The Lesser One Arc 2 Version 2 Chapter 14: Ring

 

Ring

Mandrake pulls aside Carl and Richard. He explains to them that a dangerous individual is somewhere in the dungeon, following us.

“Do they have something to do with the terrorist attacks that have been happening recently?”

Mandrake nods. “They’re not pushovers. They have the power of an S-class adventurer. I doubt your entire combined party would be able to take him down.”

Carl and Richard look at each other. “Then we’ll clear this dungeon as fast as possible while still remaining wary.”

Mandrake seems to think for a moment. “I’ll make sure that he doesn’t give us the slip or ambush us. I’ll have several of my helpers keep watch behind us as we move forward.”

Carl and Richard nod. “We appreciate it.”

Five minutes later and we’re on the move. The rolling green fields are endless in every direction, but it’s obvious where we should be heading. A gigantic pillar rises from the horizon, reaching into the sky. It’s most likely the staircase to the final floor. We do not encounter any monsters.

A grey cloud forms on front of the party. Lightning crackles. A portal opens about a hundred yards away from the vanguard. It’s bright purple, swirling with energy. The lightning flickers around it.  

Rows of skeleton warriors march out from inside it. A platform containing a throne is supported by dozens of skeletons.

Mandrake steps out in front of the army. “You finally decide to show yourself.”

The man on top of the throne is resting his chin on his fist. He is wearing royal robes and a golden crown. His eyes are bright red and fangs drip from his mouth.

Mandrake clenches his fist. “Sesnet.”

“Mandrake, my dear.” Sesnet leans forward. “Would you, perchance, hand over the candidate?”

Mandrake looks around at the assembled adventurers. “Or what?”

“I’ll kill them all.”

I step forward. “You can take me. If that means that you’ll let everyone else go.”

Carl rushes to me. “Markus. You can’t!”

I shake my head. “He wants me, right? He can have me.”

Sebastian and Tia look at each other. They both nod. “We’re going with you, obviously.”

Sesnet’s lips curl up at the edges. “I was expecting you to put up more of a fight.”

“I know you’re going to kill everyone here if I don’t cooperate. So I’m going with you.”

Sesnet’s eyes gleam. “Good boy. Mandrake, my friend, you stay behind and deal with these mooks who call themselves adventurers.”

“Then let’s get going.”

Mandrake looks at me. “Are you sure about this?”

“They won’t kill me if they don’t have to.” I turn to Sesnet. “Okay. What do you want me to do?”

“Step into the portal.”

Sebastian, Tia, and I walk towards the portal, passing by a number of skeletons. They turn their lifeless eyes towards us as we move. The skeletons bearing Sesnet’s throne follow us into the portal.

I step through and come out into a stone hallway. Sesnet steps off of his throne as the portal closes.

“Come with me.”

We follow Sesnet through the hallway, until we walk through an archway into a large dining room, the centerpiece of which is a beautiful mahogany table set for five people.

“Who’s the fifth?” I turn to Sesnet.

“You are perceptive. That would be my consort, Liliana.” Sesnet motions to the table. “Sit. My men will serve you. I hope you are not allergic to anything?”

I shake my head. Sebastian and Tia look at each other.

Sage, is this guy really a member of the Darks?

He is. As is his consort.

A stunningly gorgeous woman wearing velvet black makeup walks into the room tailed by two men with satin bat wings on their backs. She walks to Sesnet and touches his cheek. “My dear, did you bring the guests?”

Sesnet motions to us. “I have.” He tilts his head. “Sit, sit.”

Sebastian, Tia, and I sit down at the table. Sesnet sits at the head, with Liliana directly across from him. Sesnet claps his hands and a number of skeleton servers walk into the room bearing silver platters.

“Where are we, exactly?” I watch the skeletons set the plates in front of us.

“A castle. I won’t tell you exactly where, but it is not where you think it is.” Sesnet claps his hands and the skeleton servers leave. “Please, enjoy.”

I look at the food. There is lobster, clam, and oysters. There are also a lot of forks—I suppose now would be the time to utilize my training in English Manners. I do as I learned and move from the outside in. I also use the English method of holding a fork.

Sesnet watches us with an intense expression on his face. “Tell me.” He folds his arms, seeming uninterested in the food before him. “Have you met some of my colleagues?”

“I did, yeah. They’re all a bunch of loons.”

“Hah!” Sesnet claps his hands.

“Dear, I don’t think you should laugh at that.” Liliana holds out her hand. “Our valued brothers and sisters are our equals, after all.”

“Ah, yes. I lost myself for a moment there. Do forgive me.” Sesnet wipes his mouth with his napkin. “Now, I think you’re wondering why I called you here.” Sesnet flicks his fingers.

A door opens in the wall and Esla is hanging there, bound to the brick with chains.

I stand up. “What—” I look at Esla. “How did she get here?”

“She was snooping around one of my vacation homes. Don’t worry, I haven’t done anything too horrible to her.”

Esla’s head is hanging. She isn’t conscious.

Sage! Figure out why she’s here!

Will do.

“You want something from me, right?” I sit back down, shaking. “What is it?”

Sesnet sighs. “I’m going to give you a challenge. I own a certain underground gladiatorial arena. I’m going to enter you as a contestant in our next games. If you win, she goes free. If you lose, well, you’ll be dead so it won’t matter what happens.”

“What about Sebastian and Tia?”

“These are one on one games. They’re going to have to stand on their own merits.” Sesnet seems to be enjoying this moment. He holds his fingers together. With a snap, he summons the next dish, carried by skeleton butlers. They clear away our previous plates and put the next course in front of us. It’s a beautiful pie with caviar.

“How long will this take?” I pick at my food.

“I know you have things to get home to.” Sesnet’s smile is sickly. “So I’ll give you three rounds to prove yourself. If you win all of them, then I’ll teleport you back to London so you can finish your work.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.” I look up at Esla’s unconscious body.

Liliana holds out her fork. “Dear, you are forgetting to tell them about who they will be facing.”

“Ah, yes.” Sesnet rubs his hand together. “You’ll be facing some of the dirtiest scum of the underworld. Plus a giant robot.” He shrugs. “I look forward to seeing how you survive.” Sesnet claps. The next course is brought in. He tilts his head. “As an added bonus, if you manage to impress me during these fights, I’ll give you my vote as a Silverbone.”

“And mine as well.” Liliana holds out her fork with a dainty pose. “I am excited to see if you really live up to everything people have been saying about you.”

The next course is brought in. I barely had time to taste the previous one. They’re starting to blend together.

Sesnet lifts his fork. “You know, there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who follow, and those who lead. Those who follow are destined to always be on the bottom. Never getting a chance to vent their frustration with the class system. I used to stand for people like that. Before I figured out that none of them are really worth caring about. The only people who really matter, who you should really care about, are the ones in charge. They’re the ones who can benefit you. Do you get what I’m saying?”

I nod just to keep him talking. As long as he’s rambling, he’s not hurting anyone.

Sesnet claps his hands and the next course is brought out. “I don’t know which one you are yet. You have a lot of people following you, but you appear to have just fallen into that position. Are you a leader? Or are you a follower?”

Sebastian looks like he’s about to say something.

“Shush.” Sesnet waves his hand. “You are a strange character, Markus. I don’t really know how to interpret you. That is why I am posing you this challenge. I want to know if you’re the kind of person who leads through example, through hard work and sweat, rather than through a position handed to you by lady luck or fate herself.” Sesnet takes a bite. “You know, people like you are the reason why I enjoy recruiting for my gladiatorial games. You always end up showing the crowd such a great time.” Sesnet puts down his fork. “And I must say, I have high hopes for you. You muscle tone is superb and you don’t have an ounce of fat in your mind. I can see that your vision is sharp.” Sesnet claps his hands. “I hope you had a great meal.” He stands up and takes his jacket from a skeleton butler. “My minions shall lead you to the waiting room. The games start in—” He checks his watch—”Half an hour.”

Several skeletons surround Sebastian, Tia, and I. We are led out of the dining room and into a small alcove with a large gate on one end. There are benches along the sides. Two muscled individuals sit on them. One of them looks up. He is totally bald, with a large nose and small eyes. He sniffs. “You don’t look like the fighting type, kid. How did you get in here?”

I sit next to him. “It’s a long story. My name’s Markus.”

“Since we’re in the same waiting room, that means we aren’t fighting right now. My name is Reed.” Reed points at the other muscled man. “That’s Rack.”

“Reed and Rack. Nice to meet you.”

“Your friends. They look strong.”

Sebastian bows. “My name is Aahlia. You may call me Sebastian.”

“Aahli-what?”

“Aahlia. Like I said, Sebastian is fine.”

Reed scoffs. “And you, missy?”

“Tia.” She appears miffed.

Reed sighs, leaning back against the wall. “Well, I doubt all of us will be alive tomorrow. So how about we have some fun?” There is a barrel above the benches. Reed takes a mug and opens up the tap. Beer flows through and into the mug.

“One thing about the ring is that they’ve always got good drink. Makes you feel a bit better about dying while idiots are watching you.” He offers some to me. I shake my head.

“I’d rather be sober for my fight.”

Reed shrugs and downs the tankard.

There is a trumpet blast. The door at the end of the room creaks open.

“Next up, from the jungles of South America, we are introducing Reed! His spirit is fire, a basic one, but nothing to scoff at! He’ll burn his enemies to a crisp and tear out their hearts!”

Reed rubs his hands together. “Time to make some dough.” He walks through the door. They close after him.

Rack chuckles. “Good luck, brother.” He seems a bit forlorn.

I look around the room, and then turn to Rack. “How long have you been here?”

“Eh, too long.” Rack seems uninterested in conversation. I turn to Sebastian and Tia.

They look at each other and then look at me. I turn inward and ask Sage a question.

Have you made any progress? Why is Esla here?

This may take a while. Sesnet’s computer has some very tight encryption.

Tell me when you figure something out.

Will do. In the meantime, do your best to stay alive.

Yeah. That’s the plan.