The girl trembled, her breath hitching in short, jagged gasps. After a "special" session with Nux, she had spilled everything the hideout, the coordinates. Of course, I wasn't naive enough to take a captive at her word. We brought her along; if this turned out to be a farce, Nux would have a fresh soul to play with.
"Is this the place?" I asked, my voice cold as ice.
"Y-yep... that's it," she stammered. Her wrists were bound tight in mana-suppressing handcuffs, her eyes darting everywhere but at me.
The building looming over us was a gaudy, run-down love hotel. At this hour, the neon signs flickered with a sickly buzz, casting long, distorted shadows across the pavement. The silence was absolute. No late-night lovers, no stray cats just the heavy, oppressive weight of the night.
I didn't like it.
"I swear, if this is a trap, I'm taking your head first. Got it?"
She nodded frantically, her neck moving so fast I thought it might snap.
"Good. You first." I shoved her toward the entrance. "Open it."
As my hand moved to the small of my back to draw my revolver, she pushed the glass doors open. Immediately, a wave of foul, cloying aura washed over me. It felt like walking into a swamp of rotting sweets.
[Partner, this feels like a trap. Scratch that it is a trap,] Nux's voice hissed inside my head, sharp and urgent.
I know. The moment things go sideways, we're out of here, I replied, my thumb flicking the safety off the cylinder.
[Be careful. Something is—]
CRACK.
The concrete beneath my boots disintegrated. My instincts screamed. I threw myself backward just as a massive, pulsating tentacle erupted from the floor, showering the lobby in dust and debris. A monstrosity followed a mass of writhing, slick appendages swirling around a central core.
"Nope. I am out!"
I didn't hesitate. I spun on my heel, ready to bolt into the night, but a searing heat wrapped around my ankle. A glowing, ethereal rope snared my leg. I looked back to see another Magical Girl emerging from the shadows, her eyes gleaming with a disturbing, vacant light.
I summoned a mana-infused knife and slashed at the cord. The blade passed through it like it was made of smoke, leaving the restraint unharmed.
"That won't work, honey," she cooed. With a violent jerk of her arm, she slammed me face-first into the ground.
The impact rattled my teeth.
[Partner! Are you okay?] Nux screamed.
"I'm... fine," I grunted, pushing myself up. But before I could find my footing, the girl pulled again, dragging me across the tile like a sack of grain right toward her.
"You bitch! Eat lead!"
I leveled the revolver and emptied three rounds. Each bullet hissed through the air, only to flatten against a shimmering pink hexagonal shield that materialized in front of her.
She reached out, her fingers closing around my throat with superhuman strength. As I gasped for air, the "Master" finally stepped out from the building.
It was the most revolting thing I'd ever seen. It held a human shape, but it had no skin just raw, exposed muscle and pulsing veins that seemed to throb in rhythm with the building itself. Beside it stood my captive, now free of her cuffs.
"Oh, Master! I knew you would save me!" she cried out. I looked at her eyes; the pupils had been replaced by throbbing pink hearts.
Damn it.
The girl holding my throat dropped me. I collapsed, clutching my neck and drawing in ragged lungfuls of air.
"Well, well, well," the skinless freak rasped. "Is this the little bird that's been giving my girls such a hard time?"
I looked up, coughing out a mouthful of copper-tasting blood. I couldn't help but smirk. "Damn, bro. Does your mother even love you with a face like that? You look like an inside-out meatball."
WHAM.
A boot collided with my jaw, sending me spinning. The girl with the rope stood over me, her face contorted in rage.
"You dare speak to Master like that? I should kill you, but Master is merciful. He wants to give you his 'love.'"
"Love my ass," I spat, wiping blood from my lip. "You're all just a bunch of sex addicted freaks."
"Such insolence!" she shrieked, raising her hand to strike again.
"Peace, my pet," the monster said, its voice like sandpaper on bone. "I like the feisty ones. They break so much more beautifully."
I closed my eyes for a second, focusing inward. Nux, I can't move. This rope is cutting off my magic.
[I'm working on it!. Buy us some time!]
Fine, but hurry the hell up. I don't want that thing anywhere near me.
"Staying quiet now?" the Master mocked, stepping closer. "You can't escape. That rope saps your magical power. No flying, no teleporting. You're just a helpless girl ."
Nux! Hurry! He's started monologuing! I screamed internally.
The monster reached into a fold of its raw flesh and pulled out a syringe filled with a thick, glowing violet liquid. The needle glinted under the flickering neon.
"Now... why don't we enjoy ourselves?"
Shit.