Chapter 68: The Mask of King Earh

Thomas Kasuto

Deckerdramon’s Temple

Lotisea Province

 

“Up ahead is the king’s throne,” JewelBeemon whispered, stopping in front of a marble column. “I would like to remind you that, even though we suspect his mask might be the one you seek, there is no guarantee that it is, so do not get your hopes up. Also, make sure you do nothing to…offend His Royal Highness.” JewelBeemon looked directly at Statuedramon, and the Rookie Digimon’s eyes shifted nervously. “Let me do the talking; King Earh is very…particular about whom he speaks to, so I am more likely to succeed, but that doesn’t mean I will succeed.”

JewelBeemon left the cover provided by the column and approached the throne, kneeling, while Statch and I watched from behind the marble column. “My liege; please, hear my humble request.”

“What is it you desire, JewelBeemon?” came the reply. The voice sounded rather bored, almost impatient, but not quite irritated. It was almost tempting to take a look at him, but I did not wish to reveal our position and cause any unnecessary uproar that may ensue, so I made certain that we both remained hidden.

“Some friends of mine; they seek something very valuable. It is an item of great importance, one that will put its owner in great peril if he or she refuses to relinquish it into the hands of my friends. We believe…this object may be in your possession, Milord.”

Wow, he’s a good speaker…

“Okay, JewelBeemon; you’ve got my attention,” the king said. His voice sounded a bit more worried. “What is it you seek?”

“Your mask, Milord.”

“…What?!”

“Forgive my impertinence, Milord, but we have reason to believe that the mask you wear could pose a threat to your life,” JewelBeemon continued. “As a guard of the royal temple — and, of course, His Royal Highness — it is of great importance that I…”

“That you…what?! Go on, JewelBeemon; say it!” his voice rose in anger.

“Milord, I must ask that I…take your mask. But only for your own protection, sir!”

“Absurd! Absolutely ridiculous!” he snapped. “Call those friends of yours over here!”

“At once, sir!” Statuedramon and I walked up behind the Ultimate Digimon. The king sat atop a large throne whose back was against a wall, and with the mask he wore, it was impossible to tell what mood he was in. He wore a large black cloak that covered his entire body. The room itself was square-shaped and surrounded with marble columns, and there was an opening in the ceiling, presumably for flying Digimon to use. It seemed as though nearly every area of the temple was still outdoors. Standing next to the king was a Butterflymon.

“So…these be the whelps that request my mask?!” King Earh asked. “And what do you want it for, I wonder?”

“It is as JewelBeemon says, Milord; leaving the mask in your possession will prove to be very dangerous,” I said.

“Two evil Humans that can turn into Digimon are coming for it!” Statuedramon said. “Well, it’s not the mask itself, but what’s inside the mask that those two are coming here for!”

“Humans turning into Digimon?! How ridiculous!” Earh stood up and walked over to us. He was a tall and large man, reaching nearly the height of JewelBeemon, but his cloak and mask kept any part of his body from being seen. “I ought to throw the two of you in the dungeon right now for…well…Just because your story is so ridiculous and I say so!”

“Sir, we don’t actually have any dungeons here,” Butterflymon said.

“We don’t? Oh…well…I guess you two get off lucky, then! Now, get out of my sight before I decide to let somebody execute you!”

“We should go,” JewelBeemon whispered, grabbing our arms and taking flight, flying us out of the room. In a few moments, we landed at the entrance of the temple.

“Damn it; why didn’t he give us that mask?!” Statuedramon said. “That stupid, useless, son of a—”

“There is no point in lamenting the past, Statch,” I said. After being hoisted into the air by the Ultimate Digimon, I had to readjust my coat. “It seems to be highly unlikely that we’ll actually get the mask at the current moment. The only thing we can do is wait for the Bio Hybrids to arrive and drive them off. Maybe then, King Earh will believe us and give us the mask willingly…”

“And even then, you’ll have a slim chance of getting it,” JewelBeemon added.

“Yeah, but still…JewelBeemon? Are you…okay?” Statch asked. The Insect Digimon’s head was moving around rapidly, as if he were looking for something. “JewelBeemon?”

“Spike Buster!” JewelBeemon turned around and tossed his spear into the shadows, striking the outer wall of the temple.

“Ouch!” said a raspy but familiar voice from the shadows. “That was rude, damn it! I haven’t even done anything…yet.” The shadows began moving on their own until they took the shape of a lizard.

“BioPremenitmon!” Statch exclaimed.

“Nothing gets past you, does it?” From the shadows, the Bio Hybrid that Statch called out emerged. “I’ve been looking for the mask for a few days now, but I haven’t been able to find out which one it is. There are just so many in this damned temple,” BioPremenitmon said. “Of course…that was before you two arrived. Thanks to you, Thomas, I now know which mask I need to free Horusmon!”

“…Did you guys take the Sword?” I asked.

“The Sword? I thought you…got to it first,” BioPremenitmon said.

“The Mirror and the Flute were also taken; were you two the ones who took them?” I asked.

“…So, it really wasn’t you who’s been taking them…” BioPremenitmon sighed. “It seems that there’s someone else that’s claiming the Horcruxes as their own besides our two groups.”

“Someone…else?” I asked

“Claw of Phantasms!” yelled BioPremenitmon.

I barely had enough time to draw my sword before BioPremenitmon swung his claws at me. Though my weapon was able to stop his attack just in time, I was still knocked down when my side was struck by his thick tail, an act which caught me off guard long enough for the Bio Hybrid to shove me to the ground. My entire torso throbbed with the pain of being hit and falling to the ground. “You’ve been a pain in my ass for the longest time, Thomas!” BioPremenitmon wrapped his claws around my neck.

“Get off of him!” Statuedramon yelled as I heard him draw his sword. I tried to move, but the Bio Hybrid shoved my body against the wall. His palm dug into my throat, and when I tried to draw breath, he would press down harder.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” BioBeelzemon swooped down from the trees, landing between me and Statuedramon. “You wouldn’t want your pal’s head to be blown off, would ya?”

“You two will die…right here and now!” Statch yelled.

“When we…first met,” I said. The Bio Hybrid’s hand was wrapped tightly around my neck, making it difficult to speak. “You were…a priest. That…orphan girl…Larraine…you were so kind to her…”

“It was only part of the job. I had no real affection for the wretch,” BioPremenitmon said.

“If she could…” I croaked.

“‘See me now…what would she think of the man who had treated her with such kindness saying such horrible things about her…’ Was that what you were going to say?” BioPremenitmon interrupted. “But you see…That’s something that will forever remain unknown. The girl is no more; whether she was eaten alive by a SkullScorpiomon or starved to death and buried under all the sand of Cyprus Desert…I highly doubt she’s capable of thinking anything anymore.”

“BioPremenitmon, stop wasting time; we need to get that mask!” BioBeelzemon said, turning his head to face us. “Kill him or don’t kill him; just make up your mind!”

“Spike Buster!” JewelBeemon thrust his spear into BioBeelzemon’s left arm. The Bio Hybrid dropped the gun he held in his right hand and wrapped his claws around JewelBeemon’s spear, attempting to remove it from his arm. The grip around my neck loosened as BioPremenitmon turned to look at his comrade; I took a shuddering breath and grabbed my sword, striking the Bio Hybrid across the neck. The wound, however, was not very deep, and blood fell out in minute drops. His eyes widened in pain and his fists clenched as he endured the pain, until I delivered a sharp kick to his stomach and knocked him over.

“I told you to hurry up!” BioBeelzemon shouted.

“Shut up! Let’s just go and get the mask before it’s too late!” BioPremenitmon said. “Claw of Phantasms!” BioPremenitmon’s claws tore through JewelBeemon’s spear and sliced it into several small pieces. The two Bio Hybrids ran into the temple, leaving behind a trail of blood drops as we followed them. We followed the trail all the way into King Earh’s throne room, where we were greeted by a huge cannon aimed at our faces.

“Corona Blaster!”

“Guys, look out!” JewelBeemon jumped in front of us just in time for BioBeelzemon’s attack to strike his right arm.

“JewelBeemon!” I yelled.

“That…is for getting in our way!” BioBeelzemon said, beginning his walk to the throne. The Ultimate Digimon’s arm had been severely burnt and blackened.

“JewelBeemon, are you okay?!” Statch asked.

“Yes…I…I will be fine,” The Insect Digimon said. “Just go! Get the mask…and if you can…if you feel that you must…protect the king…”

“What is the meaning of this?!” Earh’s booming voice echoed through the room. “Who are you two?!”

“Oh, I think you know who we are,” BioPremenitmon said. “We’ve come…for your mask.”

“My mask?! Absurd! If I wouldn’t relinquish it to one of my own bodyguards, what makes you think I’ll give it to you?!”

“Because I would be more than happy to use force to get what I want.”

“H—How dare you speak to me in such a way! Have you any idea who I am?!”

“Oh, we know everything about you, King Earh,” BioBeelzemon said. “That is…if you really are the rightful king of this place.”

“O—Of course I am! Why would I sit on this throne if I weren’t a king?!”

“Let me tell you a little story,” BioPremenitmon said. “Once upon a time, there lived a perfectly normal man in a city in the forest. One day, the man got greedy and decided to take something he had no right taking…the king’s throne. With the special powers of a certain mask he found, he forced the king and his family out of their temple and claimed the throne as his own…over one hundred years ago.”

“W—What are you saying?” Earh asked. “You…know? How could you know?!”

“Sir, what are they saying?” Butterflymon asked.

“In the year 631, Earh found a mask that allowed him to control time itself, and ever since then, he’s used it to keep himself young and forever the king of this city,” BioPremenitmon said. “He refuses to take it off because once he does, he will die! That is the price one must pay to use the Mask of Ages Past for as long as you have, Earh!”

“So, how do you want this to be?” BioBeelzemon asked. “Do you want us to kill you while wearing the mask? Or do you want to take the mask off and die?”

“No…no, I don’t want to die! I don’t deserve to!”

“You don’t deserve to?! Of course you do!” BioPremenitmon said. “Who was it that took the throne he had no right taking?! Who was it that used the powers of a Horcrux he had no right using?!”

“Enough of this! You threaten the life of my king, and I will not tolerate it!” Butterflymon jumped between Earh and the Bio Hybrids. “Sweet Pheromone!”

“Out of my way!” BioPremenitmon shoved Butterflymon aside and thrust the sharp end of his ankh into her stomach, instantly killing her.

“No…no, please, I don’t want to—”

“Enough simpering! It won’t help you where you’re going!” BioPremenitmon grabbed the front of Earh’s shirt and, with his other hand, removed the mask that covered his face. As the mask was removed, Earh’s flesh promptly melted away, followed by the muscles and sinew until only his skeleton was left, falling to the ground discarded as a piece of trash before promptly turning to dust and flying away in a breeze.. “Horusmon, I call to you from the other side!” BioPremenitmon began speaking in the ancient language, and the mask in his hand began to glow.

“Stop him! Before another Digimon comes from the Dark Area!” I shouted.

“Double Impact!” BioBeelzemon fired his shotguns at the ground, inches away from hitting Statch and me. “You two ain’t going anywhere near Sephyrus!”

“What do we do?!” Statch asked.

“There’s nothing you can do…except watch and wait!” BioBeelzemon snickered.

“It is done! Horusmon is freed!” The entire room became cloaked in a bright light for a brief moment. When it dissipated, I saw a tall, hawk-headed Digimon standing before us, glaring down.