"WELCOME STUDENTS TO the school of The One True God. My name is Deacon John. I'm the Head of Administration here. Now I know you all must be tired from your journey to get here. I'll only cover three major rules before I send you off to be fed and then assigned to your living quarters.
"Rule number one: your status here means nothing. Those of you that come from nobility and have been pampered till now, that ends today. For you all are equals here before The One True God. Any servants here today are dismissed as of right now. You have until the end of my speech to vacate the area at once. If not I'm well within my right to have you arrested. Regardless of whatever house you serve.
"Rule number two: your devotion to your studies. Those that show exceptional progress will be rewarded accordingly. Those that require help will be given it. Our goal is to have everyone graduate and become successful contributors to our One True God and the Marijuana Empire.
"Rule number three: there is a boy's dormitory, and a girl's dormitory. Boys will not go into the girls dormitory and girls will not go into the boys dormitory unless accompanied by one male instructor and one female instructor. This is a safety measure that's been put into place for your well being while here. Those caught breaking this rule will be punished accordingly. That goes for the instructors as well. There are more rules for each dormitory that will be explained to you all later on. Now that's all from me for now so please in an orderly fashion make your way to the dining hall, and enjoy the food we have prepared for you all."
As Deacon John makes his way off the stage one of the male instructors approaches him.
"Sir, we have a problem."
"What is it?"
"Two students are unaccounted for. I along with several others have checked and rechecked three times and we still come up short."
"Have all the carriages returned?"
"Yes, all carriages have returned."
"Do we have the names of the missing children and who was assigned to pick them up?" Asked the deacon.
"Cariot Judas and Annabelle Angelos. Assigned to their pick up is Abel and Cain Sands. Both are brothers and both of them are B ranked warriors and have been on staff here going on seven years now."
"Alright, recheck that all carriages are here, and we'll know for sure if they are missing when rooms have been assigned. It will take some time considering we have almost seven hundred students. If they are indeed missing after that then I shall personally visit their families and explain the situation to their parents face to face."
"Very well, I shall inform everyone at once."
"Thank you….um sorry what's your name?"
"It's Jefferson Esper sir."
"Oh right sorry, I'm getting forgetful in my old age."
"It's quite alright sir. Now if you'll excuse me."
Once Jefferson leaves, Deacon John has a terrible feeling in his gut that those kids won't be found at all just like the others.
****
"Mph… W-where am I?"
"Look who's finally awake."
"Your Izzie?"
"Sure, let's go with that."
"Huh why can't I move?"
"Because you're my new plaything. And right now I have you tied to a fun toy called The Rack.
"Where's my mom and dad?"
"Probably sitting down to dinner, maybe crying their eyes out because they'll never see you again, or perhaps your father is busy fucking a new son into your mother to replace the one they lost."
"Where's Annabelle?"
"You'll see her later." Izzie replies as she moves over to stand next to Cariot's head. "You know I've been doing this for a while and I gotta say I'm surprised you're the first to ask questions instead of crying. Although you're about to, I can see the tears forming. So let me help you out."
Izzie grabs a wheel and starts slowly turning it. The ropes holding Cariot in place tighten pulling on both of his arms and legs. She stops after a few turns of the wheel.
"From here on the fun begins. Is there anything you want to say before we begin?"
"LET ME GOOO!!" Cariot yells. His face turning red as he desperately tries to pull himself free.
"That was a nice scream, but I think you can do better." Izzie turns the wheel.
"AHHHH!! STOP!! AHHHH!!" Cariot screams and thrashes about. This only delights Izzie as she keeps turning the wheel. Eventually Cariot passes out from the pain. Some time passes before Cariot comes to.
"Oh, goody you woke up again. This toy stopped working." Said Izzie as she covered something up.
Cariot is now strapped to a chair. Both of his hands are in a strange device. The device consists of three up right metal bars, the middle bar is threaded with a screw. His fingers are sandwiched between two wooden bars. Across from him is the thing Izzie covered up. The cloth is already turning a dark red. Something foul lingers in the air. It's the smell of someone's bowels releasing upon death. Cariot does his best to ignore this and asks.
"Did you heal me?" Cariot asked.
"Yes, I did. I have a fun skill called Repair. This allows me to repair anything done to your young tender little body like it never happened. But the mind is something else entirely."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Wow, you asked a really grown up question. Very well I'll tell you."
Izzie walks over to him, leans in and whispers. "You fuckers did this to my family." She then starts twisting on the screw crushing his fingers.
****
"Good evening sir my name is Decon John I'm the Head of Administration at the school of The One True God. Are you Ares Judas by chance"
"I am."
"Oh good I wish to speak with you, and Niklaus Angelos I understand is here visiting. Is he still here?"
"Niklaus is here, he's in the parlor with my wife. Might I ask what this is about?"
"It's about Cariot and Annabelle."
"Very well, please come in." Ares steps aside allowing Deacon John to come in. Then leads him to the parlor.
"Niklaus, Sally, this is Deacon John. He's here to talk with us about the children."
"First allow me to again apologize for this late and unannounced visit."
"It's fine. Now what is it you wish to tell us about the children?" Inquired Sally.
"May I take a seat? This is going to be a long conversation."
"Very well. Would you like something to drink?"
"Water if you don't mind."
Sally rings a small bell, summoning the maid on call. Deacon John takes a seat, but remains silent for a bit gathering his thoughts while waiting for his drink.
"Here you are." The maid hands him the glass of water and leaves the room. He takes a couple loud gulps, sets the glass down on the end table next to him, and with a heavy sigh he proceeds.
"Your children are missing."
"Come again."
"Cariot and Annabelle never made it to the school."
"Alright, start at the beginning and tell us everything." Instructs Sally.
And so Deacon John does. After he is done speaking no one says anything. Time ticks by in silence, until Sally speaks.
"You're not telling us everything are you?"
"I assure you, I've told you everything. I would never hide anything involving children. I swear on the name of our One True God I have told you everything."
"I'm going to show you something and when I do you will tell us everything."
Sally stands up and unbuttons the top two buttons on her blouse. She then pulls the left side of her collar open revealing a symbol branded into her skin. (Φ)
"Th-that symbol. You're an Inquisitor."
"Not just an Inquisitor, but one of the top A ranked Inquisitors there is. And do you know what we do for a living?"
"Intelligence gathering, identify heretics to the empire, you're well versed in advance integration, you have one of the best spy networks there is. I'm sure there's more, but that's all I know." Deacon John starts laughing uncontrollably. It takes him a bit before he gets himself under control. "To think I would end up in the presence of three Inquisitors. The One True God works in mysterious ways."
"No, only our wives are." Said Ares. As he and Niklaus stand and remove their shirts revealing the symbol branded into their skin. (Ω) "Niklaus and I however are the ones who take the information gathered by the Inquisitors and deliver divine punishment accordingly."
"Your Cardinals."
"You're close. Here's a hint. Among the Cardinals only seven are promoted to the next level putting us above the Cardinals. We are given a title, we're S ranked, and we report directly to Pope Williams.
"... " A look of shock crossed the deacon's face when he realized who they were.
"Allow us to properly introduce ourselves. I am Ares The Crimson Blade Judas. Paladin of the Holy Order.
"And I am Niklaus Heavy First Angelos. Paladin of the Holy Order."
"Now do you fully understand the gravity of your situation?" Sally asked, standing in front of the deacon, her arms crossed. "I advise you to think long and hard about hiding anything more from us. Because if you continue hinding things, you'll find out first hand how fucking terrifying a pregnant mother can be."
Deacon John did fully understand his situation and told them everything.
"Six years? Did I hear you right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"You and your staff hid this from not just the families of the missing children, but the Empire, as well as His Holiness."
"Yes."
"Ares, Niklaus, leave us. I want a private word with this man."
"Yes dear."
"I need to go tell Mary."
Sally waits in silence for the men to depart.
"Now that we're alone I have one more question for you."
"What more do you want me to say?" Asked the deacon, completely deflated.
"Only one thing."
"What's that?"
"One or two?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me, one or two?"
"Two."
"Heed my call and come forth, Orthrus!!" The ring on Sally's ring finger begins glowing.
Deacon John sits there in abject terror. At first nothing but silence, then he hears it. Click-click, click-click, the clicking sound of nails on the wooden floor comes from behind him. Next he feels hot heavy breathing on the back of his neck. A foul smell wasps through the air. Then he sees it as Orthrus comes walking around the chair and sits down beside his master. A two headed hellhound even seated is looking at John right in the eyes.
"Y-you c-can't punish me. T-that's n-not your job. Stutters the deacon.
"I don't fucking care. You crossed the line by hiding the truth from the empire, his holiness, the One True God, and the families of those missing kids. So now you will know the ire of every pissed off mother that you hid the truth from. Orthrus rend his fucking ass apart!!"
Orthrus is on him in a single leap.
"NOOO!!!" The deacon tries and fails to fend off the attack as he's ripped apart.
"The maids are not gonna enjoy cleaning this mess up." Remarks Ares walking back into the room.
"Fuck the maids!" Shouts Sally.
"I've spoken with his holiness Pope Williams, he's mobilizing The Inquisitors, The Cardinals and the rest of the Paladin's. He also wants us to meet with him at once."
"I stand by my actions Ares and I will not apologize for it. Six years Ares, six long years. Can you imagine what the parents of those missing children are going through?"
"You and I both know that man was never leaving here alive. You just beat me to him." Ares replies walking up to his wife. They just stare at each other in silence then Ares asks. "What if he chose one instead of two?"
"I figured one pissed off father would have taken his head off." Sally answers as she reaches up and pulls Ares in for a kiss. After a brief moment of making out they separate.
"Come on love, let's go see Mary and Niklaus." Said Ares as he takes his wife's hand.
"Lead the way, love."
They both head out while Orthrus continues gnawing on the remains of Deacon John.
(Character Bio Update.)
Name: Ares Judas. Rank: S.
Job: Paladin of the Holy Order.
Name: Niklaus Angelos. Rank: S.
Job: Paladin of the Holy Order.
Weapon: His Fists.
Name: Sally Judas.
Job: Inquisitor. Rank: A.
Weapon: Summoning Ring.
****
When Cariot opens his eyes he's no longer in the chair, but is now on the cold hard floor. He sits up and looks around. It takes a bit for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting.
One of the things he realizes is there are no doors, no windows, and no Annabelle.
It's just him and the covered up body still in the chair sitting in the corner of the room, the white cloth now brown and black from the dried blood. Slowly and on unsteady legs he stands up and walks over to the chair.
𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑜ℎ 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒.
He thinks over and over as he reaches out a shaky hand and removes the cloth.
"Huegh…Eurghhh." The sight before him is so horrifying, so gruesome he vomits up what little contents that remained in his stomach. Again, and again he vomits his stomach acid burns his throat and nose each time.
This person is no longer recognizable. The thing sitting there had been flayed.
Cariot can't tell if this person was a boy or a girl. Anything that could identify someone's gender had been removed. Nails had been driven into its hands and feet if one could call them that. All fingers and toes had been cut off. There's barbed wire wrapped around the arms, legs, torso, and neck. Binding it in place. Small iron rods penetrate both the eyes and ears.
He is positive of one thing, this wasn't Annabelle. It's twice their size. Then a loud thump echoes from behind him. Cariot freezes in place. It's only when nothing happens does he turn around to find "Annabelle!!" Cariot cries out. He takes two steps towards her and stops. He desperately wants to run over to her, but he can't. Her sudden appearance baffles him.
"Annabelle." He calls to her again, and is met with silence.
"Are you alright?" Still no answer.
Slowly he approaches her. He sees her eyes are open, but he can tell something is wrong. They've played together, laughed together, and had snacks together. She was like his sister too. And yet seeing her lying there, it hurt him in a way he never knew before.
Not sure what to do anymore he walks back over to the dirty cloth and drags it over to Annabelle. He tries to cover her with the cleanest part of the cloth. Once done he sits down next to her and pulls his knees into his chest. Cariot watches her in silence for a while as her tiny chest rises and falls.
"Dad, Uncle Niklaus, please come take us home." Cariot puts his head down and begins to cry. Unbeknownst to him a single tear rolls down Annabelle's cheek.