"After that, I allowed myself to be captured! And that is all up to this point."

Rachel was giving Elsaline a look that said all to well, "are you crazy?", which Rachel indeed think she was. After all, she just explained her entire plan right in front of the people who captured her without even batting an eye. In fact, she didn't even give them any attention whatsoever. 

Rachel, or Rachel9228, was one of the players who were stuck in the game. Unlike most players, Rachel actually cares about what happens to her. So, when she heard that bandits were taking girls from their homes in the outer towns of the Kingdom, she packed up her things and got ready to move. Yet, before she could, she happened to overhear that one of her friends, a little girl by the name of Tulip, was captured by the bandits, and she went to go looking for her. She doesn't care if some players think the people here are NPCs, she was willing to risk her life even to save this girl. Of course, Rachel was no match and was quickly captured. She has been here for twelve days now and was fearing the worse.

At first, she thought other players would come rescue them but, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Rachel was just about to give in when in came a...strange sight. A girl in handcuffs walking in by herself with the eight bandit guards dragging behind her, their bodies wrapped up in the girl's rock-like tail. Below her elbows, her arms and hands were large, resembling a golem and out of proportion to the rest of her body. Her eyes were a other-worldly blue and yellow color and her hair was short and white, with light blue bands holding...something together. To be honest, it didn't look like the bands were holding anything since the all of her hair was together without anything holding them close together. 

The girl's outfit was weird. It was a black tank top that was clearly covered in blood, even if most of it was dried and wasn't really red anymore. Her teeth were sharp and sticking out of her mouth was a severed finger. Lastly, her skin was a light tan color and was covered in blood. Yet, right before Rachel's eyes, the blood on her skin was slowly disappearing. 

The girl sat down right next to Rachel without sparing anyone a glance. After getting comfortable, the girl bend down like she was touching her toes, showing a flexibility that would put many to shame, and took a massive bite out of the head of one dead bandit, her mouth dislocating slightly to do so. She bit into the bandit with ease, no sign of struggle from the skull and metal helmet the bandit wore, and swallowed after a couple of seconds of eating, a blissful look on her face.

After a couple of minutes of the girl eating like this, she finally couldn't get to the bandit corpses anymore, no matter how she positioned her tail. So, with a shrug, two spider-like tan legs grew out of her back and stabbed the corpses below her, took out a chunk of flesh, and brought it to her jaws.. After eating like this for a while, one of her spider legs missed the corpse and instead hit the chains binding her hands. It easily broke through the chains like it was no problem. Even Rachel, being level 128 and a skilled magic warrior, couldn't do anything to these cuffs. These cuffs not only blocked any magic, but the more the person struggled, the tighter they get.

The girl looked at the broken chains and frowned before her eyes flashed blue. The chains instantly fixed themselves and the girl continued eating, undisturbed, even though by now there were a bunch of bandits watching her warily, heavily armed. Rachel didn't quite know what to think of this girl. She clearly had the powers and capability to break free from here, kill every bandit, and help all the other females escape with ease. Yet she didn't. Was she waiting for the bandit leader to arrive?

A splash of blood her way caused Rachel to stop her gawking and shake her head, trying to get some of the blood on her face off. 

"Oh! Sorry. Here, let me help."

Rachel felt two powerful hands grab her shoulders, stopping her from moving. She froze and looked back at the girl the two stone-like hands belonged to only to find her inches away from her face, her mouth wide open revealing a second row of hidden glowing blue fangs. The girl's breath smelled strongly of flowers despite the flesh that was still stuck to some of her teeth and her jaw was big enough that, if she wanted to, she could bite Rachel's face off in one go. Rachel felt herself panicking and, even though she knows she can respawn if she is killed, Rachel can't help but feel that she was about to die.

Instead of eating Rachel like she expected, the girl's long forked tongue came out of her mouth and licked the blood off Rachel's face. Rachel was frozen still and did not move even when the girl took her large hands off her shoulders and back down on the ground, causing the bricks below her to crack. She paid it no mind and watched Rachel with interest. When Rachel recovered, the girl's smile changed from a wide one to one that was...slightly dangerous before going back.

"Ello there! My name is Elsaline, what's yours?" Elsaline asked Rachel, who didn't know how to respond at first.

"R-rachel," Rachel managed to get out, though her voice was hoarse. Rachel's throat was dry from being in this dungeon for so long with barely any water or food. 

"Hmmm. Ya don't sound so good. Want a drink?" Elsaline asked, breaking her cuffs again by keeping one hand on the ground and the other pointing at the blood that freely flowed from the mostly eaten bandit corpses. Rachel gagged and was about to shake her head when, with a slight chill, she realized she didn't. She could if she wanted to but, some part of her brain right now was telling her that drinking anything, even blood, would be fine.

Elsaline's smile widen at this and Rachel realized right then and there that she was enjoying Rachel's mental struggle. 

'She's a sadist to top it off. Great.'

"I'm just joking...slightly. Here."

A small ball of pure water formed in front of Rachel before the ball divided into many tendrils, all going into Rachel. Rachel felt immediately better yet still had a strong urge to drink something. She briefly looked at the blood before turning away, nearly puking and cursing herself for having such a thought. This did not go unnoticed by Elsaline.

'Hmm. Maybe the mustache guy was right about torturing people this way being better.'

Elsaline instantly knew that Rachel was a player, or one of the kind of people who challenged her in the past and that she saw in town. Sure she hasn't seen Rachel before but, she knew. Of course, Rachel was too weak to ever give her a small challenge and she was positive Rachel wouldn't even try to challenge her. Still, it has been too far long since she has had some fun with these people. So, no matter the state her new prey is in, she'll take it. Besides, no one is here to say otherwise.

Also, she is following advice from Rose. 

"If you don't understand something, study it."

Since Elsaline doesn't understand why these anomalies, she decided to study them! SImple as that. And what better opportunity than this lone person? This is also a good chance to see what they would do in this situation. They are powerful but severely weakened right now. In fact, even that orc king Elsaline spared a while ago would say she wasn't even worth killing. Hmm? Didn't she destroy every orc in that clan? No. She and the king had a connection so she spared him and a few other orcs of his choice. No, the clan isn't alive though. She killed too much for the clan to still be considered a clan.

Now that Rachel's mind is a little clearer, she can think of the situation better. First of all, she should not rely on Elsaline for her escape, or helping her intentionally escape. Currently, Elsaline is her and the others best chance at escaping. If the bandits poke her the wrong way or she just feels like it, she'll start a massacre and cause enough confusion to allow Rachel to reach for the keys with her feet. From what she can tell, the bodies Elsaline brought in each have a set of keys that appear to be the same. She doesn't know if she can do what those people do in movies and use their mouths to unlock the cuffs but, it is the only thing she has left to try. She doubts Elsaline will free them and she doubts even more that she can talk Elsaline into it. Rachel doesn't know what is wrong with Elsaline but, she clearly is in her own little world.

'Elsaline...Why does her name sound familiar?'

Rachel shook her head. No time for questions. She just has to wait, wait and be ready for the opportunity of escape to present itself. Elsaline studied the determined face Rachel had for a little longer before letting out a tiny giggle, amused. She decided to tell Rachel her great plan after all!

"Hey, Rachel. Don't tell anyone but I have a plan to get everyone out of here," Elsaline told Rachel, poking her with her free hand to get her attention.

........

Which led to the situation here. Rachel giving Elsaline a look that one would give a crazy person along with everyone else in the room while Elsaline had her hands on her hips, standing up in a triumphant pose a corny villain in a kids show would make.

"But I have to wait for the sign for me to make my move," Elsaline added, leaning in close and whispering, even though her whispering voice was loud enough for everyone to here.

Rachel, at this moment, realized that indeed Elsaline is "special". Very special. Then, a sudden idea came to her head. Elsaline may be dumb enough for it to work.

Rachel put her cuffed hands to her mouth and,

"Caw Lo Ra!?" Rachel yelled out awkwardly. Elsaline and everyone else gave her a blank stare for  along time. Rachel's cheeks were turning bright pink.

'W-well, it wasn't really worth the attempt-'

"Ah! The sign!" Elsalien exclaimed, standing up, her tail ripping free from the corpses it was tangled with. 

Elsaline spun around and got on all fours in a flash. She reared slightly back before letting out a massive earth-shattering roar that did not sound like it should be coming out of anything vaguely humanoid. The entire dungeon shook underneath the roar. When the roar died down, Elsaline stood up, her hands on her hips and a smug smile on her face.

"Fear me, oh enemies of Rose! Run run and run away!"

Elsaline waited for a response. No one moved.

"Ahh! I should probably take this off," Elsaline told herself, grabbed the necklace which Rachel just noticed now. She ripped it off and Rachel felt her jaw drop. Above Elsaline's head was a orange health bar belonging to a raid boss, that clearly wasn't orange. Every now and then, black vines and roses flashed through the health bar like a ripple. The title Legendary World Raid Boss appeared next to Elsaline's name.

Now the bandits started running. Elsaline let out a hearty laugh that quickly turned into a crazed one before she crouched down again and leaped forward after the bandits. The door closed behind her but the sound of screaming still made its way through. Rachel shuddered before remembering the keys the bandit corpses had on them. Before she could reach for them, all of the keys disappeared before her eyes.

"H-huh?" 

Rachel looked for them and even rubbed her eyes until a drop of blood landed on her foot. She looked up and flinched. Up on the ceiling was a blood-covered raid boss, the keys dangling in her mouth. 

Elsaline let out another giggle before dropping from the roof and spitting out the keys on her hand.

"Looking for these?" Elsaline asked. Rachel was about to respond when she noticed that the keys were melting. At first, Rachel assumed it was magic until she got a closer look and realized the keys were coated in saliva.

'Her spit is acidic!'

Rachel gave Elsaline a horrified look, which only caused her to giggle again.

'Just how unfair are you!?'

Elsaline's tail disappeared in a flash and all the chains binding the other prisoners broke, cut into tiny pieces.

"There we go! I said I would free you all...but I can't free you," Elsaline added, leaning closer to Rachel. Rachel nervously gulped byt signaled for the others to go. After a brief hesitation, they went.

"I know what you are, Rachel. You are one of those people who challenged me all the time and never die."

Rachel froze, feeling the blood drain from her face. Of course, now Rachel recognized Elsaline. She was one of the oldest bosses in Skashrim. Not only was she defeated twice in all her years of existence, her existence isn't really well known to protect the majority of players. During her fight, she'll crank up the pain settings on players past what it is suppose to be on top of gravily crippling players. Her entire fight alone is enough to mentally scar some players. Now, she may also be the only thing from the old Skashrim that followed through in the so-called update. 

'And if she is sentient too, then that means she must hate players.'

Rachel closed her eyes and braced herself, preparing for the worst. Elsaline took it all in and...

....

....

....started laughing, rolling on the ground. Rachel opened her eyes and watched in confusion as the girl rolled around, and flinched when she smashed her hand on the ground, causing the dungeon to shake and the ground to shatter. 

Finally, Elsaline got up and one of her spider legs slowly made its way to Rachel's neck.

"You're mine. Simple as that."

"Huh?"

Elsaline's spider legs went back into her back and her tail broke the chain connecting the cuffs on Rachel's hands, but not the cuffs themselves.

"You are mine. I own ya. Simple as that," Esaline informed Rachel.

"....Huh?"

Elsaline sighed and did a face palm.

"You Are Mine. I Own Ya. I Can Do Whatever To Ya And You Belong To Me," Elsaline explained to Rachel as if she was a mother telling something to her three year old toddler.

"N-no, I get what you are saying but, w-why?" Rachel asked, before realizing that she was afraid of the answer.

"We'll work out the details later. Right now, you should join with the others. I'll go get ya later."

Rachel quickly nodded and got up before letting out a yelp. Her leg was never fully healed from when she got captured and the long time of her not doing any exercise has caused her muscles to become cramped. Still, she made her way towards the door before she froze.

"Tulip..."

Elsaline walked over to her, on all fours.

"Who?" 

"Someone I need to save," Rachel responded, clenching her fists.

"In a condition like that? You'll surely end up dying...or worse," Elsaline informed Rachel, standing up and her tail snaking its way around Rachel until the sharp end was right next to Rachel's right cheek. Rachel didn't flinch, which delighted Elsaline for some reason.

"I-I know, b-but I have to try."

Rachel had tears coming down her eyes and she was trembling. She was clearly afraid. Elsaline stopped smiling for once and nodded once, her tail unwrapping itself from Rachel and watched her run out the door in silence.

Western42

Sorry for the late chapter! I knew what I wanted to make this chapter about but I never got around to it. Sorry!