Time had no meaning in this place.
Kai had to rely on his instincts to guess that it was evening outside. They had spent over 30-33 hours here. Till now, no one had come down to the sewers.
The day would have been boring, with all the choking smells and filth around them, if it weren't for the extraordinary tale Jon Arryn had told Kai.
The old man had persisted as long as old men could when it usually came to their sons and grandsons. Then he had broken down too, revealing all the details of the secret.
The notification that had followed then, was enough to make all this trouble worthwhile.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Milestone
…
Milestone: Learn the secret of royal house Baratheon from an in-world Character
Milestone Rewards: Correspondence +1
]
…
"Haha!" Kai laughed, not for the first time. "I still can't believe it. The queen and her brother? Is everyone in the castle a fool, my lord? You, the king, and other councilors didn't find even a hint in all these years? Tch-tch! Three children they got away with. Three!"
"Water…" a weary, broken voice came from Kai's right. "Water, please!"
Kai had already stored some essentials in the MRB (Miscellaneous Rent Box) before carrying out the kidnapping.
The darkness within the sewers was enough to not let Jon Arryn know from where he was taking out food and water. Bag? Chest? For all the old man cared, it could have been anything.
Kai took out a leather water bottle and threw it at Jon Arryn.
Gulp! Gulp!!
I can't just sit here for the next five days, Kai reminded himself. To get power, I must take risks.
Kai took out a torch and lit it up. The darkness receded like a scared prey, lighting up everything in their immediate surroundings. But there wasn't much to see.
Black gooey filth! It was everywhere. And, yes. Rats! Enormous rats!
"Fire!" Jon Arryn gasped. "If you could light the fire all this time, then why didn't you?"
Kai grinned. "My lord, can you show me your hands?" he asked.
Kai didn't wait for the Hand to bring his hands up, though. He almost snatched Jon Arryn's right hand and gazed at it. There were many rings on his old fingers, each with different gems. They glimmered soft yellow-gray under the flickering torch's flame.
Even the red one on the Hand's ring finger.
Kai caressed the gem. "Take it!" Jon Arryn said, disgustingly. "Take it! But deliver me to the castle. Robert needs me, boy. If it is gold you want, then gold you will get. Just let me go."
"I am going out, my lord," Kai said, his gaze deepening in contemplation. "I will bring more food and water. There's still ample bread and wine here if you get hungry."
"Don't leave me!" the Hand shouted. "No, I beg you! Don't leave me!"
By now Kai knew it wasn't fear that was making Jon Arryn say these things, but Duty. The old man had been begging Kai to let him go to Robert.
Kai couldn't take the chances, though. Not when the chaos up in the city would bring him nothing but more benefits.
"I will come back."
Jon Arryn licked his lips as their eyes matched. He must have seen some truth in them. "OK," the Hand nodded. "Where are you going?"
"To the queen."
The three words were nothing but thunderous blows of a hammer. Something must have snapped in the old man's mind, for his right hand lunged at Kai's throat.
Kai grinned again, his hand shooting out, gripping both Jon Arryn's wrist.
"No!" Jon Arryn bellowed. "She will kill my son. You don't know her."
"Haha!" Kai chuckled. "Trust me, my lord. She won't do any such thing. But I can't go empty-handed to her. And just the ring won't mean much. Not to this queen, I think."
"What… what are you doing?!" Jon Arryn demanded.
But Kai had already put the old man's right hand under his knee. He put the torch against the wall, and using his free hand and leg, Kai unsheathed the longsword.
Under the horrified eyes of Jon Arryn, the sword descended like a cleaver.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"It's OK, my lord," Kai said, storing the bleeding finger in his pocket. "The cut is clean. Press the cloth against it. I am leaving some wine and a kettle. Boil it, and wash the wound with it. You know the rest, I hope. I will bring you something to ease the pain. Don't you worry, I won't let you die."
Jon Arryn looked at Kai as if he was a beast himself. Drool was dripping out of his mouth as long, slimy threads. "Huff!" the Hand panted, his eyes turning red in pain and anger. "Monster! You have no honor! I curse the moment I took you into my service."
"Now-" Kai tried to soothe Jon Arryn's raging emotions, but he broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder.
What was that?! Kai asked himself, every fiber of his muscles becoming tense. What was that sound?
Sob!
Whatever it was, it became clearer as Kai stood up and went deeper into the tunnel.
Sob-Sob!!
A crying child? Kai couldn't believe it.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a round, bluish-green face appeared in front of Kai, levitating above him. It carried the most creepiest smile he had ever seen, making him take a step back, while simultaneously taking out the sabers.
"Mis… Mis…" the face with the creepy smile let out a squeaky noise as if..
… It's laughing? Kai reflected, his breath becoming rough.
Then more shouts joined, making the hair on the back of Kai's neck stand up.
"Misdreavus, what is it?!" one shouted. "Grim! I think she found someone-"
It didn't take long for Kai to guess who was he dealing with.
Order's Contestants!
One moment, the two Contestants were guessing. In the next, Kai heard them dashing towards the turn. He didn't care what was hovering above him now. He ran back, trying to use darkness to throw them off.
"Misdreavus, where is he?"
"Missss!"
Kai was still running away from the old man, trying to misdirect the Order's Contestants.
"Sai," the man named Grim commanded suddenly. "Light it up!"
"Misdreavus…"
Kai almost faltered. His Perception, which hadn't sensed any considerable danger till now, was now screaming.
"… Use… Shadow Ball!"
In that moment, Kai finally got to know what he was dealing with.
Not much time had passed since he had dealt with something similar. He had heard these words before. Not the exact words, but the phrasing was just too similar for him to not able to connect the dots given his intelligence.
A Pokemon!
The dark, filthy tunnel truly lit up, then.
A black-bluish ball of energy gathered at a point a few meters behind Kai. It wasn't exactly iridescence, but it was enough to make him see the thing gathering the pulsating Mana.
It was a dark bluish-green, ghost-like Pokemon. It had no visible arms or legs and its lower half had several small appendages, resembling a ruffled dress. It also had five round red gems halfway around its neck and its long flowing hair was tipped lilac.
Kai even got a good look of its eyes, shining dark under the gathering ball of energy.
Round, red balls, upon a background of yellow.
Those eyes were staring right at Kai.
Then, without any further cue, the Pokemon spat the dark ball, firing it like a missile.
A shiver jolted Kai awake. He had been slithering already, hoping to dodge the attack. But then he realized how pointless it actually was.
The Shadow Ball was faster than anything Kai had seen so far. Moreover, from the danger he was picking up, he knew that even if he dodged it, the resulting blast would bring down half the King's Landing into the sewers ahead of time.
Kai couldn't afford a search on a massive scale for now. So he did the next best thing.
Gritting his teeth, Kai brought his sabers up and hacked with all his might.
The Shadow Ball kissed the steel, and the filthy tunnels roared.
Boommmmmmm!
…
[
WARNING: HP regeneration reduced by 20%
…
WARNING: Steel-Bone Brigandine - Quality: 62% (-4%)
WARNING: Black-Steel Saber - Quality: 67% (-5%)
WARNING: Black-Steel Saber - Quality: 67% (-5%)
]
…
The tunnel's walls shook around him as Kai got thrown back, losing a third of his HP instantly.
His hands, face, and legs all were bleeding. But the moment he was about to fall into the filth, he used the sabers to flick himself up and keep his footing.
Kai licked the blood off the corners of his mouth, huffing and puffing.
"Did you get the notification?" Grim asked, his voice echoing off the tunnels.
"Nah!" Sai replied. "The bastard isn't dead yet. I will blast the entire tunnel to smithereens this time."
"No!" Grim shouted. "You will kill us both. Confuse him. He must be half-dead already."
Sai's eyes lit up. "Misdreavus… Use Con…"
The explosion had lit the tunnel for a moment, but the filth overtook it soon enough. It was becoming dark, and it would become darker.
Kai had been aiming for this moment since the start.
A moment of utter darkness.
Before Sai could complete the command, Kai slithered. His skin reddened as scalding heat evaporated his sweat and the filth off him. The area around his chest thumped, becoming hotter than hot.
Kai's eyes became reptilian slits, and he felt the tattoo of the Boa-Constrictor on his right arm slithering in pleasure.
A hiss resounded in the filthy tunnels, welcoming the Glitch, Blood Devour.
Then he activated the Skill like a serpent's ambush.