Reborn as a Fire Mage!, page 45
Piper struggled to stay awake as she just sat in the dark forest. There hadn’t been a fiend since the girls left. She pulled out a canteen of fresh water and downed it all in seconds. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until she drank. Her stomach rumbled as well, so she pulled out a snack from her pouch and devoured it. She heard some movement in the hole. Piper readied her plasma rifle and waited for its head to pop up. Suddenly something long swung over the side and grabbed her steel lower leg. She was in such shock that she froze, and she could not act. She had no idea what was happening. What was this thing that shot out of the hole?
It didn’t matter what it was; it was pulling her toward the deep, dark abyss. She shot at what had held her, but it didn’t tear the skin. It had to be extremely tough skin to hold up to a point black plasma round. She had to drop the weapon so she could grab things with both hands. Piper frantically tried to find something that she could hold on to to keep her from falling into the hole. It was of no use. There was nothing in her reach that would help her. There were small eyes scattered all over the stone flesh arm or tentacle, she didn’t know which. It was a small blessing that the creature grabbed her steel lower leg, otherwise she’d be in terrible pain. The tentacle of the creature had small barbs that would have pierced her flesh. It would have torn her as she was pulled violently into the hole. Her legs were dangling into nothingness. In a second or two, she would fall into the darkness. She was going to die.
Chapter Seventeen
A man in a long white robe sauntered with both hands behind his back into the chamber that contained our ridiculous glass cell. He stood around 6 feet tall with long platinum hair tied into a ponytail. He had light blue eyes and was clean shaven. He had a pleasant expression on his face, which was odd considering how offensive I was in the microphone.
“Welcome to Hag. I trust your accommodations are comfortable. Yes?”
“Yeah, they’re just swell,” I replied smugly.
“What brings you to my city?”
I shrugged. “We’re just passing through, minding our own business. The douche canoe in the other room stopped us for no reason, and here we are.”
“You have mutants with you.”
“And?”
“Murkywater is a holy place. Mutants are exceedingly unholy and you are tainting our hallowed grounds with your mutant slaves.”
“Ron, just let us go and will kindly pass on through.”
The Biologist’s expression changed quickly to enraged. “You will not refer to me by that name.”
“Okay, Mr. Bruise. Does that work?”
Ron gnashed his teeth then turned to the Terror Force behind him. “Take these vermin to the Cleansing Room.”
“Yes sir, we’ll be happy to,” the officer said smugly.
“Mason, I have no desire to go to this Cleansing Room,” Scarlett whispered.
“Maybe it's like a bathroom, and I can finally take a piss,” Lola interjected.
Anna’s eye was wide, and I saw a bead of sweat creep down her cheek. “I’ve heard of the Cleansing Room. It’s where they torture people. We need to go now.”
Lola gasped. “Torture? Fuck that, I’m getting out of these cuffs with my divine blade.”
I smelled something odd, and I coughed. They were injecting some kind of gas into the room. I was such an idiot for letting this go on for so long. Before I could cast any kind of spell, I was out.
When I opened my eyes, I was strapped to a cold examination table staring at fluorescent lights on the ceiling. “Lola, Scarlett, Anna!”
“Aww, you called my name first.”
“Lola, everyone knows you’re the favorite. You don’t have to remind us,” Scarlett growled.
“Girls, this is hardly the time. We’re strapped to tables in a torture room. Where’s Anna?”
“She’s right beside you,” Scarlett directed.
I turned my head to see the blue-haired girl lying in restraints. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little woozy from the gas.”
I banged my head against the table three times. “I’m sorry. My little plan was idiotic.”
“I agree,” Scarlett hissed.
“I love you, Mason, but yeah,” Lola added.
The heavy door opened, and The Biologist waltzed into the room with a huge smile on his face. It was easy to see that he loved hurting people and he couldn’t wait to hurt all of us… me especially. “Welcome, welcome, to the Cleansing Room. It is here you will be purified by pain and I will cleanse your soul. Now, please say hello to my associates,” Ron motioned toward a couple of guys from the Terror Force bringing a large cart into the room. They removed the lid, and the cart was covered with all kinds of shiny metal instruments designed to inflict the maximum level of pain on a human body.
Lola looked at me with beckoning eyes and mouthed, “Do something.”
Scarlett explained what she was feeling perfectly by the look of disgust on her face.
I decided to cast a spell that I designed the other day. I’d not placed it into action before, but this was the time. “Flaming Fred Sanford!”
At the other end of the chamber, a puddle of lava on the floor molded itself into a flaming figure. I couldn’t believe what was about to happen. There’s no way that I had the power to create a flaming Redd Foxx best known for his TV role, Fred Sanford. Everyone’s eyes were wide and locked on what was appearing. “Holy shit, it’s him.”
Fred winked at me and wobbled over to the closest Terror Force minion and threw a fiery haymaker that caused his head to crack open. Blood and brain matter splattered on the white walls as his corpse dropped to the floor. Flaming, Fred turned toward the other minion and waved him over. “Come over here, dummy! I’ll knock out everyone of your teeth!”
The Terror Force man dropped his club and held his hands up. Fred ignored the surrender and punched him in the stomach, shattering his ribs. Then the old junkyard man took his head off with a flaming uppercut, launching the man’s decapitated head into the ceiling.
“What sorcery is this?” shouted The Biologist, “What the hell is going on?”
“My fist upside your head is what’s going on right now, dummy!” Flaming Fred Sanford responded as he slowly limped toward his prey.
The Biologist picked up a steel club dropped by one of his henchmen and smacked Flaming Fred as hard as he could. The engulfed Fred Sanford immediately grabbed his chest and held one hand in the air, “I've never had pains like this before! Oh, this is the worst one I've ever had, Mason! Oh, it's the worst one! This is the big one! I'm dying! You hear that, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join you, honey!” Fred had fought valiantly, but that strike to the flaming skull was too much for him.
“My turn,” I growled as engulfed my body in flames, melting all the restraints and achieving a dramatic entrance into battle.
Ron, shaken from his Redd Foxx encounter, fell to his knees when he saw me ignite and lift from the table. He dropped his club onto the concrete floor and rolled under Lola’s torture table.
“Mason! Cut the flames off. You’re going to melt us. It’s fucking hot!” Lola shouted.
I returned to my normal form and gave Lola an apologetic grin. “Sorry, I didn’t think that far ahead.”
Lola turned to Scarlett. “Do I still have my eyebrows? Please say yes.”
Scarlett squinted. “More or less.”
“More or less? What the hell does that mean?”
Ron was now in tears. “Please, spare me. I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to go through with it. I just wanted to scare you. That’s all.”
“You, me, and everyone in this room knows that is bullshit. You were giddy at the thoughts of using your little tool box over there on us.”
“No, I’d never do that. Never.”
I backhanded the pitiful excuse for a man, sending one of his perfect white teeth flying to the other side of the chamber.
I walked to each of my ladies and removed their restraints. Anna walked slowly toward Ron and stood over him, staring with her one eye. He was fortunate she couldn’t fire a laser out of that eye or she would have split him right down the middle. “What would you have done with me or the other two women? Would you have put us into your secret brothels?”
“We don’t have any brothels in this city? Only a fucking mutant would come up with that.”
Anna kicked Ron in the nuts with ferocity, and he fell flat on his face from the intense pain. “You’re a fucking liar!”
“Remind me to never piss off Anna. Goddamn, that was a vicious nut kick,” I chuckled as I put my arm around the blue-eyed beauty.
“I’m sorry, Mason. I lost control. I’m embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. This guy deserved a brutal kick to the nuts. Humanity thanks you for giving him one.”
Suddenly, Ron grabbed my foot and squeezed. “What are you going to do with me?”
“There is something we need from you, but the only way to get it is to kill you, unfortunately,” I replied nonchalantly.
“What is it? I’ll pay you anything you want. This is the richest town in all of Florida. This can all be yours if you spare me.”
“Money isn’t our goal,” I replied.
Lola held up her hand like she wanted to be called on in class. “Where is all that money at? Is it here?”
I made a terribly stinky stink face and shook my head at the pretty cat girl. She mouthed for me to shut up and go with it. I didn’t know what Lola’s end game was, but I decided to let this play out.
“Yes, yes, now you’re talking. We have a vault inside the building here. I can open it for you and you can have it all. You let me live and I’ll open the vault. Do we have a deal?”
Lola’s sudden interest in the psychopath’s cash reserves took aback Anna, but Lola whispered something in her ear that appeased her concerns. Ron stood gingerly and led us through the maze of hallways deep in the Hag until we reached a vault door right out of a Duck Tales episode.
“Here it is. You’ll let me go now. Right?”
“No, dumbass. Open the door!” Lola shouted.
I was confident that I could use my magic to melt whatever locking mechanism it had. When it came down to it, I was certain I could cut a doorway right through this steel. However, if Ron would just open it, a lot of undesirable manual labor would no longer be required of me.
“Fine, I have to remove my robe. I’m not grabbing for a weapon.”
I nodded, then he untied his robe and dropped the white linen to the floor. It was easy to see that the man took care of himself and had good food available.
“Where’s the key?” I asked.
Ron gulped loudly. “I need a knife.”
All four of us said “huh” simultaneously, then looked at each other and back to Mr. Bruise.
I locked eyes with the half naked man and raised my left brow. “Are you high? What makes you think I’m going to give you something you can kill us with?”
“I’m not going to kill you. I need it to get to the key.” Ron was as white as a ghost. There was something about this key that had him especially uneasy.
I held out my hand to Scarlett. “Let me borrow your dagger.”
“Are you insane? I’m not giving this monster a bladed weapon.”
“I’m not saying give it to him. I’m asking you to give it to me.”
Lola chimed in the conversation that she wasn’t a part of. “Yeah, Mason. We’re not stupid. We’re looking out for you, actually.”
“Give me the damn dagger!” I snapped and immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry I snapped. We’re just pressed for time. Please give me the dagger.”
Scarlett clenched her fists and growled. “Here you go. Don’t make me regret this shit.”
“Thank you. Now, was that so hard?”
“Ron, I’m going to hand you this. If you try to use it on me or these ladies, I’ll skin you alive with it. You got it?”
“Yes,” Ron nodded slowly, still white as a ghost. I extended the hilt toward the man, and he grasped it slowly. I expected him to slash or stab me once the knife was in his possession, but he did no such thing.
Ron took a deep breath and began cutting his abdomen just below the belly button.
I reached out my hand toward the dagger. “What the hell are you doing?”
Ron backed away from my hand and continued to cut. There was a three-inch laceration gushing blood into his crotch. He dropped the dagger on the floor, causing a loud echo of the impact in the hallway we had traversed. Ron inserted his index finger and thumb inside the wound and began digging for something. Ron screamed in agony as he moved his fingers inside his flesh. After a few seconds of searching, Ron found what he was looking for. He pulled out his bloody fingers to reveal a shiny silver key. Ron handed me the nasty key and puked on the floor, narrowly missing Lola’s boots. “Holy shit, that was close. Watch where you vomit, you creep.”
Ron put pressure on the wound with the palm of his hand, then motioned to a keyhole at the center of the vault door. I inserted the gory key and turned it. Blood can’t be good for the locking mechanism. The large, heavy door suddenly released and began to slowly open inward.
“All of this is yours. Just let me go. I kept up my end of the bargain. I deserve to go.”
Anna scoffed. “You deserve to go? Is that supposed to be funny? Did you let your mutant captives go when they asked, or did you just kill them?”
Ron stayed silent and stared at the floor as his blood seeped through the cracks in his fingers. The death general’s legs were like rubber. He could barely stand up. I’ll give him some props. I’m not sure if I’d be able to cut myself open and dig around for a key. That was some Jigsaw movie type shit that happened right in front of my eyes.
The vault was full of money, precious stones, guns, ammo, and other kinds of random shit. There was no way to know how much all this was worth, but it had to be worth a shit load.
“Alright Lola, here is all the money and treasure that you wanted,” I announced sarcastically.
“I don’t want it. I just wanted the creep to show us where it was and open it up before we killed him. This way, people can take back whatever was stolen from them or just take it and do some good with it. I don’t know. It was just a thought.”
Anna hugged Lola and kissed her on top of the head. “It’s a great idea. You have such a big heart.”
Scarlett held up her hand to stop the conversation. “Where is the man?”
Ron had made a break for it while we had our backs turned toward him, looking in the vault. There wasn’t any need to panic. All we needed to do was to follow the fresh blood trail that he left behind from his removal of a foreign object surgery.
We found him quickly down a hallway close by. “You’ve got to admire his spunk.”
Scarlett walked quicker to catch up with him. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I heard the cat girl say that I was going to be killed. What do you expect me to do? I saw an opportunity to escape, and I took it. Are you too stupid to understand, you black horned mutant cunt?” Ron growled. He was past the point of begging for his life. He was one hundred percent into “fuck it” mode.
“Let’s just get the celestial key and go,” I demanded.
“I just gave you the fucking key!” Ron replied through gritted teeth.
Scarlett cast her rock sword spell and locked eyes with me. “May I?”
I nodded. “Yes, yes, you may.”
Scarlett spun her body around in a split second and sliced the death general’s head clean off with her sharp rock sword.
A blue key appeared directly in front of me after the decapitation fun.
You have obtained the third celestial key by defeating the death general, Ron Bruise, The Biologist!
* * *
You have one more key to get before you can free Boz and Rez! You must travel to the Magic Kingdom to battle the evil Pandora!
Chapter Eighteen
Piper’s grip on the side of the abyss gave way. She fell into nothingness for a couple of seconds before the surrounding tentacle steel leg tightened and halted her. She screamed when she saw the enormous fiend clenching the side of the hole staring down at her. It was the same monster that they saw in the drone’s camera. The terrifying fiend queen was the size of their Apache helicopter. The tentacles sprung from the beast’s back. They didn’t serve as its arms as legs, only an accessory of sorts. The creature used razor-sharp claws on its hands and feet to attach itself to the side of the abyss. The face of the creature looked like that of a spider. It had countless red eyes and a gruesomely fanged mouth that dripped green fluid. Some of this goop dripped on Piper’s prosthetic leg, and the Lelarian steel sizzled. It was some kind of acid venom. The acid wasn’t strong enough to eat through the steel. If the acid would have landed on flesh, the pain and trauma would have been terrible.
Piper pulled up her interface and flipped through her inventory. She wanted to use the plasma rifle, but she dropped the one she had while she was being dragged into the hole. It was just as well, because she would need a free hand to climb. She equipped the only plasma pistol she had in her inventory and pointed the weapon at the creature. The queen screeched and slammed Piper into the wall. The impact was incredible, and she struggled to stay conscious. The plasma pistol she equipped was now plummeting toward the dark oblivion below. “Fuck!”
Piper’s communicator alerted her and Selene spoke. “Piper? Where did you go? We’re back with the modified drones. Let’s get this done. Are you taking a piss or something?”
“Help! The queen has pulled me into the hole. She has a tentacle wrapped around my leg. It’s the only thing keeping me from falling to my death right now.”
Piper heard screams from above and she saw Hestia, and Selene’s heads peeking into the hole. The queen slung two more tentacles toward the girls. Piper was terrified it would pull them into the hole with her. She heard drone gunfire a second later, followed by shrieks from the ugly monster. More tentacles erupted from its back and blasted out of the hole. The gun fire began as did the shrieks. Dark red blood rained from the tentacle stumps and covered the cat girl’s body. Piper held her breath, expecting the blood to begin eating into her flesh, but the blood didn’t have the same terrifying properties. The smell of the blood was stomach churning, but it was a better alternative than having her flesh slowly melted. Piper was attached to the queen’s only remaining tentacle. Suddenly, the ass of the queen opened and a disgusting fiend slipped out slowly headfirst. The newborn fiend locked eyes with Piper and growled and snarl. It wanted the pretty catgirl to be its first meal. Gravity finally won, and the newborn fiend fell directly toward the dangling Piper. She could swing herself just in time to dodge the free-falling monster. Piper could not escape without some damage. The sharp claw on the fiend’s left arm ripped a chunk of flesh from Piper’s back. It felt like it had cut her with a red hot poker. She felt the warm pouring from the wound. “Fuck, that hurts!”
