The dark was lit by flickering blue.
And distinctly lacked the piles of gold Kenji had been hoping for. So too were there no legendary blades, nor pulsing pools of power. He did, however, find something that piqued his rarity meter to its maximum setting.
Three crystal cages.
A wild collection of amber spikes, a noble purple gem encrusted in with crystalline vines, and twin crimson horns were the three prisons arrayed before him. Almost like a series of loot boxes - Kenji's heart was racing already. Would he find something good inside? His hands opened and closed of their own accord, eager to break them open and find out.
The elf's memories flooded back, of similar prisons for magical prisoners in a secretive elven cavern. Had she been a warden there? Her mind was so strange. The elf's memories coming to Kenji like an old song that looped in his head, forcing him to focus on how to open the magical cages and making seeing further within as obscure as the polluted river close to where he was born.
Just as the silt had obscured the stones then, Kenji could dive no deeper into the mysteries of what powered these cages. What he did know, was that they were relatively simple to break.
From the outside that is.
The first cage to his left was the amber cage. Within was a wild girl with white wolf ears, fangs and a fluffy white tail and paws. She had round moons for pupils, and they stared at Kenji with the hunger of a rabid animal as she remained frozen. The Power of an [A] he suspected, but the good intentions of a [G]?
To his right in the purple cage, was a strange elf. She had silky violet hair, slitted lilac eyes, an amethyst in her forehead and an astounding beauty that made snow seem dirty and the rain feel foul. She was the smell of the freshest air before the storm, the moment a rose bloomed and the instant a craftsman had finished his masterpiece all at once. Certainly an [A] class hero and [SSS] supermodel.
Kenji quite literally staggered upon seeing her, her physical perfection so extreme his mind ran blank and he felt as if attacked. Strangely he felt no desire, no attraction and certainly no lust. The woman was like an art piece, a perfect statue and a god all at once. One to be treasured, protected and served at all costs.
The centre most prison held the most terrible aura of all. Crimson blood welled along with the twin scarlet crystals that thrust from the ground like gigantic horns. Between them was a bandaged girl caught in a web of fiery energy. Her dark hair writhed like tentacles, each hand-wrapped in huge red gauntlets with long ebony claws.
One of her eyes were scratched out, a blazing black flame burning within. The other was a gorgeous almond with long blinking eyelashes. Kenji approached her first, certain it was the woman. Her almond eye tracked him closely, even while the rest of her remained frozen.
"You are of the 18," Kenji said. Remembering her, feeling sad that even in a new world she was of a form that required bandages. Ebony horns thrust out from her head, and upon closer inspection, Kenji found a second pair of slim humanoid arms tucked behind her back along with a serpentine tail.
"You chose to be a demon."
The almond eye rose and fell.
"If I release you I'll be dead. I want to help, but-"
Kenji saw it again. What he had seen the first time they met. Her gorgeous eye was empty to be sure. But deep within, he saw it. A tiny flame. The slightest spark. Hope.
He shattered the crystal without thinking, the magic shorting out, blazing red snatched away to leave only empty white. Kenji pushed himself forward to catch her. The woman known as 'Soulless' received not even a scratch as the crystals merely bounded off her bare skin as if steel.
Gasping, Kenji held his abdomen, several crystals having punctured his elvish frame like paper.
"Who are you?" She said, with a rasping voice that a man could grow drunk on. Now, this was lust, infatuation, and desire all at once. Kenji felt the warmth of it wash over him, that voice alone, he wanted to hear her speak again. Talk for hours.
"Who. Are. You?" She said again very slowly, raising a single claw to his eye.
"Kenji, nice to meet you," Kenji said and raised a hand. Slowly she shook it with her own.
"I am Hena," she said slowly. Pulling him from the rubble, she laid him down. "I'll put you out of your misery then-"
"Stop! It's ok Hena! I'll be fine. Watch," Kenji had thrown his hands up as Hena seemed ready to thrust her claws through his head like knives into a melon.
Shifting he became the boy knight and beamed at her.
Her claw wavered and dropped.
"Daario sent you to rescue me?" Hena said.
Not wanting to get each body skewered until he had no more to morph into, Kenji nodded.
"Yeah, that's what this is. Wants me to save you," Kenji spoke out his ass, but he was in this situation now and needed to get out alive. Hopefully, these strange women could help him fight his way out.
"We should free the others- what are you doing?"
Hena had formed a smouldering, paper-thin, disc in her hands. It seemed like the worlds most dangerous frisby as it revolved and sparked madly between her hands.
"We kill the heroes, then we leave," she peered at the two still stuck in the crystals. Kenji panicked.
"But they are not heroes! Not yet, look at them. We should let them go, let them grow. Daario would not like to lose the XP by killing them while they are weak." That last part made her twitch, she turned to Kenji.
Within hey eye something smothered her little spark of hope. Desire, as her gaze became glazed and she giggled slightly to herself. "You know Daario wants this for a fact?"
Mildly intoxicated by her voice, Kenji nodded dumbly.
"I'm to raise them, like cattle. Then when they're nice and strong, we bring 'em to the slaughterhouse," Kenji's fake smirk nearly broke. He sweated madly, for once having a damn lot of trouble keeping up the act.
Damn you, Arthur. The boy's mind rejecting even the illusion of betraying these possible heroes to the enemy. But Hena could not be of the enemy...no, that would mean that these feelings within Kenji...
"Fine, then let us go." Wielding the strange disc, Hena slashed.
A great crash of purple crystal and the angel elf was free.
But no longer a walking angel, she seemed pale, gaunt and alien. Her hair was slimy, her ears warped, and her steps a hypnotic swaying motion. Not that she was unattractive, no Kenji could appreciate every curve just fine thank you. But she was definitely different.
What had happened? He was using superior perception before, buffed on top of that. Was this squid elf an illusion that the boy knight was too low levelled to see-through? Then why was he not getting the weird desire to do whatever she wanted anymore?
"Die-" with purple crystalline blades in hand, the alien elf was frozen as a whirling red disc was positioned ready to slice her head from her shoulders.
"Try me," Hena said, Kenji having to tentatively pull the two apart. They both pointed their magical weapons at him instead.
"There's one more, and I don't think we have long either," Kenji knew they could hear it. Shouting upstairs, the priests would be close by now.
Even though the last cage gave him the chills, it's occupant not having stopped staring with those moon eyes at him the whole time, he nodded at Hena. Slinging the magical disc, the crystal shattered, and the girl was free.
She emerged howling, then spat out chunks of crystal and stretched her arms.
"You have three seconds," She hissed, white hair spiking and her body contorting wildly.
"You either come with us as allies, or I put you down little pup," Hena smiled, producing a new whirling magical disc. The wolf girl summoned a moon to hang over her in an instant, turning into a large white wolf in the next
The trapdoor above was thrown open.
Priests swarmed downward.
"Defend yourselves!" Kenji yelled, the trio turning crystal blade, demon disc and huge white paws i the direction of the enemy.
Kenji's heart sank, as a red-robed Templar joined the priests in their descent.
"Surrender heathens, your time of judgment has come," the Templar said. And summoned several golden chains to writhe through the air.