Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 68

Chapter 671

Iratus gave out an exhaustive sigh before getting back into a fighting position. He looked at the hyena woman, Scar, and her few remaining underlings with his golden cat eyes.

He noticed he was breathing even harder and cursed the red mist that engulfed the area. The mist didn't have any taste, smell, or anything of the like. It was just air that seemed to not be useful to a person's lungs.

Salvos: "Hey...is it just me, or is it really, really hard to breathe?"

Iratus: "This mist, I guess we can confirm that it belongs to...one of the Sin Lords. Even these people here are...stronger than normal."

Venatrix: "Supernaturally!" The fox woman flicked her tail in frustration.

Scar yelled out in anger and started to writhe and stagger around before she and her few allies started to go back to engaging Iratus and his group.

Iratus was showing signs of being upset; he was nearly in tears, and his throat was closing up, but he ran through his imagination and realized that Scar was already too far gone, and this calmed him down just a bit.

The hyena woman was growing in size, and her flesh and fur were being ripped apart to make room for new flesh.

Iter: "No way! We are going full fantasy non-sense."

Iratus got ready again with his pose forward and ready to counter anything, and Scar charged in, targeting the mouse boy, who couldn't really move out of the way; the hyena was so fast. Iratus was forced to attack back and dealt a deep gash into the hyena woman, but she ignored the strike and continued forward with nothing but her fists now.

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Chapter 672

Iratus stumbled back and got back into his high guard stance after being sent backwards. Scar took one step forward and stepped on one of her fallen comrades, and the corpse suddenly lost mass and Scar gained more mass.

Iratus: "Ugh."

Iter: "What the hell is going on, man? None of this is right!"

Malignitas fired one more shot and knocked a hole into Prosperitas, the raccoon man, with Tsunami giving a sad look.

Tsunami: "Prosperitas! I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He seemed like he was about to cry until he saw the body of Prosperitas stand up and continue its advance, and he grabbed the red panda man with its flesh melding into Tsunami's. The man screamed in horror as an invasive piece of flesh sank into him.

Malignitas: "I'm out of ammo, switching to melee!"

Iter: "Are we dealing with zombies now?" He started to laugh, but Iratus could tell from the tone that the laugh was out of nervousness.

Salvos: "Stay back, guys; these things just became more dangerous."

The group was backing up and making room for Scar and the rising bodies of the dead.

Dominari: "What do we do now?"

The female racoon woman was looking around and eyeing the gate.

Iratus was focused on Tsunami, who was assimilated into the flesh of Prosperitas.

Iratus: "Holy silver, this is disgusting! What the hell is this?"

Dominari began to jog towards the gate, but Scar ran after her, her form now made of flesh and muscle and now looking like an ape, and caught up to her in seconds. Of course, Scar grabbed Dominari's shoulder, and her flesh drilled into the poor raccoon's.

Iratus ordered everyone to the nearest building, and everyone moved to it. 

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Chapter 673

Salvos and Malignitas held out their spears and impaled one of the walking corpses as the other retreated into one of the buildings. Once everyone packed themselves in, Iratus slammed the door closed as everyone looked for a way out.

Honor and Fabula ran towards a kitchen window, only for the male otter, one of Scar's members, to break in. This thing was like Scar and was nothing more than rolling flesh at this point. Honor moved to another window while Iratus made an order to head to the garage. Iratus ran into the garage, where he opened the side door with his group moving through while the others seemed to have fled through other means.

Iratus's group made their way through the streets, with Iratus yelling for the others to regroup at his location. As his group moved down a road, they found the mass that was Scar absorbing the male otter, and it looked like she had already absorbed the mass of her other former comrades as well.

Iratus's group moved faster down another road but quickly slowed down as most people were suffocating from the red mist, preventing people from taking in large breaths. When Iratus heard Scar coming closer, he ordered everyone back into one of the buildings, an apartment this time, and the group moved through the hallway and through two living spaces before they found a backway out.

Iratus paused for a few seconds, looking for Scar, but he didn't see her follow his group. Then, Iratus heard Honor scream from around a corner and ordered everyone to keep moving.

Iratus: "We have to get out of the red mist and out of this damnable city!"

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Chapter 674

Iratus's group got close to the edge of the city and, along the way, found Echo and Venatrix.

Iratus: "Thank the Lord, some of you are still alive."

Venatrix: "Hardly! Fabula and Inseguitore were eaten by Scar."

Echo: "They managed to kill the tanuki girl, flesh mass thing." He shook his head, seemingly holding back tears.

Salvos: "Kill, kill?"

Echo: "Melted into a puddle of liquid. You just have to tear them apart enough, and they will actually die."

Salvos: "This became a terrible nightmare. Everyone is dying, and we have flesh mounds running around."

Iratus: "Scar ate some of the other flesh things, so I suspect we might not have many left to fight."

Venatrix: "Fight my tail hole. I'm running."

Salvos: "Then we better get running because the edge of the city is just up here."

The group continued to walk up the hill, the red mist still straining their ability to breathe, but when Scar came rolling up to them, Iratus pointed to a nice-looking two-story house and demanded everyone follow him while Venatrix and Echo kept running.

The two didn't get too far, as Venatrix stopped when she was breathing as hard as she could but grabbed her throat from the lack of air. Scar was once again, surprisingly, very fast, as it caught up to the fox woman and rolled all over her. Iratus slammed his door shut, refusing to look at the fox woman being eaten. After a few seconds, Iter opened the door back up and fired off a bolt from his crossbow. Iratus looked out to see Scar turn away from Echo and dive straight for Iratus's group.

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Chapter 675

Malignitas searched through the house and grabbed a bunch of bottles just in time for Scar to break open the doorway and push itself in, with Iratus and Salvos trying to keep the flesh at bay. Malignitas threw the items he collected, and this distracted the flesh enough for Salvos to take a step forward and sink his spear into the side of the monster, which made that area of flesh start to fizzle and melt. Salvos was just starting to smile when a hand reached out from the mass and grabbed Salvos's arm, and he screamed as loud as he could.

Iratus turned his attention to cutting Salvos free while Iter dropped his crossbow and stabbed Scar, but was promptly rewarded by a foot popping out and nicking him in the throat.

Iter: "No, no, no!"

Salvos was freed from the tendril, but his skin was still morphing and turning gray, his fur on his arm being absorbed, and the wolf man used his spear to once again attack with his spear and stuck in what would be the throat of the flesh mound, with Iratus moving to the left, on the melted side, and stabbed at the same spot, which seemed to be enough for the mass of flesh, muscle, and bones to collapse and start to melt into goo.

Salvos dropped to the ground, unable to breathe, while Iter was backing away and checking his neck. Looking back, Iratus saw Malignitas also on the ground and was just starting to recover.

Iratus looked around for the back door and left to look for Echo, who was hiding behind another building. He too was breathing hard, and Iratus just realized he himself was starting to take a lot of breaths and not getting any benefit from them. He was about to fall to his knees when the red mist quickly retreated from the city, not like a natural weather phenomenon, but as if it were alive and was running away from the area.

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Chapter 676

Iratus stopped gasping for air as the red mist left, and once he regained his sense of balance, he went to the front door while beckoning Echo to come closer. The flesh mound of Scar was now a puddle, with Iratus's allies going around back to join Iratus instead of jumping over the puddle of goo.

Iratus looking to Echo: "You alright?"

The old shark man was still a bit dazed by all that he witnessed.

Echo: "I, uh, think I'm alive."

Iratus: "Silver. I guess no one else made it."

Echo: "I don't even know if everyone has been accounted for."

Salvos, Iter, and Malignitas finished coming around.

Iter: "If anyone did survive, we have a few places they could flee too."

Iratus: "You guys alright?"

Salvos: "The tumor thing isn't growing anymore, so I guess we get to live."

Iter: "But we do now have this thing on our skin. I'm just hoping that it goes away."

Iratus: "I would be willing to search for any survivors. How about it, Echo?"

Echo: "Just... everyone is dead. What am I supposed to do now?" His voice was still trembling from the horror he had just witnessed.

Salvos: "Let's rest first; this whole ordeal was quite traumatic."

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Chapter 677

Two days passed, and Iratus decided to bring Echo to his tower. There, his four wives cooked some food for everyone, and when everyone sat down, Iratus began the conversation.

Iratus: "We could not find any survivors. It appears that Crater Haven and the different traveling groups have been killed."

Echo: "I figured. It is still so much, all the deaths. What went wrong?"

Iratus: "Scar went mad, Numb Walkers jumped in, the red mist came in, and then a lot of people turned into monsters."

Echo: "You guys seem used to this kind of stuff from your tone."

Iratus: "Monster never stop coming. I thought you would have lived here long enough to know that."

Echo: "Yeah, but this was a little bit over the top for people dying."

The conversation lulled a bit as everyone ate their food. Besides Iratus and his four lovers, there were Salvos, Fuligo, Bellum, and Leitmotif.

Leitmotif: "What will you do now?"

Echo: "Perhaps I'll go back on the road and see where else I can go."

Iratus: "As opposed to living here with us? There is plenty of room in the nearby places."

Echo: "I don't feel positive about sticking with you guys; no offense. You guys seem personally nice, but I have not lived with you guys long enough to feel okay being here."

Victoria shrugged.

Victoria: "That's fine. It seemed like Crater Haven had a lot of problems with us anyway."

Echo: "Well, I also want to say that there is actually another place with a few people in it that I have a lot more history with than you guys."

Bellum: "They far away?"

Echo: "Walking, yes. I never wanted to leave the place called the Purple City, but once I was over here, I thought I should accept my fate and stay with Crater Haven. I didn't like those people at first, but after a year, I found that I liked the way they did things. They were similar enough to Purple City that I was fine staying here."

Bellum: "I am sure that I speak for everyone when I ask, What is the Purple City?"

Echo: "Like Crater Haven or Last Mistake, abandoned population centers. It is a bit more damage than those ones are, though."

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Chapter 678

Iratus: "How about you take a few days to mourn and prepare for your travels?"

Echo: "Yeah, I guess. Can you guys provide some bags and rations?"

Victoria: "Of course."

The shark man continued to eat his fill of meat and some vegetables.

Echo: "Dang, this is some good stuff."

Aestus: "Oh yeah, we have had a lot of practice."

Victoria: "That, and we have a lot of ingredients and foods that we make here."

Echo: "Nice. I've also noticed a lot of other stuff around here, like the wall and chicken coop, so I'd like to ask, Did all of you make these things too?"

The day continued with Echo sight-seeing and finally staying at Last Mistake. Iratus checked in on the wounded folk, with Studium and Venatio still in terrible states.

Ignis: "They are not dying anytime soon, but we have had to use a lot of medication to keep them alive. It may be months before they are ready to work again."

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Chapter 679

Day 82 came, and Iratus was out hunting with Salvos and Iter near the farmhouse of the Cobalts, with Iratus wielding the bow and the other two with crossbows.

Iratus: "How have those wounds been, guys?"

Salvos: "Slowly healing."

Iter: "Yeah, I am hopeful that this isn't permeant." Pointing to his neck bulge.

Iratus: "Great."

The conversation continued like that for a while before Salvos held up his hand and then headed over to cover, with the other two following him.

Iter: "What?"

Salvos: "I can smell people. Three."

Iratus: "More strangers, perfect. Let us hope they are not crazy like the last few have been."

Iter: "Maybe we could practice some more common sense first contact stuff."

Then there were gunshots from far away.

Iter: "Or we could come by another time."

Salvos: "You live right over there." He pointed to the road in the distance. "It seems kind of dangerous to have marauders near a farm with a bunch of cows and fields."

Iratus: "Let's just walk up and see what is going on. We are armed and have faced worse enemies."

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Chapter 680

Iratus and the other two quickly found the other people. First they found the body of an Eelkind, the tan-colored, somewhat yellow-skinned eel person, this one wearing segmented armor and a blue skirt with a spear and a light-looking tower shield nearby.

Iratus was overwhelmed by the smell of blood, but he could also smell the other two. He didn't have to gesture to the others who had already taken cover.

Iratus could hear this other group nearby, so he gave it a few seconds before calling out.

Iratus: "I hear the eel people are not the kindest bunch; is there any truth to that?"

Fox woman: "Depends on the time and place."

Lion Man: "I am sure you can find a number of good-hearted eel things, but I have yet to find one who does not worship blood and murder."

Salvos: "Can we talk somewhere else? I don't think you people understand how painful the smell of blood is."

Fox woman: "Oh, I do."

Iratus: "How about the road?"

Lion man: "Alright, meet you over there."

The two groups walked closely to one another until they got to the road.

The first person was a fox woman. She was a slender fox with a russet-red coat that seemed to ripple like flames in the breeze, while her eyes were emerald green. She wore a tunic woven from iridescent fibers from some plant Iratus had never seen before, and finally around her neck hung a pendant shaped like a crescent moon.

The second person was a tall lion man, taller than most folk people, who were already quite tall. This towering man had a dark mane around his golden face. He had golden eyes and his body was powerful, with rippling muscles beneath short, tawny fur, which had numerous scars across it. He was clad in ornate, gold-trimmed armor that glimmered from its ancient design which had rune carved into it.

The fox woman didn't have a weapon, but the lion man's ancient-looking attire was completely off balance by a modern belt with bags, while the lion had a fairly advanced-looking semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.

Iratus: "Good afternoon. I hope we are all friendly here."

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EPISDOE 68: END

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Extra Story 1

The lights dimmed, casting the broken theater in an eerie glow. A being made of marvelous fibers stepped onto the stage, her form completely artificial, a puppet of fine make. She resembled a nixman with purple skin, her clothing mimicked by threads of black in a tuxedo's guise.

Then, this puppet sang with a hauntingly beautiful voice:

~Once, there was a common girl with the most common name.
~Cicatrix!
~Born on a farm, one of a hundred farms,
~She toiled, she grew, she reaped her gain.
~Her parents, as sweet as honey, said, "What you sow is what you’ll keep."
~But the brat looked to the lord's domain, screaming, "I have nothing, this land’s too plain!"
~"I want more than this pile of dirt, I want more than what it's worth."
~But her parents, wise and kind, urged her to contentment, "Grow your fortune, make it shine."

The puppet’s grin twisted, menacing and cold.

~The brat could not be swayed, she roused the farmers, their anger inflamed.
~"Revolution, revolution!" she cried, as they took up arms to end the lord’s reign.
~But once the land was won, she crowned herself the new domain.
~The farmers were left in confusion’s wake, "Where is the wealth you promised to take?"
~She answered, "The borders are gone, all wealth is shared,"
~Yet while they toiled, Cicatrix lounged, her throne's burden spared.
~One day, she heard the call, "Revolution, revolution!"
~In anger, she decried their jealousy, "All must be content, accept your portion dutifully!"
~But the farmers, discontent, demanded their farms returned,
~And when she refused, clinging to her creed, they watched as the brat was burned.
~Was it justice, or the cycle’s cruel twist?
~Oppressor, oppressor, oppressor, oppressor, OPPRESSORS!

Then the puppet began to laugh, maniacal and unhinged.

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Episode 68 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 (almost healed), moderate side torso wound (somewhat healed)

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 82

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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 87 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 114 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 16 days)

Bellum of House War Knuckles
cheetah, female, blonde fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'11, age 14, b day: 91, (preg 52 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 127 days)

---

(farm)
UMBRA OCEAN FAMILY:
Procella Ocean Drinker
weasel , female, blonde fur, black hair, green eyes, 6'5, age 22, b day: 207, (preg 31 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 170 days)

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

---

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