Eleven's Ghost

Chapter 25: A Slap And A Candy

Bayn blinked as a white light flashed on Iblis’s body, and the jinn sat up with closed eyes.

“I will take a hair, if you may.” Bayn took a strand of hair. Iblis didn’t react. He tried to stand but fell back down. Everyone in the arena was screaming for him to die. He looked back to Bayn, finally noticing him. “Why are you not killing me?”

“Because you’re our best friend’s dad!” Shams said, “We can’t kill you. He looked so sad!”

Iblis stared at Shams in silence then glanced back at Bayn. They couldn’t see his face because of his long hair. Louise raised a barrier of scales in front of him and sat down next to him. She tried to remove his hair. She peeked under his hair and saw ice-blue eyes staring at Yayis. Iblis’s eyes were round, and he seemed alert, almost afraid. She patted his head. “What an overprotective father. You’re like a wild animal!”

He didn’t react. He gasped as a mace stabbed him from the back. He fell to the side, coughing blood. The mace pulled him skywards and back onto the swarm of contestants. A purple circle appeared from under Mika’s feet, and a skeleton peeked from it with a ghost.

Mika pulled them out, “You will do us a favour.”

Bayn filled the bones with his plant’s flesh and crafted a body similar to Iblis’s. He placed the hair into its heart, and the dummy became a clone of Iblis. The clone sat down and looked at them curiously. He gasped as Louise killed him instantly. She smiled brightly as it counted on the board. “It works! We can use this dummy instead!”

Mika nodded. “No worries. It will disappear as soon as its purpose is served. It doesn’t feel pain either. It’s only copying Iblis’s behaviour.”

The remaining three got their kills. Louise and Shams ran towards the others and jumped in the centre. The impact was so strong that it pushed everyone behind and made them hit the walls of the arena. Louise grabbed Iblis by the shoulders and forced him into a kiss. He gasped in shock. His hair instantly turned black. He tried to push her away, but she gripped him tightly. “This one is a fraud! The real Iblis is trying to escape! He’s over there!” She pointed at the clone. “Go! He swapped spots with my fiancé! BEAT HIM UP!”

Everyone screamed and ran towards the clone.

Louise glanced down at Iblis with a proud smile. “You’re welcome!”

Iblis gazed at her with a frown, seeming confused. “Why… are you…”

He shut his eyelids and took a deep breath. “You saved me.”

Louise nodded. “That stupid Vaga talked badly about you in front of everyone. She said you hate humans and that you’re a slut,” she paused, staring at him curiously, “But it seems to me like you’re just a good father. You didn’t want your son to lose and get disqualified, so you made him kill you. You camouflaged it with the idea that you just wanted to return the favour, but I saw right through your lies!”

She grinned. “But if you hurt Shams, I will kill you. You may be strong, but I’m stronger.”

“Shams…?” Iblis shook his head briefly. “Who is this?”

“Me,” Shams removed his shirt and covered the jinn. “I’m human.”

Iblis frowned and instantly threw the shirt aside. “Don’t talk to me.”

Shams then picked up his shirt and left. Iblis looked down a few seconds then stood up. “You still saved me,” he said, “And I can guarantee that I won’t be your enemy.”

“I don’t need this promise.” Shams glanced at him. “If you won’t bother me, you might as well not bother any human.”

Iblis looked away from him and gasped as white lightning flashed on his body. His head tilted forward for a bit before he walked towards the tunnel he came out from.

Louise frowned and grabbed his shoulder. “Where are you going? We’re still talking!”

She blinked, seeing the empty look on his face. “I must… go back…” he whispered.

“Go back where?” Louise punched him to the ground and sat on top of him. He threw up blood and tried to get up, but she punched him again. “Not before you tell me where you’re going.”

Chains wrapped around both of his legs, and he was pulled into the tunnel along with her. Shams gritted his teeth and ran after them with Bayn and Mika. Bayn lit up the tunnel. They all glanced around wearily.

They frowned, hearing faint noises coming further down the tunnel. They ran ahead, screaming for Iblis to show up. Their eyes flashed wide, seeing the masked man who was sitting in the highest booth holding Iblis in his arms and choking him. Iblis gasped for air and clung to his arms. He yelped as the man punched his belly and kicked him head-first to the floor, rendering him unconscious on the spot. The floor broke from the intensity of the kick.

Louise gritted her teeth, her scales turning red. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! He’s ours! GIVE HIM BACK!”

The man turned to her. “He’s mine. He’s my s*x slave. I can do whatever I want to him. That’s none of your business.”

“Who gives you the right to say those things and own people?” Bayn clenched his fists. “God created us free, and you have no right to change that.”

“God?” the man laughed uproariously. “I AM God.” 

They glared at him. “You’re no God. You’re crazy!”

“I’m afraid you’re the only ones who think that,” he shook his head, “Don’t worry. As soon as you start studying here, your mindset will become more open. You will see the world how it truly is.” He turned to Iblis. “As for this vermin…”

He pressed his foot against Iblis’s belly, and blood came out of the jinn’s mouth. “He’s nothing. He’s not worth saving.”

“He’s our best friend’s father,” Shams objected. “We will protect him.”

“You can’t protect anyone,” the man spoke, “That aside…”

He kicked a hole into the jinn’s belly. “This dumbass… He’s the one who wanted this.”

They frowned. “Why? What? No!”

“He traded his own freedom for his son’s, and he begged me not to tell him,” the man said, “But I have no reason to keep his boring secrets.”

They glanced at Iblis. “What…?”

Shams took a step forward. “You… were about to… torture Yayis too…?”

The man smirked, seeing the hatred in Shams’s eyes. “Yes. Then, Iblis surrendered to me and teleported his son to Earth. Would you believe that? His own son was the very reason why he’s in this state. Then, only the humans Iblis hated for thousands of years were able to shield his son. THE IRONY IS TOO MUCH!”

Shams’s eyes widened as a brown light burst from his body. “YOU MONSTER!”

“Yes. I must admit I am, but don’t forget…”  The man started stepping on Iblis repeatedly, and the jinn wasn’t reacting.

The others stared in horror as his blood covered the walls. The man tilted his head to the side. “Don’t forget that Iblis has always been a villain. He’s the sworn enemy of humans. Because of him, so many civilizations were cursed and ended up in misery. Some were wiped out completely. He planted the seed of evil in the world because of his own petty pride. His reasons are meaningless. His goals are empty. It’s only his selfish desire that made him stand on top for thousands of years. It’s only because no one could defy him.”

The jinn was drowning in his own blood by the time the man paused. A white light flashed on him, and he gasped, trying to breathe. The man pushed his head down with his foot and carried on talking.

“But now, after I awakened, I came to give him a taste of his own medicine. I saved humanity. I saved the Earth! After that, I saved so many more planets. I’m God. I’m the true saviour!”

He glanced at Shams. “A human like you should be on his knees in front of me. You should worship me day and night! Be grateful. BE GRATEFUL!”

Shams gasped and closed his ears as the scream echoed deep inside of his mind. He fell to his knees, panting.