/// WEST OF THE SINKING FIELDS, THE RED MARKET, PLAZA OF ST. LAPU

Susanna, Jenna, and Gala had all burst into runs as they neared the Sinking Fields. Of course, that didn’t last long. To the west of the Sinking Fields was the Red Market, an entire bazaar of various stolen and haggled and smuggled goods from all over the multiverse.

Gotohans (little rice porridge shops that are usually square-shaped where the customers can sit on the edges while the owner makes the goto within) were squished in between weapon vendors selling rusting guns, and sundry-buskers who played music on a nose flute while waiting for customers to come to look at their wares. Most of which were strange glowing insects trapped in bottles, anting-anting protective amulets, and flasks filled with questionable substances. A cigarette here and there.

“Hold tight,” said Susanna, grabbing Jenna’s hand. Jenna, in turn, grabbed on to Gala’s hand, and together they wove through the throngs of people squeezing about the cramped walkways of the Red Market. It was called the Red Market because it was built upon a strange glob of Batala’s Blood, which burned reddish-gold. They carved out walkways and hallways, stairs and alcoves and crannies in that glob of the Dead Creator’s blood.

A little devil flying on impish wings approached them, pushing up ruby spectacles up his nose. “Hey pretty lady, a cigar? Why not a cigar?”

“Three for da price of 2! Come and buy 2 and you get three it’s a good deal! Yah! You! Come, you want to buy protective amulets? Useless bullet, ya? Come and buy.” An overweight woman wearing a duster held close to her bulging stomach by a fanny pack.

“Weapons and wares, weapons and wears--ah, you, combat angels.” One particularly strange androgynous person stood on the side, eating a cup of melting ice cream. He wore nothing but a bahag and vest. “Combat angels, you. Yes. Come and buy my weapons and wares.”

Susanna shook her head and refused to look. They pushed their way past more people.

“Make God bleed,” the person said, before vanishing into the labyrinth of vendors.

Before long, they found the main road that led to the Sinking Fields. They followed it down the path until they arrived at a guardian angel, blocking the stone stairs that wound about the pit that was the Sinking Fields. Behind the Guardian Angel, they could already see the various shantytowns, the tall spires, and more, arising from the ground like a scab reaching for heaven.

“What is your business here?” asked the guardian angel. It was a stone statue, more or less. A walking stone statue, with a carapace resembling those guardian angel statues back at home but without the wings.

“We’ve come to see Panginoon Tupas,” said Susanna.

“And for what reason?” The angel’s voice was monotone, unmoving, with no inflection.

“We were told by a certain white-haired servant of his that we would find him here. He told us to go here.”

A silence, as if the guardian angel’s spirit had suddenly left to check the truthfulness of that statement with his management. Before long, the guardian angel looked down on her, and Gala yelped because she didn’t even know that it could move in the first place.

“Follow the stone road and it shall lead you to the inverted Ziggurat.”

“Thank you,” said Susanna, and she walked forward. Jenna flashed the guardian a smile and did that finger-heart thing while grinning and saying “Aylabyu!” soliciting no response from the guardian angel and a slap on the back by Gala.

They walked down the path, flanked by all those demons and devils and engkantos living within their hobbles, their little shanty towns with rusting steel walls stacked atop each other to accommodate for the lack of space. As they walked through the Sinking Fields, Susanna felt an active oppressive force, wrapping around her, begging her to come toward the center.

That was where they were headed anyway, and so she did not resist. The three of them didn’t. There were large men and women, of all races, stopping whatever they were doing and then throwing the girls a glance as they walked past. There was a warning in their looks, but also pure and plain confusion. They had no idea what a bunch of “normal” girls was doing walking down such a dangerous line.

But that was all they did, throw glances. None of them went out of line. This cramped, humid place became a short reprieve, a sudden sanctuary since Susanna knew nothing was going to happen here, especially since they were sanctioned by that Panginoon Tupas himself.

Susanna had never met Panginoon Tupas at all, but he did know that Brother Owl had gotten into a slight kerfuffle and trouble with him before. He was one of the weaker Panginoons of the City, but the weakest Panginoon was still leagues more powerful than a normal human.

When they reached the center, there was a simple statue, tall and proud. Well, it would have been, if it weren’t diagonally cut, clean. All that could be seen left of the wooden statue were the feet. The upper half was completely gone.

Below the giant statue was a door that presumably went down into the inverted ziggurat.

Susanna walked up to the two guards, both of them of different races, wielding spears and protected by carabao hide armor.

“You were the ones recommended by Jaime?”

Susanna paused. Behind her, Jenna spoke: “Yes.”

“Good. Follow the hallway down and take the spine elevator to the lowest echelon.”

“Got it,” said Susanna, and they walked into the door.

Past it was stairs that led straight down, eventually ending in a landing floor that was more or less a circular room with glowing pillars placed in a neat circle. In the middle of it was a door with ancient runes etched onto its stone side. They approached that and it swung open.

Within, there were about 66 floors. “Lowest echelon?” said Susanna.

Gala nodded and pressed an unnumbered floor after 66. It glowed brightly and sent the girls spiraling down.

When the doors opened, they were pushed out into another small chamber, this time of multicolored lights, clean and polished marble floors, and then tapestries depicting men and women engaged in sexual acts.

“Where… are we?”

“Panginoon Tupas is a lust demon, remember?” said Susanna. “Come on, let’s save our friends and get this over with.”

Jaime stood his ground, and with a grunt, pushed Rikit away from him. There were cracks on the floor where he stood.

He wiped his bleeding forehead. “You’re heavier than you look.”

“Traitor. You are not supposed to be like this.”

Jaime bumped his fists together and then raised both of them near his head. A ready fighting stance. “Oh? Then that’s good. I don’t like being told how to be like.”

“KILL HIM! Holy shit what a fucking asshole!” screamed Panginoon Tupas behind Rikit, pointing wildly at Jaime. “I never shoulda hired you!”

Rikit crouched low, opened her hands, poised like a fearsome tiger ready to strike. Needy for blood. “State your name, you worthless piece of shit! Announce your inevitable destruction to the universe! I am RIKIT, THE UNHOLY TIGER OF POON TUPAS. Prepare your doom.” And she surged forward.

Jaime grinned. He looked behind him, at the two girls clutching each other after having been blown away. “This is gonna be a long split-second,” he whispered to himself. “And I am JAIME DIMAPASLANG, THE HELL-BURNING BEAST.” And he took a half step forward, pulled his hand back, and let a huge blow loose right as Rikit slammed onto it.

A flurry of wind sent everyone in the room falling back. Somehow, Rikit was sent barrelling away from the attack, deflected successfully, but she caught herself mid-air, and she slammed onto the ground ferociously. She punched her fists together again, and flames erupted from within them. “Come, and revel! Spirits of violence, empower me!”

Something changed, a shifting wind, a violent breath. She surged forward again, and Jaime was ready. With simply his fists, he surged forward as well. When they met in the middle of the throne room, they clashed.

A violent and quick exchange of blows, deflects, counters, parries, all fists. There! A gap in Jaime's defense. Rikit sent a crippling blow to Jaime’s side, knocking him back a bit, but he managed to keep his feet on the ground. He scowled, blood seeping down his mouth and hands, even as his jacket was ripped from him. “Come on, hit me harder.”

“You will shut your mouth, for you will be dead.”

“Every hit you do… will not do anything to me.”

“Then I shall hit you until it does.”

Another surge, another clash, another whirlwind of punches and kicks, deflects and parries, counters and wicked spikes. There was a moment where Esther saw that Jaime had changed his arm into that of a crocodile's, and he had grown the talons of a Haribon on his other hand, and he dealt deep rends upon Rikit's skin.

The momentum shifted, Jaime got a kick in.

However, Rikit grabbed Jaime’s leg as he did. Lift. Breath. Slam. Straight onto the ground.

A cloud of dust exploded all about the throne room. The two giants huddled close to Panginoon Tupas, who was gleefully enjoying the violent exchange, one that he was sure he was going to win. “Crush his bones and scatter it into the wind, Rikit!”

Rikit bent down to grasp Jaime’s head, but Jaime managed to roll away at the last second, found an opening, and kicked up. His kick sent Rikit into the air, and then Jaime caught Rikit with an overwhelming fist as her huge body neared the ground, sending her to the ground.

That was nothing for Rikit, however; she was standing immediately. Her hand flashed--Jaime stepped back--and then Rikit was before him, five extra arms erupting from behind her in angry orange flame. “THOUSAND-ARMED BUSAW KASININGAN: 「SIX ARMS GRASP THE GODDESS!」”

And the six orange arms of Rikit bore down upon Jaime, six suns exploding before him. The shockwave of the attack sent the white-haired mortal rolling backward, straight to Panginoon Tupas’ throne.

“Disgusting traitor! Don’t you DARE come near me, fucking piece-o-shit!” And Panginoon Tupas slammed on to the floor, swung one of the chains that lay close to his feet, and used the body of one of his enraptured slaves to bat Jaime’s flailing body back at Rikit.

Rikit caught Jaime by slamming his body down to the ground. The cringe-inducing sound of the throne room earth cracking filled the room, kicking underground dust all over the place.

“Jaime!” Angela screamed out.

Esther was on her feet, gnashing her teeth. “Angela, we have to help him!”

“We can’t,” said Angela. “Look at what’s happening, we’ll die, Esther!”

“We can’t just leave him alone!” And that burning crimson flame began swirling up Esther’s body. Her hair shone with it, and loose strands began lifting up. Her eyes swirled with that same angry crimson. “We can’t let them get away with this!”

“Stop! Esther!”

“Hey, you big girl!” screamed Esther, and suddenly Rikit was looking behind her.

“I cannot hurt you,” said Rikit, scowling. “So do not do anything, scum!”

“Shut up!” Esther ran toward her and pulled back her hand, which was glowing with uncontrollable. “My hand fucking hurts and I’m going to take it out on you!”

Her burning hand--which was now vibrating uncontrollably--slammed against the Rikit’s four auxiliary hands.

“Get bent!”

And her hand exploded with energy… funneling into a tornado, as if some sort of propelling thruster. The force of her punch was suddenly multiplied, and the impact of her punch sent Rikit flying backward. She was screaming, defiant against reality.

Jaime took the opportunity. The blow wasn’t enough to knock Rikit off balance or anything, as she immediately landed on her feet, but that distraction was all he needed.

He rose to his feet. “All this time, Rikit,” he snarled as he raised his right hand, which was bloody and exposed, the sleeve ripped away. It had turned into a coagulating mess of mass, vaguely in the shape of a giant clawed fist, taloned and wickedly sharp, and upon it, his tattoos burned magenta, like an intricately interwoven tapestry, a latticework of teeth and claws. "I've been reading you. You see, I have these tattoos, and they let me change myself into any creature that I want. Now let me tell you, that when I feel pain, that pain becomes me. And I can change any part of me. I can turn the pain I feel into hurt unto others. So now..."

Jaime stepped, twisted his hip, and put his entire body into his punch, and he burned a great magenta. Fire enveloped his eyes. His hair blazed like a magenta flame. “...Put your fucking heart into it! 「GOD ENACTS REVENGE!」” Riki screamed as Jaime's monster fist connected, releasing the power of every hit Rikit had struck him with back at her.

A hundred strikes condensed into one, Rikit was blown back, flying towards the throne room door and then immediately past it, blowing the throne room doors off of its hinges.

Jaime stood there, breathing heavily, his chest burning with that magenta flame. Before he stood Esther, in the midst of the rubble, also breathing heavily, that crimson heart shining bright. Jaime smiled at her, but Esther collapsed.

“Esther!” Angela was upon her catching her before her head could hit the floor. Jaime took one step forward as well, but then suddenly stopped, as pain numbed his movement.

He looked down, and all he saw was a gigantic bamboo spear through his stomach, stuck at an angle to the ground.

“Ah, shit.”

“It’s you!” shouted Susanna as she stepped out of the rubble. Jenna and Gala were both beside Angela and Esther, tending to them.

“You’re not who I was waiting for. Shit.”

“What did you do?”

“Ate Susanna! He protected us!” yelled Angela from behind her.

“Protected you…?” Susanna narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

“That’s not important right now, lady,” said the giant from behind the man. The giant grabbed the bamboo spear--with the white-haired man still impaled upon it--and threw it to the side.

There were two of them. Two giants. Behind the two giants was Panginoon Tupas, hiding behind his high-backed throne.

“Someone help him!” screamed Angela again.

Susanna stepped forward, sword in hand. “Jenna, Gala, make sure to take the man with you. I’ll hold off these higantes.” They both nodded. She inhaled and then held the Anting-Anting on her necklace, which was depicted three swords forming a holy triangle. "Don't look back."