Blade of the Goddess
Chapter 60 - Captives Together

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 - Captives Together

[Two weeks ago, a few hours after Lidia was captured]

Lidia rolled her eyes with annoyance as she looked at one of the captured people slowly regain consciousness. "Finally, you’re finally up."

"Wha-What happened?"

Alice folded her arms. "We were hoping you could tell us that, or at least your side of the story."

"I-I remember training out in the field during night hours, swinging my sword as usual. Then, a man with glasses attacked me. After that, I don’t remember anything."

"A man with glasses? I got attacked by a man like that as well!" Jackson Newman, a tall young man with orange hair, said, wondering why they both were taken.

"Why don’t we introduce ourselves and explain what happened to us?" Lidia suggested.

Everyone nodded and told their tale.

"I’m Aaron." He said, his long black hair unkempt. "I just explained what happened to me, heh. I’m also an Advanced Martial Artist if that helps."

"I’m Jackson Newman of the Newman Noble family. Like Aaron, I was attacked by a man with glasses as I was heading back to my dorm. I’m an Expert Martial Artist."

Everyone nodded and then looked at the short, blue-haired boy standing next to Jackson.

"U-Um, I’m Stephen, I like magic-I mean I study at the magic tower." That was all he said.

"Bitch, we didn’t ask where you study, tell us what happened to you!" Lidia yelled

Stephen almost jumped out of his pants when Lidia yelled at him. It was obvious that he wasn’t a people person and was very uncomfortable.

He bowed to apologize as if it was second nature, "I’m sorry! I-I don’t remember what happened. I was watering my plants when I suddenly passed out. Oh, I’m an Advanced Mage."

"Heh, idiot." A tall purple-haired woman scoffed. "I’m Michelle Castro, I was conducting an experiment when suddenly my window exploded, and some short flat-chested bitched decided it was a nice time to attack me. Of course, I wasn’t going down without a fight and managed to contend with her, I am a Master Stage Mage after all. But anyway, she cheated and blew sleeping powder in my face, and the rest is history. I swear when I get my hands on that needle nipple bitch again...."

"I’m Lucas Ahlbach, a Third Order Priest, or Advanced mage for comparison. I was helping evacuate the church masses when I was blocked by a man who loved punching things. However, he said he felt a stronger energy and left to confront it." [Zion btw]

"After that, I was attacked by a small boy who instantly knocked me out, and here I am now." He finished, waving his blonde hair out of his face as if trying to impress a girl.

"I’m Ivy Riddle," The green-haired girl announced. "Like Lucas, I’m a Third Order, except I’m a Paladin. I, too, was helping people when a small boy and I ended up here."

Lidia and Alice also explained their stories and tried to match them with the others, but there was no correlation,n and no one could understand why they had been taken.

"Fuck this, I’m blasting my way out," Michelle exclaimed.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you," Lidia warned her, knowing what would happen once the cell bars were attacked

Michelle sneered, "Well, it’s a good thing you’re not me, little girl." Appearing on her hands were red intricate magic circles that Lidia recognized. The circle didn’t appear to be a fire one bit, it was similar, the main difference being the small gaps in the rune circles to have the fire build up and release a massive amount of flames continuously.

"Are you crazy?! You’re going to use explosion magic in this small space?! Do you want to kill us?" Lidia yelled

"I truthfully do not care about what happens to you all. I’m getting out of here no matter what. You losers can stay here and brainstorm a way to leave, if you’re not dead, that is." Activating her spell, a continuous wave of explosions rocked the cell they were in, shaking the entire place and causing some rubble to fall from the ceiling.

The result? Absolutely nothing.

"How in the-ARGRGHRGRHRGRHRHRHGHHHGHHHHGHGHHHHHHH" Michele screamed in agonizing pain as black bolts of electricity coursed through her body.

"Told you."

"Are you all having fun?" A voice asked as a silhouette of a short person walked into the light.

"You!" Lucas and Ivy yelled as they recognized the boy standing before them, or at least the voice and stature of his body, since his face was obscured.

"Hahaha! What an idiot! Serves you right bitch!" Kristy exclaimed with glee as she stared at the unconscious Michelle lying on the floor after being shocked by lightning.

Lidia knew that if they wanted answers, these two would be their best option for understanding why they were taken. "Who are you people? And what do you want with us?"

"Let’s just say, you six are special. Well, there are more of you that are special, hundreds, no, thousands. But you six are the most special in this kingdom, at least." Adam explained slightly.

"There are plenty of people who are more talented than us, like my fiancé, Zion Zagan."

"Ahh, yes, the thorn in our side. I know that he’s special, so special that he almost ruined twenty years of preparation, but it doesn’t matter since you all are here now." Adam chuckled, walking away with his arms crossed. "Begin the experiments and start the preparations, in one month’s time, we’ll welcome eight mid-ranked demons to this world."

"Hmmm, let’s see," Kristy looked at everyone in the cell, contemplating who to experiment on first. "Eeny, meeny, miny....moe! Hehe! I choose you! Let’s go!" She pointed at Stephen.

"Wha-What?! N-No! Please!" He backed away, crawling to the furthest point of the cell.

"Oh, sweetie, running away won’t do anything for you." She snapped her fingers, and a black crest shimmered into the light on everyone’s chest, causing them immense pain.

"ARRGHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHH!"

"STOPPPP! IT HURTS!"

"You like it? It’s called a hex, a demonic rune. With this, none of you will be able to act up, so make sure to be on your best behavior, you’re valuable after all." Kristy chuckled as she grabbed Stephen from the cell.

Once she left the room, the pain finally subsided, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath.

"There’s no way I’m staying here and getting experimented on!"

"We should formulate a plan together!"

"You saw what she did to us! How will we be able to attack her if she can just...just....hex us!"

While everyone was arguing, Lidia was thinking about what Kristy said.

’You’re valuable after all.’ Lidia kept those words in her mind and used them to formulate a plan.

---

The lab reeked of death as Stephen entered the room. Rotting flesh, chemicals, and scorched bone riddled the entire area. Blood stained the cracked tiles, with surgical tools scattered across rusted tables.

Incubator tubes were lined up on the walls, each housing grotesque, twitching experiments suspended in murky fluid. Torn research papers litter the floor, smeared with ink and gore. Limbs float in grimy jars, and Kristy smiled happily once she was in the room, relishing in the horrors no sane eye should see. It’s a place where madness completely took over.

"Please! PLEASE!" Stephen sobbed as he was strapped onto a chair made for experimenting on humanoid beings. "I have a Mom, a Dad, and a little sister! They need me! Please don’t do this to me!"

"Aw, that’s so sweet. I’m sure Mommy and Daddy will miss you, but I won’t." Above Stephen were six tubes with large metal needles at the end of them that were meant to be inserted into the body.

Grabbing one of them, Kristy jabbed one right into his left arm, not caring about the pain it would cause him.

He screamed at the top of his lungs as the pain spread throughout his body, only for another one to be inserted into his right arm. This continued until there was a tube in his legs, the back of his neck, and his heart.

"Okay, now that everything is set, let’s start pumping that juice." Kristy pulled a lever, and purple liquid was poured into the tubes, which was then pumped into Stephen’s body.

"Hehehehe! This is the best!"