554: Electrifying Jade Bit*h
“‘Her’? Belmot’s daughter?” Olivia asked her terrified prisoner.
The man nodded.
Olivia removed the kunai from his back and walked up the stairs to the next floor from where she heard the girl’s voice.
“What the hell is that useless uptight cunt doing!?” the girl yelled in an annoying, high-pitched tone.
Ophelia, was it? Olivia thought. If she has her father wrapped around her finger as much as that servant implied, then she’ll be an invaluable hostage. The moment I get her this is over.
“L-last we heard C-captain Flavna went to deal with the Third Princess before we got reports of trouble in the Pits,” some older man, presumably a guard reported.
As Olivia silently sneaked up, one step at a time, she prepared one of the smoke bombs she borrowed from the Purple Capes down in the Pits while Beatrice was busy turning them into mindless, milk-guzzling slaves.
“Third? Samira? They found out that quickly that we had the Sixth and this was their reaction? They’ll pay!”
“P-please don’t jump to conclusions p-princess!” another man tried to calm the girl down. “More importantly, we need to escort you to safety as quickly as possible and—”
“Where’s daddy?” Ophelia interrupted.
“H-he’s alive!”
“Alive and well!”
“You’re stalling,” Ophelia’s voice changed and got quitter. Olivia heard a sharp, crackling noise.
“D-due to the severe damage, we… We still haven’t been able to reach him across—G-GHYAAAAHHH!!”
“How incompetent are you!?” Ophelia’s screeched over the man’s screams of agony. “When was the last time any of you did anything right!? What do the captains do besides sucking each other off all day long!?”
Olivia peeked from the stairway and saw exactly what she heard: a cruel, pointless torture. A pink haired teen stood over a guard who writhed in agony under assault of electric lightning that forked and crackled all over the guard’s body. The girl unleashed her frustrations both hands, her grimace contorted with unsightly, hateful expressions, her cape flowing wildly from the magic waves.
Olivia then notices a bunch of young teens huddled in a group as far as they could from Ophelia without actually fleeing. Only a few others, the eldest of the bunch, stood apart and calmly observed. But just as smoke appeared from the guard’s grey hair, Ophelia ceased her magic.
“Be thankful I haven’t fried your brain! Not that there’s much to fry!” Ophelia said, looking down on the man while other two guards rushed to help. The groaning older man could not keep his tears from rolling down his aging face.
“Move your asses already and help the others bring daddy down safely!” Ophelia screamed with her high-pitched tone again at the men who just barely managed to get the tortured guard on his feet. Terrified, they ran away fast as they could, supporting their injured comrade between them until they disappeared behind a corner. “Honestly, when did daddy’s proud Purple Capes become such a sad joke?”
While the only three guards were driven away Olivia quickly surveyed the situation. Twelve remained. Nine huddled in a group, boys and girls, ages from nine to about fourteen give or take, as best Olivia could estimate. Not here, Olivia bit her lip when she didn’t see Emily among the kids. Was Emily already dead? What if she was an unlucky casualty during the earthquake? No, if they haven’t even managed to get Belmot out of here yet, that cruel bitch might have just abandoned whoever was trapped or injured.
The two kids that stood apart from that group were not much older than the others. Both were beastkin girls. Cat girls to be precise. Both with fluffy ears sticking out of their hair on top of their heads. The whiskers on their face looked drawn and would have been cute if not for the current situation. She has a preference I guess, Olivia thought. Judging by their lack of emotion toward that cruelty, might as well treat them as Ophelia’s allies. No, that’s naïve. All of them are potential enemies until proven otherwise.
All of them were well dressed. Better than any commoner could afford. Not that the degenerates in this city care much for clothing most of their waking hours, Olivia thought with disgust. But even though the fine clothing was a size too big or small on some of the kids, Ophelia dressed them well. If not for the terror in their eyes, some idiot might even assume she cared for them.
The cat girls wore descent armor. Thought, not as grand and polished spotless as Ophelia’s, who also saw fit to adorn hers with pointless jewels that served no practical purpose in Olivia’s eyes other than decorate a potential corpse. Weaknesses all over, Olivia analyzed. Adorning yourself as some warrior while lording your power over others like a spoiled brat! At that age you should know better already!
But… What is this uneasy feeling? Something is clearly not right! The more Olivia thought the more her head started hurting. For a moment her vision got blurry and she had to hide before she gave herself away. Fucking get it together! What the hell!? Easy, uneasy—who gives a fuck!? One way or another I need to deal with this quickly before a small army shows up with Belmot and complicates things even more.
“Oh, get up already!” Ophelia raised her voice at the huddled group. They all jumped up on command like trained pets but got together in an even tighter group.
One of the two cat girls who stood aside from the group stepped toward Ophelia. “Might I suggest-AH!?”
The cat girl’s attention was caught by a small ball that rolled across the floor right to her feet.
“Isn’t that a—”
The ball burst and instantly filled the hall with smoke.