God Rising: Battle of Atela

"And Cinderella—" The girl reading her slave a story book paused once she noticed her dolly had gone pale. His eyes lost focus, and his mouth remained slack from screaming all day.

"Oh no, Paul bled to death. Ugh! Such useless doll" She got up and pushed the boy out of the blood-stained seat. The unexpected contact with the hard ground made his limbs contort, but his livid face remained the same.

"You really mustn't play around with knives, my dear." A voice came from behind, and her older brother stood at the doorway, addressing the little girl.

"Young girls like you shouldn't be too keen on the sight of blood."

The girl twisted the bloody knife she'd pulled from the slave's corpse, and a playful look dominated her face.

"But, brother, it is ever so fun." The deep scarlet of the slave stained her black dress, and she painted her fingers along with it.

"Well, look what you've done to the pretty dress I got you, Cabrera." Her brother scolded, fixing his sister with a hard stare.

"Even if you want to play serial killer, please be mindful of what you wear. I wonder how you enjoy having human blood on your expensive clothes." Thinking of human filth made him shiver, and he grimaced shortly.

"Okay brother. I will change right after I'm done testing my new toy." She glanced over at the next doll in her collection, giving her a terrifying shark-like grin.

After witnessing the torture of her twin brother, a grave tremor surpassed the slave at the corner, and her skin had gone ghostly like the carcass on the polished floor.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she stared at her insane owner, then switched her gaze back to the lifeless boy who got a heavy dose of misfortune.

Cabrera clutched the knife in her hands as if imagining slowly, agonisingly sinking it into the gut of the next slave in line. It felt so satisfying.

Her brother sighed in defeat then turned to leave, "Before I go, I'll tell you why I stopped by. Uncle Marcellus wants you to attend home management classes again. You were suspended for two weeks, but you spent a month at home. Good luck explaining to the old man, " He waved then closed the door.

His announcement unleashed her anger, and a threatening grin spread across her face like a wildfire.

"Now I'm in a bad mood!" She slowly approached the slave while laughing, "I guess it's time for us to play."

***

Artemis stared in awe at the enormous castle that stood a few metres away. It looked as if it was conjured from storybooks of her childhood. She finally got to see what a mansion in a realm governed by title, money and social status looked like.

Weed grew through the old stone path leading to the colossal structure. Everything looked bigger as she closed in.

The perfectly manicured hedges looked like unique animals, and a delicate marble fountain gurgling of clear water was situated in the middle of the hedgerow.

Once the gate opened, she continued to walk.

She stepped onto the tiled floor of the house. It felt so different under her bare feet. Her eyes moved from the floor, then to the walls, then to the floor again. She wiggled her toes and squealed inside. She couldn't wait to be a demigod too.

With a palace that big, she considered what number of rooms were in it, and the total number of the small army of slaves that were forced to upkeep such a large abode. She walked up the stairs and marvelled at the ornate mahogany rails, carved and polished so it sparkeled.

From a large window, she could see the open courtyard down below, and two children were running around. She bumped into the servant after failing to realise he had stopped walking a while ago.

He wanted to hit her, but his hands weren't gloved. A woman bowed once she saw him then turned her attention to the girl "I'll take it from here, Sir Kay" The wolfman clicked his tongue, utterly disgusted by the two humans. It felt like he was suffocating, breathing in the same air with them.

"Hello, I am the head slave of the Livingston household. It's not really a good thing to be a slave, but I welcome you to the castle. I am Monica," They both shook hands in the process of introductions.

"And I'm Ar—" She cleared her throat  "Armin Willis" She smiled afterwards "It's nice to meet you Monica" The two looked at each other like they'd met somewhere, but their memories were hazy.

"Follow me, I'll show you where you can get dressed, and your room" She didn't know if she was hearing right, but it seemed like the Demigod's slaves had privileges.

The cold damp air wrapped around Artemis like a heavy coat of chain mail as she descended the tight spiral staircase leading to the slave rooms. In the absence of flaming torches, the dimness gave the impression of night despite the heat and light of the afternoon outside.

There was a large oak door, and Monica opened it with her own key.

The next thing Artemis saw almost brought her to tears.

"This is the room for Males. Room C. Please make the best out of it."

Artemis scowled at her words. Make the best of out what? Living in a grimy dog house?

It looked more like a dungeon. In fact, it was!

Vines and plants grew from the cracked floor, and moss covered the brick walls. Sunlight trickled into the room from a tiny window, and the ventilation was unreasonably poor for the many men inside. The slave's living condition was far worse than prisoners on earth.

"Follow me, I'll show you your space" Artemis nodded despite not wanting to move. She just had to endure for the meantime.

"Elder Lucas!" A shriveled old man looked up once he heard his name "Monica" a wrinkled smile appeared on his face afterwards. His time had come. The moment he'd wanted for so long.

"Is he my replacement?" His voice came out weak and wavy.

"Indeed," Monica stated, then turned to Artemis. "This is Elder Lucas. You'll be taking over from him starting today."

Monica unlocked his neck chain, and the old man steadily stood on his feet. His blood-flecked eyes moved to Artemis, "Goodbye."

Before Monica could accompany the limping senior, a slave close by called for her attention

"Keith?" She questioned the reason for the call, and the slave pointed at a figure in the kennel alongside his "Mark couldn't make it."

She frowned, "I'll go inform the guards about it. So they'll allow you to carry the corpse outside before this place smells again."

She turned one more time to Artemis, "Armin, I'll be back to give you the rule book. Interact with Keith for the meantime. He looks scary, but he's a friendly person." She waved before leaving.

The large door shut, then Artemis turned to the man beside her.

A smile crept on his face then he said, "Welcome to hell."