Chapter 274: Cycle 50 (2)

Emmy frowned in concentration, curling the blade of a knife into a tight spiral. The metal wasn’t quite hot enough, but she didn’t want it to melt into itself as it cooled. As soon as she finished, she grabbed snips and cut slits every few centimeters. 

By that time the metal really was too cold, so she put it back into the forge. 

Two seconds later she pulled it out and set it on the anvil. She needed a water break. 

As she walked into the shop proper, someone yelled. Emmy paused, looking towards the plaza. 

Pep ran out of the inn, followed by a group of laughing hobgoblins. One threw an ax, which hit her square in the back. 

She collapsed, yelling. The group ran up, and one decapitated her. Pep vanished. 

Emmy stared, fur standing on end. The hobgoblins looked around, saw her, and grinned. One raised his ax, but another pushed his arm down. 

“No, she’s hot, don’t kill her yet,” he said. 

Emmy ran inside. She hid under the counter, sending three empty messages to Calvin in quick succession. As the shop door opened, she prepared a fireball. 

“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” one said, his voice taunting. 

Another snickered. “Nah, get to the point. Here, pussy, pussy, pussy…”

Emmy held her breath, heart racing as they laughed.

A hobgoblin’s face looked over the counter and grinned. She hit him with the fireball. 

He cursed, retreating. Three hobgoblins came running around the counter, eyes hungry. Emmy screamed as two grabbed her arms and one her ankles.

And then they turned into goldfish. Normal, three-inch-long goldfish. 

Emmy scrambled back into a corner as they flopped around for a bit, then twitched and died. The goldfish vanished, leaving a square of salmon as loot.

Calvin appeared the instant they were gone. He dropped to his knees next to Emmy and wrapped his arms around her. 

“Are you ok?” he asked. “Did they hurt you?”

Emmy buried her face in his chest, still shaking. “No.”

He held her for a few seconds before moving back to look her in the eye. “No to which question?”

“Both?”

He relaxed slightly, then pulled her in to hold her tighter. He whispered, telling her she was safe, that he’d protect her. Eventually she relaxed, and he let her move away from him. 

Emmy looked at the pieces of salmon on the floor. “You turned them into goldfish?”

“Yes,” he said, perfectly serious. 

“Why? I mean, why not just get rid of them?”

Calvin got the look on his face that he always had when he wasn’t supposed to tell her something. “Death isn’t real here. Punishments need to be… mental.”

Emmy watched him. “Have you turned other people into goldfish?”

“I… give them a chance to explain,” he said. “Some people shouldn’t be allowed in a body that can hurt others.”

She wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so she just leaned against him again. 

He tensed as the door creaked open. 

“Emmy?” Gin called. “Are you here? Are you all right?”

Emmy gave Calvin a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing to her feet. She smiled at Gin.

“I’m here, I’m fine,” she said. “Are you ok?”

“Just worried about you,” Gin said. “Did you kill the hobgoblins? They got Pep and Lee, and destroyed the inn.”

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“Fireballs,” Emmy said, summoning one to her palm. “I hid back there and sniped them.”

Gin nodded. “I’ll let Nat know, in case they come back. Do you want to come to the diner? There’s safety in numbers.”

“No, thank you, I’ll stay here for a bit,” Emmy said, dismissing the fireball. 

Gin nodded again, and left with a word of good-bye. 

Calvin got to his feet after she closed the door. “In case you were worried, they aren’t coming back.”

Emmy put her hands on his chest. “No, I know you wouldn’t let them.”

“Never.” He kissed her. 

 

*****

 

Jaab swam around the fish tank, trying to find a place to hide. People surrounded the tank, jeering and constantly tapping the glass with their fingernails. 

Suddenly he was ripped out of the water. He landed on a smooth grey floor in an endless, empty space, next to three other goldfish. He gasped, cold air raking over sensitive gills. As death drew closer, he felt his body change. He became a hobgoblin again, next to three other hobgoblins. 

Jaab knelt on the floor, still gasping.

“You have one chance to convince me you regret your actions.”

Jaab looked up. A few feet away stood a human with gold eyes and hair. The man didn’t look particularly imposing, but the anger on his face worried Jaab. 

Kiick laughed shortly. “I regret getting caught.”

The human flicked his hand, and Kiick turned back into a goldfish. He twitched for a few seconds, then died. His body didn’t vanish. 

Jaab stared at the dead fish, his frantic mind realizing what was going on. 

The human was The Admin. They’d pissed off the Admin himself. And not just enough to get an email saying “don’t do it again”, no, pissed off enough to get a face-to-face meeting. 

This was bad. 

This was very bad. 

To his right, Puunch growled. “What, those catgirls had it coming. If they think-“ He was turned into a goldfish. 

“I’m sorry,” Jaab said, hunching down to be as small as possible. “I’ll never leave my floor again!”

The Admin glared at him. “What are you sorry for?”

On his left, Sliice spoke up. “I’m sorry we left our floor and- and scared that cat!”

“Yeah!” Jaab agreed. “We were just jealous of Staab gettin’ all that- But we won’t be any more!”

“Nope!”

The Admin was silent for a few seconds, glaring down at them. Finally he waved his hand, and the dead goldfish vanished. Jaab knew he’d never see Puunch or Kiick again.

“I don’t care if you leave your floor or not,” the Admin snarled. “But if you ever touch a woman without her consent again, you will instantly regret it. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Cristal, sir.”

The Admin turned away, waving his hand dismissively. There was a brief darkness, and Jaab found himself back in his hut on Floor 92. 

He collapsed, curling into fetal position. He stayed there for a long, long time.

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