(Disclaimer: This chapter includes mild scenes of torture and violence some readers may find disturbing.)

I took a deep breath as I looked through the valley of flowers. There were miles of rolling hills with white spider lillies. It was truly a sight to behold.

I skipped through the flower beds giggling carefree. I tripped and rolled down the hill. I laughed as I came to a stop. I looked up at the sky with a smile.

Something red started floating down, gliding in the air peacefully.

I strained my eyes to make out what it was. It slowly landed on the center of my face. I picked it up out of curiosity and saw that it was a red spider lily. Suddenly, hundreds of red flowers began to fall down from the sky.

I stood up and looked at it in curiosity. The red flowers were so vast that I couldn't even see through them. All at once, the flowers stopped.

I noticed Millie standing in front of me with a warm smile. I smiled back at her and rushed over, "Millie! How long have you been here?"

She giggled, "I've been here since the start." She bent down and picked up the red flower. In her eyes was it's reflection, "Did you know that each flower has its own meaning?"

I looked at the flower in her hand, "Eh, I don't really care about those sorts of things. I just like the smell."

Millie smiled, "Do you have a favorite flower?"

I tapped my chin, "Hmm. I don't think I have a favorite. But I love the look of dead flowers. It's almost as if their beauty is frozen in time."

Millie giggled, "That's a bit morbid, Seri."

I shrugged, "Every person is a little bit morbid. I just choose not to hide mine."

Millie smiled, "I see... I suppose that's right."

I ran at Millie and dove into her arms. As I rubbed my face lovingly on her, she returned my hug.

I felt something sharp plung into my back.

My eyes snapped open as pain shot up through my back. I looked up at Millie with a look of disbelief and confusion, "M-Millie?"

All that I saw was Millie's chilling smile. "What's wrong Seri?"

She released me and pulled the sharp object out of my back. As I collapsed onto my knees, I looked at her dark smile with a pained expression.

In her hand was a blade dripping with blood. The red droplets landed on the white flowers, staining them.

I fell foward on my hands. I watched as my blood trailed down my back, landing on the flowers beneath me. My eyes teared up, "W-Why? Why Millie? I thought... I thought we were friends..."

Millie's cold voice answered, "It was your own fault that you chose to ignore the truth."

.....

I jumped up in bed, drenched in sweat. I was gasping for air. Slowly, I recovered my senses.

I ran my fingers through my hair, "Oh... It was just a dream... D*mn I really hate those." I felt my back which still ached.

If it was a dream, why does the spot where I was stabbed still hurt?

I groaned, "A women in love is truly a frightening thing."

Well, there's no way I can go back to sleep after a dream like that.

I was still overwhelmingly exhausted, but there was nothing I could do about it. I looked outside and realized it was the middle of the night. I stood up and went to the window. I opened it and felt the gentle breeze on my face.

Maybe a walk outside will make me feel better.

I put on my clothes and snuck out of the building, careful not to wake anyone up. I walked outside and took a deep breath.

Ah, there's nothing like being alone outside in the middle of the night to calm your nerves.

As I walked by the side of a building, I felt a hand drag me into the shadows and a cloth covered my face.

*Sniff sniff*

Is this chloroform again?

*Sniff*

It is. Jeez. If this is going to become a common occurrence, I should try to build up my tolerance to it.

*Sniff*

Wait... Can someone build up their tolerance to this?

*Sniff*

... Wait! Why am I not fighting back?!

I elbowed the person behind me causing him to grunt. He squeaked out, "Help me!"

Then as I turned to fight the other figures, something heavy smack into my head causing me to blackout.

____

My eyes rolled around in my head as I slowly got the energy to open them. The room was foggy and spinning. I had a headache that felt like my head was being split apart.

D*mn. I've gotten so many head injuries I probably have permanent brain damage.

I tried to stand up, but discovered I couldn't. I looked down and found that I was completely bound to a chair. My legs were tied to the chair legs and my wrists were tied on the chair arms.

I was completely unable to move. I tried to move the chair itself, but I noticed that it was bolted to the floor. I was completely stuck. Everything was bound. Well except one thing.

My mouth.

"This is some kinky sh*t right here."

I looked around the room and noticed I seemed to be in some kind of warehouse or factory. Whatever it was, it was definitely abandoned.

I sneezed, "So much f*cking dust." I shouted, "Oi! Ya fat f*cks! Come out here and face me like a man!"

I heard footsteps walk up behind me. "For a girl, you have a really foul mouth."

I stuck my tongue out, "What do you mean for a girl? I think I have a foul mouth even for a man."

He frowned, "Women like you are the worse. Vulgar and disgusting. Truly the scourge of the earth."

I retorted, "And any man who says such things probably can't get any women. Don't blame women for your bad personality and ugly face."

"Why you-"

"Boss!" Another ran out and held the man back, "Just ignore her! She will be sorry here soon."

I chuckled, "You're the boss? Aww. I didn't think the boss would be some scrawny wimp. What? Did mommy not love you enough so you feel the need to hate all women?"

The man shouted, "You're going to regret those words you filthy-"

"Boss." A deep voiced echoed off the walls. Someone with heavy footsteps walked over. He spoke, "Don't waste your words on such a lowly person."

I glanced at him with an eyebrow raised, "And who are you?"

The man was wearing a skull mask. I couldn't help but admire how cool the mask looked.

The man spoke in a cool deep tone, "I'm your worst nightmare."

I gasped, "You're a nun?!?"

He paused, "What? No!"

I sighed in relief. Then I glared at him, "Why are you trying to scare me then?"

"You should be scared of me! Why would you be afraid of a nun?!"

"Why wouldn't I be afraid of a nun?" I shivered, "They're creepy. Always smiling. Acting all pious. Nope. I don't believe their holy act one bit. Now, if you really wanted to scare me you should have brought a nun."

"Enough of this!" The boss shouted. He jumped in front of me, "It's time to get down to business. You're probably wondering why I've brought you here."

I looked around apathetically, "No, not really."

He glared at me from behind his mask, "Are you serious?! Don't try to fool us with this tough guy act."

"But it's not an act. I'm not concerned one bit. I'm also not curious about your kinky shenanigans."

"K-Kinky?!"

"Isn't that what this is? It's a little weird, but I won't kink shame."

"THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE KINKY!" The boss shouted. Then he took a deep breath and spoke calmly, "You're here because you're going to tell us where to find the Black Death."

I chuckled, "Yeah right. What are you going to do. Torture me?"

He chuckled darkly, "That's exactly what I'm going to do."

He nodded and another person dragged over a table complete with all sorts of tools. He picked one up, "You're going to regret ever messing with me."

I tilted my head, "Uhuh... And who are you?"

The boss stopped, "..What."

"I said who are you. You said I will regret messing with you, but I don't even know who you are. So how can I regret messing with you?"

He ripped off his mask angrily, "This is who I am!!"

I looked at him closely with squinted eyes. Most of his face had a burn scar which made it almost impossible to tell who he was.

I shook my head, "No... I don't recognize you. I would think I would remember someone with such a scar on their face."

His face turned red in anger, "YOU DID THIS TO ME!!"

"I did? Hmm... I don't remember."

"You killed my brother! You came into his gambling establishment and set fire to it! I barely managed to make it out alive!!!"

"Ooooh. And here I thought no one escaped. I guess you must have ran out before the explosion like a coward."

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" He stopped himself and recomposed himself, "The point is, I will avenge my brother."

"Uhuh. And who is your brother?"

He grunted in irritation, "He's Mister-"

I interrupted, "Actually, I don't really care."

The boss looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. The skull masked man cut in, "Boss. Let's just start torturing her."

The boss nodded, "Yes. It's about time we teach her a lesson."

He picked up some pliers and I chuckled, "Oooh. I'm so scared. I bet you idiots don't even know how to properly torture someone."

He placed the plier on my fingernail, "First, I'm going to rip off all your fingernails. Then I'm going to break your bones, one by one. I will burn your face, just like you did mine. I will only stop once you tell me the location and identity of your master."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes, "Wow, so scary. You think I'd be scared of having my nails ripped out and my bones broken? It can't be that painful."

He sneered, "Shall we begin?"

I shrugged, "Go ahead, but I'm not going to reveal a thing."

He put pressure on my nail, "Tell me who your master is."

I chuckled, "His identity is..." They leaned closer. I whispered, "Your mom."

I broke out in rambunctious laughter. He glared at me. I snickered, "See? Doesn't even hurt-AAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs as he ripped off my nail in one swift movement. I wanted to stomp my foot in pain, but I was unable to.

I screeched out, "GOD F*CKING D*MN! F*CK! F*CK! F*CK! C*CKSUCKING F*CK! THAT F*CKING HURT! SH*T! WHY DOES THAT F*CKING HURT SO BAD?! GOD! D*MN! F*CK!"

Why the hell does pulling out a fingernail hurt so bad?! Oh sh*t! Don't look at it! F*ck... I'm going to be queasy.

He snickered and moved to the next finger, "Now tell me the identity of your master."

I sobbed, "No no no! Wait! I will tell you!"

He paused, "Wait... Really?" He couldn't help but think that it was too easy.

I nodded, "It's me... I'm the Black Death."

He frowned, "...What."

"The Black Death isn't a phantom or a real person. He was just a pseudonym I created to hide behind so that way I could buy some erotic novels without being told I was too young."

The boss glared at me, "And here I thought you were actually going to tell me. Say goodbye to your other nail."

"No! Wait wait wait!!! I was telling the truth! I- aaaAAAAAAAAAAH!"

My high pitched scream echoed off the walls. It was so high that even some windows cracked from the frequency. In the distance, dogs looked towards the noise as if it was a dog whistle.

I started sobbing. F*ck. I'm going to die here.

The boss spoke, "Tell me who the Black Death is."

I sobbed, "It's meeeee y-you prick."

"Still won't say? Alright-"

Suddenly, shouting sounded behind a door. Everyone in the room went quiet and turned to the noise. The door was suddenly kicked open and Dante strolled in holding his sword while covered in blood.

He looked at me with a cold indifferent expression. My face lit up, "Dante! You came to save me!"

The boss shouted, "What are you two waiting for?! Kill him!"

The two charged at Dante. Dante killed the first guy with one swoop. He didn't even blink. The man in the skull mask chuckled, "You've made a mistake facing me, little man."

Dante just glanced at him in boredom. As the skull masked man charged at him, Dante easily dodged his attack and stabbed him mercilessly. The masked man fell down.

The boss took a step back in fear, "M-Monster!"

I shouted, "Dante! This bastard ripped off my fingernails!! Kill him."

"Mm."

The boss turned away to run, but Dante easily caught up to him and struck him down. After finishing, Dante walked over to me and stared.

I smiled, "Thanks for saving me. Can you cut these ropes for me?"

"..."

My face twitched, "Uhh... Dante?"

Dante silently admired the sight before speaking, "Why were they asking you about the Black Death?"

I frowned, "Just let me out and I will tell you."

"..."

"Uh... Please?"

"Tell me first."

Sadistic!!! Sadistic wolf of a man!

"Fine! They kidnapped me because they figured out I was associated with the Black Death!"

Dante tilted his head, "I heard you say that you were the Black Death."

I nodded, "I did." I paused, "Wait. How much did you hear?!"

"All of it."

"And you didn't come in sooner?!?"

He only shrugged.

AAAAAAH! I guess changing the storyline won't change his sadistic tendencies.

"We will discuss this later. But, I really wasn't lying. I really am the Black Death."

Dante spoke, "But that doesn't make sense. He's been around for almost ten years."

I blushed, "Actually, I created him when I was five because I wanted to buy some erotic novels. Then, I made up some ridiculous story and claimed responsibility for some unsolved deaths. Then it kind of just snowballed from there..."

After I finished explaining more clearly, I looked up at Dante with large pitiful eyes. "So can you release me now?"

Dante nodded and cut the ropes off. I stood up and massaged my wrists. I looked at my two fingers and sobbed, "Ah.. My nails... I just had them done too..."

Dante ripped some cloth off and wrapped my fingers up, "There."

I sniffled, "Thanks..."

I noticed movement and shouted, "WATCH OUT!"

Behind Dante, the skull masked man stood up and went to swing at Dante. I pulled a knife from my boot and threw it at the man. It landed in his throat and he collapsed once and for all. Dante looked at him in surprise.

I walked over to him and took off his mask. I stuffed it in my dress. Dante raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, "What? It's a cool mask..."

"..."

I glanced at Dante, "Hey Dante..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm hungry. Let's go get some food."