Chapter 60: Broken Reality

Bjorn slammed a guard against the wall. by Kalika's solitary prison. "<Where is she!>"

The guard looked dazed and hypnotized, like he was under some spell.

"<Give it up Bjorn, He's clearly being controlled.>" Gaz said. 

Bjorn glared at Gaz, releasing the now limp guard go. He looked back at the solitary prison Kalika was housed in. 

"<Those three are clearly up to something. Rakon won't be happy hear about this. Let's go.>" Gaz stated.

"<No. You go inform Rakon, I'll look for those women.>"

Gaz glanced back through the door he just passed through. "<There's no point in looking now. All we can do is let Rakon punish them when find them.>"

Bjorn thought back to the last time he saw Kalika's poor state, and when she called out to them to wait. In their own language no less.

Bjorn cringed. "<No. Something strange is amiss. I have a bad feeling, that something going to occur.>"

********

"[Hmm? A bad feeling huh…]" Gaz said.

Kalika now chuckled to herself as she stood over Florin's dismembered head. She looked at both Daji and Valam with crazed eyes. All the while, her skin continued to peel off and turn blue and her hair to a charcoal black.

"This… is a dream. Heheheh. <This is a dream!>"

Valam glanced back and forth between Florin's remains and Kalika who was transforming before their eyes. "<W-what the hell is happening!? D-Daji!>"

"< I-I don't know!>"

Daji was suddenly face to face with Kalika, shocking her. Kalika gave a widened demented smile, heart pumping from anticipation.

Daji quickly jerked back, avoiding Kalika's first attack. Undeterred, she charged in for a second attack but was stopped just shy of hitting Daji's neck.

Kalika glanced at her hand, finding Valam's blood rope now tied to it.

Valam quickly threw Kalika far from them, whipping her rope back to herself as she did.

This didn't stop Kalika however as she planted her feet back on the ground and charged back at them like a madwoman.

She readied her dagger to slash but was suddenly stabbed from her side by a guard's spear. The guards from all sides rushed to the aid of the two demon women, and surrounded Kalika, spears posed and ready to strike.

"<P-pin her down!!>" Daji shouted.

Kalika glared at the demon guards surrounding her, trying to pin her to the ground. Her mood instantly soured. "Out of my way." A dark aura started emanating from Kalika, exploded. 

Seeing this, Daji and Valam distanced themselves far from Kalika. "<Wasn't she human!??>" Valam questioned.

Daji writhed, frustrated. "<She is. That girl is supposed to be human.>"

Suddenly as the guards attempted to keep Kalika pinned to the ground, she found an opening and slashed through each guard, one by one. 

Not taking any chances, Daji shot out several of her blood spears at Kalika. Each one shot through her arms and body and even on in the head.

This didn't stop Kalika however as she continued slaughtering all the guards around her.

One after another they tried their best to subdue her, only for her to ignore each attack and to retaliate in return. She sliced necks, cut arms and gutted the demon guards in her way.

The savagery on display unnerved even Daji and Valam as Kalika laughed like a maniac with each kill she made.

********

"<And what has you so panicked, Bjorn?>" Gaz asked, as they ran down the dungeon corridor. "<It's not like that woman can die.>"

Bjorn scoffed. "<That's not the issue here. You might know this, but when that woman is pushed over edge, she can sometimes lose all sense of morality.>"

"<You talk like that's happened before.>"

"<That's because it did.>" Bjorn said.

********

"Grrrr!" Seeing that almost all the guards are dead; Valam quickly readied her blood rope. She tasseled Kalika's neck, but this only served to provoke Kalika to retaliate against her.

Kalika quickly turned her attention to Valam and bit through the rope, Shocking even Valam. She dashed at Valam with a blind fury, forcing her to respond using her wind magic. She sent waves of wind, barely cutting through Kalika. 

Kalika continued to charge in undeterred and ready to strike Valam with her dagger.

Luckily for Valam, Daji shot out her blood spear hitting Kalika and pinning her to the wall far from them. The remaining few guards tried to also pin Kalika down as Daji continued her barrage on Kalika, spear after spear filling her chest.

"<This bitch is still only human! Valam ties her down now!>"

Understanding, Valam quickly got to her feet and charged in, readying her blood rope. All the while Daji and guards tried to keep Kalika pinned to the wall.

As she was pinned, Kalika came much closer to having her once pristine hair and skin completely turned. She then felt a rush of power surging through her. And a mere foot before Valam could reach Kalika, a pure dark aura exploded once more! Pushing everyone away!

Daji kept her feet planted firmly to the ground, covering her face. "<W-what the hell?>"

Kalika could hear what seemed to be someone laughing in her head. The blood spears in her body were suddenly absorbed into her. With the spears gone Kalika marched forward.

Valam quickly bounced back to her feet, conjuring her blood rope and tasseling Kalika's neck once again. Valam pulled hard at the rope and sent her magic through like a conduit. 

 The rope tightened and burned at Kalika's neck until it was completely seared off.

Despite this, Kalika's body continued to walk further as her head nestled back home, onto her neck.

"<D…Damn it!>" Daji sent more blood spears heading in Kalka's direction. But just as quickly as she shot through her, Kalika started to heal just as quickly.

Desperate, Valam used her wind magic to suck the air away from Kalika. A bubble formed around Kalika forcing her to stop as she gasped for air. Valam smiled, seemingly victorious. 

"<I got her!>" she spouted with pride.

Unexpectedly, Valam was then struck in the chest by something sharp. She looked down confused, finding Kalika's dagger now in her. The bubble instantly dissipated, freeing Kalika. 

The guards, now back on their feet, charged back in to subdue Kalika once again. Unfortunately for them, as Kalika continued to march forward, she conjured her dagger back to hand. And as they approached, she would cut through one, then the next, and the last one after that. 

Kalika stopped and glanced back at her dagger that was now completely cloaked in a dark aura. As she did, two horns started to slowly peek up from her hair. And with a deadly smile she peeked at Daji, who stood there absolutely stunned.

"<T-that's i-impossible…>" Daji muttered.

********

"<I don't know how many times that has happened, but apparently each time girl broke down, the queen would use her blood magic on to take memories.>"

Gaz glanced back up at Bjorn in surprise. "<You mean, the queen had power to steal… Memories?>"

"<Yes. And that's the only reason why that girl is still sane…. But if those three women do anything that'll push her over edge, there's no telling what will happen or how angry Rakon get.>"

"<You really think he cares that much for this human?>" Gaz asked.

Bjorn ignored his question. "<You should go to Rakon now. I think know where they might be.>"

"<Fine. But don't do anything stupid.>"

 ********

"<Daji. Daji. Daji!>"

Daji came back to her senses, hearing Valam.

"<Daji, do something!>" Valam wheezed.

Daji stood frozen as Kalika continued to march their way, with her eyes becoming more and more crazed with each step taken.

 "<D…Daji. We need to tell Rakon. T-this isn't normal.>"

"<N…No… W-we can't.... H-he'll kill us…>"

Something was clearly off with Kalika, and Daji and Valam knew this. Daji slowly stepped back.

"<We have to do something Daj->" Valam coughed blood onto the floor. Without warning, Daji sped out of the arena leaving Valam to fend for herself. "<Huh!???D-Daji? Daji!>" 

Valam was shocked by her sudden cowardice. She turned to chase after Daji only to find herself falling to the ground on her back. Valam couldn't feel the bottom half of her body and upon looking back, she became horrified.

She watched as the bottom half of her fell to the ground. And she was no longer in any condition to fight back.

Kalika walked next to her, looking at the exit Daji left through, almost hypnotized. This soon turned into a smile once again. "<What a fun dream this is…>"

Just as Valam tried to crawl off, Kalika swiped her blade, sending a wave of dark energy that sliced off Valam's head. her head rolled on the ground, right next to Florin's head.

Without wasting time, Kalika charged straight into the prison corridor, excited to play this game of cat and mouse.

Running through the halls, guards quickly came to sight.

"<What the-!? Who is tha->"

Kalika cut through the first guard in her way, and the second just as quickly.

"<She's down here!>" The guards upon seeing Kalika, jerked back in surprise.

Without hesitation, Kalika dispatched each guard in her way with brutal efficiency. Making these once fearsome demons look like lambs for the slaughter.

Anyone she came across in her way, she swiftly cut down. Neither prisoner nor guards were safe as she was a maniac, killing without care in the world. Eventually after a while, Kalika finally ran into Daji, who ran from her on sight. 

With Kalika now in pursuit, Daji tried her best losing the crazed woman. She activated trap after trap from hidden switches and sent blood spears in Kalika's direction. All these were in vain as Kalika easily maneuvered through each trap, remembering each of their flaws and weaknesses.

Noticing that they were approaching the staircase leading deeper into the dungeon, Kalika threw her dagger straight at Daji.

Daji dodged out of the way in time. Now cornered, Daji grit her teeth and turned back to shoot out several blood spears from her hand.

Seeing her still fast approaching, she set the entire floor in front of Kalika on fire, continuing the hail of blood spears that pierced through Kalika like butter.

Kalika conjured her blade back to hand and started to deflect each blood spear shot her way.

"<DIE DAMN IT!! DIE! DIE!!!!>"

Her attack still didn't work! In a last-ditch desperate move, Daji conjured a thick scorching wall of hot blue fire between herself and Kalika.

Kalika ignored this and pushed past the fire and appeared before Daji burnt to a crisp. Her skin quickly regrew, and in a single move Kalika sliced through Daji's arm from her, cutting it in half!

Daji screamed in pain, holding her arm together. Kalika now stood behind her, staring. "<Since when were you this pathetic?>" Kalika said in their demon tongue.

Daji became stunned hearing Kalika's clear words, still writing in the pain. This soon turned to rage however as she quickly turned around and blasted Kalika with another storm of fire from her other hand. 

This storm of fire continued to spew forth as Daji gritted her teeth from fury and from the unbearable pain.

Suddenly Daji's face turned to that of shock as her only working arm was cut off from her. Kalika once again regrew her skin and stabbed Daji in the stomach with her dark cloaked dagger. Daji back away, stunned by the turn of events. Suddenly, she was pushed to the ground.

Seeing Daji on the ground Kalika's heart raced, and she felt immense satisfaction. seeing Daji, the weakest she's been. All the while Daji panicked, practically trying to squirm away from her back with a face of absolute terror. 

This brought a smile to Kalika's face.

Kalika easily caught up to Daji as she screamed and pleaded for help in vain. 

She sat herself on Daji's stomach, leaving her dagger embedded right behind her. Her smile became wider and laughter more audible. She continued to stare at Daji, almost reveling in the moment.

"<I did the same thing once.> Back then, nobody came to help me either. <Because they were all dead.>"

Daji could only look on in horror as Kalika continued to grow horns and her entire body became envelope in the same blue, stained by demons. Even her hair finally turned black with white hair strands still left between.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong… <I never expected you to this weak…>"

Kalika smiled. "Then again… This is a dream."

Kalika punched Daji.

She punched her again. blood sprayed onto her.

Then she punched her again. And again. And again. And again. And again!

 Soon she started barraging Daji with a flurry of punches to her face, not letting up for a single moment.

Soon, not only was the stone floor painted in red, But Kalika herself was drenched in it as she continued with crazed eyes. Eventually she realized that she was punching the ground below and had left craters.

"So, in this world… <I can kill anyone I want…>" She blurted out a laugh. "Lily. Rakon. Anyone… I can kill all these damn demons." She blurted out into a more maniacal laughter.

Kalika heard a noise from the stairs behind. She looked back, finding a couple of demon guards that spotted her sitting on Daji's remains. Kalika smiled seeing them.

The guards, seeing the bloodied face and sinister smile, turned back to escape.

Kalika grabbed and pulled the dagger from Daji's body ready to kill again. "I can do anything in this fake world."

Suddenly Kalika was stabbed from behind with a spear. Peeking behind she found a plethora of frightened guards.

"<What's going on-! A-a tailless demon?>"

"<Hey t-that's the warden!>" one of them noted.

The guard stabbing Kalika thrusted his spear through her a second time.

"<W-what's going on? W-w-why isn't she dying!??>"

She turned back, revealing her smile to them. "<I wonder how many of you I can kill before wake up.>" Kalika said.

The guard stabbing Kalika, backed away, spooked by her words. She got up slowly and approached the group. And just as she pounced to attack, she was suddenly punched through the stone wall by a big red fist!

The demon that attacked was none other than Bjorn.

Bjorn looked down, recognizing Daji's body on the ground. He then turned back to the guards behind, seeing that they weren't affected like the others. "<Leave. Now!>"

The remaining guards obeyed without question. Leaving Kalika in Bjorn's hands.

Bjorn turned back, watching as Kalika lifted herself from the rubble with her now golden eyes staring back at him. "<A tailless demon, huh? A savage like you must've come from the pit…>"

"Bjorn? <I forgot all about you.>"

Born furrowed his brow, seeing her face. "<Do I know you? You look familiar… somehow.>"

Kalika ignored his comment. Instead, she prepared her dagger, ready to attack.