King Dice's destination was Inkwell Isle Beach which was located in the third isle. According to the Devil, this was where Riggor Mortis was going to show his ghastly face. Upon further information, it was here that Riggor Mortis was also going to try to claim a life. Thanks to his teleportation, Dice was able to arrive at the place in good time where he could prepare to ambush the sinister stiff. As always, the beach held precious memories for Dice where he and the Devil had once spent time here together. But right now he needed to focus on his mission. Dice was already going over the plan in his mind.
"Challenge Riggor Mortis to a fight to the death," the Devil had instructed him earlier. "Riggor Mortis is a power-hungry creep but he won't turn you down. Try to fight him as long as you can. This will keep Riggor distracted."
"No problem, boss," Dice accepted. "It'll be tricky, but I like a good challenge. Heh, heh. I am gonna enjoy pickin' a fight with that no-good loon." But just before Dice left the casino, the Devil had taken him aside and stared sternly into his eyes.
"You can't afford to lose. If you slip up, Riggor Mortis will kill you without fail. There is even a good chance he will harvest your soul for his own twisted purposes," the Devil warned.
"Riggor Mortis doesn't scare me," Dice said cockily. But seeing the solemn expression the Devil was wearing, Dice realized the seriousness of what the Devil was trying to tell him. For the first time, Dice realized there was a good chance he might end up losing his life. And if that happened… "Boss…," Dice said hesitantly. But then he realized he didn't even need to think about it. "If somethin' were to happen to me… You can take my soul."
The Devil was not expecting this at all and stared incredulously at Dice. "Dice, do you know what you're saying?" he asked. "Is that what you really want? Once I am in possession of your soul, there is no going back. You'll belong to me forever."
"And maybe that's not such a bad thing?" Dice smiled fondly at his black demon before him. "I'd rather give my soul to you than let Riggor Mortis get his slimy mitts on it. I only hope my soul will prove useful to the Prince of Darkness." With a wicked grin, the Devil happily assured Dice that his soul would last forever…
And now here King Dice was, hiding behind a palm tree and patiently waiting for the scumbag to show his gruesome hide. For now Dice instead watched the toon-character that Riggor would be targeting next. An anthropomorphic character with a dazzling bright sun for a head that was outside his shop sweeping the pavement with his broom. Judging from what he learned, the sunny fellow was the owner of the souvenir shop here by the beach. Not long ago, he almost perished from having a bucket of water dumped on him which certainly would have snuffed him out. Somehow he managed to pull through and his head was as fiery and bright as ever. But he cheated death… Something Riggor Mortis didn't take kindly to.
Right on cue, crazed cackling caught their attention. Sure enough, Riggor Mortis had arrived and was now advancing menacingly upon the sun-head toon who gazed up at the ghostly grim-reaper in terror. "Sonny Sunbum… I have come here for your soul," Riggor said maliciously.
"Wha…What? No! You can't!" Poor Sonny dropped to his knees and began to beg for his life. "You can't take my life! Please! It's not my time. You can't take me now!" But the poor fellow cowered as Riggor ignored his pleas and was already raising his scythe.
"Nobody denies me a free soul," Riggor's red eyes blazed crazily. "Your time is up. And don't worry; I will make good use of your life-force." Just as Riggor was raising his scythe to strike his victim, he felt something hard smack him in the head. It was enough to grab his attention. "What the…?" Riggor spun around and his angry eyes fell upon King Dice who stood smirking up at him.
"A hearty afternoon to you, Mr. Mortis," Dice called tauntingly up at the spectre. "Now why are ya pickin' on small-fries? Wouldn't you rather have a worthier opponent?"
But Riggor let out a scoffing laugh at this. "A worthy opponent? You? You're nothing but the Devil's subordinate. Why should I waste my time with the likes of you?" With that, Riggor Mortis turned his back on Dice and instead focused on the poor Sonny who was still trembling nearby.
"Care to gamble?" Dice called mockingly. As he hoped, this got Riggor's attention again. "Let's make things a bit more interestin'. I challenge ya to a good ol' walloping! If I lose, you get my soul!" When he saw Riggor giving him a scathing look, Dice decided to really provoke the grim-reaper. "What's the matter? Afraid to lose?" Dice smirked.
This did the trick. Riggor Mortis took the bait because he was now zooming over to confront Dice while Sonny Sunbum could hardly believe his luck. Although he had a bad feeling that the Devil's right-hand man didn't have noble intentions in fighting the grim-reaper. Now Sonny fearfully hurried to the sidelines and watched as the two most villainous characters faced-off with each other.
"You are far too arrogant for your own good, King Dice," Riggor said nastily. But then his grin became even more twisted. "I find it fascinating that the Devil would send you here to fight me. That hairy beast must be getting awfully desperate if he's sending his mooks after me."
"Oh I wouldn't say that…," Dice said coolly. He was already armed with his powerful cards in hand. "The boss is doin' quite well for himself, thank you. Maybe I'm challengin' ya to a fight cause I don't like you." Dice knew he had to keep Riggor Mortis distracted for as long as possible.
Riggor continued to regard Dice with utter contempt before finally grinning nefariously. "Very well then. If you're looking for an early grave, then who am I to disappoint? And besides…," Riggor sneered at Dice with greedy eyes. "Stealing the soul of the Devil's right-hand man is not such a bad idea. Hold still and let me end it for you!"
With that, Riggor came charging at Dice with his scythe poised to attack. Dice was already ready for this and immediately teleported away into the portal he summoned right at his feet and vanished just as Riggor slashed his scythe at thin air. Riggor grunted in annoyance and furiously looked around for the die-headed man. Then the grim-reaper felt something pelt him again in the back of the head. Now Riggor spun around in fury to spot Dice leaning leisurely against a palm-tree and smiling calmly back at him. In retaliation, Riggor summoned a large wave of sickles and shot them right at Dice. Dice quickly ducked behind the palm-tree as the sickles sliced and diced through the palm-leaves and caused the coconuts to fall to the sandy ground. When the attack was over, the palm-tree was nearly chopped down, and Riggor saw that King Dice had vanished again.
"Grrrr… Where are you? Quit disappearing on me!" Riggor growled in frustration.
With Riggor Mortis distracted, Dice snuck up from behind and tossed his Ace of Hearts card which smacked the ghostly grim-reaper in the back, causing Riggor to jump in surprise. Dice knew his magical cards couldn't deal real damage to a supernatural-being like Riggor, but boy was it fun messing with him. Riggor spun around to face Dice and with a look of fury angrily tossed his scythe. Dice felt a slight moment of panic when he saw that powerful weapon come flying at him but quickly reacted in time. Gathering enough parry power, Dice flung his most powerful card, Ace of Spades, directly into the path of the flying scythe. There was an explosion and the scythe was knocked off-course and missed hitting Dice.
"Impressive…," Riggor remarked. "I must admit, you're pretty good. However…" Riggor raised his hand and his scythe boomeranged around and aimed straight for Dice again. "Let's see how long you can really stay alive."
Dice jumped out of the way as the scythe went spinning by him. Again the scythe boomeranged back around and went flying at him. Dice leaped out of the way and the scythe missed him by inches. Riggor laughed tauntingly as Dice began running with the dangerously spinning scythe pursuing him. Dice dived to the ground just as the scythe went whooshing over his square-head, causing Sonny Sunbum to also cry out and drop to the ground while covering his fiery-head. Dice quickly lifted his head up to look wildly around for the scythe but he also couldn't help noticing Sonny cowering over there.
"Ya might wanna skedaddle from here," Dice told the sun-toon. Now Dice got back on his feet in time to see Riggor floating above him, armed with his scythe once more. Dice had to keep the grim-reaper distracted for as long as he can. Dice tried throwing his powered cards at Riggor but apparently regular attacks didn't have much effect on Riggor Mortis. Dice was running out of ideas…
"This battle has become rather tedious for me. If you don't mind, I'm going to put an end to you now." Riggor raised his scythe with a crazed look in his eyes. "Time to feast on your soul!" he cackled madly.
Riggor Mortis flew down at Dice with frightening speed and raised his scythe to attack. Before Dice could defend himself, something powerful shot into Riggor Mortis from behind. A powerful fireball that stunned the grim-reaper and halted his attack. Now both Dice and Riggor turned around at the same time and saw that a third-party had joined their battle. Elder Kettle stood there with his gloved-finger still smoking from the powerful blast. Elder Kettle first looked at Riggor Mortis who was not happy to see him, to King Dice who was surprised at his arrival. Sonny Sunbum let out a cry of relief and hurried over to greet the old teapot.
"Elder Kettle! Thank goodness!" Sonny cried. "It was horrible! The grim-reaper wanted to take my soul, and then King Dice showed up to cause trouble too."
"Looks like I've arrived just in time," Elder Kettle said after kindly urging the sun-toon to run to safety. Now he boldly stepped forward to face both Riggor Mortis and King Dice. "I heard there was a big battle going on here. And here I find the Devil's grim-reaper and the Devil's right-hand man…"
Riggor angrily turned to face Elder Kettle. "You have an annoying habit of interfering, you oversized crackpot! Think you can stop me this time? Well you can't!" Riggor laughed wickedly. "The Devil couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can? I'm unbeatable! No attack has any effect on me."
But Elder Kettle pointed his finger up at Riggor and fired bullets that pelted the grim-reaper. Riggor was thrown for a loop when these bullets did have a major effect on him that he stared dumbfounded down at Elder Kettle who was chuckling at his reaction. "How about that? My bullets certainly have an effect on you, no problem."
Even Dice was astounded by this. "Huh…so the old man is packin' more heat than I thought," he murmured to himself. But still, he hadn't been counting on Elder Kettle showing up. However this might work to his advantage… With his eyes on Riggor Mortis, Dice still had his orders. Keep Riggor distracted for as long as possible…
"It's time to put an end to your crimes, Riggor Mortis," Elder Kettle said, frowning seriously. "I'm afraid your presence is no longer welcome here in Inkwell Isles."
Glaring down at Elder Kettle, Riggor decided to switch targets and attack Elder Kettle next. "You can't get rid of me that easily! I will live forever! I'll crack you in half you meddling old fool!" With that, Riggor was summoning his sickles and unleashing them upon the tea-kettle. Elder Kettle was quite the sharp-shooter, able to easily shoot down every sickle before it got near him before firing his powerful peashooter at the ghastly grim-reaper.
While Elder Kettle fought back against Riggor's deadly attacks, Dice managed to slip away unnoticed and hid behind a palm-tree. This was proving to be quite entertaining. And Dice had to admit, Elder Kettle was definitely tough for an old-man and he had no trouble jumping and dodging Riggor's sickles with ease. Although as Dice watched the battle from the sidelines, he did notice the old teapot often got out of breath easily and always had to take a moment to rest his legs. For a moment there, Dice considered lending a hand, but decided against it. Instead he had to make sure Riggor Mortis was distracted and wouldn't learn of the Devil's plan…
….
The plan was working… Using Riggor Mortis' soul-contract, the Devil was able to use it to locate the fiend's ashes. Sure enough, it led him straight to the crypt. This was it. Time to put an end to Riggor's game for good. With a sharp-toothy grin, the Devil entered the crypt. As he descended down the stone-steps, the Devil could hear noises below. When he reached the bottom, the Devil found himself inside a large cavernous tomb. Lit candles provided the only light in the dark tomb. The walls were decorated with rusty-brown skulls, perhaps Riggor's twisted idea of decoration. And it was here where Devil found Riggor's two minions, Urnie and Kasket.
"How utterly boring," Urnie was saying to his coffin-companion. "The master gets to go out and reap all the souls while we're hidden away here in this musty old crypt cooling our heels. Sigh… When do you suppose the master will return? When will I get to step outside and breathe fresh air again?"
The Devil's evil snickering quickly caught their attention at once. Urnie let out a frightened yelp while Kasket opened its mouth to let out a threatening growl. "Yikes! H-H-How did you find us?" Urnie said, taking a step back at once.
With a nasty grin, the Devil held up the soul-contract and as he did so, he immediately could sense Riggor's soul emanating from inside Urnie. And then he knew. "So that's how the sneak did it." The Devil stepped into the crypt with his eyes on Urnie. "Riggor's managed to hide his ashes inside you. Pretty clever…"
"Y-Y-You can't be here!" Urnie said in a trembling voice. "I-I-I don't have the master's soul. D-D-Don't be ridiculous!" Urnie couldn't stop shaking all over as the black demon began to advance upon him.
"This is it. You're the one who's anchoring Riggor Mortis to this world." There Urnie watched in horror as the Devil held up his pitchfork in both hands and his grin truly became demonic. "Riggor Mortis must be stopped. Which means…? You must be destroyed!"
"Yaaarrrrgh!" Urnie let out a scream and quickly dodged the Devil's slashing pitchfork. Now Urnie scurried away with the Devil in hot pursuit. Before the Devil could reach the urn, Kasket leaped into his path and opened its fanged mouth wide to belch out spiky skulls in attack. But with a sinister sneer, the Devil easily deflected the spiky skulls with just one sweep of his pitchfork and then he proceeded to destroy the monstrous coffin with hellfire. The Devil couldn't stop laughing wickedly as his shadow fell upon Urnie who was shaking like a leaf. Urnie tried to run away but the Devil was too fast for him. There the Devil thrust his pitchfork through Urnie and smiled in evil satisfaction as the urn shattered into broken shards and Riggor Mortis' ashes were finally cast to the winds. And from somewhere far away, Riggor Mortis felt his life-force start to slip away…
….
Riggor Mortis had been engaged in a furious battle with Elder Kettle. Suddenly Riggor Mortis seemed to freeze in place and then he felt it… His spirit was starting to drain; he couldn't stay attached to this world. That could only mean one thing… Elder Kettle and King Dice both witnessed Riggor let out a weakened cry as souls suddenly came pouring out from him. All the souls he'd stolen from the innocent. And that's when he realized it too late. This whole battle had been nothing but a distraction. His minion Urnie had been destroyed, along with the last remnants of life he had left. Now his soul couldn't remain here…
"Nooooo!" Riggor wailed as he frantically tried to capture the fleeing souls. "Come back! Come back! I need those! I need new life! No! Stop!" Riggor then saw the soul-contracts he'd stolen also crumbling away into nothingness. "Noooo! This can't be happening! I can't die! I can't die!"
And as Riggor Mortis desperately tried recapturing the escaping souls, Elder Kettle and Dice watched the grim-reaper's downfall and actually found it pitiable to watch. "How unfortunate…," Elder Kettle said sympathetically. "Nevertheless, perhaps it's for the best. Riggor Mortis was only ever interested in damaging life. His thoughtless antics would've created an unbalance between life and death." With that, he bowed his head and sincerely hoped Riggor Mortis would be able to rest in peace.
Dice honestly didn't feel much pity for Riggor Mortis. The pesky poltergeist had been nothing but trouble since the beginning. But Riggor wasn't about to give up that easily. "No…I won't give my life up! I want to live! I will live!"
In a last ditch effort to keep himself alive, Riggor Mortis summoned a sickle and fired it as hard as he could. Dice's eyes widened in shock as the sickle became embedded in his chest and struck his very heart. At first, Dice didn't feel the pain as he dropped to his knees and only then did he begin to feel nothing but excruciating pain. As Dice felt his life slowly slipping away from him, Riggor Mortis was weakly floating above him. His red-eyes glinting crazily and his ugly grin more twisted than ever.
"That's right…," Riggor cackled greedily. "Die! Die! And when you do, your soul is mine!"
Elder Kettle started to lift a finger to stop Riggor Mortis from taking a life. But somebody else beat him to it. Riggor's eyes widened in shock when a pitchfork went stabbing him in the back. The Devil had arrived in time to stop the corrupted grim-reaper from harming his manager. "Sorry Mr. Mortis," the Devil taunted. "But King Dice's soul has already been taken."
With no souls left to sustain him, they all watched as Riggor's ghost faded away into nothingness. Riggor Mortis was no longer of this world… Then the Devil held up Riggor's soul-contract which immediately burst into flames and officially became void. It was over. And yet the Devil knew that Riggor Mortis wasn't the first nor would he be the last debtor to cause trouble. There were many debtors out there who made deals for all the wrong reasons. With an evil smile, the Devil knew it would keep him in business. But the Devil's smile faded when he gazed down upon Dice who lay dying on the sandy beach.
Dice gazed up at his beloved demon that bent down and gently lifted him into his arms. The Devil could sense it… his manager was dying. However Dice was smiling serenely and he wasn't scared at all. Dice reached up a hand to comfortingly touch his boss's face. Standing not too far away, Elder Kettle was watching the interaction between the Devil and his casino manager and noticed the intimacy between them. Despite this, Elder Kettle cleared his throat loudly to get the Devil's attention.
"Well now… It's very unfortunate what had to happen to Riggor Mortis." But then Elder Kettle asked with a stern tone. "Are there any other rogue debtors around the Isles that I should know about?"
The Devil frowned indignantly over at the old teapot. "Not that I know of…" And then the Devil added with a devious smirk. "Riggor Mortis will become a very good example of what happens to those who go against me in any way. All debtors should know there is always a big price to pay when making a deal with me."
"All the more reason why innocent toons should steer clear of your casino," Elder Kettle said seriously. But he couldn't stop eying the die-headed man with genuine concern. "About your right-hand man there…," Elder Kettle started to say.
But the Devil turned his back and walked away while carrying Dice in his arms. "My manager is in good hands. I wouldn't worry at all," the Devil said dismissively." With that, the Devil disappeared into fires of hell and was gone.
Elder Kettle looked over at the spot where the Devil once stood and it left him with a lot of thoughts. He hadn't imagined it. King Dice was as villainous as they come and he willingly chose to serve the Devil. Nevertheless, Riggor Mortis had been stopped. But the threat of the Devil and King Dice still remained… Once he was sure the danger had truly passed, Elder Kettle started to leave the beach behind. But then he stopped when he saw that a crowd of local toon characters had gathered together to await news. Upon seeing Elder Kettle heading towards them, the Inkwell Isle residents started speaking out at once.
"Is the grim-reaper still on the loose?"
"I'm afraid for my life and for the lives of my children!"
"Will there be more disasters in Inkwell Isles?"
"What about the Devil? Is he the one who sent the grim-reaper upon us all?"
After patiently listening to all their concerns, Elder Kettle spoke loudly so that he could be heard. "My friends and neighbors. You have nothing to worry about. The grim-reaper is no more. And as for the Devil… The Devil will leave us in peace… for now." Once Elder Kettle reassured them all, there was only one thing left for him to do. Go home to his boys…
The worst has happened. King Dice is dead. What will happen now? All will be revealed in the next chapter. Yes, I know some readers hate cliff-hangers but hey… It makes you what to know the rest of the story, right? We're finally reaching the end of the story, so don't miss it! See ya soon!