"Tch, it's back..." He prepared himself to fend off another attack from the White Monster, "...Phew, it didn't try anything this tim-Gah!"
Just as he was about to say that, a hand grabbed his shoulder and refused to let go. But the White Monster already left the vicinity, the air around him no longer felt silent. He knew he was safe, so who or what was so tightly holding onto him? Of course, the answer revealed itself quite quickly once he used basic logic. Elegy, and right after him came Hatwell. They were both asleep, turned into the very thing that put them in such a state. Regardless, Sab knew full well from his previous encounter that the White Monster has the ability to "infect" other Heavenly Beings as string them up against the survivors like a pack of angry puppets. Essentially, he was tightly pressed up against two White Monsters, and they weren't about to let the opportunity slip by.
"Get your grimy hands out my face!" He shouted, smacking away the Apostle trying to pry his Eyes open, "Dammit, let go! I'm on your side, you morons, so if you're not gonna help then at least don't be a nuisance!"
" " Elegy muttered.
" " Hatwell agreed.
"What the hell... Tch, guess you're really gonna make me work for my revenge, eh?" Sab smirked, accepting the newfound challenge, "Right, 'cause it was obviously too easy to just keep you two from getting nabbed, now I also have to worry about not getting infected from your sorry asses as well. Just great!"
Finally freeing himself of their claws, he blindly felt around for anything he could use as an Eye shield. Eventually he stumbled onto something that had the texture of nylon, but the shape of a cloth. Perfect for his uses, he was quick to tie it over both of their heads. Usually, this would kill a person without fault due to air asphyxiation, but given they're unkillable beings, he was certain they would be fine. After that, he squinted his Eyes open while he was given the chance to in order to look for something to bind their hands with. Luckily, it appears he was near a trash container that had some spare zipties strapped to the handles. With a little bit of fiddling, he finally had them packaged just like he wanted them to be. He ultimately mustered up the courage to gaze up at their heads, and...!
"Phew, thank God those were trash bags..." He wiped the sweat from his brow once he saw the black bags over their goat skull heads, "Somehow, this makes you mucks look even scarier. And that's saying something, 'cause I remember vividly how your true faces look like... Eh, more like the face of that damned thing."
He still wasn't in the clear however, for he merely lucked out in finding the means to disable them from becoming a threat to him. Nonetheless, the real White Monster, as well as countless other Apostles were still out and about, wandering the streets. He couldn't afford to keep his Eyes open fully, so he carefully kept his head low and his Eyes squinted just in case the thing tried to teleport in for an unexpected sneak attack. Like this, he rummaged through the rest of the garbage container in the hopes of finding some rope to more easily lead Elegy and Hatwell.
"Geez, even with the extended day, how the hell is there so much stuff in here...?" He complained as he dug through the trash like a raccoon, "Hm? Dah, just some cables. Well, it could work as a makeshift rope, I guess."
Grabbing onto the bit sticking out, he tugged as hard as he could, but it was firmly lodged in there. Stuck on something, it didn't budge no matter how hard he tried to pull it out. He finally accepted that he would have to dig out the rest of it manually, so he got to work. The moment he moved a somewhat heavy bag from on top of it, however...
"...Sht!" He ducked the moment he saw a tinge of bone underneath, "Heh, you bastard! Did you think you could pull such a fast one on me? The ol' carrot and stick maneuver, eh? Well too bad, I snuffed ya' out in time before you could get me!"
The "heavy object" keeping the cable stuck inside the garbage was in actuality a White Monster. Was it the real White Monster, or just a random Apostle chilling in the bin? He didn't know, nor did he care to find out. He needed that cable though, so there was no backing out of this no matter how scary it would get.
"...Alright, so that's how we're gonna do it." He walked back to pick up the heavy serrated sword before swinging at the 2 front-most corners of the container, "Tch, gah! Crack, dammit! Break!"
The poor container stood no chance. By all accounts, it was a massacre. Sab eventually managed to cut the entire front wall of the container, so after a bit of pulling back, he managed to open the container from the side. This naturally allowed the garbage inside to spill out, theoretically shifting the Beast inside enough for him to grab at least one end of the cable. Though his Eyes were still squinted, he did see the White Monster's full body splayed on the ground. In its hand was one end of the cable, and following the line, he found the other end.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Heh, bad luck pal!" He lunged to grab it before the Beast could fully steal it, "From here on out, we're playing tug of war—And I'm pretty darn confident in my grip strength!"
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" " Elegy whispered through the trash bag mockingly.
"N-No, that's not why my grip strength is-! Gah, shut up!" Sorbet moved his focus away for a second before getting yanked forward by the White Monster, "Whoa!? Unfair, I didn't know we started yet! Hngh...!"
For someone defending his team and what little progress they've made, Sorbet sure wasn't taking things seriously. Facing off against a legendary Monster of Heaven's mythology in a tug of war of all things, he seemed rather confident in his chances. The Beast was valiant, but ultimately, it was his strength that seemed to have the constant upper hand. At this rate, the cable was his.
" "
"..Ah!?" He screamed the moment he felt two fingers touch his Eyelid, "You motherfu...! Grr, no wonder it was getting easier to pull, you were inching your way up the cable to get to me!"
It was foolish of him to assume a Beast would play by the rules of a children's game. This almost cost him his lucidity. Regretfully, he had to let go of the cable before it could pry his Eye open and make him look at it, meaning the cable was the White Monster's for the taking. Of course, this would be worrisome if it cared for the cable, but it almost immediately threw it away after repossessing it, instead favoring a full-on frontal attack at Sorbet.
"Grrrah!" Sorbet wailed in pain as the thing pinned him down to the ground, kneeling on top of his golden hoops, "That hurts, asshole! Couldn't have gone a little higher or lower!? Ugh, of course not... Then prepare to take back what you dish out!"
Back when he last squinted his Eyes, he saw a glimpse of some gild glimmering through on the Beast's body. This was proof that his current attacker was just another Apostle. The gold was on his left cheek, just under his Eye in the shape of a tear, peculiarly enough. Pressing his fingers on it in a last ditch effort, Sorbet found the pressure to be quite an effective way of dealing with it. Again, he just barely managed to escape it for now, but it will soon attack again. He needed to run, but he also needed a way to create enough distance between them to do so.
"Goddammit, look what you're gonna make me do!" He cursed the thing as he ran to pick up the cable, jumping at the White Monster and blindly wrangling it with it, "You deserved that, ya' bastard! Tch, well I dealt with you, but now what do I do about these two?"
Finally being allowed to squint once more without having to worry about any immediate threat, he could properly see his two bound and bagged friends aimlessly standing around, as if awaiting orders. He no longer had any ropes to use, but in the end he figured just wrapping his arms around theirs would be enough for now. It looked odd, as if they were a group of folk step dancers, but it worked for the time being. As is, they wouldn't be going anywhere, which means Sorbet could finally find them all a proper spot to stow away at until morning came.
Walking back out into the street was out of the question, because the streets were still filled with goat skulls. It was then when he realized why the White Monster was still going after them despite Elegy and Hatwell being asleep. He saw out of the corner of his Eye an unconscious body being whisked away by the Beast. This must be how they get brought back home, he thought. In other words, if he just entered a house with the slumbering owner already inside, then he would theoretically throw the White Monsters off his scent.
"After all, why would they go to an already completed house delivery?" He smugly chuckled to himself, "Nyahaha, truly a genius play from the one and only Sab! Muahaha, aha, guhaha, and all the rest! Nyoho!"
Still holding the other two in that ridiculous arm lock, Sorbet had carefully inspected the alleyway they were inside. Before, it was just a dead and they thought would work as a three sided room without a roof, but now he saw it as two to three houses where the owner was possibly asleep at. Safe havens, in other words. If he could find shelter inside for them, then he'd be set until the morning. Peeking inside through the windows, he found nothing but empty rooms and beds in each one. That is, except one.
"...Eep!" He yelped, once again ducking the moment he saw a goat skull tucked in the bed inside, "Wait, what am I worried about? That right there's safety!"
Quickly, he ran to the bound enemy Beast he previously tied up with the cable. Disabling its deadly gaze with another opaque bag, he took the cables from it before shoving it aside and hopping into the house through the window with the other two. Whilst inside, he hastily made his way through the dark room before the slumbering White Monster Apostle could wake up and notice him. Refusing to look at him, he quickly tied its arms and legs with the cable, and at the same time using the excess rope to tie Elegy and Sorbet to the bed as well. It was just enough length to manage such an efficient feat, but now at least he could wait out the night without the fear of being attacked. He locked the doors and windows, he kept his Eyes shut and sat on the cold wooden floor so as to not get too comfortable and accidentally drift off into sleep. Before that, however, he carefully took Elegy's bag and placed it over his head instead, making sure to tie it around his neck extremely tightly. As expected, it didn't feel uncomfortable at all, and even helped him feel safer because he had an extra layer of defense against the Slumbering Gaze. The night was still far too young, but like this, he had pulled out all the stops in order to keep everyone close by and more importantly, safe. Now, he said to himself as he leaned back on the wall, it's a waiting game.