Alchimia Rex

The noble's library, a room brimming with rows of towering bookshelves. Sparse white orbs hung suspended in midair, providing the only light and casting long shadows that made what could be seen of the room less than half of its full size. Dia stood near the center, fresh blood staining the floor and shelves around her.

Rick, Eva, and Kiara remained by the entrance, the exit obstructed by Dark Elves. There were maybe a dozen others inside.

Even though they could likely overpower the maidens blocking their way out. Maybe.

In such a situation, it was natural for the most vulnerable individual to feel terror, maybe be paralyzed. It was mildly ironic that the panic gripping Rick's heart came mostly from Kiara. The transformed Succubus looked on the verge of making a run for it, only the very tangible and immediate threat of Rick's death anchoring her in place.

The strongest maiden within reach, the one capable of offering the most urgent assistance, was incapacitated, eyes glued to the blond monster that had stopped cold, the Archangel… if she could still be called that, breathed heavily, staring at Rick with body shaking rage.

"I will relish this," the maiden uttered, her frantic, unfocused eyes quivering, mouth twisted into a sneer. “It will be slow. I’ll kill you all, piece by piece.”

The words caused the Dark Elves to stir, concern flashed amongst the maidens as they shared looks. It was almost as if they were just as ready to jump the monster as they were to jump them. Though the one thing they looked certain of was that they had no desire to stop the monster before she was done with her revenge.

It was hard to think coldly.

Rick’s mind was trapped in a whirlwind of emotions. Kiara’s panic was the loudest, but Dia and Eva were no help either, the two maidens overwhelmed with concern and indecision. It was like having a crowd screaming into his ears, drowning out everything else.

Kiara's words resonated within him.

"I wish you had bonded with a psychic by now, she could help block things out. But this is the next best option. A place for positive and fun things to wash away the bad. A place of comfort."

Biting into his cheek hard enough to draw blood, the jolt of pain gave him a sliver of focus. Rick diverted his attention from the three maidens, seeking anything among the bonds that wouldn’t drive his heels into the floor.

It was easy enough to find.

Urtha was livid, enraged. Panicked too, but in a way that pushed for action, panic that couldn’t sit still in paralysis. The maiden awaited some event, but the fury within her resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption. He latched onto that, drawing it into himself, using the heat and feeding it into himself, burning away the terror, pushing it through him and to the others, making himself into a conduit for that emotion.

Kiara, Eva, and Dia inhaled sharply in unison and shifted their gaze from the monster to him. "Get ready!" he bellowed, extracting the box Eva had handed him from his pocket and raising it over his head.

The monster was quicker, her hand darting out and launching a vine from within her body that coiled around his wrist. The act had taken a split second, crossing the four meters of separation in the blink of an eye. "What's this?" the maiden snarled, the vine constricting with bone-crushing force and wrenching a scream from his lips.

Eva was the first to react, jumping between them and lashing at it with her claws. “Do it now!” The maiden held back a shriek as more of the vines shot out, piercing into her thigh and shoulder.

Kiara joined in, shoving herself into the vines and screaming, the touch of the vines burning against her body like a hot iron.

Rick hurled the box at the ground with all his might. Half-way down, the box opened to reveal two yellow glowing stones, shattering against the stone and becoming a pair of miniature suns in their own right.

There was something faintly concerning when he heard both the monster and Kiara scream at the same time.

A silent explosion of light exploded in every direction, engulfing the room in a shadow-scorching brilliance that destroyed all darkness. It was cold, seeping into his bones in a numbing chill.

All around him, he could hear bodies crumpling to the floor.

All but two.

Kiara was caught in a silent scream, having lost her transformation, smoke rising from every inch of skin as she clawed at her face. Next to her, the monster was in a similar condition, the tentacles having gone wild, contracting and expanding with sickening crunching sounds.

And then there was darkness.

Rick staggered back, his legs nearly buckling, his vision speckled and rendered useless. However, his ears functioned perfectly, the monster was still thrashing, shrieking, and destroying things in her wake. Twice he felt the threatening breeze of something having gone very close to his head.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?"

A beam of light streaked across a distant wall, and Rick realized he wasn't blind, but rather the room had been robbed of all light. He attempted to locate the others, but he couldn't sense anything through the bond.

He could barely feel the coarse wood of the shelves under his fingers. Everything was numb. Were the others unconscious? He couldn’t be sure, there was only the vaguest feeling that the bonds were still there, that they were alive, but there was nothing else.

The numbness at least made it easier to feel Urtha, the maiden’s panic had turned to iron determination. She was moving away, however, seeming sure of whatever course of action she was taking.

Another burst of light, and for a fleeting moment, Rick could see. He had nearly stumbled on Eva. The maiden looked to be in pain, though the injuries in her leg and shoulder had stopped bleeding.

Shaking her got nothing, merely the slightest twitch of a response.

He couldn’t let the monster get to the others.

Urtha was on her way, he was sure of it. He just needed to buy time.

And he prayed that the Dark Elves would not wake up before Kiara or the others did.

Carefully, as tentatively as he could while totally blind, he navigated towards the monster, hearing its location from the constant thrashing and screaming. She was in pain, but why she was conscious at all went beyond him. But… What could he do? Monica and Eva would have used the darkness to ambush, that wasn’t going to work. Dia would… fight? That couldn’t be right, he shook his head. Urtha would charge in as well. That left… Kiara.

The answer seemed to almost jump at him as he considered the question.

"You failed your lord."

He had dashed away the instant he spoke, and not a moment too soon, a crash had followed. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU MURDERER!" The monster bellowed as she traversed the spot he had just vacated. In the darkness of the room, her glow betrayed her location, while leaving Rick invisible.

"You couldn’t even fulfill his last order."

Light seared through the bookshelf to his right, the brilliance almost blinding. He met eyes to the monster, every instinct in his body told him to move left. But a quiet soft voice insisted on going right. He followed the latter, just as the glowing monster had thrown herself to the spot to his left.

"You were a coward; you ran."

He broke into a hurried jog, the sound of his shoes masked under the thrashing and destruction of bookshelves.

"SHUT UP!"

He ducked and felt the shower of paper and splinters from the shelves, biting back a cry of pain. Something whistled past his head, smacking against a wall. "The other knights died for him. What does that make you?" He had launched into a full sprint now, fear of tripping overpowered by the terror of being crushed.

A flash of light streaked across the wall, but this one didn't simply vanish; instead, it seemed to cling to the glass of the locked window and illuminate the entire room with a sickening green glow. Rick scarcely had time to glance over his shoulder before a mass of glowing vines slammed him against the glass.

The monster stood there, breathing hard, shuddering uncontrollably, her arm stretched out to ensnare him, pinning his chest to the glass, suspending his feet in the air, and leaving his lungs barely able to withstand the pressure.

Only then did he see the full extent of the damage inflicted on her body. The mass of tentacles had been severely burnt, exposing bone and quivering remnants of blackened rotting muscle. The glow was stronger through the parts of her that weren't vines, dim enough to cast long shadows in every direction.

Her black eyes observed him with a crazed smile. "I know of your failures too, Richard." she proclaimed, advancing slowly, savoring the moment. "I heard all about you, about how you failed your students.” She spat the name, hoisting him up the pane of reinforced glass, unfazed by his desperate kicks at the limb. "Don't you see? I don't have a collar. But I'm not feral."

Rick froze.

The maiden’s smile widened further. "That's right," she laughed, lowering him just enough for them to be eye to eye. "Those filthy wildlings found some of your fellow outworlders. Bonding with Barry was so much fun."

Barry?

Rick’s mind raced, no, no, he couldn’t let himself be distracted, he drew from that anger that was drawing closer with every passing second. “You found a pureblood, and you couldn’t even save them.” He spat, snarling, kicking with renewed vigor. “Your lord would be disgusted with you.”

“DON’T SPEAK OF HIM!” She increased the pressure, his ribs creaked and Rick heaved.

“Stupid fucking nobility, obsessed with pureness of blood.” He sneered, still managing to kick at the mass of vines, however fruitless. “What would he’d say if he could see you?” His hand reached out, tapping the window. "You're a monster."

The maiden's eyes shifted from him to the glass, gazing at her reflection.

"Do you think your Lord Thorley would even recognize you?"

It was like witnessing a record scratch in real time, her black, pupil-less eyes widening slowly, mouth hanging open. Had she not seen her reflection until now? Or was there something else at play? Rick pressed on.

"Someone did this to you, didn't they? Turned you into this. Look at what they've done to you."

"NO! NO! NO!"

In a split second he found himself flying across the room. A shelf cushioned his fall in the same way that a fist would cushion one’s molars. The piece of wood toppled over, and he crumpled, groaning from pain that shot up his ribs.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" The monster stomped closer. "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM!" Her vine-like arms swung in wide arcs, flinging shelves and books in every direction.

There was a high-pitched shriek, one he nearly mistook for tinnitus or the first signs of a concussion. But it grew louder with the library doors bursting open. His head turned to the source, finding a silver and blue figure rushing in a straight line towards the monster.

The Archangel looked about as shocked as Rick, staring at the Metalmouse that had done a full body-lunge with utter disbelief.

“What?”

The meter-forty tall streak of gray slammed directly against the monster’s face. Mousy ears swung wildly as her arms blurred. Wielding only two knives, the diminutive maiden let out a shrill battlecry, slamming her blade against her opponent with unrelenting speed. It was like watching some kind of maniacal, bloodthirsty sewing machine, landing dozens of blows within the blink of an eye, blackened blood spraying in every direction.

The Metalmouse’s objective seemed to attempt to dig her way into the monster’s body through turning everything in her path into shreds.

She failed in that task, though not for a lack of trying. The monster roared, flailing and flinging wildly, throwing the maiden off. The tiny maiden curled into a ball mid-air, the silver parts of her body revealed to be armor of some sort as she came to a stop against a shelf.

With only a wince of pain, the maiden uncurled and bolted towards Rick, clambering through the books and splinters like they didn’t present an obstacle. Behind her, the monster thrashed, arms flinging blindly in every direction, her face obscured by a layer of black ichor, her eyes gouged out and her mouth twisted into a wail.

Rafaella reached out for Rick. “My Lord, we-”

“Get the others!” He commanded between coughs, pulling himself to his feet on wobbly legs and stinging lungs. “They-.”

“We're helping them, my Lord.”

We? It was all the explanation she would provide. The maiden, petite as she was, had ample strength to hoist him up and assist him in limping towards the entrance. Behind them, the monster kept attacking at… something, seemingly following some sound in the opposite direction. A diversion? Who else was here?

Rick glimpsed a dozen swift figures, navigating through the darkness unfazed. As they moved further from the monster, their visibility waned, her attack's light being the only illumination within the library. Shadows that chittered among themselves in some unknown code.

Rick caught a glimpse of his three companions being carried ahead.

Then the library doors closed behind him, and there was only darkness.

“The Dark Elves…”

“If you kill, you are killed. If you trap, you are trapped.” The maiden at his side spoke resolutely, leaving no room for argument.

Leaving without at least a prisoner was far from ideal, but just getting out of there alive was the best he could ask for.

“Thank you.” He whispered between wheezes, doing his best to keep up even though every other step was a stumble. He couldn’t see where they were going, but the tiny maidens seemed completely unperturbed.

Then there were stairs, and rather than carefully guide him up them, he was bodily hoisted by three of them. “We must hurry.” The Metalmouse spoke before he could even complain. “The bad Orcs will be here.”

“The tribe, they’ll help.”

“You, not us.”

She didn’t add any more.

Abstently, he realized the sound of screams and pounding had come to an end. There was nothing else now, only silence interrupted by the hurried short steps on the stone floor. “Is that a code of conduct?” His ribs ached in protest, but he couldn't bear the silence, not in this absolute darkness, even as they stumbled up some stairs.

He could only hope the place they were taking him to wasn’t some sort of elaborate trap.

“It is honor.”

A light appeared ahead, dim at first, but growing. It was a room, a bedroom with an open window. Unlike every other window in the fortress, this one did not have the shutters locked down; it was open, with a conspicuous-looking rope tied to the edge. He saw the Mousegirls climbing their way out in single file without looking back.

Kiara, Dia, and Eva lay on the bed, still unconscious.

Kiara in particular concerned him. Not only had her transformation ended, the maiden had significant first degree burns spreading throughout most of her body, her breaths were shallow and pained. “She needs help.”

“We don’t know what help to give, my Lord,” Rafaella said, looking at the Succubus with a conflicted expression. “We aren’t healers.”

“Do you not know how to help with light burns?”

She shook her head. “Any serious enough injury or illness means going to a healer.”

Of course. A drawback of having such absurd power to heal things meant things like first aid were vastly less necessary than even his own world. “I need cold water and clean bandages, or at least boiled cloth.”

She hesitated, looking at the door, then at the window. “I-.”

“The tribe won’t know you were here.” Rick stated firmly. “I’ll keep it a secret.”

Her mouth closed, and she nodded, rushing to the window. While she was gone, Rick hurried to confirm Kiara’s condition. She’d been mostly naked, the clothes she’d worn hadn’t singed or burned, but her skin had deep welts, the redness covering almost every inch as if she’d taken an extreme severe sunburn all over.

But worst of all was the angry streaks that covered her left flank, the points where she’d touched the vines.

Rafaella popped back with a basket. There was a swath of white cloth and a jug with water. It’d have to do until Dia got back to her senses. Grimacing, he knelt and began to carefully lay the dampened bandages over every bit of reddened exposed skin. He hoped that magical burns followed at least similar rules to normal ones.

“You’re a good Lord.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the Metalmouse, the maiden was watching him almost hawkishly, gray eyes focused like lasers. His eyes turned to the three unconscious maidens. All three of them had nearly died, one of them didn’t look to be out of the woods yet.

“Not good enough.” He muttered under his breath.

There was the sound of stomping, Rick glanced over his shoulder, finding Rafaella gone along the rope. Turning to the door, he could hear the approaching thunderous steps, there was no doubt of who it was.

Urtha practically burst through the door, eyes wild and holding her fists ready for a fight.

The instant she’d confirmed the state of those within, she hurried to Rick, dropping to her knees right in front of him. “You’re alive.” Her arms were trembling, half-reaching out to him, but freezing in place. “You’re alive.” It was a mix between a whimper and a whisper, there was just so much relief washing from her that it was overwhelming.

And Rick could only ask himself why she seemed to care so much. But… he couldn’t deny her, he covered the remaining distance and took her head into his arms, pushing down the cynicism and wrapping her head in his arms. She needed to lean slightly further for the heights to fit.

“I’m alive.” He whispered the words, feeling her take deep heavy breaths, relaxing ever so slightly against him, fighting against the impulse of hugging him back with twinges of apprehension and fear. “And the others?”

“Clearing the place.” She declared with shaking breaths. “The Chieftess…”

He paused.

“What is it?”

“We found her.” Urtha’s voice trembled, she was shaken. “The… she has the vines.”