Chương 21: The First Ring of Hell

After all of her hard work, Veronika still didn't get to sleep in a real fucking bed that night. Rolan insisted on her spending the night in the infirmary due to her injuries. At least, that's what Pereira told her Rolan said, because the good captain couldn't be bothered to come out and tell her himself. It was hard not to interpret it as a deliberate punishment for infighting, even though Veronika looked like the innocent victim from Pereira's perspective. But that was ridiculous.

She was the daughter of General Pajiri. The word victim didn't exist in her mother's vocabulary. A knock at the door startled her awake. She sat up and quickly patted her hair down, hiding most of the mess under her hat. Her two eagle eggs were safe on a plush cushion next to the bed. LOA had been holding onto them and must have left them there while Veronika was out.

"Pajiri-Li? Are you decent?" Rolan asked.

"Um," Veronika jumped out of bed and pulled her coat on, "yes. Come in." Rolan opened the door, looking just as immaculate as any captain should in the early morning hours. He folded his hands behind his back and looked Veronika up and down.

"Officer Pereira said you were stabbed in the foot and had a hand injury. It doesn't look like you're too bothered by that."

"I slept very well last night," she lied.

"And I think LOA must've gone overboard on the pain meds. She worries too much." He turned towards the neatly organized medicine cabinet. Veronika had refused pain medication, so the only part of the room that looked like it had been touched was the bandage bin. She searched Rolan's face for traces of suspicion, but his eyes were simply empty, save for a light purple glow in their veins. He walked up to her and grabbed her injured hand, stretching it out and unwrapping the bandage.

The wound underneath had completely healed overnight.

"Healing is accelerated on this island, but not to this extent," he said.

"What witchcraft flows through your veins? What monster did General Pajiri create in her labs?" Veronika pushed his hand away.

"Careful with those kinds of accusations Captain, if our base could hear you, you would be tried for treason."

"The base isn't here. Neither is God. We're alone with the devil and I can say whatever I want about any lying, power-hungry general that poisons our ranks." FIGHT HIM! KILL HIM! RINA RUMBLE. Veronika ignored the obnoxious blue box pop-up.

"You have no idea what you're talking about. General Pajiri made countless sacrifices for the human race."

"Really? The story I know goes more like this: Pajiri fucked the devil a century ago and spends every waking moment trying to find a way to come back for seconds." Veronika inhaled sharply. She took two steps forward and slapped the man across the face. His head turned to the side, but his eyes still didn't register any type of reaction.

"I am going to let that one slide because I very much provoked it." He looked straight into her eyes.

"After all, who wouldn't expect retaliation from such persistent insults. I don't think you have any witchcraft in you. Just a particularly impressive Perfluorohexane infusion." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Was that his game? Spout treason to prove a point? Surely no one could accuse General Pajiri of associating with the devil in good faith. He was just playing with her.

"A slap isn't the same thing as Trial by Ordeal. The system offered it to me before; I know what it does."

"Yes, and now that such unpleasantries are behind us, we can move on to discussing the next Ring of Hell challenge. Since Reza used her skill on you, participation is mandatory." New objective assigned: Participate in the next Ring of Hell. Optional Goal: Survive. Rolan led her into the war room. LOA was setting a table to the side with various breakfast foods. Officers Pereira and Martin were standing next to it and eating from little plates.

Martin looked fine, but Pereira was taking tiny bites and grimacing as she swallowed. Her team was practically cut in half, and she was finding it hard to stomach. What a sad sight. Rolan took a seat.

"Good morning officers. Please hurry up and finish your food before sitting at the table. I'm not cleaning any more crumbs off of the Ring diagram." Martin and Pereira giggled. It seemed Rolan was capable of playing the cool boss when he wanted to.

"It's been a month since the last Ring of Hell. The next announcement should come any day now, and our new recruit here needs to get to that challenge."

"The actual challenge doesn't concern me," Martin said, "but the witches will be gunning for us if they see us with two new recruits."

"Let them come. It just means more XP for us, right?" Veronika asked. Rolan scoffed.

"Killing a witch does provide a substantial XP boost, but it's best to corner one or two of them at once. Fighting the entire coven would likely result in heavy casualties. Add in the challenge happening in the background, and you get an unpredictable amount of damage." Interesting. Rolan had told Veronika that she didn't stand a chance against him, yet Ring's coven gave him pause. The coven leader had to be a strong one, which was strange since they barely left their homes.

Witches in general didn't tend to traverse the ocean. The system must've drawn them in just as it did Veronika. An archwitch was the one controlling the entire damn thing. Why wouldn't they flock to her paradise?

"What's the plan then?" she asked.

"We're going to lay low and complete the challenge," he answered.

"We do not stray from whatever route the system provides for us. If you're worried about leveling up, rest assured that completing a Ring of Hell grants plenty of experience on its own."

"I see…"

"Now, the rings can involve different things. There's often physical challenges, which I'm sure you would excel at, but you also have to use your brain." He furrowed his brows.

"Do you have a brain, Officer Pajiri-Li?" Why oh why was she starting to blush?

"Y-yes I have a brain! Assassination takes a lot of planning."

"Good. Then we should be fine. Any questions?" Officer Martin raised her hand.

"Yeah, how much do we care about preserving Pajiri-Li's life?"

"Not funny," he said.

"I have no love for the general, but she sent her daughter here for a reason. We ought to respect that. For now." Rolan spent the rest of the meeting explaining previous rings to Veronika and LOA. They always came in cycles of nine, and Rolan's team had been around for the last three of the previous cycle. They faced a minor demon lord, escaped an underground labyrinth, and played a deadly trust game on a frozen lake. Veronika hoped they wouldn't get one like that this time around.

She barely trusted people she had known for years, let alone random island strangers. The rest of the day was uneventful. There was a gloomy air around the base. Two hunters had died, and they were about to enter another fight for their lives shortly. Veronika went to the dormitories when night fell. She sprawled out across the bed. Finally, she'd get a good night's sleep. Consciousness was slowly fading away. Muscles were unwinding. The world was going- [Rina Ring!] Good evening beautiful pawns!

Guess who's back for another Ring of Hell? Me! Now, those of you who have been here long enough know that we just completed a cycle, so we're circling back to the first ring: Limbo! Meet me at Ring's center within the next week to participate. Anywhere along the center is fine. I hope your little hearts are prepared for a night of longing and loneliness. Be there, be aware, and be scared!