A few months ago, I could honestly state that I never felt I was weak. I could be battered, bruised, and bloody, but even then I wouldn’t have given up. I wouldn’t have felt like I couldn’t accomplish the goal in front of me. It was almost sickening how simply I had forsaken my fate.

The hand on my shoulder allowed me to regain my sense of bearing. I wasn’t aware of how much I had lost myself. Actually… I still wasn’t positive I had fully recovered; the feeling of displacement still existed. It was as if I was standing apart from the events happening around me.

I heard Eli screaming.

I felt the hand on my shoulder.

I smelled the stench of wine.

I tasted the bile in my mouth.

I saw Ranthus before me.

But none of it seemed real.

That shouldn’t matter… no, that didn’t matter in this situation. Even if the events that had happened were all fake, I would still act upon them. Even if this was all according to the will of my delusions, I still had to act in order to save those I could.

After all, you’ve always wanted to be a hero.

I silently stood up, the hand that gripped my shoulder slipping off of me. I didn’t turn my head to face the newcomer, instead I stepped off to the side in order to include them in my sight. No matter what happened, I didn’t want to let Ranthus vanish from view.

The newcomer looked only slightly older than me. And yet, in a way he reminded me of an actor in an old movie. He was wearing a suit of armor just like Ranthus. Although, this man’s was a clear shining white instead of a sickening crimson. The two stood at the same height, their gazes locked on each other.

“I haven’t given up.” I said, forcing myself to remain steady.

The silver knight laughed, “Good, kid. Good. Not that I plan to let you do much from here on out. Your small role is already over. Leave and be done with it, I can’t have your death be on my conscious.”

The guy who saved you is harsher than I thought he would be.

“Why are you still alive?” The rat-faced Ranthus asked, his jaw tightening into a grimace. He had already taken a step back, regaining the use of the broadsword abandoned just moments before. The man actually looked a bit onguard, compared to his previous haughty attitude.

“Did you think death could stop me from fulfilling the promise I made? I’m a freedman after all.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Ranthus screamed. “He promised me you would stay dead! He promised me that that would be the last time I would see your face again! That death should have been absolute!”

The silver knight shrugged, “If it was anyone else, that might have been true. Even I was forced into a coma for a week. Frightful man that Red Reaper is.”

Doesn’t this feel like watching a plot-based show after starting half way through?

I nodded my head in agreement with her voice. I was missing a crucial detail about this whole ordeal and it bothered me greatly.

The sack that contained Eli’s sister had finally started to squirm again. It seemed this time Ranthus was too focused on the new guy to pay much attention to her..

“Gravus!” Ranthus roared, “Even if have to kill you a thousand times over, I will make sure you stay dead!”.

Ranthus charged, sword in hand, but the silver knight easily sidestepped out of the way. In an instant the positions in the hallway reversed. No longer was the wine-colored knight between us and Eli’s sister. We were the ones standing between her and the enemy.

Aren!

‘On it!’ I mentally replied, spinning around and going directly to the bag. Taking a grip on either end of the small opening I tried to tear it open. The opening heavily resisted, forcing me to change my focus to the knot instead.

‘Can’t they make it easier on me?’ I groaned.

That would be the day you actually do something useful.

The silver knight’s overbearing presence only increased as he spoke. His voice was tinged with malice and spite, his words sharp and on edge. “Ranthus, I’ve never met such a sickening man as you. I don’t consider myself a saint, but even I have a shred of decency.”

“Hahahaha, Gravus, you bastard. I can say the same. You were always putting on that fake act of being a knight. Acting honorable for the just to fulfill the role.”

Gravus… Gravus… I feel like I should remember that name. It’s not often you hear a name as strange as his…

How can you forget such an emotional story like that!

‘What are you talking about?’

In Ghoul mom’s story. He was the knight who saved her.

“Ah! The guy who couldn’t do crap when his platoon was killed in front of him!” I pointed at Gravus in exclamation.

He glared at me, his teeth visible in a momentary snarl.

“Erm… sorry?” I forced a smile.

Ranthus was laughing, “See, even that blight knows how worthless you are.”

Geh! I should try to keep my mouth shut. Untying the knot was hard enough without having a new ally want to kill me.

With one last tug of the knot the bag sprung open. The little girl sprung out from it with her mouth open and fangs glistening. She aimed for the throat without hesitation.

“Elle! stop!” Eli yelled.

The girls mouth closed instantly. However the forward momentum didn’t dissipate and she bashed her head against my chin. I heard a sharp crack and fell backwards.

I have to admit, I’ve felt rocks softer than her head.

Rubbing my now throbbing chin, I watched as Elle look up at her brother with expectant eyes. Something strange crossed the little girl Elle’s gaze… jealousy? Eli smiled grimly, “Oh beloved sis of mine, can you hurry up and cure this girl already? My legs are falling asleep.”

She nodded her head, jumping towards her brother and Lauren.The girl still remained spasming, the only trickle of blood coming from her mouth. My brain went haywire.

‘Contradiction’. I thought, ‘Contradiction. Contradiction. She had popped. I had seen it happen. This entire room was covered in the red of her cla- her blood.’

The voice laughed, That was merely punishment

I am your friend and your ally, but above all, I am your punisher.

I am the punishment that you inflicted upon yourself.

I am merely a voice taking the form of your desires.

I am not her, but a recreation of what you believe her to be.

And she is someone who you believe should cause you harm

The two girls seemingly kissed. I looked away.

...After waiting for a moment to make sure they were done, I resumed looking at them. “What was that?” I asked Eli.

The boy shrugged, “If she bit Lauren to cure her, the girl would really have died. The puncture would increase blood production all at once.” He explained. ”It was fine with Auri, as the production of blood was increased in stages, and I could always open up a new wound if it increased too much. That was the reason I stopped you from bleeding her out. The only way to save Lauren was to give her the antidote mouth to mouth. It couldn’t be helped really.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I hadn’t failed this time, afterall.

Pervert

‘What? Why!?’

The voice didn’t bother answering. She giggled instead.

The two metal soldiers clashed again and again. Their respective swords showering sparks as they met. I once read that the mark of a skilled swordsman was the ability to parry blows without locking them. These two evidently hadn’t gotten the memo.

I took a peek at the kids, taking a step away from the swordplay. Gravus was right; although I wanted to stab Ranthus in the face, it would better if I escaped now while I still could. My goal was never to defeat the villain. It has always been to save those that needed to be saved and rid myself of all of this.

If you really wanted to rid yourself of this

You wouldn’t have accepted in the first place

I did my best to ignore her.

I snuck over to the three kids. Lauren’s spasms had stopped and she no longer seemed to be frothing at the mouth. I kneeled down next to Eli, preparing to pick him up. He was in no condition to run and I couldn’t have him slowing our escape down.

“Elle,” I asked the girl, “Can you carry Lauren for me?”

She glared at me. “I’ll carry brother! You can carry that girl!”

I simply nodded, not wanting to argue. I brought Lauren up into my arms, watching as Elle did the same with her brother. She didn’t struggle in the slightest over the weight. I guessed it was due to her nature as a ghoul.

Eli watched over Elle’s shoulder as we started to head back toward Auri and the Marquess waited.

“Is Ranthus coming after us?” I asked.

Eli weakly shook his head, “Too busy fighting that other knight guy, we should be fine… hopefully.”

‘Took long enough for something to go my way.’

Don’t Jinx it

I sighed.

Elle suddenly froze. I stopped a half of step later. “Why’d you stop?”

For a moment Elle remained silent, still facing down the long hallway. She took a step back, her eyes widening. “We can’t go this way. Brother will be taken away from me.”

I glanced at Eli, measuring his reaction.

“We can’t go this way, Hero.” Eli’s face was serious. If he wasn’t currently being carried by his sister, he looked like he might have ran away.

“What?” I spat out in annoyance, “You want to go back in the direction of the guy that was trying to kill us?”

Eli nodded, “If it means that I don’t have to face mother again, yes.”

“Your mother?”

The siblings both nodded grimly.

Are you going to return those kids to her?

“Like hell” I mumbled, turning around.

Elle was already running back from where we came. I quickly did the same. I wasn’t sure how they knew their mother was down this hallway but I didn’t really care. It could have been from natural ESP for all that mattered. Getting away from the person that might bring these kids more pain took precedence over everything else.

Even if that means heading back to the person that might kill them?

Returning to where the two knights were fighting didn’t take more than a moment. The constant clash between them hadn’t slowed down in the slightest. If anything, it looked like they were speeding up. Gravus’ face was curled into a bloodthirsty grin, nothing like how his silver armor had previously portrayed him.

I didn’t want to risk getting close to him so I sidled along the wall, keeping as far from the fight as possible.

Neither of them spared me a glance. I felt somewhat insulted.

Insulted?

You being useless to the point of being ignored is your own fault.

Who keeps a promise with a dead girl?

Elle was the one to drag me back to my senses. She prodded me in the back with her head as both of her hands were full carrying Eli. She must have been trying to get me to move when I unknowingly stopped, I complied.

In a few minutes we reached the end of the hallway. The hallway caved inward, the walls curving toward a large iron door. I gently set Lauren down to free my hands. Gripping the handle of the door, I gave it a harsh tug and abruptly fell forward. It felt like I was trying to pull a tree over. Obviously, the door didn’t give

It stood stalwart, blocking our path.

Elle set her brother down against the wall far from where Lauren was, joining me in trying to pry the door open. The thing wasn’t really locked, more like just insanely heavy. There must have been an easier way to go about opening it, but we didn’t have the time to search around.

The door shuddered under Elle’s grip, slowly opening at a snail’s pace.

“Elle!” Eli screamed, “Hurry!”

Elle’s pull against the door became more frantic. I did my best to help, the door opened enough that kids might have been able to slip through.

The ghoul mother Alexia finally came into view at the end of the hallway. If I didn’t understand why the kids were panicking, I wouldn’t have felt afraid. Her expression showed no hostility, no anger. She had a sweet smile on her face as she spotted her lost children.

That in itself was troubling. No sane parent could smile so peacefully after seeing the wounds on Eli. It was as if a crucial part was missing in the composition that was family: Sanity.

“Elle, Eli, isn’t it about time we head home?”

The two siblings went quiet, unmoving.

“What’s wrong?” Alexia asked, her expression turning slightly worried, almost panic stricken.

Still no answer from the kids.

“How’d you get here?” I asked.

She tilted her head, “By walking?”

“What about the two in the hall?”

“They are still playing. I don’t think they have eyes for anything besides each other. If they weren’t trying to kill each other, I would have mistaken them for a couple in love.” She giggled at her own joke.

“Well, nothing to do with me now that I’ve found my children.” She smiled a sweet pleasant smile, “I can now see that you really were going to help me, I hadn’t fully believed you before. If I spotted you outside, I was thinking of feeding you to my children in return for lying to me.” She gave an almost imperceptible bow as if to say thanks, “Come now, Elle, Eli, time to go.”

“No.” Eli spoke, his tone fragile.

“No?” She asked.

“Elle, please talk some sense into that brother of yours. He isn’t being rational right now.”

Elle merely shook her head, visibly pale at the sight of her mom. Her fist was silently shaking in a strange kind of anger.

The mother, Alexis, tilted her head slightly while narrowing her eyes.

“Why don’t either of you want to come home with me? Are you hungry? Is that why you are quiet? Is that why you don’t want to follow me?” Her smile widened, “I can give you some food, it’s been so long after all.”

Alexia’s gaze shifted toward the unconscious Lauren.

‘Shit!’

She lunged forward. In one swift motion she had impaled the small girl in the chest. Lauren gave one last pained spasm, her eyes briefly opening, glimpsing at the red orb in Alexia’s hand. Alexia held it outward toward her two children, “This should be fine right? Once you eat, you’ll come with me right?”

I looked away, trying to keep myself calm. I could feel my legs start to give. She had been saved! The poison was cured! She was going to live!

And this time, it isn’t a delusion.

It seems I needn’t have bothered with that before.

You really failed, after all.

Drip…. Drip…. Drip…

The red orb dripped fresh liquid onto the floor. The sound rhythmically beating in my eardrums. Something was going down my cheeks. I gingerly reached up and touched it with my hands.

It was warm.

I briefly wondered if it was the same thing that was dripping onto the floor. Wouldn’t make much sense though. I was still living after all.

Drip…. Drip…. Drip...

“Hero…” Eli called out to me. His voice sounded strangely far away.

Oh! That reminds me… I was supposed to protect them wasn’t I?

I shifted a little to the side, to better put myself between Alexia and her children. Like cracking ice, Alexia’s serene expression started to break. Her gaze focused on me, gliding over as if looking at a bug. I was a mere annoyance; when had I ever been anything else?

The strange liquid continued to drip from the red orb. It was beating out a calming tune, luring me to sleep. Still beating, beating, beating. Almost in defiance in what was obviously fact.

I could hear Elle behind me, grabbing her brother and pulling him toward the door. He had lost too much blood to walk on his own, she either had to bring him herself or leave him there. I could hardly picture her doing the latter.

Alexia stepped forward, her hand twitching.

I took a step backward. I couldn’t rationally understand why I did so. Was I afraid? I didn’t feel as such. I tilted my head, glancing down at my hand.

Then again, right now I couldn’t feel much of anything. I remembered the first time Lauren died; I could feel nothing but anger. An explosive anger that tore through my entire being. Right now, it was as if I had been detached from even that.

I knew I should be angry. I knew I should want to do something irrational. But I couldn’t for the life of me figure out at what I should be angry at, or what I should do because of it.

Alexia had noticed me barring the way, “Do you plan to get in the way of me and my children? ”

I nodded, I knew that was something I was supposed to do, “I can’t hand them over to someone who doesn’t understand the meaning of giving their heart to someone. It’s rude to use someone else’s.” I broke into laughter. It seemed a bit wrong for some reason. I thought the pun was good, but the joke seemed a bit bitter. Too soon maybe? I was never good at timing these things.

‘You dare say I don’t love my children!?” her voice came out like a hiss, violent and spiteful.

“No,” I shook my head, taking another step back. Elle and Eli had already exited through the door. If I could manage to fit, I could escape too. “Your are the prime example of a mother. Every mother should starve their children and lock them away for safe keeping. It doesn’t matter if they get hurt, right? As long as they are home with you, it’s fine if they are corpses. It’s not like you distinguish between receiving someone’s heart and eating it.”

‘The love Alexia shows is sickening. The way she treats her children is fake and premeditated. ‘

She glared at me.

That doesn’t sound like you were talking about her anymore

A normal person would just think she is crazy obsessive

Alair, is there something you want to tell me?

I pressed my back against the wall, hoping to give myself a better chance getting through the small opening made in the door.

“You think you know how a mother should act?”

“That’s not the point!” I yelled, “It shouldn’t be an act!”

She looked confused. In that moment I heard something pop, and I was dragged through the small opening in the door. Elle had gripped my hand and pulled me so hard it disconnected my shoulder.

Should I have been worried I didn’t feel the pain?

I realized I couldn’t breath through my nose. Reaching up with my still working arm I felt around, it was pointing in an odd direction. I must have slammed it when I was pulled through the door.

I twisted it back with a pop.

Alexia was screaming, yanking at the door. She must have been stronger than her daughter, because the door was moving much more swiftly than when Elle and I were trying to open it. Elle gripped the handle on this side, and tried to resist the door’s desire to open. The movement slowed, but Alexia was still winning in the contest of strength.

Even if Elle and I struggled to keep the door closed it wouldn’t buy us more than a few seconds. Eli was all but out for the count, I doubted he could even raise his arms or stand anymore.

The room we were currently inside was the same room I had been in before. It was where I found the journal and the cage used to store Elle when they weren’t using her. The secret staircase had closed at some point since I last visited and I wasn’t sure how to open it from this side. Like the rest of the hidden entrances, I guessed it would be something easy for a child to come across.

The door lurched a bit more.

If only Eli could walk, he might’ve been able to find the entrance and escape a little more. As it was, all three of us were locked in a dead end.

“How did you trick my children? Why are you trying to take them away?”

The door was open wide enough that I could see her gazing in.

Elle answered her mother, “Brother doesn’t want to stay with you! And I don’t want to share brother with you either! Brother is mine!” With renewed strength she managed to close the door slightly.

Brother complex?

‘I should have expected this.’

“No,” the mother whispered, “nonononono. You are my children. I will protect you. I will take both of you home and keep you safe from strange people like that man.” The door stopped moving, instead a heavy groan echoed throughout the room we were in.

*Crack*

The inside handle of the door snapped off, flingling Elle farther into the room. Alexia using this chance, easily swung the door open enough for her to jump inside. Reacting more on instinct than anything else, I slammed my fist into her face. To my surprise, she was actually knocked back.

...I should say something snarky right now..

...But the shock of you actually doing something useful is making it hard to think.

Elle had recovered from her tumble, standing by my side. She pressed something heavy into my hand. I could only hope it was a weapon of some sort. For some reason, I felt taking a glimpse at what it actually was would only get me killed.

Alexia faced me, still on the ground. Her hands and feet were on ground, propping her up. Her current posture was almost animalistic. Her limbs bending in strange directions as they popped randomly as bones shifted.

That…

That wasn’t humanlike at all.

The monster called Alexia lunged, I swung the object in my hand. The bludgeoning weapon sent her flying to the side. The heavy recoil sending shocks down my arm. I took a chance to glimpse at what I was actually holding.

Why do they have a bat in this room?

A torture instrument perhaps?

I held the weapon loosely in my hand, holding it to slightly to the side. As it was, it was the only thing I could use to defend myself.

Even the full on hit from the bat already appeared to be healing.

How much does a ghoul have to eat to get that kind of healing?

Even if I asked, I doubt I actually wanted to hear the answer.

“Elle, look for the secret exit.” I used my free hand to point to the wall the staircase would have come from. I could only hope that she had seen Auri enter and exit enough to know how to leave.

She wouldn’t have seen Auri open it from this end.

The same reason you wouldn’t know how to open it.

It remains open for quite some time before closing.

Alexia’s fingers snapped loudly as the bone protruded from the tips, slowly sharpening into a point. Her body was distorted far more than I thought was possible. Was this result of a heavy feeding? Or was this actually the true nature of a ghoul?

She lunged, her claws tearing gouges in the floor as she used them to propel herself forward.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The monster clung to walls of the warehouse, attacking the small group that hid in the center. The monster had showed up without warning, an abomination that didn’t belong in this world. The shape was vaguely human, its limbs sprouting sharpened bones randomly across its arms.

The monster had attacked and heavily injured a few of the people already. It had only taken a few injured to cause the rest of the people to give up. They had huddled together in the center of the building, almost as if they hoped the warmth of another would be enough to protect them.

They clutched their heads to protect them from the beast’s claws.

It was obviously useless.

If they wanted to live they shouldn’t choose to cower. Only one of the people there didn’t try to run away. His face twisting into an odd childish grin. He had a stolen baseball bat in hand. He doubted the unconscious victim would mind. His eyes chased the beast as it jumped around them. It’s speed being nearly impossible to follow correctly.

It lunged for him. His reflexes weren’t fast enough and the beast clipped him on his shoulder. If he had dodged a second later he would have been missing a chunk out his neck.

He readied the bat once again.

This time he would be ready.

“Batter up, come on pitch it right down the center.”

It lunged.

He swung.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The bat cracked against the side of Alexia’s face. Her jaw shattering under the force. I honestly felt I should feel bad for being so violent. She hadn’t outwardly tried to harm me all that much before. If it wasn’t for Lauren, maybe I would have.

Pain clung vaguely on my shoulder. Fresh wine was leaking out of the injury. One of Alexia’s lunges had cut it quite close and she managed to tear some flesh away. If I had been any slower...

This situation was too familiar. For the life of me I couldn’t remember why. It was too random and incoherent to actually happen in reality, and I had never left the town in this world.

If you still plan to run, I could lie.

I could say it was obviously from a dream long ago.

You would believe me, even if I said it right now.

I prepared to swing once more, as soon as Alexia recovered to attack again. Elle still had not found the exit. In fact, both Elle and Eli were staring at me with odd blank looks. I couldn’t deduce what those gazes meant.

Alexia didn’t recover. Her body laid limp on the floor. Her jaw was moving in a almost sluglike way. Ripples went across her face as the shattered parts of the bone realigned themselves in their proper positions. I leaned toward her, pressing my finger against her neck, feeling for a pulse.

I didn’t want to kill someone again.

So her life is worth more than mine?

“No.. I” I faltered.

Just long enough for a sideswipe to crack against my jaw, sending me flying into the bars of the cage.

With a feline grace she walked over to where I laid against the metal bars. She raised up her hand, the sharp claws promising a quick death.

And swung it down.

Spoiler : Sorry for not posting in a long while. This chapter has been bugging me for far longer than I would like, I'm sorry if it isn't up to my usual quiality and for the long wait I gave you before posting this. I just didn't like how this chapter turned out no matter how much I rewrote it. SO I finally decided to power through and keep on going.

As always a thanks to all the people that helped proofread it. Flamarow keeps on showing up and helping me with it, if I was in his place I would have run away long ago because of my (the writer's) lack of updates.

I thank you all for reading this. And I promise I will continue to release chapters at what should be a decent pace.