Chapter 23: The showdown

The group finally made it to their destination, one of the entrances to the enemy’s base. Behind this unassuming burrow was a vast network of tunnel. While Rohan was unaware of what Madam Mandrake was planning, he was not oblivious enough to not take notice of the construction of this place. No, these tunnels predated his arrival, their history tied to the time before the Mutants. But right now, such a thing did not matter.

“Lemme go first!” X rushed to the front and kicked open the trapdoor.

The Warden grabbed her by the collar. “Don’t be hasty, what if you get lost!”

“I can’t get lost, I can use… um… echovocation!” The executioner replied.

“Do you even know what that means?”

“Nope!” X answered without a hint of hesitation. “Isn’t that something bats use.”

“That’s echolocation!”

“Whatever.” The executioner promptly ignored Jaren and rushed into the dark. A grown woman who had lived for centuries. Yet every time there was a promise of slaughter, she would revert back to being a little psychopath. Or maybe X had never grown up after all.

The knights circled the area to unearth other hidden trapdoors. Dividing into smaller divisions, they delves into the tunnels with Rohan accompanying one of them. The Kid along with Jaren, Doc and Carina stayed outside, spreading out to protect the entrances. The Doctor was not pleased with this arrangement as the girl had to be split from him. She managed to convince him in the end, however.

Now alone with Carina, the girl pranced about, balancing herself upon a fallen log. But behind her playful demeanor, the young scout could tell the Kid was focused on their surroundings.

“I hope this would go smoothly.” Carina prayed to Atlas.

“Of course not.” The Kid hopped down right in front, startling the young scout. “Situations like these never go according to plan.”

“And what did you base that assumption upon?” Leaning on a tree, Carina asked. She was once again surprised by small bugs crawling out from behind the bark. The young scout wondered whether she was overly paranoid or if everything was out to startle her today.

“From all of Doc’s stories, he would always tell me about tales about the West. The bounty hunters, the outlaw, the gambler, the monster slayers, the peacekeepers, the wanderers and all of them, gunslingers.” The Kid’s eyes lit up as she talked of these tall tales. “The story of the search of cursed gold ending with everyone backstabbing one another. Three strangers and their standoff in a mass grave. Or of the old retired marshal wielding two revolvers, fighting against four outlaws on horsebacks!”

“Four? Now that doesn’t sound too legendary.” Carina commented.

As the Kid turned around with a fire in her eyes, the young scout realized she had made a grim mistake. Their next fifteen minutes were spent talking about the difficulty of shooting a moving target, while moving yourselves. That and apparently the grizzled marshal only had one eye. He did have the help of a ranger with a rifle, however.

“In conclusion… what were we talking about again?” The Kid wondered.

Carina reminded her. “About how no plan ever went according to plan.” The young scout continued. “Still, it shouldn’t be too bad. As much as I hate it, X is on our side and she is really strong, apparently. That Rohan also looks tough and you Doctor seems to trust him. Oh right, Doc is also on our side as well. You saw how he shot those Dolls, I’m sure he can take care of any raider just fine.”

Hearing that seemingly casted a darkness over the starry-eyed Kid. Her head hung low, the wide brim drenched the upper part of her face in shadow. “I…” She tried to speak out, all the wide sorting out her own feeling. “… don’t want to see him fight again.”

“I’m sorry, it must have been hard to watch.” Carina apologized. The Doctor from last night was not a bumbling drunk but a cold hearted killer incapable of empathy. To see one’s idol becoming that must be hard. The young scout damned her insensitivity.

But that was not the thing that bothered the Kid.

That scenery of carnage was brutal but the girl had learned to accept it. What she did not want to see was what came after the slaughter. The look on Doc’s face forever into the girl’s mind, an expression of absolute disappointment in himself.

“It was horrifying indeed.” The Kid said. “But what I truly do not want to see is him being so… sad.”

Carina wanted to comfort her friend but the two were interrupted by a loud thump. It came from the hill, the base of the Mutants, and shook the whole meadow. An earthquake, something this land had never seen. Its source was undoubtedly of eldritch nature.

They did not have to collect themselves either as three abominations came rushing from the bushes. The Mutants teleported around erratically, trying to throw off the girl’s aim. A technique that had worked once and only once, this time the Kid was prepared. Instead of drawing her iron and trying to strike down the brutes she waited and watched.

The Kid observed their timing in between the teleporting. And as an abomination started to form she drew her revolver. The Mutants’ head was filled with bulging muscles, which might blocked the bullets and that did not factor in their skull. But their eyes were unprotected, offering a way straight inside. Before the abomination could disappear off once again, its brain was splattered against the trees.

His siblings did not fare better either. The Kid slammed on the hammer, sending another to the void. She then waited to compose herself before firing another shot. It went through the Mutants’ right eye, killing it instantly.

“That seems to be the last of them.” Carina scouted around. “The others must be under assault as well, we need to help them.”

“They can hold their own, we will guard these entrances.” The Kid stood her ground.

Carina looked at the girl nervously, such a calm yet intense experience. The young scout decided to trust her friend’s judgment.

Then, the two could hear clapping. They turned to the source, knowing exactly who that would be. The Ghost stood leaning against a tree, as if he had been there all along.

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“Bravo, bravo.” He said slowly, matching his words with the clapping. “That was beautif…”

Before the Ghost could finish, the Kid had already fired at him. The man simply waved his head to the side, dodging the shot. “So hasty, and here I thought you had mature just a bit.”

“That was me saying hello. Pardons the rudeness, but our last encounter did not end well if I remember correctly, I might be wrong though.” The girl replied. “For you to not shoot us in the back, to what reasoning do we owe that privilege to?”

“I am simply interested in your development, girl. I’m sure you already know what kind of person I am.” The Ghost answered.

The young scout remembered the briefing, sweat running down her cheek. Of course they had known of his twisted way, slaughters only to light the ‘embers’ within people. Then, snuffing their ‘fire’ out for goods.

The Ghost paced around, pulling a coin out from his pocket. “How about another duel, just like before. A chance for redemption, you might say so.”

“I do not need to redeem myself against you. But I sure would love to beat you at your own game.” The girl spun her revolver, bringing back into the holster.

“You wish to embarrass me, youths these day, truly no respect for the elder.”

“I am in my rebellious phase.” The Kid stood still, ready to fire at any moment. “Now hurry up, my friend Ms. Bullet is dying to get acquainted, I think she fancy you.”

“Lucky me.” The Ghost stopped walking, then raised the coin.

With a flick, the piece was flung through the air in a slight arc. To Carina, it might as well be flying in slow motion. The coin peaked then started to go down. Then, the young scout noticed the girl signaling to her with a back hand. ‘Take cover’.

Before the coin could touch the ground, the Kid had already fired.

The Ghost immediately dodged, firing back in an instant. Both of their shot missed as the two rushed to the thick cover of nature. “How unbecoming of you, Ms. Reid. To fire before the proper timing, I expected more of you.”

“You can cut the act, I know your trick now.” The Kid replied.

For the Ghost to not attack them with their back turned, the reason was clear as daylight. He wanted to crush her confidence in a duel, but that was mystery to no one. But even then, the man had no intention to fight fair. The deception had already started when he paced around, looking for a perfect spot to stand.

“I had no idea what you are talking about.” The Ghost said, disappearing into the bushes.

The Kid decided to expose his trick. “It was hard to notice in our first duel in broad daylight. But now, I finally realized it. You deliberately threw the coin into a ray of sunlight passing through the leaves. And I am sure you have perfected your flick so the trajectory is exactly as predicted.”

“Why would I even bother myself with such an archaic preparation, for what purpose? I think you are just being paranoid, young miss.” The Ghost replied, his deep voice echoing around.

“Huh, so that before it touched the ground, the coin would reflect the sun straight into your opponent eyes!”

It was only for a moment, nearly impossible to notice. But for a battle of speed, it was enough to turn the tide. From the very beginning, the idea of a fair fight was something absurd. A human might have limit, but a small infection of the eldritch could easily change that. Knights versus abominations, Blind hunters against the acolytes. A fight could never be ‘fair’ from the very beginning.

A real battle was never about the clash of weapons, the showing of martial prowess. It was everything, the fighters themselves, the plan and the plot no matter how devious. And the Kid would not lose.

She exited from her cover aiming directly at where the Ghost was. Then, a slight change in between the rustling leaves was enough. The Kid fired a shot straight.

It flew true, piercing through the Ghost’s arm. “How!” He grasped, head turning down at his dropped revolver, drenched in blood.

“I knew you were only trying to buy time to move into a better position by engaging me in conversation.” The Kid replied. “And I also knew you would aim for my friend. Then I only need to find the fastest spot you can go to get an angle on her. And yes, I am aware this is the sixth shots I have fired so far, so I have prepared a spare revolver just for you.”

The girl held the gun straight at the Ghost with five shot left in the cylinder.

“Impressive, truly impressive. You sure have mature since our last meeting.” He chuckled.

The Kid, meanwhile, had dropped all façade. “Speak, what was that quake!”

“Oh, that?” The Ghost turned his head up, tilting it to the side. “It was something special I had prepared. A young Mutants, ready to complete a ritual with no idea of the consequences.”

“What is that going to do?” Carina asked nervously.

“It will simply drench this entire meadow in the sweet embrace of the deity.” The Ghost answered nonchalantly.

That would surely end all lives within this place, infecting all with the eldritch. The Kid thought of her town and the people she had grown up with, of mother. The girl bit her lips in frustration but she knew there was nothing to be done. Everyone there had expected the end to come. Yet, Claudia’s heart still ached with pain.

The Kid steeled herself. The others must be warned of this catastrophe and evacuated. If the prisoners had not been found by now, their fates were sealed.

All that was left to do here was to finish of the Ghost, but it would not end that way. The nomad started to chuckled then laugh out loud to himself.

“What’s so amusing?” The Kid asked.

“I find it funny, that thought that is going through your mind now that say I will die.” The Ghost answered.

Another quake shook the land as the Kid fired her revolver. Such a tremor would not be enough for her to miss in this range, but she did anyway. The reason was a crippling pain spreading through her body. Then came the burn, as if lava was flowing through her bloodstreams, the girl was consumed by a horrible heat, hotter than hellfire.

The Ghost then threw a dart at Carina before she could do anything. He then walked over the Kid who was shriveling in pain. “This quake signaled a connection to the other side, where the deity dwell, a piece of the stairway to heaven. It also serves to amplify all eldritch influence including the one inside of you. The burning sensation you feeling right now is because of the remaining metal clashing with the deep.”

The girl darted her eyes at Carina, who was screaming out in pain. “What… what did… you do to… her!” She tried to brace the pain.

“That dart contained something I cooked myself. It will drive your friend to madness and maybe, just maybe, she will maul you to death. If you haven’t died from the burn that is. Personally, I place my bet in the latter, so don’t disappoint me, young miss.” The Ghost said calmly, his deep voice echoed inside the Kid’s mind. “Don’t worry, her body will collapse and she will die soon after.”

“Yo…u bas…tard.”

The Ghost patted her hat then stand up. “Sorry young miss, but the hand you were dealt was not a rather rotten one.” He brushed his clothing of dust then left the girl still in agony, but not before leaving a final remark. “But the truth is, the game was rigged from the start.”

The Kid could no longer endure the pain, she passed out, hopping to reach the other side of the hill. Carina crawled towards her. The young scout could feel her mind slipping away and something else, something feral trying to claw its way out.

“Ahhhhh!” Using all of her might, Carina stood up. “So this is where we part way… Not how I want this to go, but I have to say. Thanks, I am honored to have met you.”

Pushing her mind to the limit, the young scout then ran away into the forest. Her destination was something surely death, yet, Carina did not mind it at all.

___

The people at headquarter rejoiced as the prisoners were brought out safe and sound. Soon after came X, drenched in blood that was not hers. The executioner sure was happy that day. But then, the quake came and shook everyone.

“What was that?” The Warden wondered.

Doc knew what that was, of course he did. The face soon turned pale, devoid of blood as he realized what would happen to the Kid. Before Jaren could get an answer, the Doctor dashed away in a frenzy.

Fortunately, there was X stepping in to explain. “That serves to amplify the eldritch influence within anyone who is ‘blessed’ by a deity.”

“Like you?” The Warden asked cautiously

“Kinda, I am alright though!” X replied with a flip. “I am already an acolyte!”

But she was not who they had to worry about. The last to exit from the tunnels was Rohan, however, he was not in the best of condition. The cracked on his skin seemed to spread, as if the man was being rightly bounded by countless invisible chains. The Adjudicator was losing his mind fast and he knew it.

With his last lucid moment, Rohan grabbed and threw away his sword. Then, the countless souls that he had absorbed soon consumed his mind whole. They now guided the executioner and the spirits demanded only one thing… vengeance.

And all within the Adjudicator’s path shall be obliterated.