A/N: There will be translations at the bottom of the chapter for some dialogues.
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Karma needed a vacation.
After all he had seen, smelled, felt, heard and tasted ever since he started living with Salem, he began to question if he genuinely wanted this kind of life for the next fifty years or if he would even reach that long.
The young teenager, having pierced the woman who made Basil and Soleil worked up about their past, proceeded to go an extra mile and slashed horizontally, separating the upper body from the lower body. You could never be sure about these creatures. Even if you chop them like roasted chicken and scatter them in different parts of the land, they still find a way to get back in one piece and torment you.
"You know what?"
He'll go an extra thousand miles.
He kicked the woman forward, darting his gaze at the treehouse where Jinx was seen peeking by the window.
"Hey asshat! Come down here and help me form a purification circle."
Jinx shook his head side-to-side; the speed of it made his facial features fuzzy. Basil reached inside, grabbing the blond boy and dumping him like a set of cards.
"Put me back up!!! Do you want to kill me? I still have a bright future ahead. My future wife is waiting for me! We still need to go forth and multiply!"
Belladonna was lying limp on the ground. She was split into two. Rotten blood pooled around her form. Karma put his left foot on top of her butt while staring at Jinx's squatting form. Sometimes he couldn't blame the guy for the trauma; this job wasn't at all meant for him. For Karma, there were several types of employees: one who loves his job too much and is good at it (Kou); one who doesn't give two cents about what he does but is a genius at it (Salem); one who hates his job but fares well (Karma); and one who hates his job and sucks at every aspect of it (Jinx).
Usually, Jinx runs the errands and becomes the bait in missions. Salem tried to train him in basic combat and magic; however, despite his brilliance and experience, he couldn't convert Jinx' natural gift of failing.
Basil pointed his tail to Jinx, making him shrink and tremble from the poison dripping from the razor-sharp stinger.
"I can't end that monster but I'm sure as hell I can end you."
Jinx aimed his forefinger at the viel. "If my master was here you would have joined your friends in the afterlife!"
Basil grimaced. His scowl worsened. His forked tongue flicked out, baring his fangs at the boy with a hiss.
"Do what that boy is telling you before I deem you more useful as my dinner!"
Jinx scrambled forward. He scooped powderized Baobab wood from the pouch tied around his belt, sprinkling it around the corpse.
Peeking at the face of Belladonna, Jinx never felt so proud of his buddy. Who knew he was such a badass? "Hey…she's really dead. You're amazing Karma!"
He proceeded to poke her cheek, not telling them that she remained a little bit too warm to be dead.
Karma stepped off and came out of the circle.
"Come on you idiot, say the words already."
"What words?"
"The words you have to say to activate the circle."
He looked up, trying to remember the spell. Karma had to rub the frustration off his face.
Basil leveled his head to the young boy and whispered. "Was he always this witless?"
"You don't have to whisper it. We encourage you to make him aware about how bovine he is."
"Aha! Septem Dominos inferni invocamus te. Mundus hic cadens tenetur, tuis manibus ardeat, Utere nos famulis tuis per coelum et sub oceano tenebras pandere."
To be honest, Karma didn't know what that incantation meant. Salem gave them each a piece of paper. They didn't memorize the same spell. Salem told Karma that Jinx was studying the spell for exorcism while Karma was given the spell to call upon evil which could be useful in worst case scenarios when dealing with beasts or with people who had a distaste for their master.
Jinx wasn't given any dinner, not until he memorized his piece by heart. Once he was able to engrave the spell in his pea-sized brain, he chanted it like an annoying fly that wouldn't get out of their ears. Jinx even boasted that he memorized Karma's spell for him in case the young prodigy forgot.
'Give me the paper that master assigned me to study.'
'Why? I already know your piece. You don't have to waste your time anymore!'
'Because you're an idiot and I will bet my right big toe that you will screw up.'
Jinx stretched his tongue out, mocking the boy. He took out a crumpled paper from his pocket, throwing it at Karma who caught it with ease.
'Trust me kid, I got these spells.'
Karma could only hope that he didn't chant the wrong one.
Jinx stepped out of the circle, gaining confidence as he went on with the spell. He appeared to be a little too smug. Basil didn't know shit about that language, but he knew that Kou could speak it fluently.
"Servo tuo haec creatura minatur. Corde et anima animum fert ad perdendum nos. Ut laqueum tuum sanguinem plus effundas, audi nos!"
"He's really feeling it, isn't he? I hope he knows what he's saying," Basil commented.
"I really hope so too."
Jinx flung his arms up. His lips split into a smile of success. "Domine delictorum, domini lapsi, domini lapsi…uhhh… mors haec erit mors mei, fiat."
Basil frowned. "He looked unsure about the last part."
Belladona floated like a flying squirrel. Her head snapped up; the corners of her lips tore as a malevolent smile spread like an overjoyed hyena. Her body was still separated into two parts. She stood upright; the lower part of the torso grew an oblique-edged knife. The torso forcefully and repeatedly fell on the waist, appearing like a guillotine to decapitate heads of sinners. A strong dark red light traced the shape of the circle. Belladona's hands were severed from the scalpels that grew out of her wrists.
"He fucked up, didn't he?" Basil questioned.
"He fucked up," Karma confirmed.
The demonic deceased scientist gave a long and ear-piercing shriek. Short arms breached the surface of the soil. Children with gray skin and mangled body parts climbed out. Basil's blood ran cold from the familiarity of their faces.
Karma swiped a big portion of the powder making up the circle with his foot, breaking the circle that strengthened the demonic powers of Belladonna. The red light died out which brought a scowl on her face.
Initially, Jinx was acting smug after the incantation. He already patted himself on the back for a job well done. Soon after he realized what he had done, he was hiding himself behind Basil who couldn't help but stare blankly at the walking corpses. There were three of them: one had both eyes gouged out from the sockets, his bottom jaw was missing; the second orphan was holding her own head, her fingernails were at least ten inches long; and the third orphan had the other half of his body skinned.
Belladonna flew to their side, whispering her command while stroking and cupping their cheeks like a nurturing mother.
"Show them how I show you my love."
The only girl in the group moved first. She spiked her head towards Basil's direction, releasing sharp throwing stars from her mouth. Basil's stinger moved on its own, deflecting the attack. A scythe grew out from the base of her head as she circumvented her way around Basil's body, similar to a boomerang.
"Where is she getting all these weapons?!" Jinx shouted, crawling out from the scene where Basil's tail and the girl's head engaged on what seemed to be a sword fight.
'It hurts…'
Jinx snapped his head from hearing the soft cry of someone despite the commotion.
It was coming from a little girl.
'Make it stop…Make it stop…'
The boy with a missing jaw extended his arms up, showing a set of eyes where the yellow irises sat in the shade of turquoise. He began to weep, his eyes glistened.
'Big brother Kou…Big brother Taipei…where are you? Help me. Help me…'
Tears dripped on the ground, a spark of turquoise fire started, spreading in immensity as the eyes emitted more tears. Figures of knights still composed of that fire ran out of the main blaze, surrounding Karma and Basil.
The last boy didn't show any signs of attacking. He sat on the ground, covering his face as he rocked his body forwards and backwards while thinking:
'I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to. It wasn't me…I didn't kill them.'
"I am assuming you know them?" Karma asked.
The head of the girl returned to her body's grasp. If one would set aside the fact that she was spitting and growing out weapons from her head, and that she was a corpse emitting a rotting and repulsive scent, she was an extremely charming girl and would have grown into a fine lady.
"The girl is Ayami, the one who keeps crying is Roi, and the last one is Castor. They are one of the few unfortunate orphans who didn't survive the experiments."
"Spread your mother's love, my children! Let them feel it as you tear them from limb---"
"AAAAAAAAH! YOU SMELLY DEMONIC FART!!!"
Belladonna's speech was cut short when Jinx grabbed her feet, yanking her down with all his might.
"Look, I'm sorry if I screw up again and again, but please…" Jinx was pinning Belladonna's arms to the ground, feeling as if he would pee himself any time soon because of the scalpels that could slit his face into a nice salad. "Don't let her use them again."
Basil's stern expression puffed-up. "You don't have to tell me what I have to do, kid."
Inside the treehouse, there appeared to be a fourth orphan that looked exactly like Castor; except, he was flawless. There was not a single blemish or scar on his skin. Unlike the orphan that Basil and the two kids saw, the other half of his body wasn't skinned. He wasn't dirty, he was still a corpse, but he was well maintained.
He grinned like a Cheshire cat, reaching for the knob on the door. There was a strange scent on him; it was a strong pickle-like odor.
"I will make my mother proud as always."
His fingertips grazed the knob. He stopped.
If only corpses could sweat he would have a thin sheath of cold sweat on him that moment. His hand trembled. He stepped back from the door, not wishing to deal with the creature at the other side who seemed to have noticed his presence because the discreet aura that was barely even noticeable became abundant.
The boy fell on his knees, nearly hugging the floor.
"Forgive me, my Lord! Forgive my insolence!"
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Translations:
Dialogue 1: "Seven Lords of hell we call upon you. This world is bound to fall, let it burn in your hands and use us as your servants to spread darkness across the sky and under the ocean."
Dialogue 2: "This creature threatens your servant. Heart and soul it bears mind to destroy us. To make your coven shed more blood, hear us!"
Dialogue 3: "Lord of sins, Lords of agony, Lords of the fallen, this creature shall be the death of me then so be it!"