Chapter 20: El Paso (VII)
"That miserable excuse of a man!" shouted Gertrud as she finished making up the bed. "I spent an hour teaching Colette how to do her makeup, and even lent her my old dress, and that pig dares not show up!"
Arkaid stood timidly at the entrance to the room, listening intently to his wife's angry words. He kept one foot out of the room in case he had to flee for his life.
"Well, dear, we do not really know the reason why he did not show up. He did not even return to the inn last night, and no one has seen him today. Perhaps something bad has happened to him," Arkaid said in a vain attempt to calm his wife's anger.
"Well, he better be dead, or I will kill him myself for breaking my daughter's heart!" yelled Gertrud, who, in spite of her rage, had left the bed spotless. "I swear by the Chief God that if he dares to show his face here again, I will not hesitate to wrap my hands around his vile neck and strangle the life out of him."
He knew well that these were not empty words, for he remembered well the fate of the bandits who had attempted to raid the inn last year. He vividly recalled the terrible result of the combination of grown men screaming so high that they resembled infants, and the sounds of broken bones.
"D-dear, there is no need to take such drastic measures. Remember, this man could be a potential-"
"You still insist on that, Arkaid?!" roared Gertrud. "Forget it, forget the whole thing, I did not agree when you suggested it, let alone now."
"B-but my dear..."
"And how dare you continue to think about it? That swill broke our daughter's heart, and yet you still think of him as a possible husband for her - what kind of father are you?"
"D-dear, you and I both know that we are not getting any younger. Our time will come, and the thought of leaving our little girl alone haunts me. I want to leave her with a good man who will take care of her and provide for her, who will start a family with her, who will make her feel loved and protected. Is that not what every father wants for his daughter?"
CRASH
The sound of the vase shattering against the door frame, inches from his face, made him freeze.
"Do not even dare use that poor excuse, Arkaid!" shouted Gertrud. "It was you yourself who went on and on about the gold the man had found in Polove, and how much it would benefit us financially to have him as our son-in-law. That is why you insisted that Colette spend time alone with him, you only care about his wealth!"
Arkaid held his hands up defensively and shook his head repeatedly in panic.
"N-no, of course not!...well, having such a wealthy son-in-law would be good for business, but–"
"Out," Gertrud ordered as she raised another vase in a threatening manner. "Out at once."
"D-dear, please, these vases are expensive!"
"Well, you can buy more with this man's dirty money!" said Gertrud as she prepared to throw the vase.
Not wanting to push his luck, Arkaid ran away as fast as his stubby body would allow, hearing the crashing sound of another vase breaking behind him. Although this aggressive and temperamental side of his wife frightened him, it would be a lie to say that it was not one of the things that made him fall madly in love with her.
"Arkaid!" said a female voice.
Hearing his name called only made him run faster, thinking that his wife might be after him. Arkaid put all his strength into his legs to escape, but to his surprise, he did not move; instead, he floated. A mysterious whirlwind held him aloft and trapped him.
"Arkaid, please, I have no time for this!"
He turned around to find, to his surprise, not his angry wife, but Saphirette.
"Levante, put him down," she commanded as she motioned with her hand.
The whirlwind vanished as soon as Saphirette uttered those words, causing Arkaid to fall face-first to the floor.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, Arkaid, but I could see no other way to stop you," Saphirette said as she crouched down beside him to help him up.
Still dazed from the fall, Arkaid made no response, only bringing his hand to his face to ease the pain.
"I need to talk to you about Cousin Colette. I am afraid something bad is going to happen to her."
"Colette? Has something happened to my dear child?" asked Arkaid quickly. "Is something wrong with her? Is she ill? Tell me, tell me!"
In a desperate attempt to find out, Arkaid grabbed Saphirette by the shoulders and began to shake her in a violent manner.
"Tell me, Saphirette!" he demanded.
Saphirette could not answer, for the force with which he was shaking her was so great that she could barely form words, only little shrieks of dizziness.
"Please calm down."
Those words, along with the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, brought him to an abrupt halt. He looked up to see who had interrupted him, and to his surprise found Anne, Grognak's companion.
"Your daughter is safe," she said in her typical calm tone, "and she is not yet in any danger that could endanger her health. However, we need your cooperation as there are other factors at play that could pose a problem for her."
"Just tell me what is happening, please, this tension is killing me!"
"Not here," she said, looking discreetly over her shoulder. "We need to go somewhere more discreet. The inn - no, the whole town is not safe."
"You do not look bad at all for your age," one of the succubus commented graciously. "Are you sure you would not like to join our husband's harem? You and your daughter would make an exquisite addition!"
Petra did not respond, preferring instead to remain silent, just as she had done during the weeks she had spent imprisoned in the depths of what had once been her home.
"How old are you now, about a hundred something?" asked another succubus. "Hardly noticeable!"
Once again, Petra was silent. She knew that guard duty was deadly boring for the agents of the Royal Demon Realm, and she planned to make it even more boring by not entertaining their attempts to get a reaction out of her. Instead, she turned her full attention to the bunch of flowers on her lap and carefully formed them into a wreath. For weeks she had been making nothing but wreaths, first as gifts for her daughter, but now she had made enough to adorn a town's worth of people.
Thanks to the fact that she could grow flowers even in the dry and cold soil of the cave, there was no risk of her running out of material to work with, so she distracted her mind from the confinement with that charming little pastime she had been taught by a certain man sixty years ago; she still remembered with some amusement how she struggled to use her huge hands delicately so as not to crush the flowers, a process that took longer than she was willing to admit. In a way, it helped her to escape reality for a moment and allow herself to relive her younger years, when she was still allowed to inhabit the surface world and roam the beautiful flower fields with the one who had once been her lover.
"By Lilith, has the werecat gotten your tongue? We are just trying to make conversation!"
One of the succubi stood before her, arms crossed and pouting.
"Honestly, our husband goes to the trouble of inviting you in such a cordial and gentlemanly manner, and you respond to his kindness by being a rude guest!"
"Guest?" said Petra. "That man has invaded my home, made me a prisoner, enslaved my daughter, and now amuses himself by preying on surface humans, and yet you think he is doing us a favor?"
"Of course!" the succubus replied immediately, without even thinking about it. "Our husband is a wonderful man, so much so that the Fourth Princess herself entrusted him with a special mission. He could have easily limited himself to following orders, but he saw the pitiful state of this poor village and decided to save it. He is the most magnificent, generous, kind and handsome man in the world!"
The succubus flushed as she spoke, her eyes filled with a fervor that was unpleasant to behold.
"He is the most perfect man, better than any human, better than any incubus, better than the gods themselves, even better than–"
"He is a horrible brute, and you are nothing but his useful fools," Petra said harshly, interrupting the succubus' frantic chatter.
Both succubi looked at her with absolute, pure, genuine contempt in response to that comment. The playful expressions on their faces vanished completely, replaced by cold anger.
"I think our husband's generosity has been misplaced," the other succubus said as she approached her. "We have put up with your lack of gratitude for quite some time, but to insult our beloved... that is unforgivable."
Suddenly, the succubus brought her hand to Petra's face, holding it with such intensity that it almost seemed as if she was trying to crush it.
"I must remind you that we are here at Lady Druella's request, for you have something she needs," the succubus said softly, yet menacingly, her glowing eyes piercing her like daggers. "Our husband has been gracious enough to make you our honored guest, despite your opposition to Lady Druella's bidding. I thought I might ignore it in order to honor our beloved's wishes, but if you are willing to insult him... then you leave me little choice."
"You will never get it from me," Petra replied defiantly. "You can kill me or do whatever you please, but you will never have it."
"Kill you?" The succubus let out a small, playful chuckle. "Why would I do such a terrible thing? I was thinking of something more fun, more pleasurable, like sharing you with our husband when he comes back..."
She had barely finished speaking when the sound of footsteps could be heard on the other side of the corridor. All three of them turned to look.
"Dear me, it looks like our husband has finally–"
The succubus stopped dead in her tracks, the leering expression on her face soon replaced by one of confusion.
"This... this is not the essence of our husband."
The footsteps came closer and closer, creating an intense tension in the air. The succubi looked confused, even frightened, by the strange being approaching. Out of the shadows, beyond the reach of the torchlight, emerged a barely discernible figure. None of those present had time to comprehend what had just entered, for earsplitting gunfire, deafening as thunder, assaulted their ears.
BANG, BANG.
Petra put her hands to her ears as fast as she could, trying to shield them from the horrible noise. Her eardrums rang in an almost maddening manner for a few seconds before she finally returned to normal. Slowly she opened her eyes, and what she saw was enough to make her recoil in horror: the bodies of the two succubi, their heads blown off in such a gruesome manner that Petra had to fight the urge to vomit. She was so stunned by the macabre scene before her that she barely noticed the figure approaching her, and when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she could only scream.
"Whoa, easy there, miss," the figure said, its voice deep enough to identify it as male. "You're safe now."
The man bent down to look directly into her eyes, revealing a face that, though hardened and slightly scarred, had a kind expression. Before she realized it, he had reached a hand to the chain that bound her ankle, and with a swift movement, he broke it with surprising ease, freeing her.
"Howdy, miss," he greeted. "You're Petra, aren't ya?"
"... I am," she replied cautiously.
"Well, it looks like I hit the jackpot. Come, I have come to rescue you," he said as he stood up.
"Rescue me? What - who are you?"
"Oh, I guess I forgot to introduce myself," he said as he brought a hand to his waist, a playful smile on his lips. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm your new son-in-law."
"By Lilith, what happened?!" one of the succubi cried out in panic.
Terra felt the sweat run down her face as she heard those screams; the man had promised to be stealthy, but since he had entered, only deafening gunfire had been heard. She could only shudder at the thought of what the man had done to the agents of the Royal Demon Realm, for if what she saw him do to the succubus who had attacked them proved anything, it was that he was merciless when it came to fighting.
With difficulty she maintained the cloaking spell, using almost all of her remaining mana and concentration to hide her presence from the succubi, taking the simple form of a boulder on the outskirts of the magnificent house of earth and stone that had once been her home, now transformed into the barracks of the invaders. That was the house where her mother had raised her since early childhood, where she had countless happy memories that were now stained by the presence of those invaders; for weeks she had been forced to be exiled from her own home, hearing only the laughter, moans, and screams coming from inside where her mother lay imprisoned. Her only hope of regaining her beloved home was the man who until recently had tried to kill her, but the mess he had made inside made her realize that she had probably put her trust in the worst possible person.
"Where is he?" she wondered.
The answer to her question soon manifested itself as a figure jumped out of one of the windows of the house, shattering the glass in its abrupt movement. The figure, which she quickly identified as the deranged man, wasted no time in running like the wind as soon as he hit the ground, quickly moving away from the house as the succubi inside began to come out in droves like a horde of locusts. Terra felt her heart sink into her stomach as she saw that he was not only running in her direction, but leading the legion of succubi right at her. Terra's shock was so great that she lost concentration on the spell, causing the illusion to dissolve and leaving her completely exposed as the man and the legion of succubi came straight for her. She wanted to turn around and try to run, but the violent grip at her waist prevented her from doing so; in less than an instant, she had been lifted off the ground and slung over the man's shoulder like a mere sack, carried as he ran at full speed away from the horde that seemed to be growing in size.
"Wh-what happened?!"
"Mission accomplished! Well, almost," he replied in a disturbingly nonchalant tone, considering the situation. "I managed to rescue my mother-in-law, but I couldn't find the village girls in there. I guess they must be hiding somewhere else, so the best plan now is to hide, make a new plan of action, and look for them."
That explanation only created more doubt and worry in Terra, but before she could voice her confusion, the sight of another troll on the man's other shoulder caught her attention.
"Mother!" said Terra. "Mother, are you all right? Did they hurt you?"
"I - I am fine, my little flower," replied her mother, clearly affected by the violent running. "I had no idea you had taken a husband while I was in captivity, much less that he was someone so... peculiar."
"H-husband?! He is not my–"
Terra's protest was cut short by a fireball that came within inches of hitting her, the spell whizzing past her instead, hitting a wall and bursting into powerful flames.
"Murderers!"
The succubus voices, filled with anger and pain, echoed behind them almost in unison. Whatever the man had done in there had only stirred the hive of wasps that now pursued them with a fervent desire for retribution; the plan had originally been to save her mother, but now it had become a race for their lives.
"I told you to be stealthy!"
"And I was! Well, at first," he replied with a slight chuckle. "But Babydoll hasn't been feeling well since the attack, so it's not so easy for me to be stealthy anymore. Besides, it's not my style to begin with, I'm more into getting right to the point."
"Babydoll? Wha - Who is Babydoll?!"
"¡Me encanta la brisa de verano!" an electronic voice crooned.
"This is Babydoll - the suit I'm wearing. I think the sword has affected some of her circuits and she's not responding properly. Also, she seems to be stuck on the Spanish option."
"Watch out!" her mother warned.
Terra could barely react in time to see what her mother was warning about, and when she did, she saw that the edge of a sword was almost within striking reach of the man's back.
BANG
The attacking succubus was reduced to little more than a crimson mist by the force of the shot; the man had reacted inhumanly quickly, turning, aiming, and firing the weapon with such speed that it had barely been noticeable. He continued to run as if nothing had happened, showing an eerie calmness in the face of such a tense situation.
"Let's save the explanations for another time - do your thing, gal!"
This time she was not confused by the man's words, for she understood perfectly what he meant - he was running straight into a wall, an act that would normally be the height of stupidity, but was in line with their escape plan. The condition of her body was still fragile from the recent fight - with the man who, ironically, was leading her away from danger - but she had recovered enough to regain some control over the earth. Thanks to that, when she raised her hand, the solid surface of the cave wall buckled, opening a path for the man to rush in at full speed. The agents of the Royal Demon Realm tried to follow, but Terra immediately closed the entrance; soon they could hear the thunderous sound of countless succubi crashing against the solid wall.
Never in her life had she attracted so much attention from men. Since the first tenants came down for breakfast, she hadn't gone a second without being surrounded by all kinds of attentions: compliments, flirtations, and even small spontaneous gifts. All the male travelers staying at the inn were basically fighting for her attention, which she found shocking and strange, but also quite comforting.
For years she had been bullied by both boys and girls her age, always judged and ridiculed for her weight and build, but now she was coveted and desired as if she were a beautiful muse of Eros. As she served the drinks to the tables, she could feel the attentive and lustful gaze of countless men around her. It made her feel uncomfortable at first, but it also made her feel powerful.
"Is that really the troll girl?" said a voice in the distance.
Colette turned to see who had made that feeble attempt at whispering, and to her surprise found that it was Daniel, the very same one who had led the taunts against her since they were children; it was he who, from childhood to adolescence, had hurled every kind of projectile at her head, from small stones to dung, all accompanied by mockery and scorn. Now that same man found himself gazing at her almost drooling, completely absorbed by her beauty.
"Good morning, Daniel," she said with a small smile.
"G-G-Good morning!" Daniel replied haltingly.
Seeing him so nervous gave her a wonderful feeling, so much so that she couldn't help but put her hand to her mouth as she let out a small giggle, one that caused fascination and delight among the men nearby.
"Please, let me buy you a drink!" said one man.
"No, let me buy you a drink!" another man interjected. "I am a merchant, I can buy you anything you want!"
Other men joined the fight to see who would buy her a drink, until a small crowd gathered. A circle of men now surrounded her, all vying for her attention, as if she were carrying the last jug of water in the midst of the unforgiving desert. The shouting between the rivals was not long in coming, with some even going so far as to push and jostle each other, slowly starting what looked like a bar brawl.
"Enough!"
Her mother's voice sounded like thunder, and the bar fell into an eerie silence. Everyone knew instinctively that silence was the only way to ensure their well-being.
"Get your filthy hands off my daughter and go back to drinking!" her mother shouted as she made her way through them like an angry bear.
The men retreated almost immediately, for any attraction they felt for Colette was overshadowed by the fear they felt for her mother.
"And you!" her mother shouted, grabbing her wrist and dragging her away and straight into the kitchen. "Look at the time! I need help in the kitchen and you are here fooling around with a bunch of bums and drunks!"
"I-I was not–"
"We are past the hour!" her mother interrupted. "You are way behind on your chores, Colette. I need you to help me finish lunch. Then I need you to feed the guests' horses, feed the pigs, chop wood for the fireplace, and fold the laundry."
Colette felt her head spinning with so many tasks.
"B-but, I-I..."
"You what?" her mother questioned, giving her one of her typical deadly glances.
Colette was about to give in to her mother's intimidation and just accept, as she always did, but for some reason she felt something inside of her that prevented her from doing so. Instead of simply lowering her head as she usually did, Colette raised her head high and looked straight at her mother.
With her fists clenched tightly, Colette said, " I do not want to do it!"
Colette's voice echoed due to the power of her voice, something that surprised both her and her mother, who looked at her in bewilderment.
"What did you just say?"
"I said..." Colette started to say, resisting the urge to take it back, "That I do not want to do it, do it yourself!"
Colette broke free of her mother's grip and ran for the back door, escaping from the inn. Behind her, she could almost hear the screams of her angry mother, but she ignored them, for all she could really hear at that moment was the loud beating of her own heart. Colette ran as fast as she could, her breathing heavy, sweat pouring down her forehead. This was the first time she had defied her mother, and although she was still trembling with fear and excitement, there was one feeling that far outweighed everything else: happiness.
She did not stop until her legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground to rest, exhausted. The inn was no longer in sight, nor was the town as such; she had traveled farther than she thought she was capable of, arriving at a distant place she did not recognize. Instead of worrying, she put her hands to her face and smiled from ear to ear as she caught her breath. She would probably regret that little outburst later, but she didn't care. Almost nothing that had bothered her before mattered anymore: the teasing, the complexes about her body, the oppression from her mother, and the recent heartbreak she had suffered. None of these things mattered anymore because they were the problems of her past life.
Soon she felt something strange in one of the pockets of her apron. She put her hand there, rummaged around, and to her surprise found some of those strange pink berries. She had not put them there, and she was quite sure that her father had not had a chance to put them there, for she had not seen him all morning. The confusion soon vanished, however, as she was overcome by the desire for another taste of those sweet delicacies.
Colette ate the berries with relish, and once again that exquisite feeling took hold of her.
"How you doin', Babydoll?" the Courier asked. "Feelin' any better?"
"¡Ay, mis hijos!" the stealth suit replied. "¡Mis hijos, mis hijos! ¿Dónde están mis hijos?"
"Eh, good enough," he said as he patted the suit. "We'll look for your children later."
"Are you sure that this wound was caused by Demon Silver?" Petra asked as she tended to the wound on the Courier's back. "That is just... not possible."
"I saw it with my own eyes, mother. The sword sliced him and wounded him," Terra replied. "Somehow, Realmsilver was able to hurt him."
"But that is just ridiculous, Demon Silver cannot-"
"Well, I don't know how things work in your lovely land, but where I come from, it's common for weapons to hurt people," the Courier intervened as he tried to turn around. "So unless I'm ignorant of some pacifist aspect of your culture or somethin', I don't understand why it matters so much that I got hurt."
"Please stay still, I am not finished yet."
At that moment, the Courier felt a slight but noticeable burning sensation in his back, almost as if his wound was being stitched. Normally, almost all wounds he received would be slowly but effectively healed by the Monocyte Breeder implant, but this particular wound was too deep to be healed quickly - had he been an ordinary man, there was no doubt that the sword strike would have been enough to kill him.
"There, I think that is enough. You can move now."
The Courier proceeded to move and was surprised to find that there was not the slightest trace of pain or discomfort in his back, in fact he felt a relief spreading throughout his being, almost like a chem that relieved his ailments and left him swimming in a sea of euphoria.
"Wow, I feel wonderful," the Courier said as he stood up and stretched out his arms. "What did you do, mother-in-law?"
"She is not your mother-in-law, stop saying that!" Terra exclaimed, already flustered.
"Just a simple treatment with myrmilla flowers, son-in-law," Petra replied gently. "They are special flowers with powerful healing abilities, for they help prevent bleeding by absorbing blood from wounds and in return release a powerful pain-relieving substance into the bloodstream."
"I told you he is not your son-in-law, mother! Does no one listen to me?!"
Both the Courier and Petra laughed at Terra's reaction, her cheeks red with embarrassment and frustration.
"And is it a good idea for you to laugh so loudly? The agents of the Royal Demon Realm might hear us and discover our location!"
"Do not worry, my little flower," Petra said. "We are very deep, deep enough that they cannot hear us or detect our presence. Besides, I have surrounded us with a powerful illusory rock, so even if they are close, they will not be able to perceive us."
"What the hell is an 'illusory rock'?" asked the Courier.
"It is a special kind of magical rock, one that can only be manifested by those with mastery over the spirits of the earth. You see, only those with sufficient experience and magical knowledge can–"
"Y'know what? Forget I asked, that's not what's important right now," the Courier interrupted, clearly annoyed. "I think we've wasted enough time lickin' our wounds. I still have to find the lost villagers and bring them back to the surface."
"Those girls..." Petra's voice took on a mournful tone, her face reflecting a profound sadness. "If that is your goal, then I am afraid you have failed. It is already too late for them."
That surprised both the Courier and Terra, who glanced astonishedly toward Petra.
"What?" was all the Courier could say. "What do you mean, 'it is too late' - did they get killed or somethin'?"
"Killed? No, not at all. They were all monsterized."
Terra reacted with shock at that, much to the Courier's confusion.
"All of them... all of them were forced to go through monsterization?" asked Terra, putting her hands to her mouth.
"Monsteri - what?"
"Monsterization. It is the process by which a human becomes a mamono."
The sudden appearance of that voice alarmed everyone, who thought it was an enemy who had found them. However, it did not take the Courier long to recognize who the voice belonged to.
"Birdie?"
The Courier looked around, thinking that perhaps Sofiva had somehow managed to infiltrate the deep cave, but all he found were the claustrophobic walls of the small underground chamber that the mother-daughter troll duo had hastily carved to create a hiding place away from their pursuers.
"What is that?" asked Terra, pointing to his head. "There is something glowing in your hair."
"My hair?"
He put his hand to his own head and rummaged through his hair for the supposed shiny thing. To his surprise, he quickly managed to grasp something strange buried in his pompadour. He picked up the strange object and held it in front of him, discovering that it was one of Sofiva's feathers, glowing with a bright, pale blue light.
"This is called a Feathered String," Sofiva began to explain. "A little creation of mine. I have not had a chance to try it out on a test subject yet, and you seemed well suited for it, Grognak."
"Are you tellin' me that this is part of some little experiment in which you have decided to use me without my knowledge? That's pretty ruthless, Birdie. I like it," he said, remarkably impressed. "Tell me, what is this little trick of yours?"
"It is a feather in which I have implanted a part of my soul that is anchored to your essence," Sofiva continued. "Thanks to this, I now have a direct connection to you. I can hear, see, and experience what you are doing when I need to, and I can determine your location when I require it."
"Jesus, Birdie. I didn't know you were the controlling type. It's both arousing and disturbing, if you ask me." The Courier paused for a moment, remembering something Sofiva had told him earlier. "Wait a minute, was this what you meant when you said you had a method of restraining me?"
"That is not important at the moment." Sofiva quickly dodged the question. "You have been missing for quite some time, Grognak. I was beginning to worry."
In the middle of that conversation, Petra nudged Terra lightly.
"My little flower, I do not know who he is talking to, but he seems to be very intimate with her," Petra whispered. "You should interrupt them as soon as possible, lest she want to take your husband away from you."
"By the spirits of the earth, mother, I told you he is not my husband, how many times do I have to repeat it?!"
"Would you mind being quiet? This is a private conversation."
Terra seemed to want to raise her voice at the scolding, but limited herself to an exasperated sigh.
"And did you miss me so much, Birdie? I know it's tough to spend time without me, but I think you can handle a few hours."
"Hours? Grognak, you have been gone for a day and a half. I have been trying to contact you since this morning, but for some reason, something has been interfering with your essence."
This caught the Courier off guard, causing him to stare at the feather, puzzled.
"A day and a half? C'mon, Birdie. I know you miss me, but there's no need to overdo it," he said with a little chuckle. "I've been in this cave for three or four hours tops, and I think I've still got enough of my sanity to be able to tell the passage of time."
"This is not a joke, Grognak. You have been missing for more than a day and a half,"Sofiva said in a solemn tone. "Are you the one making a joke? Because if so, even for your sense of humor, this is not the time."
There was not the slightest trace of playfulness in Sofiva's voice, only absolute seriousness - she was speaking with complete honesty, and that was what disturbed the Courier. How was it possible that barely an hour had passed for him, while a whole day had passed for her?
"Excuse me," Petra raised her voice. "Is it true? That time flows differently outside these mines?"
"That seems to be the case," Sofiva replied. "I barely managed to hear part of the previous conversation you had with Grognak, but from what I could gather, I can assume that you and your daughter are the trolls that the agents of the Royal Demon Realm were sent to capture, are you not?"
"We are," Petra asserted. "And if time itself has begun to warp in these mines, then I know the cause."
"It has to do with the Fourth Princess' quest for the technology of the Ancients, has it not?"
Petra nodded. "I am afraid so."
The Courier shifted his gaze from Petra to the feather and back again, confused by their cryptic conversation. He even turned his gaze to Terra and asked with a grimace if she had any idea what they were talking about, to which she replied with a simple shrug of her shoulders.
"Y'know what, I'm gettin' too old to deal with all this ambiguous bullshit. Would y'all be so kind as to tell me what the fuck is goin' on so we can get this over with as soon as quickly as possible so I can get back to the bar?"
At that moment, the Pip-Boy's screen lit up with the digitized face of the AI taking up the entire screen.
"Troglodyte!" the AI said as loudly as the Pip-Boy could allow.
"Goddamn it."
"Stop whatever you are doing immediately and proceed to the coordinates I will set up on the map!" The AI's voice conveyed urgency and fear in equal measure. "The energy... I can feel the energy, it's getting out of control!"
Saphirette felt a shiver run down her spine. She looked sideways in a vain attempt to find the cause, confused and worried. It was the same feeling she had experienced when she had confronted that blasphemous machine in the ruins of Polove.
"Is something wrong, Glassies?" asked Paula.
"M-miss Paula, I already told you my name is Saphirette, not 'Glassies'," Saphirette replied. "But, yes, I am fine. I just... had a shiver, that is all."
"But Grognak calls you that, and it sounds so cute!"
"The last thing you should do is follow that man's example, Miss Paula," Saphirette said with a sigh.
"Boring!" complained Paula. "Can we at least go back to the inn? I am starving!"
"You ate about half an hour ago."
"That was just a snack, it was not enough to fill me up!"
Saphirette let out another sigh. "We are almost done."
Saphirette finished covering the hole with earth, making sure the rune was completely buried. With that, they were done with the last spot Anne had indicated, which was fortunate since she was exhausted from both the physical activity and the massive use of elemental magic she had been forced to use.
"Miss Paula, if you wish, you may go on to the inn," Saphirette said as she wiped the sweat from her brow with her hand. "I think they should be serving dinner by now."
"Really?!" said Paula with a twinkle in her eye. "Then I will see you there, Glassies!"
Paula dropped the shovel and ran off at full speed, heading straight for the inn. Saphirette couldn't help but smile; Paula had offered to help her with this task without even asking, and despite her constant complaints about hunger, she had done her part in an exemplary manner. Without Paula's help, Saphirette would probably still be digging those holes for the runes until nightfall, as would Arkaid, who had been left to take care of the other half of the town on his own.
Saphirette stretched her arms as she let out a tired groan. With all the elemental runes buried around the village, the first phase of Anne's plan to find the culprit behind the kidnappings was complete. All that remained was to return to the inn, rest, and begin the next phase.
"You are tired, are you not?" a male voice said.
Saphirette was startled when she heard that voice. It was a sweet, almost hypnotic voice that quickly put her on alert, as if her own instincts were warning her.
"I have no doubt that you are exhausted. After all, you spent a long time doing hard work unworthy of such a beautiful lady."
For some reason, Saphirette felt unable to move, as if the voice was holding her in place. She stood there, confused and slowly panicking as she watched someone pass by out of the corner of her eye. Soon, a young man positioned himself in front of her, a man so handsome it was almost unnatural. Everything about him was perfect: his skin, his features, and those golden eyes she could almost get lost in. It was clear that this was no simple love at first sight, but the effect of a spell he was casting on her directly through his voice.
He was no human, he was a monster.
"You are Saphirette, right?" he asked, placing his hand on her cheek, his touch so soft she felt herself melt. "I remember when you used to visit Colette, you were quite beautiful, and I see that your beauty has only grown over the years."
Saphirette wanted to move, she wanted to scream, but she felt trapped in her own body. The creation of those elemental runes had left her magically drained, robbing her of any ability to resist the charm.
"You know, after I took care of this town, I was going to go to Polove and look for you, but you saved me the trouble," he said as he moved closer to her, putting his hand boldly on her waist. "Perhaps fate itself wants you to be my wife?"
She could feel her will fading and his desires forcing themselves upon her. Finally, she closed her eyes, which he took as an invitation to kiss her. He brought his face closer, his lips almost brushing hers, ready to claim her as his own.
"Solstis!"
A powerful flare manifested around Saphirette's body, causing the monster to jump backwards to avoid being incinerated. The monster had been so intent on taking pleasure in her subjugation that he had failed to notice that they were standing on top of one of the newly buried runes, allowing Saphirette to call upon its power.
"You... " The look in his eyes changed, the charming serenity replaced by a deep anger at being rejected. "If you want to play hard to get, fine by me. It will only make it more pleasurable when you finally submit to me."
"Did you say the same thing to all the other women you kidnapped, monster?" Saphirette inquired venomously.
He laughed amusedly. "Kidnapped? Not at all, I liberated them." He took a step forward. "Which reminds me, I still have to liberate Colette. I think she has consumed enough Prisoner Fruits to be worthy."
"Worthy? Worthy of what?"
"Of becoming my main wife, of course."
"The Fourth Princess has sent several special groups to investigate various ruins across the continent," Sofiva explained through the feather. "However, these are far from simple archaeological missions, as the Fourth Princess and the Sabbath have discovered through ancient scrolls a certain type of machinery that could give them the ultimate advantage in the war against the Order, so they are actively searching for it."
"I'm goin' to pretend I understand what you're sayin' when you talk about princesses and orders or whatever - are you tellin' me that there are people who want to retrieve the Vault's technology and use it for war?" questioned the courier as he ran through the tunnels, following the Pip-Boy's coordinates.
"Yes, that is the situation."
The Courier sped up, for now what he had on his hands went beyond a simple case of kidnapping. If the events on Polove had taught him anything, it was that the inhabitants of this world could not acquire such dangerous technology. He still clearly remembered the recording he had heard when he had accessed Polove's secret vault files, and the warning it contained still echoed in his mind.
"We must hurry, son-in-law!" urged Petra, who was being carried into one of the Courier's arms.
"I will not even bother to say anything anymore," Terra mused resignedly as she was carried on the other arm.
It didn't take long for the Courier to arrive at the point indicated by the coordinates, and it was one he hadn't expected at all: a massive field. This was probably the deepest point of the mines, but it was something that could easily be seen in the fertile lands on the surface. It was a vast green field, with a multitude of small berries that seemed to grow easily despite the lack of natural light. It was a beautiful sight, ideal for a surface farm, but disconcerting for such a place.
"What is this?" said Petra in fright as she was lowered to the ground.
"This is the Prisoner Fruit plantation," Terra explained as she was also lowered to the ground. "I chose this location because it was the most fertile to produce the amount I was asked to cultivate."
Petra grabbed her daughter's shoulders in a violent and unexpected manner, showing an expression that was far from the loving, maternal one she had shown before - she looked genuinely and deeply panicked.
"My little flower, of all places to choose ... What have you done?!"
Terra was surprised and frightened by her mother's sudden and bizarre reaction. Before she could answer, however, a faint but audible whimper caught everyone's attention.
"Help… please, help."
In that field, barely visible through the vegetation, was a bloodied and mangled body struggling to crawl. The Courier hastened to attend to that stranger, and only as he approached did he realize that it was one of those strange winged women with whom he had recently fought. She was in a horrible condition, her wings torn off in such a grotesque manner that the Courier could not help but be reminded of Clanden's macabre works; she was crawling because she no longer had any legs to move with, relying only on her now-weak arms to get her away from whatever it was that had done so much damage to her. At that moment, even though it was possible that in another situation the two of them would have had to fight, the Courier could not help but feel pity for the woman.
The Courier kneeled beside the woman, lifting her slightly in his arms and laying her to make her more comfortable and, more important, to keep her from spending her last moments alone.
"R-Richard?" she said haltingly, keeping her only remaining teary eye on him. "Is that you, dear?"
The Courier was silent for a few brief seconds as he decided how to respond.
"Yes, it's me, Richard," he lied. "I came for you, dear."
A faint smile tugged at the woman's lips.
"I-I knew you would come for me," she said as she raised her trembling hand to him. "I knew my beloved would never leave me."
He quickly took her hand and gently pulled it to his own chest.
"My dear, what happened, who did this to you?"
"R-Rufina, it was ... Rufina," she replied falteringly. "I-I have no idea what happened to her. W-we were harvesting the Prisoner Fruits like you told us to, but she... she went over to investigate a small hole in the wall, and... and something happened to her, something changed her."
"Changed her?"
"Rufina... she is no longer Rufina, she is something else, something... terrible." She was silent for a few seconds, and then she said through tears, "I… I feel tired."
"Then go to sleep, my dear. I'll take care of everything, don't worry."
"I-I know you will. You are my husband, the most perfect and wonderful man in the whole world," she mused happily. "I love you, Richard."
"I love you too."
The woman smiled once again when she heard that, a smile that stayed on her face even as the light went out of her eye - she had died. She may have been an enemy, but the Courier knew firsthand that no one deserved to die alone.
"You know what she meant when she said there was a 'change,' don't you?" the Courier asked as he laid the woman's body on the ground.
"Yes, I know what she meant," Petra replied with sadness in her voice. "The same thing happened sixty years ago. When my sisters were corrupted and turned into beasts."
The Courier rose from the ground and began to draw his gun as a series of animalistic grunts and growls could be heard in the distance.
"What was it that 'corrupted' them?" the Courier inquired as he reloaded bullets into the gun.
"A machine. A machine that drained the earth of its life and turned it into a twisted energy." Petra paused for a moment and put a hand to her chest. "And... it was all my fault."
In the distance, they could make out a blasphemous monster running toward them on all fours, an abomination that combined humanoid and bestial features in a grotesque union. Not only that, but the beast seemed to be howling in pain, as if its very existence was a constant torment.
"Troglodyte! Why are you wasting time?" the AI demanded as it turned on the Pip-Boy's screen. "The energy is getting more and more out of control, and it won't be long before it reaches a critical point. We must do something immediately, or else..."
Ignoring the AI's warning, the courier simply focused on aiming the gun at the abomination that was coming toward them. At that moment, the voice from the recording in the ruins of Polove resounded in his head. He clearly remembered the tired voice of that man who, before singing a beautiful lullaby, had uttered words that had filled the Courier with disgust.
"This energy is the only chance we have to get home. The death of this world will be the price. It is an acceptable sacrifice for the future of science - for our future."
Just as in the Wasteland, the people of this world suffered the consequences of the actions of those who chose to put their ambitions above all else. It was cruel, yet funny, to know that no matter what dimension or parallel world they were in, some things never changed.
"Watch out!" warned Terra.
The monster made a mighty leap toward them, its claws and fangs poised to maim them. Before firing, the Courier looked straight into the eyes of the abomination. He saw something in them, something he decided it would be best not to think too much about.
BANG
