Deciding that a necromancer’s residence would be grander than the simple, functional buildings around them, Kano didn’t stop to check any of them. They likely contained valuables they could have liberated, but that wasn’t what they were here for. No, they had a nobler purpose in mind. Besides, they could always strip the place after they’d finished with the necromancer.

As they traversed the area, Kano scanned their surroundings with echolocation and found just what she was looking for. A steel tower, its top near the roof of the cavern, stood at the opposite end of where they’d come in. Covered in lights and glowing, arcane symbols, the ostentatious structure would make a fine memorial to its creator’s arrogance. A huge metal skull built into the structure took up much of the ground floor, complete with teeth.

Figuring this to be the entrance, Kano paused before it. “We’re finally here. Now watch as I slay the foul creature that lives inside.”

Thirty-Six cheered, but the other two didn’t seem too enthusiastic. In fact, if Kano didn’t know any better, she’d have sworn Urick didn’t want to be here at all. Well, no matter. She knew they’d follow her, whatever their feelings. And if they got killed inside… well, they were trying to do something important. It wouldn’t be a surprise if someone died. Other than the necromancer himself, of course. His death was a given.

Kano stepped up to the oversized teeth. “All right, here we go.” As expected, she cut right through the metal. The room beyond was every bit as bright as the exterior. Shielding her eyes, Kano stepped inside. Her bare feet touched the polished steel floor, and she shivered. The whole building was freezing cold.

It seemed stupid to Kano that anyone would live in such a place by choice, but then again, she’d never known necromancers to be intelligent. Sure, they might make a lot of stuff, but where did that get them? The world was a ruin, full of nothing but useless junk. That must be their fault, too; necromancers never seemed to be able to leave things alone. Not if they thought it was something they could exploit.

Kano froze mid-stride and scratched her head. Her thoughts were taking a strange path today. The foul, twisted nature of her surroundings must be to blame. Once she was back on the surface, she’d feel more like herself. And if not… well, nothing a quick trip to Aru-Aru’s wouldn’t fix. She should have plenty of cash to spare once they were done here.

Quite taken by the idea, she became impatient, hurrying her way through. A woman with short hair, dressed in a conservative blouse and skirt, called out to the party from behind a desk as they approached. “Hello there. How can I help you?”

Taking this new woman’s strange demeanor in stride, Kano sauntered over to the desk. She slammed both of her palms down on the top and looked Gresitosis’s servant in the eye. “I’m here to see your master.”

The woman smiled and bowed her head. “I see. Is he expecting you?”

“No.”

“Okay, that’s no problem. Let me just call ahead and let him know you’re coming. Who should I say wants to see him?”

Crossing her arms, Kano tapped her foot on the cold steel floor. “Tell him the savior has come for him.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I heard you correctly. Did you say ‘the savior’?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay. If you’ll just give me a minute, I’ll get him on the line and let him know.”

Kano had no idea what any of that meant, but it sounded promising. Sitting down in one of the black leather chairs, she instructed Thirty-Six and Urick to do the same. Nove she left standing; she was too heavy for any of the chairs. After a few moments of silent communion with the necromancer, the well-dressed ghoul stood up from behind her desk and looked to Kano. “The master will see you all now.” She walked out from behind her desk and gestured toward the elevator. “If you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you up to his office.”

Kano cracked her knuckles. “Fine. But hurry it up.”

At the push of a button, the elevator doors slid open, and they piled inside. The interior was much the same as the other room had been, clean and well lit. Hitting a button on the panel inside got them underway, and light music played through a speaker in the ceiling.

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Despite having no memory of experiencing such bizarre treatment, Kano felt at ease. As if things were progressing as expected. She crinkled her nose in distaste at the disconnect—she needed to get out of here soon. This place was crazy. And worse, its madness was spreading to her. With a ding, the doors opened. A set of wooden doors embellished with a gold trim sat opposite them with a small slice of a room between.

A squad of armed ghouls waiting inside hosed the elevator down with automatic gunfire. Kano smiled. This was something she understood. They focused their fire on her and Nove, but none of the shots made it past her protective field. Nove didn’t fare so well, but her plating protected her from the worst of it. Glancing back, Kano saw that Thirty-Six was still standing behind her, oblivious to the danger. Nove rushed toward the ghouls, and they all focused on her, giving Kano a spare moment to lower her field. Shoving Thirty-Six to the ground, she said, “Stay here.”

She waited until they gave her a nod and turned back to the gunmen. Her roar echoing through the room, Nove’s long claws dug into one of their foes, and she slammed them into their neighbor. Seeing that only three remained, Kano wasted no time in cutting them down.

Once they were dealt with, she stood there with her field on, waiting for more enemies to appear, but the doors ahead remained closed. Could that really be all the minions the necromancer had to offer? Shrugging, she switched her field off and went to check on those who’d stayed in the elevator. Urick had sense enough to get down and had avoided serious injury, but the woman who’d guided them up was riddled with holes. Kneeling down in front of Thirty-Six, Kano gave them a close inspection.

There was a little blood, but it didn’t seem to be theirs. She felt a sense of relief, though she wasn’t sure why. Kano reached out and was rubbing Thirty-Six’s head when she was impaled through the chest. Trembling, Kano looked down at the object embedded inside her. But there was nothing there. She could feel it inside her, straight edged and sharp, but all that was visible was her exposed organs.

Letting Thirty-Six go, she turned on her field. In a blue flash, it sheared off the ends of whatever had stabbed her. Lashing out behind her, she heard something scramble to avoid her, but she made contact. Confident that her field was up now, Kano spun around. A tall, thin creature with long angular limbs stood before her. Its body blended in with its surroundings, the outline only visible thanks to the blood spurting from its severed limb.

A vivid shade of purple, it leaked from its severed arm and the chunk Kano had removed from its leg. Getting to her feet, Kano stumbled and nearly fell. Her attacker must have injured something important; her body wasn’t working right.

Fingertips pointing straight ahead, she tried a clumsy lunge at the near-invisible creature. It evaded her and was raising its remaining arm to strike when Nove blindsided it. Flailing, it tried to shake her off, but it was too weak to put up much resistance. She hurled it to the ground and stomped until it was a crumbled mess of purple blood and shattered chitin.

Now that Kano could see it better, it resembled a giant insect with a slender body and thin, pointed limbs. Well, whatever the stupid thing was, it was dead. Nove had made sure of that. Turning off her field, Kano tore the limb free from her body and dropped it next to its owner’s corpse.

Nove’s thick brows came together in a look of concern as she stared at the gaping hole in Kano’s chest. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll live.”

Though she still looked worried, Nove seemed to accept that. With a high-pitched shout, Kano made sure there were no more of them lurking inside the room. Turning her field back on, she disintegrated most of the wooden doors. The room beyond was large, taking up the rest of the floor.

A throne, the back of which spanned the entire wall, sat opposite the doors. Made from a few enormous pieces of fused bone, it made for an imposing sight. One undermined by the balding, middle-aged man sitting on it. He stood and frowned down at Kano from the top of his throne. “You’re this ridiculous ‘savior,’ then, are you? I fail to see how you’re saving anything, when all you’ve done is try to destroy what I’ve built.”

With a sad smile at the sheer absurdity of the man, Kano approached the throne.

The necromancer sneered. “You can’t even deny it, can you? I had hoped you might be willing to repent, but I see that was a foolish hope. Nothing remains now but for you to join those you senselessly murdered.”

Twitching, the bones that made up his throne came to life. They pulled away from the wall, and four pointed lengths of bone stabbed down at her. Each came at her from a different angle, but she didn’t even try to avoid them. They touched her force field and broke, just as everything else had. Gresitosis stood frozen, seemingly unable to process what was happening as Kano reached him.

“Wait—” he said with a flicker in his eyes as if he recognized her.

Dropping her field, Kano reached up almost tenderly, cutting him off, and grasped his hairless head in her hands. Then, twisting her body, she brought his head down hard against the armrest of his throne. Bone shattered, both that of the throne and the necromancer’s skull.

It was done.

She thought she’d feel exulted, or at least accomplished, but all she was left with was a sense of melancholy. It made no sense. She’d done the right thing; why did she regret it? Thirty-Six singing her praises and throwing themselves at her feet only made her more conflicted.

Kano shook her head and looked around. Could anything meaningful come of this slaughter?