Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

LXXII. True Colors

Syl: I surrender! I SURRENDER...!

Jargen approaches Syl without hesitation, crouching down next to his feeble, bleeding frame.

Jargen: Open up, Syl.

Syl shuts his mouth as hard as he can, as if he already knew what was coming.

Jargen: I said... Open up.

Slowly, he inches the tip of the dagger ever closer to Syl's eyeball.

Jargen: What's it gonna be?

Trembling, Syl shuts his eyes and concedes, opening his mouth.

Jargen: There we go... Wasn't so hard after all. Now...

Jargen kneels, tapping his knee twice.

Jargen: That's where your chin goes. Tongue out.

Syl: Jargen, no... I beg you... You don't have to do this...

Jargen smiles earnestly, sending a shiver down Syl's spine.

Jargen: I know. I'm doing it because I want to.

Syl looks at the pit and, in a fraction of a second, launches himself into it.

Jargen: Ah ah ah...

But Jargen is faster, grabbing him by the ankle before he makes it far enough to fall inside.

Jargen: Why are you making this so difficult...?

Dragging him across the floor, leaving behind a trail of blood, Jargen approaches one of the side-mounted arrow traps that were embedded near one of the bookshelves.

Jargen: Since you're so eager to fall for these traps, how about you help me disarm them...?

He holds Syl's leg up, placing it right in front of the arrow-shaped openings.

Jargen: One...

Pulling a dusty book from the shelf, a connected rope follows behind until it extends far enough to offer resistance.

Jargen: By...

Shortly after, the trigger of mechanisms could be heard within the room's walls.

Jargen: One.

Followed by a barrage of arrows that shoot out from the trap...

Syl: ARGHHH!

... Piercing Syl's leg in several places.

Jargen: HAHAHAH! And here I was thinking our days of fun together were over...

Jargen mercilessly drops Syl to the ground, grabbing his other leg.

Jargen: Let's see... How about this one...

Another book is pulled, another barrage of arrows strikes Syl.

Syl: ARGGGH! PLEASE HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLEASE!

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Syl did his best to cry for help.

Jargen: Scream all you want, Syl... With the bottomless pit below and all of the contraptions jam-packed inside these walls, I doubt anyone can hear ya.

Approaching another book, the mechanism was triggered once more... Yet, this time, no arrows came out, despite the clear sound of the trap activating.

Jargen: Hm. Figured as much... There are only so many arrows inside these things. Good.

Jargen moves towards the centre of the room, Syl still in tow.

Syl: Jargen... I beg you...

Jargen: Something about knocking at the wrong door, Syl... Shut up and save your energy. Whether you get out here alive or not, depends on you. You're only dying if your will to live is weak.

Dropping Syl, Jargen looks at the floorboards around the room.

Jargen: Well, or if you bleed out. All the more reason to quiet down and let me work, we'll be done quick. Now, let's see... One, two... Three, and... That's it. Three more pitfall traps.

Crouching near him, Jargen cleans his dagger on Syl's clothes.

Jargen: Which would you rather keep... An arm, or a leg?

Syl's eyes widen.

Syl: YOU'RE GOING TO CUT ONE OF THEM OFF!?

Jargen laughs.

Jargen: Don't be silly, Syl... I said keep. Not lose. Three pressure plates, three limbs. You get to keep just one.

Syl's skin turns pale as snow, as he begins passing out.

Jargen: Not so fast...!

Jargen reached into his pockets, taking a small pouch from inside and placing it right under his nose. Inside were smelling salts, which caused Syl to snap back to reality the moment he took a good whiff.

Syl: YOU'RE INSANE, JARGEN! YOU'RE SICK IN THE FUCKING HEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! I HOPE YOU ROT IN MORTMUNDUS UNTIL THE END OF YOUR DAYS!

Jargen: Right... Guess I'm choosing, then.

Placing Syl under an arm lock, Jargen wastes no time. Syl screams in agony and, before long, his arm breaks at the humerus.

Jargen: You did this, Syl... This is all your fault.

Dagger in hand, Jargen starts cutting Syl's upper arm off. Syl could not muster any words any more, he just cried in pain as he felt the blade cut through his skin.

Jargen: There we go...

Severed arm in hand, Jargen takes aim at one of the floorboards. With precision, he chucks the arm right into it, causing a protruding floorboard to sink into the floor. Shortly after, the entire floor around the area collapses.

Jargen: So, about not dying here, Syl... I lied. Sorry about that.

Looking back, Jargen sees a puddle of urine around Syl's dying body. He whimpered and cried, completely helpless.

Jargen: Pathetic. Just minutes ago you were so full of yourself... Whatever happened...?

He mocked in a sarcastic tone. Grabbing Syl's other arm, a similar process follows, and another trap is disarmed.

Syl: ...

At this point, a large pool of blood surrounded Syl's body... It was unclear whether he was still alive or not. The entire office was painted in red, with several parts of the floor missing and arrows littering parts of the walls and floorboards. Jargen himself was covered in blood, leaving wet footprints wherever he treaded.

Jargen: Jeez... Look at this mess.

Jargen sits next to Syl, taking in the scenery around him.

Jargen: ... I promised myself this wouldn't happen again, you know. But you had to go and push me. You had to go and bring this upon yourself.

Looking up towards the ceiling, Jargen can't help but laugh.

Jargen: Who am I kidding... This is all on you, Jargen. You did this. Because you're a fucking monster.

Standing up, he grabs Syl's body, dragging it in the direction of the last trap.

Jargen: This is goodbye.

Throwing his dead body in the direction of the last trap, another pit opens in the floor, consuming Syl's body.

Jargen: Don't worry... I've this strange feeling I'll be joining you pretty damn soon, wherever you're going.

Taking a deep breath, Jargen resumes his search for the location of Cabdan's hidden fortune.