The Unwilling Protagonist

Chapter 22: The Devil and the High Priestess

Opening Theme:

Y/N's entire body felt numb as he came back to his senses. He couldn't feel anything he touched and his hands and feet had that pins-and-needles feeling.

"Ooh...fuck..." He groaned. When Geralt said the possession would hurt, he surely didn't expect that. "Did I black out...?"

Y/N looked around. He was apparently inside a small metal cage with some kind of etchings on the top and bottom. It was dark inside the tent he was in, but he could see light coming from the entrance.

"What the...? Geralt, did you lose?" Y/N asked in annoyance as he sat himself upright. "Did I get captured by the Arcana or something...?"

No response.

"Geralt?" Y/N called out. No response. He looked at his right arm to see it was still present, but something was off.

"Hey, Geralt." Y/N knocked his arm on the bottom of the cage a few times. No response.

"Geralt." Y/N hit his arm on the bars of the cage, only to be hit by some kind of powerful electric shock. He was knocked back as he felt his arm seize up. The bars were electrified, which meant that Kara had something to do with this cage.

"God dammit, what the hell?!" Y/N cursed, "Kara! Kara, where are you?! I know you had something to do with this cage! No one else here knows lightning magic!"

No response.

"The one time I want that girl near me and she's not here..." Y/N grumbled. It was oddly quiet now. Usually, this would be the part where Geralt would make some kind of quip about his wife or give Y/N some advice.

Y/N sat in the cage grumpily. He looked around him again, hoping to see something he missed. Geralt was the one who would say these things to him, that way he wouldn't waste his time, but Geralt wasn't present, which meant Y/N was on his own. He slowly observed the cage and its composition: a top and bottom with some strange etchings and electrified bars with a lock on the outside; standard construction for a cage. He then sat in the center, pondering his next move.

He tried to melt the bars with his fire magic, but he couldn't use that either. This cage was preventing him from using magic apparently. He thought about his options again. Nothing came to mind.

Abandoning all reason, he started kicking at the bars of the cage, hoping to loosen them. His shoes protected him from the electricity.

Dracula gonna get the heck outta here. Dracula don't wanna end up in Lancaster! The quote popped up in Y/N's mind as he continued his efforts. This kind of reactionary humor is what kept him sane all these years. If only it could help him get out of this damned cage...

Eventually, he stopped kicking at the bars since his feet started hurting.

"Oh, this is bullshit..." He grumbled.

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded Y/N for a moment. When the light died down, he looked around him to see a crowd consisting of Rathe, Miriam, Charlotte, Kara, Reighland, and some knights staring around him.

"How long were you all standing there?" Y/N asked irritably.

"Long enough." Rathe answered. His tone was harsh and full of disdain, "Y/N, as of yesterday, you are now under arrest for associating with our enemy, the Arcana. Consider this your trial."

"What?!" Y/N attempted to stand up, forgetting that he was in a cage and hitting his head against the top.

"How do you plead?" Rathe continued.