"LORD SATAN! PLEASE, GRANT ME YOUR PO-!"
*CRUNCH!*
"PLEASE, PROTECT ME LO-!"
*CRACK!*
"DON'T LET ME DIE! PLEASE! GRANT ME YOur po…w…errrr…! AAAAAAUUUUUGUGUGUGGUHH!!"
All of the Wanderers went off and began slaughtering the Followers in brutal fashion. The Followers begged for power, but all that came was their own demise. The last one, begging for power, choked on her own blood as her neck was crushed all the way until her head was peeled off, a menacing crunch from her neck bone severing it off completely.
I didn't know what to feel as I watch this horrifying sight unfold. The stench of blood, vomit, and tears completely hypnotized me into a trance. I couldn't move, I couldn't look away.
Xylvia was obviously shaken as well, but she didn't let it get to her and ran inside to help the people out of those cages. The woman and her child that were sitting in the corner ran over to her as well, giving their thanks to her along with all the people she freed.
My mind did what it could to keep me from moving, but I managed to force myself to move. There were hundreds of cages in that room, so I needed to help Xylvia open them all before those Followers end up trying something dangerous.
"Everyone, head back to that doorway through the tunnel," Xylvia shouted to everyone. "There'll be another doorway there! It's closed, but we'll have it opened once everything's taken care of and we have everyone out!"
The cages were made of black metal bars, the stereotypical cube cages that you see in kids' fairy tale movies, and the locks were just levers that were just out of reach for the people trapped inside to unlock.
"Hiro, I have a few people here that can help open up all the other cages," Xylvia said. "Can you go and get that Wanderer to open the door?"
"Sure thing!" I said.
That was easier said than done though. I realized just haw hard that was going to be when I turned back around and saw the massacre again. The potent stenches came fuming back into my nose, bringing me close to throwing up everything I had in my stomach.
"HEY, CAN YOU OPEN THE DOOR?!" I shouted at the Wanderer.
The Wanderer didn't respond. I knew I had to get closer, but my legs refused to move. My body wanted to reject the very idea of getting closer to that slaughter. Just the thought of blood made my body shake. The life of a person being spilled onto the ground as they grow colder and weaker, begging for it to stop. Trying to stop it with their own hands, hoping to keep it all inside of them until eventually, the pain washes away with the cold and is replaced with exhaustion. You become tired, the kind of tired that you cannot ignore no matter hard you try to stay awake.
And that's where it all ends. Not with pain or screams, but with tears and a feeling of dread.
*STRETCH!*
An elastic sound stretched across the room and straight through the tunnel that all the freed people were running to. I snapped out of my fear and looked to see the Wandered's tendrils stretched out all the way to the door, holding it open as they continued to fight. All the freed people quickly got into a line and ran through the doorway.
"Hiro, let's go," Xylvia shouted to me. "Everyone's out now. We can just leave the rest to the Wanderers!"
"But…"
Before I said anything else, I stopped myself. She did have a point. The Wanderers are definitely far stronger than we are and it doesn't seem like they need our help at all. I can already guess that the reason why they led us down here is because they wanted to give Xylvia and I a chance to free the people.
The Wanderer gave me a look, absolutely no emotion in their eyes whatsoever. However, they looked over to the door and back over to me and nodded their head. That empathetic side of me didn't want to leave them alone with their other people, but I knew that I couldn't do anything to really help. And if I stayed here any longer, I'd end up fainting from the stench.
"HOW DARE YOU!!!"
The middle aged man in the reverse colored robes screamed at the Wanderers killing his followers. His hood was almost off and I could barely make out what he looked like. He had a white beard and his hood was poking upwards awkwardly, suggesting that he had something on the top of his head. Most likely his Felinian ears. And veins were concerningly visible from his neck.
"All this work…all this time…all this planning," he harshly gritted through his teeth. "This is your true nature. We tried to warn her, but that…fice! She wouldn't listen, even though she calls herself a goddess!"
He took a few deep breaths, a shade of red fading away along with the veins on his neck. He readjusted his stance and stood proud and tall, full of nothing but pride.
"No matter," he said, much more dignified and oddly…happy. "Perhaps a sacrifice from another vessel shall suffice him."
He slowly pulled a knife out from his side sheath that was tucked underneath his robe. The knife had slight curves going left and right, like a snake, and had a jagged tip at the end. It looked heavy and dangerously sharp as the tip glistened from the light of the symbols carved all over the ground. The reflected light was bloody red.
"Please my Lord," the man said up to the heavens, his arms spread out ready to accept whatever fate awaited him. "…see me as worthy."
And with those final words, he jabbed the knife straight into the left side of his throat. Within seconds, blood gushed out from his open would. The number of arteries and blood vessels in a person's neck made it a dangerous spot if it ever got a deep cut. I'm not sure if the anatomy of the people here are any different, but the gushing blood completely threw any thought I had of that out the window.
"My…sacri…fife…*GLEGH!* …is all…for…you…" he choked, blood filling and drooling out of his mouth. "Please…graaknt me…power…"
He slowly dragged the knife all the way across his jugular, sliding it even deeper than it already was into his neck and putting as much force into it as possible. I don't know what was worse. The gargled chokes, the fleshy sounding tear of his neck being forcefully torn open, or the buckets of blood spraying out from his neck.
He barely made it all the way before he collapsed onto the ground. The blade of the knife was still lodged in his throat, so when he landed the butt of the handle hit the ground and stabbed the knife even deeper into his neck, the tip of the blade protruding out from the back of his neck.
For a while, nothing happened. Only the sound of all the freed people rushing out the doorway filled the room. I spotted the woman who was stabbed holding her child, huddled up with her son next to the doorway, protecting him from seeing the horrendous sight, his eyes and ears all shielded by a frightened mother.
While the stench of blood made me wanna cry, the empathy I felt towards those two overcame my sick feeling. I was glad. That boy's mother threw her own body in front of a blade to protect her child.
I walked up to them and offered my hand.
"We have to go," I said to them. "We need to get all of you guys treated."
"Huh…? I-I…no, just my son. Please…don't let anything happen to my son… He's…all that…I…have… I can't lose him… He…means so much to me… I can't lose him too… It'd…be too much…"
She cried through her words, letting the tears flow while saying everything as clearly as she could. Her hair was a long, bright red. A beautiful, rosy red, unlike the color of blood. Her hair went all the way down to her hips, tangled but beautiful. Her eyes glistened a sorrowful, dark brown. The tears from a woman who's been through too much. Her petite, shiny lips quivered in fear from almost losing her child. Long, dazzling eyelashes that brought out ever ounce of emotion she was feeling. All her sadness and fear shown directly to me. She was in a white, one piece dress that looked more like a gown for sleeping in that was slightly torn towards the bottom and covered in dirt and blood.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Eh? O-Oh, umm…C-Catherine," She answered. "Some people call me Cat."
Cat? Oh the irony.
The ears on top of her head were slightly bigger than Xylvia's but were definitely the ears of a cat. And just like her hair, they had red fur with a fluffy white interior. She also had a tail that was red with a black tip.
"My name's Hiro," I said to her with a smile. "You're ears are beautiful. Thank you for not covering them."
The woman looked at me awkwardly, but then realized what I meant by that with a shy look. However, instead of quickly covering her ears, she smiled warmly at me.
"Thank you for that," she said to me. "I'm glad you think my ears are beautiful."
Catherine took my hand and helped her son stand on his feet. He looked way too exhausted for a seven year old, barely even able to stand without tipping over to the side. Catherine tried to carry him, but the blade stuck in her shoulder made that too difficult.
"I've got him." I said to her.
"A-Are you sure?" She asked.
"It's ok, he's very light. He seems strong to. You must've raised him well."
"I wouldn't agree with that, but thank you."
The boy had only one of his eyes half open. He was extremely tired and needed treatment badly. All of these people needed treatment. I hope the doctors are all healthy enough to operate.
I hope there are doctors in this world.
"Pa…pa?" The boy barely whimpered.
"No, not quite," I smiled awkwardly at the boy. "I'm gonna get you out of here though. Soon, you'll be back home feeling better."
I never had any younger siblings, so I'm don't really know how to take care of kids. Settling him down shouldn't be too hard though.
*SLASH!*
A felt a slight burn on left cheek. Before I even reacted, I could see a trickle of blood drip down my face. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to turn around.
"My pleads have been answered."
He should've been dead. Nothing but cold blood and flesh laying on the ground. However, there he was, standing perfectly fine on his two feet. The knife that was lodged in his throat yanked out and was thrown straight at me.
"Aim's a little off, but it's still a work in progress," he said "My, this is such a lovely feeling. A little empty, but full of power."
In the palm of his hands, small flames of black fire flickered and cackled. They had no other color to them. Just an ashy, pitch black. He then shaped those flames into a longsword and pointed it straight at the Wanderers.
"I can finally destroy every last one of you freaks," the man in the red robes said. "My Followers! Slit your throats! Offer yourselves to Him! He will grant you the power that you need! Let's show these Mistakes how we really feel about them!"
And with that, the remaining Followers that's were still alive proceeded to slit their throats brutally, offering their prayers and pleads.
Not a single one of them showed even the slightest hesitation. And before I knew it, the Wanderers and I, along with Catherine and her son that I was holding, were completely surrounded by the Followers. All of them brandishing their black flaming weapons. Swords, axes, pitchforks, pickaxes, and just plain old scorching flames.
My first reaction was to get Catherine and her kid out of here, so I grabbed her hand and made a break for it to the doorway.
*POW!*
A burst of black flames was shot and landed right in front of me, blowing me to my back along with a few chunks of rocks hitting my face and body.
"Hiro! Cameron!" Catherine shouted after getting knocked to the opposite direction.
I was able to keep her son, Cameron, from getting hit by anything. I was aching all over, but I quickly got myself back up and leaped over to Catherine. However, I felt myself get grabbed by the collar, but my main focus was getting Cameron and Catherine out of here.
Luckily, Catherine reacted just in time to grab her son and fall backwards towards the group of people rushing out through the tunnels before I got grabbed backwards. I could feel the scorching flames getting scarily close to boiling my skin. The one who grabbed me was the man in the red robes. He held me up to his face, close enough for me to get a good look at him.
"Now just who in the hell do you think you are?" He asked me with a menacing tone.
I instantly recognized this person. Snow white hair, an older face, a full beard with grey eyes. I remember this man's face. I could feel the cut on my cheek burning more than it already was.