by Aaron Oster
“Figured me out, have you?” Samuel said with a raised eyebrow. “Now I wonder who could have… Ah, you had that visit with Dabu.”
“How did you…?”
“Know? Who do you think sent you there?” he asked, picking up his meat and taking another chunk out of it.
“Wait, what?”
Morgan was now very confused. If he was understanding Samuel correctly, then he had been the one to send him to see Dabu, but Dabu had said that he’d brought him there, so who had done it?
“Yes, yes, I know it’s a lot to process, but let’s get to why I’m here and you can ask me questions when I’m done.”
Morgan reluctantly nodded and Samuel turned to Sarah.
“Will you be joining us?” he asked.
Sarah glared at him, but rose to her feet and sat down near Morgan, wrapping both of her arms around one of his and pulling it tightly to her chest.
Morgan didn’t even bother trying to fight her. First of all, he was in too much pain and secondly, it felt oddly pleasant.
Samuel cleared his throat a few times before starting to speak.
“The reason I’m here is simple. I have a task for you, Morgan. One that I believe only you can accomplish.”
“Really? What would a god need me for? Can’t you just do it yourself?” he asked in a dry tone, feeling Sarah squeeze his arm even tighter.
He could feel her heart pounding rapidly from the contact and just then realized that he hadn’t told Sarah what Samuel was. She had been extremely rude to him and was probably afraid of what he might do to her.
“That’s an easy enough answer. It’s against the rules.”
“What rules?” Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow. “You keep mentioning them, then say you can’t tell us, as that would be breaking them. Just what kind of god are you, anyway?”
“Sorry, can’t answer that,” he said with a wave of his hand.
Morgan opened his mouth to argue, but Samuel held his hand up to forestall him.
“Just hear me out. I promise my offer is worth your while,” he said with a mysterious grin.
Morgan snapped his mouth shut and looked to Sarah. She met his gaze with her frightened one, but after a moment, gave a nod.
“Go on. I’m listening,” he finally answered.
“Great! Now as you know, there is currently a war raging between the North and Central Kingdoms. This, of course, is not good, as I worked very hard to keep the balance all these years. Your task is simple. Kill Edmund and help his daughter Katherine take the throne, before the Pinnacle Kings awake.”
“Katherine already contacted me about this issue with her father. She asked me to help her overthrow him, so I was going to do it anyway. She gave me a pretty good deal too,” he replied with a grin.
“But what exactly is a Pinnacle King?” he asked.
“Oh, you’ve already agreed? Wonderful! As for the Pinnacle Kings… When the Tyrant King’s war was stopped and the kingdoms were forbidden from fighting, I set up an… insurance policy. Five massively powerful beasts were created, one for each kingdom, so if they ever went to war again, the Pinnacle Kings would destroy them all.”
Sarah gaped at him and Moran quirked a brow.
“Isn’t destroying the world kind of extreme?”
“In retrospect, it was a bit extreme,” Samuel said with an embarrassed laugh. “But once they were placed, I could no longer remove them.”
“Let me guess,” Morgan said, “that would be against the rules.”
“Exactly! Glad to see you’re catching on!”
Morgan let out a sigh, wincing as his broken ribs scraped against one another.
“How long do we have?”
“Four weeks from when the war started,” Samuel replied.
“What?” both Sarah and Morgan exclaimed at once.
“That would only give us…” Sarah stopped and began counting in her head.
“Four days,” Samuel replied. “And yes, I know it’s not a lot of time.”
“No shit!” Sarah exclaimed.
“How do you propose we stop this war in four days when we’re still stuck in here?” Morgan asked.
“Sorry, can’t help you there,” Samuel replied with a shrug.
“If the war isn’t over by then, the first of the Pinnacle Kings will awaken in the North. After that, a new one will awaken every month until they all rise. So long as the last one doesn’t wake, you still have a chance, but once he does…” Samuel shrugged again.
“End of the world,” Morgan said, rubbing at his temples.
Why him? Sure, he liked fighting powerful foes, but he wasn’t nearly strong enough to kill Edmund and the time frame was ludicrous.
“You said it’s possible to kill them. How difficult would killing one be?” he asked.
“Well, the Pinnacle Kings are infused with the energy of the world. Each is at the maximum rank of 50 with their abilities, it’ll be extremely difficult to take even a single one down.”
Morgan winced at those numbers.
If a regular pinnacle beast was dangerous enough that Katherine would only take one on if it was a full 30 ranks below her, then he didn’t even want to imagine what a rank 50 pinnacle beast infused with reiki could do.
“I see the situation is sinking in,” Samuel said solemnly. “Not to worry, though. Just kill Edmund in less than four days and all will be right in the world.”
“You failed to mention what I get out of this,” Morgan said, looking up at him. “If I’m to undertake this ridiculously difficult task, then the reward better be worth it.”
“Oh, it is,” Samuel said with a grin. “If you kill Edmund, I’ll fix you.”
“Fix me?” Morgan asked, confused.
“Yes. You may have noticed a gap in your memory. I’d say about two years’ worth,” Samuel said, “What you may not be aware of is that the person who messed with your memories, did some… shall we say, alterations to your body and mind.”
To say that Morgan was shocked would have been the understatement of the century.
Someone had messed not only with his mind, but with his body as well?
“Who did this to me and why did they do it? What did they change?” Morgan finally asked.
“Well, to put it simply, they made some very significant changes to your body and those changes are affecting your behavior, mood, and the way you interact with just about anyone.”
Morgan felt Sarah’s arms tighten painfully around his and she let out a small gasp.
“Wait, how exactly did they change him?” Sarah cut in, leaning forward and staring at Samuel intensely, all signs of her earlier fear now gone.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that he has no sense of propriety. He also doesn’t seem even remotely attracted to you, despite you obviously being a beautiful young woman. You may also have noticed his complete inability to understand anything in the, shall we say, romantic department.”
Sarah flushed at this, but the entire thing had gone entirely over Morgan’s head.
Just what on earth were they talking about?
“As you can see from the baffled expression on his face, he has no idea what I’m talking about,” Samuel said a second later as if he’d read his mind.
“And you can fix him?!” Sarah excitedly asked.
“Of course. I wouldn’t offer if I couldn’t.”
Morgan decided that enough was enough.
“Alright, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m guessing it’s something important. The real question is who did this to me, and why?”
“Well, I can’t give you an exact name, as it would be against the rules. Let’s just say that they’re the competition. As to why, they wanted the perfect warrior and things like emotions or attraction to the opposite sex, are unnecessary distractions,” he said with a shrug, rising from his seated position with a light groan.
“Wait, what? Who wants to use me?” Morgan exclaimed, feeling his heart rate quicken.
Morgan was about to reply, but Sarah cut him off.
“He will!” she excitedly said, squeezing his arm tightly.
Morgan winced as she did this. He was beginning to go numb with how hard she’d been squeezing.
“Excellent. Just what I wanted to hear. Now, one last thing before I go.” He waved his hand and an invisible force slammed into Morgan.
He gasped as a massive pain wracked his body, then he passed out.
***
Sarah felt Morgan slump against her and turned to see that he’d fallen unconscious.
“What did you do to him?” she demanded, turning to glare at the smiling god.
“Do calm down, Sarah. I just helped him. My competition cheated by messing with Morgan, so figured I could cheat a little too. So long as you are in this beast zone, you will no longer need to train to gain the maximum attributes per rank. Now you can rank up to your heart’s content. Oh, and I also healed him,” he added.
“Just keep in mind that you’d better get out of here quickly. You only have four days, so you’d better hop to it. He’s also been slowly regaining his memories. I’ve stopped that for now, as it would only be a hindrance rather than a boon.” He turned as if to go, then stopped as he seemed to remember something important.
“Oh. One more thing,” he said, looking her straight in the eye; bright silver eyes piercing into her very soul.
“The path to true power does not lie in merely ranking up. Make sure to keep that in mind when doing so.”
With that he nodded and abruptly disappeared, leaving a very confused Sarah to lower her unconscious friend to the ground.
***
Six years ago…
Sarah struggled and fought against the guard as he dragged her further down the long corridor, sloping ever downward.
“If you keep struggling, I’ll hit you again!” the guard yelled at her, causing Sarah to immediately stop, as her face still hurt from when the guard had slapped her earlier.
“Finally using our heads, are we?” the guard said, sneering back at her. “Don’t worry your pretty little head. Once your father pays your ransom, we’ll be more than happy to let you go. Can’t say the same for your little friend, though.” The guard chuckled, taking a right turn down a corridor.
Sarah felt her heart sink when she heard that.
They would let her go, but kill Morgan? That wasn’t fair! All he’d been doing was helping her escape and he didn’t deserve to die for that.
As they took another turn, Sarah’s eyes were inexorably drawn to the dagger sheathed at the man’s belt. She bit her lip as they took yet another turn, debating whether she had the courage to grab the knife and go after Morgan.
There was also still the issue of her not knowing where they were keeping him, though she had a feeling she’d be finding out soon enough.
“Ah, looks like we’re almost there,” the guard said, pointing to another door disguised as a section of wall.
Now that she knew what to look for, Sarah could spot the irregular deep pattern in the brick that outlined the door.
If Morgan was through that door, then this was her chance to act.
She waited for the man to stop by the door, before she lunged forward, twisting out of his grip and tearing the dagger from its sheath.
“Hey, what are you…” the guard began, as he turned to glare at her.
Then he spotted the dagger in Sarah’s hand and she grinned as she waived it before him.
“Get out of my way or I’ll stab you!” Sarah said, clutching the knife in a shaky hand.
To her horror, the man just laughed at her instead of running for his life as she’d expected.
“I mean it!” Sarah yelled, feeling an edge of panic creeping into her voice.
“Why don’t you hand me the knife before you hurt yourself?” the guard said, reaching for her with a sneer on his face.
Sarah screamed, then closed her eyes and ran forward, thrusting the dagger out before her and felt it sink into something soft. She heard a loud scream and cracked an eye open.
The guard was doubled over, clutching at the dagger which was protruding from between his legs. Sarah stared, wide-eyed as the guard staggered over to her, face twisted in pain and red with rage. He shuffled awkwardly forward as blood began to drench the front of his pants.
“You… Little… Bitch!” he gasped out, reaching out for her with a clawed hand.
Sarah staggered back, terror written on her face as the man continued shuffling towards her. The man let out a pained groan and slumped onto the ground, clutching at the dagger embedded in his crotch.
Sarah saw this as an opportunity and ran forward, kicking out at the man’s hand and accidentally driving the dagger in deeper. The guard let out a high pitched scream that didn’t sound at all right coming from a grown man, then he passed out.
Sarah reached down with shaky hands, wrapping both of them around the dagger hilt, and pulled with all her might. After a few seconds, the dagger came free, along with a fountain of blood. She screamed as she was covered in the stuff and she staggered over to the still closed door, half panicking and half disgusted.
She fumbled with the latch, feeling on the verge of panic and tried her best not to think about what she’d just done. Finally finding the hidden latch, she flipped it up and the door opened with a loud creak. The first thing she saw when she came in was the back of the man who had started all of this, the man named Kook.
Sarah felt her fear melt away as her eyes landed on Hint’s killer, and she let out a scream of rage; barreling into the room and charging straight at the man. He turned in surprise and she sank the dagger deep into his side, screaming all the while. The man dropped to one knee, clutching at the dagger in his side and staring at her in incomprehension.
Then something snatched her arm and dragged her out of the room. She immediately began to struggle but stopped when she heard Morgan’s familiar voice.
“You need to calm down.”
Sarah almost stopped running, but Morgan was stronger than he looked and he tugged her along behind him.
“Morgan, how did you…”
“No time,” he said, stopping by the first intersection. “Which way to get out of here?”
Sarah stared at him for a few moments of incomprehension, then her mind abruptly caught up with what was happening and she almost lost it right there. She would have if Morgan hadn’t been there with her. Taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, she pointed a shaky hand towards the corridor that led up to the surface.
“Good. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor she’d indicated.
Sarah felt the strong grip on her wrist and used that feeling to ground herself.
Only she knew how to get out of here. Morgan was counting on her to lead them and she wouldn’t let him down.
She took a few more shaky breaths, then surprising found that she felt calm despite her surroundings. They came to another intersection and she immediately pointed him in the right direction. Morgan took the turn quickly, dragging her along in his wake. She did her best to keep up with him, but she was wearing a dress and shoes that were not suited for running. Add to that, that she normally didn’t need to run like this and that all combined to have her panting for breath after only thirty seconds.
“Need… Break…!” she panted as they took another turn and the ground began sloping upward.
“No time,” Morgan answered.
Sarah was about to retort, but the sound of crashing footsteps, followed by angry shouting, convinced her otherwise.
Her breathing became more and more labored as they continued running uphill, but she didn’t dare stop. The voices behind them were growing louder by the second and she no longer had any delusions that they would treat her well if they caught her.
“Exit… Ahead!” she wheezed, stumbling slightly as M
organ somehow increased his speed even more.
They skidded to a halt by the exit and Morgan began searching for the switch that would release the door. After a few desperate seconds of fumbling around, he finally found it and the door slid open with a loud grinding noise.
Sarah wanted to take a few seconds to catch her breath, but Morgan was dragging her through the door into the now dark square and she was stumbling along behind him, her vision going fuzzy as she gasped for air.
“We’re almost there,” Morgan said, looking back at her and noticing her condition worsening.
“Where?” she asked, only managing the one word.
“Sewer. Too risky climbing the rubble,” he answered.
Sarah let out an involuntary groan, but didn’t make any further sound of a complaint as Morgan dragged her towards the still open sewer grate.
They had almost made it when a group of men burst from the hidden door and immediately spotted them.
“There they are! After them!”
Sarah chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw no less than ten dirty men running at them, all brandishing an assortment of weapons.
“Down we go!” Morgan called out.
And that was all the warning she got as the two of them plunged, once again, into the filthy sewer.
28
Katherine stared as Gold pulled a gleaming black key, embossed with the number 49 in red lettering, from his robe pockets.
An advanced Beast Zone key.
“Are you insane?” she said, practically exploding. “You’re willing to risk the lives of your students, just to have me fight the most powerful Beast Zone Patriarch known in the Five Kingdoms?”
“Yup! I can’t defeat it on my own, so you’re going to help me,” he replied, getting up from his seat and beginning to stretch.
“What’s wrong with you?!” she yelled. “Even if we go full out, with no stops for food or sleep, it’ll take at least thirty-six hours to get through to the end! Not to mention how long it’ll take to defeat that monster once we get there!”
“Yup,” he responded again, completely nonplussed. “Now, would you like to change before we go?”
