Chapter 72: Wiggles
Within a vast, pitch-black cavern, two well-dressed nobles watched with slight interest as Mary’s body floated within a sack of flesh surrounded by black vines. There were also many pink spiders present, but they were busy comparing the various items that the silly humans had created for them. Julius, the blacksmith spider, proudly showed off a rather fancy iron sword that floated in the air. Two spiders stared in awe at the human-made creation; one wore a black top hat inlaid with golden thread, while the other had a blue bowtie around one of its legs. These two spiders felt their inferior articles of clothing paled in comparison to the sword’s awesomeness.
"Master, I thought you had gone soft for a second there..." Melinda said while crossing her arms below her average-size chest. She looked like a noble lady infuriated by her husband’s antics with her fancy clothes and demeanour.
"How so?" Jack glanced at her before returning his attention to the writhing mass of black vines covered in sharp thorns that towered over the pair.
Melinda shrugged and inspected her new rings. "Dunno, you two seemed to get along great, but then you do this." She casually gestured to the brown-haired woman floating inside a sack of flesh filled with a viscous green fluid.
Jack chuckled. "Well, I didn’t plan this situation, but it’s just so interesting I cannot bring myself to stop it. I already told the plant"—he gestured toward the ten-meter-tall mass of black vines—"that this woman would become its new caretaker... Wait, can this plant even understand speech? Hmmm. Something this investigation will discover, along with other things."
"How long will she stay in... there..."
Jack rubbed his chin before throwing up his hands in defeat. "No clue. Do you think I’m a mad scientist or something? Honestly, I just planned for the vines to provide some angel tears so Mary would know what she’s selling; hands-on experience is crucial, in my opinion. But, alas, nothing in this life can be so simple." He pointed his cane accusingly at the abomination of flesh and vines that slithered around like a mountain of snakes. "Plant! Return my employee right this instant! I had to put so much effort into reeling her in."
Melinda scoffed, "Stop acting, Master. You don’t care either way."
Jack stopped mid-act and scowled. "Melinda, when it’s just the two of us, can’t I have a little fun? I spend all my time running away from my future and the many death flags hanging over me. We are in a magical world, for God’s sake! And finally, something that I have never seen before is occurring before my eyes!" He gestured toward the fleshy pod that reminded him of the Matrix. "Is a genetic mutation occurring? Is the plant fusing with her? Perhaps the plant is reading her mind? Absorbing her memories? The possibilities are endless..."
Melinda shook her head. "Death flags? Genetic mutation? What are you talking about?"
Jack glanced at his partner in crime. Sometimes, he let his facade slip around her, but he wasn’t overly worried. Although her transformation into a blood queen wasn’t complete, she was almost there. Jack had estimated months originally, but that was a loose assumption. Whether Melinda was an edge case or the records left behind from the elder noble vampires were wrong was hard to decide, but that was beside the point. Melinda would soon become his blood queen, his eternal wife and sidekick.
Jack wondered if they should hold a grand wedding in Blackthorn.
’Actually, now that I think about it... how does one get married in this world?’ he mused while looking at Melinda’s gorgeous and confused face. ’Wait, I’m starting to see her in a different light. Before there was a slight hint of disgust, but now she’s like a normal woman to me.’
"Hello, are you ignoring me?" Melinda pouted.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Jack answered his partner’s questions with a chuckle. "Well, death flags are hints or events that will lead to my demise. For example, the prince and my elder brother have a vendetta against me. Duke Henson would be an example for you."
Jack moved his black cane around with Psychokinesis to quell his boredom while waiting for something to happen; it had been hours since Mary was grabbed and promptly swallowed by the mass of vines. Melinda stopped inspecting her rings and shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I hope that slimy duke doesn’t cause any issues for Blackthorn and you."
"Us," Jack interrupted her. "Problems for us. We are in this together."
Melinda smiled. "Indeed, Master."
The pair’s rather intimate atmosphere was rudely interrupted by Mary thrashing around inside the fleshy sack of accursed green goo. Her clothes had long mysteriously melted away as vines tunnelled through her mouth and nose, presumably providing oxygen.
Jack’s eyes went wide. "Her mana circuit!"
Due to the mana-thick goo and lack of physical touch, he struggled to inspect the exact changes occurring, but he was sure of it. Mary’s mana circuit was being expanded, upgraded even.
Jack then winced at the thought as he remembered the pain he went through for his darkness mana circuit.
’I should practise Darkness Magic sometimes; just been so darn busy lately.’
He turned to Melinda and decided to fill her in on his findings. "No wonder she is thrashing around. Having a mana circuit created through external means is far more painful than a naturally occurring one. I tell you, those mages that go through the mana circuit ritual are crazy loons."
Melinda tilted her head. "Don’t you have multiple mana circuits, Master?"
Jack shook his head. "Sure, but I’m a vampire; it takes mere hours to recover fully. But humans? Unless high-grade potions or a Master Mage specialising in Life affinity stands by, death from internal bleeding is guaranteed." He pointed his cane at the fleshy prison of his first cult member. "And that may be an issue here. But, hopefully, this plant understands that we do not have those on hand..."
A black vine emerged from the enormous, withering mass and wiggled in front of Jack, causing him to frown. "Is that a yes or no? I don’t speak plant wiggles." The plant continued wiggling, and he grew annoyed. "You know what? I’m calling you Wiggles from now on. Finish this procedure quickly. I need my employee back."
Jack and Melinda stood in silence for the next few hours, broken by the occasional thrashing and drowned screams from Mary. Eventually, their patience was rewarded as the fleshy sack unexpectedly exploded, spraying green liquid that caked the stone floor and cavern walls. Melinda nimbly sidestepped closer to Jack and enjoyed the protection from the goo’s onslaught provided by Jack’s natural Deflection to all things deemed unclean.
Jack’s mind rang with telepathic cries from the many pink spiders drenched in goo and awoken from their late-afternoon slumbers by the sudden attack. Paying the spiders no heed, he instead focused on the naked woman that had been thrown halfway across the room in a large blob that protected her from the impact. Now lying in the blob remains, Mary was sprawled out and passed out.
Using levitation, Jack floated over to Mary while Melinda conjured her cleaning spell. Mary’s previously sun-kissed skin had turned a pale white, similar to Jack and Melinda’s. Her brown hair had transformed into a squirming mass of black vines that lacked the thorns seen on Wiggles. Also, a red rose had bloomed on her head like a beautiful decoration and released a sweet fragrance.
Mary abruptly began violently hurling up green liquid. Then, after a few moments, she sat up and clutched her head. "Wow..." she said as magical power flowed through her and backed out.
Jack clapped. "Welcome to the world of Mages... How does it feel?"
Mary turned to look at Jack and Melinda while desperately trying to cover herself with her arms. "It’s... it’s amazing!" she stuttered out, not entirely sure how to handle this situation.
Despite her discomfort, Jack placed his gloved hand on her head and closed his eyes for a few moments. Mary looked toward Melinda with pleading eyes, but Melinda just shrugged. "Mary, don’t worry, he has no interest in livestock."
"Interesting... very unusual," Jack eventually said while withdrawing his hand. "You have a Life affinity mana circuit, scarce but not unheard of, but the other thing is... well..."
Mary pleaded with her eyes. "What’s wrong with me?"
Jack rubbed his chin and glanced at Wiggles. "You have vine-shaped channels throughout your body that reek of the Death element; never seen something like this before."
As if sensing the accusation, a lone vine emerged from the mass of Wiggles and approached Mary. The vine then crawled up her arm and inserted itself into the center of the rose on her head, like one would charge a laptop. Her usual brown eyes transformed into a swirling black mass that resembled a daisy in shape, and her body stood like a puppet on strings. Death attribute mana surged through Mary’s body, causing Jack and Melinda to take a step back instinctually.
Mary’s soulless black eyes stared deeply into Jack’s, and out of Mary’s unmoving mouth, a deep voice not belonging to Mary stated: "Thou shalt refer to me as Wiggles."