POP.
Warm red sprayed inside the room.
It had hit their faces, hair, and shoulders.
"KYAAAAA!!!" Lulu shrieked.
"AAAAAA—WHAT IS THAT—" Trish screamed.
Illias flinched hard her eyes wide.
Carmilla sucked a breath and held it.
Everyone screamed—except Killiar.
Killiar's mouth flattened into a thin line.
Everyone except Killiar suddenly latched their hand onto Raymed like he was lamp post.
Trish was clinging on his left sleeve.
Lulu was clinging his waist.
Illias was lightly latching on his shoulder.
Carmilla's fingers on his vest for one shocked second.
A wet drip ticked off Raymed's jaw as he gritted his teeth.
"Killiar," Raymed said through the noise, voice steady. "Can you please check it."
Killiar stepped forward to check where Besitulars exploded.
As she drops down, she looks confused. She then wiped two fingers down her sleeve. Rubbing the red between them and sniffing it.
She dabbed the tip of her tongue.
"WHAT ARE YOU!?" Lulu shouted.
She squinted up at and looked up at the chandeliers.
"It's not blood," she said. "It's juice. Sugary. The lighting makes it look like blood. This is perhaps pomegranate juice."
.
.
.
.
.
Then the room exhaled.
Hands relaxed.
Everyone let go of Raymed—everyone except Lulu and Trish, who were now glued to him harder.
"EVEN SO!! I— I AM TOO SCARED, I CAN'T GO ON," Trish blurted, voice breaking in three places.
Raymed sighed. "I don't want to say I told you, but I told you so, Trish."
Trish was making a sad face at his remark.
"But now we can't go back... wait or can we? Perhaps this is part of the show?"
He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, sharp. "STAFF! EMERGENCY!"
"Then can we assume this is a real thing?" Raymed asked.
Then the first voice we'd heard at the entrance spoke once again.
"Foolish human. I can't believe you all fell for the trap. I already said—Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here. The moment you entered, your fate was sealed."
Raymed lifted his chin. "Who's talking?"
The air flexed.
"I AM DECARABIA, ONE OF THE 72 DEMON LORD ENVOYS."
Everyone's instincts fired at the mention of Demon Lord Envoy.
Raymed, Carmilla, Killiar, Illias, Lulu, and even Trish, through the tears, tried to pull mana.
But nothing.
Nothing seems to come to their bodies.
Unable to channel anything.
The suppressor bracelets hummed.
"What is it you want, Decarabia?!" Raymed shouted.
"To see you suffer, of course! HAHAHAHA!" The laugh skittered around the rafters. "I will finish you all off once I finish toying with you."
"Then we won't take another step," Raymed shot back. "We'll stay right here until we find a way."
A snort. "Idiot. Did you think I would be that dumb?"
Something was yanked away.
"AACK!" Carmilla was pulled forward like a hook had snagged behind her ribs.
Her feet skated. She went sliding across the carpet.
"CARMILLAAAA!!!!!!!!!" Trish and Lulu screamed together.
"HELP ME!!" Carmilla reached, fingers open, eyes wide.
Then the darkness appear in a form of a living curtain that swallowed her.
Her outline shrank between pillars that hadn't been there a second ago as she suddenly gone.
"WHY YOU—" Raymed snarled and tried to pull mana again.
As he lunged, he felt a pull from his back.
Trish's fist knotted in his sleeve.
Lulu clamped his waist like a belt.
Illias' hand steadied his shoulder.
Killiar's grip hooked the back of his collar, iron-strong.
He looked back.
Even if he rescues Carmilla, the people here will still be taken, and it will continue on and on. The best course of action would be to proceed carefully.
So he abandoned the thought of charging onwards.
He stared into the dark where Carmilla had vanished.
"I'LL FIND YOU, CARMILLA!" His voice hit the rafters and stuck like a nail.
He pried Trish's fingers gently off his sleeve and slid Lulu higher on his side.
He nodded to Illias.
Killiar's grip loosened.
"We move," Raymed said.
The Funhouse suddenly opened a corridor.
***
Killiar and Raymed took the front. Trish, Illias, and Lulu stayed close behind.
Raymed kept his voice low. "Miss Killiar, why aren't you scared?"
"As long as I'm not in a closed space, I'm fine," Killiar said. "Small rooms are the problem."
Illias tapped her bracelet with a knuckle. "About these. I don't think they only restrict. They drain. When you try to raise mana, the band pulls it in. When you try to draw from the environment, it pulls that in too."
Raymed tried to channel. Nothing moved. "I see. No wonder I feel empty at the source," he said. "And when I reach outside, it eats that pull as well. It's not to cancel mana. It's to suction it."
Illias nodded. "To deactivate it likely requires mana applied to the exterior of the bracelet, from outside the user. Internal output is ignored or drained. Even when we channel it to enhance our body, it also drains it. It's like there's a mana parasite on our body."
"So if I had free mana in my hand and pressed it into the band from outside, it might unlock." Raymed asked.
"That is my theory," Illias said. "We don't have that right now."
"Then we move without it," Raymed said.
They stepped through a plain doorway.
The room started closing.
The four walls shifted in at once.
"THAT DEMON LORD ENVOY ASSHOLE SEEMS TO BE EAVESDROPPING US!" Raymed said.
Killiar's breathing spiked.
She hit the nearest wall with her fist.
Nothing.
She hit again.
She set her stance and kept striking, jaw locked, focus thin.
"Center," Illias said, scanning the floor.
A round panel in the middle lowered and opened.
A vertical shaft waited.
"Go," Raymed said.
"I'm not going first," Trish said on reflex.
"No one asked you to go first!" Raymed said.
"I'm not going first," Trish repeated, then moved and jumped in first. Lulu jumped in after her without waiting. Illias followed.
The walls kept coming.
"Miss Killiar, what are you?" Raymed said.
Killiar's legs shook. "I can't—" Her eyes unfocused.
She swayed side to side and dropped to her knees.
BUK!
Her head hit the floor.
"OH MY GOD!" Raymed moved swiftly to get her up across his back and stepped into the shaft.
The floor closed above as he went down.
Suddenly, it dropped both him and Killiar into the same Ballroom now turned into a middle corridor where Besitulars had exploded.
"Great, just great."
Raymed lowered Killiar to the carpet. "Miss Killiar. Please wake up."
Her eyes suddenly snapped open.
She saw his face, then the ceiling, and locked both arms around his neck. "IS THE WALL STILL CLOSING—HUAA!!!"
"Calm down, Calm down! It's not," Raymed said.
He let her hold on.
He hadn't seen her like this before.
He kept his tone even. "You're safe. We're back in the corridor."
Suddenly, a rectangular screen formed in the air.
It showed live feeds of their friends.
Lulu stood in a narrow passage. Every sound she made bounced back at her from every direction. She covered her ears and still heard herself.
Trish lay on the pedestal of some sort of temple, the base of a pillar. Filled of slow zombies crawled up towards her.
Illias lay on a platform in a red-tiled chamber covered in human organs. No movement from her. The walls seemed to pulse.
"Oh my god!" Raymed said, standing. Preparing to help them all.
However, something felt heavy as he looked at what it was...
Killiar didn't release him. "Why are you trying to leave me for?"
"Miss Killiar, it's not safe to go there! What if the walls come down again?"
"Well... What if the walls come down again after you left?" she said.
Raymed paused. "Fair enough. Then hold on tight." He shifted her onto his back. "We get Illias first. She's out cold already."
A door opened.
They entered the 'organ' room.
The smell hit at once. It was no doubt Human Organs.
It's not even healthy organs.
It was rotting organs.
The sight was worse, there were hearts, lungs, brains, and intestines.
Red everywhere.
There were even hanging pieces.
Organs on Hooks.
Raymed's stomach turned. He dropped to a knee and retched.
"What's wrong Raymed?" Killiar said.
"I'm kind of sick. I am bad with this kind of gore." Raymed said.
Killiar adjusted on his back.
She covered his eyes with one hand, pressed her wrist to his nose with the other. "Don't look. Breathe this." Her sweet perfume on her wrist was sharp and clean. It somehow made the disgusting smell go away.
"I'll lead. Walk straight. Step when I tap."
Raymed stood and moved.
Killiar's taps came in a steady pattern.
Sometimes he stepped onto something that he would rather not know what it was.
"Two more steps," Killiar said. "Now reach down. Illias is below you."
Raymed felt Illias' shoulder, then under her knees. He lifted her in a princess carry.
"Turn back," Killiar said.
Suddenly Killiar's hand was lifeless.
"Miss Killiar?" Raymed shoved her hands gently. Only to see the Door was closing and...
The walls were sliding in. "Oh, come on!" Killiar was out cold again.
The smell slammed back into his nose.
The awful disgusting smell.
He ran.
The exit narrowed.
He pushed through with both bodies and cleared the gap.
"COME ON! MAKE IT!" With a lunge he was able to exit the room.
"Phew...." He walked back to the middle corridor and he set Illias down.
After a few seconds of taking rest, Killiar and Raymed decided to rescue Lulu next.
Then someone grabbed his trouser leg.
Illias was awake, tears already in her eyes. "Don't leave me. What if the organs fell from the ceiling?"
Raymed sighed as he picked her up again in princess style. "Let's move out!"
***
The screen showed Lulu's echo corridor.
A door opened to it.
They entered.
It wasn't a room.
It was a shifting maze.
Invisible walls that you could not see until you hit them.
Every sound came back multiplied.
Lulu's "hello" layered over itself until words lost shape.
Raymed moved three steps and hit an invisible wall repeatedly.
He then stopped letting his breathing become slow.
He stared at the air and the floor.
To notice that there was suddenly....
A greenish trail of magical energy started to show, even though he wasn't using mana to sense it. It was faint bright lines that ran along some kind of route.
As he followed it, it seemed that it was leading to the correct route.
How can there be this mana? He thought, but didn't put to much thought.
He stepped where the trails ran.
They finally reached Lulu quite fast.
But she had already passed out crying. Ears flat. Hands at her mouth.
Raymed lifted her and set her carefully on top of Illias' torso, making a cradle with his forearm. "Make sure she doesn't fall, Miss Illias."
Illias nodded and wrapped both arms around Lulu. "I've got her."
A door formed in front of them.
It led back to the middle corridor.
They walked out.
Raymed set Lulu down and everyone down.
Raymed rolled his shoulders once. "Three safe," he said. "Two left."
He looked at Trish's feed in the zombie room and started toward the next door.
As everyone get ready, Illias was in princess carry once more and Killiar was on Raymed's back. As they stepped away, Lulu jolted awake and hopped onto Killiar's back, arms tight around her shoulders. "Don't leave Lulu!" She said.
Raymed sighed but followed with a smile. "Okay, everybody ready?" Raymed asked.
"Ready," Killiar said.
"Ready," Lulu mumbled, clinging.
Illias didn't answer. "I have been thinking for a while," she said. "I have a suspicion. I wonder if this 'Demon Lord Envoy Decarabia' is actually that powerful."
Raymed frowned. "What do you mean, Miss Illias? Isn't the scale of these illusions proof he's high caliber?"
"Raymed, have you read a book called the Lesser Key of Solomon?" Illias asked. "Some scholars in the United Front suspect that the 'envoys' are somehow matching those entries. Vepar. Focalors. Eligos. If that mapping holds, Decarabia's description is different from what we're seeing."
"Wait, then what is the power of Decarabia?"
"Knowledge of gemstones and herbs," Illias said. "And the ability to take the form of a bird. Familiar type. Not a wide-area illusion caster,"
"What?" Raymed gagged in confusion.
"Which suggests we are dealing with something else wearing the name," Illias said. "Either a stronger envoy masquerading as Decarabia, or a separate controller using the label."
Raymed took that in. "That would make sense." He exhaled. "Nonetheless, we have no choice but to move."
"One more thing, I might know little about Phantasm level Illusion. But I suspect that even if we can use Mana again, it is best we don't use our optimum power, since if Decarabia creates this space. Once it shatters, we could suffer grave consequences. Maybe all this time, the space we are in is a pitfall trap." Illias added.
"I'll keep that in mind," Raymed said.
They headed for the last feed location.
***
The door opened to a temple hall.
Upon closer inspection, it looks like an Aztec temple.
There was a usual pedestal where Trish lay unconscious. Slow zombies crawled up the stairs toward her.
Suddenly, above, Carmilla appeared as she was strapped to a railroad, a coaster cart chained to a pulley.
On the far side, a skeleton figure hovered over a star-patterned ring.
"This time you can only choose one," the figure said. "Choose wisely."
The rail cart started moving. Slow at first, then faster, aimed straight for Carmilla.
Carmilla stirred. "Raymed!!! Focus on Trish."
Raymed nodded as so did the others suddenly braving themselves up going down from Raymed.
The zombies are slowly reaching for Trish's legs.
Killiar took the right stairs.
Illias took the left stairs.
Lulu stayed on Killiar's back.
Raymed jumped towards the middle stairs. While jumping he got rid of any zombies aiming to come closer to the pedestal. As they make their way up and up, one zombies managed to grab Trish by her leg and was about to pull her.
"TRISH!!!" Lulu shouted.
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Raymed kicked the zombies away as it was sent flying towards the other zombies.
As Killiar, Illias, Lulu, and Raymed regroup the horde of unseemingly endless zombie came closer and closer. As Killira and Illias punched them away it kept coming back.
"What should we do?" Raymed asked. "NO MORE THAN THAT!!!"
The railcart sounded it was moving too fast. Carmilla was still on the rail struggling to open the rope that had enveloped her into the rail.
"CARMILAAA!" Raymed shouted.
BOOM!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
An explosion occured when the cart hit Carmilla.
.
.
But Carmilla did not fall.
She floated.
Her bracelet had been split apart.
"Didn't think that would work as smooth, but I did it. How's that for removing your cuff Demon Lord Envoy? I used your magic to set myself free!"
"Foolish human! Did you think you will escape that easily?" Decarabia the skeleton above a star ring spoke.
"What the heck happen?" Trish asked.
"It seems Carmilla got hit on purpose to insert mana via the cart. Since there was no mana to move the rail cart in the first place. This was Decarabia's attempt to instill despair in everyone." Raymed explained.
Illias smiled and said, "I see. As expected from a short-term student. She used her opponent's miss to create an opening for a comeback."
Mana gathered around her hands.
"Begone, you Demon," she said.
"Rule of Stability, Plausibility, and Balance."
"Restore the scales of fairness upon this world."
"Personification of The Great Seal!"
She cast 'Personification of The Great Seal'. Her strongest spell to render any opponent immobile and unable to do anything.
She cast her Chains of Heaven and struck the Decarabia.
Raymed crouched, ready to jump. "CARMILLA!!" he called.
She saw him move and swung a chain to his cuffs. Mana poured into Raymed's cuffs from outside. The lock released with a sharp click.
"COME, AVALON!" Raymed called.
The black katana formed in his hand.
The skeletal figure steadied inside the ring and threw orbs of mana. "COME NOW, HERO RAYMED!" it taunted as mana orbs launched. It shot like streams of water like energy wave.
"That shouldn't have happened. How can he still use mana?" Carmilla said, eyes narrowed.
"It must be his cheat skill," Raymed said. "I mean, almost every Demon King has them."
Raymed sprinted along Carmilla's chains toward the ring, stepping where the links held.
He cut past two orb waves, let one pass under him, and parried one with Avalon's Hamon (Edge).
"Split Flow — Star Striker (Controlled)." Minding his strength that Illias mentioned, Raymed activated Split Flow. He set his breath and line, then lunged. The blade drew a red tail and hit center mass of Decarabia.
BOOM.
The skeleton fell out of the ring. The star pattern flickered before vanishing. Decarabia dropped.
Raymed hit the floor, rolled, and got up. He was now walking slowly and directly. "Now," he said. "I believe it is time for a payback." His eyes went red. His Mana pressed hard enough that the space creaked. Split Flow was canceled.
"W-wAIT!" Decarabia's Skeleton said.
"STOP! STOP! STOP—IT'S ME!" the skull mask flipped. Besitulars stared up, pale. "It's me!"
HUHHH!!!!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
Silence held for one second.
Then everyone moved.
"This is for the echoing maze!" Lulu jumped down from Killiar's back and smacked his head with both hands.
"OUCH!!!"
"This is for the disgusting zombies!" Trish shouted and drove her fist into his cheek.
"FUEHHH!!!"
"This is for the organs," Illias said with a small smile, then stomped his foot.
"OUCH OUCH OUCH!"
"This is for the closing spaces," Killiar added and sank a tight shot into his stomach.
"BUEHHH!! I GIVE UP!" Besitulars squealed, arms up, trying to curl and failing.
The floor, pillars, and rails bent. Colors flattened, then reformed. Reality has once again warped.
"Ah... I see what's going on," Carmilla said with a smile. "We are inside an Alterity."
"That could only mean—" Raymed started.
"Thalamik," Carmilla finished.
The temple skin peeled away, exposing a control room above the hall.
It revealed that all this time, the funhouse was a closed big space like a simulation room with one door and a control room.
Panels, cables, and lenses. Thalamik stood behind the glass, eyes wide.
Carmilla smiled sinisterly wide. "Raymed, would you please?"
Raymed nodded also with a wide sinister smile. "Of course. Our Fiend Kaiser has a lot to explain. Ho ho ho."
He launched, crossed the gap, ripped the window, and grabbed Thalamik by the collar.
A moment later he set him down in front of everyone.
"Everyone, it seems we've been beating up the wrong person," Raymed said, smiling with no humor.
"H-H-heyyo," Thalamik said.
Trish, Lulu, Killiar, and Illias turned their heads together. Their eyes said everything.
Trish exhaled. "I should've seen this coming. Besitulars could never plan a scheme this big. Good job staying unnoticed until this far," she told him.
Thalamik looked away. "I have one thing to say before you beat me to a pulp and ask questions later."
"What is that?" Trish cracked her knuckles. The others stayed quiet, eyes fixed, cuffs still on.
"KAI!" Thalamik barked, trying to cast Hale's flagship spell. Mana flickered on his skin, thin and patchy.
Raymed hooked an arm and locked Thalamik's neck. "Approved," he said.
The beating began.
Trish went for the face, fast and nonstop. "ORAORAORAORAORAORA!!!!"
Thalamik tanked the attack.
Killiar hammered the gut with clean, short strikes. "DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!"
Thalamik tanked the attack.
Lulu punched the knee, then again, then again, yelling each hit. "USHYA USHYA USHYA!"
Thalamik tanked the attack.
Illias with a smile, knelt, pulled off his shoe, and stepped on his pinky toe. Again. Again. "Did that hurt? Ara~ Did that hurt? Ara~ Ara~" Thalamik's face stayed blank but tears fell down from his eyes.
After a while, Thalamik had been beaten up. Bruises everywhere, and both pinky toes are red.
"Okay—okay—okay—" he gasped when Raymed finally lifted him out of range.
However Carmilla and Raymed hadn't swung. They just stood over him.
Thalamik coughed. "I presume you want my explanation now. Ehem..." he coughed a bit before starting to speak again. "For my explanation, this was part of an elaborate plan," he said. "I can't reveal it yet. It will be spectacular. That's all I can say."
No one liked that answer.
Trish turned away first, angry as she leaves. "Asshole!"
Killiar clicked her tongue and looked aside and left. "Bitch."
Lulu crossed her arms and looked down and left. "Thalamik!!!"
"HEY 'THALAMIK' IS NOT AN INSULT!" Thalamik responded.
Illias sighed once and stood straight. "I have done my part, I have forgiven you. See you. Have a blessed day."
"Thanks, Illias." He smiled, but a tear came down again.
Carmilla and Raymed did not move.
"Carmilla and Ray, I have a favor. Would you help and carry Besitulars?" Thalamik asked, voice thin.
Raymed looked at him. "What about you?"
"I'll manage, besides I deserve it." Thalamik said.
Besitulars lifted a hand. "Thank you, Big Bro. You are the best."
"No, you did very well, Besitulars. Thank you."
Raymed nodded once. He took Besitulars' arm and helped him up. Carmilla watched Thalamik for one more beat, then turned.
"Mission… complete…" Thalamik muttered and slumped. He passed out on the spot.
***
Three days later, the cinema released a movie named "The Hero and Saint against The Demon Lord!"
It used the footage collected from the Funhouse.
It showed Raymed and Carmilla fighting the so-called Demon Lord Envoy 'Decarabia'
The edit was clean.
The sound was loud.
On top of that, they all weren't acting, they were the real deal.
But there was a heavily edited part. The narrator in the movie explained that Lulu, Killiar, and Illias were hit with a paralyzing spell that led them to be unable to move, requiring Raymed, the Hero, to carry them.
After Raymed and Carmilla made Decarabia fall.
Thalamik reused the beatings that Besitulars endured and CGI to make it look like Trish, Killiar, Lulu, and Illias were beating The Demon King Decarabia. On top of that, The girls power whose power sealed like crazy yet they still beat him up unafraid of the consequences.
The crowd reacted in awe at the cinema.
People watched it and said it was great.
One person who got interviewed, who is an avid movie watcher, said, "I had only two words to explain the movie. Absolute Cinema." He said while raising his arms.
Others said even though some of them look fearful, it was all justified. It's up against the Demon Lord Envoy after all.
They said the screams made sense.
By the end, everyone in the group had fans.
They became instantly famous.
Especially Raymed and Carmilla, who now have been noticed by the public everywhere they go in United Front's City.
***
Carmilla met me on Diko's office, but Diko wasn't there.
"Good work Carmilla. You helped me well." I said.
"No worries," Carmilla said.
I nodded. "The mana trails in the maze were perfect help for Raymed. Since I know he can't do much."
"It isn't that hard actually," she said. "The hard part was to mimic the voice of the Demon Lord Envoy."
A Demon Lord Envoy's voice.
Something that perhaps is unique to Baal and others.
However, it sounded awfully similar to whenever Carmilla uses her spell, "Personification of The Great Seal."
So in my genius, I asked her to record it.
She would begin by casting the spell, but when she was supposed to say "Personification of The Great Seal." She would say something else. The result was her saying a sentence that had the same effect as the voice of Demon Lord Envoy.
We spent a few days to prepare it since I have a few generic lines needed because she can only use that awesome spell for once a day.
"Thank you again, you worked so hard." I said. "The revenue is moving. I can start helping to pay back Diko."
As I checked the new letters at Diko's table, I could not smile.
"The debt increased," I said. "Hidden costs. New fees. I suspect politics. Punishment for withholding details of our fight with Vepar and Focalors from the other Directors. I assume they want leverage."
Carmilla looked at the envelopes, then at me. "I am sorry, I can't be much of help. Perhaps I should speak with Miss Veuz..."
"Please don't. I feel all of this is my responsibility. I don't want to put Veuz at stake. She is supposed to be neutral anyway, right? We are aiming for world peace, right?" I said.
Carmilla seemed astonished at my statement. "Thal..." She smiled genuinely, "Thank you. Does that mean you are considering also trying peace with demonfolk?"
"Hey, I was the first one who suggested it, weren't I? Just not explicit."
"Well, that's right." Carmilla scratched her head. "But Thal... I would understand if you still harbor feelings towards that woman. You could've hunted her down anytime and left us be. But, after all this time, you didn't. I think you have been so kind lately. Are you forgiving her?"
I stayed silent as I took out my wallet. I looked at the picture of my family. "I tried, Carmilla. I tried to forgive. But I just can't."
"It's okay, Thal. It's natural."
"In the end, my heart still burns with vengeance. A let down huh? I didn't change one bit. I will bring her to justice. But I would do that when I have the chance."
"I see... but Thal don't ever say that you didn't change. Because the fact that you were able to set aside your hatred, for something more important, you indeed have changed for the better." Carmilla said.
I looked towards her with a confused face.
"You have done well to handle the grief you were harboring. You have turned that negativity into something positive despite rarely being positive on the exterior." She said with a smile. "I may be younger than you, but I am very proud of you!" Carmilla said.
I smiled at her remark.
"Thanks Carmilla. Be sure to tell me about things you were hiding too."
"AH! About that huhh..." Carmilla smiled goofy. "I will on my last day at the Academy! The Graduation Party!"
"Hahaha... Alright."
Carmilla left soon after.
As I leave the office and stay alone in the quiet hall
The reason I did all this was for an extravagant send-off.
For Carmilla and Raymed.
I wanted something memorable when they leave the Academy.
I wanted them to be legends.
I sighed. "Wish I could do the same. Wish I could graduate with them. But enough of that. Time to plan their graduation party."