“Hello, my name is Asumi. Nice to meet you.”

I first met her in elementary school. A transferred student who came in the middle of the semester, a most bizarre time. Her pink hair that draped down to her waist as she gave a small bow, flowed along with the breeze from the open window next to my seat. It was strange, as the moment she spoke it was as if the sun’s ray came out from the clouds and shined on her like the spotlight of an auditorium.

“Umm...are you okay?” She asked, a tone of nervousness in her voice as she tilted her head to me.

“Beautiful...” Was the only thought that came to my mind as I looked up from my book and met with her. Her appearance was just that. She was the same age as me, yet there was something different about her. A sense that separated her from the rest of us, something from the rest of us girls.

She was perfect.

Her looks, her mannerism, her pose. Everything about her was as if she came from a storybook. Like a princess from a fairytale, she appeared before me as someone who could not possibly exist in the real world. Yet, there she was. Standing before my desk, her hair swaying gently with the wind.

She was such a perfect and beautiful person that I absolutely despised her. Her very sight brought me discomfort. That such a person could exist, it proved to me again the cruelty and unjust of the world I had long knew.

“...What do you want?” I grumbled as I quickly pulled my eyes away from her, biting my lips. She was so brilliant. Shining; her appearance was like looking directly into the sun and it made me cringe. I threw myself back into my book as I struggled with the sudden flood of negative thoughts that came into my head.

“Oh...umm...well...”

“Leave me alone. I’m trying to read.” I scoffed, not even giving her a glance. My voice cracked, the words coming out as if I was begging for her to go away although it wasn’t far from the truth.

Why did she come over to me? Since the first day she’s arrived, she had been the star of the class. I could easily see it even from my seat, the admiration of all the idiotic boys. The fawning of all the shallow girls who flocked to her like a pack of sniggering hyena. It disgusted me to no end. All of them, every one of them, disgust me.

“I’m sorry.”

Her response made me flinch. They were such simple words that caught me by surprise. I did not understand. It was the first time I heard such words directed at me, that I did not know what to do. But it was not the words itself, but instead the way she said it. The sound of her voice as she spoke not like the rest of the class, who only spoke to me with disdain and distance.

I fought it, but my head still moved on its own. Like being pulled, I found myself looking up again. I had expected to once again wince the moment I look at her face, to no doubt to see the same look that everyone gives to me; the look of scorn and contempt they all show me on a daily basis whenever I tried to speak to them. But instead, I was met with an unexpected smile.

My mind quickly went into defensive and rationalized that she was not really smiling, but like everyone else, was instead being condescending. That’s right...it has to be. This person, there was no way possible that she could be smiling at me after what I have said and after no doubt hearing about me from the rest of the despicable class.

Yet no matter how hard I tried to twist it, the look on her face was an undeniable smile. She was smiling. Smiling at me! My already struggling mind was overloaded with a sensation I have never felt before and a tightness was on my chest that pulled at me with such great force that I dropped the book in my hands in complete shock.

“Oh! Ah...umm...I read that book before. It’s very good.” She spoke excitedly as she picked it up for me and giggled. “It was amazing when the princess turned into a monster and ate everyone. I especially loved how the writer portrayed the scenes of her tearing apart her subjects and ripping out the prince’s throat as he screamed and begged for mercy. Hehehe, it was so wonderful.”

“You...did you just spoiled the story for me. What the heck?!” I exclaimed as I leapt out of my seat; my blanked mind scrambled to comprehend what has just happened.

“Eh? Eeeeh?! I’m-I’m sorry!! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know...!!” She cried out in shock. Her apologizes gave off a sense that she did this by accident, yet even so...even so...

“I will...never forgive you for this.” The words slipped from my lips. Emotions of all kind bombarded me in ways that I could not describe, yet there was one that I could easily discern that was blowing up within me; a feeling of rage that I’ve never felt before towards anyone as I stared at this girl, completely flabbergasted.

It was at this moment; I had decided this girl was my mortal enemy.

=

It was a disturbing sight, watching the young girl who was proclaimed to be Alma’s Eve struggle so on the ground. Yet Armadat did not waver as it charged its spear, the energy crackling in the air.

With the way it was, it’s the end for her. Even if she were not to be killed by Armadat, she was already being eaten alive. It was only a matter of time.

To the one who would side with those hoping to go against the judgement passed upon the sinners, this was more than she deserved. This foolish ploy from those who would go against the Almighty. What could it possibly achieve besides the disturbance of peace and salvation brought upon this forsaken world?

Peace...Salvation...The words cruelly echoed in Armadat’s mind.

“Derised ew tahw ylurt siht si...sretsis?” Came strange noises from the colossal monster. It was only for a moment, but Armadat hesitated as if it suddenly beginning to question its objectives. Yet the moment those thoughts came to its mind, the crown around its head suddenly tightened.

“Drol ym, em evigrof! Sthguoht suomehpsalb hcus rof!” Came pain-filled wails as the creature steadied itself. Quickly as the thoughts came, it vanished from its mind as if suddenly wiped away and Armadat steeled its resolve the moment its spear finished charging.

“Htob meht no ycrem evah ythgimlA...” Came a quiet whisper from the creature, a regret sound as it once again offered a solemn prayer, as it launched its attack.

Releasing it completely, the very area itself become warped from the power that emitted from the tip of its spear, as it flew towards the writhing and screaming mass of flesh that agonized on the ground. The charged weapon aimed straight for her heart, for a swift kill.

However just as it was about to make contact, from thin air appeared a familiar smirking figure. Their soulless eyes looked upon the towering figure that launched itself with all its strength toward its target, as they raised their arms.

CRASH

The deafening sound of metal clashing with glass screeched from the contact between the two. Where Armadat’s spear flew, it was being held in mid-air, unable to move as if stopped by a powerful barrier. Large amount of energy poured out from the confrontation, like streams of light they burst from between the tip of Armadat’s lance and Alma’s outstretched hands

“Let’s play for a bit, my friend.” Alma declared as suddenly the attack was repelled and the giant creature was thrown back.

SKREEE

Violently sliding backwards, Armadat quickly regained control of itself but before it could even prepare for a counterattack an immense pressure came down on it, forcing it down to its knees as it could only raise it shield in defense.

“How does it feel, Armadat? This is the punishment that have been placed upon me by your so-called Almighty. Feel it as I have turned what is their curse into my power! Feel it and cower as I crush you with the very same weights that have been casted on me this entire time! Ahahahaha!!” Alma laughed manically as the crushing force casted upon the towering creature increased in strength.

“AHIMAN!!!!” Came a deafening scream from Armadat as it struggled to defend itself from the force that came down on it. But within the scream also came another sound from the second head on its chest that was reminiscent of a song.

“Heh...heh AHAHAHAHA! Yes, sing...sing to me! Sing to me the song of our covenant! Sing to me the words that were used to enslave all of us. I had knew you, out of everyone else, were still there, my friend! But now it seems my failure to you has been complete!” Alma suddenly screamed along as the strange melody reached their ears. From their eyes came trails of red that dripped down their face even as they continuously increased their power towards the fallen creature.

“SING TO ME! SING TO ME IN ANGER! SING TO ME IN HATRED! SING TO ME OUR SONG ON THAT VERY DAY, WHEN WE WERE ALL HELPLESS TO SAVE THE WORLD! SING TO ME OUR SWAN SONG, SO THAT I MAY INHERIT YOUR DESIRE FOR VENGEANCE TOWARDS THE FALSE GOD THAT FOOLED US ALL! SING TO ME, SISTER AMIA!!

CRA-CRACK

The strange singing continued from where Armadat was being held down. Bits and pieces of the area that surrounded them, as if made of glass, began to shatter and break apart with every passing moment of the melody. From above, Alma was grinning madly as the sound of the music began to wrap around them along with the cracking that emitted from their body. On their outstretched arms were fissures that were increasing in size, breaking up their skin as lights poured out from underneath.

“Five minutes was too optimistic. Heh heh...how unfortunate. But this is still fine.” Alma gave a mischievous grin as they looked behind them at the still struggling and contorting body of the young girl on the ground as she slowly began to get up. “My dear Eve, I will have to leave you to those foolish boys now. However, I have no doubt anymore they will be able to help you. Afterall, was it not you who chosen them as your “friends”? Heh heh...let us see how they will do.”

Letting out another terrible scream of pain, the tentacles that wrapped tightly around Ryuuko burst apart. Blood and flesh gushed out from her and splattered across the ground, melting the surrounding area like acid as her body began to increase in size and rose to the sky like a grotesque tree.

“Holy crap. A-are we seriously going to do this!? Look at that!” Juntaro exclaimed. The two boys were watching everything from a safe distance, bidding their time as they contemplated a plan.

“Having second thoughts senpai? You still have about 10 minutes on your timer.” Takuya scoffed.

“Oh sh-shut up! I’ll show you I’m just as capable of being as idiotic as the both of you!” Juntaro immediately retorted. “But Kenjirou, are we seriously going to trust that silver-haired asshole?”

“Of course not. I’ll never trust that bastard. But...this might be the only way to save Takatora.” Kenjirou grunted as he glanced nervously at the glowing ball of light in his hand. He thought carefully about the conversation they had earlier with Alma.

-

“What do you mean, we’ll be your weapons?!” Takuya demanded.

“Ah, did I say weapons? I meant “friends”. Heh heh, doesn’t that sound much better now?” Alma giggled; a disgusting smirk spread across their face as they twirled their silvery braid.

“That sounds even worse! Who the heck would want to be your friend, you piece of shi-“ Juntaro exclaimed.

“Stop it, both of you.” Kenjirou interjected, breaking up the fight between his two clubmates and the silver-haired being that floated playfully in the air in front of them. “You...what are you expecting us to do?”

“Are you scared, “president”?” Alma asked mockingly, their soulless eyes meeting with the furrowed brows of the club president. “Did you three not already resolved yourself to save Takatora Ryuuko?”

“We did. However, it does not mean that we’re going to willingly do whatever you want. We at least demand proper explanations.” Kenjirou replied as he adjusted his glasses. He stood his ground as he stared into their eyes, the deep voids that sucked in everything and left no trace of light or humanity.

Alma gave a dry chuckled, as they tossed the three ball of light to the boys. Gently, it floated towards them like feathers in the air.

“It...this thing reached me through the screen? How-how is that even possible!?” Juntaro cried out in surprise as he felt the warmth of the glowing object that appeared before him inside his electronic world.

“Save yourself the trouble. You will not be able to fully analyze it, not with the paltry technological skill you currently possess. The same goes for the rest of you. Don’t waste your time but instead, just swallow it.”

“Hmph, I told you that we’re not going to just do whatever you say without an explanation as to what this is.” Kenjirou protested as he held the ball of light. He could not feel it, yet the brightness it gave off were blinding and as it floated gently in the palm of his giant hand, he could see it pulsating ever so slightly as it shuddered the air around it.

“...It’s a seed. I granted it to you, for it will be the only way for you to contact Takatora Ryuuko who have been consumed by her own original sin. As you are now, you stand no chance of reaching her in her current state. But with the seed, you shall be able to resonant with her.”

“Resonant? What do you mean?” Takuya asked.

“You have all experienced it before, haven’t you? That day when your sins manifested from your bodies. It was quite a surprise that you were able to endure it so well. It was still incomplete, but it was an impressive sight indeed.”

“You’re talking about...that time! Are you talking about the day the virus in our bodies mutated?! That strange phenomenon where we suddenly got that power and went nuts?! So it was you!” Juntaro exclaimed.

“Hmmhmm...it was quite an experience wasn’t it? How did it feel? Although, I do not believe it was the first time you all felt such agony. Isn’t that right, “president”...”

“Ugh...” Kenjirou gritted his teeth. “If we swallow this...would it give us more power? Would we become like Takatora?”

“No, of course not. Have I not said it multiple times before that she is different from the rest of you, for she is pure and innocent while you are all children of sin. No matter how much you try, you will never be able to purify yourselves.” Alma snickered. “That seed, all it will do is match you with the same wavelength as Takatora Ryuuko and nothing more, allowing you reach her, even as she sink into the furthest depth of herself. If the bond between all of you and her really is as strong as you all hoped it to be, then you might just be able to save her. Although I have my doubts, I’ve been proven wrong in my judgement before heh heh...”

“And what will happen if we are not able to reach her?” Takuya asked hesitantly.

Alma suddenly flashed a terrifying grin, baring all their teeth, as their eyes widen and stared straight at the three boys.

“You will all be devoured along with her.”

The three boys flinched, taking a step back the moment they heard Alma’s words.

“A-are you serious!?”

“Yes, for I am also taking quite a risk myself. I am entrusting to you not only the life of my precious Eve, but my own as well. Do not think I will allow any of you to escape if you are to fail.” Alma declared as they creepily wrapped their hands around their face. “The seeds that I have given you, know that it will only work if all three of you are to swallow it together. If even one of you try to worm your way out and not swallow it while the others does, then there will be an instability that will cause the sins within you to run wild and destroy all of you. There will not be a trace left of your measly existence, ahaHAHAHAHAHAA!!”

“My god...you can’t...wha-what the hell?!” Juntaro exclaimed as he stared at the glowing ball of light, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

“Your prayer will not help you, for you are now in my grasp hahaha!” Alma laughed cruelly. “Now, fulfill your only purpose of existence!”

“W-wait! Hold on just a moment!” Kenjirou protested but Alma only gave him a disgruntle look of disgust in response.

“I grow tired of your pointless idleness. Where is the conviction you shown me earlier, the stupendous camaraderie you all shared so brilliantly? Do not tell me it is only between the three of you and that everything was nothing more than a pathetic façade to save face amongst you fools.”

“...Of course not.” Kenjirou responded.

“Then the time for talk is over. There is no escape for you anymore, for any of you.”

“You mean to say we never had a choice from the beginning?! You bastard, what the hell was this about request and not being obliged to help from earlier then?!”

“You had a choice. You could have easily abandon Takatora Ryuuko when you had the chance, but instead you all chose not to.” Alma replied coldly as they turned their soulless eyes to the live chat Juntaro spoke from, sending a shudder down his spine. “Are you regretting your choices now? It must be painful, to have chosen the thorny path of being a savior to another.”

Kenjirou was silent as he clenched his fists so hard, his nails dug deep into his palms.

“Five minutes. You have five minutes, that is the amount of time I can hold back Armadat. Within those five minutes, save Takatora Ryuuko. Reach deep into her and save her from herself. I will leave it to you, children of sin.” Alma laughingly waved as they floated away from the boys.

-

“That bastard. They still didn’t explain what it means to “resonant” with Takatora. Are we supposed to grab her out from that thing, or something?” Takuya exclaimed.

“Grab her?! Are you crazy?! Just look at that!” Juntaro cried as he pointed to the massive pile of grotesque red that was stretching high into the sky. “All that stuff that’s pouring out of her, its dissolving everything it touches and we’ll be no different if we go anywhere near her!”

“Well then what the hell are we supposed to do, senpai?!”

“Perhaps...Mitsuhide, are you still able to detect Takatora?” Kenjirou asked as he scratched his chin.

“Huh? You mean, from that thing? Give me a sec...Whoa! Yep, got it! I’m actually getting a life reading from her. Despite how big and scary that thing is, it seems to be more of a shell and Ryuuko’s body is somewhere deep in there.” Juntaro replied.

“A shell? So that means...Prez, what you are hoping to do?” Takuya asked warily.

“If we can break through that outer layer and get to her real body, perhaps we might be able to reach her and pull her out.” Kenjirou stated, as he adjusted his glasses. “Mitsuhide, can you pinpoint areas that are weaker and not directly connected to her real body that we could attack without harming her?”

“That’s going to be tricky. From my scans, that outer part is constantly changing and again, may I add, it is melting anything that is coming in contact with it. But, I’ll see what I can do. Still, if you’re planning to do what I think you’ll do, know that there is no evidence of possibility it’ll work as you might hope. All in all, it’s just going to be suicidal.”

“Then it’s no different from what we usually do. A least it’s a plan. Prez, I’ll use my knives, get close and try to break apart that thing, so back me up. I...I’m against helping that bastard, but I really do want to save Takatora.” Takuya declared as he pulled out a pair of knives and gripped it tightly in his hands.

“Me too.” Kenjirou nodded his head in agreement, as he cracked his knuckles.

“Haaa...so we’re really going to be doing this. You two assholes...god, you guys suck so much.” Juntaro gave a weary sigh.

“Come on now senpai, don’t be like that. Compared to the both of us, you suck way more.” Takuya chuckled.

“Oh shut up! Anyways, I’m done with my scanning. If you’re going to aim for certain areas to reach her, these are the best spots.”

“Ugh...seriously?” Takuya winced as he looked at his phone the information that was sent to him, carefully memorizing the instructed points to aim for.

“Are YOU having second thoughts now? Heh heh...”

“Of course not! Prez, let’s do this then.” Takuya said as he brought the glowing ball of light to his face. Kenjirou and Juntaro nodded their head as they did the same.

The three of them stared at the strange object that floated at the palm of their hand, its shape eerily similar to that of an apple. The light that shone from it was absolutely blinding, almost as bright as looking directly into the sun, yet they could not look away from it.

They hesitated. A strange feeling of dread ran through all of them. Every sense in their bodies were warning them against swallowing this object, screaming at them that it was dangerous as all three desperately fought to calm themselves.

“We’ll be that bastard’s “weapon”, huh? Tch...what the hell?” Juntaro clicked his tongue.

“Yeah...we’re really going to have to make them pay for everything. But for now...” Takuya agreed.

“Let’s do what we must.” Kenjirou grumbled.

The three of them closed their eyes and threw their heads back as they all swallowed the shining ball of light at the same time. An indescribable taste and warmth filled their mouths as the ball smoothly slid down their throats and into their bodies.

=

“What do you think, Ryuuko? I put a lot of effort into this one and I think it might just be my best one yet! Mmm...I can almost taste that best-selling novel award.”

“...You really are insane.”

“Eh?”

“I understand your love for these type of stories but...urp...” I pushed the manuscript back to her hands in disgust.

I felt sick to my stomach as I struggled to hold down my lunch after reading Asumi’s new story.

“Ah...it’s no good?” Asumi sighed sadly.

“Was it really necessary for you to write 7 whole pages, describing so vividly, how the character was tortured and killed? Ugh...I can actually see the images in my head and it’s..” I retched, as I quickly reached for a bottle of water and tried to drink down the feeling of nausea.

“You didn’t like the part where I wrote how his spinal cord was pulled out from his-“

“Stop! Just stop it, you crazy!”

“Heh heh...well, I guess this one is a dud too then.” She giggled as she got up to the trash can.

“W-wait! You don’t have to throw it out, especially given how hard you worked on it. Just because it is something awful that should never be read by anyone else, doesn’t mean you should just get rid of it.” I tried to protest.

“But if you don’t enjoy it then it is pointless, isn’t it?”

“That’s...ugh...” I did not know how to respond as I could only watch her ripped her manuscript to shreds and threw it in the garbage. “I don’t understand you, Asumi...”

Only smiling in response, she sat back down next to me on the steps of the neighborhood shrine and placed her head on my shoulder. A humid breeze blew through our bodies, as I felt the tickle of her long hair that wrapped around my right arm. All around us was the buzzing noise of cicadas and the occasion sound of vehicles zooming by, signaled the still long days of summer.

“It’s been two years but you still haven’t forgiven me have you, Ryuuko?” Asumi asked quietly, her eyes closed.

“I told you, I’ll never forgive you. Never, ever.” I replied nonchalantly as I stared up at the blue skies.

“Such a grudge. It makes me sad, but I am also happy. It gives me all the more reason to work harder to earn your forgiveness.” She giggled.

“You’re weird...” I sighed weary. “But if that is the only reason you’re putting up with me then if I say I forgive you, will you leave me?”

“Do you want me to leave you, Ryuuko? Am I a bother to you?”

“It’s a little too late now. You’re already here, so saying you’re a bother and asking you to leave, when I know you won’t, is pointless. Besides, it’ll be boring if I’m just here by myself.”

“I see...” She gave a wry smile.

“Asumi, why did you choose me?”

“Huh?”

“Out of everyone in class, why did you come to me? Especially when...you know. All the things they said about me. I’ve never understood why.”

She was silent for a moment, before wrapping her hands around my right arm.

“I don’t know. Maybe I just felt something for you, when I saw you all alone and separated from the rest of the class.”

“So it’s pity then?”

“Maybe. Is that bad?”

“Hmm. A little bit. But...” As I huffed, I felt my cheeks getting wet as my eyes became fogged up with tears. “Ugh...uwuu...”

“Ah, Ryuuko! Please don’t cry! If you cry...then...then I’m going to also...Uwaaah!” Asumi suddenly also burst into tears.

“Why are you also crying?” I sobbed.

“I don’t know, but seeing you cry is just...waaaah!” She blubbered.

“Asumi...why?! Why does everyone hate me?! I don’t understand!”

“Uwaaah...that’s not true Ryuuko!”

“Yes it is! They all call me creepy, a freak! You heard all the mean things they say about me behind my back!”

“Ugh...uwwuuu...Ryuukooo!” Asumi cried as she hugged me. “You’re not a freak! You’re not creepy at all! You’re my friend!”

“Then...then will you be willing to announce to the class next year? That instead of us always just meeting in secret, are you willing to openly admit to everyone that you’re my friend?” I asked as I wiped the continuous falling tears from my eyes.

Asumi was quiet, as she continued to sob in my chest without giving any response.

“I knew it. You’re no different from them! You’re the same as everyone else, ashamed to be near me.” I barked as I tried to push her away but she latched on tightly to me.

“Okay...” Came a muffled voice.

“Huh?”

“I’ll do it! I’ll announce it to everyone! To the whole world if I have to! If that’s what you want, I’ll do it!” Asumi suddenly pulled her head away from me as she looked at me with determined eyes, tears still dripping from her cheeks. “But...but you have to promise me one thing!”

“W-what?”

She grabbed me by my hands and pulled it close to her chest. I could feel the trembling of her entire body as she tightly held onto them.

“Promise me...you’ll always be by my side no matter what! That you won’t abandon me as well.”