Chapter 118

When we arrive in front of the armory, I spin around and check out everyone following me. Like I suspected, there’s a clear distinction between The Pit’s original inhabitants and the Vipers. Uda, along with the rest of his gang, have drawn lines within this little group of ours and although we have the number advantage, they’re much more unified and experienced with fighting than the other residents. This wasn’t something I took into account because it never crossed my mind before but as we were heading to the armory, Jonas accidentally stepped on a Viper’s foot and their whole gang nearly dogpiled him if not for Hawthorne settling it by pulling out his knife. 

I thought that treating and capturing as many Vipers as we could after the ambush yesterday would only bolster my forces inside The Pit and increase my chances of success today but I was short sighted. Throwing 20 Vipers into The Pit has thoroughly set the conditions for a serious power struggle within my own reinforcements. Looking back on it now, I didn’t give the Vipers who surrendered yesterday a second thought but now it’s coming back to bite me in the ass. Seeing how the Vipers are maintaining a few feet of separation from the rest of the group as they stand before me, anxious to get into the armory behind me, I know that if I can’t resolve this rift cleanly, we’ll implode before the night’s over. 

I guess the question then becomes: do I still need them? There’s still a few other things I either predicted incorrectly or was wrong about that have changed our situation drastically. For one, I severely underestimated how powerful Doom Shrooms would be seeing the absolute chaos still rampaging around us. Just taking a quick glance around, I can spot several nude Fold cultists dancing around their burning homes, entranced by the flames’ allure. 

For the second variable, The Fold lost more people than I expected from last night’s assault. I was prepared to lead 60 Pit survivors into pitched battle against a hundred or more Fold cultists but now there’s fewer than 50 from the Fold’s side who can fight. With their numbers being significantly fewer than I anticipated and with all of them still seemingly drugged out of their minds, I don’t think I need Uda and the rest of the Vipers anymore. But what do I do with them?

As I’m sorting through my thoughts, the Vipers waiting at the back seem to lose their patience and one of them shouts, “What’s the holdup? Move out the way and let the rest of us through if you’re going to just stand there.”

Rubbing the pommel of my sword in thought, an idea comes to mind and I shout, “Alright, everyone at the front can go in first and everyone at the back has to wait their turn.”

Understandably angered, the one who just spoke shoves his way through the crowd until he’s standing in front of me. I don’t recognize his face and there’s also a dirty bandage covering his left forearm which means he’s a survivor of yesterday’s ambush. He towers over me by at least a full foot and looks down at me with a smirk on his face. Seeing me unphased, he bares his teeth at me and says, “Listen kid, you’ve done your job and freed all of us from that hellhole. But the Vipers are going to take over from now on and you’d best fall in line, otherwise… Now get the fuck out of the way.”

Smiling in response, I step off to the side and gesture with my hand for him to walk past me. Snorting, he calls out behind him, “Alright, boys. Get inside.”

It looks like he doesn’t remember the lesson I taught him and the rest of his gang just a day ago. As he walks past me, I pull out my sword and slash the backs of his knees. Screaming in pain, the tall man falls to his knees as he reaches out to grab me with his right hand but I cut the spot where his elbow bends and his arm dangles limply at his side. Grabbing him by the underside of his chin with my left hand, I drag him until he’s facing the rest of the stunned crowd. Lifting his chin nice and high, I start sawing at his neck with my sword, his horrific screams ringing through the air. 

The crowd in front of me looks aghast with what they’re seeing and the Vipers even more so with their friend being decapitated right in front of them. Uda is looking particularly pale under the flames’ lights as he watches in horror. The two brothers couldn’t take anymore and had to step aside to vomit and they weren’t the only ones. Hawthorne is watching with a displeased look while covering Sylvia’s eyes. The screaming from the tall man stopped after a few moments but I kept sawing until I completely severed the head from its body. With a light push, the headless body lands on the ground and everyone takes a step back from it. 

Tossing the tall man’s head to Uda, he deftly dodges out of the way as do the people behind him. After a few rolls, the head comes to a stop in the middle of the crowd and it’s given a wide berth, no one willing to get near it. When everyone turns their attention back to me, I say with a laugh, “Like I said before, everyone at the front can go in first but everyone at the back has to wait their turn. Don’t worry, I’ve memorized which group you were all in before this little… scuffle.”

After a few minutes of silence and a bit more persuasion on my part, The Pit’s original residents started heading into the armory to pick out weapons while I waited outside with the rest of the Vipers. Once the residents were done, I let the Vipers have their turn. With a worried expression, Hawthorne stood next to me and asked in a low voice, “Was that really necessary? Won’t we need the Vipers’ help to get out of here?”

“No, change of plans. The Vipers are too dangerous to keep around anymore. We can clear up the citadel on our own without their help. Keep a watch on that door for me and don’t let anyone out.”

Having given Hawthorne my instructions, I had the brothers come with me to gather wooden planks nearby. I also had them grab anything heavy that wasn’t already on fire while I grabbed a torch that had fallen on the ground but was still lit. Back at the armory, I had the brothers stack up everything they were carrying in front of the armory’s door while I lit the entirety of the building on fire. I originally intended to do this with all the Vipers inside but when the tall man confronted me, I had to improvise. With his brutal murder, I could enforce my terms for entrance to the armory. 

Watching the armory catch fire and hearing the desperate wails from within, I feel a little… disappointed with myself. I thought of a couple of other ways this issue could have been resolved peacefully like denying the Vipers weapons or maybe drugging them somehow but this night has dragged on long enough. I’m tired, I’m hurt, and I’m scared. I’m this close to finishing everything and I can’t- won't let anything go wrong now. It does feel like unnecessary violence to me but it gets the job done so well. 

I’m reminded back to the night Wraine and I ran into Gregory. Even back then, I wanted to cave Gregory’s skull in because we could keep his coins and avoid any trouble at the same time. Maybe that’s just the way I am. Fuck, I need Wraine to keep me in check for situations like this. At least I wouldn’t feel as shitty as I do right now. 

Once the screams from inside the armory stop, we move on, the mood obviously terrible compared to earlier. But even with the dampened atmosphere, The Pit’s survivors, now fully armed, exact their revenge on any Fold cultist we come across. Considering most of them are naked and running around like headless chickens, it’s an easy enough task. Surprisingly, someone jumps out from a nearby house that hasn’t caught fire yet with a knife in hand. He immediately tackles one of our group to the ground and stabs them in the belly a dozen times before Hawthorne steps forward with a poleaxe and impales it into the man’s chest. 

Hawthorne specifically picked out a poleaxe for himself because he said it could double as a cane for him and his disabled foot. Walking up to check the two men on the ground, I find the Pit survivor choking on his own blood, unwilling to relinquish the freedom he’s just recovered. Kneeling next to him, I end his suffering with a quick stab to the heart and he lets out one last breath, filled with reluctance. The Fold cultist is a familiar face considering I spent quite a bit of time with him this morning. Niel is also on the ground, choking on his blood but his eyes are filled with madness and he might not even realize he’s dying right now. When he sees me, his eyes light up and he smiles at me right before he stops breathing. 

Well, at least he died with a smile on his face I suppose. As we continue sweeping through the citadel, heading towards the southern side, Corbin’s last remnant sidles up next to me and asks, “Have any idea where their Savior is? Wouldn’t mind getting a look at him and seeing who’s responsible for this whole fucking nightmare. Also wouldn’t mind slitting the inbred bastard’s throat.”

Raising my eyebrows at his words, I hum while thinking. He’s right. This really only ends when the Savior’s dead and without his magic, he’s a sitting duck. Nodding in agreement, I respond and then ask the rest of our group, “Alright. Do you all want to see the reason you were all thrown into The Pit?”

A solemnity settles over the group and it’s almost like I can hear all of them grinding their teeth in anger. With clenched jaws, tightened fists, and eyes filled with hatred, all of them nod in unison. Seeing the consensus, I start leading us over to the Savior’s longhouse. When we arrive, we see that the longhouse has just caught fire recently. The fire has just spread to the top of the building but it will still take a few minutes before the building is engulfed in flames. Looking back, the group is unperturbed and wants to see the Savior with their own eyes. 

Shrugging, I push the double doors open and lead them into the Savior’s throne room. Instead of sitting on his throne, the Savior is on the ground in front of it, whimpering in fear and covering his head. With no one around him, it seems he’s incredibly afraid of fire as I look up and see flames slowly seeping in from the outside. I can smell smoke slowly filling the room but it hasn’t reached the point yet that it’s too dangerous to stay inside. 

Walking forward with a few other Pit survivors, Corbin’s remnant shrieks, “That’s the fucking reason I had to endure that shithole!? This fucking disgusting monstrosity is the cause of all this!?”

Enraged, he along with the other survivors take their resentment out on the Savior, kicking and stomping him, wanting him to suffer rather than aiming to take his life. The rest of our group who didn’t want to take part silently watches in approval instead. I only watch on indifferently, unsure whether this is justice or sadistic enjoyment. Right when I was about to suggest stepping outside because of the smoke, I heard an unearthly rumbling from the ground followed by horrified screams. Whipping my head back, I see massive spikes made from stone impaled through the bodies of the survivors surrounding the Savior, lifting them off the ground and coated with their fresh blood and entrails. Didn’t he lose his magic!?