Vol. 3 Chapter 5: Canted Hourglass
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The beast's exposed rib cage curled inwards as the hulking demon brought his weight forward. The many tattoos covering his body, depicting scenes of pure violence, seemed to join him in their endless cycle of brutality. His muscles bulged and triceps strained until he heard the satisfying crack of bone. The sinewy, scythe-shaped limbs protruding from the creature's body thrashed about in a final desperate attempt to ward off its foe. The sharp appendages cut no deeper into the demon's thick skin than what some might regard as a mere paper cut.

The behemoth known as Div'gen let out a final roar as one of his opponent's ribs snapped completely while the other bent to penetrate the innards it was meant to protect. He brought his arm back with the broken piece of rib clenched tight and brought it down to pierce the monster's eye. The wrinkles of the monster's leathery skin stretched taught and pulled up towards its neck, forming what looked like a large raisin. Lime-green bile erupted from its mouth and seeped between three layers of clenched teeth. As Div'gen twisted the length of bone in the socket, the monster's other slitted eye went wide with the shock of death.

Div'gen's shoulders heaved as he straddled the foul creature for another few seconds to make sure it was truly dead. He rose and remained standing over it as he cracked his knuckles. An array of distorted corpses circled around him in a spiral on the cavern floor. He shifted his gaze and stared at the expanse of what remained of the great underground city: Hollow'dys Five.

A portion of the city had been claimed by the magma-like fluid he'd become accustomed to over the past months. Fissures parted inch by painful inch, webs of lacerated stone spread on the concave walls and breaks in buildings left them quivering at inevitable collapse. In the distance, Div'gen observed a stalactite plummet to the ground and explode silently in a cloud of debris. At the center of it all was the hourglass tower that reached from floor to ceiling – a grand structure sculpted by Dysian hands. It was as if a giant had taken both stalagmite and stalactite and merged them, pressing them together and giving shape like clay on a potter's wheel.

Div'gen tore his gaze away from the scene when he heard the renewed sounds of combat. A young voice shouted something unintelligible, but it was apparent based on the commanding tone and conciseness that it was a spell. The demon strode to the edge of the cliff overlooking the city and watched as two individuals wearing plain porcelain masks fought against one of the praying mantis creatures with the exposed rib cages.

One of the twins shouted, “Erupt!” After a brief pause, the monster bearing down on the young caster stumbled and released a terrible retching sound. Its back pulsed and pushed outward until it exploded in a geyser of blood and gore. The creature collapsed with its lanky limbs twitching awkwardly.

Behind the caster, Div'gen could discern a faint shimmering – a distortion of the air like heat rising off a blacktop in summer. He considered shouting a warning but decided against it as he watched the other twin forming strange signs with his fingers. The masked figure clapped his hands together, and a circular pulse launched towards the shifting air to cancel another monster's mimicry spell. The creature turned and shrieked before its head suddenly jerked downward. Its back arched as a stone spear pierced it from behind. The creature's arms went wide as if hugging the air before it went into a frenzy. The second twin raised his hand and performed a silent incantation. A pale bolt of lightning emerged from his hand and decimated the monster's body from shoulder to opposite thigh. The charred remains stumbled a bit before collapsing into an empty fountain.

Div'gen nodded with mild approval. Not bad...

It was rare to witness his comrades in action. Most of their time had been spent traversing the labyrinth deep beneath the surface of Hovestile. Their spells were typically used for clearing debris, marking paths or for sport when malnourished, rabid monsters happened to wander by.

The large demon observed the decrepit walls encircling the large courtyard below. Corpses of monsters littered the area. Some were akin to the praying mantis creatures, while others were a conglomeration of what looked like various parts that didn't seem anatomically correct. The mantis creatures were something outlandish and foul, but they held a sort of symmetry to their design, and their limbs seemed to have a distinct purpose for defense and offense in combat. But these other things were the work of some twisted beings that saw themselves above the natural order. Whether they were the result of Dysian experiments or distorted nature was something still left up for debate.

“Rather depressing, isn't it?” a voice said.

Div'gen half-turned to regard the individual who approached from his blind side. He hadn't sensed his presence even in such close proximity. Their leader, known as the Many-robed One, had his various methods for concealment. There was not the slightest rustle of fabric, even with all the robes of shaded black that covered nearly every inch of his skin. The accessories of muted gold hanging from his neck and wrapped around his fingers never seemed to move or resound with the faintest tinge of contact. He was like a deadly, silent apparition.

The robed leader stood next to him, and he observed the dead city from the confines of his lowered hood. Div'gen joined him in the comfortable silence, and the two comrades watched as the twins below finished off the rest of the fodder.

“The Dysians were fools,” Div'gen finally answered.

The Many-robed One hummed to himself thoughtfully as he considered the answer. It was obvious that they weren't wholly in agreement, but that was always the way of it when conversing with a being that held the knowledge of centuries. He had always told Div'gen that such knowledge was a blessing and a curse, because to recognize the patterns of civilization and nature led to conclusions that always left one with a cynical view. At the same time, it was also comforting to know that his hope did not diminish when there was so much time to form a solution – one that was an anomaly in the equation of Life.

Like that human, Alphonse Kneller, perhaps, Div'gen thought.

He had a vague understanding of the Many-robed One's plans for the human, enough to believe that the balance of power among the many races of Hovestile might shift. It was a gamble, but he was starting to agree that the outworlder human meeting Rinka Foirena at the Submerged Oasis might not have been some act of simple fate. Their capacity to view events of the world on the surface was limited, but the abilities of the Construct Contracts in their possession were enough to form a strategy when they returned to the western lands ruled by the monsters. They would stay their hands for the time being and watch as the humans' petty squabbles escalated closer to war.

But first, they needed to leave this wretched place. The end was so close. They could almost feel the wind from the surface caressing their faces again.

Div'gen watched as the twins finished their business with the remaining creatures. They conversed for a moment and rested a hand on each others' masks affectionately before proceeding to the other side of the courtyard. Before them was a rusted palisade with interconnected and malleable metal that lined the top in spirals. The female twin rested her hands on portions of an iron gate and started to analyze the mechanism.

“Any news from the surface?” The Many-robed One asked.

Div'gen shook his head and glanced at the opposite end of the cliff. Sitting under an overhang of rock was their last companion. He was a twisted thing who no longer possessed the sense of reason he once had as a human. Even the inherent violence of demons paled in comparison to the pains he enacted on himself and others. The Construct Contract had changed him. He was the result of dealings with noble intentions. He was once a man who strove for peace, prosperity and all that he had viewed as good.

Now, he was a broken thing. His only use was to utilize the special function of his contract to converse with the monsters under his charge on the surface. After using the contract to order a Siren to attack Alphonse Kneller and his guild, it was deemed necessary by the Many-robed One that they limit his usage through force. Interfering directly with the human was prohibited, and the sick being known as Korv had broken this important edict.

Alphonse Kneller, Kirie and Asa Foirena...they were far too important for their plans. And so Korv had been punished.

“Do you despise him?” The Many-robed One asked.

“Of course I do,” Div'gen answered immediately. He gritted his teeth and stared at a random corpse. It was a much more pleasant view in comparison.

“For what he is now, or for what he lost?”

Div'gen's frown deepened. He didn't bother to provide an answer.

“Very well. I will give you my perspective,” the Many-robed One said. “I truly hate Korv, but I do not despise Devolio Malkin.”

Div'gen retained a neutral countenance upon hearing Korv's human identity. Korv had once been a great scholar and general when he was a human. He hailed from the Central Kingdom of Tevilandis, and he had been respected by its citizens. Supposedly, he had very few quarrels or any festering resentment towards his fellow generals and officers. He had participated in the first battles during the western border war when the uncontrollable monster factions sought to spread their chaos throughout Tevilandis, which would have then inevitably spread to the Northern Kingdom of Xersceld, and then to the lands of the recently recognized eastern kingdom of beastkin.

“Devolio Malkin still resides within Korv,” the Many-robed One continued. “I believe that, even if there is no longer visible evidence of the man who longed for peace. Even a man built for war may desire a joining of hands rather than the clash of swords.”

Div'gen listened, but he also watched the pale humanoid sitting in his cramped space. Korv hugged his knees to his chest feebly. His head bobbed up and down and body rocked back and forth. The sickly demon who had once been human started muttering to himself.

To think that someone viewed as a hero would become...this, Div'gen thought.

“Do you know what pushed him to this state?” the leader asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

Div'gen shook his head, despite knowing that the question was rhetorical.

“The beastkin once resided in a number of villages near the western border. They trained their own militias even though the humans sent their military might from Forgedalk to defend the border at all times. You would think that humans didn't care for the beastkin, but it was a time when they had all fought for their land against a common threat.

“Unfortunately, it was Xersceld's constant probing that forced Tevilandis to redirect its defenses to the north. There was little harmony as time marched on, and only a few hundred soldiers remained to maintain order.

“All it took was one beastkin to break this tenuous truce, for tensions always escalate over time, and people are wont to dwell on their misgivings. It is a shame that some beastkin are unable to control their animal side. For some, it is to a greater degree.”

The Many-robed One released a heavy sigh of regret. “A beastkin of the militia killed a human for some abject reason. And so the human soldiers ignored the orders of their general and resorted to mutiny. They razed the whole village. One upstart beastkin became the representative for all that they were. Thus, we entered a new time that mirrored the one of old, and the resentment between beastkin and humans continues as if it had never tempered.” He shrugged. “Though I suppose it is something that always remained. None among the races change so easily. As I have stated previously: it usually takes tragedy to bring people together.”

“And that is why the Construct Contracts are so one-sided and deadly. Change comes too easily with it, but at what price?” Div'gen said.

The Many-robed One looked at him with approval. “Quite right.”

They looked down as they detected movement in the plaza. One of the masked twins waved to them urgently as the other rested a hand on the gate. After a few seconds, a heavy clank echoed that indicated a release, and the gates opened outward. They waited a little longer until a similar sound of colliding metal seemed to travel down the path to the great city. The sound traveled among the buildings, and then there was silence.

“A skeleton key mechanism,” Div'gen said. “The gate was merely a ruse.”

“Even the sound is a ruse,” The Many-robed One said. “There will be more traps. The Dysians were a clever people.”

“Until they killed themselves,” a voice hissed.

Div'gen turned to regard the twisted demon who was now standing behind them. Korv wrung his hands nervously over his bloodied hands, making disturbing sloshing noises as if he were washing them under a dirty faucet.

“To have everything. To have technology. To prosper,” Korv let out an insane giggle and started scratching at his arms. He hugged his body and twisted back and forth. “All for what? All for what? ALL FOR WHAT?”

Div'gen curled his meaty fingers into a fist and made to take a step forward, but he was held in place by the insistent hand of their leader.

The Many-robed One watched as Korv fell to his knees, teetered over and assumed the fetal position. He pulled his legs tight to his chest and began gnawing at his knee.

“Not much longer,” the leader whispered.

Div'gen loosened his fingers, shrugged off his leader's hand and stormed off to meet with the masked twins.

Not much longer, he thought.

He stopped briefly as he heard Korv mutter to himself between the occasional biting of his knee. It seemed like his usual ramblings at first, but there was something different that Div'gen couldn't quite place as he listened.

“I-I need to see them,” Korv whimpered. “So...cute. Their insides – warm. No...no...not what I mean. Not what I mean? Catgirls pure...so very pure.” His whimpering escalated to quiet sobbing. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

Div'gen scoffed and spit on a corpse near his feet. None of it mattered. Soon, they would leave this place, and Korv would be left behind as their scapegoat.

 

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