Chapter 2: The Path of War
Jericho scoffed after noticing the hole in his chest. Blood profusely poured from the gaping wound staining his clean white button up and slacks.
"Dammit woman what the hell is your issue."
Jericho barked in a tone not of agony nor pain, but one of annoyance and confusion.
"You after this stupid bounty too? Oh my god you know I can't die right, it's on the damn poster."
"The Truant Immortal King of Sin. Bleugh, you don't know how much I hate that name. It's so corny I wish I could just turn over and die."
He mockingly regurgitated.
Etsy's face stayed stagnant; it was as if his words were utterly devoid of any meaning. In contrast her body shifted into an unorthodox stance.
Her extravagant, plump, chiseled, and divine thighs that had seemed hand crafted and shaped by the most skilled gods would twitch as her gorgeously crafted calves and magnificently sculpted scaled webbed feet would fight to stay planted and firm, simultaneously her upper torso twisted in the opposite direction as if she was a wet rag being wrung out.
"WHY TRY AND KILL SOMEONE WHO JUST CAN'T DIE? IT JUST MAKES NO DAMN SE-"
After reaching the maximum point of resistance Etsy would leap forward while relaxing her lower body causing her legs and tail to rapidly recoil back to their original position swiping the upper half of Jericho's head off, silencing Jericho's rant. The top part of his head would topple off onto the floor, his torso went limp and plopped onto the ground after standing for a few seconds.
The silence was deafening.
Without wasting any time Etsy would bend over revealing her white colored panties with blue stripes and fish icons that lay under the ripped sleek black work skirt she was wearing. There was a hole for her scaley tail to not be restricted by the suffocating skirt.
She grabbed the severed part of the head by the hair and noticed that Jericho's eyes were still moving-- he was still actively conscious. Jericho's brows furrowed and his eyes were filled with vexation as they stared into Etsy soul.
Etsy noticed and all she could do was give Jericho a half-baked smile and a light chuckle.
'Sick fuck, I should've known this was too good to be true.'
Etsy diverted her attention from the severed head she was holding and looked at the sun.
The sun was about to set, it was about time to leave. Etsy quickly shifted her attention to Jericho's body, she noticed the keys hanging out from his blood stained pocket. She snatched the keys and headed towards Jericho's car.
"Hey. I didn't say you could drive my car."
Jericho's head was already fully regenerated down to his chin, his neck was still in the process of reconstructing.
Etsy was taken aback by the insane regenerative ability of Jericho. She had known he couldn't die and could heal from every wound but she hadn't expected him to have regenerated so fast.
"Well, may I?"
Etsy politely spoke silently mocking the man with her devious grin that revealed a single fang poking out.
"No. You just crippled me."
Etsy shot a menacing grin at Jericho before slicing his face in half again.
"I could get used to this!"
Etsy sadistically joked as she made her way towards the car.
She ripped off the roof of the car, got in, tied Jericho's head to the head of the passenger's seat, revved it up and zoomed off into the night.
Jericho was not excited to find out where they were going. He assumed he was being turned in, but there was always a chance it was something else. Maybe a false idol to one of the cults, he was immortal. Or maybe it was back to the testing lab, he was the perfect vessel for testing by scientists.
Whatever it was he had to escape.
-----------------
They'd been on the road for hours, 8 to be exact.
They had gone from a small unknown village on the outskirts of the South West quadrant to the border of the Southern Capital "Sinvinsen". The giant wall that surrounded the city could be seen from miles away.
The name was stupid it was created by the egomaniacs that founded it.
Sinvinsen was known for the warriors that it created due to the number of powerhouses that were born in the Southern Quadrant. It would make sense that Etsy was from here; she was a beast just like everyone else here.
Everyone here was made into mindless machines, the central did nothing to stop it, they actually encouraged it by giving them the materials to continue their mass production of warriors. It always confused Jericho as to why the Central would fund a city that could overthrow them.
Jericho was fully regenerated from his head to his torso; his arms were also fully functioning. But his legs were still on their way only reaching up to his mid-thigh section.
Surprisingly Etsy had stopped cutting him down about an hour ago. Jericho glanced at Etsy noticing her cutthroat demeanor. There was no emotion on her face, she looked empty.
Etsy's eyes twitched and directed their attention to Jericho.
Jericho shivered, he knew what was about to happen. Etsy put her claws together in the form of a blade as if she was getting ready to detach his upper head off again.
Jericho looked up, closed his eyes and prayed to a god that he knew wanted nothing to do with him.
Jericho sat there and anticipated the claws ripping through his face--- but the pain never came.
He opened one eye and looked at Etsy with fear.
She was covering her mouth trying to hold in a laugh. Jericho's face flooded with red.
"Pffft! You should've seen the look on yer face!"
Etsy cackled while pointing at Jericho as he cowered in fear.
Jericho was embarrassed but also confused. How could someone be so sadistic?!
How could someone just swap from staring into the darkness with empty dull eyes to laughing after joking about slicing a person into bits, something that she did various times prior.
"W- What the hell is so funny?"
Jericho exclaimed frantically looking away from Etsy hiding his flushed face.
Etsy's cackling died down as her attention was redirected towards the road, the tone instantly shifted.
The silence was cut short by Etsy.
"Ya'know I'm not turning ya into the authorities."
These words did little to calm Jericho, if the authorities weren't the reason, then what else could she be plotting?
"Don't worry 'Immortal King' I'll fill you in when we get there. I want you as my ally, not my enemy."
After these words were spoken, silence filled the car.
For some reason these words comforted Jericho, even though he knew that they were most likely lies. It was nice to just talk to someone.
"Well let's start with not slicing my head off every 30 minutes and I'll consider your offer. If your intentions weren't of ill intent, why would you put a hole in me and cut my head off?"
Etsy smirked.
"You wouldn't have come willingly after everything you've been through. I know it's a lot to ask but I want to assure you that my intentions are good, at least to me they are."
Jericho stared out of the cracked window into the darkness. He stayed silent.
What she said was obvious, why would he just go with her to a place he had no business being; but what worried Jericho the most was the fact that he knew who he was and what he had done.
There were bounty posters in all of the cities, but he looked drastically different due to his long hair and beard. Almost nobody knew what actually happened, but it would seem that she did.
He wasn't sure who Etsy was but now he was more intrigued than ever. But his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a ginormous gate opening.
Jericho looked forward and to his dismay they were here.
They had arrived at Sinvinsen, The City of War.