Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 67

Chapter 661

There were still a number of numb walkers, and their pale and darkened veins were repulsive as they took a step back into the fight. These hairless monsters raised their spears and took stabs at the tower folk, who were already somewhat wounded; some were even dragged away. Iratus took his own step forward toward Loquor, the shark man who came to attack Iratus's tower. However, the shark man rearranged how he held his spear, and Iratus was pushed back.

Iratus tried to get an attack in with his long sword, but his foe's spear kept him at bay. The mouse boy tried to swat the spear tip away, and while he sometimes succeeded, Loquor changed his stance to account for his spear's new position.

Iratus: "You are a tough chain to break."

Loquor: "I've trained to fight my oppressors!"

Iratus took another bold step forward and allowed his breastplate to absorb the spear strike, and again he was stopped when the spear's tip slid up and into an open slit in his helmet. Luckily, nothing seemed to be damaged—maybe a bit of a cut based on the slight red oozing down his check.

Loquor pulled Iratus around, and the mouse boy had to pull a knife and throw it at his foe. If Iratus had had a better position, his knife could have been devastating at this range, but of course, he couldn't get much more than a poke. Loquor did twitch, however, and Iratus seized the momentary stagger, got out of his bind, and charged back in, with the shark man's next attack failing to stop Iratus in time. Loquor was backing up at maximum speed while trying to pull out a knife, but Iratus was already on him, slamming his blade down and making a nasty draw cut on Loquor.

Loquor grabbed his neck and continued to fall back, his numb walker allies also falling back and then turning to flee, leaving Loquor all alone. The shark man fell down, still holding up his spear in defiance.

Loquor: "I don't believe it! My allies, why?"

Iratus: "How did you even get monsters to aid you?"

Resonantia walked up, still in her casual wear, and was holding a bandage.

Resonantia: "Mind if I help him? I don't like killing people."

Iratus: "No one does. Have at it."

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Chapter 662

Loquor resisted and didn't allow her to come closer, but only for a second before he lost his strength.

Iratus: "Hey, stop dying; you still need to answer my questions."

Resonantia managed to get something tied up around Loquor, and after a minute, he actually spoke.

Loquor: "They followed me, these pale creatures. They never attacked me, and they only ever helped me. We couldn't speak to each other, but we got our points across to each other. I asked them to follow me into battle, and they just wanted to find combat to fight in."

There was a short pause.

Loquor: "I don't recall something. Who was following me?"

Iratus: "The pale people. Monsters that are the most people like, though clearly we can tell they are like all other monsters."

Loquor: "I don't recall." He looked around confused before collapsing and going unconcious.

Resonantia: "Someone get his man some medical assistance."

Iratus: "I still have my word to keep. If you don't mind, my love, I have to get going."

The shark girl nodded and saw Iratus and his now even smaller group start to head toward the entrance.

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Chapter 663

Iratus looked around with his gold cat eyes.

Iratus: "Everyone good to go?"

Salvos: "Shouldn't we make sure the others are okay? We had quite a few wounded people, and even Studium seemed to be in a series of states."

Ignis was just walking up with a backpack and heard what was said.

Ignis: "Here."

She handed the backpack over to Iter.

Iter: "Don't you need these medical supplies?"

Ignis: "We have quite the assortment here. Excuse me, but I must get back to my patients."

Malignitas: "I guess it will be the four of us."

Iratus: "A far smaller force than I was hoping, but I hope it will be enough."

Malignitas: "Those idiots didn't even look too armed. It will be easy to waltz in and tell them to surrender."

Iratus gave a slight frown at Malignitas's comment. Iratus gave a sigh and looked around one more time.

Iratus: "I hope those pale creatures don't come back. We don't even know what is up with them or how they are made."

Salvos: "Seeing that shark, dude, they seem to prey on those who seek to harm others, maybe?"

Iratus: "We shall see."

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Chapter 664

Iratus, Salvos, Iter, and Malignitas arrived at a meeting point near Crater Haven with a large group of others—the banished—and Inseguitore came up to meet them.

Inseguitore: "Good to see you have arrived. Uh, only four of you?"

Iratus: "Loquor happened. He brought a group of Numb Walkers with him too."

Inseguitore: "By salvation, what? How?"

Iratus: "No idea. He was nice enough to talk about it, but all I got was that these things followed him, and then they managed to communicate with each other about attacking us. Also, the shark guy seemed to be turning into one of them too."

Inseguitore: "Maybe you found out what turns people into those monsters?"

Iratus: "Maybe."

The wolfman looked around.

Inseguitore: "Where is Liora?"

Iratus: "She is staying with Venatio, you know, the only person here who can speak her language."

Inseguitore: "Right. I guess we can see where she stands after all of this."

Iratus: "Before we continue, remember when you killed Stina?"

Inseguitore: "Yes."

Iratus: "Did you really have to kill her?"

Inseguitore: "She was going to work with Loquor to attack your tower. Truthfully, killing her wasn't my goal, but things like that happen in a fight."

Iratus: "What did she say or do when you found her out?"

Inseguitore: "Venatrix and I were actually looking for Loquor. We found evidence that he was around and went looking. We stumbled upon Stina out there, and she tried to walk away from us, but when we insisted on talking, she used her weapon to attack us and eventually grab my pistol. We struggled, and I was forced to shoot her before she stabbed the crap out of me."

Iratus: "Okay. That's all. I just don't recall looking for a weapon on Stina."

Venatrix: "Oh, she did."

The one-eyed feline gave a long sigh.

Malignitas: "Can we get this revolution going now?"

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Chapter 665

There was a brief rest at an abandoned house, while rain came in to drizzle the area. Iratus talked to the banished people and got to know them a little better. He talked to Tsunami and how his group went from the hospital to surviving in the wilderness.

Tsunami: "Sorry forthright about the hospital conundrum. At least I resolve to be a better person in my doings."

Iratus: "You were strangers, we were strangers, and you can't always know what strangers will do. I don't blame you."

Iratus also talked to the mousefolk named Honor.

Iratus: "Honor? That isn't in our language."

Honor: "Ah. It is a long story, pal. Some of the human things and I traveled around, and they called me honor instead of Honos."

Iratus: "I don't see your friends here; why not go back to your original name?"

Honor: "Friends is quite the stretch. As for the name, I don't know; I just want to forget about the time I was still alive, er, alive back in our world."

Iratus: "Is Scar the same?"

Honor: "She has a whole different reason to go by Scar. Some sort of rebirth ritual thing."

Iratus also talked to the racoon named Dominari, a female with gray fur, dark gray hair, green eyes, and wearing ancient merchant clothing, as well as Echo, the shark man.

Iratus: "You two didn't seem to like me in the debate a few days ago; what changed?"

Echo: "No, no. I just want to live in peace. Starting a war between our two peoples is clearly the worst option."

Dominari: "Masters of battle and martial arts often speak of conflict, saying that the best way to survive is to avoid battle. No one wants war, and it should be the absolute last resort."

Echo: "Turns out, Scar thinks that if you are against war, you are for genocide and death. That will teach me, that's for sure."

The goat woman named Fabula also chimed in.

Fabula: "Assuming this all goes well, we can still trade and stuff, right? I've seen those rice fields, and, oh my savior, we need more food."

Iratus: "Honestly, we can't even work on the whole thing. If you guys wanted to work your own fields, I don't see why we can't share that chunk of land."

The goat woman had white fur and hair and looked out with her brown eyes. She wore a colorful, patterned dress and had an overflowing backpack filled with various small instruments in it.

Fabula: "Alright!"

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Chapter 666

The rain passed, and the group headed back out and into Crater Haven. Despite the rain, the heat of the day continued to blaze, even though this section of the land was normally in a colder part of the area. The group did not meet with any treeskins, and in fact, near the center of the city, there were many slain treeskins as well as crosses where dead Numb Walkers were nailed.

Salvos: "What is all this?"

Venatrix: "Were these here when you left?"

Inseguitore: "I am confused as much as you are. No, none of this was here in the morning."

On one of the crosses was the Tanuki woman Ambitio, though her fur seemed ruffled and bits of it were missing. She was dead, but her terrible hide didn't show any signs of violence.

Iratus: "What happened to her?"

Inseguitore: "I think she got into something. Her fur started falling out and was subsequently quarantined."

Getting closer, Iter pointed out the woman's eyes, as they too were missing fur, but her skin underneath was as pale as the numb walkers.

Malignitas: "What the heck is that? What, she was turning into one of the whatever?"

Inseguitore: "I don't know. I have not seen her for a while."

Venatrix: "She and Loquor were turning into Numb Walkers?"

Iratus: "And I wonder if Stina would have looked like this by now if she was still alive."

Salvos: "Is that how Numb Walkers are made—rot from within?"

Iter: "The pale guys back when they captured me had some weird voices and tried making deals with others. You made a deal, and you were gone, or rather, probably turned into one of them. I can only guess that these three made a deal with the numb walkers and began to change."

Inseguitore: "At least the shark and tanuki. Regardless, deal for what?"

Malignitas: "Loquor said something about attacking the tower."

The mouse boy crossed his arms and shook his head.

Iratus: "I would have said Scar was making deals with those creatures to expunge the tower, which makes sense since if you needed more firepower, then we have this."

Malignitas: "Deal gone bad? I've seen enough of them to recognize it."

The black-haired wolf shrugged.

Inseguitore: "Only one way to find out."

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Chapter 667

As the group went deeper into the living space, there came a mist, but one that had a red tent to it. Iratus all of a sudden realized his breath was harder than normal and found the air slightly harder to breathe.

In a rounded neighborhood, there was a chain-linked fence that separated the dangerous city from the living part where the survivors slept. There was something like a gate, but it was made to keep out monsters and not regular people, which made opening it up easy enough. Scar and her few followers were all sitting on the steps of the buildings, like they were waiting for Iratus and the others. Iratus and the others stepped up to meet with Scar, still sitting, which made her look up and speak.

Scar: "And what do we have here?"

Iter: "A traveling circus."

Iratus: "Among other things, I came here to demand to live in peace with you."

Scar: "By showing up with an army?"

Iratus: "If you insist on being a stubborn retard, then yes. If we are to share the hospital, rice fields, and whatever else, then we need to learn how to use them responsibly and not screw each other over. If you would just try to be a respectable neighbor, then everyone benefits, and if not, what else could ever happen but what no one wants: conflict?"

Inseguitore: "We voted to live in peace, and you used outsiders to keep yourself in power. You are literally acting like a tyrant."

The hyena woman first looked at the wolf man and spoke to him.

Scar: "I am protecting everyone here. You all wanted to lead them all to death! I had the votes, you didn't; I am right and you are wrong."

Then she looked at Iratus.

Scar: "I consider you a threat, and I will eliminate you."

Inseguitore: "The outsiders voted for you for what you promised them; you betrayed how things are done here, the entire voting system we had here. You didn't win the will of the people!"

Scar: "And yet I still won the vote."

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Chapter 668

Iratus: "I think I see what you are."

Scar: "Excuse me?"

Iratus: "Back on my planet, there came to a time when the monarchy ended its absolute rule to give people the right to vote. Democracy came, and everyone cheered at finally being able to decide their own fates. However, soon the people began to understand what the right to vote was."

Iratus gave a mean look as he continued his tale.

Iratus: "People found that sometimes others voted against them. If one wanted a certain law or way to be put forward, someone else could vote to say the opposite. People thought these things were so bad that they began to revolt against the right to vote. Vote correctly or else."

Iratus waved his arm and shook his head.

Iratus: "People rejected it because they wanted everyone to follow the correct path. It was a pain in my people's history to force the right to vote on them."

He then gave a sigh and took in some breaths.

Iratus: "Some said you don't vote on how to doctor someone; you leave it to the experts, or if the will of the people is to bring back slavery, would you let the vote pass?". Regardless of how they tried, in the end, they had to accept the changing of power and the changing of laws, all when it was against their faiths, even if they thought it would lead to the destruction of all that they know and love."

Scar: "And what happened next?"

She said it accusingly.

Iratus: "Times change; the next generation takes over. What else?"

The hyena woman gave a snort.

Scar: "I have heard enough. You will not end Crater Haven tonight."

She stood up.

Iratus: "When society fails, war is the fallout. You failed your people, and I am here to restore order."

Scar: "Then let's get started."

Scar's faction stood up and began to walk towards Iratus's group, with the mist running even more red. Salvos leaned in closer to whisper into Iratus's ear.

Salvos: "You guys talked about this thing, right? Your mysterious robot man talked about mists of hate or something."

Iratus: "I am going to be so pissed if we have to entertain another one of these sin lords."

---

Chapter 669

At first, there was a staredown, with the two groups forming counterformations and each jeering at each other. It was obvious that the tower folk were much better armed than Scar's faction, but each group seemed to insist on yelling rather than fighting.

The red mists became even thicker, and vision was just starting to be hampered when suddenly Scar's group yelled out, broke their own formation, and charged into Iratus's line. Malignitas and Iter were off to the sides, the feline with the rifle with custom cartages to use and Iter with one of the crossbows. The two quickly laid shots into the enemy, and even one of them was shot in the head, but the people continued forward. Scar ran right into Iratus, with the mouse boy stabbing forward with a deadly thrust that Scar deflected with her hand, sacrificing three fingers in the process.

Iratus could see the pure desperation and all her strength in her eyes as she came in with a regular wood-cutting hand axe. Iratus focused on striking his foe, but when the axe made contact with Iratus's armor, he was staggered back, almost falling down. Iratus took a glance to see his breastplate dented, and then looked back in time to see Scar come in with a wide attack.

Iratus was caught off guard but easily managed to put up his blade in defense. Iratus braced himself but was surprised again when he was sent into the ground, his head spinning, and the hyena woman didn't stop there.

A gunshot from Malignitas took a chunk of flesh from Scar, who was only stopped for a second before continuing her attack. Iratus had just barely gotten back up and had to parry the attack, and the force was almost too much, but the mouse boy managed to hold onto his longsword.

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Chapter 670

Iratus got back into a fighting pose, his trusted high guard, which he used to swing furiously and quickly whenever Scar came in. The hyena tried to brute force her way past Iratus's guard, but his swings, light as they were, managed to put numerous gashes into the hyena, and each strike made her freeze. Just for a split second, and one of those freezes, Iratus pounced and took one step forward.

In his new position, Iratus switched up his fighting poses to parry and counter Scar, who gave him all the time to do so with her telegraphed attacks. Scar finally snapped and took a strike at Iratus's blade, which her strength forced him to lose his pose, and the hyena woman made another strike at him, actually cutting through the weak point of the breastplate and its side. When the sparks finished flying, Iratus was holding onto his side as some blood was coming out.

Iratus looked around at his allies to see them all struggling. Many of his foes were torn up from the gunshots and bolts, but they continued their assault non-the-less. Salvos was working hard to distract foes, worked with Venatrix, the irony of their species history, and started to assassinate the enemy on the battlefield.

Iratus gritted his teeth and continued the fight. He focused on defense while Salvos and Venatrix made more room on the field of battle, and with all his dodging and retreating, he managed to distract Scar long enough for her faction's numbers to thin, and soon the hyena woman stopped to look around, her forces nearly gone with Iratus's group wounded, but all still standing.

Iratus: "Game over."

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EPISDOE 67: END

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Episode 67 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 16
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet, delicate gold chain with a small pendant shaped like a lion's glare, flashlight, bronze breastplate
Weapons: long sword, 3 knifes, short sword, hammer, 1 dagger
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 5 copper coins, 1 small silver bricks, 20 silver coins, 30 gold coins

Wounds: minor shoulder bite (somewhat healed), moderate side torso wound (fresh)

Relevant Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, 2 glass jar, 12 bottles, 1 fish net, primitive sewing kit, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, a large barrel, writing material, 68 cloaks and other clothing materials, some fabrics, 4 carts, 4 stitched tents, skin drum, beautiful arts of tropical scenery, floatation devices, wildlife figures, lots of tropical clothing, ancient era hyenafolk clothes, gas generator, four flood lights

Armory: 37 short swords, 33 knifes, 19 daggers, 23 metal spears, 4 arming swords, 4 long swords, 2 extra gambeson, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), 3 hunting traps, 5 snares, 12 backpacks, 3 katanas, 3 short katanas, crossbow, several pounds of C4
Aestus: gambeson, bronze breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, 2 knives, short sword, bronze long sword.
Victoria: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, 2 daggers, flashlight
Resonanita: steel breastplate, gambeson, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, 1 knife, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar, 1 knife

Treasure: 13 copper coins, 2 silver coins 12 iron coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, bronze lantern, bronze idol, some jeweled trinkets, iron lantern

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools, glue, sandpaper), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools, first aid kit, plenty of medicine and equipment), Children's Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding, sensual antfolk sculpture), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding), four portable solar panels

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in), Tool Shed (fishing gear and supplies, trowel, woodcutting axe, woodworking tools, lots of rope, rope ladder, plows, hoes, sickles, rakes, shovels, scythes, chisels, anvils), Wooden Wall, Small Cabin (Venatio), Large Cabin (Winter Winds), Large Cabin (Dark Sky Family), Gravestone, Rabbit Hutches.

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Bathhouse Reviewers (entire 80 book series), cards, Fractura's Notes, Tempestas's Notes, 12 survival guides, 3 technical manuals, 46 fiction novels, 11 encyclopedias, 4 dictionaries, 22 cookbooks, 2 gardening guides, 3 crafting books, 20 educational textbooks, 5 religious texts, 4 diaries

Year 2, Day 79

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TOWER FOLK:
Iratus of House Lionheart
mouse, male, blonde fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'6, age: 16, b day: 350
-
Victoria Mother of House Lionheart
raccoon, female, gray fur, black hair, brown eyes, 6'3, age: 16, b day: 5
-
Aestus of clan Riversinger
otter, female, red fur, red hair, blue eyes, 6'1, age: 15, b day: 99, (preg 84 days)
-
Ignis Yang
red panda, female, reddish-brown/white fur, black hair, golden eye, 6'4, age: 16, b day: 344
-
Resonantia Diamond Heart Steel
shark, female, blue-gray hue skin, white hair, blue eyes, 6'5, age: 16, b day: 2, (preg 111 days)
---

CHILDREN:
Negligere Lionheart
shark, male, steel gray skin, white hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 2
-
Ruina Lionheart
otter, female, orange fur, vibrant orange hair, blue eyes, age: 1, b day: 330
-
Gula Lionheart
red panda, male, brown fur, dark brown hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 340
-
Tenacitas Lionheart
raccoon, female, silver fur, dark blonde hair, amber eyes, age: 1, b day: 345

Frustra Lionheart
raccoon, male, gray fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, age: 0, b day: 338
---

NEIGHBORS:
Venatio of Wise Storms, Mother of House Black Jewel
fox, female, red fur, red hair, brown eyes, 6'6, age: 72, b day: 299
---

WINTER WINDS CLAN:
Studium of Winter Winds
fox, male, gray fur, black hair, blue eyes, 5'8, age 13, b day: 190

Fuligo Leaf Shadow
otter, female, black fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'6, age 13, b day: 245, (preg 13 days)

Bellum of House War Knuckles
cheetah, female, blonde fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'11, age 14, b day: 91, (preg 49 days)
---

DARK SKY FAMILY:
Salvos Dark Sky
wolf, male, black fur, white hair, copper eyes, 6'8, age 27, b day: 66

Leitmotif Schlange
snake, female, yellow and red scales, naga bodied, gold  eyes, age 24, b day: 229, (preg 124 days)

---

(farm)
UMBRA OCEAN FAMILY:
Procella Ocean Drinker
weasel , female, blonde fur, black hair, green eyes, 6'5, age 22, b day: 207, (preg 28 days)

Iter of Sanguinem Umbra
goat, male, white fur, blonde hair, brown eyes, 6'7, age 20, b day: 334
---

(farm)
THE COBALTS:
Commercium Jade Blue Cobalt
rabbit, male, white fur, black hair, gray eyes, 6'8, age: 25, b day: 221

-
Abrasione
hyena, female, tan fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'5, age: 20, b day: 4, (preg 167 days)

-
Kuxatura
hyena, male, tan fur, black hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 284

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LAST MISTAKE
Deficio
lion, male, gray fur, rich gray hair, green eyes, 6'6, age: 46, b day: 111

Confodere Oculi Acuti
hyena, male, dark brown fur, black hair, gold eyes, 6'9, age 26, b day: 239

Malignitas of House Brokensand
feline, male, light black fur, light black hair, brown eyes (single eye), 6'7, age 29, b day: 343