Chapter 98 – Nightmare

[Rodeo]

[You have received 7985 AP from Norman]

[You have received 10560 AP from Kelly]

[You have received 2565 AP from Daniel]

Rodeo watched as the soldiers transferred whatever pitying AP amounts they had to him and then fell in line in front of one of the portals.

“Remember to take both a frenzy potion and a toxic death potion. The red is for drinking, the green is for throwing.” Barked one of the Crowen soldiers.

A few of the raiders stepped out of line to grab the potions lined up on the table. The frenzy potion was designed to do just that, send them into a berserker frenzy. The toxic death potion was more or less a chemical dirty bomb. The U.F.E. was doing a surprisingly good job at hunting down his raiding parties, so it was time to make them think twice about doing just that.

This last batch of participants for the raid was truly at the bottom of the barrel. Rodeo had burned through the decent recruits a long time ago. Now he was forced to kidnap adventurers and brainwash them with his [Mind Spike] ability. Their orders were simple. Get into the back lines and cause as much damage as humanly possible. Surrender or retreat was not an option they would get to exercise, hence the brainwashing.

It wasn’t the most efficient tactic, and the side of the Crowen was losing more numbers than they could replenish. But Rodeo didn’t care about winning the war. He just needed to break the U.F.E. He needed them scared; he needed them desperate.

Only then could he enact his plans.

Rodeo watched as the brainwashed raiders filed into the portals that lined the staging room one by one. At this point, they were sending the raiders as far back as the Xogon territory. It would be several days before they made it to the U.F.E… but when they did… Rodeo almost started salivating at the thought of the chaos they would cause.

The room was soon empty, leaving him and what few Crowen soldiers remained to help with the logistics of it all. Rodeo walked out of the staging room, out of the barracks, and back to the castle.

Rodeo spent most of his days in the castle. The castle library, to be exact. If his plans were to work, he needed answers. He couldn’t exactly leave the safety of the capitol to go searching for answers, so he opted for here instead. Their library was impressive, and he often found himself in here consulting the works from various alchemists on how to mix reagents and create a truly terrible explosive.

His visit this time was different, however. He needed to know about the Dungeon of Xinnolath. He had tried poking and prodding at the king for answers, even going so far as to interrogate his staff. The king was tight-lipped as always, and his staff was nothing but mindless idiots. So, he turned to the history books.

As far as he could tell, Xinnolath was a demon king who the seven heroes imprisoned. Opening up the dungeon would likely result in some sort of boss battle. What he couldn’t figure out was why they imprisoned him instead of killing him. It made no sense. All the history books, all the legends, the fairytales, the gossip he had read on the matter all pointed to the seven heroes defeating Xinnolath with ease.

But why imprison a demon they could defeat? It made no sense.

That was, until he discovered another book, one buried deep in the library. The book’s existence had surprised him; it was gossip at best and slanderous to the crown at worst. The author, a trusted advisor to the king during the time of the seven heroes, had written that the Crowen empire had enslaved Xinnolath to work for them. That the Demon imprisoned in the Dungeon below was the true source of the kingdom’s power.

Rodeo doubted the validity of it, but it did get him thinking. He had begun heavily researching into all things demonic.

Rodeo listened to the quiet footsteps of one of the many library’s attendants approaching.

“Lord Rodeo.” The attendant said, holding a stack of books in his hands.

“Just Rodeo.” He growled. “Did you find what I need?”

“No, not exactly,” the attendant said in a bow, “unfortunately, records of the demon invasion during the time of the seven heroes are lackluster,” he grimaced. “I did, however, find some books I think will suit your interest just fine.”

Rodeo watched as the attendant spread out several books in front of him. Rodeo read the titles, getting angrier with each book.

Making Your First Contract with a Demon: A Warlocks Guide to Success.

Taming Your Inner Demons.

Demons: Friend or Foe?

How to Exorcise a Demon.

“Do I look like I’m here for pleasure?” Rodeo snarled at the attendant. “I asked for all books pertaining to demons during the age of heroes. I know you have records; do you really think I would be so stupid as to believe you don’t? Bring them to me. Now.” Rodeo commanded.

The wide-eyed attendant quickly turned and scurried off.

I’ll have to tell the king about this request.

“Stop.” Rodeo said before the attendant could get away. “What did you just say?”

“Pardon, my lo- Sir Rodeo,” he stuttered, not turning around to face Rodeo, “I don’t believe I said anything.”

Oh god he’s going to kill me.

Rodeo felt a wolf-like smile crawl onto his face as he got up and walked towards the attendant. The librarian was, of course, not saying anything. Rodeo was reading his surface thoughts.

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“Tell me what it is you're going to tell the king?”

“Please, sir…” the attendant said, voice shaking.

Rodeo cast [Mind Spike] on the attendant, invading his mind. Using his ability on Tower generated people never worked quite the same as it did on other climbers. Their memories were always fragmented. It was more like they were following some sort of protocol, at least the unimportant ones. His time in the mind of Ondfauxt had been plenty lucrative, but when he tried to control the minds of simple Crowen soldiers or townsfolk, it almost never worked. The second he altered or changed anything, they became mostly braindead. Like they were glitching out or something.

Rodeo scanned the mind of the library attendant, but all he found was strict orders to report any research into Xinnolath to the king.

Rodeo scrambled the attendant’s brain. The mind was a delicate thing, but he rampaged through it like a man with a sledgehammer. He watched as the attendant fell to the ground, eyes rolling in the back of his head and seizing out on the floor. He stepped back to his books, rifling through the one about making contracts with demons.

I wonder if this Xinnolath would be open to the idea of a contract…

“Having fun, are we?” came a voice Rodeo was starting to hate. Rodeo turned to see Maximillian standing there, a look of disdain on his face as he stared down at the now dead library attendant. “I never took you for a scholar. Growing bored locked up inside the castle?”

“What are you doing here?” Rodeo growled.

“I came to tell you that I’ve set a meeting.”

Rodeo’s ears perked up at this and he looked at Maximilian in surprise. The man wore a greasy smile on his face that Rodeo wanted to rip off, but he couldn’t yet. He still needed the man.

“So soon?”

“Your tactics have been rather effective. They’re quite desperate.” He grinned.

“Good,” Rodeo barked, “I’ve sent another group through, it should take them a few days before they make contact, but if they are desperate now, they’ll be begging us to stop once they come in contact with the… present I’m sending them.”

Maximillian nodded at this, steepling his fingers together.

“Are you sure you still want to go through with this? At this rate, we might actually break the siege. Reports say they are losing numbers to people leaving for the second floor by the day.”

“I told you already. I don’t give a shit about the war. I want in the dungeon.”

“Why? For the Epic class? That’s nothing more than a rumor, you know that. Why are you so desperate to stay down here?”

Rodeo went silent at that. He thought back to Jack. The man had beaten him. Not only had he beaten him, but he also managed to do it while he wasn’t even at his strongest.

Rodeo had enough time in Jack’s head to get a good idea of his abilities, and while they were powerful, they were manageable. Rodeo was confident in that. Still, even after extinguishing his ‘mana drops’ and luring him into a one-on-one fight, Jack had still managed to beat him.

The thought infuriated Rodeo.

He had always wondered just who was stronger, him or Jack. A part of him had always known the answer. He knew Jack was something special from the boy’s first kill. Jack was a fool ten times over and a lazy idiot, but try as he might, Rodeo never found a situation Jack wasn’t able to thrive in. His apprentice could cause chaos and wreak havoc on a scale appreciated by few. Jack could adapt and thrive in any situation, always coming out stronger for it. That was his gift.

Rodeo knew if he didn’t stop Jack here, if he didn’t gain control of him now, then Jack would outpace him with ease. Rodeo knew he could never truly catch up with Jack. He had to stop him right here, right now. If Jack was allowed to grow stronger, then Rodeo’s time in the Tower would be limited. Jack would hunt him down. He knew that much to be true.

Rodeo refused to live a life in hiding again. This time, he would beat Jack into submission and break the man’s mind so thoroughly he would be nothing more than Rodeo’s pet monster.

Rodeo looked up from the books and over at Maximilian, who was sitting there with the same smug look on his face.

“Set the meeting for next week.”

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[Gideon]

“You have to get her out of here!” Jack snarled, a wild look in his eyes. Black blood covered the man from head to toe, and he had a hole through his shoulder the size of Gideon’s fist.

“You’re faster. You can escape. Let me hold him off.” Gideon protested.

“This whole fucking thing is my fault. I can barely move, much less get her to safety. Besides, I have no clue how to fix that, but I imagine you do.” Jack said, glancing down at Gideon’s arms.

Gideon looked down. He was holding Sarah. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, and she was frothing at the mouth. Her veins were pitch black. He held her tight and looked back at Jack.

“Promise me you’ll save her.” He said, his eyes filled with a sincerity Gideon didn’t think the man was capable of.

“I promise.” Gideon nodded. He looked back down at Sarah, and then back at Jack, who had disappeared. He heard pained screams and the sound of combat coming from the long, dark hallway.

Gideon turned and ran, holding Sarah tight as he pushed his speed to the absolute limits. Jack wouldn’t be able to buy him much time, not against that opponent. He ran down the long winding corridors that seemed plagued with constant moving shadows and up the winding stairs out of the castle basement. He spotted the exit and pushed himself harder.

“No…” came a faint voice. Gideon stopped in his tracks just before the exit. He looked down at Sarah. She was no longer catatonic. She looked up at Gideon and smiled a frail, weak smile at him.

“Don’t speak. Save your energy.” Gideon said, his heart wrenching as he stared down at her.

“Save…” she started, placing a weak, but steady, hand on Gideon’s cheek as her words trailed off.

“I’m going to save you. We’re almost free. Just hang on.” Gideon growled, not sure if he believed the words himself. He dashed up the stairs towards the exit. He slammed his foot into the door, blowing the thick wood off its hinges and sending it tumbling down the hallways.

He took another step and then stopped. His eyes went wide. He felt his entire body go weak and Sarah sliding out of his arms to the ground.

Gideon looked down to see two hands, fingers tipped with vicious red claws jutting out of his chest. He groaned in pain as the person behind him ripped their hands free. Gideon fell to the ground, gasping for breaths that would never come.

Gideon clenched his teeth in frustration, turning around to see his killer.

Two giant red horns erupted out of the demon’s head, and he donned a pair of pitch black wings, neatly folded behind his back. His hands were crystal red claws, and he walked on taloned feet. His skin was rough with leather scales that covered his entire body in a smattering of black and red. Gideon stared into the demon’s dead gray eyes. The demon leveled his palm at Gideon’s head, and the world went black…

Gideon shot up out of bed, shivering from a cold sweat and gasping for air. He felt his heart pounding throughout his body, and he clenched at his chest, taking several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

“It was a dream, Gideon,” he said to himself, feeling at the surrounding sheets. It was just a dream.

A dream…

Gideon felt a slow smile creep onto his face. How long had it been since he dreamed? No longer did he close his eyes to the image of an ancient dragon succumbing to the slow passing of time.

Gideon started to laugh, a deep, bellowing laugh that shook the entire camp.

His dream had finally changed.