In The House Of The Succubus

The Aspect Of Gore - The Bandersnatch | Chapter 13

"We will handle the bandersnatch! Get inside the mansion, now!" Un ordered Fii and she didn't hesitate for even a second.

"You think we stand a chance against that thing?" Jill wondered while drawing two bladed fans.

"I've been hoping for his execution for years. This might finally be the day, but I know that this won't be easy," Hannibal promised, "And if you help us kill that thing, you might even be granted your freedom. Or at least you might be allowed out of the dungeons."

"Real... ly?" The chimera asked.

"Perhaps, but first you need to help us kill that thing. Saving one slave won't be enough!"

"Look out! Here he comes!" Un warned everyone.

The bandersnatch rushed across the field towards the group and jumped on the chimera's arm. She grabbed him and threw him to the ground, but not before he was able to rip out a huge chunk of flesh from her left arm.

She bit on her lip to suppress the pain, but it was clear that that single attack already left a potentially fatal wound.
The chimera wasn't wearing anything making her a walking weak spot for the bandersnatch.

Jill rushed in and tried to cut the bandersnatch with her fans. She was able to cut off some of the spikes on the bandersnatch's back, but to her surprise they immediately grew back. Before she was given time to process what she just saw she was kicked in the stomach and sent flying against the mansion walls.

Her maid uniform was tainted red where the bandersnatch had kicked her. It wasn't a deep wound, but just the kick alone cut through her skin and clothes.

Hannibal charged towards the bandersnatch with one arm in his chest guard. Instead of swinging his sword down on the bandersnatch he tried to impale the beast. The bandersnatch barely managed to step out of the way and tried to scratch Hannibal's neck. However, Hannibal now lifted up his chest guard like a shield and blocked the attack.

The bandersnatch was surprised and lowered his guard, not noticing Un who now rushed in from the sides and swung his axe at the monster. The bandersnatch kicked against the chest guard of Hannibal, pushing him to the ground. He then turned towards Un and tried to deflect the incoming axe with his right arm.

One blade of the two sided axe shattered as the bandersnatch's claws collided with it, but the bandersnatch didn't get away unscathed. The separated arm of the bandersnatch fell to the ground in front of Hannibal where it began to twitch.

The chimera quickly grabbed Hannibal and pulled him away from the disconnected limb. Just in time. Immediately after she had carried Hannibal to a safe distance the arm of the bandersnatch exploded into a mass of brutal spikes.

Where Un's axe had cut off the arm of the beast a new one grew back, this time with longer and even sharper claws.

"How is he able to recover so quickly?" Un exclaimed shocked.

The bandersnatch now shifted its attention towards Jill who was sitting next to the wall, trying to get back up. He rushed towards her with foaming jaws and extended claws. He was ready to finish her off before she would even have the chance to recover.

But just before the bandersnatch could drive his claws into the flesh of Jill's throat a thin purple light beam suddenly cut off his newly regenerated arm. The sudden loss of his arm startled the bandersnatch. He didn't know where the attack came from.

As he regenerated his right arm a second beam cut off his left arm. The bandersnatch quickly jumped back to dodge the third beam and finished regrowing his limbs. The person that fired the beams now revealed herself.
It was Viridia.

The succubus floated seemingly weightlessly down to the ground. A bright purple ring of light was dancing on the tip of her right index finger.

"Now how did you get out?"

"Mistress!" Everyone exclaimed relieved.

"Get back everyone. You did great, but I'll handle things from here on out," she smiled.

The bandersnatch growled hellishly at her, but he slowly calmed down and stood upright. And then he spoke:

"Vandela..."

"So you can speak. I always thought you were more of a wild animal. Who taught you that?"

"I was always able to talk. I just had no reason to. But now that I finally meet you out in the open..."

"If you think I'm here to chat you're greatly mistaken. Not only did you destroy parts of my mansion and hurt my servants and slaves, but you also hurt Fii and I simply cannot forgive that!"

"That harpy...She has...
a certain smell about her."

"Grr... You're starting to piss me off!" Viridia shouted and fired a magic beam at the bandersnatch.

He was able to survive it, but lost one of his legs while attempting to roll out of the way. Not much of a problem for him since he regenerated it immediately afterwards.

"I also do not wish to talk much longer. Afterall, I am here to quench my unending envy... Spawn of the Vandela family... Prepare yourself! My envy towards your father has now possessed you and now you shall learn to fear my wrath!"

"Envy...? What... does he mean?" Jill asked. She could barely stand and was leaning against the stone wall.

Un quickly rushed towards her and helped her walk into the mansion out of danger while answering her question, "The bandersnatch is a creature from the Wonderlands beyond the Phantasm Forest. Anyone can turn into one if in contact with an object from that place while their envy is at its highest. The bandersnatch that Viridia is facing now... Was once one of her father's friends."

"What...!?"

"You wonderland creatures are so pitiful. Driven by your desires all the way to insanity... It's a shame that you had to turn into this, Klaus," Viridia said with sunken head, "But don't worry. Now that I know that my spells work on you I can finally free you. What did the late queen of the Wonderland use to say? Off with your head!"

A hectic battle ensued between the two. Beams of light were cutting down trees and breaking the walls of the garden while the freezing cold claws of the bandersnatch tore the ground apart and left deep scratches in the sides of the mansion.

With the regenerative abilities of the bandersnatch and Viridia's breathtaking elegance in dodging and attacking it almost seemed as if this battle would go on forever. But eventually Viridia was able to corner the bandersnatch between two fallen trees.

With the snap of her fingers a magic circle appeared around the bandersnatch's throat and quickly shrank down, beheading the beast in a single motion.

The regeneration of the bandersnatch wasn't good enough to recover from an attack like that. With brutal gurgling and wild flailing the body slowly stopped moving and the bandersnatch fell dead to the ground.

Viridia stood above the corpse of the beast and witnessed how the charred skin and the spikes disappeared in a dark mist, leaving only the dead remains of a man. A man who once was the friend of her father. A man who loved her mother and envied her father. He could not live with the jealousy and turned into a beast. Klaus.

Viridia stared at the dead human without any change in her expression. Without a second word she returned to the mansion.