It was early in the morning when the police started to gather at the old steel mill. They were alerted by reports of an explosion and gunfire coming from the mill. When they arrived, all they found were mutilated corpses. Finding the bodies wasn't difficult, but identify any of them proved difficult due to how mutilated the corpses were. Herb leaned against a wall, smoking a cigar. He had been up all night coordinating the patrols to catch the killers in question; only to find the next victims to occur outside the town.

"Herb!"

"Oh Chris," Herb said as his colleague, Chris, approached him. The man was more or less his partner in crime. They'd known each other when they both joined the police. He was a man Herb trusted more than anything.

"Thought you told your wife you quit smoking." He said.

"So did you." He retaliated, gesturing at the cigarette in his hand.

"Fair enough," Chris said, joining Herb.

"So, how's Lucy and Will?" He asked.

"They're both good. Though I only saw Lucy last night." Chris then took another puff.

"Right, she was at that archery coerce," Herb said.

"Yeah. Grace says she was into archery before we married."

"You mean when,"

"Yep. So Grace doesn't talk about it that much, and I'd hate to ask Lucy about it since it's personal."

Chris was Lucy's stepfather, which was how the two men knew each other. While they have a good relationship, Lucy does call him by his name rather than calling him dad.

"Anyway, Allisa went away too for the summer, right?"

"Yeah, but she's been very vague about it. Don't even know what it is she was doing and where."

"I wouldn't worry too much. Allisa's a smart girl, so I'm sure it's nothing bad."

"Hope you're right," Herb said, bowing his head. "But I can't shake the feeling that there's something different about her."

"Chief!" Another police officer then approached the two.

"Goman." Herb said as he dropped his cigarette and crushed it underfoot. "So what's the damage?"

The two men were led into the building where the latest attack took place. Many forensic investigators were around inspecting the area. Blood was all over the area. Outside was 19 genies' covered with white cloth stained slightly red by blood. Several doctors' from the local hospital were on the scene. Goman led Herb and Chris to the stretcher.

"Chief." One of the doctors said.

"So?" Herb said to him.

The doctor's face looked grim. "Several of their organs were removed. Brain, heart, kidneys, you name it. Each one has lost some things while the others were unsalvageable. Some arms and legs were also taken. Exterior wounds range from being stabbed to being crushed. Along with that are pieces of flesh and muscles that look as though they've been chewed on."

"Just like the others," Chris said grimly.

"Whatever this is, it's definitely not the work of an ordinary mass murder. In fact, I think we have a Cannibal about."

"Cannibal huh? How many this time?" Herb asked, a little afraid to know the answer.

The doctor gave him a very grim look. "Well, from what we could salvage, about 19."

"Jesus." Chris took a step back, glancing at the building. "It was a real massacre in there."

"Did we find anything in there?" Herb asked.

"We found some stashes of Cocaine, which means that the victims went exactly law-abiding citizens," Goman said grimly. "Even so...."

"Yeah, these guys didn't deserve something like this," Chris said.

Herb walked up to the entrance of the building and looked around. The place reeked of blood. He then took in a deep breath of the rancid air and breathed out. "Just what the hell are we dealing with?"

Rift between worlds

Allisa yawned as she walked to school, stretching her arms wide.

"Rough night?" Lucy asked, walking beside her.

"Something like that." Allisa's morning consisted of shoving her unwelcome guests out the window before breakfast, which proved to be a struggle without Nel's assistance.

"I can tell, you look more exhausted than usual," Lucy said. "Oh, did you get a new phone."

"Yep." Allisa nodded.

"Can I see it?"

"Depends, are you gonna say 'very nice' or something like that."

"Knowing you, probably not," Lucy said cheekily.

"Then no."

"Wise choice."

Both girls' giggled together, walking along the concrete ground. She really hasn't changed much. Lucy thought glancing sideways at her friend as they walked. But why do I have this feeling that she's different?

"Lucy," Lucy snapped back from her chain of thought by Allisa's voice. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah, just spaced out," Lucy said.

"Isn't that my thing?" Allisa joked.

"Your right. I must have caught it from you." Lucy joked back.

"Hey!" Allisa pouted. "Oh, you saw Chris last night, right?"

"Yeah, but not for long though. He had to leave cause of this serial killer thing."

"Oh, you've heard about it."

"Yeah, the whole school’s talking about it, though it's mostly rumors and stories."

"You can't really believe that kinda stuff. It's mostly made up, or blown out of proportion."

"I'll say." Lucy chuckled a little. "Some people say that there not from this world, or are zombies or aliens or something ridiculous like that. Funny what people could come up with, huh?"

"Y-Yeah." Allisa was a little disturbed by the other world comment.

"What do you think? Alien or...... Allisa? You in there?" Lucy waved a hand over her face.

"Huh?" Allisa jumped a bit.

"Now your spacing out."

"Sorry," Allisa said with a wiry smile. "... Just a little worried about my dad."

Lucy then looked worried. "... I know the feeling. I hope Chris will be ok." She said.

"Maybe we should talk about something else," Allisa suggested, hoping to avoid the topic.

"Yeah, good idea. Probably just overthinking things,"

As the two talked, Allisa's mind couldn't help but wonder. Another world? Couldn't be? Could it?

****

(10 hours earlier)

Allisa opened the door to her room, drying off her hair. "Oh hey!" Max said, holding up a comic. "Does a guy like this exist in your world?"

Allisa walked closer and saw Max was holding up a Superman comic. "No he doesn't." She answered truthfully.

"Seriously?" Max looked at the front page disappointed. "Bummer."

"Never took someone like you to like Superman," Allisa said.

"Well, apart from the goofy name and funny jumpsuit, this guy seems really strong." He then flipped through pages. "He can also fly and shoot out things from his eyes. So cool."

"I like this bat guy," Melvin said, holding up a batman comic. "He's rich and fights with a bunch of cool gadgets and gizmos to stop this clown."

"Na, Jumpsuit guy rules," Max said holding up his comic.

"It's Superman." Allisa corrected.

"I like this 'spider man.'" Nel added, flipping through a Spiderman comic while resting on Allisa's bed, legs dangling up in the air.

"How come?"

"Not sure. I also seem drawn to this Green Lantern and Daredevil characters."

"Why are they all wearing costumes?" Yuki commented, skimming through several comics. "They look ridicules."

"How am I supposed to know?" Allisa said. "Most of these characters were invented in the 60's so I guess it was the rage back then." She then walked up to her desk and opened her laptop.

"What's this?" Nel asked, looking over Allisa's shoulder.

"It's called a computer. You know, a machine." Allisa answered.

"Fascinating."

"Do you mind?" Allisa said as she opened up a web browser. She was about to type something when something stopped her. "Hey. You said travel between worlds is forbidden. Why is it that?"

"Well off the top of my head," Nel began. "I say there's a power difference between your world and ours."

"Power difference? You mean mines stronger or something?"

"The opposite in fact."

"Huh?"

"Well, to put it in a way you'd understand," Nel walked over to her bag and rummaged through the books she was carrying. "Do you recall your fight with Garlahad?"

"Y-Yeah." He was the first major opponent Allisa faced, and was almost killed at one point. Even though she won, it didn't feel like a victory.

"How strong would you say he was?"

Allisa thought for a moment. "Very strong. But what does this have to do with what we're talking about."

"Everything." Nel took out one of her books and opened it to a page with a tank. "This would be the strongest weapon on the battlefield, correct?" she said pointing to the image.

"I.... I guess."

"Well, on average, a knight as strong as, if not stronger than Garlahad, could potentially destroy 100 of these with relatively little effort. In fact, you yourself to could destroy one with little ease."

"Wha! N-No way! I can't take out a tank with just a-!" Allisa shook her head in disbelief. Then she realized what Nel was talking about. "You're talking about Mana?"

"Correct." Nel slapped the book closed. "From what I've seen and read, people in your world can't properly harness mana compared to ours. And you've seen first hand how powerful a force like that is."

Allisa slumped her head, thinking about her time in Avalon.

"Imagine if someone with the power of Garlahad were to come into this world with malicious intent."

"...I see your point." Allisa said quietly, dreading the thought.

"These rules go back a long way," Melvin said. "The one who suggested the rule was one of the first Arch Sage's, Merlin."

"Merlin!" Allisa was surprised to hear that name. "The guy from my dreams! From Terra! He was an Arch Sage?!"

"Yeah. He was originally from Terra. He accompanied the Hero Arthur during the age of conflict."

"And that was," Max said, stretching his head. "How long ago?"

"About 1500 years," Melvin said to him. "Wait?" He then looked at Allisa puzzled, "What do you mean in your dreams?" He said to Allisa.

"Oh, um...." Allisa realized that she hadn't told them about her dreams. "It's difficult to explain. Uh.... you see, I,"

"Rowin mentioned that you were having strange dreams?" Nel said before Allisa could begin.

"Wha-He told you?" Allisa felt a little embarrassed.

"Is this what you're referring to?"

"Y-yeah, um..." Allisa thought of how to describe it. "They're.... memories... from King Arthur."

"Memories? From the hero Arthur?" Melvin said.

"It's hard to explain but... Let's talk about this later." Allisa turned to Nel. "So, these people who come to my world illegally, they do bad things?"

Nel nodded.

"So, what happens to them? Do they get caught?"

"I'm... not entirely sure to be honest," Nel said truthfully, putting a hand to her chin as she thought. "My guess is the Arch Sages send people after them."

Allisa looked at her void ring again. She remembered that Nel had been sent out to find her, and even saved her life.

"Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted," Nel said apologetically.

"It's fine." She took some time studying her ring and sighed. "There are gonna be people after me, aren't there?"

"More than likely, yes." Nel nodded.

"Don't worry. You got us." Max said. "If anyone comes after you, I'll burn them to ashes."

"We're all here to keep you safe?" Melvin said. "No way we'd let anyone come after you."

"I'm here for my own reasons to be here," Yuki said, leaning back against the wall. "And it's not that I particularly care about you."

"Then why'd you even come?" Max asked irritatedly.

"None of your business," Yuki said as he shut his eyes.

"Why yo-" Nel knocked Max out before he started a fight by striking the back of his neck.

"You already know my answer," Nel said. "The Arch Sage ordered me to keep you alive, and I never go back on a mission."

Allisa smiled as she looked back at her laptop. "Thanks guys."

Sports complications

Allisa's day wasn't as eventful as the other day apart from Max and Yuki caught sleeping during class. About midday it was time for spots, while the boys were outside for soccer, the girls were in the school gym for gymnastics, which consisted of various sporting activities.

****

Max and Yuki wiped their eyes as they walked to the field.

"It's too early," Max complained.

"Why did we have to get up so early?" Yuki said.

"Didn't you guys get enough sleep in class?" Melvin said as he walked alongside them

"No." Both groaned.

"I'm also starving," Max said as his stomach growled. "I barely had anything to eat."

"Didn't you get enough to eat at that burger place?" Melvin said to him. "And at lunch."

"It was enough for us to attract attention," Yuki said.

"Speaking of attention, why do you have your sword with you," Melvin said.

Yuki had refused to part with his sword for anything. "Cause wherever I go, it goes," Yuki said. "Besides, you said it was invisible to other people."

"I give up," Melvin said as he slumped.

"Hey!" Two boys then ran up towards them. "Hey, Check it out Bill," One of them pointed at Melvin. "You're not gonna be the worst."

"Y-Y-you can't s-s-say that." The other stuttered. "H-He could be g-g-good."

"Um, who are you guys?" Max said, scratching his head.

"Oh, I'm Erston. This is Bill." The first boy introduced. "And your Max right."

"You know how I am?"

"Course, all of Nerdvana knows who you are."

"Ner-what?" Max scratched his head.

Erston then took Max's hand and shook it vigorously. "You have all our people thanks for what you did dude. From now on, we'll be your entourage."

"Uh pyro," Yuki looked confused. "What exactly did you do?"

"That's what I want to know," Max said.

"Y-You b-b-beat up T-T-Tristan," Bill said to him as Erston released his hand.

"Tristan?" Max scratched his head in confusion. "Who was he again?"

"That's the jerk you slugged yesterday." Melvin reminded him.

"Oh that guy....."

"Yeah, he was so hurt he hasn't come after any of us," Erston said. "In fact, lots of his gang have left him. We nerds no longer live in fear of his tyrannical reign."

Max looked even more confused. "Seriously, what did I do?"

"You really did it know," Melvin said.

"But I didn't do anything."

"By the way," Erston said, looking at Melvin. "how'd a kid get into high school anyway?"

"That kids with us," Yuki said.

"S-Sorry," Erston said quickly, clearly intimidated by Yuki.

"I-I-Is he you c-c-cousin?" Bill asked.

"No way." Max and Yuki said in unison.

"You didn't have to say it like that," Melvin said, sulking.

"Is he some kind of boy genius?" Erston asked.

"Something like that," Yuki said. "Anyway," he then picked up a soccer ball. "What game are we playing anyway?"

"Soccer, why?"

"What's soccer?" Max asked.

"You never heard of soccer?" Erston and Bill looked at each other confused.

Idiots. Melvin thought, holding a hand over his face. He then attracted Max and Yuki's attention. They both leaned down close to him. "I read about it in one of Nel's books." He whispered. "It's a common sport in this world. All you have to do is kick around the ball," he pointed to the soccer ball. "Without using your hands."

"Oh." Max took the ball from Yuki and placed it on the ground. "Like this?"

He then kicked the ball as hard as he could, sending it flying like a meteor through the length of the pitch, smashing through the fence in the way and continued to the forest. Dust rose from the gap in the trees as two trees collapsed. Everyone on the pitch was shocked and terrified as they turned to face Max.

Melvin and Yuki buried their faces as Max looked around cluelessly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!!" Yuki yelled pointing in the direction where he lobbed the ball. "What the Hell was that?!"

"All I did was kick the ball! Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

"Not with your full strength you idiot!!" Melvin yelled. "You're not aiming to kill anyone here!!"

"Use your brain for once pyro!!" Yuki yelled.

An argument brock out as Erston and Bill watched, still dumbstruck.

"Change of plans. It's probably better if we stay away from them." Erston said to Bill.

"A-A-Agreed," Bill said.

****

"Wonder what that was?" Lucy said, reacting to what sounded like thunder.

"No idea," Allisa said as she threw the basketball. The ball bounced on the goal and hit her in the face. "Ow," She moaned as she rubbed her face.

"You ok?" Gabriella asked, giggling slightly.

"Oh, yeah," Allisa said. "Th-that's nothing.

"Hey guys," Gina said as she walked to the others.

"Hey," Lucy said.

"Are you ok Allisa?" Gina asked Allisa.

"Just fine," Allisa said as she recovered. "A ball hit me."

"Does seem to happen a lot to you," Lucy said chuckling.

"It's not funny!"

"It is when it happens so many times. When you tired in the park last spring you kept getting hit in the face whenever you tried to score a basket." Lucy continued with a mischievous grin.

"Make it sound like they're drawn to me or something," Allisa said pouting.

"Anyway. Did you guys hear the news?" Gabriella said.

"About what?" Lucy asked.

"You remember the new kids in your class."

"Yeah, no way I could forget them." Lucy nodded.

Allisa kept quiet since she knew the 'new kids' better than she let on.

"Apparently, one of them beat up Tristan."

"Tristan?! That Tristan?" Lucy said with surprise.

"Yeah. Badly too. It was that Max guy."

"Oh, that guy. Didn't think he was that tough." Lucy turned to Allisa. "Hard to believe though, right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Allisa tried to act as though it was news but proved difficult since she actually saw what happened. At least he held back that time, sort of.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Allisa's lack of a reaction, seeing right through the act.

"Oh, Allisa." Gina then changed the subject. "How'd it go with Aston the other day."

"Aston?"

"Yeah, Lucy said you went to talk to him yesterday. Did you?"

Allisa thought for a minute, and then remembered that she left him to deal with Nel. Right. I forgot. Allisa slumped to the ground, a dark cloud looming over her.

"That bad huh?" Gina said.

"Looks like it," Lucy said with a wry smile.

"Greetings losers." Francesca then approached them, followed closely by two other girls.

"Oh, great." Lucy moaned.

"Mind clearing out," Francesca demanded.

"We're here first," Gina complained.

"Well, tough. We're here now."

"What gives you the right?" Gabriella complained. Francesca walked up to her, gazing her in the eye.

"Why don't you do something else?" Allisa said before Francesca could say anything. "It's not like this is the only thing there is. Besides, there are four of us, and three of you." Francesca was a little taken off guard by Allisa's argument.

"For your information tomboy, there are four of us," Francesca said to her.

"Really? Cause I only see three."

Francesca then looked around. "No, four, see," she pointed to Julie, who just walked into the gym. "Julie!" she called out, attracting her attention. "Care to shoot some hoops with us?"

Julie took a look at Allisa. "I'll pass." She said as she walked on, leaving Francesca frozen in place.

"Still four of us," Allisa said.

Francesca took a spiteful look at Allisa. Who does that bitch think she is? She then turned to the two other girls. "Let's go," Francesca announced. Lucy, Gina and Gabriella then looked at Allisa.

"That was amazing how you handled her," Gina said to her.

"Oh, it was nothing, really," Allisa said.

"Still, that was something," Gabriella said. "Didn't think you'd have the guts to speak to her like that."

"Its nothing really," Allisa said as she picked up the ball.

Lucy didn't take her eyes of Allisa. She's definitely more confident. She never made Francesca back down before.

"Lucy?"

"Huh?" Lucy snapped back again to reality by Allisa's voice.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Lucy smiled as she took the ball from Allisa. "Always feel I need to recover when she's around."

"True that," Gina said. Lucy then threw the ball at the goal. The ball bounced off the hoop and hit Allisa on the head.

"Oh sorry," Lucy said, trying not to laugh.

"Ow... Does that ball have it out for me or something?" Allis said as she rubbed her head.

"Hey," Gabriella said as she looked to a large crowd gathering at the far end of the gym. "Wonder what's going on over there." Allisa looked over to that direction, still rubbing her head. The commotion seemed to be coming from the uneven beams. Looking over there, Allisa caught sight of who was causing the commotion.

****

The exercise was simple enough for Nel. Simply swinging on a pole. In fact, it was practically second nature. Performing a series of swings was mere child's play to her. So much so that Nel didn't take notice of the crowd gathered before her. She just continued to spin round and round, before letting go of the bar, somersaulted in the air before landing on her feet. Clapping the came from around her caught her attention. She hadn't realized that she attracted so much attention.

"That was amazing!"

"Are you a pro?"

"Great moves!"

The congratulations went on, as though she had won some tournament. Nel wasn't entirely sure how to react. "Thank you." She said, bowing. Guess I should play along for now.

"That was incredible. Don't you think Cindy?"

"I-It was, ok I guess." A brown-haired replied, with a little hint of jealousy.

"Hey, Nel wasn't it?" one of the girls came up to her.

"That's right." Nel nodded.

"That was amazing. You should join the gymnastics team." The girl said. "With skills like that, we'd probably make nationals."

"Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't. Sorry." Nel politely turned them down.

"Aw, why not."

"Don't worry. No one's forcing you." The girl named Cindy approached Nel. "If you don't want to join, then that's your choice," she said in a supportive voice. Nel could tell that it was fake but worked in her favor.

"Thank you for understanding," Nel said as she walked off through the crowd. That was close. I was too careless.

Suddenly, a chill overcame Nel as something came over her, a strong sense of malice. She stopped suddenly and turned around, looking at anyone close to her. The feeling however dissipated as soon as she turned around. What was that?

What Nel had detected was a strong sense of malice. Though her knowledge of Terra was limited, especially with school, she knew that this feeling wasn't natural for her surroundings.

There's someone in here who wants to kill. Are they from Avalon? As she looked around, a ball rolled to her leg, breaking her concentration. She bent down and picked it up.

"Hey! New girl!" Nel turned around and saw a girl waving at her. That girl was with three others, one of which was Allisa. "Wanna play?" The girl asked.

"Um, sure!" Nel took a look back and then walked towards the group. Guess it's nothing.

****

Allisa watched as Nel came over. Gabriela had invited her to play with them. This made her uneasy since she had to pretend that she didn't know her.

"Hey," Lucy said. "Nel, right?"

"That's correct."

"I'm Lucy." She said smiling. "We're in the same class."

"Oh, hello," Nel replied. "It's good to meet you."

"Um," Allisa then approached, to get her introduction out of the way. "I'm, Allisa." she tried to keep a straight face but it was difficult due to how awkward she felt. "W-we're also in the same class."

"Of course, Nice to meet you," Nel replied as though they had just met.

How is this not awkward?

"Um," Gina then stepped forwards. "My names Gina. This is Gabriella."

"Hi," Gabriella said.

"Nice to meet all of you," Nel said.

Allisa still felt a little uneasy since she had to pretend that she didn't know her, leaving her to wonder how she could put on the act with a straight face. That feeling didn't go away as they started to play.

"So," Lucy took the ball. " Where are you from anyway."

"Oh," Nel thought for a bit. "I'm from a small town in Rhode Island." Allisa was a little suspired that She came up with that answer on the spot.

"Really, Were about?" Gina asked.

"A little town near Providence," Nel answered. "My parents moved her recently so I'm only just settling in."

Did she rehearse this or something? Allisa thought, feeling awkward by this rather peculiar situation.

"I love your hair by the way," Gabriella said. "What dye are you using?"

"Oh, this is my natural hair hear color."

Don't tell them that! Allisa screamed in her head.

"Wha- You're not using dye?" Lucy said, a little amazed.

"Of course not. Why would I dye it?" Nel then picked up the ball and threw it into the net.

"Whoa, nice shot," Lucy said with amazement.

"Thank you," Nel said.

"Hey," Gina then pointed at Nel's right shoulder. "Is that a tattoo?"

"Mh.... Oh, yes." Nel replied, looking at her shoulder. Allisa looked too and saw an inverted sword, red with two drops of blood, tattooed on her shoulder. It was the first time Allisa had seen it due to the sports gear Nel was wearing which didn't cover her shoulders.

"Wow," Gabriella took a closer look. "Is it real?"

Nel then covered it with her hand, clutching the skin tightly. "... It's real." She said.

Allisa could tell she seemed upset. "H-Hey, so," Allisa then picked up the ball, thinking of something to change the subject. She then though the ball at the hoop, which bounced back and hit her again on the head. "What the Hell!"

"Ok, that ball is defiantly out to get you." Lucy laughed.

"It's not funny!" Allisa said, trying not to laugh along. As she looked up, she saw Nel giggling slightly. Allisa was glad she was cheerful again, but couldn't help but wonder what exactly the tattoo meant to her.

An Assassins mark

Allisa walked back into her room after her shower that evening, finding it completely empty, which came as some relief. When she got back from school, she was expecting her Avalon friends to be in her room. This came as a relief; seeing that she had her room back once again. She took a seat at her desk, rummaged in her bag and brought out her homework.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

As she began her homework there was a tap on the window. Allisa looked towards it, then turned back to her homework, thinking it was nothing. Then there was another tap.

"What's that?"

Allisa got up from her desk and walked towards her window. As she reached it, a pebble hit the window, creating the tapping noise. She opened it and looked down and saw Nel, Max, Melvin and Yuki below. She then closed her window and walked back to her desk as though she hadn't seen anything. The window then opened again.

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Nel asked as she crawled through the window.

"No," Allisa replied bluntly, not bothering to make eye contact. "Don't you have some other place to stay yet?"

"No," Nel said. "So we'll stay here for the time being."

Allisa signed since she knew arguing with her was a waste of time. "You can't stay here all the time. I need my privacy."

"What for?" Melvin asked, a little too eagerly.

"None of your business!" Allisa said to him.

Melvin was then shoved into the room.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Yuki said as he entered next, followed by Max.

"What's up?" He greeted.

"How'd you guys even get up here?" Allisa asked as she walked to the window. "Wha-What the?" She saw a ladder leaned up against her house. "Where'd this come from?"

"Oh, I did that," Melvin said. Allisa touched the ladder, and then it immediately disintegrated into dust.

"That some kind of magic?"

"Yep. It's called 'Earth mold.' A type of magic can create structures out of the earth as well as animate it. Although... I'm not very good at it. I can just create small things for a minute or two."

"Hey," Max pulled out a box containing Allisa's comics. "Mind if I read some?" He asked.

"We have homework to do. Remember." Allisa walked back to her desk.

"Already done." Nel and Melvin said together.

"Homework?" Max said, scratching his head. "You mean that paper we were given?" Max rummaged through his bag.

"What is it supposed to be anyway?" Yuki said, pulling out his homework.

"It's called math's," Allisa said as she sat down at her desk.

"It doesn't make any sense," Yuki complained.

"What's with all the numbers anyway?" Max asked. "What are we supposed to do with it?"

"I found it pretty simple," Melvin said, holding out his completed sheet.

"How's that simple?" Yuki said, studying Melvin's sheet.

"I'm even more confused," Max said.

"Quiet," Allisa said as she worked through her homework. "I'm trying to concentrate." Nel looked over her shoulder. "Where'd you guys go anyway? I was kinda expecting you to be here when I got back from school."

"We went to get something to eat," Max replied. "Since last time you only fed us scraps."

"Be grateful I even fed you guys."

"You realize you've got that wrong?" Nel said, pointing at one of the questions. Allisa glared at her and crossed out the one Nel referred to. She then stopped as she remembered something she wanted to ask. "Hey Nel. That tattoo,"

"It's my Assassins mark," Nel replied before Allisa could finish. The guys then looked at Nel. "I guess you deserve the right to see." Nel walked away from Allisa and lifted up her right sleeve showing everyone her mark.

"That's.... The Crimson Blade emblem?" Melvin asked.

"That's right." Nel nodded. "Every assassin has their clan emblem tattooed on their body. It's given to us when an assassin initiate makes their first kill."

"Really?" Max said. "So how old were you when you got yours?"

"I was four when I received my mark."

"Four!" Allisa jumped back with surprise. "You killed someone when you were four years old?"

"Just when I thought she couldn't get any scarier," Melvin said a little scared.

"In fact, by the time I turned ten I reckoned I've killed more people than this serial killer everyone's been talking about," Nel said as she covered up her tattoo again.

"Whoa, that's... kinda creepy." Allisa then turned back to her homework. "I thought it was something bad cause of your reaction in gym today."

"It's not bad," Nel said as she walked up to Allisa. "It's just the thought that I'm the only one who bears this emblem."

"Right, sorry." She remembered that Nel was the last of the Crimson Blades. She couldn't even imagine what that must feel like.

"It's ok." Nel then looked over Allisa's shoulder. "That one's wrong too." Allisa's grip on her pencil tightened out of annoyance as Nel pointed to another question. "Oh, and that one too."

"Did I get one right?!" Allisa snapped.

"Well," Nel looked over Allisa's homework. "Question 2 is close."

Allisa banged her head on the desk. "I give up." She announced with exhaustion.

"Hey, what's this serial killer everyone's been talking about?" Max called out while taking out a comic.

"Oh yeah. I heard some rumors at school about that." Melvin said, also picking out a comic. "They're saying some pretty scary stuff about it. Like, bodies being mutilated or something."

Allisa groaned as she got back up. "Don't really know much about it myself. I just know that there have been several brutal murders around town. What's strange is that all the victims are completely unrelated to one another."

"Unrelated? You mean someone is killing people at random?"

"Yeah. And they all say the victim's bodies are completely mangled." Allisa leaned on her desk. "Makes me a little worried about my dad."

"Your dad? What's he do?" Max asked.

"He's chief of police of the town, so he's been going out every night, trying to catch the guy." She let out a sigh. "There was one time when some policemen were attacked. Makes me worry that he'll be the next victim.

"Allisa,"

"Why don't we deal with it ourselves?" Yuki pointed out. He'd been quiet since he arrived so he surprised everyone when he spoke. He was leaning against the wall near Allisa's bed. "We're not doing anything at the moment, plus I'm sure whoever it is will be no match for us."

"Absolutely not," Nel said sharply. "It's not our problem."

"But it's the right thing to do!" Max complained standing up. "I mean, we can't just let this guy keep killing people!"

"We can't," Melvin said sternly. "Look, I feel the same way, but master said that we can't interfere with the affairs of this world."

"It's a problem for the authorities of this world. Not ours." Nel replied to him.

"But-" Max tried to come up with an argument.

"It's ok," Allisa said to him, attracting his attention. "Sure I'm worried. But, I'm sure my dad will be fine."

Max hesitated for a second, and then sat down again. "Sorry." He said, taking a comic.

"Master was very clear on it," Melvin said to both Max and Yuki. "I know it sucks, but it's just the way it is."

"Fine," Yuki said. "It was just a suggestion."

"Let's talk about something else," Allisa said, picking up her pencil again and started to write. "Why don't you try tackling your homework?"

Nel looked over Allisa's shoulder. "That was wrong." She said.

"Why don't you do this then?!" Allisa snapped.

"Ok." Nel reached for Allisa's pencil.

"I was joking!" Allisa said snatching her pencil away. "Though, mind helping?" She added, a little embarrassed.

"Sure." Nel took a closer look at Allisa's worksheet.

****

Allisa lay peacefully in her bed. Max and Melvin slept on the floor while Yuki lay against the wall. Nel, on the other hand, crept towards the window. She slid the curtain aside, opened the window quietly, and crawled out of it. She kept her balance on the edge of the window as she closed it behind her. She then reached into her pocket, taking out her garment crystal and dropped backward. As she did, her clothes glowed and reformed into her battle clothes and weapons. She then landed on her feet and stared into the night sky. She then raced across the street and leaped onto the next house roof. She landed on it, blearily making any sound, and scanned the sea of houses.

There it is. She looked to the west of her position. That rancid mana is coming from that direction.

Since she had arrived in Terra, every night she kept sensing some kind of mana being emitted from. However, there was something different about it. What she felt sent chills down her, different from what she usually sensed. Though it was too far away for her to investigate. Now though, it was close, Very close. Close enough that the chill became more of an irritable feeling. It was enough to sense that whatever she faced definitely wasn't from Terra, and possibly not even human. She looked back towards Allisa's house, feeling some sense of guilt.

I'm just investigating. That's all.

She then ran across the house, barely making any sound and leaped across the gap to the next house, and so forth. Getting closer and closer to the disturbance.

****

"This way!" One of the girls screamed at her friend as they ran down an alleyway.

"What are those things?!" The other asked, panting as she struggled for breath.

"Just keep running!" The two then came to a fence blocking the way. "Oh come on!" the two then rattled the fence as hard as they could. Then a shriek from behind froze them in place.

Five creatures then approached the girls slowly. One was crouched on all fours like some kind of animal. Another had a large pair of scissors attached to its hand. The three remaining had blades attached to their arms. The girls stood still, frozen with absolute fear. The beast one growled, salivating though its razor-sharp teeth. It then leaped to the left wall before lunging at the girls, opening its jaw wide. As both girls screamed, blood erupted from it as it fell to the ground motionless, a pool of blood forming underneath it.

The girls looked at the creature before looking at their savior. Nel stood between them and the rest of the creatures, blood dripping from her short blade.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the creatures before her.

"N-No." One of the girls replied, still terrified.

"Stay there," Nel instructed. She studied her opponent's carefully. The creatures seemed human in appearance, but there were large stitching all over their body's, along with pieces of metal devices between the stitches, as well as their weapons. This definitely isn't normal.

One of the blade-armed creatures then came at her. It lifted both arms up, preparing to stake her. However, its movements were too slow for Nel, who cut both arms with her short blades before kicking it hard into the wall.

As the next one attacked, Nel leaped up and landed on the monster's head, staggering it as she came behind it and cut its head off. The one with the scissors then attacked her from behind. As the scissors began to close, Nel ducked, catching the scissors blade with her short blade before striking upwards with her dagger, gorging right through the middle. Blood erupted from the creature as it staggered back, releasing Nel's short blade.

Nel inverted her blade and lunged backward, impaling the last creature in the gut. She pulled back and sliced the head of the scissors creature before slicing the arms of the last one before stabbing the creature's head. All the creatures were now dead, or at least they wouldn't get back up.

"Go!" Nel instructed the girls, who crept past her as Nel kneeled to one of them.

From what she experienced, the creatures were definitely not human, or at the least weren't human anymore. By the stitches, someone had created them, meaning they were just dolls, for lack of a better word.

The question now was, who was controlling them? Nel looked back on the girls, who were steadily walking out of the alley, clearly traumatized by what they witnessed. Then, Nel spotted something; a light, shining on a thin line, which the girls were heading toward.

"WAIT, STOP!!"

Before Nel could warn them, the girls were shredded into pieces within a second, spraying their blood over the area. Nel shot up and readied her blades. There's something else here?

Before she could look around properly, she noticed something heading towards her. She used Quickstep to avoid what was coming. The fence behind her was sliced into tiny pieces. Nel repaired behind where the fence was in a square, narrow slot between the buildings, immediately activating her Piercer eyes.

She didn't see anything before, but she did sense a surge of mana in front of her, giving her some warning. Looking around with her Piercer Eyes, she was able to identify what attacked her, as well as what killed the girls. All around was razor wire, so thin that it was nearly invisible to the naked eye. There was also some kind of mana flowing through the wire, which was what saved her a second ago. What was strange was the mana Nel sensed. She couldn't exactly tell, but it felt slightly different from the creatures Nel had faced, meaning that Nel was up against something else entirely.

"This one fights back."

A voice then came from above Nel, who immediately looked up. Above her was a collection of wire, clumped together that it was more visible. Standing atop was a strange man. He was very thin, almost stick-like, and wore some kind of jumpsuit. What was most notable was a gas mask that he wore, covering his face. He also wore gloves with a spool attached to them, with wires running down two rings on his fingers. His left hand was held down, connected to the wire below him, while the

"Are you the serial killer?" Nel asked.

"You messed them up. Mother won't be happy, not happy at all."

Mother?

"Weedree must kill you, for Mother."

The man then flexed his pinky. Realizing the danger, Nel used Quickstep, avoiding the razor wire that came towards her, slicing through boxes and trash bags around her. Nel reappeared above the man, and then launched herself at the man from the nearby wall, intending to slice him with her short blade. The man tilted his head and lifted his right index finger. The wires then formed a thick shield above him, which blocked Nel's blow.

He must be using his mana to strengthen his wire, it's as hard as iron.

The wire underneath the man unraveled, causing him to drop down, unraveling the wire, which formed the shield. He then turned and waved his left hand. With her eyes, Nel saw a net beginning to form around her. The man then extended thread from his right hand, hanging upside down a few feet from the ground.

"Die." The man then lowered his left hand's finger's, closing the net.

Nel huddled her limbs close to her body, while she looked over the wire surrounding her. As the net became tighter, Nel quickly cut through one of the threads, causing the other's to unravel. She then continued to fall before stabbing her short blade into the wall, stopping her fall. She then rested her feet on the wall, staring down at her opponent. She then noticed a small cut on her arm, where one of the wires had caught her.

"Who are you?" Nel demanded.

"Weedree doesn't understand." The man ranted. "You cut my wire. How could you cut my wire?"

"I used my mana to cut through. Just in time too." Nel replied. A second later and I would have been cut to ribbons.

"Mana? You are from Avalon?"

"That's right. Same as you I guess." Nel said with a slight smirk

The man then chuckled. "Weedree's not from Avalon. Mother is from Avalon."

"Mother?" Nel tightened her grip on her dagger as her smirk was replaced by a serious expression. "Who's this mother you keep referring too?"

"Weedree said too much." The wire that the man was hanging from unraveled as the wire he hung from and fell to the ground, landing on his feet. "Rubrik will punish Weedree if Weedree tells any more." He then crossed both his hands across his scrawny body, extending his fingers. "You'll harm mother. Weedree must kill you." He then extended his arms outwards. Nel looked around, taking note of the wire as it crawled up the walls like worms as though they were alive.

He can also move the wire at will. She took a look at the man. He remained in his stance with his arms stretched out.

He then pulled his right index and middle finger as well as his left ring finger. The wire around Nel then started to converge on her position. Nel quickly withdrew her short blade from the wall and fell, just as the wire cut into the wall. As she fell, the man lowered his left hand, pulling all his fingers in. The wire then started to form a net around Nel.

He's predictable if anything. Nel threw her dagger at one of the threads, causing the section below her to unravel, allowing her to reach the ground unscathed. She then used quickstep to appear behind the man and struck at him with her blade. The man then brought both his hands in, and a shield formed between him and Nel. Nel then used Quickstep to retreat to where her dagger was, freed it from the wall, and turned to face her opponent again.

"You're annoying." The man then crouched, lowering his left hand while raising his right hand. Nel watched as the wire began to flow from the spools on his hands. Then they stopped and then retracted completely. "I must go." He then ran back to the alley where the girls were killed.

"Hold it!" Nel ran after him back into the alley.

"FREEZE!!" She then was stopped by two policemen pointing guns at her. Nel froze on the spot as the policemen walked towards her slowly. "Don't move!!" One instructed. "Call it in!" he said to his colleague.

He's gone? Nel still had her piercer eyes activated as the men walked towards her, which allowed her to see wire descending slowly on them. She looked up and saw the man hanging upside down with his right at the edge of the ally and had his left hand out. Nel then realized what he was going to do. "BEHIND YOU!!" She pointed.

As one of the policemen looked behind, the man pulled in his middle and ring finger in, causing the wire to retract, killing both officers in less than a second.

"Weedree will be back. Be back with my brothers." The man said as he hoisted himself to the roof of the building.

"You're not getting away!" Nel leaped onto the wall opposite and pushed herself up to the roof, hoping to catch him. However, he was gone. And not just that, all traces of him were gone too. Nel looked around for any sign of the wire, but there was none.

I lost him. She tried to sense his presence but failed. "Damn."

Nel deactivated her Piercer eyes and sat down. By what she'd seen, she could take a guess that these were the supposed serial killers that had the town worried. She thought back to the creatures, and then the man she fought. There was also something that had her worried, something he said.

"Mother? Brothers?" She then stood up and looked over the town. "I have a bad feeling about this." She then started to run back to Allisa's home.

****

The room was dark, with the only light shining on a dismembered body on an operating table. A woman with blond hair stood at one of the tables surrounding the operating table. On the table was a collection of various ingredients in a bowl of water underneath a strange circle. Others were operation apparatuses such as syringes, saws, scalpels, freezers, and so forth. The woman held up some iron wool from a grocery bag, inspecting it carefully.

"It might have some other compounds in it." She said as she felt it. "Oh well, it will have to do." She sighed as she put it on the pile. "It's not like I can get an iron nugget from a store like I could back home."

She then placed both hands on the circle's edge. It then glowed and emitted a bright light from inside the bowl through a surge of energy. The light then subsided, and the woman reached in and brought out a human arm. She inspected it as she walked back to the body.

"Passible, I guess." She then placed it on the table and got out some stitches.

The door to the room then opened. "Mother." A man, wearing a white hoodie walked into the room.

"Oh, Rubrik." The woman said. "Something wrong? I'm busy."

The strange man, Rubrik, looked over at the body on the operating table. "It's a woman." He said.

"That's right. Your new sister." The woman replied smiling. "Should be ready soon." She then preceded to stitch the arm to the body. "Anyway, is there something you needed?"

"Weedree ran into some trouble. He claimed he was attacked by a woman from Avalon."

The woman then froze. "Avalon!" she said in a startled voice.

"A woman with red hair, two blades, could use mana and can turn her eyes yellow."

"I see." The woman put both hands on the operating table as a wave of frustration came over her. "I'm so close. Why now of all times?" she turned to face Rubrik. "Are there others?" she asked.

"I don't know. Weedree only fought one. Apparently, she took out the dolls with little effort. She was also able to see his wires. She poses a significant threat."

"Damn it!" The woman took in a deep breath. "It's likely the Arch Sages who sent her. Find the woman and dispose of her immediately," she then turned back to the body, "and anyone else who seems to be associated with her. I can't afford any risks."

"Shall we suspend the search?"

"No!" the woman then turned backs to Rubrik. "We're alright with materials for the moment, but sacrifices are too important to let slip by." She then turned back again. "I'll leave the means to you and the others."

"As you wish, Mother." Rubrik then left the operating theater. The woman took in a deep breath again, looking over her work.

"I'm too far now. I can't let it end here." Then picked up the stitching thread again. "Not when I'm this close."