Janus and The Prince: A LitRPG Saga (The Nightmares of Alamir Book 2)

by Noam Oswin

  [25 Genocide Points Earned]

  [You have unlocked the suitable conditions for evolution.]

  “WUNDER!”

  Arol’s cry came, the poltergeist’s gaze landing on that of the dead Barbeast, and then going up to me. It took everything I had not to flinch from the amount of loathing I could see on her face. So much that it annoyed me. Irked me. I thought nightmares had no empathy? I thought they had a live and let live approach to such things? Was she not the very same person who claimed to enjoy pillaging and destruction?

  Hypocrite. I thought, shaking my head. They’re all hypocrites.

  “RRRAAAAAH!”

  There were various smarter strategies she could have used. Hit-and-run tactics. Possessing the body of one of my golems. Using her sonic scream. There were dozens of other things she could have done that would have been a more viable tactic than a full-on, rage-fueled rush in my direction. A rage-fueled rush against someone who had already proven to have the foresight to come prepared with her major weakness.

  “Sorry.”

  I rose my right hand and focused on my most sure-fire skill, focused on changing it from diamond to something else.

  “[Halite Bullet].”

  The rock-salt bullet tore through the air with a crack. I side-stepped. Arol’s charge came to a dead stumble as she crashed into the earth beside me. I did not need to look behind me. I merely rose my right hand and aimed for the back of her head.

  “[Halite Bullet].”

  Dusting my hands, I sighed, and shook my head. What a waste.

  [You have slayed a Scout of Fort Zyvar!]

  [You have slayed Arol the Poltergeist!]

  [850,620 Experience Points Gained]

  The title [Genocidal] has come into effect for the Species: [Poltergeist].

  The title [Genocidal] has come into effect for the Species: [Leporinian].

  [25 Genocide Points Earned]

  [You have unlocked the suitable conditions for evolution.]

  The battle was wrapping up. The Sphinx was defeated. Wunder was dead. Arol was dead. The only ones left were –

  [You have slayed a Lieutenant of Fort Zyvar!]

  [You slayed Onna the Yuki-onna!]

  [1,563,742 Experience Points Gained]

  The title [Genocidal] has come into effect for the Species: [Yuki-Onna].

  [25 Genocide Points Earned]

  [You have unlocked the suitable conditions for evolution.]

  Well, that was expected. The Tungsten Golem Infantry had completely overwhelmed and eliminated Onna without much difficulty. Tungsten as a material was hard to freeze, and with her major ability taken out of the equation, there was not much else she could do against them.

  That left only two targets for me to take down. The two wildcards, Erzili and Slim. There was the possibility that Erzili was somewhere deep within the Fort, hiding in ambush and waiting for me to enter the range of that deadly ability.

  I knew, at the very least, that Erzili’s range did not encompass the entire Fort, else I would long have been turned into a puddle. Now, we had entered a deadly game of cat and mouse wherein I could be liquified without warning if I were to be careless.

  “You have come here to destroy all of us, haven’t you?”

  A thick, familiar rasping voice reached me. The monstrously thin form of the creature known as Slim approached with his hands to the side. My golem infantry surrounded him immediately, and his freakish, face-splitting smile appeared once more on his features.

  “Will you attack me, even if I surrender?”

  “You’re… surrendering?”

  “I’ve watched you, masked one. You came prepared. Too prepared. One does not reach that level of preparation without having done their research. I do not know if it was by means of a spy or by means of clairvoyance, but it is clear that you have a strategy to eliminate all of us.” Slim said, dropping his hands to the side. “Thus, to attack when you already know my weakness would be foolish. I would prefer to avoid conflict, if possible. So, I choose to surrender.”

  I don’t have a strategy in place for you, though. There was no reason for him to know that. There was no reason for me to tell him that either.

  “So, will you let me go?”

  “You want to just leave?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even after I attacked your Fort and killed your comrades?”

  Slim let out a large rasping laugh. “We were never comrades. I only joined this Fort because Erzili’s goals happened to coincide with mine. I was made into a Lieutenant because I am the strongest one here after Erzili. Most of them fear me, and the only one that did not fear me did so because she did not know me.”

  Slim shook his head. “Regardless, what would you have me do? Charge forward to attack you in the name of vengeance? No, masked one. Such will be a waste. I have no wish to throw my life away. However, I will not begrudge you should you choose to take the path of caution and attack me. I, too, have once made the mistake of sparing a single life from a village I fed on. The little girl grew with a vendetta and led the hunt that brought my species to extinction. It is my greatest mistake, and I cannot let myself die until I have corrected it.”

  The Last Wendigo. I remembered Slim’s title, the one that lay over his head. He’s the last of his entire species.

  “Go on,” I said. “I don’t have any interest in killing someone who has already surrendered.”

  “That is very noble of you,” Slim said, laughing. “Also, very foolish. I pray you do not one day make that mistake with one less amicable than I.” Slim pointed with a straight finger. “Erzili awaits you at the Commander’s Chambers. Best of luck in your hunt, masked one.”

  “Janus,” I said. “My name is Janus.”

  “Ah, the god of two-faces. I see.”

  Had I possessed a beating heart it would have stopped at that moment.

  “I am Slim, the King of Wendigos,” Slim announced, bowing. “Till we meet again, Janus.”

  “Wait, how do you –”

  My words never reached him. The Wendigo fell back into his own shadow, the shadow splashed like a stone dropped into an ink-filled well, enveloping the creature entirely.

  Just like that, Slim was gone.

  He knew… did he know the meaning of my name?

  Focus. Focus. I would find out, eventually. At least, one obstacle in my path was gone, and that only left Erzili as the final target to deal with.

  “Tungsten forces, advance!”

  The march onwards to the Commander’s Chambers was more nerve-wracking than I would want to admit. Slim had already proven himself to be both dangerous and knowledgeable, and if he had chosen to side with Erzili, it was every bit possible for Erzili to be equally or more dangerous and knowledgeable. I still did not know the effective range of Erzili’s liquefaction power. I was waging a war with very limited information, and it could be my downfall.

  Moving past the Ditch, I realized that the Commander’s Chambers was a structure within the Fort. Indoors, smart. My Calvary forces could not move indoors. There would be nowhere near enough space for my Infantry either. Maybe two or three, but no more.

  It seems it’s finally up to me.

  “Infantry, Calvary, Artillery – be on standby.”

  There were no doors to enter, and instead, I ascended a spiral staircase as soon as I entered the Commander’s Chambers. The walls were moist and covered with moss, the staircase was broken and damaged, and with each step I took, I could hear a soft humming.

  The humming increased in volume as I reached the top, a candlelit, rose-scented room that was considerably cleaner and newer than the rest of the fort. The walls had shelves lined with books upon books, there were other shelves with vials and bottles labeled, there was a map plastered on the wall with pins and notes made on it. A large table lay in the middle of the room, with tiny pieces that resembled chess pieces present on a smaller-scale map. There was a dresser, a bed, a desk filled with numerous open books and jot
tings with an ink quill. There were several crumpled up pieces of parchment, beside the desk, and what appeared to be a large cauldron that rested in a corner of the room.

  “My, darling, you’re finally here.”

  Chapter 10: Survival

  The form Erzili took was something different. Notably, it was still a feminine form. Dark-skinned as I remembered, but the facial features were all different. The hair was a vibrant brilliant red. Amber eyes and soft lips, the woman before me appeared to be in her late teens to early twenties, and there was none of the overly sexual allure that the previous form possessed. No, this time around, she appeared to have an almost innocent allure.

  Most notably, she was clothed. Fully clothed. The garment was odd, unusual. It seemed to be a robe of some sort, but I could not place the material used to make it, nor could I understand the design. It was as if one chose to turn a formal shirt into a bathrobe, and then somehow blend it with a hoodie and pajamas. Collars, pockets, buttons and an elastic rope. My mind was full trying to make sense of what exactly I was seeing.

  “My, you went and made short work of all of Erzili’s precious darlings. That’s rather depressing. Erzili worked rather hard to get so many diverse darlings in one place.”

  “You’ll be joining them soon.”

  Erzili laughed. “So feisty! It’s a shame you’ve come here in vain darling. Erzili cannot be killed.”

  I rose my gauntleted hand, “I’ll find a way.”

  Erzili laughed again. A shrill, feminine laugh. She sat on her bed, crossed her legs, placed her elbow on her thigh and her chin in her palm. “You’re here for Erzili’s ability aren’t you?”

  I didn’t respond. Erzili swayed her head.

  “It’s always the same darling, always the same.” She gestured her hands into the air. “Well now dear, go ahead and try your best. Erzili is waiting.”

  [Skill {Mental Resistance} has gained a Level.]

  “What did you just do?”

  “Nothing darling.”

  It was not nothing. My mental resistance skill would not have suddenly gained a level if it was nothing.

  [Skill {Mental Resistance} has gained a Level.]

  “Whatever it is you’re doing –”

  “You cannot tell me you’ve never heard of Epithet Skills, darling.”

  I kept my gaze leveled on her. “This is your Epithet Skill?”

  Erzili stretched her arms wide open. “Erzili is one with desires. Erzili can always tell the desires of the one before Erzili, and the ones before Erzili cannot hide their true desires. Because Erzili can always feel desires, Erzili has become a desire. A desire that spreads like wildfire darling, like wildfire.”

  [Skill {Mental Resistance} has gained a Level.]

  The shudder ran through me a second time. “That’s irritating.”

  “Erzili is impressed. How is it that you have not yet thrown yourself at Erzili, wild with frenzy?”

  Because I’m a skeleton. That was why. I can’t feel arousal. “I prefer modest women.”

  “Rude, darling. That’s just rude. Alas, Erzili can be that too –”

  “I’ll pass.”

  I gestured my fingers, pointing straight at Erzili’s head. She did not move. Her smile never vanished from her face. Instead, she leaned forward, fully expectant. My finger trembled. Fire. The sonic crack burst through the air. Erzili’s eyes widened. [Diamond bullet] tore through her skull. A hole, straight in between her eyes.

  “My, my, Erzili is surprised.”

  There was no blood, or brain matter, no skull or damage. The hole closed up, gelatinous matter mending the wound and treating it like a non-issue. Erzili’s eyes sparkled with amusement and curiosity.

  “This is the first time a person has been able to harm Erzili after being exposed to Erzili’s allure.”

  “You have an odd definition of harm.”

  “When one is a perfect lifeform darling, it tends to happen.” Erzili waved her hand dismissively. “Slimes naturally have immunities to certain types of damage darling, and Erzili, well, Erzili is far above your normal slime. Six hundred and twenty-six years is enough time to insulate one from such petty trivialities.”

  Six hundred and twenty-six years? Erzili did not seem to be lying. No, more than that, more disturbingly, the Slithercreep was oddly blasé about the entire encounter. Is it because she doesn’t know I’m a skeleton? Or because I killed all of her minions?

  The difference between the Erzili before me and the Erzili of the previous timeline was maddening. This Erzili did not treat me as someone inferior, yet this Erzili did not feel the slightest bit of danger or trepidation from my presence. There was self-assured confidence as if utterly guaranteed that there was nothing I could do that would be able to render harm.

  “Well darling, now that we’ve gotten all that business out of the way,” Erzili sat on the bed, crossing her legs, and patting on the side. “Sit. Erzili is curious, darling. Erzili has made no shortage of enemies across the years from Kobold Kings to Arachne Queens, but Erzili certainly does not remember making an enemy of a two-faced sorcerer that commands an army of golems.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Erzili has a rather good memory darling.”

  I doubted it. Still, I was amused. Amused enough to talk. “I was a lowly creature when you met me. I seemed to have annoyed you, and you turned me into a liquid blob. Nearly drove me insane.”

  “Oh, my.”

  “The damage to my sense of proprioception was the worst. I’ve been a creature that crawled without arms and legs before, and yet, even that, somehow, was a thousand times better than being something that could not even control what its body did. Imagine it. Your own body, out of your control. Your arms and legs and torso – melting away, spreading out of your grasp, ignoring your desperate, eager pleas to come back, to listen, to not abandon you.”

  “I’m not scared of death. When I die, I will not even be aware of it. But to be alive, and not live, to be a conscious thing incapable of action, thought and words. Unable to so much voice my horror with a scream, to not even have the option of ending your existence –”

  The room was silent. My hands, I noticed, were shaking. Odd. They never shook. Not when going against Hoplite, against Zlosta, not when Oblivion died or when I was on the verge of demise, time, and time, and time again.

  “For the first time since I’ve been in Alamir… I was afraid. You – you made me… afraid. Because I realized, dying is not the worst fate I can have. It’s actually… the most merciful.”

  It was only, after the words had left my mouth, that I understood. That I understood why I had said them in the first place entirely. A soft chuckle escaped me at the realization of it all.

  “Your Epithet Skill… it more than makes people desire you, doesn’t it?”

  There was a smile on Erzili’s face. It did not reach her eyes. “It does, darling.”

  I would have laughed if I had the energy in me to do so. I knew it was her skill doing it. I knew, it was her skill, making me open my mouth and talk. Making me relaxed, comfortable. Soothing the urgency I should have felt. Curbing the bloodlust and drive I’d started my mission with. Yet, I could not find it in me to be bothered. I wondered if her skill was responsible for that too.

  “So, I suppose, I’m here to kill you. For that. That fear. I told myself it wasn’t personal. But it is.”

  “Killing Erzili won’t get rid of that fear, darling.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Darling,” Erzili rose from the bed, approaching me with soft, slow steps. “As powerful as Erzili is, Erzili is nothing, nothing, darling, compared to the true nightmares of this world. The Night Emperors, Nightly Ones, Anathemas, Transcendents, Champions, Demiurges and Devas – Erzili is nothing to them, darling. Even if you kill Erzili – you cannot kill them all darling. For as long as people dream, nightmares will always exist.”

  “Then what am I supposed to do? Live in fear?”

&nbs
p; “No, darling,” Erzili shook her head. “Just survive.”

  “Survive?”

  Her eyes shone with dark-red light. “Nightmares are like Oreillian wine darling. We don’t die of old age or sickness. The number one cause of death for nightmares is a blade. Or a fang. Or a claw. Occasionally a tentacle. But a nightmare, always, always, finds their end, one way or another, through battle. And thus, the most powerful among us are the oldest among us. Those who have survived a million battles.”

  “So survive, darling. Survive. Survive and survive and survive. Pick your battles. Flee, be cowardly and dastardly if you must. Cheat and lie, betray and trick, and do whatever you can to survive.”

  Her hand reached out, lightly caressing my mask. “Without knowing it, a day will come when you realize… that fear no longer haunts you.”

  I took a step back on instinct. Her words, her actions –

  “That’s what you’re doing now isn’t it?”

  Erzili smiled. “Clever, darling. Yes. Though Erzili sincerely doubts you have the means to kill Erzili, there is always that slim possibility. Erzili has managed to survive this long by avoiding direct combat, and will do anything, anything at all, to survive even longer.”

  “Why are you trying to survive so hard?”

  Erzili sighed, before spinning around and taking a seat on the bed once more. “For a foolish dream, darling. A dream this foolish one has had since when Erzili was a slime with ne’er an ounce of intelligence.”

  Erzili landed flat on the bed, her hand gesturing up, grasping at air. “Erzili wants a family. A group of nightmares of all species and races. Working together. Living together. Something like what the adventurers have. Erzili has always envied that camaraderie.”

  Erzili sat up. “But, Erzili hasn’t survived long enough to have strong darlings. They die, and Erzili starts over, finding new nightmares without homes to take in. And they die again. And Erzili, once more, starts over. And over. And over. Erzili has lost count how many times now.”

  Even without a stomach, I could feel the nausea of guilt. My mind was already tuned into high-gear. Thinking. Solving. Coming up with ideas. A possible solution. In the end, I could not kill Erzili. Both because I lacked the necessary ability to do so, and because I no longer had it in me.