Free and Unfettered 126 This Is Mildred Hopcaper?

The pain was all-encompassing and was something that he had never felt before in his life. The Elder tried to move his hand to cradle his head, hoping to block out some of the harsh light, but was unable to do so.

Mildred, "?"

The light that was filtering into his brain from beneath his eyelids made him feel like someone was taking a hammer and slamming it into his head repeatedly. In the corner of his mind, he was aware that there was something very wrong with this situation, but he could not string together a coherent thought even if his life depended on it.

Mildred had no idea how long passed before he finally woke up, deigning it time to crack open his eyes when his brain stopped throbbing so violently. Squinting at the light, what he saw shocked him as pieces of his memory flooded back in.

"You…" Mildred said, his voice hoarse. "You faked your deaths."

He thought that his words would have provoked some sort of reaction, or a flinch of sorts, but the only thing that greeted him was the impassive faces and expressions of the three people that had been a thorn in his side for the longest time.

Inwardly unnerved at the silence, Mildred's eyes darted from face to face, looking for a reaction. When there was none, a sense of fear crept up on him, followed by indignity and humiliation. Could he have been dancing along to their tune from the very start?

Mildred thought that he had them under his control, but could it be that he was the one dancing in the palm of their hands? How long had this been going on? How long since they knew his innermost thoughts, his ambitions, his sacrifice?

The Elder swallowed, his throat sandpaper dry.

The indignation and humiliation that was burning within his chest caused him to feel lightheaded. These – kids – had been playing him for the longest time, and it was only when he was the most complacent where he slipped up. He should never have gone looking for the bodies to secure evidence that they were really dead.

Mildred should have stayed in the Hopcaper tribe where the people loved him, where he had a say in everyone's lives, and be the one saviour to them when the undead threatened to break down their walls and foundations.

Lost as he was in his pain and thoughts; Mildred did not notice that he had been rambling out loud. His brain to mouth filter had been shot, causing him to spill every single thought that went through his mind without any filter whatsoever.

Psyber's hand trembled slightly before she clenched it. Just how deep did this corruption go? Just how far would he go to play the perfect image of a benevolent Elder in their minds? Most importantly, how could they not have seen it at all? There had been no signs, nor any actions on his part.

Just how blind had they been? It had taken Nine coming, an outsider, for them to see who this person really was. It made Psyber feel cold, the way a seemingly benevolent old man had been warped in such a way that made her feel like everything was a lie.

Nine studied Mildred with indifferent eyes. There was something about him that was niggling on her consciousness. It wasn't anything overt, but the presence of Mephisto's toxins in his blood gave her a strange dissonant feeling emitting from the Elder's body.

Though her [Veritas] skill told her that he was not lying, it felt strange and – dissonant was the only way she could put it. It was like he was telling the truth, but at the same time, he wasn't.

This was the first time she had ever received a result like this, and though she didn't show it, it unnerved her slightly.

Whilst the old man rambled on, not realizing that he was talking, Nine studied him from head to toe. All the while, the Wererabbits' expressions were changing the more they learnt from the Elder's mouth.

Appalled wasn't enough to describe it. Just how deeply rooted was this? It was almost as if the man they had in their memories had never existed in the first place.

Nine stood from her inconspicuous position in the back, striding forward to Mildred. She placed a hand on his forehead, only for the Elder to flinch back as if struck. Frowning, she used her other hand to hold him still.

The moment she did, the Elder started screaming, his eyes going white. Alarmed, Matthew, Psyber and Chow stood in shock, wondering what was happening.

Nine's magic sunk into the other man's brain, exploring. Before long, she realized that there was a 'switch' of sorts planted within him. Nine's eyes gleamed as she considered the ramifications of this.

There was no hesitation within her as he flipped the 'switch' left behind.

The Elder writhed and moaned as he spasmed in his bound position, his eyes swirling alarmingly. The trio of Wererabbits watched with shock as the Elder's features slowly changed.

The process was obviously an agonizing and timely process, because not once did Mildred stop screaming. The most unnerving part about the transformation was that the hoarse, deep, screams slowly changed until it was high-pitched with a reminiscence of a clear bell.

The Elder's face warped, his old, well-worn features slowly morphing and dissolving, looking like something straight out of a horror movie.

Matthew's fingers twitched, feeling a need to hold his blade for reassurance. He could see Chow and Psyber doing the same thing to the swords strapped to their sides. In all his years, this was the single most gruesome thing that he saw happen before his very eyes.

Most of the time, his kills were quick and efficient, and even if he killed via poison, he was not there to make sure that the job was finished. He was in and out, which was his preferred method. Nothing like this.

This was a scream resonating from the person's soul, bone deep and completely agonizing. It was the sound of every nerve on the person's body screaming out in pain, the pain so overwhelming that any rational thought was lost and forgotten. It was the sound of a person tortured to the very end, until it was questionable whether the person was still whole, whether what made them a person was still there inside them.

The most damning thing about this was that the person's 'face' as you would, slid right off, splattering onto the floor messily, but the trio of Wererabbits had no eyes for that. Instead, they were left looking at a young, radiant looking Elf.

Chapter end