Chapter 33: Clash with the Crimson Enigma

Chapter 33: Clash with the Crimson Enigma

"Well? Aren't you going to answer me? I really want to know, were you the ones responsible for the Giga Tanteract's destruction? It's not a hard question to answer!" The red figure said, strolling into the room. He effortlessly made himself a cup of coffee, the water boiling instantly at his touch. Alice stood frozen, a cold sweat enveloping her. Her instincts urged her to stab the knife into him and escape, but she hesitated.

A voice from her side stopped her. "Don't. It's a trap," John managed to grit out, keeping her from taking any action. He faced the red figure, his voice resolute. "What do you mean by 'trap'? I'm just asking this young lady to answer my question. If she feels like she wants to attack me or something, that's her choice, and not for you to interfere. So just die quietly," the red figure snapped at John, his irritation palpable.

"What do you mean, a trap? And you! What the hell are you playing at? What even are you? And lastly, I know all too well to keep away from tentacle things, especially when I saw what the vines did to that guy!" Alice questioned John, her eyes narrowed, her grip on the knife tight. But her madness slipped through her words, attempting to engage in some dark humor with the red figure.

"He's a manager. They don't get involved unless really needed or if things go off the rails. They're really dangerous, overseeing and managing the changes, keeping things interesting, and controlling the various situations and events that happen. What in the world did you two do to garner the attention of one of th—" Dave's explanation was cut short as the chains tightened around him, preventing him from speaking.

"At least one of you knows who and what I am. Hmm, you are rather familiar, if I am to be honest. But I'm sure I'll figure out why eventually. In the meantime, why don't you finally answer my question before I somehow get even more angry. The Giga Tanteract, if your stupid evolved monkey brain can't recall something like that, is a big version of a weird spider-like creature!" the red figure said, his voice growing angrier, his eyes glaring at Alice, demanding an answer.

"But why not have it locked up or grow in protection like those other two beasts then? You can't blame us for this if you were stupid enough not to give it any way to protect itself! And you can't be serious that this was the first time this has happened!" Alice countered, her fear fading as her anger at the red figure's own oversight overcame her.

"No, it has not happened before! Normal people would try to run from it or focus on surviving this early! And then when the two big ones are announced, they focus on getting 'first kills,' as you call it. So it normally has time to grow in size and brood, and you ruined that!" the red figure yelled, his anger boiling over, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth.

"But that's stupid! You had nothing preventing it from dying or being destroyed! And yet now that it has happened due to your own stupid negligence, you're trying to blame us! Was it even meant to be part of the event, or just your own personal Easter egg?" Alice retorted, her anger flaring up. Finally, unable to hold back anymore, the red figure lunged forward to strike Alice, a cane appearing in his hand, covered in wriggling red veins.

Alice raised her knife, ready to block the attack and counter, but she was abruptly yanked back by a thin chain connected to a kitchen knife. The knife swung up in front of her, colliding with the red figure's cane and turning into a smouldering mix of black goo and smoke. It continued until it struck the floor, causing a small quake and leaving a fist-sized, melted hole in its wake.

"I would advise not being hit by that stick of his. You would have a rather bad reaction if it makes contact," a cold voice cautioned Alice. She looked up to see John, transformed and empowered. The chains around him were thicker and more deadly-looking, and his eyes glowed a dark green. His tattered cloak fluttered around him, and a thin chain, like a scorpion's stinger, held John's dagger. Behind him, a fan of kitchen knives levitated, held by other chains, ready to strike.

"Now this is interesting," the red figure mused, his anger now tinged with amusement. "The half-dead person is suddenly alive and kicking, but I doubt it will last long. I'll make you both pay!" With those words, a second cane materialized in his other hand. The room became a battleground of tension, anger.

Without warning he lunged forward, his canes ready to lash out. Alice and John, determined to defend themselves, acted in unison. Alice brandished her knife, while John wielded the scythe along with the fan of knives behind him.

The fan of knives clashed with the sinister canes blocking there strikes to try and give Alice a opening to strike, sparks of malevolence flashing with each contact, their attacks though seemed futile. The red figures canes making short work of Johns knives due to the eerie power they seemed to radiate all well dodging Alice's strikes and showing no reacting to the ones that made contact.

With each strike, the red being taunted them, his voice dripping with condescension. "Is this all you've got? Pathetic." His mocking laughter echoed through the room.

Undeterred, Alice and John kept trying, hoping something would work but their weapons were slowly rendered useless. One by one, the kitchen knives were disarmed as fast as they were replaced, turned to smouldering black goo one by one had to be cast aside as they lost their efficiency against the red being and his canes, the few times they managed to slip by and land a hit not even managing to cut his suit.

There desperation began to grow, no matter what they tried nothing seemed to work, Alice's blows where as effective as a marshmallow hitting a rock along with being knocked back by an elbow strike or kick after each of her successful if ineffective strikes.

Finally, as their last knife fell to the ground, reduced to the same black goo puddle as the rest, the red being threw his canes into the air. The split second that John and Alice focused on them was all he needed as with a swift and calculated motion, he knocked Alice down and quickly turned to strike John as her body crash against the floor, John tried to use this moment to stab him with the scythe as returned focus to the red being only for it to miss and instead he received a harsh kick to his stomach, the chains trying to block the blow but offering little help as he was knocked down next to Alice.

Standing over them, he wore a triumphant sneer. "Weak," he hissed, his voice carrying a cold fury and self-satisfaction in his own perceived superiority. "You're nothing but playthings. Know your place."

Alice and John, bruised and battered, were left to stew in their failure. At the side Greeny and Dave watched from there pinned down position, wide eyed at how fast the fight was and scared at the fact the red being having won, feeling their fate being uncertain.