Seraphim Online: Afterlife

“*Huff huff huff*… uh shit!”

Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop! Hooves click onto the ground in nearly every direction as I try my hardest to run from the inevitable. Regardless of how dense or compact this forest is, there is no hope, no chance of escaping my pursuers it seems. But still, I try to persist.

Unfortunately for my sake, it seems I’m now out of breath and out of luck, the squadron of horsebound riders barely come into sight behind the thick density of the trees.

‘Curse my desire for conversation! You just had to say hello to them, didn’t you, Shade!?’

To explain my unfortunate situation, a single word describes everything and more… slavers.

A broken-down carriage on the outskirts of the Torr Forest, all I wanted to do was lend a hand, but nooo, they only saw me as a payday. For far too long, I’ve known operating in the human lands without a handler can be risky. When I saw they were equipped with whips, lassos and horses, I knew I was screwed.

‘What use is that going to serve me right now!?’

I’ve been running for hours at this point. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, I feel like I’ve ran a marathon! I need to catch my breath and hide.

And thankfully, my prayers are answered with a toppled down tree, just wide enough for me to slip inside of. If fate allows it and the Goddess of this world grants me some luck, maybe they might pass on by?

‘Eww, it’s a little narrow and slimy… get your mind of the gutter, Shade!’

But wait! Before I can crawl into the little hidey hole that makes a moist slurping sound, a little guy pops up his head.

‘Why does he have to be cute? So fluffy… now’s not the time!’

“Uh, sorry little fella, I need to hide as well. Can you move?”

The little fox seems content with me crawling inside, even rubbing himself up against my leg. Suddenly, his attitude changes dramatically when I get inside, I didn’t step on his tail or nothing!

“Ouch! Why did you do that!? Stop!”

The little bastard keeps snaping at my ankle! I should grow a backbone and give him a kick… I can’t hurt something that cute though.

Starting to his and growl as well making a load of noise, this plan was doomed from the start. Back outside into the land of beastkin oppression, the clipping and clapping is getting louder by the second. It’s as if they know exactly where I am!

“Uh… fuck! No no no!”

Back to running, I charge through a bush of nettles, dive under a different fallen tree, then suddenly I’m shot high up into the crown of the forest! Uh no!

‘Did he… did he just smile at me!?’

If being caught in a net isn’t bad enough, that little bastard takes one look at me up here, smiles, then disappears far into the forest! What did I ever do to him!?

Before I have the chance to cut myself free, the group of riders finally finds an opening and charges into this dense section of the woods. Within seconds, all eight of them are around me.

“Ha! Comfortable in the net, beast? Did we set this one up?”

“Nah brother, different part of the forest. This is deep in bandit territory; we need to be careful.”

“All the way across the Abyss, only to end up inside a net. Tracking your ass through the Badlands been quite the adventure.”

‘Huh? I haven’t been across the Abyss. What is he on about?’

All appear to be full of smiles witnessing my demise, yet a single guy refuses to enjoy the merriment. Hopping down from his steed, he takes a whiff of the air before stepping closer.

“Shut up a moment… she’s isn’t the one.”

“Huh? You sure? She looks like the fox we’ve been tracking.”

“It’s a coincidence, the one we were tracking is male. My nose doesn’t lie, her scent is similar, but not the same.”

Walking closer to the net, a pair of hungry glowing eyes stares up and through me. As if I’m looking into the face of a predator, my heart seems to skip a beat looking at someone who is clearly stronger than all us combined.

‘He’s a dragon!? Welp, guess I’ll have to postpone any attempt of escape… for now.’

“For fuck’s sake! We’ve spent days searching for this goddamned fabled fox! This bitch isn’t the one we’ve been looking for!?”

“Doesn’t matter… she’ll do.”

“You just said she isn’t who we want!”

“She’ll fetch the same price. Likelihood is, the other one purposely infected her for a bargaining tool. Clever.”

‘What is he talking about? Infected me?’

The red-haired guy walks up even closer, a small grin grows on his cocky face, then sniffs my bloody ankle of all things!

Kicking him away, the smile grows wider on his face and blood drips from his nose. I can only hope I broke it.

“Bag her up and let’s get a move on, her fire burns bright, that’s good. Those wealthy cretins always pay more for those with spirit…”

__________

“And there goes the last of our package deals from the desert today! But wait, we still have one special lady left for all you legends! Don’t be shy, come on out!”

Lights, slavers, auction! A spacious stage overlooks a huge crowd and the festivities slowly come to an end as a vast amount of wealth has been spent acquiring slaves today. Down in the Underworld, anything can be bought, the vast sewer system a hub for trade. Whether it’s stolen artefacts, a holy hand grenade, or even a dragonoid’s spleen, all manner of items can found somewhere.

And here I stand to the side, being dragged onto the stage by a bunch of slave handlers, one of which missing a finger. Don’t ask.

“Mmfgh!”

“Move it, beast! You really want the whip again?”

“Mmph…”

‘These mofos really think this will break my spirit!? Like what you see, perverts! I’ll kill whoever buys me!’

My misbehaviour hasn’t been appreciated so my lack of clothing is the result of that, the gag comes down to that slaver missing a finger. Hey, any idiot knows you don’t put hands in a cage of a wild animal! Out of all the races I could’ve picked, it had to be the kind harshly oppressed, didn’t it?

“Get a load of this one! Sturdy in the hips, luscious in the lips! She’ll be perfect for any labour or just simply to look at! What’s more, she has a strong connection to the spirit world! That’s right, a genuine kitsune for sale!”

‘Yawn… boring. A kitsune that can’t do anything, great business pitch that.’

“Currently equipped with a compliance collar, suppressing that endless rage, get her under control and you’ll have a beast of legend wrapped around your thumb! What can she do, you ask? Who knows! Maybe converse with the dead? Or shapeshift into a cute and fluffy pet? Bid to find out!”

‘Am I being sold as a lootbox now!?’

Being grabbed by the collar, I’m fully presented to the stage, overlooked by hundreds of masked bidders while the colourful auctioneer hypes me up for the sale.

In order to ignore my embarrassment and sate my anger, my attention switches to the music playing and several of the handlers behind me. To the left of the stage, a single flute player resides, blowing into his pipe a tune similar to what you might hear at the circus.

To the right, my handlers natter about pointless things. What started off about the quality of human bone meal inside this place quickly descends into grumpiness.

“Fucking scammers… I hate this place.”

“Keep telling ya, you’ve got to buy from my guy. Talking about expensive things, another batch sold and not a single elf in sight. Times really are tough.”

“To think we’re currently inside an old sewer selling people, comparing them to nothing more than commodities.”

“You growing a conscious or something, bub? The Underworld has always been like that.”

“No… I’m just bored. That goddamn flute blower always gives me a headache.”

Finally, after what feels like minutes hyping me up, the little auctioneer stops waving his arm around and finally gets on with the sale.

“Now we’ve gotten her medical background and sizing out of the way, let’s say we start at… a thousand?”

“Bid!”

“Me next! I bid eleven!”

“Twelve hundred!”

“Thirteen!”

My annoyance skyrockets as fast as the paddles going up, the auctioneer might as well be speaking in tongue as bids come in from all around the hall.

“*Intelligible nonsense*… eighteen hundred! *Auctioneer speak*… two thousand!”

“Bid!”

“Call!”

The bidding slows a touch but steadily the price rises, until a suspicious looking person raises his paddle in the back.

“Ten thousand.”

‘Dude doesn’t understand how an auction works.’

Gasp’s echo within this chamber when the man makes an excessive bid and takes off his mask, revealing a face of excellent beauty. Tall in stature, lifeless behind the eyes, something gnaws at me knowing this could be the buyer. He doesn’t seem particularly strong… but that fear still remains.

“Arrogant fool! Just because he’s the Count of Monte-Crystal doesn’t mean he should unmask like that! She would’ve made such a nice body pillow… what is he doing away from the desert anyways?”

‘That’s what she planned for me!? My luck sucks!’

“Business, I presume. An unfortunate shame, everyone knows how he possessive he is with his ‘collectables’.”

“Poor soul… anyone here knows about the slaver who caught her? Red hair? Pair of horns? Me and him have business to attend to.”

“Who’s that guy with blue hair? He keeps grinding his teeth.”

With the crowd now turning their attention away from the auction, the mess of the auctioneer final return to speaking English. Can anyone understand auctioneer speak anyways?

“With the bidding now sitting at ten golden, or a single platinum coin… I presume no one wishes to challenge Conte Monte-Crystal? Going once…”

“Going twice… anybody? Don’t regret this opportunity!”

“And… sold, to the mysterious yet handsome desert dweller! With this sale, this auction is finished! To those who have made purchases, bring out your coin and we’ll get the documents signed…”

With that, a bag is hooked around on my head and I’m dragged someplace else, all the while kicking and screaming.

‘These nauseating scumbags will rue the day they crossed me, mark my words…’

__________

“Mmgh! Mmgh! Mghf?”

“…”

‘What the hell is wrong with this creep? Can got your tongue? Admiring what you see?’

Once the hood departs and I’ve been dressed into something as inappropriate as my birthday suit, that being a swimsuit, I find myself chained to a wall and looking into the eyes of my buyer. While fire continues to burn deep in my heart, I can’t help but feel terrified. There’s something about this guy that’s creepy, not helped by the fact he just stands stiff, staring at me.

Not a single word comes from the buyer’s mouth, his eyes just linger through me like that dragon. Where we’ve ended up together… I think it may be a root cellar, perhaps part of a hotel?

…

Still no words, only rattling chains echo down in this damp basement. After what feels like minutes, he finally decides to do something.

He reaches out to me, slowly and carefully as if I’ll shatter when he makes contact. The second he makes contact however; a shiver falls down my spine.

Both hands now lightly resting against my shoulder, my expectations change drastically when he tenses up and his hands judder towards my neck.

‘Dude, let the fuck go! I don’t want to die!’

His grip tightening by the second, the pressure and lack of air is intoxicating! I try to fight, only to struggle against the fixed chain and unable to bend the metal. I’m going to pass out if this continues!

“*Coughing*… mgmpfff!?!”

Gasping for air through my gag the best I can, all this deranged fuck does is shake his head at me, like he’s disappointed or something!

“Patience, my little candid, we have all the time in the world. In time, this will be easier to handle. You may even grow to enjoy these moments.”

Heathens forbid if I wasn’t connected by chain to this wall, I’d be cracking his skull open! This is what he plans for me? What the actual hell have I gotten myself into!?

Just as his arms reach out for me again, a voice interrupts from behind, revealing a man dressed in ragged leathers. Presumably, he works under this guy?

“Boss, the task is done.”

“Excellent. Be warned, tittle candid, a single misstep and you’ll find it troublesome to breathe again. Got it?”

“Mmph…”

Reluctantly nodding along, my cuffs are unlinked from the wall and by chain, I’m led outside of the cellar to a dimly lit alleyway. There, my stomach twists and churns and if it wasn’t for the slaver holding my shackles, I’d have fallen to the ground.

‘This… this is beyond sick.’

Five beastkin are nailed to five crosses hanging from the wall, a revolting and disturbing sight I’m yet to see or hear about in this world. Slaves have it bad and all, sure, crucifixion is a whole new level entirely.

“Like what you see? They did warn me buying you would be too expensive, did I listen? If times weren’t so tough, you could’ve been friends.”

As if he’s looking at something humorous, his entire demeaner seems to distort into something despicable when he lays eyes upon the women. As if he’s possessed by something, all sense of reservedness is lost.

“It’s a shame really, they all lost that fire long ago, eyes full of obedience and acceptance is too boring. But time moves on to better and brighter things, we’re going to have so much fun together!”

Finally taking the gag off me, I’d spit at this psycho if I weren’t trembling with fear.

“You s-sick, d-degenerate fuck! Why not just s-sell them instead!?”

“Silly candid, I have a reputation to keep of course! Selling a bunch of used and broken slaves is bad for business. No, those for personal use deserve a break. Heavens forbid, think of all that extra paper work as well!”

I… just can’t find the words to express how much this guy frightens me. The strangling was one thing… this rattles my very core.

With that grizzly grin growing exponentially, he grabs a hold of my chains, then stares deep into my soul.

“Please know this now, any attempt of escape will result with this the result. You try to flee; I’ll purchase more and all those will suffer because of you.”

“Y-You w-wouldn’t!”

“Willing to give it a try? There are entire orphanages full of kin, ready for a new home. Have a guess how old little Lexi is? The younger they are, the harder they fall.”

Still shocked and terrified of what evil stand ahead of me, my resolve is settled. Trying to escape is not my goal, cracking open this guy’s head like a coconut is what I need to do.

Poking his employer’s shoulder, even the slaver that holds onto me still doesn’t look too pleased at the grizzly sight of women nailed up there.

“Boss… we’re running low on time if you want to do the other thing.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot about the good deed! Little candid, it’s time to gift some mercy! Choose wisely because only one of your kin will be given a reward.”

“H-Huh?”

“Impalement, crushing, hanging, boiling, or burning. All are unpleasant, yet will be a far more merciful ending. Now, choose wisely!”

…

With next to no warning, my stomach finally falters and my lunch of mouldy bread spews out all over the floor.

“Uh… you s-seriously can’t e-expect me to p-play along!?”

“Oh, but I do, because you know deep down not choosing is a choice itself. Are you happy knowing all will suffer, yet you had the power to help one pass along? Unless you wish to see all those in agony? That truly would be devilish!”

The grin on this sick bastard’s face grows sinister, I have to find a way to kill him. With a mind this wicked, I can only pray he suffers to his last breath.

‘What the fuck… I feel like my heart is going to burst! What is wrong with this man's mind…’

__________

‘Guide… can we call this a day? Shade’s only been a slave for what, a week at this point? I’m not sure I want to see anymore.’

Temporally breaking the memory short, this is already too much. In just a single day, I’ve experienced physical and emotional abuse that makes me feel sick. It doesn’t matter if I’m able to raise my stats watching along, it’s far too uncomfortable.

[A fair point, Sera, this is considered tame for how Shade unconsciously feels about this. It may be for the best if we purge this memory for good.]

‘Now you change your tune? And this is supposed to be tame? Let’s just pretend this never happened… poor Shade. We really should’ve pulled out that slaver’s entrails and turned him into a meat toboggan…’