NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36: Deliverance.
Chapter 36: Deliverance.
The edges of my fog slipped past the outer walls of Happy Shrub.
Drinking in the raw emotions and contemplations of all those inside.
Like a broth absorbing the other ingredients in the soup.
Klin the gnome was feeling lazy.
He’d been up for four hours already, which meant he was due for a nap. Yet, not only was the nap being denied, he had been forced to patrol the outskirts of Happy Shrub once more once his shift was over.
‘Damn Bruxa. Thinking she’s so much better than the rest of us cause she’s a captain. Like that makes her invincible or something. Mot had been a captain too and that fact hadn’t saved him.’
Klin thought back to the day he’d heard the news.
At first, he’d thought it was a stupid prank. Probably orchestrated by Tulip. He’d even gone so far as to skewer one of the tall ones through the belly. To prove how weak and cowardly they were.
How could one of them kill Mot?
But it hadn’t been a prank. Worse, the tall that killed Mot took his dagger too. One of the three treasures their king had ordered them to protect.
Klin had, of course, volunteered for a recovery mission the moment the heard the news.
Whoever managed to get the blade back could expect a handsome reward from the king. Maybe even a promotion to captain.
He’d been denied and that rejection had infuriated him at the time. Though, perhaps it was a blessing. Many, many others had gone missing trying to get his dagger back.
Never to be seen or heard from again.
Bruxa had come close, but her patrols had failed to kill the tall one, despite having him cornered.
‘Stupid cow.’ Klin thought to himself. ‘None of this nonsense would he happening if I was captain. I’d send out the boys with prisoners and use them as meat shields. The tall ones were stupid like that. They’d jump into a fire for other tall ones, even when they didn’t have anything to gain from it. Not taking advantage of that weakness was the same as leaving food on the table.’
He leaned against one of the posts and started pecking at his teeth. Trying to get that bit of meat out from between his molars.
Gur the gnome was feeling peckish.
Hunting parties had been diverted as of late. Bruxa wanted every available body out there. Looking for Mot’s dagger.
That meant less meat and shrooms to go around.
Gur scratched his overflowing belly.
‘Man, this is awful. There isn’t even enough to food left to toy with the tall ones anymore. Its no fun when you can’t throw morsels at them and let them fight over the scraps. All they do now is stare. All the fun’s been sucked out.’
He fondly recalled how some of the bigger ones would brutalize the others, only to turn around and give the food to the smaller ones.
Gur thought it was the funniest thing ever.
Especially because those tall ones would then starve and the ones they beat would beat them in turn a few hours later.
It was like an intricate game where you could find fun no matter what happened.
But that time was done.
Now they all starved together.
Gur could still get a few reactions by eating his meals in front of their cages, but his own portions had diminished considerably and he wasn’t patient enough to pace himself.
‘Meh. I’m sure its only temporary.’ He mused. ‘Bruxa will find the tall one she’s been looking for and get Mot’s dagger back. Its only a matter of time.’
Lon the gnome was eager for his shift to end so he could go back to poking the tall people with his spear.
He didn’t like killing them, only tickling them a little bit.
That way, they could heal up and still be available for more tickling later.
The others like to tickle them too, but Lon was different.
He considered himself a connoisseur.
Always looking for new and innovative ways to tickle the tall ones.
Through his experiments, he’d found out that learning the tall ones’ names was integral to proper tickling.
Lon could observe them and find out who liked who. Which ones were the most selfish and which ones were generous. He could listen and find out who among the tall ones would betray the rest. Trading secrets for a little bit of food here and there.
With a little bit of prodding, he could also get the tall ones to hurt each other. All he needed to do was give them a choice. He would tickle three of them for a long time if no one stepped up or he would only tickle one of them for a very long time if they stepped up.
The resulting brawls were the most hilarious thing Lon could recall.
The others didn’t bother, so they missed out on a whole world of fun.
‘More fool them.’ Lon thought smugly. ‘I’m getting twice as much fun than any of my mates in half the time. They fear me more than the others too. They flinch when they see me. More than when they see the others.’
There were still a few that didn’t make him laugh.
Prudence, Kaito, Olga, Agnes, Park, Esmeralda.
He would take his time with them too.
It would make their fear all the more delectable.
Lon was lost in his own musings, when he started hearing a different sound.
His ears perked up and his conical head tilted forward.
“Do you hear that?” He asked the two beside him.
“No. I don’t hear anything.” Klin answered.
“Wait, I hear it too.” Gur said. Tilting his head forward as well. “It sounds like teeth. Gnashing against each other.”
Klin stood at attention. No longer lounging.
“Where’s it coming from?”
“That’s the thing.” Gur responded, sounding confused. “I think I hear it here. Like, right here. Next to me. Its coming closer. Like someone’s whispering right behind my ear.”
“Bruxa?”
“Why would she be distracting us like this instead of ordering us about?”
Lon shrugged.
“I don’t know. Why does that cow do anythi….”
All three seized up.
Shivering uncontrollably.
All three tried to scream as fishhooks entered through their eyes and wound their way along their bodies.
Serrated edges digging deep into flesh that was not flesh. Impaling sections of their minds, or their very spirits.
And twisting.
All three were soon bleeding from their orifices, silently begging for an end to the pain.
Then they felt joy.
Ecstasy through loyalty.
“Hey Lon! Come see this! One of the tall freaks is weeping! We caught their kid a few hours ago and you wouldn’t believe the reaction we got out of her!”
The speaker failed to react in time.
Lon’s spear found his throat.
Through my puppet’s eyes, I could see the speaker’s reaction.
His eyes had bulged outwards in incredulity while his mouth gaped open.
A twitch sent blood up his windpipe and out his lips.
He gurgled something unintelligible. Perhaps asking why?
His eyes lost their light before he got an answer.
Klin and Gur opened the gate, letting in a wave of skittering chitin.
Thousands upon thousands of centipedes crawling as one.
A legion of heartbeats pumping blood into needle-like legs and crushing, envenomed pincers.
I was looking through each and every one of their antennas.
Feeling the weight of the savage charge along my skin.
I moved closer and the edges of my fog moved with me.
Five more gnomes joined my cause.
Then ten.
Then thirty.
Only when I felt the presence of a significantly stronger individual did anything change.
“To arms! We’re under attack! Check the gates!”
“Shut up Bruxa! I’m trying to sleep!”
Bruxa choked on her words when I commanded her to be quiet. To her credit, she put up a struggle. Trying to reach out with [Friendship] as Mot had before her. It didn’t work.
She had neither the range, nor the potency to shrug off my assault.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 17 has grown to [Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 18
‘Really? From this lot? I got nothing from the beetle and it was a higher level. Well, whatever. Maybe I was close to another threshold and this sent me over the top.’
The other gnome she’d been arguing with panicked upon seeing her. Dread and incredulity going hand in hand as the expected rebuke failed to manifest.
Or maybe it was the sight of Bruxa helplessly clawing out her eyes. Who knows.
‘I’m a good person. I’m a good person. They had this coming to them. They’re murderers and torturers. This is what they deserve. I’m a good person.’
‘Yeah! Go Sully!’
‘Thank you, Buddy. I really appreciate you.’
A few fought. Mounting ants or letting loose great gouts of flame at their turned compatriots.
Those efforts resulted in them culling their own, while the centipedes closed in behind them.
There was biting then. So much biting. Each ant could overpower ten centipedes by itself and their prowess was greatly improved by their riders. Those elite forces showering pests with fire, ice and lightning.
It wasn’t anywhere near enough. The first wave was too large. Too suicidal in their dedication. Every time one fell, a dozen would gladly surge forward to take their place. When those fell another hundred lunged eagerly into the jaws of death.
A situation made all the worse by the bastards foolish enough to countercharge. Ant and riders both fell under my sway and turned on their brethren within a heartbeat. Fishhooks eviscerating their fragile psyches.
Dozens were falling just beyond the limit of my range. Taken completely unawares.
Their tiny houses, which hung suspended from thick brown vines and metal wires, were overrun in minutes. The few humans left alive were carried off by scores of eels wrapping themselves around the victims and floating them to safety. Their cages having been opened by the first batch I’d turned.
Some of the surrounding flora came to life then. Thick muscular tentacles slithering out from within pots or hanging gardens to spit acid at the centipedes. They killed quite a few of my troops during their initial volleys, splattering death over carapace and skin alike. In response, a few of my gnomish converts targeted each protruding turret with fiery missiles. A normal group of raiders might have balked at this course of action, as it resulted in ever increasing damage to the very foundations of the arena. My minions never so much as flinched.
‘Let them fall. All of them. Let them hit the ground like overripe melons. Its no less than they deserve.’
A few stragglers chose to jump and alter gravity, relying on their abilities to see them safely to the bottom of the pit.
It was a very long drop. Certainly, more than a kilometer. Enough that the outlines of those turned before the attack faded into the darkness. They released blasts of their own now. Searing any imps trying to escape.
None of that could be seen from our position however. The nine of us stood shoulder to shoulder, somewhat tensely.
“When do we go in?” Dusty asked, hefting her axe eagerly.
“When the fourth wave is completely broken.”
“What wave are we on now?”
“The first. Made up of the weakest monsters under my control.”
“Right. When’s the second wave being sent in?”
“After all the monsters in the first wave are dead.”
“Understood.”
We waited patiently for another few minutes, moving closer to the bastion every so often. We were so far away that the sounds of fighting hadn’t reached us, so none of my teammates had any inkling of how the pacification was going.
A couple, like Charlie and Slab, were clearly unhappy about that.
“I can’t stand waiting.”
“I know.”
“We should be doing something.”
“We’ll be helping the recued prisoners soon. The moles, shrews and pumas cleared a path earlier and the eels should be close.”
Monique sighed.
“I wouldn’t have minded a few more hours of rest. Those people are going to be in rough shape. Patching them up is going to be a struggle.”
“I’m sure Borislav and Louise will make sure they’re healed up before we move on to worrying about clothing and shelter.”
“We also have food to spare. Thanks to me.” Dusty added with a grin.
Louise gave her the side eye. Borislav stood next to Ryan and Jane, trembling. The latter were contemplating the sheer weight of numbers falling upon our enemies. It made them worried. It made them very worried.
“Okay everyone. The prisoners are just around the corner. Let’s give them a warm welcome.” I said, with as much confidence as I could muster.
Floating eels streamed down the tunnel after that. Carrying sobbing, broken husks that might once have been human.
Most were missing hands or feet. A few had been bereft of ears or eyes. Or both. All were naked, with long scars along the length of their bodies. The marking of whips and other unsavoury implements.
I recognized one of them as the woman beneath the plants. Helga, the Telepath, clutching a half-devoured man I could only assume was her Mantis Shifter accomplice.
I did not mention the fact that I knew them.
Now was not the time for petty vengeance. It would be the height of cruelty, to those who had survived so much.
The oldest of them would have been close to 50. The youngest…
Dusty and Slab, who had been joking mere moments before, grew solemn.
Louise and Borislav growled in unison. A pair of rabid beasts ready to pounce. Brought together in their hatred.
Good. This was good. I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. I wasn’t the only one determined to make them pay.
I reached out to all the shrews, pumas and moles next to us. Ordering them to die. Their hearts stopped in unison and their bodies collapsed messily on the cavern floor. The impact took my friends out from their stupor.
“Dusty, Slab. We don’t have enough pelts for everyone. Skin the ones you see here and make sure everyone can cover themselves.”
Both obeyed without another word.
I shoved those worries aside as I returned to the battle.
Or, well…
The killing.
This could not be called a battle.
There had been close to 900 gnomes inside Happy Shrub before we arrived. With another 200 controlling nearby chokepoints along the passages or patrolling nearby.
120 were left and all under my command. I had lost less than a tenth of the first wave. It had been too easy.
‘There has to be more. A trick, a sortie, an extra boss that only shows up after the town is destroyed.’
‘Why do you think that, Sully?’
‘Because it’s the only way this makes any sense. I’ve seen so much, fought so hard, all so that I could barely stay alive. This can’t be how it ends.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because it doesn’t make sense!’ I insisted. ‘Buddy, I have literally seen machinegun nests tied to tripwires placed two or three meters away from pitfalls! Pitfalls filled with waiting pumas! The labyrinth is specifically designed to mess with people! It… It can’t end like this.’
‘Maybe you’re much stronger than you thought and this is the result. I’ve definitely noticed you’ve improved faster than the others. Perhaps, this is all there is?’
‘Yeah right. That’s what they want you to think.’
I thought back to sarcophagus Solomon. To what I’d seen in the visions. He didn’t turn into a coffin-cyborg until after that woman in silver got a hold of him. Which means he survived until then. Which means he never let his guard down.
‘Complacency means death. Never doubt that for a second. I’ve had more close calls than I can properly remember. I’m not about to die to a stupid trapped floor tile or invisible jumping spiders or whatever.’
‘I’m confused Sully. Can’t you sense traps with that new ability of yours? The ones you used to feel the robots?’
‘Yes. But there have been plenty of exceptions to my powers so far. The penguins didn’t register in my fog. Neither did Borislav or Louise or Mantis guy. I’ll use the abilities, but its important to double check everything.’
I willed the horde to scatter and purposely jab the floors to try and trigger any nasty surprises that might be waiting in store.
Nothing happened and the fact that nothing happened only made me more nervous.
After that, I ordered the remaining gnomes to use all their abilities on the remaining vines. Forcing them to crush their own town and any trace of their existence. When the last of the houses fell, I turned my attention towards them once more.
There was no point in keeping them alive.
‘Suffer.’ I commanded.
It was as if their nervous systems caught fire. Feeling their bodies being stabbed, mutilated, crushed, torn apart, eaten, melted, frozen, electrocuted, dissolved, and disintegrated. Only for the whole process to start all over again the next second. Stopping just long enough for them to hope that it might at last be over.
‘It isn’t enough.’
I focused on my illusions. Sending them into my targets instead of around them. In the same manner as the penguins. It was a spur of the moment decision. Something I literally pulled out of my rear end on a whim, half expecting it to fail.
It worked. Far better than I’d intended.
Each and every gnome experienced all the pain and agony that I’d become familiar with in the span of a few blinks. From being afflicted with venom, to the sting of betrayal I felt after being lured into the watering hole. From the terror of falling to the terror of drowning in darkness. From the anxiety of loneliness to the pangs of hunger in the first week.
They felt the penguin’s assault on my mind and the way my insides had twisted. They felt the revulsion and despair of being surrounded and chased. They felt my love for my parents, for my friends, for Doris as well as the emotions that arose when I wondered if I’d ever see them again.
They all experienced that night again. Facing the crabs and forcing the mother to kill her children. Facing the consequences of my own actions.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon’s Overwhelming Delusion V] 11 has grown to [Solomon’s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12
I allowed them to stew until my own fury was quenched.
After that, I ordered them to die. Their little black hearts gave out. Most felt only relief and gratitude.
Objective Completed:
A safe zone has been conquered for the first time in this Tutorial Instance.
All participants will receive 4,000 store tokens.
The top fifty contributors will receive an inferior symbiote.
Those who already possess a symbiote will receive an additional 40, 000 store tokens instead.
I blinked in surprise. Not daring to believe it.
‘What the heck!? Top fifty? Does that mean this place was supposed to be a raid or something? You were supposed to charge in with more than fifty Espers!? Was that really it?’
‘Told you. No need to apologize. I’ll always be here to help because you’re my best friend forever and I love you.’
That’s when I noticed the oddest thing. I’d expected a surge of relief. Maybe some feeling of vindication. Of release.
But all I felt was emptiness. The gnomes were all dead, yes. They wouldn’t hurt anyone again. They had been brought to justice.
So why didn’t I feel any better?
I looked around me once more. At the sad remnants littering the tunnel floor.
Around half were emptier than I was. Their eyes clouded and distant as if they were willing themselves to be anywhere but here.
I searched their minds, and instantly regretted it.
I didn’t need to know what memories brought them comfort. Nor did I need to see what they were running from.
I guess I could…
Soothe them. I could take them somewhere else for a time. Make them think they were back home.
‘No. That would be too cruel. Besides, doing that would scare them more. If I could bring them joy by tricking their perceptions, it stands to reason that I could bring them grief as well. I don’t want to be feared.’
Besides, it might not be needed at all. My companions showed new sides of themselves as they gingerly handled the rescued masses. Monique was no longer irritated as she often was. Charlie wasn’t doubting me or thinking up ways to kill the mafia don waiting back home. Dusty and Slab weren’t boasting about being the best at killing and tracking and bodyguarding.
They were respectful about their work. Obviously dedicated to helping those they could.
Ryan surprised me most of all. He had a solemn, comforting smile on his face the whole time. Handing out wrapped chunks of tender meat topped with edible mushrooms in a manner I could only describe as saintly.
He wasn’t a Telepath, but he always seemed to know what to say. Which words and gestures to use in order to calm the beaten and desperate.
I thought about copying him, but felt a twinge of disgust with myself. Would this be considered manipulation? Would any of these people feel good about someone like me caring for them?
I bit my lip and decided to focus on the things I could do.
“Dolce. Move forward and rip all the plant monsters out of the walls and the floor.”
‘Aren’t the centipedes taking care of it?’
‘They are, but a few of the rescued people are coming to and you’re making them uncomfortable.’
The abyssal creature grumbled internally, but obeyed.
I spent the time in quiet contemplation and looting. Performing the latter task by having some of the teleporting otters bring back anything that stood out.
Mot, the little bastard, had possessed a proper piece of supernatural equipment. Bruxa, being his supposed equal in rank, might have had something similar to that. Sure enough, one of my units returned shortly with a silver pole carrying an obsidian blade at one point, with a piece of yellow cloth attached to it.
Both the blackened tip and the cloth had blood running through them.
Spear of Beguilement
(Psy: 200/200)
A spear adorned with gnomish runes.
Grants the bearer the [Pheromone Attraction] 4 ability so long as a warm-blooded creature has been slain within the last 3 hours.
Creatures struck by this weapon are afflicted by [Confusion] 1.
I took one look at it, realized it was hot garbage and disposed of it.
“Here you go Dusty.” I said offhandedly. “As a thank you for all your hard work.”
Dusty almost squealed in delight. Looking up at me with star-struck eyes.
It didn’t take very long for the annoyance to set in.
I excused myself, going over to another side tunnel and leaning against a flat wall to relax.
To think about all the things that had happened. I only felt worse afterwards, seeing the others helping while I did nothing.
‘Damn it. Why is this happening to me? I feel like crap after considering ways to help and I feel like crap when I don’t help.’
I slapped my own cheeks, eliciting a complaint from Buddy.
Then I hunched down next to Dusty and helped her as she passed along pelts.
She smiled sweetly at me, though she said nothing.