章 23: BROKEN CROWN I
"Aren't you kids meant to be in bed?"
The nurse asked with an alluring smile. Almost right after Deven raised her bow with her arrow placed and ready to fire.
"She's waiting on your call."
The nurse said as she turned to Makima with a playful gaze. Makima held the blonde beauty's eyes for a while before she raised her hand, gesturing for Deven to drop her bow.
The red-haired hesitated for a bit as she alternated her gaze between Makima and the gorgeous nurse.
"She's been in the manor all this time. We can't trust her."
"Excellent observation."
The nurse grinned, only further irritating the red-haired.
"Drop the bow Deven. She could've attacked right from the moment we left the mansion… I'm not trusting her. But let's not be rash."
Makima said as she turned to Deven.
"And besides… she's wounded."
Makima added. She wasn't wrong the nurse had lost an arm, and a deep burn seemed to occupy a large part of her torso.
The nurse's smile only widened.
"Do not delude yourself into believing you can stop me regardless… the calamity is quite far away."
Just as she said that the earth trembled, they all looked off into the distance to see bright red lights shooting off in different directions. The shock wave shook the trees. But Makima and the nurse still had their feet planted on the branches they stood on. Deven not so much.
"How much control do you have over that thing?"
The nurse asked as she leaned on her other leg.
"Enough to strike a deal."
Makima answered.
"The agreement was that you'd bring him… human."
"And I was promised safe passage to the
tunnels."
Makima snapped back.
"I apologize. The boss can be quite… temperamental."
The nurse said and Makima's frown deepened.
"Fine. Let me lead through the tunnels. Then we… negotiate."
With that, the nurse leapt off to the next branch, then turned to say;
"Try to keep up."
"I don't like this Makima."
Deven said as she peered at the nurse.
"Neither do I. But this is the only way to Diane. We said we'll do whatever it took."
"I can hardly see handing over a nuclear bomb to the enemy as moral."
With that, Deven leapt into the next branch with Makima following closely behind her.
She watched Deven as she ran on trees. Albeit much slower her form remained remarkable. Of course, it was only fitting. She had undergone gruesome training right from birth at least until her clan was executed.
The earth still trembled every now and again. To be honest, Makima was quite stunned that the Paladin Faux could actually survive this long.
'That man truly is a menace.'
The government had to know what they were doing to send him.
But did he come alone?
As she wondered Makima could see horrid abominations strolling to the north in eerie harmony. Strangely enough, there were some knights amongst them, lost in mind.
Deven saw them too, her eyes seemed to water a bit at the sight.
It was obvious they were all marching to the orphanage.
'Damn it.'
All this was done so that they could keep the fighting away from the orphanage. But by the looks of it, they had failed to do so…
To be honest she expected worse given the long list of casualties this terror group was known to cull on every one of their expeditions.
The ivory clan knew this, which was why they had decided against a direct confrontation the moment they received a letter instructing them to hand over the ill-borns they had in their possession.
When they refused Diane was immediately kidnapped, right under the government's nose, and this was over a year ago. The government managed to cover it up, only tightening their security around the orphanage as a method of securing the Calamity Cas.
"So we leave the moment we have her?"
Deven asked.
Makima was quiet for a while of course it couldn't be that easy but she nodded regardless.
The Ivory clan had been set up badly. Faux just saw her which wasn't going to help. This could be what started the war all the great houses have been starving for, and if they intended to win, they needed bigger guns.
"Where almost there."
The nurse said as she ran a couple of meters before them.
Soon all three of them were standing before a massive metal maw that his impenetrable darkness. The tunnel was grand and unyielding even against the blistering cold of the Torn mountains.
"Stay close."
The nurse echoed as she walked into the darkness. Makima and Deven followed right after.
The flames that crowned Makima's head bathed them in a bit of light. Much to Devens dismay, now she had a good look at the almost titanic abominations that slumbered within the darkness.
Their vile presence bathed the entire metal tube making it incredibly hard to breathe. Still, they continued forward knowing very well that the creatures won't attack them.
They were asleep, and the moment they woke they would be nothing but puppets. So all they had to do was not piss off who held their strings.
Arghhhhhh!
The earth shook again as the Calamity shrieked far off in the distance.
Makima then came to a halt staring right at the metal floor.
"What? Is it losing, or are you?"
The nurse asked, her sinister grin illuminated by the pink flame that hovered above Makima's head.
"No. He just needs a little help."
Just then the flaming arc that crowned her head, added another flaming arc. Now almost half her head had a partial crown hovering above it.
Her eyes shone a bright purple, as she outstretched her hand and whispered;
"Let me help you."
Both the nurse and Deven watched her from the side and soon they were walking deeper into the cave.
The deeper they went the stranger the path became. Crisis had laid at the entrance of the tunnel but the deeper they went the more powerful the creatures that slumbered.
There were Minor Disasters with cores that burned with red Calamitous Will. They were preparing to rank up to Dark Disasters.
"How is this even possible?"
Deven worded as she stared at these terrifying creatures that could easily split her in two if they pleased, and they often did.
She glanced at Makima and she only stared back at the nurse.
"What exactly do you want?"
This looked like it was beyond just capturing the few ill-borns that were in the orphanage.
"Just a contingency if we don't get what we want is all."
The nurse answered not even bothering to turn and face Makima.
"And what exactly do you want."
Deven asked her hand itching to grab onto her bow and arrow.
"… whatever he wants."
The nurse answered with little amusement.
Deven only stared at Makima with questioning eyes.
"And right now what he wants are the over seven ill-borns that's being held in that manor."
The nurse said as they continued to follow her deeper.
Hearing all that did little to move Makima. Her clan couldn't possibly fear just a handle full of ill-borns. And the nurse and whoever she worked for was well aware of that.
Makima looked around the tunnel and noticed that the deeper they went the more the tunnel seemed to be overrun by glowing red obsidian rock.
Of course, she knew it could only be because red Calamitous Will had a way of influencing the world around it. Obsidian was possibly the only thing on earth that could absorb and harness Will. Often times the Will would take a mind of its own and this would be the result. That was how the other creatures were trying to evolve by absorbing the Will in the stone.
Soon they were at the heart of the base, and the sight of it was truly appalling and terribly grotesque.
This part of the base had a massive centre that seemed to be used as a testing sight. What they had been testing was a huge chunk of the obsidian stone that peeked out of the exposed mountain at the centre. It was like the entire base had been built around this stone.
The glass panels circling it were most likely used for observations a long time ago now they lay desolate and forlorn.
Makima could see the missing children kneeling at the centre platform. What made this sight so revolting was the white web-like tendrils that latched onto every part of the base including the obsidian stone at the center.
The webs were all connected to a strange bubble that lay right underneath the obsidian stone. On closer look, the bubble looked more like a huge blob of flesh. It rolled and pulsed with red energy. It looked like a giant baby with the bubble serving as its massive head, an abnormally small torso and even shorter arms.
It had countless eyes that stuck to its hide and a mouth hidden somewhere on its forehead. Black scanty hair hovered behind it and latched onto the creature's large head. Its small hands are almost coming together held right at the base of its abdomen as if it holding something.
"Diane."
Deven whispered as she stared at the floating creature.
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