บท 25: Chapter 25: Determination Rising?
"Where are the other two?" Lucius questioned.
He found himself standing in front of eight bloodied soldiers from the Celestine Empire. They all looked very distant, with hope stripped from their souls.
One of Lucius's soldiers approached. "The other two… Eehhh… had a very strong disagreement..." The soldier looked at the remaining eight, now understanding that there must've been a quarry. "the rest have already been executed per your order too."
"Fine. Eight will do."
The soldier took his leave.
Looking back at the remaining soldier, Lucius finally spoke to them.
"You, eight, understand our power. And the pointlessness of your foolish crusade. You will return to your ruler with a message."
Lucius noticed that the eight were avoiding any semblance of eye contact while they listened.
He continued. "Invade again. And your cities will burn, and your families smited. If your lord chooses to ignore my warning, they can expect nothing less than war once my claim has been settled on these lands."
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Am I understood," He asked sternly.
All soldiers affirmed their understanding.
Not long after, Azar arrived with a sack and something hefty in it. "My king. I've retrieved what you requested."
"Very good. Give it to those men."
Azar paced herself to the bloodied soldiers handing one of them the sack.
"What is this," The soldier asked.
"A gift for your Lord," Azar answered.
He opened it to find the head of their General in it in its same grotesque form as it was before. The sack was dropped, the soldier barfed upon realizing that they were to carry the head of their beloved general to their Lord.
"We've already prepared supplies for your journey back. Just make sure your superiors understand, loud and clear. Besides, another war wouldn't be the best option for your people after that last war crusade your empire divulged in."
With Lucius finally saying his piece, he takes his leave. "Pray we never meet again."
He left the group of devastated soldiers behind him with Azar following closely behind.
"Were you able to extract much information about those strange weapons last night?" Azar asked.
"Yes… Apparently these weapons come from a country called Gallock. A country of craftsmen with advanced technological advancements. They apparently have the power to turn fire into a plethora of colors and create explosions in the sky without the use of magic."
Lucius glanced at Azar. "Also, according to that soldier, these weapons are called Pipes. It's quite a silly name if you ask me. They're more like sticks that can channel fire and explosions."
An explosion suddenly rang out throughout the campsite catching everyone off guard. Everyone stopped as another explosion of fire erupted into the sky like a tornado!
Azar quickly calmed herself seeing Lucius' content and satisfied expression. "I almost forgot you wanted to have those weapons tested…"
It was as though the very sky itself had turned from a calm blue to a hellish red and orange.
"It's truly marvelous… But also very dangerous…"
"Very.... By the way, Your Majesty."
"Hmm?" Lucius glanced back.
"What would you have us do with the prisoner?" Azar inquired.
"We'll hold onto him a bit longer. Apparently that man also apprenticed there with one of the craftsmen that made these weapons. So he could be useful."
"Alright then shall we send the prisoner back to the castle to be looked after."
"Yes. and those Pipes too. We won't be needing those weapons." Lucius continued to trek closer to a nearby cliff. Azar followed closely behind.
"I can accompany the transport if you wish." Azar quickly stated,
Lucius peeked back at Azar. "No. Your place is needed here. The other men can handle the matter."
"Are you sure? What if the transport is ambush-"
Lucius now glared at Azar. She understood that there was no negotiating in this matter, so she immediately ceased.
"I… I understand. I'm sorry for pressing such a trivial thought on you." Azar gave a slight bow to Lucius, who softened his harsh gaze a little.
"It is an understandable concern. But I'm not so dull as to not take that possibility into account. Which is why they'll be escorted through the Pit. Despite the dangers in the Pit, it's far better there than having the confederate army claim these prizes"
Lucius now looked over a cliff side with an army of both undead confederate and celestine soldiers. He beamed with pride as he overlooked the horizon before him, ready to unleash a breed of warfare on their enemy.
"The worst case, we have to send a garrison to retrieve what we've lost after this war. But enough about this trifle. Let's get back to the fun part."
Azar, standing behind, agreed.
********
Kalika sat at the hall intersection between the corridor to her cell, the prison's hall and the dungeon corridor filled with deadly traps. She looked down the hall into the darkness. Her imagination, running wild with the possibilities.
"You've been coming here a lot lately. Is there a reason you spent your day here?" Tilus asked.
Disrupted, Kalika peeked to find Tilus standing beside her, looking concerned.
"I don't know. I felt like relaxing here…," Kalika turned her gaze back to the dark hall before her.
"The hall of a prison isn't a place a lady should relax."
"You were the one who told me to take a day to myself." she retorted.
"So, you decided to sit in front of a deadly hall of traps?"
A silence hung, very briefly. "Yes... because I felt like it." She continues to look down the hall before eventually deciding to finally get up with a sigh.
"Leaving?"
"Yes. Because I don't like to be lectured to," she said plainly.
Tilus just watched on as Kalika left. "Not in the mood to talk, huh…?"
Kalika returned to her prison cell to find Rhonda gathering her cleaning supplies, ready to leave. Upon seeing her, Rhonda dropped the supplies to bow respectfully to Kalika.
Kalika was used to seeing Rhonda like this, so she simply patted her head, this time petting her to a point where she almost messed up her hair.
Kalika quickly stopped, noticing that Rhonda's hair was now a mess and quickly apologized.
Despite being taken aback by Kalika's action, Rhonda didn't mind this unusual act. She savored the moment as Kalika moved to enter her cell.
With her hay stuffed bed in sight, Kalika, practically threw herself on it. Rhonda couldn't help but smile, seeing this. With nothing more to do, Rhonda opted to gather her cleaning utensils, leaving to continue her other maidly duties.
Laying on her bed Kalika's mind began to drift off. She felt the pulsing and the tingling under her skin, rhythmically dancing to the beat of her heart. she stared at the ceiling, taking in the rare peace in her cell, after all tomorrow she was to train more with Tilus.
She peeked up at her bangs to find that some of the strands in it had become white. It was a depressing sight to see and served only as a reminder of the passing of time.
"I wonder how long it'll be until I start getting wrinkles… It's only a matter of time..."
Kalika then felt her own face, finding it just as smooth as her hands. "How long has it been since I've seen my own face…? I probably won't even recognize myself if I look in the mirror…"
Looking at her hand much more closely, she noticed some strange small blue spots behind the thumb of her hand. "A bruise?"
Suddenly a loud clang rang out, alerting Kalika.
She shuddered upon seeing the three red demon ladies that had beaten her half to death before. They were all standing outside her cell. They all spoke in the demon's language amongst themselves looking back and forth at Kalika and then each other.
Feeling uncomfortable, Kalika backed herself into the furthest wall. Seeing this, one of them suddenly, one of them pointed to her, cackling about something with the other soon following suit.
\Not long after, a disoriented-looking prisoner was brought to them by another demon guard who looked just as disoriented.
The guard pushed the prisoner to the three women and in an instant, they surrounded him like vultures on a corpse. They all touched and rubbed the man's face and chest with their hands and long tails playfully, giggling and cackling among each other.
Daji, the grey-haired demon pushed him hard against Kalika's cell bars, she scratched and clawed at his face, leaving streaks of scars on his face and chest.
Kalika tried averting her eyes, but upon feeling something wet touch her, she felt control of her body being lost. her head turned back to the unsightly torture of the man as the other two join in scratching and clawing, even peeling the skiing from the man.
The man started to scream in pain as they tore at him. The very sight made Kalika sick to her stomach. as much as she wanted to turn away, she was unable to break free from whatever was controlling her very body.
Soon, they finished with the man, allowing him to fall on the ground, leaving behind blood on Kalika's prison bars. Daji flashed a sinister smile at Kalika speaking something to her in the demon language, most of it still incomprehensible.
Despite this language barrier, she understood that these cruel and vile women wanted to toy with her just like Lillian had. But it also became clear to her that these women were trying to get under her skin, just like Rakon would.
Kalika tried to remain strong in the face of these women, but it only further fueled them to laugh and make fun of her. a constant word being said that she could understand being, "Weak" and "Girl"
Valam, the demon with short black hair, bent to the man's head, listening. The other demon, Florin, asked something to her that was quickly affirmed by Valam.
Florin squealed like a giddy little girl as Valam pinched her finger, gushing a long rope of blood that she roped around the man's neck. She wasted little time dragging away the man with Florin and the demon guard following behind.
Kalika found herself shaking and clutching her hands, despite not knowing him, she felt a little bad about the torture he went through. She watched as a bloody trail was left behind. She tried to cease shaking and calm herself to no avail.
Daji giggled to herself, finally leaving. "<What a weak girl.>"
Kalka's eyes widened as she understood two words spoken from that woman.
An anger rose within Kalika, a frustration, a fear, a bitterness.
"I won't let them have their way with me…!"
Despite the rising anger within Kalika, she couldn't help but to hug her knees close to herself. She clutched herself tightly as she repeated herself. "I will not. I will not! I will not!!"
Just around the corner of her cell, Ek had been listening in on Kalika's rambling. He simply frowned as he listened to Kalika talking about hating demons. He promptly turned around to leave as she continued her rambling.
"What a joke," he said to himself.
The following days, Kalika trained much harder with Tilus's guidance. She pushed herself much harder than ever before. with each visit made by Rakon and those demon ladies served as a reminder of why she hated demons so.
********
"Hey They're going at it again!!" a prisoner yelled.
Prisoner's encircled Kalika and Tilus within the large arena. They were sparring and Kalika already had a few bruises on her face and shoulder with some scratches scattered throughout.
Kalika stood tall, determined and ready.
"Alright! Here I come!" Tilus shouted.
Tilus starts swinging punches. Kalika quickly dodged thee and blocked another before she got knocked down with a punch to the face.
"I think that's enough-"
"Again!" She interrupted. "I can keep going!"
"Alright. Fine." Tilus posed himself once more. Even more of the prisoners are gathered around, all to watch Kalika be beaten. Some of them even start to cheer her on to continue the fight.
Kalika posed herself ready to continue again. It was clear to everyone that she was already past her limit, with her heavy breathing and unstable footing.
Once again Tilus swung his fists, watching as Kalika dodge them.
Left Swing!
Block.
Right punch!
Dodge.
This time an uppercut!
It was almost perfectly timed, but she saw through this move, so she weaved her head back. This continued on and on. It was becoming more and more like a dance than an actual brawl or spar. Patterns within his moves were practically ingrained in her memory.
With a serious gaze she contemplated his next move seeing him reel back his arm. This time Tilus came in with a straight punch with his right hand. She dodged to his left only to be hit with a left jab.
Kalika fell to the ground, writhing from the pain. She tried getting back up, demanding another round from Tilus.
"No more. That's enough for today." Tilus offered a hand to Kalika, which she refused.
All the prisoners immediately realized that the show was over, most opting to leave as a few others stayed to watch.
"I can keep going! Let's go again!" she begged.
"I said that's enough! We've already gone fourteen times so you can afford to rest," Tilus said.
"What are you talking about!? I'm supposed to fight that demon next week. I can't afford to rest now!"
"Your plenty strong as it is now Kalika-"
"But this is a demon general." Kalika tensed up. She quickly stopped, trying to calm herself. "If I underestimate him, I'll just end up getting toyed with. And If I don't kill-"
Kalika scowled, clutching her hands. "I-if I'm not able to. Kill him… I'll just become a toy by those sick demons! I just know it."
"Alright. I understand. But right now, I need you to settle down. Listen, most men I trained in my days would still be stuck running laps around a field and doing push-ups, let alone sparring. Your body's already been conditioned from those years fighting in this arena."
Tilus approached Kalika, placing his hands on her shoulder and meeting her eyes. "Even if you lost your memories, those last ten years are still built into you. Have confidence in yourself."
Kalika averted her eyes, scowling. She forced her shoulder away from his grasp. "That's easy for you to say. I don't need to be lectured to. I'm leaving."
She left the arena, leaving behind Tilus. Emotions painted over one another as she walked past the same guards in the same empty prison corridors. She kept going until, finally reached the intersection of the prison hall, the corridor to her cell and the bobby trapped dungeon hall.
Kalika looked down the hall, mesmerized by the dark abyss past the flickering torches. She stepped on a pressure plate that instantly shot out spikes. She grasped the spike in their hand as it retracted back into the holes from whence, they came.
"Is this your favorite activity now?"
Kalika turned around with a blank stare and found Kel behind her.
"Again…" she thought.
Kel crossed his arms. "I've been hearing that you've been lingering around here a lot lately."
"I guess I like looking down here… But I was just passing by this time." Kalika soon after tried to leave.
Suddenly, a blade shot out, blocking her path. This caught her by surprise. Kalika looked back at Kel to find him more serious than before.
"What do you want?" Kalika begrudgingly asked.
"Ek has been acting weird for the past month, and I've got a hunch that it has something to do with you. In fact, things have started feeling off since you came back from those heroes." Kel cocked his head up a little, glaring at Kalika. "There's something going on and you know what it is, don't you?"
Kel glanced his sword facing its blade at Kalika. He inched it closer and closer to her as he approached her, scratching the wall carelessly in the process. In an instant his blade shrank to a dagger and he pointed the tip of it at Kalika's neck, keeping an arms length away from her.
"You are going to tell me everything you know about what's going on. you hear me."
Kalika pressed her neck.
"All of you demons are the same… You all do what you want, when you want to, to whoever or whatever it is!" Kalika clenched her teeth, frustrated and infuriated. Suddenly she grabbed his blood blade with her hand.
"I hate these demons! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!!"
Kalika brought her eyes onto Kel, glaring with absolute hatred. and just as she started to press her neck further to the dagger.
suddenly…
"Leave her alone!" Rhonda shouted, trying to ram into Kel.
Unfortunately for her, she ended up bouncing off of him instead,falling on her butt. This left both Kalika and Kel befuddled by her actions.
"Oi, oi. what is it now," Kel said.
"L-l-leave h-her alone!" Rhonda looked at Kel teary eyed.
Despite Rhonda wearing an eye patch, looking at her, Kel couldn't help but to find her cute. Especially with the position she was posing in, on the ground. He looked away blushing. He retracted his blood blade, putting it away.
Kel used this queue to finally leave."W-whatever. But next time we meet, I-I'll expect a straight answer from you Kalika."
Kalika stared at Kel until he was no longer in sight. "Dick."
With Kel gone, Kalika glanced back at Rhonda who gave a big mischievous grin, chuckling at her small victory.
Kalika couldn't help but to crack a smile herself. "Sly girl…"
As a small reward and a token of gratitude, Kalika gave Rhonda another pet on her head since she seemed to always like those.
"Thank you… Rhonda…:
Soon after, Rhonda became a lot more cheerful. It wasn't long before Rhonda noticed Kalika's hands bleed. As if by instinct, Rhonda attempted to use her succubus powers to heal her again.
Fortunately for Kalika she noticed this, swiping her hand away from her maid. Memories of those past incidents resurfacing. "No. No. No. I'm fine! You don't have to do anything else!"
Rhonda pouted. trying to use the power of her cuteness against Kalika, to little effect. Kalika flicked her on the head.
"No means no." Kalika sighed.
"The last thing I need is to feel weird again, especially if that creep shows up again."
Kalika looked back into the booby-trapped corridor and continued to look into the hall until Rhonda noticed. She tugged at Kalika's prisoner sleeves, breaking her from her stupor. Glancing back, she found Rhonda much more concerned. Her one pink eye glistened, it was almost hypnotizing to look at.
"You want to run away again, Don't you?"
Hearing this statement shocked Kalika. "Y-you too…?" Kalika clenched her fist, and her voice became more stern. "I don't plan on running away. I already have everything I need here…. A-a bed. Food. A-a… a…a…."
Kalika became silent. Rhonda gave a one sided hug to Kalika, to better comfort her. It wasn't long before Kalika broke away from Rhonda's grasp, walking back to her cell.
reaching her cell, she stopped. Rhonda continued to watch Kalika with worry. "I just need to follow through with that contract. After that I'm sure everything will be just fine. I'll be freed, and maybe I can get away from this castle… Until… Lily comes back…?"
A silence hung in the air, and Rhodna tried approaching Kalika. hearing her footsteps, Kalika spoke up once more. "I won't run away Rhonda… But I will escape. I'll do whatever it takes to see this through."
With those last words, Kalika closed her cell door behind her.
Rhonda could only look on, still concerned. After all, as a succubus, she could see Kalika's true emotions.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง