Chapter 174: Betray You, Betray Me

Chapter 174: Betray You, Betray Me

Their plan made sense. If the masters had no form of food to sustain them through the welding, then no welding today.Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)

Of course, they had to sacrifice their own people to achieve their goal. And not just kill thempeople didnt die in Nekromelbut eat them.

I had limited sympathy for these idiots who believed the masters were going to bestow some kind of spiritual enlightenment on them, but that didnt make it any easier to watch them being slaughtered. And I had seen the weretics in action before, the others hadnt (at least, not in this timeline).

Jenny gripped my arm so tightly it hurt. Claire had turned away in horror while Maurice watched slack-jawed. Flossie had her head buried in Dudleys chest and whimpered while Dudley buried his head in the top of her curly hair, also whimpering.

The weretics, grotesquely misshapen and more monstrous in appearance than any of the masters, waded through the crowd, claws slashing and teeth taking chunks out of whatever they managed to grab.

Those who fought back were torn to pieces. Those who ran were pounced on and ripped apart. Limbs were tossed around like chicken legs at a medieval banquet, and met the same fate.

We had witnessed many unpleasant scenes in our time as adventurers. We had killed and eaten animals ourselves and werent the same squeamish kids wed been when we first arrived. But this was different. This was a massacre.

How can you do this? asked Claire in barely a whisper. Youre supposed to save them.

We are saving them, said David, sounding unbearably smug. Not these ones in particular, but the rest will be able to live on in peace and safety because of their sacrifice.

He did have a point. Sometimes the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the expendable.

Claires face was paler than Id ever seen it. She looked grey. This is wrong. This is murder. You planned it all along but I didnt see it. I shouldve seen it. She turned to me. She didnt say anything, but her eyes were brimming with tears. What the fuck did she expect me to do?

Slowly, but with a kind of inevitability, every one of my party turned to look at me.

What? If they want to kill their own people, thats up to them. They were going to die anyway.

They didnt respond to this inarguable logic, but they continued to give me the eye. Nice try, but your mind tricks wont work on me, boy.

Once there is no one left for the masters to feed on, they will wither away, turn back to fairy dust or whatever it is theyre made of. David was positively gleeful at the prospect.

But theres no need for all these people to die, said Claire. We already arranged it with the golems. They were going to take care of the masters.

Pah, said David. You really believe they would turn against their creators? We cant rely on them. And if youre right, if they do what they promised, weve made it even easier for them. Theres no downside.

As a firm believer in belt and braces, I couldnt fault him. A plan with built-in redundancy, what could be better?

The screaming had lessened as the body count increased. The hulking weretics roamed their killing ground, grazing like cattle.

The Palace gates opened, probably expecting the tributes to file in. There were no tributes left.

It will begin soon, said David with a sneer. The death throes of the masters. They will finally know what it means to die.

Mandy, who had been watching the mayhem with her hand over her mouth, partly in shock, partly to stop herself throwing up, spun around. What about Cheng?

All of them will die tonight, said David. All of them.

No! screamed Mandy. She turned and ran but Phil jumped in front of her.

Sorry, babe, cant let you spoilt the party.

Some beautiful women use their looks and their physicality (by which I mean boobs) to get men to do what they want. They are manipulative, devious and completely consumed by their own self-interest. They stalk the dark recesses of nightclubs, looking for football players to feed on.

But there is another type of woman (sometimes its the same woman at another time in her life) who is driven by something more pure. The love for someone you consider more important than anything else. That kind of woman is far more dangerous, and willing to go to places beyond sense or reason.

Mandy didnt even break stride. She bent her knee to get lower and punched Phil in the balls so hard every guy in the arena buckled at the waist, even the ones not looking in this direction.

There was a thundering roar. It emanated from the Palace and shook the amphitheatre to the point parts of it fell off. The weretics all stopped and looked to the arena entrance. A few seconds later a figure appeared, flying at great speed.

It was Cheng, but no longer the multi-eyed, hippo-faced monster he had been. Now he looked like the young boy I had met back in Monsterland. Only bigger. And stronger. And with spikes for hands. He had wings like his father. His skin had the texture of granite. In fact, there were numerous aspects of the other masters combined into his body.

I didnt know what had happened, but my guess was some welding had taken place.

He swooped around the arena, slashing and stabbing at the weretics, destroying them with ease.

What has she done! wailed David.

Some people never learn, but I am not one of them. When I see someone use an effective technique, Im happy to adapt my own approach.

I stepped forward, bent at the knee, and punched David in the balls as hard as I could. You dont really need to put extra force into that kind of blow, but who doesnt appreciate a little extra value?

David crumpled into a heap.

Cheng made short work of the weretics. They were large and strong, but Cheng was larger and stronger. Plus, he was majorly pissed off. Majorly.

He didnt just slice them up, he tore them to pieces and breathed fire on the remains (thats right, fucker breathed fire now) until all that was left were a lot of charcoal briquettes.

I picked up the sword David had dropped when he decided it was more important to hold onto what was left of his testicles instead. I admit, its not a very honourable way to fight another man, and you may think less of me for doing something so underhand, but Im fine with it. Fuck the bro code, bro.

I also picked up the vial of blue liquid. It shimmered and rolled around like it was alive. I needed to make sure it didnt end up in the wrong hands, which were any hands that didnt belong to me. One Jester was more than enough.

Cheng landed beside us, his face a mixture of grief and rage. She sacrificed herself to save me.

I assumed he meant Mandy.

She gave herself to me so I might survive the welding.

I told you, clingy girlfriends, theyll track you down no matter where you go.

Him and Maurice made quite the pair. Both were wearing expressions of utter despair and loss. Maurice had just been standing over what was left of Claire in shock. Id always considered her the prime example of Nice legs, shame about the face. True now more than ever. I didnt say that out loud because it might have been taken as insensitive.

I dont know what all you lot are so glum about. Now that we know what these two fuckwits were up to both Phil and David were still on the floor, searching for their balls I can just go back and fix things. I was hoping to not have to make the trip again, but I think Ive got the shortcuts down.

No, said Maurice. She made us promise.

They were the first words hed spoken since Claire had bitten it (or been bitten, to be more accurate). I wasnt entirely sure what he meant.

Claire made you promise?

Maurice spoke quietly, but each word seemed immensely loud. Or maybe just heavy with sincerity. Not something Id know much about.

She said if only one of us died, we shouldnt make you go back. It was asking too much of you. We had to go on and take the loss as the price we paid for relying on you so much. She said... His words drifted away as tears fell from his eyes.

I looked around at the others. Really? And you all feel this way?

There were tears in all their eyes, but they nodded.

Jenny placed her hand on my arm. We talked about it a lot. She honestly believed it was for the best. Jenny kissed my cheek very gently. Its what she would have wanted.

They genuinely wanted to honour Claires wishes, even though they all desperately wanted me to bring her back. Perhaps thats what it means to truly love and respect someone. If youre a fucking idiot.

Well, then let me say a few words by way of eulogy. I took a breath to collect my thoughts. Fuck you, Claire. You aint the boss of me. I turned the sword inwards so it pointed at my chest and fell forward.

The hilt hit the ground and drove the blade through me. I really didnt want to die again, but no girl was going to tell me what to do.