Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ １８-ꍩꂦꌅꌅꂦꌅ

The color red was as clear as day. Crimson substance painted the room. On the bed was an older man with indigo hair, croaking. Chains were rattling from his wrists as he tugged. And in the middle of his chest was a giant claw soaked with blood.

A figure stood towering over him. He had brown hair with green accents. Spotted ears and a tail resembling a cheetah. He had strange clothes resembling the people from the East. The atmosphere feels heavy from the moment the girls step into the room. His back was facing them, yet Flora couldn't stop trembling in fear. The figure quickly pulls out the razor claw, and more color floods the room. He then faced the girls with a cold face.

“You shouldn't be here,” he said with a sharp tone. With a snap of a finger, the door closed behind them, and the air was filled with some force. Flora immediately went for the door, banging.

Flora: “Help! Someone let us out!”

The man swings his razor claw, and blood splatters on the walls.

“It's no use. You can't escape, and no sound can escape.“

Lily hyperventilated and was able to scream when the claws made it to her chest. Like the speed of lightning, the man moves fast with no hesitation. As the man stabs her, Lily coughs out blood while still weakly gripping his weapon. The man swung his weapon, and Lily's body was flung across the room. Her body landed on the bed next to the indigo-haired man's corpse. Lily could feel herself bleeding out.

“Lily!!”

“I told you, didn't I? Screaming is meaningless.”

Flora let go of Mochi, putting him behind her defensively.

Flora: “Mochi Run!” she heard the man speak again.

“… I'm out of time,” he mutters. “Sorry, I'm going to have to kill you too. You saw too much.” He went to attack Flora when he suddenly felt a sudden pain in his ankles. Mochi bit him hard, drawing blood. He suddenly let out a cry and felt himself tripping.

Flora widens her eyes. He landed on top of her with his leg between her legs and his hand on her chest. Some of the blood got on Flora from contact. But what bothers her the most is his face is too close to hers. His eyes widened, and he pulled away and let go of her chest.

‘Eh?…’

“What the hell… is that a dog?” he curses as he pulls away.

‘He just mentioned a dog… How does he know what Mochi is? Just who is he?’ Flora tries to get up, but he quickly covers her mouth with his hand, pinning her.

“Ah ah, you're not moving. I worked too hard for you to ruin everything. “He then raised his leg up, seeing Mochi was still clinging to it with his teeth.

“There's an actual damn dog attached to my feet…” He says, as if in disbelief, as he grabs Mochi by the back of the neck and watches as Mochi growls while flailing his feet in the air.

“I swear…it's one of the newbies that screws this up and lets a dog slip in.” He mutters.

“I don't have time for this. Sorry you were caught in this, but you're going to forget what you see.”

His hand glowed from her lips, and she was starting to feel some sort of energy flowing. But then a spark came up, and it got distorted, making his hand draw back.

???: “Ow! The hell? Why are some of your files locked? I can't access them… I don't have permission granted here… Wait, you're actually a…” His voice trails off.

Flora, feeling she can now talk, she spoke up, concerned.

“Who are you? What did you do to that guy and… Lily. Wait… is Lily still… ” Flora turns to see if Lily is alive, but the older girl was no longer moving, and her eye lost color.

Flora: “What h-have you done? You killed her! Monster!” The thought of someone dying sent her to a state of fear, and she could feel her mana leaking out, being overwhelmed.

She felt he suddenly slapped her cheeks, making her freeze.

???: “Shut up. You're annoying. She's not going to stay dead long. I'm a moderator. The only ones I want to stay dead are the defective ones. So that's that guy next to your friend and….” He didn't get to finish talking as another voice cut in.

In the corner of the room, the air distorted into a figure, and Sherry stood in the midst, looking as menacing as the man.

Sherry: “What is the meaning of this!”

???: “Ah… that makes my life easier. There you are, you damn cheat.” Flora sees him grin

Sherry's eyes twitched, and she landed on the Indigo hair man's body.

Sherry: “Brother!!! Y-you killed him! I worked so hard to protect him from you people, and you took him away…”

The man clicks his tongue and tosses Mochi to Flora who catches him immediately.

Flora: “Hey! Careful with Mochi!”

The man ignores her

???: “Your brother was supposed to be dead because he obtained our forbidden knowledge, but you brought him back by using a method that wasn't allowed. A method that couldn't be done unless you have forbidden knowledge. I thought we burned all his research. That was our fault, but hey… The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You already knew the price for this, right?” He ran towards Sherry, swinging his weapon.

“Your damn life!”

She suddenly pulled out of her pocket some sort of cloth. His weapon never made it to her. Instead, a veil of water blocked his path and caught his weapon.

“Ah ah~ I won't allow it”

Flora recognized the voice.

“Shana?”

The man tsks his tongue and backs away a bit.

“That damn woman used their shawls. How dirty.”

The water shaped into Shana's form, but her skin color was more blue, and her hair is now as blue as her eyes.

Flora: “Wait… You’re a…”

Sherry put the shawls back into her pocket. Then another veil of water surrounded Shana and Sherry before shaping into Tanya. Tanya's appearance was similar to Shana's, but this time she didn't have her glasses.”

Tanya: “We're nereids.”

Shana: “Hehe yeah~ Masters of the waters.“

Shana then looked across the room to see the corpses.

“Ah shoot… Indigo's dad is dead again. And Lily this time? Awww, it stinks,” she pouts.

Flora looks at her in disbelief.

Flora: “Lily is your friend…how could you disregard her like that? And did you just say… Indigo's dad”

Shana chuckles.

Shana: “Aw, don't look at me like that. I feel bad, I swear, but Madam said she can bring anyone back. That is how she brought back Indigo's dad after all.”

Flora looks at her, flabbergasted.

“What? No…that's impossible. That corpse can't be Indigo's dad. Indigo says his body was never discovered. And there is no amount of magic in the world that can bring a person back.”

Sherry chuckles, and then it turns to laughter.

Sherry: “You really don't know anything. The key is < ꍟꋪꋪꂦꋪቿዪዪዐዪ℮ꋪꋪꇩꋪ >.” Her mouth started to distort again into pieces for a second.

Flora covers her mouth.

Flora: “What… in the world?”

Tanya: “Ah yes, that… that happens if a person with forbidden knowledge tries to reveal anything regarding its truth. So we actually don't know anything. Not that we mind… these moderators are annoying.”

The man scoffs.

“I don't have time for this. Are you fools done? I have a scene to clean up.”

His weapons disappear, and lightning strikes towards the trio. Shana and Tanya made a shield out of water, but it went through and struck them, making the duo cry out.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Their bodies collapse into a puddle of water.

Sherry, on the other hand, teleported further backwards, and her body glitched a bit.

???: “That's a dirty trick, you know. Only we should know that.”

Sherry gave him a cold look.

“You're the dirty ones for taking him away from me. I won't let you take him again.“

The man burst out laughing.

???: “The ones that are truly aware are the ones that are the most delusional. No matter. You're only prolonging the inevitable. There's nowhere to run in this world.” He snaps his fingers, and both Lily and Indigo's father started distorting before they disappeared into thin air.

Flora: “Where did t-they go!”

???: “Calm the hell down! I'm just cleaning a bit.” He notices Flora pulled her wand shakily.

???: “Do it. I dare you. See where it gets you.” He noticed Sherry threw a blast heading towards Flora. He immediately ran and grabbed her out of danger.

Flora found herself being carried by the man while he staggered further back

???: “Why did you go after her? Aren't you after me? Unless you figured that out too?”

Flora couldn't believe what just happened. ‘Sherry… just try to attack me.’

Flora: “ Sherry…why?”

Sherry looks at her with mock pity.

Sherry: “I would tell you, but I actually can't. So you'll have to stay unaware a bit longer. I just knew he would protect you.”

Flora holds on to Mochi tighter while gripping her wand.

Flora: “W-why…what did I do?. I don't understand… Shana! Tanya! Speak some sense to Sherry.”

But she sees Tanya standing by Sherry's side. Shana had her arm over Sherry's shoulders. “

Shana: “Sorry, Flora, I love you and Mochi to bits~, but I only follow Madam's orders.”

Flora felt hurt by this.

‘Weren't we all having fun the other day… why are they following blindly… unless…’ Flora realizes something from before.

Flora: “Wait! Are you guys being imprisoned because Sherry took your shawls?”

Shana made a face.

Shana: “Huh… the hell do you say?”

Flora: “Well…your kind…when a person takes your shawl, they then have command over you.”

Shana opens her mouth into an ‘O’.

Shana: “Oh, that’s right. That is technically true. I honestly forget she has the shawls sometimes, but I honestly don't mind because Madam is so fun. I like following her.”

Flora looks defeated.

Flora: “No…we can't…fight…we can't.”

She could feel her tears falling, yet she could see there was not an ounce of pity from their faces.

Sherry: “Kill the girl and the moderator. Don't keep me waiting, you two.”

“YES, MADAM!” The nereids shouted,

The man sighs.

“Flora, is it? If you want to live, you should help out.”