City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

“Fair enough,” I said, passing one of them to Arrin and drinking the second myself, knowing that the miniscule boost to regeneration from such a weak potion wasn’t worth interrupting me for.

“Okay guys, what did you find out?” I asked Bane and Barrett as they came to a stop beside me, with Bane gesturing to the two bodies of the Prometheans. I found it interesting that neither had the same coloring as the Promethean I’d fought, but I supposed that races like theirs didn’t come in standard features, any more than humans did.

“Those two are lieutenants in the Harpies gang. ‘The Boss’ and his personal guard are stronger, but he keeps himself hidden away, somewhere that only the fliers can get to. I couldn’t get much more than that on their hierarchy, and nobody knows what the Skyking actually is. They were told to watch out for the Legion scouts, but nobody associated our group of three with them, or at least, none that lived to talk about it. They dismissed any groups that weren’t made up of two elves and an Alkyon, meaning the women probably made it through. As to the reason they were looking, again, all they know is that they were told to do so.”

“Okay, so now what do we do with them?” I asked half to myself, looking them over.

“It’s up to you. I’d say kill them all; safest way,” Barrett said loudly, winking at me where they couldn’t see.

A chorus of pleading voices arose from the group. Venta stepped forward to stand between them and me, bowing her head in submission.

“My lord, you chose to give me a chance, demanding an Oath of obedience. I swore that I’d serve you, and then you set me free. You trusted me. Can you not give them the same chance?”

I considered the group: three Imps, four Alkyon, and four Djinn. The Imps and Djinn especially looked pathetic, as small as they were. The Djinn were variations of short, skinny teens from the waist up, their skin a multitude of colors. At the waist, they vanished into mist that condensed into a wispy tail. The Imps were generally closer in features to the Imps of my world’s fables, short, muscular creatures that looked like flying demons, complete with bat-like wings, pointy teeth, and horns. They were each covered in tattoos, and as I looked them over, I caught all the Imps shaking their head in resignation.

“Why not?” I asked one, and it looked up at me, flicking its forked tongue over its teeth nervously.

“We’s can’t,” it whispered, and I gestured for it to go on. “We’s owned, body and soul, by Skyking. We’s can’t swear to another, not without it letting us go free.”

“It?” I asked, and the Imp went rigid, twitching and moaning. After full minute of watching the creature convulse, I asked Oracle to heal it, but still it shuddered. Nearly five minutes passed before it was able to speak again, and when the painful effect had finally worn off, the little creature began to weep piteously. Its Health was barely ten percent, and we’d been about to heal it again.

“Was that a punishment?” I asked, and it nodded.

“We’s not allowed to talk about the master…” It muttered, covered in sweat and panting.

“Are you allowed to talk about the deal you made?” I asked, and it cowered fearfully, shaking its head. “Would you swear to me, if I got you free of the Skyking?” I asked the Imp, and it stared at me in fear for a long series of heartbeats, before finally nodding once, sharply. It tensed up, obviously waiting for the pain to come, but after a few seconds without any change, it opened one eye cautiously before relaxing slightly.

“Okay, what about the rest of you?” I asked, and Amaat stepped forward, croaking something at the Alkyon. Two of them responded, one glared at the floor, and the final one shrieked something back at him. He gestured from me to himself, then to them, and I shrugged, letting him take the lead. While he communicated with them in their language, I ordered Bane up to stake out the alleys neighboring the building, joining Stephanos and Miren on the roof.

Amaat shot forward, grabbing the one who’d shrieked back at him and yanking it upright. He struck its restraints off and threw it at the nearest wall. It slammed into the crumbling brick, falling to the floor. As it scrambled to stand, Amaat pulled off his own armor, revealing his vibrant red plumage and larger muscles.

He made the other birdlike creature look like a pathetic example of the species in comparison, and he drew in a single deep breath, letting out an ear-piercing shriek of his own. The challenger staggered with the force of it, momentarily stunned. Amaat covered the distance, grabbing it by the throat and hurling it against the wall again. This time, when it fell to the floor, he was there, a taloned foot pinning it to the ground easily.

It let out a weak cry and arched its head back, exposing its neck in submission.

Amaat let loose another almighty shriek, echoed meekly by Venta, the Alkyon he had just pinned, and the three that were still tied up. When the last notes disappeared, he turned to me and nodded in satisfaction.

“They’ll swear the Oath to you now, my lord. They accept me as their master, and you as mine.”

“I’m…you know what, forget it. That’s fine. We can sort all this shit out later, okay?” I said, shaking my head and resolving to set them free when we escaped the city and had time to sort this ‘master’ shit out.

“How about you?” I asked the Djinn, and they turned to look at each other, carrying out a low-volume conversation while I waited. “Look, I’ve not got the time to fuck about with this right now, so what’s it