~Interlude~
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…
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—Floor X5–Gilbert Private estate, Sector 7.
Resting just out of sight, tucked away atop a massive plateau surrounded by sheer cliffs, Hid an extravagant mansion.
This enchanting estate was obscured from the wider world, nestled in the belly of a dense evergreen. The surrounding forest teems with life, wild animals prancing semi-freely just within the Electric fence, and armed security stationed just outside…
From The smallest horned Bunny, to the grandest Rune bear, they all co-exists freely… not even a lingering thought of giving in to their baser instincts… they knew better.. The master forbade it after all…
Speaking of– Within the Lavish, decorated halls of the manor, spotting a sort of english- semi medieval aesthetic, slept a Lone girl in the master bedroom.
When entering the room, you'd be met with a pleasant Golden hue, from the Pricey Golden wall paper, to the framed pictures of prized, award winning monsters, to the dozens of stuffed animals littering the floor, atop a cozy butter shaded rug.
Pink accents assisted every shade of yellow, giving the room a sort of "candy" feel.. But besides that: was an undeniable truth that you could feel every time you stepped in the room— It was without a doubt the chambers of a Sweet; Innocent Girl.
–Within the middle of the room, sat the pristine master bed, like the rest of the room, The Bed was covered in snug golden sheets and comforters: with pink paw prints stamped atop each.
Inside– or more like tangled with the abundance of sheets.. Was the master of the manor,
Even as the light of the skylight illuminated her doll-like face, she slept peacefully, the scene was so passive; if you weren't careful, you could mistake it for a painting.
But– the placid scene soon ends… with the gentle opening of the door..
"Y-Young Master?" A tall, Lanky man, tip toes into the room, with the same caution of sneaking up a sleeping bear.
"GRRRRAH!"
as soon as he steps into the room, a dozen wolves– fur black as night, and eyes without a spot of life. Surround the middle aged man, appearing out of thin air!
"A-Ah! Wa-wait! Good dogs!" The man shrunk back, and raised his hands in surrender, memories of being mauled flooding in.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk, Philip, Didn't I tell you never to wake me before 10? A young lady needs her 8 hours," Suddenly, standing on the bed, wide awake, She crossed her arms in mock anger.
"Now, I'm afraid punishment must be felt, it's the only way ANYONE learns after all!" She hummed, way too pleased.
With a soft whistle, The Wolves slowly close in on the servant, Their mouths watering, They have grown very fond of Philip's taste.
As he Backs up slowly, terror painted in his eyes, he spouts the purpose of his visit, "AH! AHHHH! Wait! The floor.. Your floor.. B-Bully's about to intercept some hikers!
And at the drop of a hat, the young master's lips curl into a cheery smile, "Ohhhh~ ohhh! OHH!!!! I've been dying to see my wittle bull go buck wild! Philip.. You should have led with that.."
And with a quick whistle, She makes the snarling group of shade wolves disperse, sinking into the shadows of the room.
The Little girl Hops from the bed, and calls, "Twinkle!!!"
Suddenly, rushing through the manor, A pearl white steed barrels through the door! it rams into Philip, sending him crashing into the ground, and catches its master!
"AGH!-" Philip Face pants along the wooden floor, all while The girl smothers her favorite horse in endless kisses.. once finished, she continues.
"Hurry Up Philip, go turn on the TV, I assume my breakfast is ready?"
Ridding the Horse, she steps over the man, and just about slips under the Double door, and descends the spiraling staircase.
As her horse descends, the loud banging of hooves rebound though the room.
"Alright Philp, Lets talk shop. How's Business?"
Philip, now awkwardly walking behind the horse, pulls out a Phone, and scrolls through various charts, statistics, and messages..
"Err.. Well.. It seems we're a bit behind on Production of the Iron fleeces, specifically due to the steel sheep being unco-operative..
She just lets out a loud huff, "Didn't I tell them to feed those cuties sheet metal when they get cranky?"
"Y-yes Young Master… will do.." Philp then scrolls through more messages.
"It would seem the Gremory family is requesting a Goblin platoon… they seem to be on the cusp of war with the parker's…"
As she finally reaches the bottom of the steps, her proud steed trots though the living room.
Chandelier's circled the ceiling, paintings of exotic creatures riddled the walls, and a herd of cute animals lazed atop their own personal chairs.
"Hmm the Gremory house? Send them platoon 10, a band of orcs, but we don't want them to completely crush the parkers, we did "nudge" them into conflict after all, they're both some of our best customers! give the parkers Goblin Archers, it should force them into a stalemate."
As she rode through the needlessly accessorized room, Twinkle trotted in front of the couch, and the girl slid off and PLOPPED on the plush sofa.
"ALRIGHT PHILP! that's enough shop, now tell me… what's been going on in my floor.. are things finally intresting…" she asked, while a pair of goblins rolled in her breakfast atop a cart.
Within the tower, if you have enough wealth, you are capable of purchasing a floor, or renting it. How many sectors you pick, and how high the floor is often decides the price.
and after spending all of her savings on only renting a floor, she has been given an opportunity to make a test of her own, the only requirement by the tower is that the challenge is appropriate for the individuals. So a massive test that can hold over 200 people was created.
Philp changed the TV to Drone images of the floor, "Er… well.. nothing of note really.. The big group has been mostly staying confined to the safe zone… but there seems to be a new development..
As Philp switches though the camera feed, he stops on a picture centered on the bull, the goliath laid peacefully, sifting through dreams.
The Girl cheers as her Pet Project appears on the sleek, OLED TV, a hand crafted minotaur! Bully.
He was a relatively new monster– but that didn't stop her from having a soft spot for him. His human half was at least thirty years old, but he's only been a part of the "Family" for one and a half years.
He has shown exceptional growth, and progress, and is currently on his first field test as a boss of floor 1
"Oooo! What happened! Did Bully eat someone?" The Girl cheered, looking around for any human remains, while The weary butler just sighed..
"N-No young master.. It looks like some of the hikers are preparing to intercept Bully…"
But as soon as the words slipped from Philp's mouth, The Bull's Scarlet eye shot wild awake, sensing an enemy Miles away, It Took up its Axe, and strode though the fog.
The Girl's eyes shone with an iridescent radiance, her heart skipped a few beats, Finally! Her Little Bully would get some action!
She sat at the edge of her seat, sipping her Pink lemonade as she watched The bully advance.. And after a few short minutes.. It began..
As soon as The bully sensed life, The beast hurled its axe like a saw blade, and began its assault!
"YEAAH!!! WOOOOO!! Tear 'em apart!" She clawed at the air, mimicking the Bull as it pounced on someone!
But Philp looked at the scene confused.. "That Odd… Bully's supposed to be holding back.. But it seems he's using all his strength to crush that boy…"
But The Energetic girl merely brushed him off as she yelled at the screen! "Who cares! Look! He's almost got him pinned to the ground! AHHAHAH!" She laughed, having the time of her life. It was like a parent watching their child dominate someone in the boxing ring.
But soon, her manic laughter comes to an abrupt end.
Woosh~
She feels the breath snatched from her lungs, as suddenly, The beast is hurled mid-air!
"....Huh..?"
CRACK!
And almost immediately after, It's followed up by a brutal blow to the snout!
"W-Wha-" the shock dies in her throat, Her eyes are now firmly locked on the boy assaulting her pet, He's a fourth- no EIGHTH! Of the bull's size and yet He's.. He's!!
The Following Skirmish is too sickening to watch, what was supposed to be beat-down by the bull was turned into an even battle, where one wrong move was fatal for both combatants!
Lunicacy! She thought My bully was supposed to be a threat that would take over one hundred people to overcome! And now.. Some brat's fighting him! Toe-to-toe!
As her hands squeeze the steel cart laid out in front of her, the solid metal bends, yielding to her intense rage.
Only helpless to watch, she grits her teeth and commands the beast from dimensions apart! "Ggh- Win! Win Bull-" but when next she looks up at the screen, it's too late. In the matter of minutes, the fight had already concluded– With her defeated..
Now.. her prized bull played delirious on the ground, with the Tiny-Tar skinned boy standing over him.. The victor..
Philp Gasped, "Oh Dear… Young master.. I'm sorry…" Philip Bowed, as if apologizing for his own failure..
…But upon hearing his words, a deeper, insatiable fire lights within the girl!
Suddenly, standing on the couch, Pointing at the boy on the screen she declares, "You! Beast– I Refuse to yield to you here! I Refuse to Lose here! My Name is Majora Renee Gilbert! And for all 12 years of my life I have not known defeat! And I'm not starting now…"
Now.. Pulling forth Her Ichor, an absolute order is written in the translucent dew, and given form.. merely from her words..
"Release your Limiters… Bully.."
Philp shoots to his feet, knocking over the chair he was sitting in, as he bounds toward Majora attempting to stop her "N-NO! Young master! If you go against the rules of the tower you will– Ngh!" But as he approaches, her lithe fingers capture his wind pipe, stopping him in his tracks..
"Gh!!" Unconsciously Philip naturally resists, but her hands are like a steel vice! He can't break the small girl's grip!
"Do you think im stupid Philip? I know what I'm doing… The only thing required of a test is a fair, possible, challenge.. With that boy there, winning is more than possible… even if it won't be in his favor.." she grins as her Ichor stirs within her body– warps and wefts tying together, space time distorting before her very words..
"Now.. I demand Bully.. Release your limiters.. And Win."
Now, breaking through space-time, Her command slipped between the seams of dimensions– Over a Dozen floors below her, distance could not describe how separated the two were, and yet the Bull heeds his master's words.
Interlude out-
SNAP
…Huh..?
The first thing that hits me is confusion, the giant axe in my hand is suddenly 50 pounds lighter, just as I brought it down atop the Bulls head.
Off in the distance I hear the metallic hiss of a spinning blade ripping through the air: then the abrupt clank of metal embedding in stone..
To my right, several meters away, the axe head was suddenly rooted into the marble wall, like some crude sword in the stone.
And as I look down, I see the Bulls arm outstretched, I don't know how or why, but in a matter of seconds, it woke up and snapped its own weapon.
But for some reason, I'm not surprised, or shocked– because at just a glance, I could tell what was laying in front of me wasn't the same creature– It was one I couldn't defeat.
My body retreats before my mind does, I try to leap back to a safe distance but
Thud-
I Rise.
All of a sudden I feel an impact rattle my skull like a drum.. And I rise..
The earth sinks as I'm left floating.
My consciousness flickers in and out.. Like a dying light, as I feel my brain ping-pong in my skull.
There's no pain.. no anything… just this ethereal dream
It's like an out of body experience… Suddenly the only thing I can acknowledge is the eternal shine of the moon…
THUD
But the next blow that happened seconds after is the one that knocks me to my senses!
A Throbbing Pain threatens to sever my skull.. If I didn't know better I'd say my head was literally caved in!.
"GUagh-" A dry whimper creeps from my lips as my body hurls into the wall on the opposite side of the-
WHAM-
Before I can even process the second I'm hit with a third blow, that I swear kills me..
This time, there's a painful ringing in my ears, I hear a voice yell in this distance– mostly Klive, but I can't truly even hear it..
"Gah.." I let out a pathetic sigh.. Without even realizing, I fell to the ground.. And after a while my jumbled mine finally clears..
"Gh… Wha.." I scratch at the marble floor, and use all of my strength to lift up my chin… The Minotaur towers over me, cloaked in that Divine Aura– Ichor…
I should be brimming with hate, jumping to tear the beast apart… but maybe due to my shattered mind… the sight of the bull Overflowing with Vigor, Is a sight i simply cant deny is… beautiful..
*Huff* The beast snorts seemingly unsatisfied, It reaches with its massive arms. And plucked me from the ground.
One of his massive hands clasped around both my arms: and the other seized my legs.
The beast Presents me to the moon in triumph, as if presenting me to someone? What…
But after a moment.
Streeeetch
I'm being pulled apart!
Im pulled taut like a rag, My Ligaments, Joints, and tendons all scream as the monster attempts to split me in half.
"AAAAAAAAAGAHH!!!" I Wail Harder than I have my entire life! The feeling of your own muscles tearing– Your body screaming for mercy, Like someone taking a knife and snipping each of your individual muscle fibers.. one by one..
I want to think, I want to resist… but.. I lost that option a long time ago.. I'm gonna..
Gonna..
Gonna..? Going to what?
Images of my mother flicker though my mind– Am I going to Leave her.. Right here? What would I do.. What did she do?
The pain stops as I make a realization.
Suddenly, I'm back on that night– that night from just the other day.. The Images of my mother's back as she stared down an impossible enemy.. Sends me into a trance..
The Azure haired wonder- That protected me with every drop of strength she had.. No.. that woman isn't just my mother..
She is my Idol, My home… My Goalpost… A part of my heart..
And if I die here... I can't see her..?
…
BULLSHIT!!
I Pool together my Ichor– suddenly, a raging rapid streams through my body, Awakening my Vigor..
The effect is immediate, I'm alert– I don't even know what I'm doing– but I start pulling my arms and legs with all the strength I can muster..
"GHH–!"
Somehow.. Someway.. The monster's firm hold slowly yields…
This is it.. This is it!! I Can't Die Here! I'll beat this thing.. And Survive
Yes.. YES!! I'm going to win!! I will win!
I CAN WIN–
CRACK–!
And just then, a sickening snap drives though my back– and abruptly, without warning or mercy.. That smoldering inferno raging inside me is snuffed out…
–Chapter 6 END