Arc 6. A seemingly endless loss
Road to a Hero:
Three Chances in Another World
Chapter 34. Under the rug
Gray stretches the cloak around himself, grabbing his mask and pulling it onto his face. He then runs to the side of the city, using his cloak to scale the large mossy stone wall. Once he’s about to get to the top, the sound of him climbing such a wall alerts some nearby guards. They rush over so Gray hugs the wall to snugly shove himself onto such a wall. The guards, dressed in the bird-like masks that plague doctors wore, peer over the wall, seeing nothing. Once they walk away, Gray flips over the wall, landing on the wooden roof of a building. Due to Gray being as clever as normal, he made the cloak around his feet a bit thicker so it absorbed a bit of the noise. The streets are dirty, too dirty. The people are poor, starving, and dressed in rags. The homes are rat-filled, falling apart, and being held together by molding wood and broken stone. The scent alone is heart-wrenching, the decaying skin on all of the people, sewage overflowing onto the dirt roads, creating an almost permeate mud. The only thing that could keep anybody here is the fear of monsters walking about outside, dying slowly, or dying quickly and painfully.
Gray watches from a distance as Rupert, Chester, and Orson get their things checked by the guards. Once they’re let in, Rupert uses a chain and points it at Gray, confusing the guards but telling Gray that Rupert's more observant than he thought. Gray then trails Rupert's carriage, watching as it makes its way through what can rarely be called streets, it’s just what separates the houses, not made to be a road. Then the only actual building, a small villa, hides behind clean white stone walls. The nice warm brick-built building is only two stories but compared to the small box-like homes before it, it’s enormous. A small compound guarded by the disease-ridden city, a light in the darkness, or evil in its path of destruction, living in it. The facility is heavily guarded, so Gray quickly swings between the buildings, using the disgusting mud to slide underneath the carriage. He uses the cloak to stick to the bottom, holding his breath and not breathing in the stench. The few minutes he stays feel like decades, and each second feels like hours, but it’s over far too late, as Gray had already become light-headed due to the strength.
A few seconds away from falling unconscious, he’s unaware of the villa’s guards who are about to check underneath the carriage. The guard leans in, but even through his thick mask, he begins gagging due to the stench, just missing the darkly coated Gray. So, the guards let them in, and even an inch into the compound the stench is almost gone. With the stone road, grass field, and warm air within the walls, it’s like he’s back at Constal. Rupert, Chester, and Orson leave the carriage and are led by more guards to Chezear’s room. Gray’s unable to leave his uncomfortable position, but he’s relieved when Guards begin pulling the carriage into a stable just beside the villa, locking it behind them. Gray then lets go of the carriage’s bottom, smacking into the patch of hay below him. He quickly crawls out from under the carriage, takes his mask off, and takes multiple deep breaths, then promptly pukes in the corner.
Gray: “So…nasty…I hate plague city…”
Gray wipes his mouth, stands up and puts his mask back on. He then goes into the spiritual state to ensure the area is clear for him to pass through. Inside the Villa, Rupert, Chester, and Orson are led by guards, who are all wearing plague doctor masks and black cloaks.
Chester: “What’s with all the masks?”
Guard: “Chezera makes us wear them, he’s scared of getting sick. In his old age, one cold will do him in.”
Orson: “Well, being surrounded by that town won’t help keep him healthy.”
Guard: “Say that to him, not me.”
Rupert pinches them both, shutting them up. While they walk, they look at how clean the home is. Each painting is dusted to perfection, the floor is spotless, and the rooms shine with glee.
Gray uses his spiritual state to follow them, learning as much as he can.
Gray {This place is like a germaphobe's wet dream.}
Once they make it to Chezera’s room, they find themselves met with a large iron door. The guards knock on it, and they hear clunking from the other side, they slowly open the various locks on the door. Once it’s open, Rupert and the others are face-to-face with a masked Chezera, who’s curling over onto his chain.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Chezera: “What are you doing here!?”
Rupert: “I heard you wanted to talk, but I didn’t expect everything to be like this.”
Chezera: “Don’t mind this, come in, and leave your shoes out here.”
Chezera waves them on and sits down on a couch that’s across from a matching one, which Rupertsits on. The guards pull the large iron door shut, which seems to lock automatically. Each window is also covered in iron, with the only thing being somewhat open is the balcony door, which is just sealed closed.
Chester: “Why are you all scared of getting sick? Something has gone down since the last time we met?”
Chezera: “It’s nothing…”
Rupert’s eyes sparkle like a light bulb lit up in his head. So he leans in, looks behind him to see Chester and Orson standing on his sides, and pulls out a cigar. Chezera is filled with a mix of anger and fear, smacking away the cigar.
Chezera: “NO SMOKE! NOTHING! It’s not safe…nothing’s safe…it’s all falling…and…and you…won’t…YOU WON’T TAKE ME!”
Chezera stands up, tumbles backward, and pulls the top of his chain out, revealing it as a hidden blade. He then points it at Rupert, shaking so much he’s barely able to stand.
Rupert: “What’s got you spooked? I’m not going to do anything.”
Chezera: “YOU LIE! YOU KILLED DOROTHY! AND YOU’RE WORKING WITH THE SECT!”
Rupert: “Calm down, I spoke with a member of the Sect, yes, but I’m not working with them. I thought you were known for speaking with them, isn’t your wife a member? I heard she could infect beasts as well as people, turning them into jelly monsters…and am I wrong?”
Chezera takes off his mask, showing his wrinkled face. Gray astral form floats around the room, getting a good look at every detail on his face. His long nose, the various moles on his skin, his balding head, his long wispy white hairs on the side, a generic old man as Gray would say.
Chezera: “YOU DARE! MY WIFE IS A SAINT! SHE’S HELD MY BUSINESS UP, BY MY SIDE! AND YOU DARE ACCUSE HER OF SUCH TREACHERY! YOU ARE A RAT! A DAMN STREET RAT! I REMEMBER YOUR FATHER BEGGING FOR CHANGE AFTER THE DEMI-HUMAN WAR! NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY YOU MAKE, THE POWER YOU GAIN, YOU’LL NEVER STAND NEAR ME! I ALLOWED YOU IN HEAR, I LOCKED YOU IN HERE! YOU ONLY WALK MY GROUNDS BECAUSE I ALLOWED YOUR FILTH IN HERE!”
Rupert takes Chezera’s words rather bluntly, simply accepting them. Orson does get a bit aggravated, but he holds his tongue, knowing it’s not right to act.
Rupert: “So what did you want to talk about? Is that all?”
Chezera: “I wanted to tell you, you are nothing…NOTHING! NOW LEAVE!”
Chezera stumbles around, trying to put his mask back on. Once he does, he runs over to the large iron door, struggling to open it. Orson walks over, his large figure intimidating Cheers to the point he almost collapses, so he moves across the room.
Chezera: “STAND AWAY YOU DAMN ANIMAL! YOU ARE A BEAST! I SELL YOUR PEOPLE! I OWN YOU!”
Orson grows, but he still maintains his cool, simply opening the large door for Rupert, Chester, and himself.
Chester: “You’re too scared you open up a window, and you’re falling.”
Chester and Rupert stand up, and right as they’re about to leave Chezera opens the door to his balcony to spite them. Once they leave the door slams behind them, letting Chezera get a wave of relief wash over him. He walks over to the nice soft purple couch, slouching down to let his stress leave his body. The balconies open doors letting the cold wind flow in, causing the drapes to blow around. Then, in the blink of an eye, Chezera sees a figure dressed in black emerge from the darkness. Chezera’s speechless, he falls backward and rushes towards the door, struggling to open it. Chezera attempts to scream for help, but Gray uses his cloak to grab his mouth, causing his screams to be useless. The muffled horrors are unheard by his guards, who couldn’t care less about his actual safety. Gray begins slowly pulling Chezera towards him, watching in terror as Chezera frantically scratches at the stone floor, breaking his nails as he tries to save himself. The blood trail leaves a sick feeling in Gray’s stomach, but he forces himself through it. Chezera turns over, removes his mask, and spits on Gray’s mask.
Chezera: “Who…are…no wait…that mask…you’re..it can’t be…”
His dead eyes stare longingly at Gray’s white mask, unable to accept that the Phantom Knight is right in front of him. Though surprisingly, the scared old man regains a sense of confidence while Gray takes out the dagger.
Chezera: “He…made you his dog. The great hero, what a joke.”
Gray: “You know nothing about me.”
Chezera: “I know he forced you into this, with threats of war, which you fed into. That man’s a rat, he has no real physical power…he’s all talk.”
Gray: “And you aren't? You’re the only man who sells children. Killing you would bring peace to the world.”
Chezera: “You fool…it kills the hierarchy, the stability of the world. EVEN IN DEATH, I WILL REMAIN ON ~”
Gray tries to stab Chezera in the head, but Chezera resists. He pushes Gray away, causing Gray to stab Chezera in the side of his throat, which causes him an influx of pain. The burning sensation of the cold blade inside of his skin caused him to sink into a repulsive fear. Gray’s enraged with himself, watching as this old man cries and begs for his life, crawling to the large iron door. He bangs on it repeatedly, but with his lack of strength, he’s unable to unlock it, so the guards are unable to enter. Gray removes his blood-stained mask, looking at Chezera’s life slowly pulling out of his body, and after a brief few seconds, Chezera begins choking on his blood.
Gray slowly approaches Chezera, taking the knife from his throat and sinking it into his skull, ending the fire of pain that had embedded itself into his body. The old man grabs Gray’s throat, but he’s unable to do or say anything, dying with no one able to understand his last words. Gray uses the feather to wipe a bit of Chezera’s blood, and sinks into the darkness, leaving through the balcony into the cold and disgusting ground below.
End of Chapter Thirty-four