Author: Landon Soto | Banner: Vincent Rodger

Days had passed since the titan’s journey first began. With each step the ground quaked and trembled, shaggy brown fur swayed and shook as the wind pushed against it. Powerful limbs moved their owner as the being continued his trek across the green valleys.

The giant ape-like mammoth titan, Behemoth, left tracks the size of Olympic swimming pools amidst his march. His bulky body moved with a presence that commanded respect. With hulking arms, he walked on his knuckles like a gorilla.

Massive tusks swayed gently as the beast marched onward, leaving his home of Rio de Janeiro in order to expand his territory. He had passed a few towns and cities on the way but the military did their best to not provoke the ape-like mammoth. Instead they used jets to try and lure him away from populated areas, preventing him from flattening people and leveling buildings to the ground.

Behemoth had felt like he was close to reaching an ideal length of new territory. He continued to push on, passing large mountains that were either as tall as him or even grander. Despite being one of the largest creatures to walk the Earth, there were still times he felt humbled by the planet itself. The titan occasionally glanced up at the overcast sky, admiring the abundant amount of gray and white puffballs suspended far above him.

As Behemoth moved, the rocks and trees on one mountain shifted due to the vibrations caused by his steps, before completely tumbling down the mountainside in a large landslide. The noise caught the titan’s attention for a moment, before he was back on his way. Natural occurrences such as that were nothing out of the ordinary for the Titan, so naturally he dismissed it.

Unbeknownst to the wooly colossus, a pair of red eyes deep in the mountain groggily opened as they locked onto him, followed by a low but terrible growl. Behemoth could still hear the landslide behind before suddenly something caught his attention. The sound of another titan could faintly be heard, yet he did not know of any beasts of his size in this area. He could hear plenty of them across the world, but never here.

The sound continued to grow louder and more violent as the ape-like mammoth suddenly felt as if he was being watched. Slowly turning like a tank, Behemoth scoured the area but saw nothing. What he did notice, however, was the intensifying shaking of the ground. Whatever was stalking him was close.

Unfortunately, the entity was closer than the titan had thought. The ground before him cracked and bulged before erupting in a shower of rock and dirt. Suddenly, two inky black tendrils shot forth from the ground and wrapped around each of the stunned Behemoth’s tusks. The ape-like mammoth cried out in shock as he felt immense pressure pull down on him, as if the ground itself was trying to swallow him up.

Firmly planting his feet and knuckles into the ground however, Behemoth roared in defiance as he strained to raise his head. He heard the sound of some creature grunting and growling, the sounds becoming much clearer the more the titan cranked his head backwards.

Backing away from the ground, Behemoth glanced down and saw a pair of black horns rise out of the ground, each step revealing his attacker. With one final heave, the mammalian colossus heard a loud and clear roar that signaled that whatever had its grip on him had been ripped out of the ground.

Looking down, Behemoth saw the pair of long black horns curved towards him in full. Dirt fell down and obscured the beast as it shook its head. He watched as the last streams of sand dribbled off the beast’s head, revealing its face. A pair of eyes shot open to reveal blood red sclera and irises that glowed yellow like the sun. Beady black pupils stared back at the wooly titan with malice, having now come face to face with the creature that had disturbed it.

The subterranean monster, Gudon, stared down the mammoth titan, growling as he inspected his catch. This monster definitely had strength if it pulled him from the ground. Gudon released his grip on Behemoth’s tusks, forcing the strained titan to stumble back a bit. He then hoisted the rest of his body out of the ground as dirt and debris fell to the ground below.

Letting out a primal roar, Gudon slapped the earth repeatedly with his whip-like arms. Behemoth looked upon the bizarre appendages, certainly one of the most unique out of any terrestrial titan he had seen. Behemoth took notice of the thick, cream colored skin that covered the body like natural armor, and the spikes adorning the upper body, arms, thighs, and tail.

The most unnerving aspect of the subterranean monster was the mouth that practically stretched to each side of the face, giving the beast a sinister look. Gudon growled as he looked over his imminent opponent. Those flimsy tusks didn’t look bothersome, but those brawny forearms could be an issue.

Before their inevitable clash, Behemoth couldn’t help but inquire about where this Titan had been during King Ghidorah’s awakening? Why did it not heed the dragon’s call?

Gudon stared back at the mammoth titan with a blank expression. He remembered sleeping peacefully in his cave before a high pitched sound awakened him from his slumber. He had heard the call, and promptly ignored it. The subterranean monster only woke up when he wanted to, and now once again he was disturbed by this lumbering idiot.

Growling, Behemoth was annoyed at the lack of respect in ignoring the summon from an alpha. But on the other hand, he respected standing against the multi-headed being, as he was admittedly a brutal titan.

Before Behemoth could think more on what events transpired in the past, Gudon let out a roar of frustration. He wasn’t here to merely converse, he was here to dish out some punishment, once again slamming his whip-like arms on the ground.

In a rush of fury, Gudon charged at the wooly titan while letting out a terrible roar, trees flattened and dirt shot into the air amidst the charge. Behemoth had little time to react as he witnessed his foes whip-like arms shoot out towards him. The thick appendages wrapped around his tusks again and the two began a struggle.

Both beasts tried to bring the other down, both growling and grunting in the process. Gudon sneered as he let go of Behemoth, forcing the titan to stumble back. Before the mammoth titan could retaliate, Gudon brought down a whip upon Behemoth’s head, the force of the blow earning a cry of pain from the titan.

Gudon closed in as he began to throw his arms forward, whipping the face and any exposed body part that hid behind those ancient tusks. Behemoth roared out in pain as he felt his muscles bruised and cut, his thick fur acted as a shield that lessened the blows but it wasn’t enough to fully protect the titan.

Realizing that he was on the backfoot, Behemoth decided that the only way to make a difference in this duel was to push forward. In a burst of speed, Behemoth rushed forward like a charging ape, kicking up trees and plumes of dirt in his wake. The subterranean monster gasped as he attempted to counter, but he was too slow. Soon enough, ninety thousand tons of titan power slammed into Gudon like a hurtling meteor.

Falling over like a tree in a mighty storm, Gudon collapsed to the ground, his armor scuffed by the tusks of the titan. But the worst was yet to come. Behemoth began to rain fists down on Gudon’s body like a living rockslide, each blow forcing out a cry of pain.

Pain radiated off of Gudon’s skull and body as Behemoth slammed his fists into the armored monster. Behemoth then propped himself up on his hind legs, towering over the downed Gudon. His fists raised high above his head as he prepared to crack bone and armor, the sledgehammer-like fists primed for such a task.

Behemoth was ready to end this feud and move on, but he suddenly felt immense pressure on his ankles. It dawned on him, but unfortunately, he was too late to react as he was suddenly swept off his feet and landed back first to the ground. Dust exploded and obscured the area. Gudon slowly rose up as he removed his whips from Behemoth’s ankles and retracted them back to his sides.

A devilish grin crept across Gudon’s face as he now towered over the fallen Behemoth, now he was ready to pay back the wooly titan for what he had to endure. The tormentor beast swung down his whips with immense force, loud cracks echoing across the landscape as the appendages slammed into Behemoth’s underbelly.

Lashes immediately formed as Behemoth’s stomach suffered from the brutal assault from Gudon’s whips. The wooly titan cried out in agony but that only fueled the sadistic nature of his foe, encouraging him to continue the assault. Large welts formed across the mammoth titan’s torso and abdominal region.

Behemoth’s mind raced for a way to turn the tide in his favor, and quickly the answer became clear. Gudon raised his whip arms up and brought them down upon the titan, but Behemoth outstretched his lengthy arms and grabbed each whip with each hand. This did not come without cost as the force of the whips led to an intense sting in the titan’s palms.

Pulling his shaggy arms towards him, Behemoth forcefully yanked Gudon towards him. The white armored fiend fumbled forward before the roaring animal’s feet smashed into his gut. Gudon wheezed in pain before being kicked away by the wooly titan, his whips pulled out of his foe’s hands as he fell to the dirt.

After rising up from the ground, the titan looked down at his hands. Behemoth could see blood trickling down his palms, a small price to pay in order to free himself from Gudon’s savage assault. However, this act would not go unpunished, Behemoth was ready to get back at the subterranean monster.

Exasperated grunts escaped Behemoth’s mouth as he scoured the surrounding area, his eyes locked onto a large boulder. Grabbing the rock with his bloodied hands, Behemoth reared upon his hind legs and hurled the boulder at Gudon. The massive stone smashed against the thick skull of the whip monster, instantly forcing him to jolt up in pain.

Gudon cried out in pain as he stood up and rubbed his cranium. Sneering at the wooly titan who appeared to chuckle at him, he prepared to once again whip his enemy and draw blood from his hairy carcass. Seeing Gudon standing once more, Behemoth decided to really lay into the subterranean monster.

Gudon charged in a blind fury towards Behemoth, however, the latter sprung on to his hind legs and took a posture like that of a grizzly bear. Gudon looked up in a brief moment of shock as Behemoth’s bulky frame practically filled his field of vision, however he did not stop his mad dash. As soon as the subterranean monster closed in, the mammoth titan shot his sloth-like claws forward. The razor sharp blades scraped the natural armor off Gudon as bits and pieces of hardened flesh flew free.

Gudon roared in shock as he was forced backwards, sizable divots now etched in his bone white armor. Before he could retaliate, a flurry of swift slashes buffeted Gudon’s rough hide like a knife carving into wood. More hardened flesh now cut into ribbons fell to the ground with a thud.

Finally, one mighty swipe ripped apart the tough hide and into softer skin, blood flowing freely like runny yolk from a cracked egg. Gudon cried out in pain as he felt his own life essence slip through his ruined armor. Despite his own injuries, there was still one tactic he hadn’t tried, he wasn’t out of the game just yet.

Black whips shot forward and wrapped around the mammoth titan‘s head like a noose. Gudon reached deep into his well of primal power to apply as much pressure around the titan’s jugular as he could muster. Behemoth stopped his seemingly unending assault as pain wracked his throat. He could feel the air forcefully being squeezed out, his eyes widening as he understood what his foe was trying to do.

Not interested in passing out, Behemoth hurled his body forward in a last minute decision. He tackled the subterranean monster to the rocky terrain below, tusks and all. The ground rocked and shook something fierce as both giants collided into the dirt. Dust and debris erupted into the air as if a large explosion had gone off. Amidst the dust, Gudon groaned in pain as the crushing pressure of Behemoth’s dead weight pressed down on him.

Behemoth, meanwhile, stirred as his breathing was ragged. It was followed by coughs that sounded like cannon fire, sucking up as much dusty air as possible. The shaggy titan rolled off his opponent, the makeshift noose around his neck long gone. Firmly planting his knuckles into the ground, he forced himself up despite the shaky protest from his arms and legs.

Gudon followed suit and groggily rose to his blunt feet, a sharp pain shooting through his leg as he almost fell over. He then glanced down and winced at his now blood-stained armor, his own blood. He growled in frustration, it was more fun to inflict pain on others, not so much receiving it. As the dust settled, both beasts were staring the other down, having seen better days.

Although his thick coat of fur concealed most of his injuries, Behemoth couldn’t hide the pain that radiated throughout his own body. The titan began to think to himself about whether or not this was worth it. Perhaps, he had been greedy and this chance encounter was punishment for it.

Likewise, Gudon was feeling the same way, he would rather just eat a Twintail and regain his strength, or better yet, go back to bed. The two giants continued their stand off before Behemoth sighed, he had been around long enough to know when a fight was over, and when a fellow monster refused to swallow their pride.

Backing away slowly, the wooly titan growled as he watched Gudon’s posture become more lax. Watching the titan leave, for a split second the idea of launching a surprise attack went through the subterranean monster’s mind. The sharp pain in his leg immediately extinguished the thought.

Soon enough Gudon turned away and limped back to his place of dwelling. The armored monster began to dig as rock and dirt embraced him. He felt a bubbling rage just thinking about that overgrown hairball, one day he would settle the score between them. In no time he was completely buried and found himself drifting back to sleep, the embers from his anger fizzling out.

The mammoth titan began to March back to Rio de Janeiro, his body practically begging for rest. Behemoth once again began a long trek, this one back home and more laborious than before. Despite the intense soreness that littered his body, the weary Titan welcomed the idea of a long fulfilling nap.

Draw: Behemoth, Gudon

K.W.C. Kaiju War Chronicles