Divine System: Land of the Abominations-Chapter 298: Oh, The Irony! (2).

The creature’s white wooden mask tilted upward, and from behind it came a sound that made Nero’s blood freeze.

Laughter.

Not the cheerful, rasping chuckle from before. This was something deeper, richer, filled with genuine amusement and malevolent delight. It echoed off the fungus-covered walls, multiplying until it seemed like a dozen voices were laughing in unison.

"What does it look like, boy?" the creature said, its voice no longer carrying that theatrical friendliness. Now it was cold, mocking, ancient. "A betrayal, of course."

Nero’s jaw clenched. "We had an agreement."

"Oh yes, an agreement!" The creature clasped all four hands together in mock solemnity. "I promised not to harm you or your friends. And I haven’t, have I? I haven’t laid a single claw on any of you."

Arthur drew his sword, the enchanted blade ringing as it left its sheath. The pale blue runes along its length began to glow.

Jacob hefted his waraxe, the amber runes flaring to life.

Both weapons turned toward Nero.

"What I said," Rummel Abellion continued, beginning to float around the perimeter of the glowing array, "was that I wouldn’t harm you. I never said you couldn’t harm each other."

’Bullshit!’

Nero backed away as Arthur and Jacob began to advance, their movements perfectly coordinated, perfectly inhuman. Arthur’s broken leg didn’t slow him at all. Whatever was controlling him had overridden the pain, damage, and everything that would normally keep a man from walking on shattered bones.

"You deceived me," Nero said, his own dagger now in his good hand.

"I did!" The creature’s laughter rang out again. "And you fell for it so easily. Humans always do. You’re so predictable, so desperate to believe that things might work out, to reach for a flimsy glimmer of hope, that you’ll grasp at any promise, any fleeting salvation, no matter how obviously false."

Arthur lunged.

Nero threw himself to the side, his broken ribs screaming in protest. Arthur’s enchanted sword carved through the air where Nero’s chest had been a moment before, the blade releasing a crescent of cutting energy that slammed into the wall behind him.

Jacob came from the other direction, his axe sweeping in a horizontal arc meant to take Nero’s head off.

Nero dropped flat to the ground, feeling the displacement of air as the weapon passed over him. He rolled, came up in a crouch, backed away again.

"Stop!" he shouted at them, knowing it was futile. "Arthur, Jacob, fight it, you idiots!"

Their empty eyes showed no recognition. No awareness. They were puppets now, nothing more.

"They can’t hear you," Rummel Abellion said, its tone cynical. "The spores have taken full possession of their bodies. Their consciousness is buried so deep they might as well be dreaming. And they’ll stay that way until I’m done with them."

"Done with them?" Nero dodged another swing from Jacob’s axe, the blade coming close enough to tear through his shirt. "What are you planning?"

The creature spread its four arms wide, gesturing at the glowing array on the floor.

"Thanks to you, the seal on a portion of my power has been released. But that is just the first step. To break the remaining bindings, to achieve my full liberation, I need a blood offering. Fresh human blood. As much of it as possible. And the best way to extract that is through a prolonged, violent death."

Arthur and Jacob turned toward each other.

Nero’s eyes widened in horror as he realized what was about to happen.

"No—"

Arthur’s sword came up to block as Jacob’s axe descended. The clash of enchanted weapons sent sparks flying, blue and amber light flaring where the blades met. They disengaged and struck again, both moving with inhuman speed and precision.

They were trying to kill each other.

"The beauty of it," Rummel Abellion continued, its voice thick with satisfaction, "is that they’ll fight each other as well as you. Three sources of blood instead of one. Three prolonged deaths instead of a single quick execution. The ritual will be complete in hours instead of days."

Nero’s mind raced as he watched Arthur and Jacob trade blows. Each strike was meant to maim, to wound, to cause maximum blood loss without immediately killing. Arthur’s sword opened a gash across Jacob’s shoulder. Jacob’s axe carved through Arthur’s side, drawing a spray of crimson.

They didn’t flinch nor did either of them cry out. Both simply kept fighting with the same vigor as the living dead.

Nero had to stop this.

He had to find a way to break the creature’s control without hurting them.

But how?

Arthur broke off from Jacob and came at Nero again, his sword moving in a complex pattern that Nero barely managed to avoid. The enchanted blade’s energy crescents carved trenches in the fungus-covered floor, releasing more spores into the already saturated air.

Jacob followed up immediately, his axe sweeping low to catch Nero’s legs.

Nero jumped, using his one good arm to push off Arthur’s shoulder and vault over both of them. He landed badly, his twisted ankle nearly giving out, but managed to stay upright.

He couldn’t fight them. Not really. Even if he wanted to, his injuries were too severe. A broken arm, broken ribs, a twisted ankle. And they were both healthy, both enhanced by whatever was controlling them, both wielding enchanted weapons while he only had a simple dagger.

He needed to disable them without causing permanent damage.

But every option he considered ran into the same problem: they weren’t holding back. Every strike they made was meant to kill or cripple. If he tried to grapple Arthur, Jacob would split his skull. If he focused on Jacob, Arthur would run him through.

And they kept attacking each other too, which meant Nero had to somehow protect them from themselves while protecting himself from them while looking for a way to break the creature’s control.

It was impossible.

Arthur’s sword caught him across the left arm. The blade didn’t cut deep, but the impact sent fresh agony shooting through the damaged bone of the arm. Nero bit back a scream and rolled away, his vision going white with pain.

When it cleared, he saw Jacob bearing down on him, axe raised high.