Chương 10: Chapter 10: Captive Bride
I knew something was wrong when I heard Charlotte scream. I flicked a knife into another clone before porting over to their direction. Charlotte stood, her rapier deflecting dozens of blades with precision. Her body was covered in a glowing golden haze of geist. Nozomi lay behind her, several daggers stuck in her chest like a porcupine. A growing pool of blood, and the shallow wheezing breaths she gave told me that she didn't have much time.
"Charlotte what happened!?" Even as I asked my hands got to work channeling geist in my palms. A dark viscous goo covered them as I applied it to where the blades met flesh. When applied the goo hardened like ebony cement, my attempt to stem blood flow worked better than I expected.
"We reached our targets but they were all in the same spot, and this girl attacked Nozomi!" Charlotte sounded genuinely worried about the older woman, and I couldn't help but voice my surprise.
"When did you begin to care about Nozomi so much?" I asked as I gently lifted the unconscious woman in my arms. Her already pale skin had turned deathly white at the loss of blood. The only color on her face was her blood-stained lips.
"I don't care for her you dolt! She still hasn't held up her end of the bargain to be your sex slave so she can't die!" I couldn't genuinely tell if that was the tsundere talking or the goudere, maybe both?
"S-sex slave?" The little girl standing in front of us stuttered those words as her pupils shook, her body tensing like a spring.
"Yes, Garridan is a beast in bed and when it comes to his sexual appetite he's insatiable. I plan on letting him use this woman as a fleshlight or an onahole as the Japanese call it." Charlotte's words seemed to break the poor girl as she leveled bloodshot eyes at me. Her breath came out in ragged gasps and the blades floating in the air shuddered like they were held under a white-knuckle grip.
"Die." Over fifty blades descended on me and the unconscious Nozomi. Projecting the image of a wall of shadow rising from the ground I watched as the blades stuck into it like a thumb tack through paper. The steel blades shuddered as they tried pulling out of the solidified wall.
"Die." The auditorium shuddered as the metal beams holding it up dangerously shook. She planned on bringing the whole damn place down! My eyes looked out at all the unconscious bodies and realized if I didn't do anything everyone of them would be crushed.
Gritting my teeth I put every ounce of geist I had in this one move. My shadow wriggled, a velvet carpet of umbral darkness spread out from every unconscious student. The hall darkened as [Shadow Portal] filled the chamber.
The next moment seemed to happen in slow motion as Charlotte was tackled by the pink haired girl pulling her away from the portal forming at her feet. I could only watch in horror as I was sucked into my shadow with no way to reverse course, and Charlotte was left behind. The last sight I saw was the smug girl's victorious grin as she held a struggling Charlotte. Her body shimmered as they both disappeared.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Something broke.
***
(Charlotte Kraus POV):
"Where are we?" I asked, its not like I could fight back now. Metal bands pinned my arms and legs together, and to make it worse I was outnumbered three to one.
"Kane-chan is this the girl you're into? She seems kind of... small? I thought you'd like big-breasted onee-chans like me and Ibaraki." Shuten-dōji took another swig from her gourd and spoke her insensitive drivel. I'm not small, I'm petite.
"Knock it off Shu-chan you're embarrassing poor Kane. And to answer your question dear we're home, little Kane-chan can't wait to get lovey-dovey with you after all." Ah, this girl is crazy.
"Uhm, Kane-san was it, have we met before? You say you love me but I don't believe we've ever met." My words had Ibaraki and Shuten-dōji leaning in to hear as well. Kane-chan gave a bashful smile before saying words that made no sense.
"I'm originally from another world, and in that world you're a character in a popular manga there. Ever since I seen you drawn on the panel I've been in love. Your pretty blond hair and petite heart-shaped face make my heart go doki-doki! I could stare into those violet eyes of yours all day and your little tsun-tsun personality is a total turn-on! Everything about you is perfect!" Is this what I looked like when I told Garridan I loved him? God, I hope not, that would be so embarrassing!
"Ugh there she goes again saying weird shit."
"Tch, stop it Shu-chan your being mean."
"Oh put a sock in it Ibaraki, you know what I'm right!" Their bickering continued and I found myself tuning them out. Kane-san's face was blank and the embarrassment she radiated felt overwhelming. I may have felt just a tad bit bad for her if she wasn't a psycho bitch who kidnapped me away from my fiancee.
"Charlotte, lets go." She spoke as her power lifted me up by my metal bands. Her steps took her deeper into the grey-stone cave as I floated behind her. The tunnel grew narrower as we walked, her steps echoing around us the like the sound of thunder. Glowing red crystals acted as the only source of light as we made our way deeper into the cavern, brick and carved stone now replacing the natural cave face.
At the end of the cavern and to the left and right there was a black iron door one each side. Both of them were covered in dozens of locks that had been haphazardly placed there. Inside the left walls cell sat an emaciated husk, long brown hair draped over his face. From behind that curtain of hair, scared eyes peaked at the two of them before cowering away at the sight of Kane.
"Don't mind him Charlotte, he's a rotten man." Her words were whispered like how a middle-aged housewife would talk about gossip. Her smile only grew as she saw my reaction to the door opening on the right.
Inside was a perfect replica of my old room. Every framed photo from elementary all the way up to high school were there on the walls in the exact place I hung them. Conspicuously absent were photos of my days in the exorcist corp, those ones of me standing shyly next to Garridan. She even had the quilt my mother made for me when I was a baby!
"So, what do you think?" She looked proud, her stalking knowledge of me an achievement of her devotion.
"H-how, why? I don't even know you much less feel anything toward you but hate! So why are you doing this to me!?" My breath grew ragged as I screamed at her, my mind reeling from the uncanny sight before me.
"Pfffthahahaha, it's simple silly. I love you."
***
I woke up in my bed, my chest heaving for breath and my heart thumping in my chest like a drum. I-it was just a bad dream, I told myself that as I curled into a ball. My hand fumbled underneath the pillow looking for the hidden photo of Garridan I kept under there. I sighed in relief as I felt the cool feel of the picture frame in my hand. Carefully like a priceless work of art I took the frame in my hands and brought it to my face. When I was scared about my job, lonely, or just having a bad day I indulged in staring at that photo.
"Hiiiik!" I choked on a scream at the sight, in my hand wasn't a framed photo of Garridan. No, the photo was of a familiar-looking girl with pink hair. Instead of Garridans strong tan arms hugging me, it was Kane's slender porcelain arms around my neck. They both had the same goofy smiles on their face, but Kane stared back at the camera with different eyes. Crimson orbs looked at me with a cloying love, a sickly sweet thing bordering on madness. It wasn't a nightmare, no it was my new life.
Garridan help me.
***
I could feel Charlotte's mark from underneath me. Wings made of pure darkness kept me airborne as I looked down on the mountain cave like a vengeful god. On the tip of my finger rested a little black orb, light seemed to warp around it. The air hissed as it was sucked into the void.
I now knew what held me back, what got Charlotte kidnapped and Nozomi nearly killed. I tried playing with restraint, riding on my high horse claiming that I could beat the 'game' as a F2P. I was wrong, I can't play by the rules when the game was rigged from the damn start. So if that is the case then I'll simply have to look cool while cheating. I can't lose her, and I won't let anyone hurt them.
The little bead of darkness descended on the mountain like a drop of rain. As it fell like a snowball down a hill it grew becoming larger and larger until eventually the mountain was covered in it's shadow.
"[Shadow Portal]!"
The mountain disappeared and I along with it.
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