by Ramy Vance
Beth grabbed Suzuki’s arm as they rounded a corner and pulled him in the opposite direction that he was running. “I think it’s this way,” she suggested. “To get back to the throne room.”
Suzuki blinked his eyes as he tried to understand what Beth was saying. “Why the hell would we want to go to the throne room?”
“If the viceroy is out looking for us, it should be abandoned, and it overlooked the entire defense ring. We could just jump out. It’ll be easier than just running around. I still haven’t seen an elevator, and I know we can’t be on the first floor.”
“Good enough for me.”
Suzuki followed Beth down the hall. She was right. It ended in a double door that opened to the throne room. Beth shot the doors open and Suzuki kicked them down.
The throne room was filled with orc and goblin guards, armed to the teeth. Some of them wore multiple rifles slung over their shoulders. Others carried glowing plasma pistols. And yet there were still more with upgraded versions of the typical Middang3ard weapons: swords, axes, and spears. The weapons lacked blades. Instead, there was a black energy blade that hummed slightly as it projected its energy.
A plasma blast shot past Beth and she ducked for cover. “Fuck,” she shouted. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Suzuki took a deep breath and leaned over the corner of the wall to see what they were up against. There were at least twenty guards in the room, and there was a dragon behind them. “Beth, you know defensive spells, right?” Suzuki asked.
“Just the basic shit.”
“We have to get through them. That’s our only way out. You ready?”
Suzuki cast Stoneskin on himself, and Beth did the same. Then he enchanted his ax with a defense charm, almost completely reducing its offensive stats so that it was more like a shield or a baseball bat. He grabbed Beth and kissed her as if it were the last time that he would ever feel his lips against hers. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too, Suzy.”
“Let’s fuck some shit up!”
Suzuki rolled into the throne room. He fired five shots without aiming to clear some space. One of the plasma shots caught one of the orcs in the chest, sending him flying and searing his skin.
It was just like Suzuki had thought. The orcs weren’t armored at all. They had no magical defenses. That’s why the blasts that Suzuki and Beth had taken hadn’t killed them. They had armor and an additional amount of magical protection imbued in their armor.
With defensive spells, they would at least be able to stand a chance.
A plasma shot came rocketing toward Suzuki. He pulled his ax from his side and batted the plasma shot away, sending it careening into the side of the wall where it tore through the liquid metal wall, leaving a hole that quickly healed itself as if the walls, the building itself were alive. Suzuki placed that in his mental folder of things to think about later as he whipped his unwieldy rifle over his shoulder and fired again.
Beth was blocking plasma shots with her shield, slowly pushing forward and taking ground. When Suzuki saw what Beth was planning, he fired at the closest guards near her to give her a little more breathing room.
They weren’t going able to take the room in a flurry of scattered shots, but if they kept their shit together, they could slowly force their way into the room and clear out the enemy.
Suzuki rolled over to Beth and hid behind her shield. He reached out and took it from her so that she could devote her full attention to the rifle. He had noticed she was a better shot than he. They didn’t need to speak. Beth poked out from behind the shield and fired three quick shots at the guards, each one landing and searing through their chests. One of the guards dropped a plasma pistol that skidded across the floor. Suzuki dropped his rifle and picked up the pistol. It was lighter, a much better fit for what he had in mind. “Don’t bother covering me,” he said. “I’m gonna try to take out the left flank.”
“You don’t have a shield, douchenozzle!”
“Hopefully, I got reflexes.”
Beth went to the right and Suzuki to the left. Outside of the cover of the shield, he was an easy target. The guards turned their attention to Suzuki, firing off a few rounds of steaming hot plasma that came jetting toward his face. Suzuki sidestepped a few, knocking away the rest. He threw his ax through a plasma bolt, fired off three rounds that landed two headshots, and recalled his ax. He leapt through the air as he enchanted his ax with a sharpness charm and landed on a goblin, swinging his ax and decapitating the guard before spinning around and narrowly avoiding being blasted by an orc.
Beth was still making her way toward the throne in her methodical fashion. She was growing frustrated with how slowly it was taking her to move forward. There had to be a better way. The rifles did damage, but they took too long, and Beth knew how to use speed better than anyone.
A plasma bolt sizzled past Beth’s head, and she lifted her shield. Her foot touched something hard, and she looked down.
Two of the plasma swords were laying on the ground. She slipped her foot under their hilts and flipped them into the air, dropping her shield to upload back into her inventory, and catching the two swords.
They were light in her hand… just what she had been hoping for.
She sprang forward, faster than the guards could take aim, slid on the sleek floor, turned and sliced out the legs of three guards before rolling back to her feet, sprinting to another guard, leaping over him and slicing him down the middle. Another guard turned to face her. He fired two shots and Beth sliced through each one. If Suzuki’s ax could knock plasma away, it only made sense that plasma could cut plasma. Beth tossed one of the swords into a guard’s chest just as a plasma bolt hit her in the back, sending her flying through the air, smashing against the throne.
The orc that shot Beth ran at her to finish the job.
Suzuki’s ax flew from across the room, landing square in the orc’s back. The orc dropped to the ground.
Beth scrambled to her feet and picked up the orc’s sword. She sliced through two more shots fired at her and hid behind the throne. “Almost there, Suzy!” she shouted.
Suzuki tossed his ax at a goblin, severing the guard’s head, recalled it back in time to knock away a plasma blast, turning to fire his own plasma bolt that burned through an orc’s chest. “We got this!” Suzuki shouted.
The positivity was cut short by an ear-splitting roar.
Ashegoreth plowed into the throne room, sending chunks of wall flying as she broke through the small opening. She leaned back in all her terrible glory, her red scales burning brighter red as she let loose a cloud of sulfur, a forewarning of the flames which quickly followed, torching the entire ceiling, creating an inverse of hell as she turned her flames toward everyone in the room.
Beth cowered behind the throne, trying to make herself as small as possible behind the one thing that didn’t seem as if it were melting.
Suzuki, on the other hand, was running as fast as he could to avoid the flames on his heels.
He ducked behind one of the monoliths and prayed that it would be strong enough to keep him safe. If these monoliths were any weaker than the ones that he had destroyed earlier, he knew that he was fucked.
The fire abruptly stopped.
Suzuki peeked out from behind the monolith. Ashegoreth was staring at him, her eyes black and wounded, filled with a deep despair and emptiness that almost broke Suzuki’s heart. “Ashegoreth,” Suzuki started. “Ash… it’s me. Do you remember me, Suzuki?”
Ashegoreth charged. Fast. Faster than anything Suzuki had ever seen.
The force of Ashegoreth’s body was beyond anything Suzuki had ever felt before.
His brain shut down to block out most of the pain. He didn’t quite know how it happened or exactly what was happening, but his body was weightless and he was floating through the air.
He saw Beth as he was rising. She looked scared. It didn’t really matter, though, because she looked like she was safe.
Bet
h was safe.
When he moved his head to try and see what else was happening, it seemed like all of the world had slowed down. It was kind of funny that there was a dragon right in front of him, spewing fire every which way. He would have laughed if his ribs didn’t hurt so much. And now he was flying through the air, the dragon above him, gnashing her teeth as he raised his hands (he didn’t know why he raised his hands), trying to fight her off.
Then the ground and black-eyed pain rushed up to meet him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Suzuki lay on the ground, his body wracked with pain, trying to look up at the sky.
He couldn’t open his eyes.
Every muscle in his body converged, attempting to pull his eyelids open. It did no good. He accepted that he should probably lie down for a bit.
Take a nap.
He’d wake up feeling better if he could just sleep off this headache that was drilling into the back of his head.
Above the sleeping Suzuki, the dragon, Ashegoreth, spread her wings, descending slowly, breathing flames hotter than those of hell itself, as orcs and goblins and ogres flooded the arena Suzuki had landed in. Many of them were either holding plasma rifles or plasma swords. They were chanting in unison together, their voices melding into a nonsensical smattering of words and syllables, of lustful grunts and shouts. The sheer cacophony would have been too much for Suzuki to handle if he had been awake. Everyone in the arena wanted him dead.
Beth stood at the top of the building which Suzuki had fallen from. She could have made the jump, but there was a dragon between her and Suzuki. She could try and take the dragon out, but even she knew that was hoping for a lot. Her heart was racing, and she felt like she was going to vomit. Now wasn’t the time, though. She had to keep her shit together. This was what she had been trained for.
Ashegoreth landed in front of Suzuki. She reached her head up toward the sky and roared before unleashing a torrent of flames skyward.
The pawns of the Dark One cheered with glee.
Ashegoreth leaned over Suzuki, her teeth gleaming as flames grumbled within her stomach, her eyes filled with hunger.
Beth took aim. She had to execute this perfectly. A slight misstep would end up with her splattering on the ground and Ashegoreth would have two meals.
Ashegoreth opened her gaping jaw, her teeth dripping saliva as she slithered toward Suzuki.
Suzuki’s eyes cracked open slightly. All that he could see were teeth. Teeth everywhere, surrounding him, engulfing him. It won’t be too bad, Suzuki thought. At least it’ll be fast. It could be worse.
“Hey, Fuckface, get the fuck away from our friend!” a voice shouted from behind the crowd.
Ashegoreth stopped in her tracks. As did everyone else in the arena, Beth included, looking from above at it all.
Sandy stood at the outskirts of the arena. Her staff was raised high.
Stew stood beside her and José beside him.
Behind them stood the military prisoners, along with Chip and Diana.
The soldiers were all armed and armored, their shields and helms and swords gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunlight.
Above, black clouds gathered, nearly blocking out the sun. Thunder boomed as the air turned cold.
Diana walked up to stand beside Sandy. She raised her wand and pointed it at the sky. More thunder crashed as Sandy floated into the air, her ashen cloak spreading like a miasma of unforeseen pain and suffering.
“Let my enemies flee before me!” Sandy shouted. “Let them go crying and sniveling into the darkness that we cast upon them. May none live today! May we bask in the river of your blood! No one fucks with the Mundanes!”
Sandy slammed her staff onto the ground as Diana whipped her wand forward. Four massive bolts of lightning skewered the sky, striking the ground around Ashegoreth, one of them hitting her across the back, the other three sending a ripple of electricity through the ground, throwing many of the orcs and goblins through the air.
Ashegoreth keeled over to the side, screaming in pain as the Dark One’s forces scattered.
Beth could see that this was her chance. She leapt from the building’s alcove, landing a few feet behind Suzuki. She scooped him up in her arms and took off toward the Mundanes and Horsemen. None of the Dark One’s forces paid her any attention. They were too busy trying to muster themselves around the dragon that screeched in pain, attempting to stumble to her feet. When Beth made it to Diana and Sandy, she collapsed and laid Suzuki down at their feet. “Help him!” she screamed, her eyes filled with the tears she could no longer hold back.
Sandy knelt down beside Suzuki. Flowers bloomed across her bones as her staff disappeared, replaced with her wand. She pressed her wand to Suzuki’s forehead and sang softly as Diana knelt beside her and did the same.
A golden aura appeared over Suzuki. He finally managed to open his eyes all the way. The last thing he could remember was thinking about teeth. He wasn’t sure if they were his teeth or someone else’s. But teeth seemed very important. He was slightly disconcerted with everyone standing over him looking worried, but he figured there was a good reason.
“Did I die?” he asked.
Diana laughed as Beth helped Suzuki sit upright. “No,” Diana said. “But a couple of minutes longer, you would have. You have your friend to thank for that.”
Suzuki stumbled to his feet, swaying to the side as he coughed up blood. He raised his hand and his ax flew across the arena, going straight through two orcs before it arrived in Suzuki’s hand. He spat more blood and swayed to the side, stabilizing himself by using Stew’s shoulders. “I’ll thank everyone after we’re finished.” He coughed. “First round is on me, all right?”
José couldn’t help but smile as he patted Suzuki on the shoulder and offered him a healing potion. “Spoken like a true MERC.” José laughed. “If we make it out of this alive, none of us will be buying drinks.”
“Thank God. My tab is already shot to shit,” Suzuki muttered.
A dragon roar broke the MERCs moment of comradery. And then two more. Suzuki turned to face the Dark One’s forces. Two more dragons had landed beside Ashegoreth. They were slightly smaller, but looked just as ferocious.
The full extent of the Dark One’s forces had been brought out to the arena. There were more than just orcs and goblins. The Dark One’s army was filled with ogres, trolls, giants, and centaurs. Elves and dwarves were stationed above on the high rises of the buildings, each of them aiming plasma rifles on the MERCs and the soldiers.
The two armies glared at each other over the short distance of the arena, the dragons scraping their feet against the ground in anticipation, the giants stroking their energy clubs as if they couldn’t wait to bash open the brains of each and every MERC and soldier, the ogres pacing like prize fighters that couldn’t be contained, who dreamed of nothing more than ripping their opponents to shreds. Yet they did not move. They only waited.
Suzuki knew what they were waiting for. He felt her down in his stomach and he wondered how many other of the soldiers and Mundanes were sensitive enough to feel her calling.
Beth did.
He could see it in her face. It was almost as if being chosen by her had connected her to them. Suzuki was hardly surprised when the large building above the arena leaned forward, pouring itself into the arena to create a liquid metal throne, which the viceroy built herself upon, the liquid steel snaking up like a reversed waterfall, her slim, godlike body forming into the throne itself. She smiled down on the crowd, her electronic eye glowing brightly.
The viceroy leaned back against the throne as she crossed her legs. “All of my missing prisoners. All in one place,” she gloated. “It is only fitting that you would find yourselves in the most ordered of orderly places to finally be brought into the Dark Lord’s grace and glory. Why waste so much life, though? You are greatly outnumbered. We have three dragons. Do you really wish to throw your lives away? Is this where you want to die?”
Some of the soldi
ers turned and whispered to each other. The Mundanes and Horsemen did not take their eyes off the viceroy. Suzuki could feel her words tugging in his head. He knew better, though. The feelings weren’t coming from him. They were complete separate, some product of the monoliths which made him wish to be closer to reintegration, to elevation. But they were not his thoughts, not his desires. They were an artifice of the viceroy. When she died, the feelings would stop.
The viceroy’s voice boomed again. “I propose a simple solution. Two champions each. I choose your two. You choose two of mine. And do not delude yourself, I will do you no insult by choosing your soldiers. You choose the champions, as will I. They will meet in the arena. If you win, I will let you walk free. If you lose, you will cease this needless attempt to sow the world with chaos. You will come into the Dark Lord’s fold. You will allow us to show you the beauty of order.”
The two parties looked at each other. José shrugged his shoulders as they all turned to talk to each other. “We’re assuming that she’s going to play fair,” José said. “She’s assuming that we’re going to as well, which we aren’t. So, what’s everyone thinking?”
Diana looked over her shoulder at the viceroy’s forces. “They have three dragons,” she noted. “In a straight skirmish, they’d have air superiority. Sandy and I could probably manage to take down one or two, but not all three.”
Suzuki nodded in agreement. “That means we’d take a shit ton of casualties. It looks like we’ve got nearly as many ground forces. Their rifles give them an advantage over us long distance, but our armor seems to stack up pretty well against it. Once we close that distance, they’ll be fucked. We’re at a disadvantage right now. I know the viceroy is going to attack if we don’t choose one of those dragons to fight. That’ll give us the chance to take at least one of them out.”
Chip stepped forward, smiling as she pointed to her HUD. “We got another trick up our sleeves, loves,” she said. “This whole defense ring is jam-packed with tech for my grubby, nimble little fingers. Gimme a little time and I can rig up something to get us home, all our bits and pieces separate too.”