Ansem had lived in the city more than he wanted to admit. He had seen how it became a small port town to a large metropolis. That knowledge was useful for his line of work. He was familiar with the city's underbelly and the darkest parts of its history. That's the reason he had chosen to use the abandoned subway tunnels as a method to infiltrate the hospital's basement. Newer buildings were just built on top of old stations. This would give them a way in without running into too many guards.
Making his way through the old tunnels, he regretted that they had to shut them down. They were truly works of art, one of the most beautiful in the world. He recalled the headlines when they were first inaugurated. But that was the flow of time. The old gave way to the new.
But after witnessing the events of the past few days, Ansem understood why they would close them down. They were going to be used for some other purpose. They were part of a ritual. The power lines and the layout of the tunnels formed a giant summoning circle. He wasn't sure, but they built the hospital on top of one of the pillars of the circle. But why would they need a giant summoning circle? What were they trying to bring into the world?
Ansem had an inkling of what they would bring. He had to stop them.
Tracing the last of the sigils, for he arrived at the last station that connected to the hospital. However, he wasn't alone. Someone was waiting for him. It was a masked man, a hood over his head and his body covered from head to toe in a flowing white cape.
"What do we have here?" the masked man said in amusement. "Not many know of this place."
"It was very nice of them to send someone to greet me," Ansem replied. "But you need to make yourself sparse. I'm expecting someone."
The masked man scoffed and said. "You don't have to worry about them. I'll deal with them in due time."
Ansem strained his ears to recognize the voice of the masked m""
Ansem strained his ears to recognize the voice of the masked man, without much luck, for he was using magic to conceal his voice.
"Listen," Ansem fixed his gloves. "I don't have time to waste, so why we don't get this over with?"
The masked man laughed. The man before him didn't show any signs of fear or backing down. He took a good look at him, Unnatural handsome face, golden eyes and a black suit.
"I know you," the masked man said. "You're one of the rats that stole from us."
Raising his hand, the masked man unveiled vials strapped to his forearm. Grabbed five of the vials of them and smashed them on the floor. The contents of the vials spilled and begin to shape into fleshy blisters that slowly grew larger. From its contents, giant flea-like aberrations popped out of them, letting out a horrible scream that would freeze the blood of anyone that heard it.
"They will take care of your friends," the masked man snapped his fingers. "And I will take care of you."
The beasts lunged forward at blazing speed, too fast for anyone to catch. However, with the roar of a single shot, four of the creatures dropped dead on the floor. The fifth one was just lucky enough to escape. Ansem chased after it, but the masked man placed a barrier, preventing him from giving chase.
"How did you do that, you bastard?" The masked man was angry and shocked that someone had taken out his creations with a single shot.
"I don't have to explain anything to you," Ansem replied. "But I have questions for you."
The masked man noticed a ferocity in Ansem's eyes that wasn't there before. At first he thought it would a simple job, something quick so he could get back to more important things, like setting up the final steps for the ritual. But after witnessing the skill of his rival, he had no other choice to take his task seriously.
Fighting was not among the masked man's talents. He was more a man of science, of knowledge, and he would use his knowledge against his rival. In his mind, working like a super-computer, a result of experimenting on his own body, skimmed through thousands of spells and how to adjunct them to the tools available at the moment.
He smiled under his mask when he found the right combination.
"Questions?" the mask man asked in bemusement. "You won't be asking anything after I rip your heart out!"
The masked man stood still and began chanting to what Ansem felt like a spell. The walls of the station began to change shape, from solid concrete to a more organic structure. Ansem examined how the surrounding environment had changed. The walls palpitated with unnatural rhythm, with spider-like appendages protruding from the walls and floor.
"A nightmare dimension," Ansem noted.
A nightmare dimension took both caster and prey to a place beyond time and space. Designed to break the prey's mind. Not by only showing them gruesome sights, but sounds as well. It overloaded the senses. The prey's mind shattered under the overwhelming sensory overload caused by the dimension, leaving only a broken shell. But the masked man had found a new way to use the living torture the nightmare dimension provided.
"Now we can begin," the masked man said as he poured the content of a vial onto the floor.
Tentacles began to emerge from the floor. They squirmed and flailed. Some of them wrapped themselves around Ansem's ankles and larger ones held on to his arms, keeping him from moving shackles of slithery flesh.
With his prey securely held in place, the masked man drew out a scalpel and approached. Enjoying every step, giddy with anticipation. He savored in his mind what he would do. It has been a while since his last 'normal' human subject.
Slowly, he undid the buttons on Ansem's shirt, knowing exactly where to begin his procedure. He was looking forward to taking a look inside his prey. To tinker on what was inside, like playing with an old clock. Oh, how he loved the sight of the colors of the human organs. But as soon as he touched Ansem's chest with his scalpel, a bomb went off, throwing the masked man several feet away with a force blast.
"Agh!" the masked man groaned, clasping his chest in pain. "What just happened?"
Then lifted his gaze and saw the tentacles holding onto Ansem turn to crystal and the surrounding area began to show glimpses of its original form.
"How the hell did you do that?" The masked man demanded. "Your mind should've been broken by now."
"It was careless of you to underestimate me."
Ansem pulled his arms forward and the tentacles holding onto him broke into millions of pieces.
"Getting grabbed by those things was one of the most disgusting sensations I've ever felt," Ansem glared at the masked man. "And you're going to pay for that."
The masked man slowly rose to his feet. The force of the blast broke his part of his masked and it fell to the floor, revealing part of what was behind it.
"Certainly not who I expected," Ansem grinned.
"You son of a bitch, I'm not going to let you get out of this place alive!" The masked man roared as he threw every single vial he had on the floor.
A legion of creatures spawned their claws and teeth at the ready, forming a wall between Ansem and the masked man.
"Go!" the masked man ordered. "Tear that man to pieces, feast on his remains until there's nothing left!"
The abominations lunged forward at a faster pace than before, energized by the chaotic energy of the nightmare dimension. Ansem had been infusing his limbs and mind with mana to counter the effects of the nightmare, but he was still feeling sluggish after using his fail-safe. But he couldn't allow to be eaten.
Two shots fired from his handgun, arrows of light pierced several of the creatures, killing them instantly. But there still were too many. Ansem had been using a spell he 'magic bullet.' By infusing mana into each bullet when fired, it was able to hunt down and kill several targets at once.
But because his mana reserves were running low, the number of targets hit by his magic bullets was smaller than it should've been. The nightmare strengthened the abominations, which didn't help as his mana reserves were running low and the number of targets hit by his magic bullets was smaller than it should've been.
Ansem needed to get out of the nightmare, and there was only one way to do it.
As the abominations lunged at him, swiping and biting at him, he ran and dodged, drawing closer to the masked man. He didn't need to kill him, just make him lose his mental grasp on the nightmare. He was the coil. One of the largest abominations drew in closer and swiped at Ansem, slicing his belly. However, Ansem shot the creature directly in the face with a bullet full of mana. The creature's head exploded in a fountain of brain matter and gore.
With the largest creature gone, Ansem saw the masked man staying far behind the action, shielded by the legion of abominations it created.
Infusing the very last of his mana, Ansem fired. The bullet traveled at an amazing speed, swirling and turning, piercing every creature in its path. The masked man tried to dodge, but the bullet sliced off his arm.
"AUGGGGH!" the masked man yelled.
Ansem's plan worked. The pain of losing his arm, make the masked man release his hold on the spell that kept active the nightmare dimension. Flesh walls gave way to concrete and electronics. They were back in the real world. The station had returned to normal.
"You son of a bitch!" the masked man growled. He was about to release more creatures, but stopped when he saw Ansem slumped on the floor, a pool of blood underneath him. "It was all for nothing. Guess you wanted to die outside the nightmare dimension."
Then he picked up his severed arm and stared at it. "I'll have the good doctor stitch me up. The ritual can't start without the chef."
With those words, he left the station and headed to fulfill his duties for the ritual.