The Lord of Ragnarok

The Lord of Ragnarok

Chapter 28: Twisted

New Appleoosa - Rainbow Dash’s P.O.V.

Standing there, looking at my creator I heard the words, and then I shook my head. My loyalties were to both him and my husband, Lord Mannulus, but what he was asking for made sense. It would be a chance to make sure that every servant here, and his queen, could live forever. But what he said was true as well. Lord Mannulus wasn’t going to simply turn over the black book. It was too powerful, and if what Obitus said was even a little true then it would be inviting powers that even my creator wouldn’t be able to handle.

“Are you sure?” I asked, “Couldn’t we see if there is another way?”

He breathed out, “There are other ways, all of which would destroy their physical bodies,” he said softly, “Rainbow, I ask you because you are my creation, because you are loyalty given a body.”

He stood from his throne and walked to me, “I ask you because I am one of your fathers, and I know that you understand that it is your place to answer a request, especially one as simple as this.”

I looked at him, and it hurt because he was right, but then I thought of what Obitus said, “Obitus said that it contains a twisted Zebra’s soul, that it is bound to it, and that the soul wants to corrupt anything it comes into contact with it. She said that Lord Mannulus is withstanding it only due to his great will power.”

He laughed, “Yes, Mannulus’ legendary willpower. His will might even be as powerful as Doom’s,” hes said before he touched my cheek, “but do you doubt that I have less will than Mannulus?”

I shook my head, “No King Sombra the Magnificent,” I said, “But what if it attacks you differently?”

He looked up from me, “You’re stalling,” he said, “And I grow weary of it.”

I sighed and looked at the ground, “Please, you’re asking me to steal from my husband,” I said, “Please, don’t make me have to choose which of you to obey.”

He growled, “Rainbow, who gave you life?”

I flinched, “Y...You created me,” I said, “You made me, but Lord Mannulus has made me more than what I was.”

He studied me, “Yes, he has made you a wife, a lover, and a fine addition to his harem,” he said, “But what else has he done?” he asked, “Has he given you a new purpose? Do you find yourself full of free will, or are you, as you always were, a mere puppet.”

I looked at him, “I am not a puppet,” I growled, “And this conversation is over!”

I started to lift into the air before I felt something hit me. I fell to the ground, and I felt an intense pressure inside of my head. I looked at my creator, at King Sombra the Magnificent in horror as he began to invade my mind. I felt him bending me to his will, my every single thought becoming more and more pliable.

“No, please,” I begged, “Please…”

I felt something else. A warm tingle from my hand, where my ring was, and a moment later I heard the portal open. I felt the violation end, and I watched as King Sombra the Magnificent backed up. I felt a tender hand on my shoulder, “Rainbow, are you alright?”

I looked into the caring eye of Lord Mannulus and I smiled, “Yes, I am now.”

“No!”

I turned my head to see King Sombra the Magnificent’s horn glowing, “I will have the book!”

Lord Mannulus’ P.O.V.

A fight between guild members wasn’t unheard of, but normally it was held to a sparring match. The two guild members would agree to a basic skills test, and most arguments would be handled that way. This wasn’t that kind of match. I could feel the magic pooling up, and I knew what was coming. The problem was that King Sombra the Magnificent had absolutelutely not a fucking chance in the world. I was the head of the guild for a reason, and yes, some of the others out classed me. Sombra had power over Crystals, and storing energy in them, that I didn’t. He could create crystal golems, and he could without a doubt beat me if I didn’t have a plan. That was his shortcoming. That was his problem. For all of his power Sombra had always been a hothead. His attacks were almost always direct. He was someone that focused on overwhelming his enemy with pure might.

I had my defences, and I had doubled them, switching several over to Rainbow as well. I felt the first bristle of the attack. It hit, and my defences did exactly what I thought that they would. The attack doubled back on itself, and struck Sombra. He flew back, and hit his throne. I looked at him, and somewhere, from the aether a sound began to play. I knew it. It was something that I had programmed into my character to play when I had a duel with an evenly matched player. I used to joke that if it played then it meant their ass.

“You hear it, don’t you Sombra?” I asked.

He snarled, but didn’t attack, “You know what that song means, you know what Love Rollercoster means at this point, I know you do.”

“Give me the book!” he shouted, “I won’t lose her, or my subjects!”

I looked at him, “At one time, I might have considered allowing you to use it, or at least teaching you the spells needed to grant them eternal life,” I said, “But then you decided to rape my bride’s mind. You’re going to be lucky if I don’t raize this entire place to the ground.”

“Please,” Timidus begged, “Please do not harm him,” she begged as she lowered herself to her knees, “Please, I am his bride, my husband is prideful, and he is just, but he cares for us deeply. He only wished to see us protected.”

I looked at her, and the at Sombra, “I will spare his life, but dicipline will be given.”

Sombra screamed as he lifted into the air. Black tendrils snaked under his skin, into every orifice, and I knew he felt the very fires of hell itself. I dropped him, “That is from that book. That is what it contains. The pain you just felt is what I feel everyday dealing with it,” I snarled at him, “You want that for her, or your subjects?”

He looked at me, “To protect them, yes.”

I understood at that moment that there would be no talking to him, no attempt in persuasion, instead this would need to be done the hard way. Rollercoaster of love had never lied before. I waited for his next attack, and I knew that I wouldn’t be waiting long. Sombra was always a hothead, and his use of magical force, or just force, was how he tended to handle things. He attacked like an unruly force of nature.

There was some truth that sometimes the tool you need for the job was a hammer. That was exactly what Sombra was. He was a hammer. He could pound obstacles in his way into oblivion, but the problem was that I wasn’t a mere problem, and I certainly wasn't a nail. His attack was a blast of dark magic, the kind that attacked the mind, and one that had a slim chance of bypassing my eye. Slim, but only if cast by someone who had taken in the kind of energy needed to suddenly climb to the mythical level of one hundred eighty-one.

One hundred eighty-one was a level that was not officially a real level in Ragnarok, but players could become super players by taking in enough stored energy to count toward the huge collection of experience points that would be needed to reach one hundred eighty-one. The effect would last for about two minutes, not long, but certainly long enough to deal with some of the tougher enemies in Ragnarok. I saw the black crystal that lined the rebuilt buildings, the black crystal that was being shaped into shops and homes, the black crystal that Sombra had created and stored his own magic into.

I knew what he was planning. He was using the magic of those crystals to focus into a single spell. It was using a hammer to do a job. If he would have prepared more, perhaps done this before I arrived, I have no doubt that it would have worked. Instead I looked at him, and stretched out my hand. When I did I closed my good eye. I normally cast my spells the older way. I could say them, and they would be cast, but when a player reached level one hundred seventy-nine there was a special ability they could unlock.

It was only available to be unlocked at level one hundred seventy-nine, and if the person didn’t unlock it and then got the very last level before hand, it was not accessible. Most players didn’t even bother with it. The ability was voiceless magic. To be honest it wasn’t the most flashy of abilities, and it certainly wasn’t the most useful, except for those few times you didn’t want to waste time rattling out a long, and complicated name, for an advanced spell. It did mean closing your natural eyes, luckily I had an artificial so I could keep an eye on him with it, and taking just a moment longer to cast.

As Sombra’s magic casted out, so did my own. The spell surged, and suddenly everything froze. I walked, immune to the time freeze, and I walked to Sombra. I looked at him, “You are one of my best friends, we have built something amazing together, and I would have helped you with this, if you would have asked,” I said, “But you tried to go about this backhandedly, and you hurt Rainbow. You hurt my wife. I can’t forgive you for this Sombra, and so a lesson must be learned here today.”

“Soul fire,” I said, a soft glowing orb touched him, and then I released the time freeze. His own magic disappeared and suddenly Sombra fell to the ground, screaming, crying, a howling pain that could only be described as the very pits of hell where the damned are tortured for all time passed through him. I stood over him, my eye glowing as the fire dug at his very soul. The pain he felt before was like the sweetest kiss he could have ever experienced. It was a wonderful memory compared to the hell he was experiencing now.

“Please, release him!” Timidus begged, “Please, I will do whatever you ask, I…” she lowered herself, “You can use me, however, bend me to your will, have your way with me as he had his way with your bride’s mind, but please spare him.”

I looked at her, focused on him, and then extinguished the spell. He writhed in pain for a few moments more, and finally he breathed normally. Timidus, true to her word, disrobed, and she whimpered as she sat nude.

“I will not resist,” she said, “You have done as I have asked, and I will not resist my bargain.”

I looked at her and shook my head, “The fact that you were willing to do so something for him is enough,” I said before I looked to him, “Before returning to the Temple you will create a gift,” I said coldly, “That gift will be made only by your magic, and it will contain a single day’s worth of life essence from each of your subjects. You will present that gift to Rainbow Dash as an apology, and if you fail to do so then you will face my full wrath, and not even your queen’s pleeding will stop me,” I said, “Do you understand me, or do I need to instruct you in the ways of pain again?”

“I… I understand Lord Mannulus,’ he said.

“Good, Do not ever attempt a thing such as this again,” I said before I opened a portal and walked through as I carried Rainbow Dash.

Fallen Village - A week’s journey from Sakerek Nim

Unknown Dullahan’s P.O.V.

"IT'S TIME TO POUND SOME MEAT PUPPETS!" the deranged lunatic shouted.

The raving lunatic swung an improvised axe, only to be cut down by the Uncia woman wielding a scythe. I was there, watching the battle, unseen by all but those that had fallen. I stood watch, as the raider’s body quickly went from quick to dead. The slowly growing pool of ichor grew from where the scythe rent his flesh. I was sole witness as his soul rose from his corporeal shell, unaware of the reality that he was not of the living anymore.

"Oooo, my head," moaned the recently deceased lunatic, "what in the seven hells was in that bread?"

"They call it raider rye," I answered, "but that's none of your concern right now."

"What happened?" The Lunatic asked.

"You were killed," I answered, “but really, in the cosmic scheme of things, that was always your fate. Either now or years from now, you were fated to die. The raider rye only revealed the black heart you have hidden from the world for so long."

"Hey, wait a minute," the lunatic protested, "what do you mean I was fated for this?"

"Were, or were you not a highwayman?" I asked, watching as the lunatic nods his head, "then your fate was to be killed. Especially after you hit that caravan of villagers. They shouldn't have died the way they did, but considering the rye they had purchased, they were either going to die soon, or would become like you, a stark raving lunatic. And for that, your life in the hereafter has been decreed."

"Wait, you can't-!" The lunatic began to protest before I plunged her own ethereal scythe into his chest.

"A wise person once said that 'time and tide wait for no man,' Neither does death, for it is the great equalizer. Rich or poor, villainous or pious, death awaits all. Especially a degenerate like you."

"W-what are you?"

I looked away, catching sight of my query, though I may never get the chance to know him in the intimate way Obitus had intended, the tall but pudgy Equitra slinging magic against a torrent of foes. I returned her gaze to him, after she plucked her head from her torso to inspect her catch more closely.

"That is none of your concern, actually. But if you must know, I am a Dullahan, a reaper of souls, even a Grim Reaper and my name is Eimi. Not like that will help where you will be going."

The sound of ripping paper and the screams of the damned filled the air. The lunatic looked towards the sound to see a portal of inky darkness, swirling with crimson highlights; the tortured faces of men and women effused with miasma.

"It is time," I said to the lunatic, "I hope you thoroughly tormented when you get to your 'reward.'"

I then tossed the screaming lunatic toward the void and it closed upon his horrified face. I turned again to the battle. I could just make out my query, a mage of storm and fire. And I wondered what my daughter would be like if I mated with him. I pondered if he liked innocent maidens. Was he an experienced lover, did he have any kinks, was he considerate? Lady Obitus had forbidden the breeding of the Celestia Temple Guild… but I now wondered if maybe I could romance The Lord of Thunder and that he would love me back. Oh, pooh, a chance wasted. Time to reap more souls.

One of my sisters wandered by, a fellow dullahan named Kyoko. The two of us shared a home country, but not in the same time frame. I was made a dullahan sometime in the Meiji Era; Kyoko was more modern, born a dullahan sometime in the 21st Century. Neither of us had much in common, given our disparate time periods, but both of us were maidens in the old sense of the word and both were unrepentant romantics. Kyoko flashed me a smile as the younger dullahan threw another raider until a portal filled with torment.

“Phew!” Kyoko breathed, “I don’t think we’ve ever been so busy. These raiders are really keeping us on our toes!”

“Indeed,” I replied, “the last time I’ve ever reaped this many souls was back in 1945. Iwo Jima that was. I never thought so many Nipponi would die in that, but those devil dogs were as tenacious as any cerberus!”

“I heard about Iwo Jima in school,” Kyoko said, “was it as bad as the history books say?”

“No,” I answered, “it was probably worse. I don’t have a frame of reference for greater destruction. Lho Fang was there for the Siam war; I was elsewhere. And besides, history is often sanitized for mass consumption, often by the hands of the victors.”