"Bella?"
"Yes?" The mechanic turned, the rest of the group parroting the action, as they looked towards Marina. "Is there something wrong?"
The girl gulped, balling her fist. "Right, so, where are we going?"
Initially, she'd been brought along to help as a guide.
However, as things progressed, she gradually felt less and less like she was the one guiding, and more so as the one being guided.
Abella had the idea of where she wanted to go for the "parts and tools" she needed. That through hell or high water, she was going to get whatever she was looking for.
"I'm afraid I cannot say too much, l'd to have private military intelligence, lest I breach sensitive military information," Right, because everyone just so happened to have insider info on every sensitive document.
"However, I can reveal a few surface level details."
"Such as?" Marina's brows furrowed.
"Bunker in the woods, claimed by the Kaiser shortly after his army arrived at Prehevil."
Abella dropped a bomb of a revelation. A sudden distance growing between their party, as everyone grew on edge.
Lenora standing closer to her, the taller woman practically shielding her diminutive frame with her own.
As Tanaka stood by Abella, his eyes set in a look that screamed "I know you have a good reason for this, Abella."
Marina held back the instinctive eyeroll. It would only raise tentions, after all.
"And you just so happen to know where this bunker is located?" Marina pointedly asked.
"Only its vague direction." Bella sighed. Her hands moved to the pocket of her overalls. "All I got is that the bunker is in the woods, to the west of old town. But, I needed to get to old town in the first place…"
What was left unsaid rang heavy in the air.
Sure, military involvement and motives was a given, especially with the war.
However what wasn't, was a potential lead to what caused the mutations to occur.
"And this… contact of yours," Marina began, closing the distance between her and Abella, "Do you still have any way to contact them? Know where they might be posted up?"
Unfortunately, a shake of the mechanic's head shot down that idea
Leaving them all back at square one.
It wrangled Marina's hackles to no end… But, that didn't mean all hope was lost.
"Then, let's investigate this bunker you've been talking about." She added. The atmosphere of the party lightened, as tensions eased.
Although, Marina would still keep an eye out. A gut feeling leaving her unsettled. Weary.
For danger felt like it not only lurked from outside their party, but also from within.
Abella… Lenora as well.
Marina would-
Loud barking echoed from the other end of the unpaved forest road.
And from the shade of the trees, leapt a pair of dogs. Jagged jaws, whose fur was matted, tinged a crimson hue, and fussed with dirt and debris.
The dogs circled the road, staring dagger at the group.
How they managed to do that with no eyes, Marina had no clue.
Voids in space, where their faces were supposed to be. Hollow darkness staring back at them from the shadows.
However, she could say for certain that, even if these dogs had no bite, she would certainly make up for it in some otherway.
The headless dogs gurgled, their barks peetering down, turning into whimpers.
Were they… choking?
Marina squinted, the axe gripped tight in her hands.
What were they doing?
The dogs stood on their hind legs, reaching their heads back to reach their tallest.
Only for them to hurl!
Globs of darkend sludge, sailed through the air, leaving traces wherever it went.
"Get out of the way!" Marina shouted, but they were quickly realizing it was too late.
She was able to throw her body out of the way. And when she turned, she saw that Abella and Tanaka were also able to on their end.
Leaving-
Lenora.
Sizzle.
Sizzle.
Both globs were suddenly struck from mid air! Splattering all across the ground, with the majority land on the mysterious girl's stick.
Standing tall, Lenora looked at the state her staff was in, seeing it rapidly disintegrating.
It turned out Marina's instincts were right on the money. What they lacked in bite, they made up for in acid. One stray shot, and it would eat away at flesh like a disease.
Marina loudly gulped, returning to Lenora's side, as her hand tremored.
If they could buy her a little bit of time, then she might be able to cast a spell or two. Handle these things from a safe distance so they wouldn't be harmed-
Unfortunately, Lenora wasn't able to read her thoughts, and immediately jumped into the fray. The cloth on the lower back of her dress parting to reveal a red hand-like appendage.
'Just what was that thing?' Marina wondered to herself.
However, the cultist had other things to focus on. Facing the others, she quickly devised a plan.
"Abella, flank Lenora's left, Tanaka, her right." She quickly commanded, taking her own position right by the tall lady.
Though, she wouldn't be able to do much, as the mysterious lady was a domineering figure on the battlefield.
She weaved through attacks with the grace of a spider, swiftly counter attacking where the dogs failed to attack.
She practically had a different presence compared to when they were walking. A night and day difference!
Where once there was a quiet guardian, now stood a whirlwind of blows. As though she were blessed by Gro-goroth himself.
Under pressure from both their flanked sides, and an unstoppable offensive on their front, the hounds had no choice but to back away. Their claw swipes doing little to the group, as the party's number advantage meant they wouldn't get hurt
In a last ditch attempt, the headless jagged jaws attempted to repeat their opening move. However, instead of a single ball of acidic sludge, they instead sprayed it much like "Vile" Lenora had taken out.
Pshhh…
But their actions were telegraphed, obvious for anyone to see. Apparent to all but them, it would seem.
The mist poured from the hole in their faces, the dogs set in deep agonizing wheezes, as they spewed the sludge into the ether.
Not realizing they had enclosed themselves in the corrosive mist.
As the moisture touched their matted fur, they quickly grew desperate. Actions growing erratic. Emotions clear even through their lack of any features.
However, nobody would come to help them in their own misery.
In spite of supernatural mutations, a jagged jaw would still end up a jagged jaw.
Spitting on the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief. A quiet hope placed itself in her chest.
"I hope that's the last bit of trouble we face before getting to the bunker!" Bella exclaimed, bright stars in her eyes.
She was so hopeful for the future that Marina couldn't bring herself to be the one to bring the mood down.
"I too, wish the party safe travels." Tanaka agreed, stroking his chin." If we can get the parts and repair the train, we should be at the station before nightfall."
The salary man sure became more comfortable talking with them. Though Marina supposed that constantly fighting made people closer… Not that she had experience on the matter.
Not to be outdone however, Marina joined the optimistic cheer. "I'd hope so. Once we're in the city, we might actually get some answers as to what's happening."
Without a word, the group all turned towards the silent giant. Unmoving like a statue, only acting when told to act, or if Marina did as well.
Though odd, Marina found it endearing that Lenora followed her, like a dog looking after its owner.
However, she wished to learn a little bit more from the lady, especially since she had been so tight-lipped about her origins.
"Same," Lenora replied swiftly.
Same what?
"Hope, good!" Lenora hastily added. Like she had forgotten the word in the other room and ran back to get them.
Suddenly, Lenora's eyes turned glassy, the girl's thoughts turning elsewhere, as her mouth twisted uncharacteristically "F.T.I.A.C.I.T.B!"
Shouting urgently, Lenora rushed past then, heading down the road, spilling ass over kettle to make it there faster.
The scene stunned the party in confusion. Though, down a member, no matter how mysterious, it unsettled them greatly, more than fighting the dogs, or the ever had.
"Lenora…" Marina muttered under her breath, chasing after her. "Just who are you…"
"Let's go." Abella turned to Tanaka, the easterner deflating, as he followed along.
F.T.I.A.C.I.T.B?
What did that mean?
{---}
Fuck, there's a clown in the bunker!
A strong presence, radiating malice and indulgence made its presence known and specifically targeting her.
The mark on the back of her neck bled profusely, not stopping at the few drops it had normally released. It was now actively gushing without restraint!
Malevolence… And the will to sacrifice even their own flesh and blood.
Samarie felt it in her bones.
If she left that thing to wander around the bunker, it would eventually make its way to Marina…
She didn't want to think those kinds of thoughts. But the clown's eagerness to kill unsettled her in a way only the depraved fogies in the ninth circle made her feel.
Eventually, Samarie came across what they had been looking for.
A metal seal locked it shut from the outside world, closed, but with an entrance elsewhere.
Otherwise, Samarie doubted it could have survived long enough while it was kept locked for who knows how long…
Samarie acted fast, opening the latch, catching a glimpse of the bunker's ladder, and the void that stretched beyond it.
The metal creaked and groaned under her hands. Heavy, solid, but not impossible.
It was a reminder that there were still areas where she lacked.
While her blessing had granted her power she wouldn't have otherwise had. There was still more room to grow, especially if she wanted to stand by Marina's side.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Samarie took a calming breath.
"Murder first, then you can day dream for the rest of the day.' She promised herself.
A quiet hope placing itself in her heart.
She needed to focus.
But with Marina on the line? She would need to clear her head before that happened.
More so now after recent events found her closer to Marina than ever!
'Do not mess this up now, girl!' Samarie slapped her cheeks. A determined expression appearing on her face.
You've got this!
The bunker was deserted.
But it was a recent thing,Samarie noticed.
The dust didn't have the time to settle. And at a second glance, the girl could tell that only the essentials were taken. Those deemed useless were left in the bunker to rot with whoever was left inside.
But she wouldn't call a pair of wire cutters useless.
Not when the gates to the city were locked by several chains.
Pocketing her find, Samarie stared into the dark abyss.
She audibly gulped at her predicament. At entering the darkness.
"Lenora!? Lenora!?" A chorus of voices called.
And it was all the motivation that Samarie needed to make this as quick as possible.
She didn't have the time.
Marina needed to be safe!
Desperation muddled her thoughts. Fear deciding her actions, as Samarie touched the ether of her mind.
At least she's safe…
Swirling in the chaos of otherworldly energies, it did not take long for her to sense the entity here with her.
The presence that was actively moving towards her.
Chuckles, deep and maniac, echoed from deeper within the hall. The straight path towards the clown was more intimidating than any of her keepers had been.
The mark wept, an itchy feeling spreading from each of the scars etched onto her body…
However, instead of distracting her, Samarie submersed herself in the pain. A singleminded focus pushing her to do things that felt downright suicidal.
"Anything for HER safety…" Samarie muttered, her devotion burning in her chest.
Taking initiative, she swung the chain cutters down like a hammer.
The void was illuminated by sparks, as glimpses of a black painted smile faced her back.
A fucking clown!
Samarie's bikaku swung out in a fist, the clown forced to block the attack. Sliding back, he let out another bout of chuckles, as they both stood meters apart.
Distance, advantage, attack.
She won distance, her bikaku made sure any weapon short of a gun would be useless.
Advantage was less of a sure thing. Again, her bikaku had her beat… On the other hand, a good hit, and she was out of the fight.
The thought made her grimace. On top of that, the wire cutters made for a poor polearm, providing only blugeoning damage…
Attack, however.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three shots, each in succession.
A burst that made Samarie hesitate for a moment.
Was she hit?
Would Marina be hit-
The crack of a whip, followed by the searing pain of the lashing on her forearms.
"Focus!" She screamed aloud, her bikaku repelling another flurry of lashes. Leaving a gap for the girl to exploit.
The clown brought out a gun in his off hand, waving it around dangerously, as she tried backing off.
A gun for range, and a dagger to ward her off at close range.
It was starting to look dangerous for Samarie…
Bang!
Ducking low, Samarie swept the wire cutters like a sledge hammer, aiming to break the clown kneecaps!
Only for the attack to feel like it struck steel, hard enough to make her hands go numb.
A flash of steel forced her to drop the cutters, dropping to all fours, as the bikaku took the blow. Catching the knife within its grasps, as Samarie rolled out of the way, throwing the clown into the wall.
Reaching for the knife, Samarie noted it was well balanced, ornate, much closer to the ones the Vatican used for important rituals…-
Bang!
Bang!
How was he getting back up so quickly?
The shot went wide. However, Samarie's unsteady posture made it easy for the clown to close the distance and sweep her legs from right under her. Samarie tasted the ground, but she didn't stop moving. As she spun out of the way of even more gun fire.
Bang! Bang!
The last two came in another burst. Samarie forced herself to stand as she saw the clown mime smoking the barrel of the gun.
"You aren't cool!"
And attack!
She swung out. Although, her swings left much to be desired.
Clumsy, without the hint of grace that she was usually gifted with.
Using the knife had felt off, and the clown had capitalized on that fact.
She attempted to work the slashes in tandem with her bikaku, but it was awkward, like two people with vastly different styles dominating over one another.
Bang!
Once more, Samarie had to duck. Transferring her momentum into a slide that brought her closer to her enemy.
Her tail struck first, spinning into the fray as it lashed out. The clown retaliating as he pulled out a whip, and used it to narrowly move the bikaku out of the way.
Only to be double countered, as Samarie used her speed to stand, and stab the clown's right shoulder.
The gun clattered to the ground, a chorus of chuckles bellowing from the clown as he laughed maniacally.
He wouldn't be laughing so hard after she … twisted it out?
No, the clown only laughed harder.
Like he was telling a joke only he was able to understand.
What was going on?
Something was up.
But, Samarie couldn't take her attention off the clown.
Not until he was dea-
The whip struck once more, Samarie's knuckles whitening.
She was going to kill him, even if it was the last thing she did!
Creating distance, the girl held her knife aloft, focusing darkly as she stared at her opponent. His dead eyes just barely reflecting off the light.
Darkness, she couldn't see well…
Was he hiding something further ahead?
Their hands flew into a flurry of attacks, playing keep away, as they both attempted to strike at one another.
Samarie's stabs kept getting blocked, however, the clown just barely holding it in place, as he wound his arm back to whip at her.
But, her bikaku came to Samarie's rescue, wrapping the weapon tightly in its grip, as the girl seized victory in the palm of her hands!
This was the opening she needed, the move to break their stalemate!
A rising slash aimed for the clown's opposite arm, cutting through the air like a bullet.
"Die!"
Bang!
"Hehehe!"
The clown pushed her down, Samarie's back pressing against a metal locker.
What?
Where were they?-
A boot brought Samarie out of her introspection, her eyes narrowing to the size of pin pricks.
Her head clanged against the locker, a copper taste filling her mouth, as a hand grabbed her back the collar.
"Hehehe!" The clown laughed.
"Hahahaha!"
A knee to the ribs made breathing much harder.
And her body bashing against the caved locker, took the breath right out of her.
Samarie wheezed, her limbs failing to come to her aid.
Her fleeting strength clawed at the chance to get back up.
But, she quite literally had her back against the wall.
Her bikaku swung out, swinging her body in time with the clown's forceful ministrations.
The force came back to bite the clown in the ass, as Samarie came rocketing back at speeds the clown didn't expect. Slipping from his grasps entirely, as the knife came for his fucking head!
Steel met flesh, cutting through as easily as butter.
However, the clown was just barely able to move out of the way!
"HAHaHAHAHA!" The clown forced out, despite the dagger sticking out of his mouth.
Swinging her legs once more, Samarie swung her weight onto the clown, pushing him back into another locker.
The body met steel, just as she had. Samarie fell to the ground, as she heaved for air.
Precious, precious air!
She was never taking breathing for granted.
"Haaa~ Haaa~!" The clown mimed, gagging like he found her suffering funny.
By entering the locker room, she was playing to the clown's strengths.
She was weak. There was no doubt about that. But, with the tool she had at hand, it didn;'t matter how weak she was.
Samarie just needed to play by her strengths, tricks and games of her own design!
Running out of the room, she returned to the long hallway, her bikaku poised to strike at any moment.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Only for Samarie to roll out of the way.
Another one?
She glanced towards the gun that had fallen earlier. Comparing it to the flashes of light that now illuminated the door to the locker room.
He had two guns, this whole time…
The clown had been playing with her from the start.
He could have just as easily fought with the range advantage from the start, but chose not to…
Her thigh burned, stumbling as she caught herself.
She needed to end things fast… Some way, somehow.
A flash of light, found Samarie grimacing, unable to do anything but close the distance.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Each bullet traced her movements, each time getting closer and closer to her position.
Her tail struck like a scorpion's stinger, slamming into the clown's head.
A rising slash found the knife deep into the clown's testicles. The twist as she pulled out ensured their destruction.
Now, she just needed to-
Bang!
Point blank!
'I thought he'd run out of ammo?'
The flash of the gun illuminated the painted face in full.
A crooked smile.
One that demanded to take someone down, even if it meant it came at the price of their own.
Desperation. Fear.
Her legs felt like jelly. Samarie's hands weakened, as she heard the clown laugh.
"Choke on it th-!" She spat a mouthful of blood, lobbing it at the clown's face, her bikaku moving on the offensive.
It wrapped itself around the clown's neck, lifting him off the ground.
"My life, for my sanity, equivalent exchange!"
Samarie wouldn't die here.
The gun clattered to the floor, as the clown continued to choke. Both pairs of arms wrapped tight around the bikaku. Unfortunately, the adrenaline was powering through the pain like it didn't exist.
"Mend which is broken, Sylvian, wrap my heart in your embrace!" Samarie continued chanting, the bullet making it more difficult to breathe.
Her lung.
Faster damn it!
"Loving Whispers!"
Just as Samarie said those words, the damn bastard pulled out a third pistol! Shooting at her bikaku, the gun fire ripped off chunks of her appendage. The RC cells that constituted it reverting back into her body. All except for the section that had been torn from Samarie's body.
"Hahaha!" He cackled, picking up the detached segment with a manic glee in his eye.
Give that back!
Samarie's voice felt dry, her bikaku aching with a broken sense of pain, a heat pooling between her legs.
Not now!
Gro-goroth… A spell of Gro-goroth was the only option.
Her gut warned her, only bad things would come if the clown was able to take her bikaku.
Dropping the knife her hands came together, middle fingers crossed over their respective index fingers. She needed to do anything and everything that was necessary.
"Darker than black, darker than darkness, combine with my fury." She chanted, wheezing at every syllable.
The clown however, picked himself up, scampering off with the torn piece of her bikaku.
'Oh no you don't!'
"Nine Ropes. Polarized Light. Crow and Declaration. Between Front and Back!" Two spheres formed before her. One bore the intense pull of the sun, blue. While the other released a great presence, pushing her back like a great gust of wind, red.
The spell fraying the edges of her sanity. But she wasn't finished yet "Spiral Staircase. Rhinoceros Beetle. Rhinoceros Bettle…"
"Hollow Orb"
Blue and red combined, the forces of destruction and creation warring for dominance.
And at the center of that battle, stood the orb.
Destruction. Absolute annihilation made manifest.
It destroyed all matter that passed through it. Actively distorting space and time around itself to achieve its effects.
A single use spell that was aimed at the clown.
Weakness overcame Samarie.
But the spell's influence and her emotions were stronger than the flesh.
A flick of her finger, and it soared towards the clown.
Purple light swallowed the clown, The bastard barely avoiding total disintegration by turning back at the very last moment.
In the end, however, nobody would come back after taking a hit like that.
The clown laid slump, clutching at where the left side of its body used to be.
"Eat shit!" Samarie coughed, her head crashing against the floor. Painfully, might she add.
Her body felt like it raked over a bed of hot coals. The differing mentalities of Gro-goroth and Sylvian fighting for dominance in her mind.
It was only fortunate that her rage was winning out, or else the party would have found her in a rather compromised position.
Her filthy body had already been through enough. The last thing Samarie needed was Marina seeing her in that sort of way…
Though, she chuckled at the thought.
It wasn't like it made a difference. She was filthy either way, the ninth circle made sure of that. Samarie bore the scars that proved so.
"Lenora! Lenora, where are you!?"
The calls were getting closer and closer. The once distant shouts, now only a hall away.
Propping herself up against a way, Samarie turned her head towards the ruined hallway. A small smile crept up on her face, as her eye began to flutter.
It's up to you now, Marina.
___________