Chapter 18 - 18. Purging the gunk

Glenn thought there was something wrong with his ears."What do you mean blowing the place up? How—how am I even supposed to do that? And what about the survivors?" His voice wavered with disbelief.Diamanes sighed heavily, the weight of his frustration evident in the sound. He seemed tired by his host's antics. "Listen" Diamanes's voice was resigned, "you're probably the only guy still human in this place. You're the abnormal one for staying sane and kind of human in this place. And about the explosion thing, you just need to get in the Accumulator room; if my hunch is right, you'll find the solution there." Glenn pinched his glabella, thinking about it. Not saying a word, he decided to first head to the Accumulator room and decide later. The young man retraced his steps, going back to the room he hadn't explored yet.The second door, adorned with the label "Accumulator," yielded to his touch. There were no spells on this door either, making him half-relieved and half-disappointed. If there was a spell, he could have taken it for himself, but sadly there wasn't. An enigmatic, disturbing scene unveiled itself before him. A large room was hosting a vortex of verdant smoke that was twirling at its core. On the ground, encircling the vortex, were runes inscribed on the ground, shimmering with an eerie, arcane dark green hue, pulsing slowly.Glenn tried to understand what was this vortex when a strange, almost comical thought crossed his mind. Were these swirling, green fumes the remnants of the prisoners'...gases?"Don't be a fool," Diamanes' voice chimed in, dripping with condescension. The entity couldn't help it when he realized how stupid the young man was sometimes. "It's their life force, not their farts. Stopping the Accumulator, as they call it, would stop weakening the monsters, letting them run amok. You would unleash chaos on the bastards that imprisoned you there."So this was this "Accumulator" thing that was weakening the monsters? That would explain why they weren't running amok and destroying their cells. Nonetheless, Glenn frowned, a pang in his stomach stopping him. Doesn't that mean that he would let all hell break loose if he let the monsters escape their cells? Diamanes clicked his tongue loudly in an irritating manner, clearly disappointed. "What? Do you want me to let all those "things" go free? What if we are in the middle of the city? Can you imagine how many people would die because of me?" Glenn retorted, his voice full of protest. "Tsk, tsk. Stop being a wuss. There are a shit ton of defenses on King's Rise, and I bet the second a monster steps out of this prison, it'll be obliterated by the arrays. And I'm just reminding you, but the clock is ticking," Diamanes pressed him, unbothered by the young man's need for ethics. Glenn watched the green whirlwind, annoyed by the fact that he was unable to answer his hand's sharp arguments. The fumes were swirling, blocking his sight, moving like snakes in the air. He saw a glint of something at the base of the whirlwind which caught his gaze. Squinting his eyes, he saw a pitch-black pearly, a few centimeters wide and high, that seemed to be absorbing the fumes. He could barely see it, but he felt like it was quite an important object."The hell is this thing?" The young man asked aloud, conscious that the only one who could hear him was Diamanes. Sadly, the silence of his talkative hand made him understand that he had no idea what was this pearl either.Looking at it through the fumes, he got an idea of what it could be. Perhaps the Accumulator wasn't set up only to weaken the monsters and keep them under control but also to absorb and literally "accumulate" their life force, as it might be inferred by its name. "What would they need a ton of life force for?" He muttered, trying to make sense of what he was seeing and of all he discovered until now. Diamanes' impatience burst forth, tinted with frustration. "Does it matter? Put an end to this and let's escape. This body's survival is paramount," Tensed by the sudden comment, Glenn took a breath and, without thinking, passed through the green fumes. They didn't have any peculiar smell, crossing away his previous stupid hypothesis for good. He kneeled, picking up the black pearl without looking at it too much. The circles of runes that were surrounding the green whirlwind didn't seem to affect him, their uses remaining unknown, and he managed to get out of there with the pearl without any problems. The pearl in his hand stopped accumulating life force, and the glow of the runes dimmed until it disappeared. Looking at the pearl, he could see something swirling inside, but he couldn't understand what it was. A distant noise caught his attention, stopping him from looking further at the pearl. He shifted his focus, slipping the pearl into his dimensional pouch, trying to figure out where exactly the sound came from."I think it's your cue to leave," Diamanes' voice prompted.Glenn moved toward the door, his sword unsheathed in his right hand, his gaze fixed on the exterior. He cautiously surveyed the surroundings, quickly understanding that the disturbance seemed to originate from the door leading to the prison pit. He had rattled something, which meant Diamanes' plan succeeded."Of course, it succeeded! Who do you take me for?" The entity retorted, clearly unsurprised. That didn't change the fact that he had to get out of there quickly. Escaping was imperative at this point. It was now or never.'I need to find the exit.' He silently thought, exiting the Accumulator room. He headed back to the Storage room, where he had caught a glimpse of a door leading to somewhere unexplored earlier. It was probably his best bet. Moving through the racks, drawers, and shelves, he stood in front of the door, holding his hand to open it. Suddenly, before he touched the knob, he saw it turning by itself. He moved just in time for the door to open violently.A dozen robed figures rushed through the door, entering the Storage room and heading for the library Glenn just come from. The young man was currently hidden behind the door that just opened, holding his breath while doing his best not to move his chains and make any noise. The figures were all armed with swords and axes, and all were holding torches in their free hands. They seemed panicked, their movements restless."Shit! How did the Accumulator break?" One of them yelled, clear despair in his voice. "How should I know?" Another answered, his voice weak. "Damnit, that's not enough energy for his Lord; Abbot Hank is going to kill us!" "Shut up! Let's take care of it before he comes back!" The screams of panic from the robed men almost seemed like music to Glenn's ears. He smiled slightly, still not peeping a word. Diamanes' voice echoed in Glenn's mind, filled with amusement and satisfaction.'Looks like we've stirred the hornet's nest.'Glenn nodded, observing the cultists leaving the Storage room for the library. With all this mess came his long-awaited freedom. Now that they were busy taking care of whatever chaos he caused, he would be able to hopefully escape and, at the same time, fuck those guys over. Two birds with one pearl!Getting out of his hiding place, Glenn rushed toward the door the cultists came from, not caring about the noise that his chains made when rattling against the ground. When did he decide to call them cultists, by the way? Oh, probably when he learned that they were cultivating monsters. Whatever.Passing through the doorway, he discovered a new hallway with doors on each side. With a quick peek, he understood this was probably the cultist's dorm. Ignoring it, he kept running through the corridor, arriving at yet another door. Pushing it ajar, he was confronted by a sturdy steel gate, flanked by empty chairs. A relieved grin appeared on Glenn's face."No way this isn't the exit," He muttered, determined to pass through this last obstacle. Excited, he pushed open the gate. Well, he tried to. "Of course, it's fucking locked! Fucking hell!"Angry, Glenn smashed his fist against the steel gate, hurting himself slightly. He looked down at what blocked the gate. Just there was a steel lock thick of multiple centimeters that probably needed a big fat iron key, almost mocking him."I mean, you can try to break it; you're stronger than the usual peasant, you know?" Commented Diamanes, trying to calm his restless host. The comment made him regain his bearings, and he charged at the steel gate, hoping for the lock to break. Running with all his strength, the only thing he managed to do was create a big clang sound and hurt his shoulder. Not the smartest move, that's for sure. He rubbed where it hurt while looking down at the lock."Perhaps I can slice it with my sword?" He muttered lightly, a glimpse of hope igniting in his heart.He unsheathed his sword, both of his hands on the hilt. He took a high stance, the weapon his above his head, and ignoring the pain in his shoulder slashed downward with all his strength on that cursed lock.A sharp, breaking sound echoed as the blade of his sword flew out, whistling past his cheek and planting itself in the stone ceiling. Glenn almost spat an insult desperately before realizing that the lock was also broken. He swallowed back any spite for the sword, relieved. Finally, his freedom was here!Glenn dropped the broken sword, pushing with both of his arms to open the heavy steel gates. He expected the sun to blind him, so he closed his eyes slightly before opening them completely. Surprisingly, it wasn't the sun that assaulted his senses, but the smell. It was certainly stinky in the cell he had been in for the past few weeks, covered in his feces and piss, that's for sure.But that? It almost made him lose consciousness. The young man covered his nose with his arm, discovering the other hell hidden behind the gate. Skeletal, famished people, with more bones than flesh, were scavenging through a river of filth that was flowing through the street. Following the flow with a glance, Glenn noticed that it came from a sewer grate in a huge rampart."That must be the sewer system of King's Rise. Damn, they use the trash of the city to live. Urgh," Glenn understood, grossed out. This place seemed terrible. Little shacks piled on top of each other were used as habitations, even though Glenn couldn't possibly imagine a human being living in this pile of literal junk. Can you call a house four pieces of wood piled up hazardously?The light of the sun was dim and had a sick tone to it. It felt like the light couldn't reach this place, giving these slums an ever gloomier and ominous feeling. He threw a glance back, seeing that the gate he just opened was set into the tall rampart.'Is that also King's Rise's wall? What the fuck? They have a hole full of monsters under their ramparts.' The young man realized, a bemused look on his face. He quickly left the surroundings of the gate, moving through what could be barely named streets. He passed completely unnoticed, looking as dirty and haggard as the people living there. He would be almost thankful for the filth covering his body that if it wasn't for a major problem."Damn, this place smells.""Yeah, good observation, Watson. Let's get out of here; this place gives me the creeps."Glenn walked carefully, studying the frail faces of the people living, no, surviving in these slums. This couldn't be called living. They all had dark skin and sometimes a white symbol on their forehead. Thinking back to what he knew of this world, the powerful old man who brought him to the Frozen Gate entrance said he had business in the Sewers. Was this the place? Because he couldn't imagine another name for this hell. He didn't need to guess why it was named that, it was quite self-explanatory.What business could the old man have in this trashy place? The young man tried to remember what face this old guy had. It had been quite a while since he saw something other than the darkness and Mr. Scarred-face when he thought back to it.Suddenly, the face he tried to remember brusquely appeared in front of him. Yes, that was it! Thanks the gods for his memory...wait."The old man?" Glenn muttered, his voice laced with confusion."What the…?" An old voice seemed surprised.---A figure, draped in robes, humbled itself on the ground in an aura of submission. Towering above him, a muscular man adorned in the white vestments of a cleric was pressing his foot onto the figure's face, his expression contorted with anger. Unidentifiable scars adorned every single part of his skin that was visible. Gripped tightly in his right hand was an ancient tome, weathered and weighty. His bald head was hidden under a black, round hat, with flat brims."I'm sorry! I'm sorry, dear Abbot!" The shaking figure couldn't stop apologizing, sinking his face on the ground, pleading for the muscular man's mercy. A strangely sweet and enchanting voice came out of the latter's mouth, calming the other's mind. Listening to the muscular man's voice felt like getting embraced by one's mother."Don't worry, my child; you will be able to meet our Lord shortly. How blessed you are!" He exclaimed, a happy, innocent smile replacing his previously angered face. A second later, he smashed his feet on the head of the figure crawling the ground, making it explode like a watermelon. Bits of bones, flesh, and brains were projected everywhere.The Abbot stood there silently for a second, before turning toward the rank of robed figures that were standing behind him. He questioned the first priest he could see, his voice cold and dry, nothing like it was a second ago."What was his name?" "T…Taril, Sir Hank!" An affirmative noise resounded. Abbot Hank opened his book, before crouching down and dipping his finger in the mix of brain, blood, and bones that was previously the figure's head."I see… Taril, hum…" He slowly wrote the name in the book; using the blood as ink. Above it were dozens and dozens of other names, similarly written in a black-red color. He quickly made the pages flutter, glancing at the hundreds of pages similarly filled out with names written with blood. "May he enjoy eternal pain in the arms of our Lord." He said solemnly."Bless him." The figures behind him said aloud, following his words. Turning back towards the rank of robed figures, he inquired. "What subject's file has disappeared already?" "3333, sir." The Abbot stopped for a second, and his sweet smile reappeared on his face. "So it's him. Find him at all costs. He is the one." With heavy steps, he left the prison. The ranks of robed figures all had their gazes fixed on the door that donned the circular prison; behind it were the corpses of every monster that escaped, massacred, and reduced to a bloody pulp.