Tsuyoshi's POV:
"I am almost there!" I muttered as I hurried towards my destination.
After failing to acquire that accursed statue a few days ago, I needed to take another day's rest to recover my energy as for the first time in a long while I had lost myself in the face of a proper challenge. As a human immortal on the 2nd martial continent, it is not often I get to spar with someone or something that can make me break a sweat, and so I had maybe gotten a bit to invested in my task, resulting in me wasting a bit more time and energy than I had initially planned. Hence, I am scrambling to catch up to that brat magician as I travel through the shadows to avoid detection.
Though I find it a little strange I did not see any dark empire soldiers come to subjugate me, there is no way my battle with that strange artifact went unnoticed given the scale of our attacks. Based on that, it is only a matter of time before they increase their surveillance and discover the group heading towards Gray Water Fort, that is if they have not done so already.
That magician in charge of this operation seemed to be lacking a bit of patience. Based on how far I've traveled so far with no sign of him, there is a good chance he threw caution aside in favor of getting there faster only to get spotted and captured instead. Or so I thought when the very Gray Water Fort came into view.
"Well, I'll be damned!" I muttered to myself as I could spot some familiar figures, just beyond the gray fortress's forcefield.
Either they were incredibly lucky or I have been overestimating the dark empire's ability, for it seems the lot I believed to have been captured managed to reach their destination and is about to take the fort as planned.
"Hm!"
I flinched and took a step back when I saw that magician brat, now sporting some shaded glasses for some reason, turning in my direction. Rather silly of me seeing as he wouldn't be able to spot me from down there. Though some of the nascent souls might be able to see me if they really tried, I am standing too far away to expect any of them to recognize me at a mere glance, additionally, the veil of night is obscuring my figure. However, I, on the other hand, can see them clear as day because I am an immortal of the darkness element, meaning I have perfect dark vision and can see much farther than any nascent soul.
*Distant muttering*
"*Sigh* Okay! Now! I need to come up with an excuse for failing to acquire that statue!" I grumbled to myself.
It was a lucky break that they weren't captured or killed like I assumed, but with the artifact I was tasked with obtaining being broken, I'd need to come up with some kind of excuse if I did not wish to get an earful when rejoining the group.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!" I suddenly heard someone shout out of nowhere, their booming voice sending a jolt through me as I was caught off guard.
*Rumble**BOOM*
"Argh?!"
However, before I even had a chance to turn my head in the direction of the voice, I was blinded by a sudden flash of light shortly followed by an earthquake and the sound of an explosion. The sound was so loud it hurt my ears, and the intensity of the light hurt my eyes. With a ringing in my ear and not willing to wait for my eyes to recover, I used my 6th sense to try and see what happened but…
"What in the world!"
It was chaos. The natural qi in the surroundings was going haywire, making it difficult for me to sense my surroundings, especially in the direction of the fortress.
As my vision inevitably returned, I looked upon where the Gray Water Fort stood, or at least where it used to stand.
"…! Oh no!"
Just ahead of my feet, what was just a moment ago the slope of a hill, was now the edge of a cliff. Where Gray Water Fort used to be was now nothing but a giant crater, a chaotic vortex of different energies running rampant at its center. The fortress had self-destructed, taking anyone nearby, and everyone inside, with it. The explosion had left behind a large, chaotic mix of qi, which in not too long might transform this place into some kind of chaos plane.
*Garbled talking*
As I looked on in shock at the devastation in front of me, my immortal ears began picking up some sounds as my hearing began to return.
"*Garbled*-you?!"
Turning my head in the direction of the conversation, I saw two figures that were definitely not there a few moments ago, sitting at a table, drinking tea, and wrapped in chains. One appeared to be a silver haired woman who resembled the one we captured while resting in that valley, only she was wearing a sad clown mask and there were now black chains coiled around her body. She was calmly sipping tea while conversing with the red-faced man chained to his seat in front of a hot cup of tea. His body was glowing with so much power, I could barely stand in his presence, yet those ominous black chains were holding him in place with no signs of breaking.
"Well, why don't we ask someone then? Hey, you there!" The woman said as she turned to me.
"Ugh!" I grunted as I fell on my knees.
"Hey, mind letting up a bit before you crush 'em?"
"Hmph!"
Soon after, I felt the pressure ease off my shoulders as the glow of the man dimmed slightly. Rising to my feet, I saw the clown masked woman beckon me towards them. At this point, it was clear to me that whoever these two monsters were, whether it was the man whose pressure could force me to my knees or the woman unperturbed in the face of that power sitting across from him, they were not someone I could afford to offend.
"Thank you for gracing this lowly one with the honor of your presence, great ones!" I spoke as I shakily approached.
Although I would very much like to run away right now, I am worried that such an act might offend them. Just based on that pressure I felt a moment ago, I'd bargain my chances at escape to be pretty slim should they give chase, moreover, I've already got enough reasons to look over my shoulders given what just happened to the sage of rune's disciple. The last thing I need is two more monsters on my heel.
"Hmph! You see that you wretch! That is how you show proper respect!" The glowing man in chains said.
"Yuck! Sounds more like he's trying to kiss my ass, and I don't like it! Anyways, have a seat, kiss-ass!" The woman said as she pulled out a chair from spatial storage.
In spite of my every instinct screaming at me to flee, I sat down at the table as to not offend her, while praying to whatever god will listen that I make it out of here alive. However, the gradually intensifying glow of the man to my right did not seem like a good sign.
"Hey kiss-ass!"
"Huh?! Uhm! Yes?"
"Could you stop praying for a bit?"
"Huh?!"
"Fretting your chains may break, are you?" The glowing man sniped.
"You wish! I got these chains off a demon lord! It wouldn't matter even if he prayed his whole cultivation away, a lesser god like you would never be able to break them! It's just that we'll need some sunglasses soon if he doesn't stop feeding you!" She said, raising her left arm, showcasing the chains linking her's and his.
"G-God? Demon lord?" I blurted out in fear.
Out of all the things on my list of beings I would never wish to encounter, I just heard two of the top 5 casually leaving that woman's mouth. Gods, an existence even higher than an immortal, and Demon Lord, the antithesis to that very existence. Unfortunately for me, my fearful words happened to draw the attention of my apparently divine and demonic company.
"Hm?"
"You say something kiss-ass? Speak up!"
"Ehm! E-Excuse me, but might this lowly one ask why you sought fit to grant me a seat at your table?" I asked.
"Hm? Oh, right! We just wanted your opinion to settle an argument, but before that, I just want to confirm something! You are from this continent, right?"
I was a little unsure what to say. Answering truthfully and saying I was, would mean continuing to converse with these monsters, but lying and saying I wasn't, could displease them and get me killed for wasting their time.
"Ehm?"
"Great! So, you are?"
However, before I could decide, the woman simply concluded I was, unilaterally.
"Hmph! Should you not let the man speak for himself, or is your intent to push your own agenda?" The lesser god said.
"If you couldn't tell by the demonic chain around your soul, I'm a soulmancer dum-dum! If I couldn't at least manage to read a yes or no just based on the surface of his dum-dum soul, I wouldn't be able to use these chains in the first place! I can also, tell if you're lying by the way, so there is no point in trying kiss-ass! So, feel free to speak your mind!" The demonic woman spoke.
"…!"
I merely stayed silent as I began reconsidering if my slim chance of fleeing might be worth the attempt, even if it might offend them. I'm already in trouble with the three sages, so what's two more, right?
"You're free to try, but running won't work!" She said, which is when I made the decision to jump inside my shadow.
I only stayed so far as to not offend them, but if she can read my thoughts, then I might as well try running, as I'd rather not risk them smiting me for some stray thoughts. Unfortunately, …
*Rustling chains*
"Argh!"
While inside the pocket-dimension of my shadow, I suddenly felt something cold and hard wrapping itself around my body and before I knew it, I was back in that chair, only this time, there was something strange. I could neither move my body nor my qi as I was constrained by the same black chains that was wrapped around the god to my right.
"Told you it wouldn't work?"
"Please! What do you want from me?" I begged.
"I told you! I just wanted you to answer some questions, honestly! I promise to let you go free and alive when I'm done! I'll even remove that tracking mark on your chest if you're a good boy, okay!"
"…! Are you speaking the truth?" I asked.
"Well, why wouldn't I? I mean, I am technically at war with the ones who placed it on you, so why not, right?"
"Hmph! Trying to bribe him into agreeing with you now?" The god said.
"I said if he tells the truth!"
"Your truth, you mean?"
"Projecting much?"
"What?"
"I'm not like you gods! I don't need people to shout my own opinions back at me to reassure myself, not because I believe I am in the right, but because I don't care if I am! Ultimately, this conversation is just me killing time, because regardless of whether I win or lose this argument, it won't change what I'll do in the end! So, let's get this show on the road!" She said before pulling out some cue cards and turned in my direction.
"Hmph!"
"Ehem! So, Mr. Kiss-ass? Would you rather follow a sketchy god into a white van with promises of a good fate, or would you rather go to the fate store and buy your own!"
"What?"
"Your blasphemous tongue is misrepresenting the work of the gods! What she meant to say is if you would rather entrust your life in the hands of a god or that thing parading as a mortal woman sitting across from me!"
"Well, I! Uhm! What do you mean by fate exactly?" I asked, a little frightened.
"I am what I am! If you can't tell what that is, then that's your problem! Anyways, you got the question wrong, dumbass-mac-sparkly-pants! The only fate I take responsibility for is me, myself, the souls I own, and I!" She said, ignoring my question.
"Eh? Hello?" I said, only to get ignored again.
"Then if you are not intent on seizing control of man, then I do not see why you are so adamant about obstructing the will of heaven?"
"I obstruct it because it's the pain in mine, and everyone else's, ass, which nobody asked for!"
"Nonsense?! I have already heard you speak of the origins! Do you mean to deny your knowledge of how we granted mankind's wish for liberation?"
"You mean how you freed humanity from being slaves to dragons so we could be your slaves instead! Yeah, I know! Replacing the problem with something even worse doesn't warrant gratitude! Honestly, sometimes I wonder if the title of devil doesn't fit you gods more!"
"You dare!"
"At least the dragons of old had the decency not to strip humans of their ability to think, cuz if they had, you would never have been born! Tell me, did the irony of what you were doing ever strike you during the divine age, or is that concept beneath you!"
"You ungrateful! *Rustling chains*! Argh! Count yourself lucky for these chains, or you would be not but dust in the wind!"
"Ooo, I'm so scared! Anyways, kiss-ass, you want some coffee? I'd usually offer you a cup of tea, but I'm all out of tea leaves and my supplier, Herbert 76 is being a prude who won't take my calls!" The woman asked me out of nowhere.
"Uhm? Sure?"
She then proceeded to pull out a teakettle from spatial storage and poured out some murky liquid into my cup. The scent was not exactly unpleasant, though, I wouldn't know how it tasted as my restraints kept me from picking up the cup.
"Anyways, back to what we were talking about! So, let me re-re-re-phrase the question! Given a choice, would you rather somebody else decide how you live your life, or choose for yourself!"
"I'd rather choose for myself?" I answered, feeling a little confused.
"Your question is too vague for his simple mind to fully understand the consequences of that choice! Listen! Would you rather your future be ensured by a higher power intent on a greater tomorrow, or leave it all to chance?"
"Uhm? Then, I guess I would like to ensure my future?"
"Now who is not being specific enough! Kiss-ass, here are some supplementary questions to help clarify!" She said as she started reading off her cue cards.
"Ehem! Does he get to know what kind of future it is first?"
"Perhaps if he receives a prophecy!"
"Is it a good future?"
"It is his future?"
"Then can he change his future if it is a bad one?"
"…!"
"I'll take your silence as a no then! So, still want your future ensured kiss-ass?"
"Can I know what the future is before deciding on my answer?"
"DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SIMPLY PICK AND CHOOSE YOUR OWN FATE?! ARE YOU MAKING LIGHT OF THE GODS!!!" The god shouted at me, apparently offended by my words as his power burst out of his figure in waves.
"Ugh!"
I could feel my body being crushed into my seat as I sat helplessly in place.
"Now, now! That's enough of that!"
*Clap**Clap*
*Rustling Chains*
"Ugh!"
With just a few claps of her hands, I could feel the pressure on my body fading as the chains around the god seemed to tighten.
"Nobody likes a sore loser Sparkles! So, I'm gonna just assume the answer to be a no on the future insurance if there is no objections!"
"You ingrates shall come to regret this in time!"
"You ingrates shall come to regret this in time! That's you!" She said in a mocking tone.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL WRETCH! I HAVE PROTECTED THE VERY EARTH YOU TREAD UPON SINCE LONG BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN!? I WILL NOT BE DISRESPECTED LIKE THIS!!!"
"You mean the land that is constantly plagued by wars and conflicts, most of which I assume were started by either you or your colleagues?"
"THAT WAS NOT-! *Rustling chains* Ugh!"
"Ah, ah, ah, no lies! Don't think you're any less of an open book than kiss-ass over there! Now, be a good little god and tell the truth!" She said.
"…! No comment!"
"*Sigh* You know, this is why nobody can stand you fate supremacists, not even your fellow gods! You're riding off the high from your heydays to push your sketchy insurances with no guarantees, while expecting everyone to happily accept being played a fool, and if anyone disagrees, you shamelessly try to shut them up by flashing your seniority around, as if it means something! Well, I say you're full of shit and your bosses can eat a dick! I believe fate should be decided by those whom it concerns, be it good or bad! Which brings me to my next question Kiss-ass! Ehem! Who should have the right to decide the fate of this continent? Here are some options to speed things along! A. The powers that be elsewhere! B. Nobody! C. The Gods! Or D. The people who actually live here!"
"Uhm! Could you go into more detail? Like whom are the powers that be elsewhere?" I asked.
"Well, in case you didn't know, a ton of schmucks on the next continent over have been puppeteering the nations over here for fun and profit! Let me see, option B is basically means nobody gets to be in-charge of anything! Option C is basically just the other option for the previous question! And option D is to let someone who actually lives here, make the decisions for once, and not some ass-hat who lives on another continent or dimension! Looking at you god!" She answered.
"Hmph! You wish to place fate in the hands of man? You might as well hand a toddler a torch and watch it lite itself on fire!" The god said.
"First of all, human babies aren't very flammable. Second of all, oh, like you're any better? Remind me? How did the divine era come to an end again?"
"We were invaded by foul demons, and you should be grateful for our king's sacrifice?"
"You mean your brilliant king who started the war with the demon world in the first place? You know, when a demon refugee opened the very first portal to our world seeking refuge from the post-apocalyptic demon world and he responded by sending the good word alongside his invasion army of braindead soldiers through zed portal which got annihilated in, hm, I wanna say a day! What great leadership that was!" She said sarcastically.
"You dare speak ill of the lord! You would never have been born if not for us! If not for him!" the god said.
In response, the woman leaned over the table to look the divine figure in the eye, an indescribable tension in the air as she spoke.
"Nobody asked to be born sparkles but believe you me! If I had the choice, I would never wish to be what I am, but thanks to your incompetent ass's, by your own admission just now, I am, and there is no undoing that! …! Anyways, kiss-ass, you want some sugar with that coffee?" She said, her serious tone of voice losing its gravity as she turned to me.
"Uh…! Sure?" I answered.
"Now where were we, oh yes, a b c d, so Kiss-ass! Your answer?"
"Huh? Uh, apologies, what was the question again?" I asked nervously, while wishing I could be anywhere else right now.
"This is a waste of time! Why are we asking this lowly thing who clearly doesn't know what he is talking about?" The god said, echoing my sentiments exactly.
"Because we were arguing in circles! Remember?"
"Then you should have accepted your loss!"
"It is cool to have dreams, but let's try to keep things within the realm of reality! So, Mr. Kiss-ass. The question was, who has the right to decide the fate of this continent? Your answer?"
I looked at the glaring god to my left and made my choice.
"Uh, I suppose the-! Ugh!" I grunted out as my chains suddenly tightened.
"Ah, ah, ah! You were gonna lie just now! Now please be a good kiss-ass and answer honestly!" The woman said as she tightened my chain again to pressure me into telling the truth.
Who should decide the fate of this continent, huh. I recall, long ago, I believed that one day, I would be in a position to do that very thing myself, but that was before I discovered the truth of who controlled this land from behind the scenes, and it crushed my spirits. No matter how I squirmed and struggled, in the end, it wouldn't mean a thing in the face of that power, but if given the choice I…
"I wish the outsiders would mind their own business!" I blurted out without thinking.
"…!"
"Pft!"
The woman was snickering while the god was staring daggers at me.
The moment I realized I had spoken my thoughts aloud, I immediately tried to take my words back.
"Uh, apologies! I didn't mean to-!" I frantically tried to cover up what I just said, however…
"Why you impudent little-! Ugh" The god uttered as his chains tightened.
"*Chuckle* Well said kiss-ass! Outsiders should just butt out!" The woman said in agreement.
"THIS PROVES NOTHING! THE MERE WORDS OF A SINGLE MAN DOES NOT PROVE ANYTHING!"
"Yeah, but its two on one now so I win! Democracy bitch!"
"You think this is a joke? When I get free, I will personally ensure you and this lowlife receive divine punishment!"
I could feel the blood drain from my face as I realized I had just become the enemy of an actual god.
"No need to sweat kiss-ass! He's just spouting empty threats because he lost the argument!"
"SILENCE! I WOULD NEVER LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!"
"Uh-huh! Then what do you call the chains around your body? A fashion choice?"
"Gloat while you can, but we gods are eternal! I cannot be slain! It may take me days, weeks, months, or even years, but these chains cannot hold me forever! Do you believe I will not come for you then!"
"Correction. You assume I can't slay you!"
"What?"
"What, what? It can't be that surprising given how blatant I've been about it! You know I know the deets of the war of worlds, did you never wonder where I might have gotten this info from! I mean, it was you guys who tried to cover it up, so surely, you should have at least some idea, right?" The woman said as she got out of her seat, her chains rustling all the while.
"You demonic scourge! STAY BACK!!!" The god shouted as he frantically struggled against his chains to get out of his seat.
"Hey, kiss-ass, since you're kind of damned by the heavens anyways, wanna know how to slay a god?" she said to me as she casually made her way over to the god and grabbed him by the chains around his chest.
"Huh?"
"Oh, before I forget!" She said, placing down a recording-crystal on the table before continuing.
"Thought, I'd record this to help teach my disciples later! Now, you see, the life of a god is sustained and ensured by the constant stream of divine energy they gain from the prayers of their believers! This means, that even if their real body descends like this asshole has that, A. -!" She said as she pulled out an iron dagger and tried to stab it into the god's body.
*Shatter*
However, the moment the dagger touched the man's skin, it shattered into dust.
"Anything less than a mythical weapon can't put as much as a scratch on them! And B. Even if you do manage to destroy their body, so long as their souls remain and they still have some divine energy left in the tank, they'll just instantly revive! Now, you might be wondering, "Master Nox, how are you supposed to kill a god if they just keep reviving?" Well, how about I enamor you with the history of god slaying! In the old days, the only way to slay a god was to either be a god yourself or starve them out by eradicating their believers for a prolonged period of time. This troublesome fact is why the dragons of old went into hiding when the gods turned on them, they couldn't kill the gods because even if they were stronger than the gods themselves, they lacked the means to efficiently genocide every juiced-up human keeping the gods in the game. That was the state of things until the war of worlds." She said as a number of colorful crayons emitting some kind of aura grew out of her hand.
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU-! NO! HEY! STOP THIS, YOU-!" The god shouted as she began doodling on his face.
"Now I won't deny that demons are a violent, selfish, and whatever insult fits, species of otherworldly monstrosities, but most of their bad rep actually comes from the slander of the god following the discovery that the school of magic they pioneered, a school that directly targets the soul, happened to be lethal to divine snobs such as them! That's why they've slandered any method that infringes on the soul to high-heaven, deeming them evil and demonic!" She explained.
"Y-Y-YOU WRETCHED SINNER! IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, YOU WILL-!" Screamed the god who was now sporting cat whiskers, glasses and a number of crudely drawn genitalia on his face.
Interrupting the threats of the nervous god, the woman grabbed him by his head and pushed it on to the table as she pulled out a butterknife from spatial storage.
"However, what many don't know is that the gods have another weakness, one which they ironically introduced themselves!"
"NONSENSE! HUMAN, HELP GET THIS WRETCH OFF OF ME!" The god shouted at me with his cheek pressed against the table.
"You see, the divine magic that is the source of their invulnerability is very form over function! It acts in accordance to the nature of the will or belief imbued into the energy! The mythos of the god, what people believe them to be, it dictates much of a god's life, be it their abilities, their strengths, and their weaknesses. In particular, one weakness which has become a common trend amongst gods is the avatar of evil known as, the devil, an opposite being of equal or near power to a god which they can blame for all that is wrong with the world or, you know, act as a scapegoat if they ever make a mistake! The devil works wonders for growing a religion, but it comes at a cost! See, the devil they created opens a little loophole in their divine protection! The closer someone resembles a god's very own personal devil, the weaker their divine armor becomes, for only the devil may freely oppose a god! Now, if my info on you is correct, your devil should look something like this!" She said before her body began morphing into an amalgamation of different animals.
*Gag*
The grotesque appearance she took on was so revolting I struggled not to vomit at the sight of her, as I watched one of her tentacles raise the butterknife.
*Stab*
"AAAAAAAHHH!"
"Funny isn't it! Normally, you'd need at least a mythical blade to do something like this and even then, you wouldn't feel any pain while the wound would heal instantly, yet-!" She said as she pulled the knife out of the god's hand.
"Ugh! *Labored breathing*"
"In the hands of the devil, a common grade butterknife becomes a weapon that can slay a god!"
"What are you?" The god asked.
"The avatar of your consequence!" She replied as she put the butterknife to his throat, drawing blood at a mere touch.
"YOU THINK YOU WILL GET AWAY WITH THIS! YOU WOULDN'T DARE! I-I SERVE THE GOD OF JUSTICE! YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE-!"
"Oh, so you work for the hypocrite! Well, don't you worry, he and the remaining two are at the very top of my shitlist, so he won't be around for much longer!"
"W-what do you mean "remaining"?"
"You know, a little mercy bird once told me that it was your boss who actually invented this devil stick! To think this weakness of yours might never exist if your boss bothered to take some responsibility for his own actions instead of blaming others! Anyways bye now!"
"WAIT, WAIT, WAI-! *Swish*"
As the butterknife slit the gods throat, yellow blood came spurting out of the wound as his body went limp. Not long after, his body began disintegrating into dust as the woman morphed back into a human form and turned to look at me.
"So, Mr. Kiss-ass, I'll set you free in a minute, but before then I have a little proposition for you if you're interested!" She said as the chains around us suddenly faded away as if they had never even existed.
"Proposition?" I asked, cold sweat running down my back as I looked at the crumbling remains of a god.
"Yes, you see-! Hm?"
Interrupting our conversation, a spatial distortion suddenly manifested, indicating that someone was about to teleport on to the scene.
*Pop*
"What's up me, how's it hanging?" Another silver-haired woman in a mask said, after emerging from a spatial distortion.
She looked very much like the woman in front of me. From her height, eye-color, clothing, and hair, the only difference between the two were that the one who just arrived was wearing a comedy mask instead of a clown mask.
"If you're here then I guess my suspicion was right on the money then?" the god slaying clown masked woman asked.
"Yeah, but, well, I think it's best if I show you!" the comedy masked woman said as a number of flickering lights floated out of her head and into the clown.
"…! Ffffuuu-okay, it's okay! I can do this, I can fix this! I just need to rearrange my schedule a bit!"
"Is something the matte?" I timidly asked.
"It's nothing you need to worry about kiss-ass! Argh! Of course, its gotta happen now of all times! Okay, me!" She said.
"Yes, boss me?" The other woman said.
*Swish**Squelch*
The clown masked woman swiped the mask, which had apparently been fused directly on to the other woman's face, as I caught a glimpse of her exposed facial muscles before it began spurting blood.
"AAAAHH! MY FACE! MY FACE!" the faceless woman screamed, covering her face with her hands as she rolled around in pain on the floor.
"Stop being so dramatic, you've already recovered!" The clown masked woman said as she swapped out her mask for the one she just ripped off.
"It still hurt you know!" The now maskless woman said as she stood back up, revealing her fully recovered face.
"With my pain tolerance, this much is like a mosquito bite so stop your whining!"
"It's still rude!"
"Just be glad I didn't share my trauma when I made you!" She said, before handing her the clown mask.
After they swapped masks, the god slayer poked a flaming finger onto the clown, before saying.
"I gotta go deal with something! You take care of kiss-ass and whatever else happens here! See ya!" she said before disappearing into a spatial distortion.
*Pop*
"…! Uh?"
"So, Mr. Kiss-ass, I'll set you free in a minute, but before then I have a little proposition for you if you're interested!" The clown masked woman said as she spun towards me with a glowing pair of eyes.