What stood before Jericho and Etsy were two giant slabs of chiseled marble slapped onto opposing sides of beautifully carved pieces of thick great oak wood that were surrounded by layers of smooth tungsten.
Beside the gate stood two towering quartz pillars were connected to the wall that surrounded the outskirts of the city. The monstrous wall was made from 18-inch-thick chiseled stone with steel rods that wrapped around the tops of each slab.
Jericho stared in awe at the gorgeous city. He hadn't seen anything this encapsulating after the bounty was put on his head---
Suddenly the car jerked to the left causing Jericho to be flung to the side hitting his head on the window. The car then sped forward into a tree jerking Jericho's head into the windshield.
"Awe fuck, what the hell man!"
Jericho grabbed his temple and massaged it. As he regained his vision he was met with the bittersweet embrace of sharp claws. Etsy swooned Jericho reverting him back into his defenseless state of half of a head. She took a part of Jericho's hair and attach it to a hole within he tattered skirt, leaving Jericho's severed head to bob away on the side of her thigh.
"Sorry bud, can't have ya' running around or escaping till ya' meet the boss. You can look while yer' down there though just don't bite."
Etsy seductively teased at Jericho.
'Im unamused.'
Her hips swung as she sassily strutted to the car, every sway of her bosom would make Jericho's head bob back and forth into her thigh. It was like she was mocking him.
He tried gritting his teeth until he realized he had none.
When Etsy finally made it to the car, she'd open the truck and take out a duffel bag. She swung it over her back making sure it hit Jericho.
"Alrighty, ya' ready to enter the city of war! Nyhehaha!"
Etsy cackled while skipping into the towering gates of Sinvensen. Jericho stared ahead thinking about where it all went wrong, he was stepping foot into a city that wanted his head on a platter-- ironically it already was.
---
Jericho's eyes were blinded by the amount of artificial light that filled the city. It was a change of scenery compared to the dull mucky aesthetic of his previous town.
The entrance of the city was lined with a variety of shops and stores with colorful signs advertising their products and services. Cities were lined with salesman stopping anyone unlucky enough to be within a 10-foot radius of them.
'City of War my ass, this is just a consumerists' wet dream.'
He also noticed the many wanted posters slapped onto the front of every store.
'I'm so screwed.'
"Look, look! They have candied trout! Oh, and collector's edition Meowl figures!"
Jericho's eyes rolled back then stared judgmentally at Etsy.
'What a dork.'
Taking his focus off of Etsy, Jericho examined the other shops. There were many weapon shops, like "Chucks nun chucks and Karate wear" but one caught his eye. It was one without a flashy sign or a salesman advertising their many products.
It was a small wooden shack was devoid of any sources of light within; there was only a wooden sign hanging from a damaged wooden pole covered in shrubbery that read.
"Druids Weapons and Armor"
The name was familiar; Jericho tried to remember where he heard that name from but suddenly was distracted by a scream coming from behind him. He shot a look at Etsy to see if she was also taken aback by it.
She was stuffing her face in the many delicacies that she'd emptied her wallet over. It was gluttonous.
The squid blood that was plastered all over her face made her look like a psycho cannibal-- hell maybe she was.
A short young girl came running out of one of the alleys, her stomach was showing from her tattered clothes. She had silky long white hair that flowed in the wind as she ran out, her eyes were a deep light blue, she was a blessing for the eyes. Her skin was near perfect with no blemishes other than bruises and cuts on her cheeks. She seemed to be from a lineage of white tigers.
'She looks young.'
That must have been where the scream came from.
His gaze shifted towards Etsy; she had put down her food and was staring at the girl. There was a sort of sorrow in her eyes, one that Jericho could understand and feel too.
The girl ran and tripped into Etsy, instead of evading Etsy caught her. She gently pulled her up being cautious not to agitate any recently opened wounds.
"Hey, are you okay?"
As Etsy spoke the girl looked up at Etsy with tears in her eyes, her mouth opened but nothing came out. She may not have spoken but the desperate look of fear in her eyes were enough for Etsy.
The sounds of trumpets grew near. A symphony beckoning a king emerged from a distance until a throne was in sight.
"One of the grand chairmen is here!"
Jericho overheard a woman speak with fear in her voice.
'A chairman? They have those is a city built on war?'
There were 4 horsemen carrying a silver throne that held a fat pigman dressed from head to toe in expensive jewelry. He held a staff with a diamond at the peak of it and flashed his golden grills for the city to see.
'What a jester.'
The horsemen would come to a halt in the middle of the street near where Etsy, the girl, and Jericho were. They gently placed down the throne and stood attentively near the chairman ready to defend him with their lives.
"Where is the girl!"
The chairman spoke with a commanding tone. Every civilian on the street shivered in fear, some beginning to pray for their safety. It seemed that on the outskirts of the city the people were nothing more than ants, even chairman could rule over and command them.
He snickered before speaking again.
"Sorry, you piss ants don't even know what the girl looks like. How ignorant of me."
The chairman snapped his beefy finger, instantly one of the horsemen took out a rolled-up piece of paper from a satchel on his back and handed it to the chairman.
"This right here is the girl I am looking for."
He unrolled the paper and revealed it.
"I know she was last seen on this street, and if she is not found and handed back to me within the next 10, no 4 hours everyone within these slums will be tortured and killed. Your children will be sold into slavery, same goes for your children's children."
Everyone on the street fell to their knees, their screams of forgiveness filled the slums they lived in. All of the stores were closed, the lights dimmed.
'Why was no one opposing or even questioning the chairman? Has the tyranny got so bad that these people aren't even seen as human anymore?'
Jericho was sickened at the sight of it, he wanted to free everyone, but he'd already tried that.
The only one who remained on their feet was Etsy and, in her arms was the girl.
Etsy's attention was on the girl as she consoled her and made sure she was okay. She reassured her that nobody was going to hurt her anymore and that she was safe. The girl's tears stained Etsy's shirt but it didn't seem to bother her.
A soft smile appeared on Etsy's face. Jericho looked at Etsy and wondered who she really was, was she as evil as he'd thought she was? The tender moment was cut short by the raspy voice of an angered chairman.
"Hey, Crocodile bitch. I think you have what is mine."
Etsy smile dropped and her eyes shot towards the chairman.
"This girl is not yer's."
A rebuttal was not expected, no one dared to challenge authority especially not to a high-ranking political figure such as a chairman. The chairman's face was flooded with red.
"Who the hell do you think you are! I'll have you killed, no I'll have you tortured! You may have a mouth on you but you're a looker. I could make use of you in my harem; I'll have you beaten then enslaved!"
Jericho's head was fully regenerated with his neck slowly growing back too.
Etsy cut Jericho's head from her pants and placed him in the hands of the girl.
"Hold onto him for a little, I'm going to take care of yer' little 'master' problem."
Without saying another word Etsy was already gone. It was as if she vanished.
The horsemen stood in a defensive stance near the chairman ready to protect him from the impending harm coming his way.
A bystander in the crowd most near the chairman let out a bloodcurdling screech as he felt a hot liquid splash onto his face. He touched it and examined it.
"B-blood!"
The screams caused everyone to go into a frenzy emptying the streets leaving nothing but the chairman, the girl, Jericho, the horsemen and a severed head.
Etsy held the head in her hands.
"Quite the bodyguards ya' got mister chairman."
She taunted the chairman before staring into his eyes and taking a bite from one of his bodyguards severed heads.
The chairman's eyes widened as he frantically looked around him. His bodyguards' bodies dropped one by one.
"You, you can keep her! Okay?!"
Etsy disappeared once more.
"What is it you want?! Money? If that's it, I can get you money!"
The chairman's pleads went unheard.
Etsy appeared in front of the grotesque pig man.
"Y'know what I really want mister?"
The chairman felt a tiny speck of hope as he shook his head clinging onto any chance of survival he had left.
"Yes! Yes! Please tell me! Your wish is my command!"
Etsy snickered before inching closer to the man and putting her mouth near his ear.
"I want all of you government pigs to drop fucking dead"
Her claws slowly pierced through the thick flabs of fat until she reached his ribcage.
"Goodbye."
She ripped through his ribcage and snatched his rapidly beating heart out of his chest.
Putting it near her mouth she licked it while watching the chairman's last moments. Before finally eating it.
'What the hell.'
Jericho was even more conflicted than before, was she a bad guy. I mean she just killed a bad person, but she taunted him and ate his heart afterwords. That was not a fun scene to watch, he couldn't even shield the girls' eyes because he had no arms.
"Hey. there's a kid here man!"
Etsy shook her head bringing her back down to from whatever headspace she was just in.
"Oh yeah, sorry."
She quickly wiped her mouth of all the blood and went back to where the girl and Jericho were.
"So, we got to get out of here fast. Word goes around quickly, especially if ya' just killed a high-ranking politician."
"Well, pick me up and lets get the hell out of here!"
A devious smirk formed upon Etsy's blood-stained face.
"Oh god no pl-"
Etsy attached Jericho's head to her also blood-stained pants and held out her hand for the girl to take.
"You can trust me; I'm going to take you somewhere safe. You'll never be a slave again."
The girl looked into Etsy's eyes and decided to take her hand.
"Oh yeah, what's yer' name little girl."
She looked away before answering.
"T-t-tsuki."
Etsy smiled gently at Tsuki and then walked away into the alleys of the slums of Sinvensen. Jericho softly gazed upon Etsy, her will was unwavering, with her could his dreams of saving the world become a reality.