Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Underground Problems

CW: Blood

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After the bath I got myself a casual outfit. Some baggy pants and a shirt would do just fine for the night. I turn to Robin and find her staring at nothing, a pleased smile on her face.

"I can't believe you didn't wash your tail until now." She said after a relaxed sigh.

"Alright, alright!" I laughed and rolled my eyes. "You're not letting me live this down, are you?"

"Oh, not for a second!" She paused for a moment, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Don't think I'll go any easier on you from now on because of this, Rookie!"

"You better not! I gotta be ready for my next missions. Hells, I've got a succubus, a mysterious magical lady and a cult looking for me."

"Mysterious magical... Oh, fuck." Her eyes widened and her tone suddenly changed to be much more concerned. "By the gods, I hope it's not her."

"Oh, not you too... Heather had a similar reaction. When will I get a proper explanation of who I was before, my enemies, how I died-"

"I can't say much just yet, but we'll need you for a mission soon enough. We'll answer any questions you might have there, I promise."

"Alright, I'll trust you."

"Thank you, I'll be heading back to my room. We should do this again sometime." She kissed me on the cheek before leaving.

I stayed behind for a few seconds, still processing everything that had happened. My legs were still somewhat shaky, and my mind would often drift back to the moment we were both catching our breaths, leaning against one another and holding hands right after... Everything. I felt shy about it, but that somehow only made it more fun. I snapped my mind back to the present and left the room, heading towards the laboratory once again.

On the way back, I felt like I was being watched. It was already pretty late at that point, so I chalked it up to my tired mind at first. Suddenly, I got another horrible headache. I fell to my knees, clutched my head and tried to shout. I heard that familiar voice once again, taunting me solely with its presence.

"Once I learned of your survival, I just couldn't help myself." She spoke with such delight I could hear her smile. "And yet, your mind is still tougher to crack than most. Oh, I've heard of your current situation, alright. And that's what fascinates me."

"Who are you!?" I tried to ask in my own mind. The strain only got worse, and I fell prone, no longer able to even lift myself up with my arms.

"By all means, you should be dead." The voice had either decided to ignore me, or just hadn't heard my desperate question. "Do try to survive until we meet again, I've heard that one succubus friend of yours is quite a handful. I don't want my merchandise damaged. See you soon, dear."

The pain finally stopped, and my mind was clear once again. I got up and was about to continue my trip back to my room, then stopped. I needed to know what was happening to me, I needed to get answers as soon as possible. I set out for the throne room instead, determined to find the queen and get her talking.

Walking through the empty halls at night felt strange. Almost as if I wasn't supposed to be there, but very nostalgic all the same. No doubt that was another remnant of my previous self. It reminded me of all the other times it had happened, and it annoyed me. I knew the succubus was an old rival of mine, but who was the voice? I didn't know how I apparently died, why I could come back from death before and why I lost my memories this time. Each step of mine was moved by the determination to no longer be in the dark. I would get myself caught up, now or never.

I got to the hall and kept going for the door. I looked through the window before opening the door. The moon was full, and the clouds in the sky were parting perfectly for it to be seen from where I stood. There was a strange energy to the air, and the fur on my tail was standing up. Suddenly I heard something come from within the throne room, and I dashed for it as fast as I could. I burst through the door, only to find an empty room. 

I heard the same noise again, a low and rough growling that made my heart skip a beat. I looked around in search of the sound, being careful in case there were any invisible threats in the room. The idea of an invisible assassin was too real to me after what I had been through in the past few days. After some investigating, I found a wooden hatch under the carpet. Steeling myself for a possible fight, I opened it and jumped in without a second thought.

The hatch dropped into a small room filled with books. The floor and ceiling were made of a rough looking stone, making it clear it wasn't designed to be seen by many. In the middle of the room, on top of a red summoning circle, was Heather and some form of creature leaving a grimoire. A wind formed within the room as the mage attempted to force the creature back to where it came from. She looked over to me in terror, and I ran to help.

The monster had a huge mouth with sharp teeth, but barely any neck mobility. Its claws reached for me, attempting to cut me down. I tried to remember Robin's training, and all the sword dodging I was doing. It'd be the same thing, except with something that truly wanted me dead. I couldn't find any weapons around me, and Heather didn't seem to be carrying so much as a dagger. I had to make a decision before all hell broke loose, and so I found an opening in the enemy's blows and jumped in, trying to hit it as much as possible and push it back into the portal.

"Why do these things happen-" In between hits, the demon somehow managed to claw my left arm. "-When I'm off duty!? Gods, that hurts!"

"The first time you were on duty!" Heather shouted back, managing to contain the beast slightly better. "Remember? When you got stabbed?!"

"Not the time, Heather!"

I threw myself onto the being with all my weight, pushing as hard as I could and holding up its arms. It desperately attempted to break free, and it took all my strength to not let go. It only got worse once it bit my shoulder, sinking its teeth hard into my flesh and bone and covering the entire right side of my body in blood. I pushed harder, beyond what I knew I could handle. The muscles in my legs were burning, the stabbing bites and chewing of the demon were unbearable, and I couldn't hold it for much longer.

Heather approached me, the book slowly swallowing the abomination it previously unleashed. Until finally, with one final scream, it releases my shoulder and gets pulled back in. The wind stops and the room is once again completely quiet. The wizard sits against the wall, and I lean on my good shoulder against it.

"Heather."

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck."

The hatch swings open to reveal Dane looking down at us, a horrified expression on his face.

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"They're here!" He shouted, and soon after the faces of Robin and the Queen joined him.

They help us back up from the small room, and Dane quietly hands me a large healing potion. Everyone looked like they had seen their own fights, and although their clothes were torn apart in certain places I couldn't see any injuries. I was relieved to see the potions did their work, and drank mine to the last drop.

"That wound on your shoulder is really deep." Robin said while looking at the closing wound. "Even with the potion, it's going to leave a scar."

"Right." I said. I looked at the queen and pointed to the hole. "Demons? Secret hatches in the throne room? I came here to ask questions and I just found more mysteries. I want my answers. Now."

"The hatch is a remnant of the previous queen's rule. Used to be used for summoning, a purpose we thought we had erased." The Queen promptly answered. "And she's most likely the one who sent these things in the first place."

"Thank you! That's all I wanted. How did I die? And why did I still come back?"

"That was her." Robin spoke with great disdain in her voice. "You took a last stand against the bastard and got your mark erased."

"My mark?"

"On the back of your left hand there used to be a mark. It was the symbol of your immortality, granted to you by-"

"-Yours truly." The Queen finished.

"So she's back for revenge? Reclaim the throne and whatnot?"

"That's what it looks like."

"I'm still getting messages from her. Claims she wants my mind, that she thought I was dead and... The headache that comes with those little conversations is unbearable."

"Once you're back from your next mission," Heather dusted the tome off and bound it with glowing blue ribbons. "which we'll have to start much earlier than expected, I'll do my best to study your condition and remedy it."

"From now on, I'd appreciate being informed of such important things."

"Rookie." Robin placed her hand on my shoulder. "You need to always be on your guard, and make sure no one finds out about what happened here other than Fate and Carver."

"We brief you on the mission tomorrow, Naomi." The Queen said before turning around and leaving the room.

"And if you see any more of these things around, give me a shout." Heather added.

No one still there had much else to say, and so we nodded to one another and took our leave. On the way back to my room I expected to hear that voice again. I never did, but it was always in the back of my mind. When I finally got to the lab, Fate took one look at the still closing wound on my shoulder and the blood on my clothes and quickly ran up for a hug.

"By the gods, Nay! What happened?!" She asked.

"Demons." I answered. "Be careful, Fate."

"Demons? In the castle?!"

"Our next mission might have something to do with that." I looked around, not finding my second adventuring companion. "Where's Carv?"

"He left the room a little after you left. Said he had to investigate something. I have no idea where he went!"

"I'll look for him, stay here."

"What? You're not going alone, Naomi!" She grabbed her pack of potions from the desk. "I can handle myself!"

"That's not the problem, I just think one of us should stay and protect the-"

Our conversation then got interrupted by the door violently swinging open. Standing before us, bloodied, hurt and carrying a large backpack was Carver. His left eye was swollen shut, his face and arms were covered in bruises and cuts and some of his fingers seemed broken. He dropped the backpack on the floor and with great difficulty looked up at us.

"I found something... In the catacombs..."

And then he collapsed.

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