Chapter 25

  Hell Breaks Loose, Literally

  Side stories, part 2

  “Well. Thanks, System, now what am I supposed to do here? My mission to find and rescue POW slaves from Furcadia is completely impossible. (Sigh) Guess I should contact the Furies for guidance.”- Suzie

  “Oh holy mother of the furues! Your humble servant seeks to petition thee for thine wisdom. Hear my cry and come forth, I beseech you!””

  A small portal appears soon after in Suzie's face, just barely large enough to see out the other side. Suzie begins speaking with her immediate superior among the Erinyes armies.

  “Hello, Grunt. Her Mistress has decreed that I'm to screen all calls, even from such a talented student as yourself. Stealing the karmic destination of not one but two squads of agents from Set? Impressive. Now what is the reason for your call?”

  “That's precisely it, Lady Madonhwa. One of Set's top minions, he whose name cannot be pronounced, has come through a portal opened with the sacrifice of an entire city and has been beaten, along with his whole army, by my most recent 'boss' and his party. Before the fight, I was sent away, to complete a quest, which I now find impossible due to the System rewards given to the brave heroes responsible. So. I figured this would be a good time as any to seek out Her Mistress' guidance.”-Suzie

  “Oh my, how bold! To think of bothering The Mistress over such a petty matter...”-Madonhwa

  “With all due respect, you do realize that Set's going to come herself soon after her top lieutenant and child was defeated in mortal combat for revenge, yes? I fail to see how that is a 'minor' matter.”-Suzie

  “Don't interrupt me, girl! You may be in another dimension at the moment but...”- Madonhwa

  “ENOUGH! STAND ASIDE, BRAT!”

  Booms a voice from the other side of the portal and one of the three furies appears, but can't be seen because she's so enormous, if she were present on the same side as Suzie, she'd be three stories tall.

  Suzie kneels in reverence, despite being on the other side of a dimensional portal, “Her Mistress. This young fledgling pledges her utmost loyalty and reverence...”

  “Oh, knock it off with the pomp and circumstance. Speak! Tell me of your report, at once!”

  “Yes, your mistress.” Suzie then proceeds to brief the Fury about her current situation, holding nothing back, no secrets, no obfuscation, no lies or deceptions.

  “Hoh. You have done well, fledgeling. VERY well indeed.”

  “How utterly ridiculous to receive praise for fleeing a fight...”-Madonhwa

  “Silence, fool! She was wise to accept the opportunity to withdraw when it was given, and the opportunity to steal away more karmic victims from Set's dinner table! Tell me, young fledgeling, you said this man, Jade, is a Traveler who has become a dungeon core. Did you see the battle?”

  “Yes, Your Mistress. Jade is indeed a dungeon core with powerful alchemical abilities. But I was already too far away to see the battle, so I can not tell who dealt the final blow, or how, but I do know Jade has two powerful humanoid dungeon bosses.”-Suzie

  “A trivial setback, if that. If Jade loses the coming fight with Set, it won't matter anyway. If Jade WINS, it's likely you will meet with him again, and you can learn more. As it stands right now, you are not to head back and aid him, unless I tell you different. You would only get in the way. For now, focus on grabbing as many sinners for our side as you can, and the more graphic and flashy their deaths, the better.”

  “With pleasure, Your Mistress.” The portal then closes and Suzie turns her sights to the Sydonia army heading to the royal capital after their slaves were suddenly repatriated by The System. “And I know just where to start.”

  Meanwhile, in the Holy Kingdom, Ricardo is heading to the estate of Archbishop Ferdinand, the first and closest target on his list of investigations, riding a horse-drawn carriage.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Well. That's interesting! But doesn't change what I have to do, I suppose.”-Ricardo.

  “An' what ye be talkin' about, Sirrah?”-Driver

  “Oh. That System World announcement about the mass repatriation of Furcadia citizens taken by Sydonia, Mr....”

  “Tompson, Sirrah.”-Tompson

  “Right. Mr. Tompson. All those lost souls going home. And I still have to visit Archbishop Ferdinand.”-Ricardo.

  Their calm talk is interrupted by a magic portal opening next to Ricardo's head.

  “You must return to the realm of the dead, now, Shinigami. Set has made her demands, and all shinigami still in the world when she enters shall be declared enemies and hunted down. I won't be able to open a portal to spirit you away then.”

  “Lord Hades! For you to call me personally!....”

  “There is no time to dawdle. The ritual will take roughly 25 of your minutes and Set has given us a half hour for your departure, no more.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The portal blinks out of existence.

  “Ok, Merchant Tompson. You've got a choice. You can either drive your horses like hell itself is coming after you, because it very well will be, or you can come with me to the land of the dead and hope we can find some other world to set you on. You have five minutes to decide. Oh. Do you have any food, water, and other such supplies with you? Because if you partake of anything, and I do mean anything, in the land of the dead, your soul will be trapped there for all eternity!”-Ricardo.

  “Hell coming after me?”-Tompson.

  “Yes. You remember that System announcement? That invader was one of Set's favorite offspring, and she's apparently coming, in person, for revenge, and once she's here, she's going to claim this world as her own to add to the Abyss.”-Ricardo

  “AN EVIL GOD OF THE ABYSS! COMING TO OUR WORLD! WE MUST WARN EVERYONE...”-Tompson

  “If you want to, go ahead. I won't stop you, but my god commands me to go, and I must.”-Ricardo.

  Ricardo casts the ritual and passes through a portal to the underworld while the merchant Tompson drives his horses, hard, trying to reach the nearest fort to warn the Holy Kingdom of the coming invasion.

  Moments after Ricardo disappears through the portal, a beam of radioactive fire hurls his way. A near miss utterly vaporizes the poor merchant and his wagon. The only reason Ricardo survived was because he's in a different dimension when the beam headed his way.

  Back to Suzie's point of view...

  “Damn it! Why can't any of you archers hit her! She's just one beast-kin, for crying out loud!”-Commander

  “No beast-kin could move like that, Sir. She's no beast-kin. She's a demon!”-Archery leader

  “Boys, boys! How rude you are! I'm an Erinyes! A fallen angel sent by the Furies, and I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to JUDGE you, and you have all been found want---ing. Oh? What's this? Someone has positive karma among you?! That's surprising.” Says Suzie from a height too far up for the arrows to reach, using magic to make her voice carry to her intended victims.

  Suddenly a portal opens next to her head and the voice of Her Mistress came through it.

  “The time for games is over. Set has come through the portal herself and will blast you to atoms if she sees you.”

  “Should I just go past the mountain then to continue my work, Your Mistress?”-Suzie

  “Admirable work ethic, as always, but no. You are to bring those you've already marked for judgment with you into our realm. We can take no further risks.”

  “As you command, Your Mistress.”- Suzie.

  The army is suddenly killed where they stand, save the sole soldier with positive karma.

  “Well. You've got a choice. Become my 'pet' and join me back home in my Abyss dimension, or become food for the snake-men of Set's Abyss. Be quick. For we don't have much time.” Says Suzie while using [Appraisal] on the lone surviving soldier.

  Status

  Name: Allegra von Allen

  Race: Mouse beast-kin. Gender: Female

  Profession: Conscript – Level 10

  Stats:

  STR: 5

  INT: 15

  DEX: 30

  CON: 10

  WIS: 30

  LUK: MAX

  Equipment: Standard Sydonia Army uniform, short sword, Short bow, dagger. Enchantments: None.

  “Oh. What's this? Why is a beast-kin helping to oppress her own kind? I understand being a conscript, but...”-Suzie

  “I...have no choice. My home city is held hostage...”-Allegra

  “Well. That doesn't matter now. Either come with me, or die here!”-Suzie

  “I'm.. Coming!”-Allegra

  They just barely make it through a portal before Set's attack reaches them.