Chapter 14

Pitch black.

That's all that flooded my vision as Tsutsumi sprinted through the endless catacombs whilst carrying me on her back. It was exhausting to even keep my eyes open, the splitting headache and constant sting from numerous glass shards under my skin tempting me to let them fall shut. Though I feared if I gave in I would pass out, so in stubborn resistance I forced my eyelids wide open to prevent them from drooping.

"Oi, are you still conscious?" something incredibly soft and fuzzy lightly slapped my cheek.

"Yep, still here." Irasped back.

"That's a relief, I can't have you nodding off just yet." Tsutsumi whispered. "You need to stay awake in case-"

She halted her sprint and went deathly silent, large cat ears twitching and tickling my nose. We stayed like that for a couple seconds before she ran the opposite way and turned left down what must've been another hall. Enemies, I presumed. The last thing we wanted was to waltz straight into a horde of the lustful dead.

Though speaking of lust, I was already starting to worry what she would do if we escaped this mess. Even though Tsutsumi had rescued me from that tropey mad alchemist, I had essentially just switched captors, and there was no Whice or red dot this time to stop an assault. If things got to that point I guess I'd just have to fight her off as best I could, though even without my injuries there's no way I'd end up the victor.

"I'll tap you once with my tail when it's clear to talk, and twice when we must be quiet, okay?"

"Got it." I replied. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Of course, I'm following a thread of Arachne silk anchored to the outside. No blade or spell can break it save the most powerful kinds."

"Damn, I should've thought of that!" I lamented quietly. "Though I think we should find Whice and regroup before escaping-"

"No."

"What? The hell you mean by-"

I felt two solid pats against my shoulder and quickly shut up. Tsutsumi stopped and whipped around in what was probably a double take before leaping up and grabbing hold of something. I think we were hanging off the ceiling but couldn't be sure as my vision was fuck all at the moment. Her tails held extra tight against the pull of gravity.

That's when I heard it. A sensual groan paired with the slow, staggered pt. pt. of steps from below. The sound started overlapping with another. It was another pair of footsteps coming the other way. My pounding heart sank when both sounds came to a head right under us. Thankfully they got quieter, slowly trailing off in the distance. An agonizing minute of silence passed, Tsutsumi at last dropping to the floor. She tapped me, causing a heavy exhale of air I didn't realize I was holding.

"As you can see this place is teeming with corpses, most likely searching for you." She stated. "Trying to find your friend in this labyrinth is much too risky."

"I won't just leave her down here!" I countered. "Something attacked her when we were separated, we have to find her and make sure-"

"That's none of our concern." The catgirl firmly stated. "I'm first and foremost protecting you, and if she cares for your well-being she would like-wise want you out."

"None of our concern?" I bristled, voice prickly with anger. "You just wanna get rid of her so there's nothing stopping you-"

"Listen to me." I flinched at the sudden closeness of her voice, somehow whispering right into my ears. "I warned you against leaping into this situation unprepared, yet you didn't listen. That Dhampir dragged you into this without so much an inkling of a plan, foolishly believing things would just fall into place because she's strong. No thought on what to do if separated, no thought on how to find your way back out, not even a thought for basic self defense."

The Nekomata slid to a stop as a ghostly apparition phased through the wall a few feet in front. She immediately drew a kunai with a paper talisman attached to it and threw it at the specter. The poor thing's eyes went wide with shock as it pierced her breast, exorcising the spirit in one big poof of light.

Back in total darkness I felt us lean forward as Tsutsumi bowed to the freed soul before dashing off again. "You don't have a say in this. I'm getting you out of here regardless of your feelings."

I bit my tongue debating my next words. "Please. Just hide me somewhere and look for her. Then we can all-"

We suddenly jerked sideways at the sound of something flanking us. A steel screech grated my ears as orange sparks flashed and fizzled within a second. During that moment of light I saw something pale, streaked with crimson. A distinct shing followed suit which led to a metal clash, then a hasty whish backwards.

"Can you see in the dark too?" growled a husky voice. "Just hand me the damned kid and I'll kill you quick, capiche?" The person again lurched forward to attack, but Tsutsumi jumped back and threw something on the floor. A faint hiss resounded and some sort of thick gas permeated the hall. One of her tails pressed tight against my mouth as we dashed away from the area.

"Sorry about covering your mouth so suddenly," Tsutsumi apologized as her tail laid off my lips. "any coughing would've given our position."

"It's fine, I get your reasoning." Despite the situation I let out a huff of amusement. "A smoke bomb too though? That's so ninja it's funny."

"You think I'd travel the world's largest anti-mamono state without knowing self defense? Of course I've had what you call 'ninja' training." Right, forgot this was trope-y pander-land where everything runs on cliches. You get a cliche! You get a cliche! Everyone gets a-

"Get over here!"

Suddenly we were harshly yanked back into the air. Inertia slammed my face against Tsutsumi's shoulder as she flipped me around to a tight cradle. We hit the floor, the ninja rolling to a kneel whilst holding me. Immediately she leapt up as something small whisked below us, but we were yanked down again from thin air straight to the floor, cracking stone.

"The Arachne string trick eh? It's basic tomb raidin' one-o-one." Footsteps echoed towards us paired with the sound of a thread being snapped taut. "Too bad it makes you a giant cat toy, just like a ball."

*SLAM!

"And."

*SLAM!

"String!"

*SLAM!

I was not a part of the rag doll assault Tsutsumi just endured, having been laid on the floor the moment before. With each hit pieces of cobble were sent flying off the walls into my face. Trying to call out her name resulted in a harsh cough from the settling grit.

"Get up." the attacker snarled, yanking me by my hair. I weakly attempted to thrash but was too injured and exhausted to make a difference. "The Mistress is real pissed and so am I, so get moving before I break your legs-"

she abruptly quiet as another layer of grime blanketed us. The worrying crackle of stone became increasingly apparent.

Shit.

"Shit." My captor hurriedly tugged me along by my hair as the dust turned to pebbles, then stones. Fuck, I need to get to Tsutsumi before this place caves! Swiftly drawing my knife I reached to stab my captor's arm. However she conveniently tripped, falling harshly to the ground and releasing me.

"Chief-Goddamn string!" she cursed. The subtle press of the moving thread against my leg made me realize it wasn't an accident.

"Grab on!" yelled Tsutsumi's voice from the end of the hall. I snatched the thread, promptly getting heaved in her direction. However a tight grip latched to my hair again, locking me in a painful two-way tug.

"No!" the voice behind me barked. Entire boulders were falling around us now. "You're not escapi-"

The rest wasn't audible as I cut my hair with my knife. Tsutsumi's hold catapulted me forward as the ceiling collapsed, boulders packing the hallway and most definitely crushing whoever attacked us.

"Oomph!"

My face was met with soft silk, a pair of arms wrapped tight around me. It was still an unpleasant collision as my head knocked against something hollow-ish. There was a slight fumble, a quick correction, then I was still.

"Are you alright?" a voice shakily breathed. Fatigued pants from both of us drowned out the settling debris.

"Thanks to you I am." I tiredly replied. "…Thanks."

"Of course." A soft paw pad wiped away the blood trickling down my closed eye. "Try and stay conscious. I'll heal what I can once we're far, far away from here." Tsutsumi's tails again wrapped around me and hoisted me onto her back. She attempted to get moving again, but stumbled and caught the wall after just three steps.

"Hey-hey, You okay?" I asked out of both concern and surprise.

"Yes, I'm fine." came her curt reply. She did not sound fine.

"You're not fine, you can hardly stand like this. Let me down so we can support each other."

"No…that'll only slow us down further…you can hardly walk yourself." Even in the dark I could tell her head was bobbing erratically. This poor girl wasn't a powerhouse like Whice, she was struggling to stay awake, let alone carry someone her own weight at the same time.

"Please Tsutsumi," I pressed. "You're gonna pass out at this rate. Let me down, it's the only way we can keep moving."

The Nekomata didn't respond as her ears perked up, body tensing. She hurriedly staggered as fast as her legs would allow, but weakly fell to her knees.

"Seems like your devil's luck has finally reached its end."

My heart sank into my stomach upon hearing that dreaded tone. A bright, sickly purple illuminated the corner as the Lich floated into view. A sinister book was levitating beside her, open and glowing. Following her was a large crowd of zombies, skeletons, and ghosts, cornering us.

"Quite the tenacious pair of rats, you two." she said venomously. "I see you've defeated Ruth, the useless twit she is."

Tsutsumi quickly reached for something in her yukata, though the Lich jerked her hand out and locked us in place. She straightened two digits, Tsutsumi's tails mimicking the motion and dropping me. Something unseen whisked the cat-girl in front of the mage. She slowly curled her fingers. Tsutsumi's body began straining unnaturally.

"NO-!"

Once again the drawstrings of my hoodie wrapped around my neck and pulled me back, choking me.

"I want to twist and mangle every bone in your body, just like you did to me." the Lich snarled. Screams began taking place.

"Rrrgh-!"

I cut the cords loose with my blade and blindly rushed at the Lich. I'll kill her.

*SLAM!

Reality reminded me of my weakness as she telepathically swatted me into the wall like a gnat. Tsutsumi went limp.

"Oh my, broken already?" the Madwoman taunted, ignoring me. "That won't do, not in the slightest." The grimoire beside her riffled to a random page as she traced her finger down its contents. "A particularly strong eromancy spell should wake you right up-"

The Lich easily dodged the butterfly knife chucked her way. She turned to me with a look of irritation. "Stubborn till the last breath, hm?" Her victim dropped to the ground upon lowering her hand. I was struggling to stay awake more than ever now, my right arm now numb.

"Such a shame." the Lich said as she floated towards me. My sight was getting hazy. "It pains me to have to rough up my dear husband this much, but you brought it upon yourself."

She landed on the ground and crouched to my level, pulling me in close. I didn't have the strength to pull away. "Rest for now, my Sweet. I have plans for you when you awake, oh yes…"

The fatigue and injury finally caught up with me as my eyes closed for good.

A/N:

It's been a while. Sorry for the inactivity, even though you guys are probably sick of hearing that. Not a lot happened this chapter, but on the bright side I now have a general plan for the remainder of this arc and how it will play out. Definitely won't be another four month hiatus….(probably)

If you guys were wondering where the previous 'chapter 14' with Whice fighting the two ghouls went I integrated it into chapter 13 since it was about half a chapter long. Next release will be called 'chapter 14.5', or the second half of chapter 14 which I'll add to this one a week after it releases.