Chapter 87: Interlude Twenty: Scarlet - A Level 10 Ego

"Astra!" Scarlet cried, crimson leaking out of her eyes and making Maria’s eyes snap to her pointed left ear. "What about Rachel—is everything okay? I see Selv still fighting the guy... Is she okay?"

"Ah, Ms. Fat Tail needs ta work on her cardio; it’ll take Nessie a good bit longer, I think, and then she’ll need to trudge over here, which, heh, good luck! But ya got yer ol’ bloke Astra here! The cap says they’d got some purifiers en route to handle the nasty stuff, so our horned lassie be on the money."

"How am I supposed to do that? I suck at talking," Scarlet hissed, scratching her neck as the pressure mounted.

"Feed her ego," Maria grunted, evening out her heavy breathing. "From what I hear, she’s addicted to it."

"She’s got a point. Rachel was a master at crackin’ her nut; she also seems interested in you. Play it up! You got this, Little Fang! I’ll let ya know when Fluffy Tail gets back. So, go get her, love!"

Fiona’s chaos above continued like clockwork; Selvaria was exiting the ocean like she was auditioning in a kaiju movie, and a lot of the soldiers were getting closer to the facility as they closed in. Rachel had to come back soon.

Not feeling so alone anymore, Scarlet walked forward as the sprinklers ceased and threw open the door to the club floor. Relica licked her cracked lip with an excited smile, the wound seemingly self-inflicted.

"It took you long enough, Scarlet, Maria. Hasn’t this been an utter disaster? Haha. I love it."

Maria snorted, arms crossed, and cocked her hip. Her illuminated eyes darted around the large underground area, her gaze shifting between the hypnotized kids as she tried to buy time. "Bullshit. You’re hella nervous. What’s the deal when you hold all the cards? Heh. Damn, Terrell, she’s got your ass sitting bar-side, huh?"

The dark-skinned blind man’s mouth was tight as he sat at the bar, seemingly trying to ignore them while talking on the phone with someone now that the supernatural field was gone; Scarlet could see the purple lines in both Terrell’s and Marcus’ veins, and her eyes widened upon getting a better look at the bar.

"You...spiked the water and alcohol with the explosion spell?"

Terrell and his son tensed, dropping the glass to shatter across the ground as Relica giggled.

"Wow! You really are some kind of monster," she mused, legs crossed and meeting Marcus’ terrified eyes. "You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to kill people with the trust they put in their food or beverages."

She lazily held her hand to the side and snapped her fingers with a gleam in her eyes; the loud snap in the still atmosphere lingered before Terrell fell off the stool, knees hitting the tile, his world collapsing.

"Dad—Dad?!" A honeycomb shield enclosed the two gangsters as Marcus glared at the smirking woman. "Bitch, what..."

"Daran..."

"What about Daran?"

"Does she have to spell it out for you?" Maria growled. "She killed your brother."

"No! That’s—how?!"

Terrell forced a laugh, tears gathering in his clouded eyes as he looked at Relica. "When did you k-kill him?"

"Oh, mate," Astra’s voice buzzed in Scarlet’s ear. "It was a while ago. That snap was one of the blokes Fiona is dancing with."

Relica was adjusting her dress with a thoughtful hum. "I’m shocked it took you this long to notice your son was gone. I suppose you’ve been busy talking to your bosses. Figure things out? Most of them will be dead soon enough."

"It’s you," Terrell whispered. "You’re the Violet Seat... You betrayed your own cartel... We ran your drug ring. Why dismantle your own organization?"

"Wait, she’s your boss? Shit," Maria whistled, moving on to a few more of the kids as she used the casual atmosphere to continue checking up on them. "I didn’t see that angle. What about Margaret, Eliza, and Luis?"

Scarlet shifted comfortably at Relica’s incredulous smile, and she tried to loosen up while walking forward to take the seat in front of the terrorist-turned-secret mob boss.

"Oh, darlings... Hehe-haaa. What kind of question is that? You don’t make seventh on the US’s most wanted list by being a simple terrorist. Why did I destroy my own cartel? Because it’s a dead business," she snickered. "As for Marg, Lizzy, and Luis—loose ends that served their purpose."

Maria nudged her head to the side. "Cold."

"Well, I will collect insurance on all those killed; occupational hazard via alien attack is quite the niche that pays, heh, quite good, as you can imagine. I might as well get something out of them. In fact, Scarlet was the one who was supposed to have killed all of you." She let out an exaggerated sigh. "And that didn’t happen...which is what troubles me and why I am still here."

Scarlet’s eyes glazed over. "Huh? W-What do you mean?"

"Damn. So...you’re the big fish running shit, huh?" Maria asked, moving to one of the nearby kids to wipe the drool running down his chin. She took a nearby bottle of water, grimacing upon sensing some of the magic inside, but it was weak enough that merely holding it purified it due to her aura. She had him drink some water to remain hydrated. "Drink up—that’s right, slowly... Shit, would it kill you to care for them; hostages are worthless dead..."

Relica laughed. "Big fish? No-no-no, sweetie... In a world of big fish...I’m Moby-Dick! And I didn’t expect to kill these kids, to be honest. Oh. Here’s a question to illustrate that—I’m curious—Terrell, what Level are you?"

Marcus was helping his father up, whispering something to him, but he was having trouble finding his feet.

"What does it matter? You can’t do shit to us with my shield up."

"Shut up, Marcus," his father muttered. "Do what she says, or we’re both dead... Three."

"Smart," Relica said, waving at Scarlet.

"Four," Marcus snarled.

"What about you, Maria?"

"Four... Five now."

"Bullshit!" Marcus snapped. "I’ve killed over four dozen people to get to Level 4!"

"Tsk-tsk-tsk." Relica’s wagging finger snapped his mouth shut. "Murder is far from the most efficient way to level, but the fairy is making gains. Hehe. Scarlet, do you know what Level you and Rachel are? Tell me the truth."

Hands knotting at her skirt front, Scarlet’s blood hovered around them, threatening spikes poised to strike as Maria kept moving between the children, caring for their needs. "I don’t know about me—I can’t enter my inner world thing or control my System... Rachel was Level 6 when I last saw her."

Marcus seemed stunned at the revelation, but Relica’s nose twitched, fingernails digging into her thighs as she looked at Maria for confirmation.

"Rachel is Level 6, bitch. Heh. What’s the shade; is she higher than you?"

"She can’t enter her inner world?"

Maria shook her head. "She’s not lying."

"Hmm."

Scarlet could sense the agitation in Relica’s emotional aura as she rose to her feet and clasped her hands at her back. She went to a nearby table to sort through a fancy name-brand purse before taking out some oversized cards with various symbols etched onto them.

"You wouldn’t believe the fun I had during the first day of The Oscillation; I was in Madagascar with—oh, honey..."

Marcus launched forward, making Scarlet’s blood shield her, but his projected shield only flew at Relica; Maria shouted for him to stop, horn flaring to save the few kids she could. Yet, a black unicursal hexagram appeared above her head, and a transparent tetrahedron enclosed her and ate the blast.

"No... No, Relica!"

The witch’s dull eyes followed the large man as he stumbled back; Terrell seemed resigned to his fate. One snap and the man’s father splattered the inside of the man’s barrier with organs and guts. Marcus screamed from the bone that peppered his body, but Relica seemed to be done with the games, and another snap took him out of the equation.

Scarlet managed to split her blood to cover the nearby children as Maria’s legs gave out.

"Los hijo de puta! Ack..."

"M-Mom... W-Where am I?"

Relica sighed, pulling out an amulet hidden inside her bust that showed the same symbol that floated above her head. "Now look what he did... So uncivilized."

Scarlet rushed to the unicorn’s side, and the three kids Maria managed to save started to cry. Making a hasty decision, she was surprised at the words that left her mouth.

"I’ll be right back."

"Oh?"

Swiftly gathering the three kids with her blood, Scarlet teleported Maria outside, praying to whoever would listen that the heartless woman wouldn’t detonate the living bombs. Brushing back her hair as the shadows left, Scarlet looked up at the sky and saw the moon still in the sky; if Maria was a celestial unicorn, this should bring her off death’s door.

"Chica, what—"

"I’ll figure it out!" she snapped. "Take care of them and yourself!"

Scarlet could see the worry in the unicorn’s tired eyes; the light inside her chest was flickering, dangerously close to going out.

Returning to Relica, she saw interest spark in the woman’s blue eyes. "You did come back... Haha."

Holding her head high and brushing her hair behind her ears, Scarlet felt courage inside of her ignite that she didn’t know was there. "No more games! What will it take for you to release the kids? I-I’ll go with you t-to my mom..." she mumbled. "You want that... Right?"

A short silence ensued as Relica drew in her lips, a long fingernail tapping the glass table where her occult cards were spread. Several seconds passed before a slight twist lifted the woman’s lips.

"No."

"No?" Scarlet hugged her arms and stepped back. "What do you mean, no? M-My mom doesn’t want me to come with you? Then..."

A short titter came from the witch as her fingers slid into her bag to play with something. Scarlet shifted uncomfortably at Relica’s smiling purple eyes moving down her body.

"Oh, no, sweetie; your mother wants you above anything, but...I’m having my doubts about your mother. Sit!" she offered, her free hand gesturing to the chair she’d used before.

///SMENote///

How about a Power Stone Goal?

Every 200 Power Stones this week = +1 Extra Chapter

We could have the normal 2 Daily Chapters... Or +2 Extra Chapters Every Day. The power is in your hands! Or should I say Stones?