“You mongrels who have never worked for anything in your lives wouldn’t understand. The family only wanted her because of her ability! She doesn’t have even the smallest bit of aptitude for anything! They just want her womb to produce stronger warriors! But she won’t even marry and continue the bloodline-!”

Breaking into the Violet Manor is just as easy as last time. The plan has remained unchanged. Through the kitchen full of rotting leeks and onions and into Taer’s bedroom. As we bust inside, there’s just one problem though. This…damn.

As I watch Eli grip the Nephilim boy’s violet hair, I struggle to control my emotions. Images of last night overlay over reality. His hands twist in the sheets, scrabble at Eli’s iron grip, and sometimes it feels like it’s my hands. Am I losing it? Why is it like this? I’ve killed so many people, and yet I’m hesitating now? Even though we’re not going to kill him?

“Hei? Is something wrong?” Eli replies. However, I just sigh and begin punching Taer in the gut. Each blow makes him squeal like a pig, though he remains defiant, confident that we won’t kill him. Finally, I work myself up and cast the Lonely’s Hell on him.

“W-WHAT IS THIS!?”

Immediately his fear fills the room like a miasma. It’s practically palpable how afraid he is. As I watch him writhe in agonized terror, I wince. Damn…dying in your bed is a bad way to go. Is this my future in a few hours? When the effect wears off, Eli knocks him out but not before he can scream again.

“Devil! DEVIL! WHAT ARE YOU? SO MANY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRMS-!”

“Sorry Brother…” Delphie murmurs, though Eli simply congratulates her for watching all the way through. I don’t say anything more, already lost in the future. So it comes as a surprise when the Nephilim girl approaches me even though I should have known she would. Her brother gasps for breath, covered in his own vomit.

“Thank you, Hei. I…didn’t have the courage to do something about my brother myself. I can see it hurts you to hurt others. Even if you pretend it doesn’t. So, thank you very much for helping this useless Nephilim!” She cries out. I expect that to be the end of it. I mutter-

“That’s what friends are for.” However, this time, she doesn’t let the matter go.

“N-No! I don’t think it’s right for you to go through so much pain for me. The look in your eye…Hei, I don’t want you to use your power again if you can help it. At least not for me. I feel like…” She pauses, staring into my right eye which I know is glowing a fiery orange. Eli waves at us from outside, telling us to hurry up. “It’s like you’re getting farther away from us. You were getting better, but ever since last night…you’ve started growing distant again. Even though you look fine, I don’t think you are…are you?”

“I am fine.” Growling a little bit, I brush past her and walk out to go rejoin Eli. A sour taste fills my mouth and the stench of Taer’s vomit is making me want to hurl, myself. I try to put her thoughts out of mind, but her brother’s screams are lodged into my head again.

Devil…

Truly just a worm…

I don’t think you are…are you?

#

Going back in time is screwing my head. When the door to Sophie’s lair clangs behind us, we enter the dark light of the glowing crystals in the black granite ceiling. Striding through the interstellar constellations she has adorned her personal night sky with, we find the sultry Nephilim sitting on the couch as usual. A familiar smell permeates the room, evidenced by several rectangular boxes on the coffee table.

“Everything go alright?” She looks up as we come in. Waving at the takeout on the corner, she smiles, “Since Hei doesn’t seem to like Midas’s noodles anymore, I thought I’d go with something different today.”

“You…bought dinner?” Eli seems surprised, but when he sees the boxes, he brightens. “Oh by the System, that isn’t pizza is it? I haven’t had that since being exiled!”

“Well since Hei is from the surface, I assumed he’d enjoy something familiar! Sorry though, I could only get the mushroom version.” Sophie sighs. “Unfortunately, it’s impossible to get pepperoni these days. The Troll farms have been keeping a tight lid on their hogs.”

“Troll farms?” I mutter unconsciously. “On second thought, I don’t need to know.” Remembering what is going to happen in a few hours, I anxiously gaze around the living room. Is the killer already here? Watching us somewhere? Hold on…Sophie always manages to get inside without making a noise. I get the feeling she has a secret entrance or something. Maybe that’s how the killer got in! I have to talk to her!

Ignoring the urge to go to my room, I go and sit in my favorite armchair. The others are excitedly opening the pizza, but Delphie notices that I haven’t grabbed a slice yet. Holding up a piece over the top of a box she tore off as a plate, she offers it to me. The pizza of the Underworld looks remarkably similar to that of the surface.

“Hei, you don’t like pizza? I thought everyone up there enjoyed it? Has the shopkeeper been lying to us all this time?” She asks innocently and that takes away some of the seriousness of the atmosphere. Ah, someone got stuck down here and recreated pizza. That explains the similarity.

“Nah, I’ll…” The smell of the slimy cheese and mushrooms should be amazing. But something about the strong scent doesn’t sit well with my stomach. My gut roils, turning around like a laundry machine and I have to recoil from the slice. Delphie’s face falls as I back away. “Sorry, upset stomach. I think I’ll pass tonight!”

“Well, if you’re sure. We’ll leave some for you if you get hungry later!” She takes the slice back while cryptically examining it for anything wrong. Unable to find anything that might explain my reluctance, she takes a bite. The pizza must taste good because she soon closes her kaleidoscope eyes in bliss. “Mmm…surface food…is the best! Thank you for buying tonight, Sophie!”

“No problem. Mmm, maybe I’ll get my family to purchase a shop. Then we can add chicken or egg or something as one of the toppings. I bet that will be a hit!” The Nephilim chit chat and forget all about me as I lay back and close my eyes, thinking. The night drags on, but since I do not participate, the events of last time do not repeat. It seems in this life; the Black and Violet Roses will only exist in my memories. Eventually, Eli and Delphie retire and it’s just me and Sophie in the living room. She is totally silent for a bit, thought for a second, I think I almost caught her humming a tune. When she notices I’m listening however, she quickly stops as if embarrassed.

“Sophie, can I ask you a question?” I break the silence after collecting my thoughts. The sultry Nephilim regards me warily from the couch. Tilting her head slightly, she nods, her tight coiffe bobbing.

“About what?”

“I was just wondering if…” Though I have been preparing for this conversation for a while, it is still hard to actually say what I need to say gracefully. Don’t want her to think that I am prying into her secrets or get the wrong idea. “Do you have some way to get in and out of here undetected. This place I mean. A secret tunnel or something? You do, don’t you?”

Instantly, Sophie freezes and the atmosphere becomes cold.

Crap.

I begin to think that I made a mistake. She stays there, frozen like that for a good long while as sweat begins to accumulate behind my neck. Finally, the tension breaks as she replies-

“Not that you need to know, but I suppose you can probably guess that I have my ways of getting in and out of my own home.” Her terse reply comes with eyes that home in on mine like microscope lenses. She studies me and I feel like a goddamn specimen under her stare. “Something the matter?”

“It’s just…how do I put this.” I sigh, thinking of a convenient and believable way to get the information I need without raising her suspicions. “Let’s say it feels like I’m being watched at night. While I sleep. If it’s you, I don’t mind, Sophie. But it makes me uneasy not knowing who’s there.”

Sophie’s stare narrows, but whatever she sees in my face must be okay because she relaxes just the teensiest bit. I breathe a sigh of relief as her hands stop reaching towards her daggers.

“Hmph, you give me a lot of credit if you think I have a tunnel to your room or something. Rest assured, I’m definitely not peeping into your room. It’s perfectly safe, there’s no secret entrances.” The way she says your room makes me think that Delphie’s room might be a different situation, but she doesn’t seem to be lying at the very least. Just in case, I keep a close eye on the little flickering soul flame inside her chest and it stays steady which gives me some confidence that she’s telling the truth. So, there isn’t a secret way into my room. Which means unless the killer broke into the house and specifically targeted me, which seems unlikely…then either…he’s there inside right now…or something else happened.

“Mmm…” I pause, thinking of my next move and Sophie senses my distress.

“Is there something wrong?” She asks. At first, I intend to lie to her, but then I realize something. Wait, Sophie’s strong! Why don’t I just clear my room with her? Then I can be sure that there’s no assassins. After all, she is one herself, if she can’t find the attacker, then who can?

“Could you do me a favor and check my room with me?” I can’t think of a better way to say this so I just say it. “Just in case? I know this sounds stupid but it’d help me sleep better.”

“Heh…as if you haven’t been sleeping every chance you get.” Sophie smirks, her pretty features looking ridiculously sarcastic as she stands up. “Fine, I’m going to bed soon, so let’s get it over with. Delphie will give me hell if one of her patients gets sick because of me.”

“R-Really? You’ll help?” A rush of joy floods through me as things go better than I thought. Yes! The most powerful ally is on my side! The daughter of assassins shrug and starts to walk down the hallway to the bedrooms. “Thank you!”

“Yep. I’ll find your boogeymen for you!”

We go down the hallway to my bedroom and Sophie puts her small hand on my doorknob.

“Ready?” She asks, though she’s already opening it. When it slides open, I unconsciously tense and after Sophie pops her head inside for a look, she sees me all knotted up and gives me a weird look. “You okay? Relax, I have security measures in place, no one’s getting in or out without me knowing first. See? It’s perfectly fine. You can rest easy tonight!”

“Y-Yea…” The door swings open and Sophie makes a show of checking around inside while wrinkling her nose. She even opens the wardrobe closet and peeks inside. Finally, I let out a deep sigh of relief. “That’s…that’s enough. I really appreciate your help.”

“You better! Everything good? Need me to kiss you goodnight too? Don’t come knocking at my door later because you’re scared of monsters! And I better not catch you sneaking into Delphie’s room either or I’ll give you a real reason to be afraid!” My host narrows her eyes dangerously to make sure I get the point before turning around and walking off to her room.

Hey what kind of relationship do you think I have with her anyway!

“Um, actually I have one more question for you.” I say and she raises her eyebrows.

“And that is?”

“I was wondering…are the Fallen known for using poison?” My question causes Sophie’s expression to turn dark.

“Poison? No…Yun’s Fallen are not known for using poison if that’s what you’re asking. My brother is many things, but he isn’t a complete coward. He prefers the honor of killing with a blade, and those he works with are usually the same.” She explains what I need to know and I can only tap my head thoughtfully. Huh, I really thought that poison had to be the answer if no one is in my room. I guess there’s nothing else for it.

“Alright, thank you once again. Goodnight!”

“You’re welcome, Scaredy Cat!” Like that, the daughter of assassins strides off and I’m left alone. Shutting the door, I nervously inspect the room one last time, but can’t find anything wrong with it. Even with so many checks, when I lay on the bed and prepare to sleep, I find that my racing pulse won’t let me calm down. A somber mood takes over. Compared to last time, when I was warm and happy after happily celebrating with the others, this feels different.

I’ll just have to stay up then.

The shadows are long and spooky, and I find the mirror in the corner of the room to be the bane of my existence as I constantly see things which aren’t there in its reflection. While I wait for the horrible pain, or some assassin to try to kill me, I think a little, but mostly I just lie still and pretend to be asleep. Normally, I’d expect to be able to go a very long time without sleep, days even as a Hunter. However, perhaps it is the recent beating I took, but my body is unusually tired and weak. Unknowingly…at some point, I drift off.

#

Huh?

I fell asleep?

Bolting upright, I immediately search for enemies. Any second now, I expect my nerves to burn with fire, but despite my panic, nothing happens. At the door, someone knocks. It’s Delphie.

“Hei? You awake?” Her soft voice is worried, and I’m reminded of the other night. “Is your stomach still upset?”

“I…I’m just fine.” My hands search my body, and my eyes scan the room. All is good. Nothing happened? I don’t understand. What changed?

I should be over the moon not to have died, because the previous experience in this room was agony, however, I’m almost a little disappointed not to have found out the cause of my previous death. Did I do something significantly different? Maybe the assassin was in this room, but got scared off because I brought Sophie to check it out? Or it could have been poison, but since I didn’t eat, I wasn’t affected? That doesn’t make any sense though. If it was poison, everyone else would have died. Ugh, I don’t get it! But if I don’t figure this out, I won’t be able to sleep peacefully in the Underworld!

My whirling thoughts are interrupted by Delphie-

“Well, if you’re feeling better, there’s something Eli and I wanted to talk to you about. Can you come to the living room?” She asks and I nod before realizing that she can’t see me from behind the door.

“I’ll be out in just a second!”