Chapter 15 - A Glimpse at Hell by Gapar

            Setsuna looked around.  She was in a beautiful green pasture.  She looked down, and saw a glimpse of a barren winter land.  She turned around, and saw a palace.  She decided to head towards it.  It seemed miles ahead.  Like a force was dragging her down.  When she blinked, she sensed a shadow around her.  When she couldn’t take it anymore, she took out her staff.

            “Dispel the shadow of evil and let me be!”  The staff glowed, and surrounded her in a multicolored aura.  Suddenly, it was gone, and so was the beauty.  The ground was barren, and the sun scorched the ground.  The palace was a humongous super-fortress, and Setsuna wished she had kept everything the way it was when she got there.  She made haste, and opened the door.  She saw the “enlightened ones” as slaves, reading books and casting cruel spells on “earthbound ones” at the sound of the whip.  She overheard a conversation between an overseer and his slave.

            “How is the earthbound one reacting?”

            “He seems to be extremely strong, about 204 times the strength he had before.  We have total control over him.  It seems he’ll die in around two days.”

            “In the war, that will be enough to kill off a good number of people.  Maybe we could put good use to these dogs.  Master Janus will be pleased.”  The overseer took a whip out and whipped the slave and started laughing.  After a minute of painful recovery, he got up and continued the tests.

            “I am not going to go through that” thought Setsuna.  She murmured, very softly, a small chant, and that same aura came from the time staff.  The workers all turned at her direction.  They looked through her, and went back to work.  Setsuna was invisible.  She held her breath, and slowly tiptoed to the next corridor.  It was a staircase.  She looked up, and it seemed to go up a good 20 floors.  She cursed to herself, and tiptoed up the steps.  She heard screams come up from above, and some talking.  As she advanced stealthily, she could make out some of the conversation out.

            “Where’s Melchior?  Who has the last of the mammon stone?”

            “I don’t know!  Just don’t kill me!”

            Setsuna heard a slap, and another scream.  She couldn’t make out whose voice it was yet.

            “I swear I don’t know!  Why are you doing this?”

            There was silence.

            “Shut up!”

            Another slap, but no scream this time.  A red nu was approaching Setsuna.  It was mumbling something about cheese.  At a closer examination, Setsuna noticed it was looking straight at her.  The invisibility had worn off.  She took her staff out, and swiftly swung it at the nu, who passed out before attempting to head butt her.  She chanted and became invisible.  She walked up the stairs faster.  After 20 minutes of running, she got to the top floor of the fortress.  She entered, and saw several dead bodies, and a girl with blue hair in the corner.  Magus was pacing about the room, swinging his scythe at the bodies to pass time.  Setsuna, too scared to think, ran out, tripping over a body.  Magus quickly turned around, to see Setsuna with no invisibility, helpless in fear.  Magus grinned, and cast a quick spell, and Setsuna passed out . . .