I doubt he'll give me a chance to write a rule this time. Am I really left with no other choice?

  Hezekiah took another look at Reed, who clung desperately to his daughter, forced against the wall by the blood-colored creatures.

  "You wouldn't care if I left and they stayed behind, would you?"

  "Sure, go right ahead," it sarcastically replied. "It's not like I bear an innate desire to prevent such a thing."

  A few of the blood-formed creatures were circling Hezekiah, drool rolling off their tongues as their eyes starved from hunger.

  "You sure are persistent for someone who has no interest in this. You expect me to believe you're solely doing this just because Elaine said so?"

  The child tilted its head, showing a glimmer of amusement.

  "Is there anyone who truly acts without personal interest?"

  The creatures suddenly halted. Ripples ruptured throughout their liquid-like shapes before charging toward Hezekiah.

  Without thinking, Hezekiah held out the pen, already feeling the sizzling heat from within.

  Screw it.

  Before the flames took shape, all the blood beings splattered simultaneously, coating Hezekiah's gown.

  "What the?" Hezekiah quickly refrained the pen from changing states, shooting a glare at the creature.

  "You're mine!" a voice shouted.

  A girl surrounded by red mist raced toward the creature.

  Hezekiah's eyes widened. Her again!?

  Her sword radiated with brightness as she swung at the creature.

  The being shielded the attack with his axe, grunting before his feet slid across the floor.

  "Look who finally decided to join us," the being spoke, shaking his wrist, evidently annoyed. "To destroy my blood puppets with such ease... you were always the talented one, weren't you?"

  "Ayona!" Dezira called, nearly out of breath. "Were you try—" she paused after catching up to Ayona, taking in the scene before her.

  "You can't be serious... it's not safe here either," she whispered. Her eyes widened when she noticed Hezekiah. He's still here? And why has the entrance collapsed? Are we seriously stuck here!?

  "Typically when you swing your blade at me, it's a bit more playful. But I suppose the occasion doesn't call for such," the creature commented, adjusting his grip.

  "Another freak?" Reed spoke with a hint of relief. Nevertheless, he made sure his daughter stood behind him.

  "Is she here to help us?" Sally responded, gently resting her head on his side.

  "I wish I could honestly answer that, sweetie," he answered, softly rubbing her back.

  Ayona narrowed her expression. "One of them can actually speak? That's a first. I wonder if you're capable of begging while I skin you alive." A swirl of bloody mist began encircling her.

  "That is so like you. I almost felt hurt by that." He smiled, mimicking Ayona's actions.

  Hezekiah looked between the two, finally landing on the creature. "Something is off here."

  Although the heat was temporarily off him for now, he didn't dare let his guard down.

  I have no idea why they have a sudden interest in each other, but on the off chance that Ayona survives, I must not let her discover the manifested rules sheet. Until then, I can't leave yet.

  Ayona burst from her position, swiftly getting behind the creature.

  It defended against her strike without turning and swung it toward her head with focused accuracy.

  Ayona leaped back, narrowly dodging it, scrunching her face as he gently rested his axe on his shoulder.

  "You dare parade his weapon like some sort of trophy!? How can an insignificant bug like yourself wield such a thing?"

  "I think it's quite obvious. I know your head isn't always there sometimes, but you can't be that slow."

  "Stop talking like you know me!" Ayona clapped her hands; her entire form faded into foggy mist.

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  It shifted toward the creature at a rapid speed, severing itself into parts as it swirled around him.

  "It's only natural that I do." An icy frost climbed the creature's fingertips. Boulders of ice suddenly appeared, trapping the clouds of mist in its place.

  He still has that up his sleeve? Was he toying with me?

  "Ayona!?" Dezira shouted. She exchanged glances with Hezekiah. "Hey! Aren't you going to do something!? We can't die here!"

  A red light glowed from the manifested copy of the rules sheet.

  "You think I don't know that?"

  Hezekiah extended his hand, making a gun gesture.

  The child-like being snapped his fingers upon noticing Hezekiah, encapsulating his hand with bricked ice.

  "Auggghh!" Hezekiah kneeled to the ground as coldness penetrated through his skin, tightly clasping his wrist, trying to soothe the pain.

  "Sorry for that sibling scramble that you had to witness. What were you planning this time anyway?" The creature gradually approached Hezekiah, swinging its axe around its fingers.

  Siblings!? No way, is that him? But Ashen didn't mention anything about Ventice taking sleeping pills. Dezira racked her mind, trying to decipher the root cause of all of this, but the more pressing matter struck her as she saw Hezekiah in pain.

  "Didn't look like you wanted to find out," Hezekiah muttered. He looked up, meeting the creature's gaze.

  "Can't say I particularly enjoy your surprises. Especially after seeing her again." The creature raised his weapon. "I've decided, just like how your existence stripped me of my life, I'll sever you from yours."

  Sally shut her eyes, burying her head into her father's back. Reed briefly parted his lips but had no thoughts to follow. He couldn't trust anyone or anything. Neither looked like they had their best interest in mind, but an unnerving feeling slept within him as he observed the confrontation.

  Hezekiah lightly chuckled, glancing at the frozen boulders that trapped Ayona's ghastly forms. "I think I get it now... wouldn't have expected it. Now you want to take revenge on me. Didn't think beings corrupted by the rules would care for such a thing."

  The creature curled its claws. "You find it funny?"

  "There are some things in life I'll take accountability for." The ice surrounding his hand began to melt. "You're not one of them."

  Hezekiah sprung toward the creature; the ice rapidly melted as black and white flames coalesced on his fingers.

  "You—you're going to kill everyone here!?" The creature manifested a deep red spherical shield.

  Heat surged throughout the room, stinging the faces of everyone who wasn't protected. Even the ice boulders started to melt.

  But in the same moment the pen appeared and changed states, it vanished immediately. Replaced by a gun gesture of his hand, a bright red beam shot forth from his index finger, piercing through the shield and the creature's stomach.

  There was no screaming, only still silence. "Tricked again...?" he moaned. A hundred cracks webbed the shield before it liquefied into a puddle. He held his chest, coughing blood as he focused, trying to keep his breath steady. "You're the worst."

  Hezekiah lifted his finger, the laser inching closer to his heart. The being wailed again but feared moving would worsen the injury.

  "I'm not the one who just killed their sister, nor am I the one who made you this way. You were simply at the wrong place at the worst time."

  A swirl of mist suddenly descended before Hezekiah, quickly taking a shape of a girl. He instinctively pivoted the beam toward it without hesitation. It passed through her like water, yet it remained in one piece. The form blurred, and the weight of his hand ceased, yet a persistent burn took its place.

  A deafening shout escaped his lungs as he tumbled back. Blood spurted against the floor as he held his right arm. Perplexity swallowed his eyes as he saw his hand isolated on the ground.

  "I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you. A soon-to-be corpse has no use for its limbs," the girl spoke. Flesh was growing on the blood-shaped figure until it resembled who Hezekiah already suspected.

  Dezira covered her mouth, lost by what she just observed. "How could she still be alive, and why did she suddenly attack that guy?"

  The creature lay on the ground with a portion of his stomach missing, moaning in agony. The pain was indescribable, like termites nested within his organs. He saw Ayona before him, clenching his teeth, yet a slight softness resonated within.

  I missed one of the mist pockets. She kept one of them out of sight. That damn woman wouldn't fall so easily.

  The laser was no more. Hezekiah met a cold gaze boring through him—one he knew all too well. His vision was swaying like the sea as a figure drew closer to him. The tip of the blade scratched against the tile floor, licking the blood as it radiated its satisfied shine.

  She has no intention of letting me off easy.

  His thoughts rapidly clouded as his body grew weaker. He summoned the pen in his left hand, causing Ayona to halt her movements.

  "Still trying to resist? I'm afraid I can't let you go this time." Ayona briefly took note behind her, seeing the creature bleeding from its wounds. A tug tightened within her when she saw him in pain.

  He was unrecognizable—is what she would like to say. She bit her lip, a small part of her hoped her tracking powers were making a mistake—that maybe only a portion of her brother's blood got mixed in the beast somehow and she could at least avenge her brother's death. But it's unmistakable. This is him. For better or for worse, she should've dealt with the fact from the beginning.

  "A liar till the very end. I was right about you," she declared. Hezekiah's blood lifted from the ground, taking various shapes from cookware to archaic weapons.

  "You understand nothing at all! You think I wanted this!?"

  "I don't hear a denial. If that's the case, then why should I trust your words?" Flickers of delight shadowed her expression every time her sword glowed; her lips curled into an evil smile.

  "Regardless of the reason, I'll say it's too late for you anyway." She raised the sword toward her tongue, licking the blade clean of his blood. "I've tasted several kinds of creatures—both living and dead, animal and mythical—but there's one I can't resist. It's even my sword's favorite flavor."

  Dezira's skin froze as she heard those words, her mind racing back to what Ayona almost did to her. Shivering at what could've happened afterward if Ayona had ended her right there and then.

  Don't tell me... does she really...

  Reed couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't tell who the real monster was between the three of them. But one at least appeared sane.

  "You're sick," Hezekiah barely muttered, fighting not to pass out.

  A sweet iron smell teased her nostrils. She licked her lips as if it was second nature.

  "I've been patient long enough. Preying on the innocent makes my stomach turn, but there's nothing more addicting than those who deserve it. I hope you have a high pain tolerance, because once I start, I can't stop."