Amethyst's consciousness awoke to the sound of pain, someone nearby was letting out a pained groan. Amethyst could sense an intense bloodlust, fear, and despair swirling around her like a storm. She was hesitant to even open her eyes, her senses were in fight or flight mode. though her ears perked up to listen.

"Come on you brat, stop trying to look tough. Just scream or something, show me how much it hurts." A voice was coming from being her, she heard a dull thud like sound and another muffled groan of pain. "That's a strong glare you got, definitely a bitch from beyond Kozak you don't even know your place as a beast." Suddenly a scream cut through his words and Amethyst's eyes flew open.

"Ooh look you woke up your friend. How rude she was sleeping so soundly. I know you're suffering but still isn't it cruel to make your friends share your pain and sorrow." The man's voice was taunting and filled with disdain.

Amethyst recognized the scream, it was Aiko. Though her mind was processing a lot at the moment. She couldn't speak, there was a leather strap around her head keeping her from speaking. She was also tied to what seemed to be a cross, upon opening her eyes she realized that she was upside down. She could see Aiko's legs, the two crosses were slanted and when looked at from the side they would make an X. It was dark but they were on a raised circular platform splattered with blood. She could see something in the darkness above her, a large red crystal.

Another scream echoed through this dark and dreary place, but no one headed it. Only joy from the captors and pointless struggles from Amethyst.

"Yes that's it!" A voice exclaimed with visceral excitement, "You have a pretty face so maybe without this you'll be beautiful." As he said that another scream echoed out.

Amethyst winced, there was an anger growing in her as she struggled but she realized quickly that the binds were too tight to get out off. As she was struggling though something landed beside her, she turned. She froze as a sense of horror, rage, and dread rose up from the pit of her stomach. She was looking at an ear, specifically one of Aiko's. How dare he! Amethyst screamed in her head, she tried to tilt her head to see who it was but she couldn't.

"Awe, she's not moving anymore, damn what a weak specimen. The others were so much more lively." The voice spoke with sadistic disappointment.

The others? What does he. . . Amethyst noticed something as she thought that, in the darkness around the raised platform she could see the shapes of other people, they originally looked human but his words made her look closer. They each were bleeding a lot, but the spots that bled the most were the head and lower back.

How many have been before us? She found herself filling with dread.

"I think we take a break now." The voice spoke up again. "We've been at it for six hours already." A deep sigh slipped from his lips. He sounded excited, but undoubtedly tired.

"What'd you expect, Adventurers are much harder to crack than normal servants." Another voice accompanied him as they started walking past Amethyst, she could finally see her captor, though as their faces came into view the color drained from her face. "So nice of Seraph to lend us all his excess slaves and servants huh?"

The uniform they wore was a white with gold trim, it was tidy though now it was splattered in blood. She recognized the uniforms of these men. The city knights, how am I supposed to do anything against the city knights?

As they walked past her, one stomped on Aiko's ear with a disgusted look. "How dare they brazenly walk around with these body parts given to them by the dark God. They should be happy to look more like the pure races." He spat as they hopped off the platform. They proceeded a little ways away to a table with some drinks and cards.

Amethyst began to struggle more, digging her claws into her binds, but it still wouldn't budge. A deep growl slipped through the gag in her mouth as her frustrations rose.

"You'll end up just like the many corpses strewn about in the edges of this room. When they finish having their fun, they'll toss you into the pit with slit throats" a voice spoke up causing Amethyst to turn. Struggling so much had caused her gag to loosen, with a little extra effort she managed to slip it out of her mouth and down her chin. With her newfound freedom she retorted to the person beside her.

"If the Hero were to-"

"No, not even he could save you." the voice belonged to a girl who sat by the side staring at her, pity filled her gaze, her beautiful fox tail wrapped around her and settled in her lap. "I'm the guard placed here to make sure everything goes smoothly." She spoke matter of factly.

"Do you know who the hero is?" Amethyst retorted, thinking this newcomer was uninformed.

"Of course, Cody, I've met the boy. He's maybe B rank at best. Quite an achievement but still not enough to stand on a battlefield with an A ranker like myself. Don't you know the difference in strengths between the upper levels are much wider than the lower levels." The fox girl was almost bragging, though she wasn't smiling, she had a deep frown and annoyance in her gaze.

Amethyst stared with wide eyes, "What's an A ranker doing out in the sticks like this?" Amethyst was confused why a Lithian was helping such a disgusting display, especially an A ranker who could singlehandedly stop this.

"I go and do what my master tells me to, this job is undesirable but my orders aren't to commit atrocities but instead to simply guard the ritual from being stopped. Therefore, I still haven't broken my moral code. They, like you, are simply unlucky." The girl spoke indifferently, and with empathy, but made no move to help. She then stood up and stretched, "Damn seems you're quite liked huh? Did you perhaps have a tracker on you." Amethyst paused for a moment, thinking her eyes went to the pendent she wore under her shirt, Garth had given it to her. Though instead of hope that her ally would come save her she only felt worry that he would fall to the A rank guard,

Suddenly the Fox girl's claws came out and she spun with a slash.

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Clatter

An arrow split into three pieces and hit the ground, Amethyst opened her eyes wide and look up through the darkness. There was a staircase leading down from an upper level and someone was there. She recognized the bulky appearance of Garth, the old warrior of their party.

As the man made his attack the laughter and drinking from the table stopped. "Is there a problem Miss Illia,?" A voice spoke up, one of the guards looked at her, but she just shook her head.

"Not really, just a visitor for the prisoners." Illia responded tiredly.

"Oh, well tell them it's not visiting hours!" A chorus of laughter responded to his joke.

"Don't worry I'll deal with him." Illia assured them, she didn't even smile at their joke.

"The boss lent us such a good guard dog huh, hey that's their companion right? Why don't we have some more fun, give em a show yeah?" One of the guards stood up and started walking back towards the platform.

"Yeah yeah, ha that's great." They laughed joyously, Amethyst winced as another scream came from Aiko behind her, it was rough and haggard, she hadn't recovered from her previous session.

"Woah, hear that. Give her a few moments to rest and she's all lively again." The soldiers spoke joyously as they tortured her. Amethyst could hear the sound of a whip on occasion.

Amethyst tensed up but soon lost her will as she went limp, she couldn't escape her bonds and a sense of hopelessness was rising up. Her rage and anger evaporated as it was replaced with the simple desire to have them both survive this.

Illia calmly drew her sword as the person emerged from the stairs, he was well built and carried a large shield and short sword.

"Little lady, I suggest you step aside. I'm here for my companions." The man declared as he held his shield at the ready.

"Sir if you can push me back a single step I will help you retrieve your friends." Illia said with a smile. Garth hardened his gaze before stepping forward. He proceeded to push Mana throughout his body to activate what was called a martial skill. Most knights and swordsmen who didn't use magic used them during combat. This was a shield charge. Illia's eyes widened as her smile grew.

Garth flashed forward and Illia leaped upwards, tapping the top of his shield, she flipped over him and landed in the same spot before thrusting her knife into his back. He grunted as blood soaked his back, she wasn't even standing in a stance, he realized in this moment that at the very least she was several ranks above him.

Illia sighed, "Gotta do better than that." She drew out a second knife, she was now looking towards the raised platform and she watched with a rising frustration as the men continued torturing the black cat. She was bloody, and a large pool of the sticky irony liquid was beneath her. Her clothes were ragged and blood soaked, one of her ears had been ripped off and the other they were cutting pieces off. She had patches of skin that had been sliced off like they were carving a turkey. Illia felt a stabbing pain and forced herself to look away, such a barbaric way of gathering despair, I'm sorry.

Aiko was panting while the pain coursed through her, her screams were getting quieter, and was being replaced by a quiet hopeless whimpering.

Illia countered a sword strike, her gaze brought back to the fight. He thrust his shield at her and she slipped in, around it she plunged her dagger into his chest then kicked him back.

He frowned, but seemed like he wasn't ready to give up. He rushed once more, throwing his shield and swinging his sword. Illia smiled again as she leaned back, the shield barely missed her. It slammed into the wall behind her with a thud, she countered the blade, locking it in place with her strength. His now empty hand flashed out with a solid punch, Illia reacted just as quick and a loud bang rang out as she caught it.

"Wow, you're trying everything! that's admirable, do you care for those girls old man?" Illia asked still smiling as she held him back, a man twice her size.

"They're under my protection." He said simply, but their was a lot of emotion behind it.

"Ooh did you travel together from outside of Kozak that explains why you look at them like people instead of pests like everyone else." Illia seemed interested as she released the standstill and he stepped back.

"Of course, you're human just like the rest of em. Doesn't this make you angry. Look around you at this desecration of the beautiful life given by the goddess." He spoke with conviction, but it only pissed Illia off.

"I'm not a being created by that disgusting lying tree." Illia spat with rage on her face. She leaped forward, he went to block but she simply smashed her fist into the side of his blade and it shattered. She then stabbed him in the gut, twisting the knife. He let out a pained sound before She then kicked his knee and it snapped backwards causing him to collapse. She jumped onto him and stabbed him in the chest a couple more times till her face returned to normal and she stepped back to her spot.

"Oops, I seem to have moved, though due to me being the one who moved and not being forced to I'm only willing to give you part of the reward. I will no longer stop you from retrieving your friends." Illia then promptly sat down and began to brush her tail. the tip was flicking erratically, displaying her frustrations and worries.

"Ha, ha." Garth coughed while laughing with blood dripping down his chin. "You have the unique position to be angry at Gia for what her followers have done to your kind. But the children I protect can't, they must learn to love Gia in order to survive. You're biased and cruel even to your own kind." Garth sighed as he laid back. He couldn't fight the group torturing Aiko and Amethyst, not with a useless leg, no shield and no sword. Plus the various dangerous wounds on his body. The hero seems aware of their disappearance. Will he track them down? What about that girl Skarlet she's a fighter, drawn to anything dangerous. Would she come save her friends? No this place was too hard to find, without help like the tracing magic I used they wouldn't get here.

Illia paused her brushing and she looked upwards above the blood splattered platform there was a large crystal hung with chains that was glowing faintly as it absorbed the essence of despair in this place. Damn why won't you just wake up already, fuck how many of my kind am I suppose to sacrifice to these bastards.

Illia turned back to the platform to watch Amethyst's face, she watched the fight while listening to her companions screams of pain. Just despair already you dumb dog!

"Damn, after ripping another ear off she's just staring and not responding anymore." A disappointed voice spoke up suddenly as a second ear splattered to the platform in pieces.

"She wouldn't die from that." Another voice answered as the sound of a whip echoed in the now quiet room.

"Maybe the pain broke her. Whatever we'll move onto the next one." A third voice confirmed.

Illia watched their play as they opened a potion and forced it down Aiko's throat. The girl convulsed aggressively before lying still.

"Damn they always struggle when you put a blade to their neck even a proud adventurer just becomes a scared beast." They then undid her bonds and started lugging her over to toss into the pile of dead Lithians.

Amethyst was trying to make sense of what they were saying. Whatever they had done made Aiko stop responding and that seemed to annoy them. She tensed up as she heard about the blade, she began to struggle violently again, even more so as she saw Aiko start to convulse. The binds tore into her skin, but she ignored it even as blood began to soak the ropes. Not long after she started, Aiko went completely still. But Amethyst still held on, watching as Aiko was carried into view, there was blood dripping from her neck and she no longer had ears. Amethyst felt like the world froze, everything inside her ceased to function, only watching. Watching as Aiko's body hit the ground and crumpled into a pile.

Amethyst shattered as despair pooled in to fill her mind and heart, she felt the tears Begin to fall. Though she didn't get to dwell on that long. Soon after a sharp pain slammed into her side as she was kicked by one of the guards.

"Shut it, you'll be just like her soon."

Illia watched as finally her emotions quieted and a smile bloomed, She got to her feet as she sensed the time was nearing. Above the despairing Amethyst was a beautiful crystal, suspended with chains it had been glowing faintly but now it was shining brightly.