Another Stupid Isekai

Some more time has passed. It was hard to tell how much, but I felt bored out of my mind, and after the initial phase of freaking out about my friends’ whereabouts I calmed down and accepted, the fact that I won’t find out anything without cooperating somehow with that fucking alien.

I was still gonna squeeze the life out of him after learning everything I wanted to learn. He basically already signed his own death sentence.

So yeah, I waited. Waited and waited some more, until a guard showed up. Those guys were tall but because of their armor, and helmets completely covering their heads it was hard to tell how they looked like. All I can tell is that all the scrap they were wearing had a metallic shine to it, and some red elements here and there, but more decorative than anything else. The giant visor covering their faces had deep blue color, but there was no telling what was beneath.

They were armed with shotgun-looking weapons. Also metallic.

I realized how hungry I was after receiving a gray mush for food from that person. It was delivered through a special system built in the wall, so there was no way for me to grab them. I just received a tray filled with that thing. It didn’t smell like anything, so after a bit of hesitation and some tasting, I devoured it. It basically had no taste at all. I can only describe it as ‘cold’. It was basically like eating water in a more dense form.

Many meals later the Calludin showed up again. This time he was wearing black, with white symbols on both of his sleaves. Two eye-like glyphs on each of them.

– Hello again – he started immediately, as the barrier became translucent and I could see him.

I jumped on my feet and took a few steps forward.

– How are you feeling today? – he asked.

– What do you think? I feel like shit. I bet that’s the answer you were looking for.

He smiled.

[0)ᴠʟ – How about I brighten up your mood? Do you want to leave your cell?

– And what do you think?

– I think you very much want to. So here is a deal. You won’t cause any trouble, and you will fight for me in the arena. If you do good I’ll even allow you to get a better place than this one. Maybe even something that doesn’t taste like anything to eat.

His proposition made me speechless, and that was a good thing because I had some time to think.

– You want me to get beaten up in front of people. Your people.

He smiled again.

– I figured it’s the best for everybody. If you are bad, you will be basically tortured publicly. If you are good, you will still get some beating, and I will earn some money on you. My brethren will be happy. I will be happy, and well… Maybe you will be happy too, although I’ll try my best to eliminate that possibility. So? What do you think?

My brain immediately jumped on second, and then third, and fourth gear. This was a chance for me to get recognized by people who knew me, and even if they wouldn’t see me, because I was somewhere very distant, there was a chance to escape.

– You probably already found out that your powers don’t work anymore. That’s a gift from the Queen herself. You see, I could only get my hands on you after making a promise you won’t leave… Ever. And I do intend on keeping that promise, so forget about escaping, because It will never happen. Oh, and if you happened to be thinking that maybe somebody will recognize you, and come to rescue you… Well, you might forget about that too.

He smiled yet again, but this time there was a hint of mystery behind those thick lips.

– What do you mean? – I asked again.

– Be useful. Get me what I want, and you maybe will learn someday.

With those words, the barrier in front of me turned blue again.

– ARGH! – I growled and punched it.

It didn’t budge at all, and then I heard a muffled laugh from the other side. That fucker was playing with me, and I couldn’t do anything about that. At least not yet, but at least there has been some change to my situation.

– Hey! Hey! Wait! Please! – I shouted, as I thought that maybe I can at least squeeze some more informations from him if I swallow my pride for a moment.

There was no immediate response, but my words had to make him curious, as the barrier became translucent again, and he was still standing in front of it.

– Can you at least tell me how much time has passed? How long have I been here?

– The queen played with you for months, and your recovery… Well it took some time – he said after rolling all his four eyes, then the barrier again became fully blue.

– Fuck – escaped my mouth.

I didn’t learn much, but at least something, end there was also something to look forward to. He wanted me to fight for him, and that was something I could do pretty well, despite not having access to my terrifying skillset.

Maybe I couldn’t summon monsters, or burn everything to the ground, but I still could pack a  punch. not to mention the resilience of my body, which was no joke either.

Those thoughts gave me a bit of hope, enough to keep waiting for another opportunity to find out more, and perhaps leave my small cell. But there was also a scary thought lurking inside my head. A thought that all my friends were now dead, and that’s why there would be no one to look for me.

I tried to bury it on the very bottom of my skull, but it was not an easy task, because it kept making its way to the surface, like a piece of wood in deep water.

Maybe not physically, but I was definitely being tortured.