Nasset sat in one of the luxury chairs within Rose’s carriage as servants attempted to serve her with snacks and a massage.
“Away from me, heathens,” Nasset barked, scaring the servants and causing them to scurry like mice from a cat. Polopp had avoided the servants altogether, hiding away somewhere unseen.
“They’re only trying to help,” Rose said, her eyes narrowing at the Badlander woman.
Nasset scoffed and looked out of the window, seeing Lilia watching them from the street, she said, “That is an odd woman.”
“Watch yourself,” Rose warned, her blue eyes locked onto Nasset, “That’s my best friend.” Lilia’s father was her father’s knight protector since the Loderan-Hynul war all those years back. They were as close as family.
“It didn’t sound like it.”
“We’re going through things like all friends do sometimes.”
“Why did your so-called friend pet Red like a dog?” Nasset then gazed upon Joker who was being pampered by the servants. “Is she another pervert like this one?”
Red laughed, “She reminded me of my mother who used to do that.” He threw the rest of the chocolate he received into his mouth.
“She’s just nurturing,” Rose shrugged. She eyed Red eating the chocolate he’d been given. Lilia didn’t like men, or anyone for that matter. It was strange she took a liking to Red so quickly. Rose was Lilia’s only friend since her origins kept others from wanting to be close with her.
Watching Red, Rose had to ask, “Why are you so different than you were in the Vitelwood?”
“Oh, you met the entity that was controlling me,” Red explained as if he had a cold that day. “We call him ‘the kickboxer’ now. I also became smart.”
“Don’t tell too much to a potential enemy,” Nasset cautioned Red.
“How dare you,” Rose seethed, focusing on Nasset. “Red and I are on the same team now!”
“You’re a Verdinant. You are in a league with powerful forces, princess. It is dangerous just to be around you.”
“Who is this woman?” Rose grumbled, looking to Red for answers. She was only putting up with Nasset for Red’s sake.
“My wife,” Red laughed, prompting Rose to nearly fall off her chair.
“That joke has worn off, Red,” Nasset grumbled then said to Rose, “Red is going to put a baby in my belly so that I may return to the Lorn Badlands with a decent bloodline and with it, I’ll have glory.”
Rose recalled the conversation between Red and Nasset back in the slums. “Don’t you want to have a child with someone you love?”
Nasset rolled her dark eyes and disregarded, “You Loderans are too soft.”
“Aren’t you doing the same?” Joker asked Rose as she picked out male servants to massage her back. “Isn’t your family after the Fore bloodline?”
“How did you know that?” Rose asked to which Joker shrugged and replied with how she could “see” things in the future, another one of her bad jokes. Rose felt everyone was against her today and her sight blurred as tears began to build.
Marriage to the Royal Fore family, rulers of Loderan, was imminent for her. Even though her family's wealth was immense, the Fore Royal family's power was unmatched, their bloodline potent with magical prowess and strength of body. Despite this, the man she was to marry didn't hold her heart. Her true passion lay in being a Hunter, but she was being forced into becoming a princess, which was why she hated hearing the name. She thought if she could climb high enough in the Hunter rankings, she would be able to choose her own fate.
Wiping her eyes, Rose sat back in her chair and murmured to herself, “I don’t love him and I don’t want to marry.”
“Then don’t,” Red suggested.
“That is easy for you to say, Red,” Rose sighed. “Like your ‘wife’ said, I am in a league with powerful forces. I cannot fight against them.”
Red didn’t know what to say. He then took a long moment to stare at Nasset, who returned his gaze with an unchanging expression. “We made a deal, Red. You can’t back out,” she said plainly, thinking he wanted to express second thoughts.
“I know,” Red agreed. “But we’ll see if you are still willing to go through with it in the end.” He knew Nasset came from a lawless land, but she too had her own feelings, no matter how much she tried to hide it.
"Badland is my land," Nasset retorted, reinforcing her conviction more to herself than to Red, attempting to hold back surfacing emotions of regret and resentment. Her father had called her his glory, yet he sent her with a weak warrior who showed no worthy traits that could create a strong child with a powerful bloodline. Nonetheless she would do as she was told.
Their carriage pulled into the Red Fox district, some distance from their target: the Goddess’ Lair. One doesn’t simply walk into a gangster’s headquarters. Deftness and subterfuge were the keys to infiltrate unseen and extract who needed to be extracted.
As the more experienced member, Joker pointed out these facts and swiftly devised a plan for their impromptu team. Polopp was too conspicuous to accompany them, as his gnome appearance was a rarity in Soalde and would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention. The group improvised with the spare clothes in Rose’s sage symbol carriage, transforming Joker and Rose into stunning beauties in gowns and glittering masquerade masks to conceal their identities. Nasset reluctantly joined in, squeezing into a tight gown that accentuated her robust figure. Unfortunately, Red's towering height left him with no options, and he had to go without any disguise. Moreover, he had to find his own way in, seeing as he couldn’t pass as an attendant with his clothing that looked more appropriate for a stable hand.
During the nighttime, the Goddess’ Lair was lively with elegantly dressed patrons lined up to go inside. Joker, Rose, and Nasset, amongst them, patiently waited, queuing up for their chance to enter the coveted establishment. Their attention was soon diverted by a commotion at the head of the line.
“Did you not think we wouldn’t recognize you just because you put on fancy clothes and wore masks?!” A voice shouted, furious.
“What is going on up there?” Rose asked while jumping, her head popping up from the crowd like a prairie dog from its burrow, attempting to see the cause of the ruckus.
Joker opened her blind eyes, her Mana All-Sense spreading outward, bringing the world within her senses, making it feel as if her hands could touch everything around her. “Dwarves,” Joker remarked, tilting her head curiously. “It seems they were trying to sneak in like us but a sage symbol trap was laid at the entrance. They’ve been caught.”
“Why would dwarves sneak into a human brothel?” Rose asked perplexed, “They wouldn’t want to lay with humans since they hate the way humans look. They say we resemble seals because of our smooth faces.”
“I hate this dress…” Nasset grumbled, picking at the soft fabric clinging to her. “It feels…undignified for a warrior to wear this.”
On the street surrounding the Goddess Lair, a figure shrouded in mana sped around it in a circle. Red flashed from one street to the next, eyes squinting up to the towering brothel’s windows and doors, attempting to figure out a way in. With a quick burst of speed, he ran up the side of the building and picked a door at random.
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As his hand gripped the handle, a surge of power coursed through his body, triggering a past memory. He remembered a time as a child when he had foolishly touched the sage symbol barrier surrounding the White Rabbit district, and had been flung back viciously by its power.
Red imbued mana to every fiber of his muscles and managed to wrench his hand back. He looked to his hand and saw his palm was nearly burnt raw. In front of him, a crackling of magic cast a glow against his face. Red was unaware that the Goddess' Lair had recently commissioned someone to inscribe sage symbols at every entry point to deter unwanted guests, following a break-in by a certain group of dwarves.
Fueled by irritation, Red used Mana Hardening, gathering mana onto his fist until he felt a density and weight to it. With a punch, he unleashed a blast of energy with the same size as his fist. Splinters were thrown into the air as his fist energy tore through the magic barrier and the door behind it. Red winced. He had not meant to use so much force.
“What was that?!” a gruff voice shouted. A feminine voice let out a scream. Sitting on a bed, a naked balding man with a thick moustache stared wildly at Red through the hole in the door. “Who in the realms are you?” He picked up a wooden club on a table, his intentions hostile.
Another burst of blue light punched through the door that Red had intended to hit the man with, but it veered off course and struck the screaming woman instead, throwing her against the wall and knocking her unconscious.
Red winced and slapped a hand to his face in frustration. He didn't mean to do that either. Ever since losing the guidance of the entities, his fighting skills had greatly diminished
Seeing the woman unconscious upside down against the wall caused the moustached man to rethink his actions. He noticed there to be a disparity in power between his club and the blue blasting light the intruder was using.
Without a second thought, he turned and fled, his bare bottom exposed to Red as he yelled for help. A blue light erupted near him, causing Red to release an exasperated sigh in having missed yet another attack. The naked man made it to the door before Red's body became surrounded by a luminous mana glow. In a flash, Red appeared next to the naked man and shoved him with mana imbued muscles, sending him crashing through a wall. A voice from the room beyond the destroyed wall shouted, “What is this?!” accompanied by a woman screaming in panic.
Four befuddled faces looked through the hole. Seeing Red, one of the men barked at him, “You stay right there, boy.” In a flash, Red moved into their room and shoved naked men around, knocking them unconscious one by one. The woman with them fainted.
How were four men going to mate with one woman? Red wondered, looking at the five figures laid out before him. The door to the room he was in was kicked off its hinges as three men barged in, each in black attire with a single diamond emblem on their chest, every one of them shrouded in the light of imbued mana.
Red acted first and threw a fist energy forward, completely missing. One of the men in black leapt at him in response and stabbed with a dagger. Red’s image dissolved as he appeared on the other side of the room, shooting another ball of energy that also missed.
He grimaced and absentmindedly touched the vial of golden liquid in his pocket. He could become that master fighter once again. All it took was one gulp.
No, he told himself. I can read now. I can survive on my own without Mama or Dwindle’s help. Red was afraid of becoming the addled brained fool who could do nothing on his own but fight. There had to be a way to rescue Poly without the help of Polopp’s potion.
Red retracted his hand and charged toward the men in black, a streak of blue light trailing behind him. He shoved the first man who was caught off guard, throwing him into a wall headfirst and defeating him instantly. The second man saw him coming and immediately locked hands with Red when he suddenly appeared with great speed. Red nearly crumpled the man’s hands in his bone-crushing grip when the third man in black hit him on the side of the head with a club.
The world became fuzzy as he fell to a knee. The club swung back in a return swing. Red's image blurred as he retreated, tripping over his own feet and crashing into a wall, his mind still dazed.
“By the gods,” grunted the man Red had grappled, his face grimacing as his aching hands trembled. “That boy has the hands of a gorilla.”
The wooden floor let out a creak as the man wielding the club sprang forward with his weapon poised and ready. Red scrambled backward, his eyes still unfocused. In panic, he put up his hands and used Mana Hardening, conjuring a burst of energy that threw the attacker back violently, sending him crashing to the other side of the room.
“Dammit,” cursed the last man in black seeing as he was the only one left. He turned to yell for backup when a flash of blue light erupted against his head, emptying his mind and sending him to sleep.
Red gripped his hand in victory but felt odd seeing as he was aiming the energy blast at the man’s body, not his head. He had also done so while still feeling dazed. Nonetheless, he was content with the result. He would take what he could get.
As his mind cleared, Red stepped out of the room and onto a spacious walkway that encircled a massive central opening. Looking up, he could see all the way to the top of the building, while below him stretched into a dizzying drop. The walkway was lined with numerous doors, indicating the presence of many rooms like the two he had intruded on.
If I were them, where would I put an elf singer?
Uncertainty plagued him as he stood there, thinking which way to go: up or down? He scratched his head in frustration before finally choosing to go up. But before he did, a familiar face appeared on the floor below, a rat-like face with an overbite of buck teeth.
“Hail, Azter,” Zini called out to the hunchbacked man across the bridge.
Azter’s deformed visage gave no hints at his thoughts. “You come back so soon, young necromancer?” Azter asked, suspicion inlaid in his tone.
“I got what I came for,” Zini said with a wary smile, beginning to walk across the bridge, his hand waving for Euness and the other freed captives to follow him.
Azter watched with his mismatched eyes Zini and the others walk up to him, but he stepped forward to block their path. “Do you have a writ of purchase for all these slaves?” He could see the people behind Zini had no chains or magic binding them. They appeared to be free in body and will. His suspicion grew every passing moment.
Zini fumbled about his pockets, acting as if he were searching for a writ. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I must’ve dropped it near the gray castle I had purchased them from.”
“The Ghost Face Cult’s stronghold?”
“Ah, yes. That’s the one.”
“They don’t sell slaves,” Azter responded, his grotesque face staring unblinking at Zini. “They would only capture those they wanted to sacrifice to their demonic entities.” Zini had fallen silent. “Tell me, young necromancer. What have you done? And it would be best to be honest. A talented dark arts user like yourself shouldn’t throw your life away for mere commoners.”
“Is that right?” Zini asked, trying to keep his tired mind focused. He had used up too much mana teleporting here.
“Yes. I can tell you come from good stock. It would be a shame if you sacrificed yourself for those who would turn against you in a mob simply because of the type of magic you practice.”
From across the bridge, a well-built man appeared clothed in black, his face covered by a white mask, a dark aura emitting from his muscles, defined outlines of his toned physique visible through his attire.
“A fighter from the Ghost Face Cult,” Azter commented, seeing the masked man. “They’ve sent one of their elites. I’m sure there are others on their way here as well.” He leaned closer, one of his mismatched eyes larger than the other, looking up at Zini. He spoke in a low tone, “Let these lesser creatures meet their fate. Your destiny is much grander than theirs. You belong to this world, not theirs.”
“I don’t know…” Zini said, his eyes seemingly becoming lost. He became rigid and shouted while pointing behind Azter. “By the realms, what is that?!”
“What?” Azter sputtered, spinning around while exuding dark mana. There was nothing behind him. Suddenly a claw of dark magic grabbed his foot and flung him off the cliff into the bottomless void. Zini had tricked him.
Turning to face the others, Zini instructed, “Follow this path until you find stone steps that lead up to The Hole. Now, leave and don’t look back.” They began to shuffle past him to adhere to his commands.
“What about you?” Euness asked, squinting, only able to make out a pale outline of the young man.
Zini's gaze fell on the Ghost Face fighter, whose mask resembled a white demon with black, hollow eyes that appeared to stare right through him. The fighter walked at a leisurely pace, as if he were sure his prey would not escape no matter how much they struggled.
“I’ll deal with this one,” Zini assured, though his breath was labored.
“I’ll fight with you,” Euness offered, steeling himself. He was once a Hunter, though a failed one, a Hunter nonetheless.
“I can tell you are almost blind, good sir. Leave me. If I don’t show up, tell Red that he and the great Zini are now even.”
Euness gave him a firm nod and began hurrying away. As he did, he gave a momentary glance down at hearing scratching and saw a claw made of dark energy carving something into the ground.
“Boy, you shouldn’t have made enemies with us,” the Ghost Face fighter said, walking across the bridge, his voice somehow accompanied by a second as if speaking in a duet. Zini couldn’t guess why he spoke in such a way, perhaps for intimidation.
Zini didn’t answer him however, choosing to remain silent.
“Come now,” the Ghost Face fighter urged. “It’s never fun when the victim stays quiet. I want to hear you scream.” He stilled seeing a dark claw made of magic moving around at Zini’s feet. “What are you doing—”
Where Zini stood, drawn runes let off an explosion of black energy and destroyed the bridge connecting to his side, causing it to collapse. Frantic, the Ghost Face fighter imbued mana and became a bolt of dark lightning as he streaked across the falling bridge. He leapt for the remainder of the distance, flying through the air like a black hawk only to be swatted like a fly by the back of a skeletal hand.
He roared in fury as he fell into the darkness below.
Zini collapsed onto his hands and knees, his consciousness slipping away. Why do I take on so many burdens that I don’t have the strength to bear, Zini asked himself, struggling to hold on. He paused to catch his breath, but his brief respite was cut short by the sound of wings flapping against the wind.
He looked up to see a hunchbacked man with lengthy bat wings, hovering over the cliffs, carrying the Ghost Faced fighter who had fallen. They had returned for a second go.