Chapter 9: Discovering Abnormality

End of the World

Caila had been unhappy.

She wished that she could grow back into the stone or be free of another part of her body. Just a few moments ago, she had felt content because she gained another worshipper, and quite a large chunk of stone had fallen off. Caila knew she would soon be free, but at the moment, she was suffering incredibly.

Caila's nose itched so badly that she felt like going crazy. No matter how much she wiggled her nose, she couldn't get rid of it. Were so many people thinking about her, or was it the stone dust tickling her nose?

She watched the silent hall in front of her, wiggling her mouth and nose in various ways to somehow relieve herself. Caila listened to the sound of the wind rushing through the corridors, and her attention was momentarily caught by the movement of dust rabbits across the floor.

Caila involuntarily realized that the dust rabbits had grown larger since the last time she had observed them, and she wondered how long it had been since she had first woken up. Caila hadn't been able to keep track of time during her meditations. That had been the point after all, but now she was regretting a little that she hadn't thought of something to keep track of time.

"Shit," Caila allowed herself to silently curse as the itch didn't even allow her to go meditate. She was too distracted by it.

Time passed, the light shifted across the floor, and then finally, Caila heard a change in the monotonous sounds of her surroundings. It sounded like something similar to the hum of the wind, no... it reminded her more of the spinning of wind blades.

Caila kept her gaze on the door as the sound got closer.

Then a small tornado flew slowly through the large arched doorway. It was the color of white, salmon, and grey, spinning slowly, rather lazily. The top of the tornado was adorned with a head, the lower part of which—up to the arch of the eyebrows, the nose up to the chin—was made of black bone. The eyes were large and strawberry-colored, with long silver hair. The pale, almost grey forehead bore a tattoo that looked a bit like a crack in the glass from a bullet, with the lower part a bit elongated and going between the eyebrows.

Caila felt no surprise at the strange appearance of the person and watched as they approached her before stopping in front of her, staring at Caila with a calm gaze.

Caila returned the look, and suddenly a word popped into her head. No. A name. "Opera," Caila addressed the person in front of her. She wasn't sure if it was the memory of the original god or something she might have seen in someone else's mind.

"Liege," Opera replied, still watching Caila.

"..."

"..."

Caila didn't know what to do next. This was the first time so far that she hadn't met with all-encompassing enthusiasm. So what now?

"Say a prayer," Caila finally said because apparently Opera wasn't going to say anything else.

"No," Opera replied calmly, leaving Caila speechless.

'Damn! Why are you here if you don't want anything? Why are you so dismissive? Go away!' Caila wailed inwardly. But she found Opera's behavior strange. Wasn't this city supposed to be dedicated to her? So they should all be believers, shouldn't they?

Opera moved and headed to the back, somewhere out of Caila's field of vision. Caila wanted to cry; she had no idea what Opera was going to do, and she couldn't even turn around to look.

Opera, meanwhile, headed for a corner of the throne room, right up to a large ornate vase with a narrow neck and a banat body. Opera stuffed her intangible swirling body into the vase, leaving only her head sticking out. Opera fidgeted for a moment before settling down and then closed her eyes contentedly.

If Caila had seen this, she probably would have been even more confused. Opera was somehow weird.

***** 

Peril Harbor

Marik sat with Hellcage in the former dining room, discussing the new altar they planned to build for their Liege. Hellcage insisted that he wanted it across the entire back wall and ostentatious. However, Marik couldn't agree with everything because Hellcage's tastes were rather dark and gloomy.

"What's not to like about black candles?" Hellcage asked in surprise.

"It's not about the black candles; it's that you want to put them in skulls," Marik replied with a straight face.

Hellcage glared at Marik, but Marik armored himself against Hellcage's intimidating nature. "We're supposed to act as a solid religion, not like a dark cult," Marik continued.

Hellcage threw his arms to the side. "But it's a classic!"

"It's morbid!"

"But you reject all my suggestions!" Hellcage protested, almost sadly.

"They're all morbid!" Marik gritted his teeth and felt like taking a shot of something for his nerves.

Hellcage turned to Leo and Dali, who were playing with a stuffed rabbit in the corner. "Does that sound morbid to you kids too?" He asked for their opinion, and Marik wanted to do a facepalm.

"I'd put dolls like us in there," Leo replied, and Dali looked up at them with an innocent expression. "What's a mor-morb... huh?" Dali couldn't even pronounce it.

"Morbid means that it represents death, destruction, darkness, and the like," Marik explained, glaring at Hellcage.

Dali pondered. "Death isn't pretty," she finally replied.

Marik smiled slowly and threw a winning smile at Hellcage. "You heard that."

Hellcage sighed in resignation. "Good. No skulls."

"No skeletons either!" Marik fired immediately because he wasn't going to be fooled; he already understood a little of Hellcage's nature, so he suspected treachery.

"... All right." Hellcage turned his face to the side as he agreed.

There was silence for a moment, with only the children in the corner chattering something, before Marik spoke again. "Still, we need to decorate the altar with something. I suppose the symbol of Liege is the blue flame, right? We also need an idol. Plus, if we want to make an impression, the altar should be made of stone and not wood. It looks cheap." Marik tapped his finger on the notebook in which he was writing down suggestions, and there was a rough sketch of what they wanted the altar to look like.

Before they could continue the discussion, there was a knock on the door. Marik paused for a moment, concerned. They didn't know anyone here; maybe someone had found out they had moved in without permission?

He put his hand on his gun for good measure before walking over to the door and carefully pushing it open. However, when he saw who it was, he rolled his eyes and opened the door wide. "Mr. Ellar?" he asked, looking at the man they had recognized the day before.

Ellar the painter was dressed rather smartly. Gone were the old clothes that were dirty with paint; now he was wearing a dark green suit that was clearly new, with men's accessories, a lapel pin, and judging by the thin chain in the first pocket, a pocket watch. But most importantly, Ellar was not in a wheelchair but standing on his own two feet.

Ellar stood there with a wide smile, one hand on his heart, and holding a wrapped picture in the armpit of his other hand. "Hello, brother," Ellar greeted Marik rather respectfully, but the designation 'brother' left Marik in further confusion.

"Um," Marik hummed in surprise and looked to the side, where he saw Hellcage approaching.

"Mr. Ellar. It's good to see you again. Ah. I see you've been blessed," he saluted Hellcage as he looked Ellar over.

Ellar smiled brightly. "Indeed. I couldn't be more grateful," he replied, and at Hellcage's invitation, he entered the house.

Marik couldn't take his eyes off Ellar's feet; it was astounding to him. Could their Liege even let limbs grow back?

Ellar took the painting he was carrying. "I also brought you the finished painting. Would you like to see it?"

Hellcage didn't hesitate to answer and nodded. "Of course. Children. Come here for a moment," he called, and the children obeyed immediately. They stood in front of Hellcage, and Marik joined in as well, while Ellar began to remove the wrapper from the painting.

Ellar then proudly revealed the family portrait they had commissioned from him.

Marik stared at the painting, which might as well have been a photograph of them, and might have believed it if he hadn't clearly seen the brushstrokes.

"Mr. Ellar, that's excellent!" Marik couldn't help but praise the quality of the painting.

Hellcage cupped his chin and nodded in agreement. "You really are talented, Mr. Ellar. It's great work."

Dali and Leo looked at the painting for a moment before just nodding and then walking away, not being very open in front of strangers.

Ellar looked pleased. "That's also thanks to the blessing I received. If you like, the painting can be even better if I put a piece of your soul into it," he explained.

Hearing that, Marik subconsciously covered his chest with his hands as if he was trying to protect his soul. "Soul?" he repeated.

Ellar nodded again. "Yes. By inserting a piece of your soul, the image will partially come to life. It can move, possibly even transmit brief messages. Depending on how much soul is inserted, the better."

Hellcage laughed briefly. "You've acquired a pretty good ability. I wouldn't mind."

Marik bugged his eyes out at him. "I don't entirely like the idea of having my soul taken," he demurred.

Ellar cleared his throat. "Please don't take this the wrong way. As long as your entire soul isn't taken, it's not a major problem. The soul will be restored again."

Hellcage took the painting from Ellar and looked around as he searched for where to place it. "I take it from your words that you used your ability?" Hellcage asked casually before walking into the hallway and deciding to place the painting directly in front of the front door.

Ellar and Marik followed him while Ellar answered. "Yes. And I really enjoyed it."

Ellar thought for a moment.

A few hours ago.

When Ellar called for help, he worked on his expression for a moment, looking at the image of the deceased. He noticed that the figure of Sinclair had moved slightly, and he clicked his tongue in displeasure. He still needed to work on it; it seemed he hadn't managed to seal it properly.

The young woman who had brought him in earlier burst into the room and remained staring at Sinclair's collapsed body. "That... that... is..." She stammered in shock.

Ellar put on a startled expression and nodded. "Yes. He suddenly grabbed his heart and fell onto the table. He was probably dead right away," he confirmed, looking at the woman. He felt slightly nervous, but everything should look natural.

They'd have to get someone from the church in here to see that things weren't that simple. "Dead..." The woman slowly walked over to the table and shook Sinclair, but that alone caused his body to roll off the table and fall to the floor.

The woman stood stunned before suddenly grabbing a nearby vase and slamming it violently into Sinclair's head. Ellar flinched in surprise and shifted hesitantly from foot to foot.

"Dead! He really is dead! Hahaha!" the woman suddenly came to life and laughed happily. "That is what you deserve! You bastard! Son of a bitch! You fuck!" She began to shout, kicking his body furiously. Ellar looked at Sinclair's painting as the woman looked like she was trying to bash his head in.

"Shouldn't we call someone?" Ellar tried to pitch, because this wasn't quite the situation he was expecting.

"I don't care. Let him rot here and let the worms eat him!" replied the woman, who had a feral grin on her face and her eyes glittered madly.

Ellar hesitated for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, and while the woman executed her vengeance on the dead man, he went to search through Sinclair's belongings. There was no need to rush when it was like this.

Ellar snapped out of his reverie and looked at Hellcage, who was admiring the spot he had chosen for the painting, and Marik, who was scowling at Ellar.

"Well, I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it after all," he added at the end.

Hellcage nodded and turned to look at him. "That's good. Can you do the painting thing now?" he asked.

Marik looked worried. "Are you really sure about this? It won't do anything to us?"

"Yes. It's fine. But you don't have to do it," Hellcage shrugged.

"Ugh," Marik pursed his lips, then watched as Ellar's hand turned blue, and blue flames flared in his eyes as he walked toward Hellcage. Marik looked from one to the other in turn, hesitating. "Good! I'll do it too!" he finally agreed. Though he was concerned, he was beginning to feel like he should start doing things.

Hellcage suddenly turned his head to the side and tilted his head curiously as if looking at something.

***** 

Sea State Cabrien

Capital City Norss

Abbess Leontine Makedon and the young Dean Claude Vemer arrived in the capital ten minutes ago. A few days after parting with the Fast Wave, they made their way back home to take a break from the sea. Now, Abbess Leontine stood before the embarked crew and gave final instructions.

"We will stay for two weeks for now. If there are any changes, you will be informed in due course. Be sure to report to the temple first before you take your leave," the Abbess warned them and smiled, not seeing the thirty embarked crew members as the whites of their eyes gradually turned black, and a few red bulls wiggled in them.

"Yes, Abbess!" They all saluted her, and even they couldn't see the fact that several more eyes were moving in the black-tinged whites of Leontine and Claude's eyes.

The crew began to disperse, and their eyes were back to normal. Leontine glanced at the capital. It was a magnificent place, entirely dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea and the Storm. Most of the people were her worshippers, but there were representatives of other religions, but none had a shrine built here, for the Goddess of Storm and Sea would not tolerate other gods on her territory.

It is not forbidden for people of other faiths to live here, but they have to accept that they cannot have churches or any altars.

The capital city of Norss was built partly on an island and partly on the sea because it was required to focus part of the land on cultivation and cattle raising, which in the end was naturally not enough with the size of the city, and the few islands that were taken in the name of the Goddess of the Sea and Storm are only used for cultivation and cattle to be able to support the city at all. Naturally, seafood makes this task much easier.

Norss was built largely of stone that was quarried and imported from the mountainous islands or underwater mining. With the advent of the age of steam, much modernization and re-expansion of the city began as technology made it less of a problem to build more parts of the city at sea, and there was no need for a solid foundation.

Norss currently prides itself on being the largest and most modern city in all of the Sea States.

Leontine and Claude disembarked with the crew while the dockworkers ran onto their ship to do maintenance.

Although the sailors had the option of going to report to the Temple later, they naturally went straight in before heading home. The harbor itself had one single entrance to the city that was designated for pedestrians; naturally, there were other passageways, but these were only for moving cargo so as not to block the streets.

Claude looked around and sighed; it was good to be home. He glanced at the clean streets, the neatly paved roads that the cars moved along. Gradually, they were switching to mechanical carriages, but it still wasn't cheap, so there were still plenty of carriages or wagons pulled by horses.

Every few yards, there were bronze street lamps that were lit by electricity at night, and the houses were neat, white-plastered, or in other bright colors. Naturally, there were some not-so-clean places, but the city had been gradually undergoing renovations, so even the old slums looked much better than they used to. The road was wide and lined on both sides with sidewalks where citizens walked.

The style of dress nowadays much imitated the western style, with neat suits, trousers, and waistcoats worn with half cylinders or bowler hats, and the ladies liked to dress like that too, but lately, they had replaced the men's tails with ruffled shirts and tight corsets. Those who did not want to wear pants wore flowing skirts that reached to the knee or longer. For the last three years, it has also been fashionable to decorate hats with mechanical parts as fashion accessories.

Abbess Leontine immediately turned into a shop that stood next to the harbor entrance called 'Mail Express.' It was a smaller building with a sign above the door of an eagle carrying a postal envelope in its talons. A mechanical bird sat on a small perch next to the door and turned its head towards them as they passed.

Inside, there were five counters with men or women handling customers' matters. Leontine walked over to an open window while Claude waited by the door and took a paper from the dispenser before writing a short message, then pulled out a small seal to mark the letter as official and handed it to the lady behind the counter.

Once Leontine had paid for the mode of transportation and the stamp, she went out again, and together with Claude, they made their way to the Temple of the Goddess of the Sea and Storm.

Claude looked back after a moment to see a mechanical bird fly out from the Mail Express.

***** 

Abbess Leontine, together with Claude, disembarked from the SMBus (Self-Moving Bus), which passed through the city at regular times and on set routes. It was still a developing mode of transport, and air travel was currently being experimented with, but it was still in its infancy. The SMBus was the most convenient mode of transport currently available in Norss.

The Temple of the Goddess of the Sea and Storm was one of the few located by the coast, as having a connection to the sea was more than just symbolic. The Pope was also a man of immense power, and the Goddess had granted him great influence over the sea. Therefore, having the center of their church located by the sea was also for the sake of being able to act quickly.

The temple was a huge building, though not the tallest in the city; it was the third most splendid building after the seat of the Monarch and the Parliament.

Made entirely of white marble with golden ornaments, turrets, and statues, the large windows also had golden frames, but there was not a single pane of glass in any of them. Instead, they were adorned with a sea of azure curtains that billowed in the sea breeze. On one side of the temple, a staircase connected it directly to the sea. When conditions were right, services were often held there, and they were very popular with the worshippers. They enjoyed feeling the gentle spray of the sea water on their faces, and the sound of the waves soothed their hearts, making them feel closer to their goddess.

Leontine and Claude ascended the staircase to the temple, both gazing at the magnificent structure, their hearts pounding with excitement, as this place always touched their hearts. It was akin to the feeling of someone returning home after a long time, and unconsciously, their steps quickened.

Along the way, they encountered many people leaving or arriving. In addition to the faithful, there were also numerous Brothers and Sisters of various ranks. Occasionally, some exchanged greetings with the sign of the Goddess, but they did not pause for casual conversation and continued on with their duties.

Passing through the great temple gates, Leontine and Claude found themselves in the main nave of the temple. As they entered, a warm sea breeze tugged at their clothes, as if welcoming them home. The distant sound of the sea permeated the air, accompanied by the quiet sounds of fluttering cloth as the long blue screens in the windows swayed back and forth in the wind.

The main nave was filled with pews for the faithful, which were almost never empty. Priests in their typical blue and white robes walked among them. There was no choir, for the faithful of the Goddess of the Sea and the Storm believed that the best music was the sound of the sea. There was no altar at the front of the main chapel, where one of the higher Deacons would give a lecture during the services. For example, Abbess Leontine was already qualified to lead the worship, but being a freelancer, she never did.

Smaller chapels on either side of the nave provided privacy for the faithful in their prayers. Then, there were the side aisles designated for Novices, Abbots, Bishops, and the like.

Leontine and Claude enjoyed the sight for a moment before each went in a different direction.

Given their different statuses, Leontine and Claude each had to report to different people. Leontine went to the left, while Claude went to the right, where there were stairs leading down and up. Claude descended, as there were other floors below the Temple, housing offices for lower ranks, as well as quarters and training rooms. As a mere External Dean, Claude didn't have enough classification to access the upper floors.

In contrast, Abbess Leontine already had sufficient status to interact with senior officials located on the upper floors. The higher the floor, the higher the status, with the very top being reserved for the Pope.

In terms of the hierarchy in the church, most followed the same sequence: Novices, Deacons, Priests, Dean, Vicar, Bishops, Archbishop, Primas, Apostle, Cardinal, Patriarch, and finally, the Pope who held the highest position.

Leontine walked up to the first floor, and as she exited the second floor, she felt a slight tingle run through her body, passing the first checkpoint, the initial protective barrier that purified evil and prevented unauthorized entry. These protections were created by the holy power of the Cardinals and adorned with sacred signs.

At that moment, Leontine's eyes stung slightly in her sleep. She frowned and rubbed her temples. She hesitated and thought, "What the..." murmuring suspiciously, but her mind immediately calmed, and she waved away the thoughts.

She proceeded to the third floor, where her authority reached. Instead of heading to the office to report her return, she went to the library, housing copies of books and scrolls from the lower floors, as well as those she had access to as Abbess.

Walking between the shelves, she stopped and picked up a book on the origins of their religion. Seating herself, she began to read, her whites turning black again, and many red eyeballs floated in the black miasma, focusing on the text in the book.

*****

At the same time, two floors up, Apostle Vianis Carbon looked up from the documents and studied the row of pyramid crystals on her desk. Each crystal represented one of the floors in the Temple. There were twelve in all, all glowing slightly blue, but the seventh suddenly began to emit an orange glow.

Vianis immediately stood up. "Has an abnormality appeared?" She wondered in surprise. Such a thing didn't happen often, especially not at an orange warning level, which was the second-highest threat level.

A blue level indicated everything was fine, a green level suggested slight corruption, often occurring with items brought in by outside priests or if they themselves weren't sufficiently purified. However, an orange level indicated that a greater evil or a seriously corrupt individual had infiltrated the Temple. Above the orange level was a red level, representing a serious and deadly danger, and finally, a black level, which signaled a massive disaster.

Vianis touched the seventh crystal, which immediately began to rotate, emitting a chime-like clinking sound that echoed through the room. In each room, there was a similar pyramid crystal by the door, but larger. With Vianis's touch, they were all activated, turning orange and producing a ringing sound.

All the priests immediately sprang into action. Downstairs, the novices quietly began leading the worshippers out of the temple to evacuate everyone peacefully. All the barriers on the floors began to glow and became visible to the naked eye as they were reinforced. The lower-ranked priests and novices gradually began to evacuate as well, lacking the divine abilities of the higher-ranked ones.

Vianis swiftly turned around and headed to the third floor where the disturbance occurred. Her white and blue robe wavered, and small water swirls began to accumulate on the tips of her feet, propelling her forward as if she were skating on ice.

While moving her legs and arms to maintain balance, she flew down the hallway toward the staircase. She heard a sound behind her and glanced back fleetingly to see that the other Apostles had taken off as well, hurtling down the same corridor.

"What's going on, Vianis?" Apostle Derren asked as he caught up to her.

"I don't know, Derren. It's an orange threat level. Something has penetrated the third floor," she replied.

Derren, a middle-aged man with a widening waist but still possessing dynamic strength, grimaced. "So it passed through the first and second-floor security without setting off the alarm."

Vianis nodded, feeling uneasy herself. The protections were supposed to be equally strong on each floor, so why had only the third floor activated?

The two sharply turned and flew down to the second floor, smoothly avoiding the two Primas who were also surfing the waves, all heading for the next floor.

*****

In the library on the third floor, Leontine looked up for a moment when the crystal next to the door suddenly began to glow orange and make a ringing sound.

Then she calmly looked down again and turned a page in the book. After a moment, she returned the book, and this time she picked up the one with information about the gods themselves. She flipped through that one only slightly before returning it again and looking around, beginning to browse between the shelves.

She picked up another book describing the workings of the Church of the Sea and Storm Goddess and began to read it. Finally, she shook her head. "Too low level. I needed to go up," she said softly, a degree of dissatisfaction in her voice. It seemed that what she was looking for wasn't there.

As if sensing something, Leontine looked up to see a woman standing in the doorway. The woman wore a white and blue robe and a white headdress that was decorated with gold embroidery. Around her neck was a thick gold necklace with several blue gems. Her ebony-black hair was slightly wavy and tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were as dark blue as the depths of the sea, and her nose was slightly upturned, giving her a slightly proud impression. The woman could have been in her mid-thirties or a little older, judging by the few wrinkles already visible, but it still didn't detract from her natural beauty.

Just as Leontine lifted her head towards her, the black-haired woman raised her hand, and a flash appeared at the end of her finger. Leontine immediately jumped to the side, and the bookcase she was standing by was suddenly struck by lightning with a loud bang. Leontine didn't hesitate and darted between the shelves while another bolt of lightning chased her, and she heard someone in the background start chanting a prayer.

Leontine hid behind one of the shelves and chuckled a little. "What a cruel religion. They didn't hesitate to kill her right away. My, my." She listened to the chanting for a moment, knowing they were probably preparing some powerful spell.

"Hm. I'm not going to get anything here anyway; I guess I should let things go. It's not like I don't have other options," she mumbled to herself before falling silent, black miasma beginning to flow from her tear ducts. It slowly accumulated on her chin, and Leontine began to stagger as if she was drunk before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

The black mass that oozed out of her began to crawl away from her; strangely, it didn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere.

Meanwhile, the chanting in the hallway reached its peak, and a stream of golden light suddenly fell upon the blackness. The wormhole began to writhe and crumble in the golden light. Vianis instantly came into view and saw the collapsed Leontine, then fixed her gaze on the remains of the black mass, which disintegrated into nothing in the next second in the light.

A moment later, the column of light disappeared, leaving the place quiet. Vianis slowly made her way over to Leontine but kept her eyes on the spot where the entity had vanished. "It died... just like that? Wasn't it supposed to be an orange alert level?" She wondered, then looked at the lying Leontine and frowned. "What's going on?"

Outside the temple, Claude shook his head and sighed inwardly.

'Did Mr. Hellcage really have to make such a fuss?'

*****

Peril Harbor on the night of the same day

While Marik, Hellcage, and the kids dragged their new member into planning the creation of an altar for their Liege and elsewhere, other things were happening.

A thin middle-aged man in somewhat shabby clothes and a bowler hat walked slowly down the aisle, looking at his notebook under the dim light.

"Let's see.... ten Shliks. Then fifteen Shliks. Five Shliks..." He counted and chewed the end of a short pencil at the corner of his lips, walking only by memory, for he walked home this way every day.

It was located in the lower West Side near the residential areas, so the streets were pretty much deserted except for a few stragglers like this man who came home late at night.

The man frowned as he counted and paused to recalculate his calculations.

step step

As he stopped, the man heard two footsteps behind him before silence fell again. The man's hair stood on end at the sound, and he quickly looked around but saw no one.

The man let out a long breath and shook his head. "I need to get some sleep..." He looked down at his notebook again and counted for a moment before making the correct calculation and taking another step.

He couldn't concentrate properly anymore, though, as the previous sounds of footsteps had startled him a bit, and now he still felt like he could feel someone behind him. Suddenly, the shadows of the man seemed darker and provided fodder for his imagination.

The man nervously tried to tuck his diary into his breast pocket while he looked around, but due to sheer nervousness, he couldn't get a shot, so he stopped for a moment.

step step

Two delayed footsteps sounded behind him, causing him to freeze in mid-motion.

Haa

"Ah!" He exclaimed in surprise, turning sharply when he felt a short exhale on the back of his neck.

His heart raced, but he couldn't see anyone. "Damn it, what's going on..." He muttered nervously and started walking again, faster now, still looking over his shoulder.

This way, he didn't notice that the shadow of another figure, who looked like a hooded figure, had broken away from the shadow he was casting on the opposite wall. The shadow slowly turned its head in his direction.

After a moment, the shadow began to move toward the hurrying man. It soon caught up with him and moved along the wall, and the moment the man looked ahead again, the shadow leaned forward.

His upper body came out of the wall, and he extended his black clawed hands toward the man. His body stretched as if it were made of rubber, and saw-sharp teeth gleamed in the black darkness of the hood.

The man walked past another alleyway from which there was a sudden quiet click.

String

Swish

Something flew out of the alley. The creature turned its head quickly, and an arrow pierced its head, pinning it to the wall.

"Screeches!!!" the creature shrieked, its entire body wriggling and knotting like a worm impaled on a hook.

"Ahhhh!" the man walking down the alley yelled at the same moment he heard it and started running full speed until his bowler hat flew off.

Another arrow flew out of the dark alleyway and lodged itself right next to the first arrow, finally killing the monster and making it stop flinching. The rest of its body peeled away from the wall and became corporeal. It was almost paper-thin and severely emaciated. If one removed the hood, one would see only exposed flesh with bulging veins and oozing blood; the creature had no eyes, only a wide mouth full of sharp teeth.

As soon as the sound of running footsteps died away, two figures came out of the alley. One taller and the other much shorter.

The taller figure was a dark-skinned man with black dreadlock hair with burgundy highlights. His manly square jaw was adorned with a short beard, his eyes were dark hazel, and he could have been in his early forties. He wore black leather clothing complete with a breastplate and stone armor painted black. The hilt of a sword peeked out from behind his right shoulder, but he was currently holding a hand crossbow.

The smaller person was a girl in her early twenties, pretty with pink hair tied in two ponytails on the sides of her head. Her eyes were grey-blue and intelligent. The pleasantly oval shape of her face and small pink lips made her look quite cute even when frowning. However, her cute appearance was spoiled by her dark leather clothes and especially the short firearm at her waist. She carried a large-caliber rifle on her back.

They both walked over to the monster, and the girl plucked the arrows from the corpse while the monster collapsed to the ground with a wet sound. Then, she turned to the large man who towered over her by two heads.

"Somehow these abominations have been more active the last few days," she said seriously and handed the man the darts.

The man nodded and took them from her. "We've got twice as much work to do. Which, again, isn't a bad thing. More work means more money," he replied while he cleaned the darts.

The girl turned away from him and then kicked the dead monster. "Do you think something provoked them?"

The man behind her groaned. "Bigger monster movements mean there's a big boss somewhere nearby, Cotton."

The girl named Cotton thought, then put her hands on her hips and nodded. "Then we'll report it. A big hunt could be a blast! Hunting these little fish isn't any fun. They die quickly. I want a challenge, Scar!" She turned to the man named Scar, fists clenched in determination.

Scar gave her a long look. "You want to die young, dammit?!"

He paused. "Yeah, we'll report it."

***** 

End of the World

Caila suddenly sneezed.

"ACHOOOO!" she sneezed loudly, and the whole room shook as if a small earthquake had hit it.

The opera in the vase wobbled, causing her to open her strawberry eyes and look toward the throne.

Caila wiggled her nose slightly; finally, her nose stopped itching, and she felt relieved. 'Finally, someone stopped talking about me?' she thought to herself.