slowly calm down as if returning to normal.

Smiling, the gojiran runs forward before leaping into the air as Leo catches the sight of their wheeled boots right as the wheels begin to turn forward. The kaiju catches onto the winds as he rides them forward right for the sea monster and slashes their neck with his tsurugi causing more blood to spill.

All of the kaiju present watch as the storm clouds begin to dissipate and turn into normal clouds as the ocean returns to its normal state. Within a minute, the clouds part and the late morning sun shines onto Infant Island while also showing the fight which is happening.

They watch as Kaishin Muba tries to fight back but to no avail as the gojiran cuts through any tentacle that reaches him and blasts its body with the strange version of his species atomic breath. These are combined with the usage of the harpoon from his back, which pierces and tears open the sea monster's skin with each puncture. The beast keeps howling as blood flows freely from its body which grows weaker and weaker with each strike it takes.

Until at last, the gojiran lands on the head of Kaishin Muba and rams his harpoon into the monster's forehead where the shattered crystal orb is. The steel spear head pierces through up to where the mount rests, silencing a howl instantly as the sea monster freezes. Seconds past before the sea monster begins to sway and then its body falls forward as the gojiran jumps off as he rides on the winds away from the beast.

Kaishin Muba falls into the ocean and its body remains floating for all to see before the waves wash over it. All watch as the sea monster – once one of the oldest mortal beings to ever exist – sinks beneath the waves and out of sight from all.

A shaky breath comes from Leo moments before the kaiju of the island begin to cheer and celebrate the demise of the sea monster. The male guardian moth takes off the hood of the cloak as he watches the gojiran fly back over to the shoreline where he lands.

In the sunlight, Leo and the others finally see the gojiran's green scales with his dorsal plates which have a unique gold coloration to the tips. A dark blue hara-ate dou breastplate with an attached kusazuri skirt of plates covers their torso and the green tunic they wear with black trousers covering their lower body. The silver shield is over his left arm while the tsurugi is in a scabbard held to his waist by a green obi cloth belt with a large red cloth bag held on the right side of the belt. The gojiran's feet are covered in brown colored wheeled boots, a well known magical type of boots with brass wheels on the outer ankles to ride the winds.

The gojiran lifts up his right arm to show his harpoon with much of the metal shaft broken before he lets out a sigh and slips it over his shoulder. The male guardian moth watches as the gojiran turns to look at them right as a few guardsmen step towards Leo and his family just to be on the safe side.

Taking a few steps forward, the gojiran gives them a bow in respect before he says, “I hope everyone is alright-”

Before he could finish, Leo rushes up and hugs him as he presses his mandibles to their muzzle in a passionate kiss. The guardian moth keeps the kiss going for a few seconds before pulling back, looking into the face of the stunned gojiran.

“Thank you!” Leo exclaims happily, “Oh, thank you so much!”

As the world catches back up to him, the gojiran lets out a shock laugh and smiles as he replies, “O-Of course. I...I wasn't e-expecting...I-I mean...”

Fortunately for the gojiran, the male guardian moth dives his head under his and rests his head as he hugs the other kaiju. The gojiran remains still – obviously unsure of what to do – which allows Mothra and Phenex to walk up to the two.

“Great warrior, what is your name?” Phenex asks, a smile on his face as Lea quickly steps up to his side.

Turning his attention to the pterosaur, the gojiran takes a breath before he proclaims, “I am Gojo of Selgina. Son of the exiled Princess Rin of Adonoa and...the god Heiki.”

Upon hearing that, Leo pulls away as he looks upon the gojiran as he hears whispers from behind him from the other kaiju. He had heard tales of the gods having offspring with mortals before – his parents always had stories about them – but he heard the gojiran and he could tell he spoke the truth. For the voice from earlier, when he called to the sky goddess Balkzarden, still rings through his mind and the male guardian moth quickly realizes something.

“That's how you have this cloak and your sword,” Leo states in awe.

“Yes,” the gojiran – or rather, Gojo – replies, “And I was given more, for I'm heading home from a quest that I had been on for about two weeks now.”

“Well, we thank you for taking the time to come to our aid,” Mothra says as she keeps holding onto Libra, “But now I fear that Desghidorah will come for you, for he demanded we sacrifice a member of my family to stop his retribution against our people.”

Just after she finishes speaking, a soft breeze picks up around them as the guardsmen and the other kaiju notice it as well. And as it blows gently past them, the feminine voice from earlier comes through once again.

Allow me and your patron god to handle him, High Priestess. I assure you, neither your people nor my champion will be troubled by Desghidorah due to this event.”

Just as soon as the voice spoke, the breeze stops with Leo releasing the gojiran and stepping back as the ghidoran priest walks forward. Gojo turns his head as he notices them and he turns his body to respectfully look at the priest of the destruction god.

As a part of the island's people, I wish to thank you for slaying the monster that had attacked our people,” the ghidoran says with a slight smile before it quickly falls, “However, as the resident priest of Lord Desghidorah, you had also done something that was as foolish as it was brave. We can only hope your patron god and Gigamoth can convince him to spare us.”

“I...cannot argue against that,” Gojo replies with humility, nodding his head in understanding before he smirks while putting his right hand on the bag on his cloth belt, “Though what's more foolish, what I did or going after the monster Gargorgon with just a harpoon?”

The High Priestess and her family look upon the gojiran in shock as the ghidoran barely seems to react as his six eyes glance down at the bag. Leo and Lea glance down at the bag as well before they hear the priest of the destruction god states, “You are either extremely rash or foolish if that is what you did.”

“You can blame the King of Selgina for wanting it as a gift,” Gojo says, rolling his eyes, “Anyway, I'm going to need to leave and head home.”

“Oh, please don't leave just yet,” Mothra says as she steps forward, “You have saved my son and my people from that sea monster. Please, stay just for a little bit so that we may celebrate your actions.”

Instantly, the gojiran begins to grow nervous as he stutters out, “W-Well, my mother's w-waiting for me a-along with my second mother a-and father-”

“I'm certain that you're tired from fighting that monster and you could use the rest,” Phenex states, obviously having a game plan, “And plus, your harpoon is broken. My people can repair it, especially if you need it when you return home.”

Leo watches as the gojiran actually blinks at that before turning his head to look over his shoulder at the broken weapon. In that moment, the male guardian moth decides to help his family as he steps forward and gently takes Gojo's left hand into his right. This makes the gojiran look at him as Leo looks up with his compound eyes staring right into those lovely light orange eyes.

“I'd love to show you around if you stay,” Leo states, a sense of longing carrying through his voice.

“You can join Leo and Lea when we play later!” Libra states happily, making the gojiran chuckle from her statement.

“I don't think we'll let you go without staying a little bit,” Lea remarks with a bit of a tease, “Besides, you may end up with something more than just a new harpoon if you stay.”

Gojo shakes his head while smiling and turns back to look at the male guardian moth before he lets out a soft sigh. After a moment, he states, “Alright. But just for a few hours to rest.”

Leo gently nods as the kaiju of the island cheer while he feels the gojiran gently squeeze his hand with him squeezing back. In that moment, the guardian moth feels a spark from the gentle touch as his heart begins to beat a bit faster and he looks at the hero standing before him.

The hero who saved his life.