Weiss , Arc 2: Into the Game
Chapter 4 : It can only get Worse
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“So what’s this?”
Lakyus held a small vial of blue crystal up in the air. It was the latest curio on the street.
“The Eight Finger’s latest drug on the street, they called it Blue Sky.”
A concerned voice spoke from the opposite of her. It came from a beautiful and petite maiden with golden strands of hair and a baby blue dress. She was a figurehead of moral purity to the less fortunate and to her allies.
On the opposite sat Princess Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself , also known as the Golden Princess. Beside the Princess was her precious bodyguard, sporting golden hair and a fine-plated mithril armour, Climb.
The leader of the Blue Rose, Lakyus, and her fellow adventurer Tina the Ninja sat next to her in the well-lit room of the Valencia Palace. The room was luxurious but not tacky, given the venue, the Adamantite adventurer wore a pink dress for this formal meet out of respect.
The Princess has been fighting off the corruption of nobles and Eight Fingers for a good whole part of her life. Despite knowing most of her reforms and her collaborations in vigilante operations with the Blue Rose will be all for naught due to the Kingdom’s corruption, she has discovered a comfortable familiarity against her foes. But now…?
“This is worrying.” The Princess said.
“Then what made this so special?
“A lot of aspects, it can bypass all forms of magical detections, appraisals, and even duplications.”
“Such a thing possible?”
“That’s not all when given to a caster who was able to cast duplication spells…”
“He instead duplicated a puddle of acid, some red dust and a mix of unknown toxic liquids. Putting all these alchemical ingredients together … results in some form of noxious gas that puts him in critical condition. The Priests tried to cure him but to no avail.”
“How is he now?” Lakyus asked Tina in a concerned tone.
“Barely breathing, bloodshot eyes and seemed to be barely conscious.”
The Ninja clenched her fist at this thought, and a noticeable frown wrinkled her forehead
The said caster was an acquaintance of hers using her past connections as an Assassin, a dependable ally and asset. Despite her cold temperament, she felt partly responsible for his predicament.
“This means it is completely unrelated to the black dust crops; the Eight Fingers has found a new drug and a new production method that is completely unknown to us. Someone new has…changed our situation. Something serious is happening.”
Lakyus nods with a stern look in her eyes.
“I will be careful about it. Whatever this new monster that the Eight Fingers acquired, dangerous or strong it may be. I will take it down.”
The Noble Lady then drifted her eyes at the vial of Blue Sky. Despite her confidence and righteous dedication in her task, she cannot help but feel a sense of dread that spreads inside her. Like a cancer out of control.
While the light from the sun reflected from the blue meth to the Princess’s very own azur blue eyes. The crystal cold eyes for an unnoticeable moment blinked and cringed for a long time in forever. Something about this disturbed and frustrated her slightly for a reason unknown to her.
Then those eyes turned to her bodyguard, her sweet puppy Climb; all her worries melted as her face twisted back into an innocent smile in a blink of an eye.
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...
The vial of Blue Sky now found its way on top of an expensive marble table, next to a bag of gold. In an unlit and luxurious room. Well-sculpted statues of gods and paintings of decadence were plastered everywhere.
On one end sat the masterminds of the new blue stuff. Slouched with sunken burning blue eyes that were shielded by a pair of glasses, still dressed in her unremarkable plain brown coat and blue shirt while wearing a comedic black porcupine hat in such a dark setting, was Weiss the chemist.
One of her hands was gripping the bag of gold by its lips, reluctant to let it go.
Next to her sat Sally the Vampire, who was barely holding back her vomit. Stains of what seemed to be purple paint can be seen on her lips.
The two sat awkwardly on small wooden stools that contrasted with everything in this glamorous room.
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Moments ago…
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“Drink this please.”
Weiss frustratingly handed her partner a bottle of what seemed to be glowing purple paint. Who was still reeling from her first hangover last night. Her face bluish, and she can barely stand straight.
“W-What’s this?”
“A special Gamma-Linolenic acid mixture.”
Sally just gave the taller woman a weird look, as if Weiss was speaking gibberish again.
“A Drinking aid, this will snap you back to a more appropriate state.”
The Vampire shrugged and chugged the purple drink down. Then she puffed cheeks and vomited a glob of bile, stomach ale, and purple goo onto Weiss. Who lost her temper at this.
“WHAT THE HELL!?”
Despite still looking a bit sickly, she looked a bit more comfortable after letting all those things out of her system.
“I felt…much better, hey, you got more of those purple stuff?”
“HELL NO! You drank enough, alcohol or not. Let’s not forget after all these things we need to discuss, your drunken shitshow last night. We were lucky that Dark Hero Moron was in a good mood last night for some unholy reason and reined in his Black-Haired Bitch. What a week, and we still need to meet the Drug Department Head today...”
Weiss went into her room and retrieved a new shirt, grumbling to herself.
“As well as letting her steal a good amount of our rightfully earned money thanks to rip-off Blue Batwoman and her Ninja whores! THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST CAPITALISM! A TRAVESTY! And I still need to fucking groom myself to our robber-boss out of politeness.”
Sally rolled her eyes as Weiss closed her doors to get changed. Eferdora sat on a couch and shrugged her shoulders at this. By this point, the two were pretty used to Weiss’ antics.
Then she caught sight of something purplish glowing from the reflective light of the afternoon sun, grinning, putting a finger on her lips, she gave Eferdora a “shhh”. Before reaching for the drinking aid on the top shelf in the kitchen, only to find she needs to be a head taller to reach it without trouble.
Using a chair, she propped herself up to reach for her desired drink. Her fingers touched the flask as she caught it, losing balance and falling down, dragging a sack of potatoes to avalanche on her head.
For a being like her, such a fall doesn’t hurt much. As she uncorked the bottle gleefully and took a huge swig of it.
Eferdora gave her a worried look, and Sally used a gesture to tell her to look away.
“What the hell was that?!”
Weiss called out from her room, still busy changing her clothes.
“NOTHING MISS WEISS!”
The Vampire swallowed the bottle of all of its purple stuff.
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Now that they were at the Drug Head’s lair, sitting beside a Sally with a grumbling stomach was a grumpy Weiss.
“You drank it all didn’t you.”
Her Partner nodded with guilt.
“Holy mother of god…” Weiss hissed and cursed.
Sitting on the opposite of them was a pale blonde lady with heavy makeup, dressed in thin white silk garments. She bears the appearance of an expensive prostitute. A snake tattoo was visible on her left arm.
The Drug Lord sat relaxed on her satin couch, upon close inspection, Weiss could see that it was made of expensive rosewood and fine textile, but not too overt, but with hints of subtle richness and self-indulgence. Regardless of all that, it was still a huge contrast to what the duo was sitting on.
The boss of the drug division looked at the two with a condescending gaze, smoking a pipe, she declared.
“I am Hilma Cygnaeus, and you are the illusive Heisenberg…"
Her painted eyes studied the two thoroughly through the heavy-scented cigar smoke.
"So you, an Elf, and that Vampire are behind this new product? Malmvist told me a lot about you three, especially you, Heisenberg. While it brings me a smile to see more women in our line of trade, I honestly expected more. You two don’t look like much, not dangerous nor … strong.”
Clenching her teeth behind her lips, Weiss nodded, while Sally’s stomachaches can still be heard from where the Chemist was sitting.
“Enough idle chatter, let’s talk business. And about the tragedy to my farm as well as your foolish move of letting a Blue Rose live.”
Weiss said nothing but glare at her superior with much intensity. She wanted to strangle her, blow her up or put a hole in her head for daring to insult her and steal from her. Although she need to play her cards right, for now, she was still a small-time cook and crook. One wrong move, and her whole pot of gold would be gone.
So she took a breath and began the fight of her life, her gold, and something else.
"I can assure you what happened on the farm. It was all a fluke, an isolated incident. My partners and I are capable, it won't happen again, and our business arrangement can become profitable; hence this gesture here, this thinly-veiled threat, is unnecessary and may cause a problem between us in the future."
“And why should I be afraid of you, Miss Heisenberg? We are not actually scared of a Vampire; you tossed your element of surprise to Malmvist for a bit of gold long ago, ironic considering our current situation, and there are more ways to take down an undead. So please give me good reasons for not taking your gold and maintaining a “normal” relationship.”
Without even needing to turn around, Weiss already knew Sally was giving her a look. Unfazed, the Chemist sighed and hardened her face as she raised a hand, showing Hilma two fingers. The Chemist’s face reacts with coldness as she voices out her words.
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“Two reasons that you will find justifiable.”
Hilma laid back on her couch and breathed a cloud of noxious smoke. Making the room feel smaller and more suffocating than ever. As she eyed her counterparts with the edge of her eyes.
“I am listening.”
“Firstly, We are not the same, Hilma. I am a very cautious man. I hide in plain sight, as regrettable as the survival of that adventurer. If our relationship works through, that incident may be a blessing to you.”
Hilma frowned slightly with curiosity and leaned forward; the scent of cigar smoke grew heavier.
“Saving one of those Ninjas made them feel grateful for me, so when I manufacture my drugs, they will not even bother to look in my direction. No one will suspect the desperate thief who is a good samaritan at the same time. Not to mention, I looked too … norm - ”
“Pathetic.”
Hilma corrected. Weiss lowered her head slightly, giving her adversary a cold hooded stare. The neutral line, which was her mouth, has now twisted into a scowl.
“Right, pathetic … on the surface. Let’s not kid ourselves. Your poorly hidden farms that are swarming with guards are open targets begging to be raided. Acres and Acres of land just burnt away in the middle of the night…that’s thousands of gold pieces worth of damage.”
“Watch your tone, Heisenberg.”
“I am telling you this because the second reason your solution is my impeccable product.”
“Your Blue Sky?”
“Yes, my Blue Sky, it’s synthetic, meaning you don’t need to risk losing your investment in those huge farms, and the ingredients can be processed with more concealable procedures. Most importantly, as your employees attested, it gives a better high than the black dust, which equals better profits.”
“I am listening.”
“I'm telling you that I am worth the trouble and the money. Your vigilante hassle is but a symptom of a rooted problem to your Black Dust. It’s too weak in too many aspects. You need a change, you need a solution to your costly vigilante problem, and you are looking at him.”
“Him? Oh…you. Whatever your foreign customs are, you sure are an anomaly, Heisenberg.”
Hilma took a puff of her smoke, but she smirked with an air of sly confidence at Weiss’s grim face. The dim lantern lights of this dark room reflected with sinister intent on the one called “Heisenberg’s” glasses.
“That’s all? Is this all the leverage you have against me? What did you put on the table to prevent me from gutting you right here where you seat?”
“I mean no ill will. All I want is to clear the air between us. I think you are too smart to knock me off and dismiss me just like that and snatch away what I rightfully earned. Any complications in our relationship might greatly complicate your profits.”
That was a brief silence between the two parties. The gold on the table glimmered with anticipation, hundreds of polished coins reflecting their faces like vanity mirrors. It was a prize up for the taking regardless of how insignificant it was in the grand scale of things.
Hilma smirked and nodded. It’s her turn to break the silence. It’s her move. It’s her house that they were in, after all.
“Showing all your cards in this negotiation for that one bag of gold. Are you really this desperate? Or is it something else in you that drives you?”
“Don’t know, maybe I need that gold more than you do? Or maybe I value my dedication to my work?”
Hilma nodded and smirked, bemused by Weiss’s attempts in negotiations.
“That is given that I still see you three as trouble we can afford. There are some things in this world that are more valuable than profits and power.”
“And what would that be?”
“Honour, Heisenberg, you and your partners dishonoured us with your boneheaded decision regardless of your reasons. It affects my standing and reputation with the other departments. The Doll family of the Slave Division had already begun to smear me over the incident with the adventurer in a pathetic attempt to lower my standing.”
Hilma sighed, and a puff of purple smoke left her lips.
“Sure, your drug has given me the best earnings and sales I haven’t seen for decades, and there were considerations of moving on from Black Dust to your Meth, but there are more factors at play.”
“And what would that be, Hilma?”
“For starters, you three are all my bitches, although from what I heard that Elf is already a crying bitch.”
“Listen now, you-” Sally got up, gritting her teeth in defense of her companion.
“Sit down Honyopenyoko!”
Hilma’s authoritative roar froze the Vampire at her spot. Despite their difference in physical strength, Sally was reined back to her place in a daze of confusion.
“Hoppou What-oko?”
“Oh yea, that’s right, you are that one forgetful adventurer, the “I forgot” girl. Everyone by now may have forgotten the whole Karen debacle at the Adventurer Guild. But your Blue Sky and your whole act at the Manor had given me and my fellow friends an everlasting impression.”
“Woah, Woah, what are you talking about?” Weiss asked.
“Just a few days ago. There was a vicious Vampire attack. A whole mercenary camp got massacred, and an Adventurer Party with at least a dozen people got pulverised. Only two made it out alive, two rangers, to be specific. One of them was even my local dealer’s regular, who stayed at the slum districts after the whole incident…right until she smashed her head into the pavement, a drug-related suicide.”
Weiss turned slowly at Sally, whose fear started to creep onto her face.
“I have to say you did a number on that Ranger Sally; she can't stop yapping about you, a sadistic psycho who relishes in making all her innocent fellow adventurers bleed, toying with them like a cat and a mouse. According to the two survivors, this isn’t your true form. You are actually a hideous monster with claws, a long tongue, and wrinkled skin, who can shift into a little girl’s skin at a whim.”
“I don’t know…what you are talking about.”
“Of course, you don’t, but I do. It’s really not hard to put one-to-one together, the fact you are a vampire, looks like a little girl and the time frame. I also let you know that Dark Hero Momon, someone you three should be quite acquainted with by now, is on the hunt for you.”
The Druglord produced a paper and handed it to the Vampire, who gingerly took it from her long painted nails. It was a copy of an adventurer report alongside a quest with a mithril difficulty. In the report were details of the quest and the list of adventurer parties that partook in this task currently, a Party led by someone called Igvarge, which had been wiped out, the other one being Darkness… as Weiss often likes to put it, consisting of Dark Hero Moron and his Black Haired Bitch.
The report detailed the alleged rampages this Vampire committed as well as the personal history and obsession of Momon in hunting her. Information that froze her already cold blood.
“So what… are you trying to say?”
Weiss asked with a low tone. Hilma lost her smile and glared at Weiss, putting both hands to the table and bending slightly forward as she glared at the duo.
“I am saying… you lost all leverage on us. Now SIT.”
The boom of Hilma’s voice sent Sally to her stool, then the Boss turned her attention to Weiss and gave her a malicious grin.
“I am also saying I can probably kill you and the Elf and get away with it, even if you can kill me, and that’s a big IF. I don’t even need my friends to send assassins after you. I can just tip the adventurer’s guild and have Momon rain hell upon you. Everything you have here, everything you own, will not only go poof…but you will need to watch over your shoulders for a very long time.”
Sally was stunned and forced into silence by just mere words; Weiss gave her a glance. The Chemist grimaced too, then she turned back at a smug Hilma and broke the silence.
‘What do you want then? This is blackmail right?”
“Correct!i It is blackmail, but don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t mean any ill will besides this is just to remind you who is really in charge around here and rectify our arrangement for you. That is needed, especially with someone with such horrible judgement…”
Curling her fingers on the lips of the sack of gold, she put it on her lap as if it was a cushion and leaned back to relax, puffing a smoke.
“I mean, working with an amnesia Vampire wanted by a famed Adventurer…sure, but working with what seemed to be a definitely worthless ex-slave that lacks a spine, guts, and brains is another thing.”
This was not going well.
“For the next week and next week only, you will deliver twice the amount of drugs for the same payout. I am a reasonable woman, after all. Failure to do so, I will let your common sense picture the consequences.”
With that, the two got up and left empty-handed, except with a plain fact ringing in their head.
They lost, and they were in danger.
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“UGH! UGH! UGH!”
An angry Weiss kicked a random bucket right outside their home into a dented mess.
“We still have more than enough Miss Weiss.”
“Yeah, then what? I know people like her; give her an inch, and she will take a mile. Soon word will get out that Sally, Eferdora, and Heisenberg are easy pickings. We have to do something about it before things get worse!”
“I think we should just trudge through, for now, Miss Weiss, and focus on those extra pounds Hilma forced us to cook.”
Weiss gave her partner a look, sighed but nodded in agreement as she knocked on the door with much exhaustion. No response.
There was a brief respite of silence for them both, despite the noisy ambiance of the streets, cries of hawkers, and a random young nun in a white habit with an empty donation blow crying out, only to be ignored but everyone else in this god forsaken city.
Annoyed, Weiss knocked again.
“Eferdora? We are home!”
Sally frowned slightly at this development of events, a little bit perturbed by the uncanny silence. Standing at her spot as she let herself fall into a daze to process everything that happened earlier, with Hilma, the Honyopenyoko incident, and Momon. Was she really a rabid monster under the skin of a young girl?
All these brought dark thoughts to her head, questions she wished to avoid.
“Charity! Charity anyone!? Charity to help the orphans by the grace of the Six Great Gods!”
“Will you shut the fuck up!”
A stressed-out Weiss snapped at the Nun; the blonde sister gasped at the Chemist with her red eyes. She scratched her short hair awkwardly before bowing down to apologise, then turned around to leave.
“Wait,” Sally called out, producing a pouch and dropping one gold piece into the donation bowl.
“I apologise for Miss Weiss here; both of us had a bad day.”
The nun held the gold coin as she became teary. So touched, she repeatedly thanked the Vampire for her charity.
“Thank you very much. This proves you are really a good person or some good in there at least. Sad that not many people are like you, my friend; faith and values were so lost around these parts that sins got mistaken as strength when strength comes in many forms. ” The Nun lamented.
“Yeah…”
Sally replied half-heartedly, while Weiss knocked on the door for the third time. Meanwhile, just across the streets, a large man roars in rage as a street urchin pickpocketed him.
“Well, and there are also many crimes too… one of the saints used to say, When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. Some days, people will realize their past sins will catch up with them, me included.”
The amnesiac turned to look at the clergywoman, who in return gave her a lopsided smile that resembled a “v”. As the burly man caught on to that urchin and dragged him to a dark alleyway, even from this distance and without a need for any special hearing, the Vampire can already hear the bone-crunching from where she stood.
“Oh dear, look at the time.”
The Nun exclaimed as she pulled out a stopwatch.
“Guess I got to go now; remember to stay faithful and righteous, even if you have no gods to worship. Actually, best if you have no god to worship!”
Hurriedly she clutched the bowl and ran off, disappearing into a sea of people. She came as fast as she went. Meanwhile, Weiss lost her patience and opened the door with her own house key, and her partner went to join her.
“Could she be out buying food?”
Weiss said nothing. She merely frowned and turned to Sally.
“Correct me if I am wrong, Hilma mentioned the Slavery Division was handled by this Doll Family.”
“Yea?”
The Chemist turned to the Vampire with a pale face as her partner’s eyes slowly widened in realisation.
“Oh shit.”
As Weiss pulled out her Hi-Power, she realised she was too late.
[Lesser Strength]
A Cloaked thug pinned the Chemist down and wrestled her pistol out of her hand. With defiance, she let out screams before a fist with magically enhanced super strength smacked her from the back of her head, rendering her unconscious.
“Miss Weiss!”
Another man, someone draped in a green cloak with a scar on his face, appeared before the Vampire in a blur.
Click
A silver collar with growing runes wrapped around the Vampire's neck, startling her. The true horror came when she flexed her hand against empty air, and realised she can’t summon her trusty lance. The man in green smirked at the Vampire’s pathetic attempt.
Desperate, Sally flexed her claws and slashed at her adversary, who knocked her back with a blunt unseen force with ease, causing her to slam her back into a wall.
“Anti-undead collar with some special modifications, specifically designed for high tier like liches and of course… Vampires. A rare treasure “borrowed” from Theocracy, guess all those resources from that one job paid off. Although I can’t help but thank your moronic friend Heisenberg enough for telling the entire world of your identity, making us do our research on you, and now you are nothing but a little girl who can’t cast spells.”
Sally glared at the Man, who raised a heavy boot, and gave a devastating kick that cut her lights out. Something that she would normally withstand with ease.
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Light began to set in, through the micro gaps in between the fibres of what seemed to be a wall of cloth.
Then the hoods were pulled away from Sally’s and Weiss’s heads. The two realised they were now in a room decorated with overly luxurious decor. Erotic and graphically sadistic paintings were hung blatantly on the four sides of this room that had shades of dark purple everywhere.
Some of the paintings tragically even featured children in them, things that can get one arrested from where Weiss came from. And given how detailed and realistic the paintings were, from the shading of the skin and texture of the blood, it shudders one to think how they were painted.
The two were both tied up on their chairs, and Sally still had her collar on.
Their guns, Sally and Eferdora’s revolvers, and Weiss’s Hi-power were placed on a nightstand a few feets away from them. In front of them was an over-luxuriously desk layered with jewels and gems that had no place for subtlety.
On the opposite side of the desk was the Man in Green, a teary Eferdora who was also gagged and tied up, and the Boss, who sat on an overly decorated and opulent throne. He was a balding man who had his skinny arm wrapping the Elf, squeezing her. He looked at his two new captives with a lustful gaze as he studied both Weiss and Sally’s bodies with a sick perversion. He wore a fancy wine-red shirt with a corset and tight skin pants.
Weiss, despite meeting criminals of many different types, has to acknowledge this one was the first of his kind that she ever met. As well as one of, if not the most degenerate and distasteful of his now extended rogue gallery.
“So you three are Hilma’s new whore’s huh? Heard that bitch made quite an earning from that blue stuff ever since you three joined. You three waste your talents on her when your rightful place is here, in my brothel.”
Sally glared at him with murderous rage. She struggled against the ropes but lost all her strength.
“Succulent said he brought you two in a Slave Wagon, a slave wagon that when I set my eyes onto… reminds me the one someone you should know… has owned.”
“Not to mention the Elf, exquisite import from the Theocracy meant for a client in E-Rantel. I always remember the wares I laid my eyes on.” The Man in Green, now known as Succulent.
“And who…is he? There were two people on that when, who is he and who is he to you?”
Weiss asked, picking her words and questions carefully with a shaky tone. One wrong move and she can lose her life or be subjected to something worse. As someone who still remembers her past life and has difficulty letting go, this would be the greatest insult to her.
“My Cousin, Discu Doll, remember him? Well, I am Ampetif Cocco Doll, Head of the Slave Trade Division. And you insulted my honour.”
Clenching her teeth, Weiss turned to look at Sally, who bore an intense yet helpless look. Then, she turned to Eferdora, who had wet her gag through her tears. The former Drug Lord gave the head Slaver a hooded glare and took a deep breath. Underneath the desk, her hands clenched into tight veiny fists.
“All this felt deja vu.”
That was what Weiss thought.
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The End
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