Page 26 of Swamp Kings 1

“You tell me, mon frere,” he said quietly. “I have a lot of families to protect here and what I just saw doesn’t make me feel like I’ve made a very wise decision joining up with your King.”

Kult very much wanted to assure him otherwise, but he was too busy thinking the exact same thing. “No,” Kult submitted easily. “You’re a thousand percent right in thinking you’ve got a shit-show not bothering to wait to happen.” Kult faced him fully now. “We’re basically choosing shit-shows these days. Not sure what you’ve heard about the intel regarding other said shit-shows, but it seems we’re down to picking which will best serve us. I didn’t always have magical things I wanted to protect in my life but now that I do, I’m weighing these puzzles very carefully and canassureyou thatthisshit-show here is in our favor.” Kult watched his lowered head shake, remembering. “You know, I was there when Sir Quantum King cameonline, and I didn’t need a lot of intellectual prowess tofathomthat this conglomerate of brilliance designed to protect the innocent might easily one day decide that the five sexually obsessed males were unhealthy for thewoman he’s meant to protect. Even as I’m told it could never happen, that exact thing did.”

Bishop aimed his dumbfounded expression at him. “This should make me feel better?”

“I’m not here to make you feel betterabout a fucked-up situation, I’m here to assure you that your theories are far from conspiratorial and you are hardly alone with them. Even Quantum now shares our concerns which is why he continuously works to set up firewalls to prevent it. Here’s the thing,” Kult said, getting closer to him. “Threats are nothing new. There are monsters everywhere, even inside us, always have been always will be. Like always, we do whatever we can to protect those we care about. My thought is we want all the power on our side that we can get even if it comes with risks as all power does. Because I’ve analyzed the coming shit-storm’s data and I can tell you right now, I would rather be the one wielding the dangerous weapons that could possibly turn on us than not have them. And do you know why?”

“Do I want to know?”

Kult nodded firmly. “You really do. Because we’re not alone in our digital genius. Quantum is confident, as are we all, that whoever is starting this weird as fuck war isat leaston par with us. Which means we’ll beneedingevery bit of our evolving AI human machinations as fast as we can get them. In fact, I can’t build Quantum’s lab fast enough for him to producemoresoldiers. You understand?”

The one they called their Bat King suddenly joined them, allowing Kult a good look into his freaky eyeballs.

“While I was eavesdropping,” the dude announced unapologetically, “I heard mention of building more soldiers.” He regarded Bishop. “May I mention our theories, my Eveque?”

HisEveque. How fancy.

Bishop tossed a hand in defeated approval.

Kult listened in growing fascination to the Bat King’sbite-schemes, particularly hung up on the sexual aggression aspect. He suddenly turned and whistled, waving somebody over before grinning at Kult. “Let me introduce you to our alchemist. The one partly responsible for my transformation.”

Kult looked around for other guilty looking culprits. “Who else is responsible?”

“His petite Felix,” the Bishop said, bringing the Bat King’s ever-hungry looking grin.

“She gave me way too much.”

“Ten times too much,” a perfectly fit dude with heavy tattoos said as he held out his hand, walking up. “Lesion.”

Kult shook his hand, notating all the puzzles in that onyx gaze. All these swamp men had them. All similar. Like they shared the same secret and silently invited him in to work the angles. For once, he’d rather just be told straight out.

“Lesion, meet Kult,” the Bat King introduced. “Tell him our idea for upgrades.”

Again, Kult listened, his puzzler smoking hot by the time the most unsuspecting genius standing before him concluded the immaculately laid out plan.

“All that frombatsaliva,” Kult marveled, spotting Fetch, Fathom and Fin’s eyeballs on him. “I have a lot of questions,” he said to the alchemist while missing the times his terror triplets could telepathically impart what they clearly needed him to know. “Excuse me while I check on my brothers first.”

Kult saw the area was nearly vacated while wondering who all had been present for the shitshow. Hopefully just the nuns. They were at home with blow your mind, out of this world shitshows. At least their vocation implied that.

****

She is not out of the woods, Handy said, using all his ability not to feel while Kaphas comfort/cleansed Celeste. He had plenty of practice being part of all his brothers, but he’d not once practicednotfeeling things. No regrets there, he’d had only a hand to live through. But even if hehadpracticed it, an entire body was different. Which of them contributed more to their ravenous arousal he had no clue as Kaphas drew kinetic energy fromevery form of matter he could. The demonic remnants were like cancer. Not a single evil cell could be left, or it would reproduce.

Is there some reason you’re not helping?Kaphas demanded with a foreign stab of fear.

Do you need help?

I don’t know what I need for this.

That explained his fear and why it was foreign. They usually learned things easily and rapidly.What you’re doing is working.

I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.

Well, keep doing that.

Is it right?

It is.

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