Continued from here.
Chapter Two
"Retribution"
As the sun rose the next day and it became time to travel once more, the trip was rather silent. Despite being described as helpful by the Skull Knight, the so-called Black Swordsman, Guts, said very little, doing little more than grunting in acknowledgement whenever someone might try to talk to him. Isidro, Puck, and Casca also remained silent, feeling a bit awkward admittedly with their crew becoming far bigger all of a sudden, knowing how well the Black Swordsman himself disliked crowds.
Constantine also had little to say, following Guts's lead and appreciating that he didn't have to lead on the group by himself anymore; that was never his strong suit, no matter what certain people back in his home world might have insisted. Miki and Yuki were also silent, the latter of the two still rather sleepy and being carried on Miki's back, not wanting to disturb the pink-haired girl's slumber.
The sunrise was different this time around, more vibrant and alive. Less of the dread like with before, but still somewhat foreboding, as if obscuring itself beneath the trees in order to hide from the events that have yet to come.
Eventually, after a while, Guts finally spoke up, just as a village began to become visible over the horizon.
"We're here."
"Um... Where is here anyway?" Miki asked softly, wondering why Guts had led them all here to begin with, wondering how it related to their journey.
"You guys said you were looking for a great evil... Well, chances would have it, we were on our way to this little village here. Heard all sorts of rumors that weird shit went on around here," Isidro responded, holding the back of his head with both arms casually as he walked, Puck sitting atop his head casually, "If you guys are really looking for some big creepy evil, maybe you won't have to look so far! Evil keeps tryin' to go after this guy like he's dogfood!" He said, gesturing toward the reticent Guts with a toothy grin.
However, Isidro's light spirit was cut short as they all entered the village. As soon as they entered, the group was greeted to a morbid scream in the distance to the side, followed by a distant voice, pleading, yelling desperately.
"I swear! I swear on me mum's grave! I didn't kill her! It was the VOICES! THE VOICES DID IT!"
"H-Huh? What's... going on over there?"
Constantine shrugged. "Beats me."
"Lemme go! Please, I beg o' you! Don't...! Don't!"
"Should we... do something to help, maybe?"
The man in the distance kept screaming, screaming for God, screaming for someone, screaming for anyone.
WHUMP!
Until he ceased altogether.
"Sounds like the guillotine already did it for him," Guts said dryly.
And to think, this village was probably going to be more friendly than the last place they stopped at.
Letting out a breath, as if to awkwardly sweep what was just heard under the rug, Constantine dropped his cigarette on the ground and rubbed his gloved hands together when the group stopped at the front of the village, pursing his lips and looking around. "Right... Well. I'm gonna go see if I can't gather some info. I trust it's not an astute observation to say that it's unlikely that our so-called greater evil is gonna come knockin' on our doorstep, unless my ol' buddy Faust is as dumb as bricks. I imagine there has to be someone who knows their onions about the scum of the world, and I know just where to find it."
"What, like the head of the village?"
"No, the bar. Feel free to join me for a drink, laddies. Or go and play somewhere else. I'm sure you lot can find something useful to do... "
With that, Constantine made for the nearest drinking establishment.
Letting the British man go on his way, Guts did the same and temporarily parted from the group along with Isidro, Puck, and Casca, the branded woman continuing to unintelligibly moan about as she held on to Guts's arm, a reluctant look barely able to be made out on her face through the mostly absent features, her mind lost to... something. Specifically, they headed for... a brothel? A strange place to pick, to say the least, but perhaps he had other motivations than one might realize. One could vaguely hear what sounded like groaning coming from there, but they weren't the kind that one would expect from such a place. Rather, they sounded... pained, as though there was something serious going on there.
From there, the group once again had three options on where to go:
The tavern, where Constantine was headed.
The inn next door. Maybe getting some rooms for later tonight would prove beneficial.
The... brothel, where Guts was headed toward for some reason, with Casca in two, along with Isidro who had a rather eager look on his face, and Puck, who conversely did not look very eager.
Cast List
@Minerva as Astolfo (Type-Moon)
@Crow as Ben Tennyson (Ben 10)
@Raptor Jesus as Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)
@Jeremi as Fall-From-Grace and Mortimer Rictusgrin (Planescape)
@Sen as Genya Arikado (Castlevania)
@CrunchyCHEEZIT as Hollow Knight (Hollow Knight)
@dark as Jak (Jak & Daxter)
@Gummi Bunnies as Kaine and Emil (NieR)
@Alex Azure as Kokichi Oma (Danganronpa)
@Krieg as Kurumi Ebisuzawa (School-Live!)
@Yun Lee as Libra and Sumia (Fire Emblem)
@Takumi as Lindel (The Ancient Magus Bride)
@York as Lucatiel of Mirrah (Dark Souls II)
@Lucky as Mike Munroe and Joshua Washington (Until Dawn)
@Kaykay as Sera Mizuki (Soushuu Senshinkan Gakuen)
@Otto as Siegward of Catarina (Dark Souls III)
@Tutski19 as Soraka (League of Legends)
@Khan of the Mardu as Virginia Maxwell (Wild Arms)
@Josh as Yuuri Wakasa (School-Live!)
@Archmage Jeremiah as Zoe (League of Legends)
Chapter Two
"Retribution"
After saving the group of unwilling survivors from the God Hand's Eclipse, the mysterious Skull Knight directs them to find a man known as the Black Swordsman, who believes that they will help them on their quest. Afterwards, he departs, leaving only Constantine to lead the group. Eventually, they come across an active town, in which Constantine believes they will find the Black Swordsman, and encourages everyone to split up to look for him.
Constantine, along with a few others, head to the town center, where a large crowd is present. There, a woman (named Casca) with the same brand on her body as the others is seen, about to be burned at the stake, believed by the townspeople to be either a witch, or cursed by one, as seen by her mind-broken status. When the group attempts to intervene, the crowd turns on them and begins to perceive them as witch sympathizers.
At the same time this happens, as another part of the group splits off into the market, they run into a shopkeeper chewing out a boy, claiming that he had stolen some fruit. The confrontation quickly escalates when the man threatens to kill the boy, but is stopped by the group, before fleeing in fear. During the exchange, it is noticed that the crowd does not seem to notice or even acknowledge the group's antics very much. The boy, later revealed to be named Isidro, claims that he is stealing the fruit, not to eat, but rather, to throw at people at the town center in hopes of distracting and interrupting the public execution of Casca in order to buy time for his "friend" to free the Black Swordsman from the penitentiary. With that, the group makes their way to the town center.
Just as they arrive at the center, the crowd starts to begin attacking everyone, but after Astolfo uses his ability, La Black Luna, to disorient and incapacitate the crowd, what instead happens is something far from what one expects; the entire town population had been possessed by an army of slug monsters, and intended to burn Casca in order to "cook" her. From there, the groups engaged in a grand fight against a seemingly endless swarm of the slugs.
All the while, another part of the group, drawn to the crowd outside the penitentiary, makes their way there, and spots the royal guards dragging in a man with the familiar brand on the back of his neck. While there, the group takes notice of a strange orb of light, later revealed to be a pixie-like elf named Puck, who is attempting to free the man from captivity. Eventually, they manage to infiltrate the building by tricking a guard into having him believe them to be members of the local church, and speak to the man, revealed to be the Black Swordsman himself, Guts. Persuading him to work with them to seek out and vanquish a greater evil, they manage to free him and re-equip him with his belongings, just in time to join the fight in the center against the slug monsters.
The supernatural characteristics of Guts's Dragon Slayer allow the slug monsters to subside, severing their connection to the sorcerer controlling them in spirit from an undisclosed location, Felix Faust, who happens to be an arch-enemy of Constantine's, taunting him before disappearing. With that, reuniting with his crew, Guts urges the group to come with him and skip town while all the townspeople were unconscious, stating that he had an idea of where to go next on their quest for great evil.
That night, at the camp site, Constantine reveals to Kokichi, Ciel, and Ben how he had come to end up in this world, stating Faust had recently somehow managed to unlock the secrets to traveling between worlds, and has now come to work under a new, mysterious master, whom Constantine suspects to be the ideal source of greater evil that they would be able to transfer the curse to, and implies that Faust himself holds captive "something important" to Constantine, but does not elaborate on it.
Constantine, along with a few others, head to the town center, where a large crowd is present. There, a woman (named Casca) with the same brand on her body as the others is seen, about to be burned at the stake, believed by the townspeople to be either a witch, or cursed by one, as seen by her mind-broken status. When the group attempts to intervene, the crowd turns on them and begins to perceive them as witch sympathizers.
At the same time this happens, as another part of the group splits off into the market, they run into a shopkeeper chewing out a boy, claiming that he had stolen some fruit. The confrontation quickly escalates when the man threatens to kill the boy, but is stopped by the group, before fleeing in fear. During the exchange, it is noticed that the crowd does not seem to notice or even acknowledge the group's antics very much. The boy, later revealed to be named Isidro, claims that he is stealing the fruit, not to eat, but rather, to throw at people at the town center in hopes of distracting and interrupting the public execution of Casca in order to buy time for his "friend" to free the Black Swordsman from the penitentiary. With that, the group makes their way to the town center.
Just as they arrive at the center, the crowd starts to begin attacking everyone, but after Astolfo uses his ability, La Black Luna, to disorient and incapacitate the crowd, what instead happens is something far from what one expects; the entire town population had been possessed by an army of slug monsters, and intended to burn Casca in order to "cook" her. From there, the groups engaged in a grand fight against a seemingly endless swarm of the slugs.
All the while, another part of the group, drawn to the crowd outside the penitentiary, makes their way there, and spots the royal guards dragging in a man with the familiar brand on the back of his neck. While there, the group takes notice of a strange orb of light, later revealed to be a pixie-like elf named Puck, who is attempting to free the man from captivity. Eventually, they manage to infiltrate the building by tricking a guard into having him believe them to be members of the local church, and speak to the man, revealed to be the Black Swordsman himself, Guts. Persuading him to work with them to seek out and vanquish a greater evil, they manage to free him and re-equip him with his belongings, just in time to join the fight in the center against the slug monsters.
The supernatural characteristics of Guts's Dragon Slayer allow the slug monsters to subside, severing their connection to the sorcerer controlling them in spirit from an undisclosed location, Felix Faust, who happens to be an arch-enemy of Constantine's, taunting him before disappearing. With that, reuniting with his crew, Guts urges the group to come with him and skip town while all the townspeople were unconscious, stating that he had an idea of where to go next on their quest for great evil.
That night, at the camp site, Constantine reveals to Kokichi, Ciel, and Ben how he had come to end up in this world, stating Faust had recently somehow managed to unlock the secrets to traveling between worlds, and has now come to work under a new, mysterious master, whom Constantine suspects to be the ideal source of greater evil that they would be able to transfer the curse to, and implies that Faust himself holds captive "something important" to Constantine, but does not elaborate on it.
As the sun rose the next day and it became time to travel once more, the trip was rather silent. Despite being described as helpful by the Skull Knight, the so-called Black Swordsman, Guts, said very little, doing little more than grunting in acknowledgement whenever someone might try to talk to him. Isidro, Puck, and Casca also remained silent, feeling a bit awkward admittedly with their crew becoming far bigger all of a sudden, knowing how well the Black Swordsman himself disliked crowds.
Constantine also had little to say, following Guts's lead and appreciating that he didn't have to lead on the group by himself anymore; that was never his strong suit, no matter what certain people back in his home world might have insisted. Miki and Yuki were also silent, the latter of the two still rather sleepy and being carried on Miki's back, not wanting to disturb the pink-haired girl's slumber.
The sunrise was different this time around, more vibrant and alive. Less of the dread like with before, but still somewhat foreboding, as if obscuring itself beneath the trees in order to hide from the events that have yet to come.
Eventually, after a while, Guts finally spoke up, just as a village began to become visible over the horizon.
"We're here."
"Um... Where is here anyway?" Miki asked softly, wondering why Guts had led them all here to begin with, wondering how it related to their journey.
"You guys said you were looking for a great evil... Well, chances would have it, we were on our way to this little village here. Heard all sorts of rumors that weird shit went on around here," Isidro responded, holding the back of his head with both arms casually as he walked, Puck sitting atop his head casually, "If you guys are really looking for some big creepy evil, maybe you won't have to look so far! Evil keeps tryin' to go after this guy like he's dogfood!" He said, gesturing toward the reticent Guts with a toothy grin.
However, Isidro's light spirit was cut short as they all entered the village. As soon as they entered, the group was greeted to a morbid scream in the distance to the side, followed by a distant voice, pleading, yelling desperately.
"I swear! I swear on me mum's grave! I didn't kill her! It was the VOICES! THE VOICES DID IT!"
"H-Huh? What's... going on over there?"
Constantine shrugged. "Beats me."
"Lemme go! Please, I beg o' you! Don't...! Don't!"
"Should we... do something to help, maybe?"
The man in the distance kept screaming, screaming for God, screaming for someone, screaming for anyone.
WHUMP!
Until he ceased altogether.
"Sounds like the guillotine already did it for him," Guts said dryly.
And to think, this village was probably going to be more friendly than the last place they stopped at.
Letting out a breath, as if to awkwardly sweep what was just heard under the rug, Constantine dropped his cigarette on the ground and rubbed his gloved hands together when the group stopped at the front of the village, pursing his lips and looking around. "Right... Well. I'm gonna go see if I can't gather some info. I trust it's not an astute observation to say that it's unlikely that our so-called greater evil is gonna come knockin' on our doorstep, unless my ol' buddy Faust is as dumb as bricks. I imagine there has to be someone who knows their onions about the scum of the world, and I know just where to find it."
"What, like the head of the village?"
"No, the bar. Feel free to join me for a drink, laddies. Or go and play somewhere else. I'm sure you lot can find something useful to do... "
With that, Constantine made for the nearest drinking establishment.
Letting the British man go on his way, Guts did the same and temporarily parted from the group along with Isidro, Puck, and Casca, the branded woman continuing to unintelligibly moan about as she held on to Guts's arm, a reluctant look barely able to be made out on her face through the mostly absent features, her mind lost to... something. Specifically, they headed for... a brothel? A strange place to pick, to say the least, but perhaps he had other motivations than one might realize. One could vaguely hear what sounded like groaning coming from there, but they weren't the kind that one would expect from such a place. Rather, they sounded... pained, as though there was something serious going on there.
From there, the group once again had three options on where to go:
The tavern, where Constantine was headed.
The inn next door. Maybe getting some rooms for later tonight would prove beneficial.
The... brothel, where Guts was headed toward for some reason, with Casca in two, along with Isidro who had a rather eager look on his face, and Puck, who conversely did not look very eager.
Cast List
@Minerva as Astolfo (Type-Moon)
@Crow as Ben Tennyson (Ben 10)
@Raptor Jesus as Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)
@Jeremi as Fall-From-Grace and Mortimer Rictusgrin (Planescape)
@Sen as Genya Arikado (Castlevania)
@CrunchyCHEEZIT as Hollow Knight (Hollow Knight)
@dark as Jak (Jak & Daxter)
@Gummi Bunnies as Kaine and Emil (NieR)
@Alex Azure as Kokichi Oma (Danganronpa)
@Krieg as Kurumi Ebisuzawa (School-Live!)
@Yun Lee as Libra and Sumia (Fire Emblem)
@Takumi as Lindel (The Ancient Magus Bride)
@York as Lucatiel of Mirrah (Dark Souls II)
@Lucky as Mike Munroe and Joshua Washington (Until Dawn)
@Kaykay as Sera Mizuki (Soushuu Senshinkan Gakuen)
@Otto as Siegward of Catarina (Dark Souls III)
@Tutski19 as Soraka (League of Legends)
@Khan of the Mardu as Virginia Maxwell (Wild Arms)
@Josh as Yuuri Wakasa (School-Live!)
@Archmage Jeremiah as Zoe (League of Legends)
