Sitting underneath the rock formation, Aisho and Cassidy sat on the dry moss. Yuta mentioned to them that she saw a stream on the way up the mountain and went back to catch some fish. Aisho and Cassidy were in charge of making a campfire.

  They sat with a pile of sticks in a pile in front of them.

  “You know how to make a campfire, right?” Aisho said.

  “I can try,” Cassidy said. “With my Yogen.”

  She held out her palm beside her. A pink, skeletal, semi-transparent being with glowing yellow eye sockets materialized beside them, sitting criss-crossed like how they were.

  “This is my Yogen,” Cassidy said as her Yogen grabbed two sticks. “I call it Raspberry Marrow. Some of its perks are that it possesses impressive speed and strength, it is invisible to people further than one meter from it, and it also gains specific physical buffs based on my mental state.”

  “That’s so amazing!” Aisho exclaimed as she grabbed two sticks, too. “My Yogen is pretty simple, I just move pretty fast.”

  “I’ve got a challenge for you, Aisho.”

  “Yeah, what is it?

  “Let's see who can make a fire first. You or I.”

  Aisho smirked. “You made a mistake trying to challenge me. I’ll totally win, so bring it on!”

  “Confident!” Cassidy laughed.

  They both got their sticks ready. They counted down from three, and on go they began rubbing two sticks together—Raspberry Marrow participating in the challenge in place of Cassidy.

  The sound of the rubbing sticks was the only thing that filled the silence between them.

  Until—Aisho sparked a fire.

  “AHA!” Aisho yelled. “I won!”

  Cassidy sighed. “I guess you’re too good, the score between us is one to zero.”

  “One to zero?” Aisho blinked.

  “Yeah! If we’re going to be rivals, we need to keep score on our wins and losses.”

  “Y’know, that’s a good idea.”

  Aisho placed her lit stick into the pile. The orange fire spread and soon engulfed all the sticks, creating a campfire for them.

  Cassidy looked out from under the rock huddle. “It looks like this fog is getting worse, don’t you think?”

  Aisho poked at the flames with a stick. “So… the Beacon Card,” she started, flicking hers up into view. “We’ll need to collect six more.”

  Cassidy tilted her head and held out her card. “Yep, that’s what Wilder said,” She smiled.

  Aisho leaned back, stretching. “Alright, six more ain’t too bad.”

  A moment passed. Then—the mist parted.

  From the trees emerged Yuta, her once white hoodie now dirty. Over her shoulder hung a makeshift net holding four long, silvery fish.

  She stopped short once she came into range to see the translucent Raspberry Marrow sitting at the fire.”Uh…what the heck is that?”

  “Oh!” Aisho grinned. “Yeah, don’t freak out. That’s Cassidy’s Yogen. Raspberry Marrow.”

  Cassidy smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s friendly.”

  Raspberry Marrow, as if on cue, gave a crooked thumbs-up.

  Yuta narrowed her eyes.

  She crouched near the fire and dropped the fish. “One was still half-alive. Hope you’re not picky.”

  “Food is food,” Aisho grinned, reaching for a stick. “Let’s roast ‘em.”

  As they got to work, Yuta kept watching Cassidy from the corner of her eye.

  “I also ran into another person by the stream,” Yuta mentioned.

  “Huh?! Are you okay?” Aisho asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. He wasn’t too impressive,” Yuta responded. “We did fight, and I got an extra beacon card from the loser.”

  Cassidy perked up instantly. “Ooooh, was it messy?” she asked, her tone was almost too cheerful for the context. “Like—snap goes the bone, or more of a face-first kind of thing?”

  Yuta blinked.

  Aisho chuckled. “You make it sound like a cartoon.”

  Cassidy shrugged. “What? That’s how it felt when I… you know, fought someone earlier—in the maze trial. I didn’t mean to snap his arm, but it sounded kinda funny. Like… crk!”

  Yuta stared at her.

  Cassidy's face showed bright eyes and an animated grin—but none of it felt grounded in what had actually happened.

  “...Did you care that you hurt them?” Yuta asked, voice low.

  “Care?” Cassidy blinked. “I guess. I mean, it is allowed in the trial, right? Besides, people hurt me all the time, and he was trying to hurt me. That’s normal. Right?”

  Cassidy smiled again, looking between them like she hadn’t said anything strange at all. She continued to speak.

  Yuta tried to make eye contact with Aisho, giving a short glance toward Cassidy—then subtly dragging a finger in a circle near her temple.

  Aisho gave her a look. Don’t be mean, it seemed to say.

  Yuta raised her brows slightly. I’m not.

  Aisho shook her head, whispering, “She’s fine. Stop being a worrywart.”

  Yuta didn’t push it further.

  A sharp sound split through the quiet woods. Everyone snapped their heads up.

  A slow humming filled the air—a crystalline hum, soft and ominous, like wind chimes.

  A pale crystal lattice began to form in the fog and shot through the air towards the group.

  Cassidy barely had time to blink before one of the crystalline threads grazed her shoulder.

  The lattice exploded outward, crawling around her limbs—binding her like a spider that has caught its prey.

  “Wha—?!” Aisho shouted, stumbling up. “Cass?!”

  “I—can’t—move!” Cassidy cried. Raspberry Marrow flared to life beside her, attempting to rip the lattice off—but the structure grew faster, wrapping Raspberry Marrow in the lattice as well.

  Aisho dove forward, but Yuta yanked her back.

  “Don’t touch it!” Yuta barked. “It’s spreading on contact!”

  Within seconds, Cassidy and Raspberry Marrow were encased in a full cage of shimmering crystal threads. Then, in a blink, the lattice pulled her away into the fog.

  “Yuta!” Aisho. “What’d you do that for?! We had to save her—”

  “Y’know, that’s your problem, Aisho. You’re too impatient. If you touched that thread stuff or whatever the heck it was, you would have been dragged off, too.”

  Aisho calmed down. Yuta was right after all.

  Yuta’s jaw clenched. “Someone’s targeting us one by one.”

  They left the rock formation, and Yuta pointed in the direction that Cassidy was hauled off. “We’ll look for Cassidy.”

  “Cassidy’ll be okay, right?” Aisho asked.

  “She’ll fight her way back,” Yuta said, coldly. “She seems capable. Now. Focus. We don’t know how many people are attacking us.”

  In front of them, emerging from the fog was a tall, bulky, dark-skinned man.

  His arms were crossed. He had short hair and a focused facial expression.

  He had no visible weapons. Just heavy boots and a green fur-lined vest. His presence felt confrontational, like a wall in human form.

  As they approached, he raised his chin. “Names.”

  “…What?” Aisho asked, stepping forward.

  “I don’t fight nobodies,” the man said, voice deep, smooth, and final. “I need your names.”

  Yuta didn’t move. “Come on Aisho, we don’t need to tell this guy anythi—”

  “Aisho. And my friend here is Yuta.”

  Yuta could’ve punched Aisho, but kept her cool.

  He exhaled, his veins pulsed blue. “I challenge you both. My name is Robbie Quack. You are now my foes.”

  A ripple of Dragon Vein energy cracked outward from him.

  A semi-transparent dome erupted from the air, forming a giant sphere with the man—Robbie Quack—at the center.

  The dome shimmered, locking them inside with him.

  “What is this?” Aisho said, stepping back, eyes wide.

  Robbie stepped forward. “It’s my Yogen. Wherever I go… the dome follows. And it shrinks over time. Lament, as this is now a death ring. Forfeit your beacon cards and I’ll let you leave here.”

  “Yeah, right! No way, we’d give up our beacon cards,” Yuta muttered.

  “Wait, wait, wait. His name’s Robbie Quack?!” Aisho hissed, trying not to laugh.

  Yuta had a moment of realization. She exploded with laughter. “Robbie Quack?! Come on, you’re way less intimidating with a name like that!”

  Robbie said nothing for a moment but nodded. “Lament, as you can laugh. But you’ll still meet despair.”

  The dome shimmered once again.

  Yuta smirked. “Fine. Let's play this duck's game.”

  Aisho cracked her knuckles, fire in her eyes. “On it!”

  Yuta cracked her neck once, then stepped sideways to create space.

  The radius of the dome was about twenty meters.

  Without warning, Robbie yelled. “KAAAAAAA!”

  A violent shockwave of Dragon Vein energy erupted around him in a sphere, blowing out leaves and dust.

  The girls were hit, being sent skidding backwards into the dome wall.

  “What the heck was that?” Yuta whispered.

  “That was a Kageuchi technique, Vein Channel. You two seemed to withstand that pretty well,” he muttered. “Lament, as it will not be enough.”

  A Kageuchi technique, Vein Channel, where the user stores a reservoir of Dragon Vein energy in their body and releases it outward to create an AOE attack.

  Aisho tried to intercept him, launching in from his side. Her fist shot toward his ribs.

  Her punch had no effect; it was like punching a mountain.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Her hand recoiled. Her entire shoulder jolted back with the impact.

  Robbie didn’t even flinch. “Lament, as your attack had no effect.”

  He threw a backhand punch at Aisho like swatting a fly. She ducked under it and bolted behind him in a blur.

  Yuta extended one hand forward, shifting the air’s temperature.

  The ground near Robbie began to freeze. The frost spread up his leg, momentarily holding him in place.

  Yuta smirked, thinking she caught him, but he immediately broke out.

  She said, “That should’ve caught him; he’s too durable.”

  “Just how strong is this guy?” Aisho said, appearing beside. “You think we should try that same technique we pulled off in the maze?”

  “There’s no point,” Yuta replied. “Unlike that beast we fought, this guy doesn’t seem to have a weak point.”

  The dome around them shrank slightly again—about a meter all around.

  Aisho winced for a moment. “Do you feel that? It’s like this… pressure.”

  “That is another part of my Yogen,” Robbie answered. “Lament, as the smaller my dome gets, the stronger my Dragon Vein pressure gets.”

  Yuta scoffed. “Dang it. That just makes things worse for us, doesn’t it?”

  She looked towards Aisho. “You gonna use that new punch thing or what?” Yuta asked quickly.

  Aisho flexed her arm. “I’ll try to but I need the perfect moment to activate my Seishinryu Line.”

  Robbie stood in the center, still unwavering, and he yelled.

  A second Vein Channel blast exploded outward—stronger this time.

  Yuta and Aisho were both blasted off their feet, crashing into the edges of the dome with force.

  Aisho bounced off it hard, landing in the dirt. “Ugh, he’s doing this like it’s nothing!”

  They both moved again, Aisho circling clockwise at blinding speed—her blur creating small vortexes of wind.

  Robbie turned to track Aisho.

  In that split second, Yuta activated her Seishinryu Line.

  Her heartbeat matched that of Hyoketsu’s.

  The atmosphere shifted—A cold bit deeper. A sharp spike of ice erupted from the ground in front of Robbie’s foot.

  He moved just barely enough to avoid being hit.

  But Yuta had expected that—she had grown three shatter traps that bloomed outward like ice flowers as soon as he moved. He crushed them underfoot.

  The trap exploded in a hailstorm of razor shards. Robbie’s leg and side were grazed. He grunted, now bleeding slightly from the ribs and leg.

  Yuta felt her heartbeat start to falter. She couldn’t hold the connection to her Seishinryu much longer. “NOW, AISHO!”

  Aisho leapt in like a comet. She cocked her leg back for a spinning heel kick.

  Her foot landed clean on Robbie’s side—but he held again. The hit barely shifted him. He reached and grabbed her ankle, pulling her off balance.

  Robbie grabbed her other ankle and started spinning around.

  “AISHO!” Yuta yelled, lunging forward—but she couldn’t. The pressure and the energy drain from the Seishinryu Line prevented her from intervening.

  Once he gathered enough speed, he let go, sending Aisho crashing into the dome wall before slowly peeling off and landing on the ground.

  For a moment, Aisho lay there before dragging herself upright. Her knuckles were scraped, her breath uneven. “Y’know… I don’t think I like this guy.”

  “Surprising,” Robbie said. “Lament, as you two refuse to give up. It’s futile.”

  The dome pulsed; it shrank again. The radius was now seventeen meters.

  Robbie continued to stand there, immobile. “Lament,” he said again, “as each second brings the dome closer to collapse. You will suffocate in your own resistance.”

  Aisho dusted herself off and darted forward again—she moved much slower this time from her Dragon Vein energy straining itself to keep up her Yogen. This time feinting left, then pivoting behind. She aimed a high kick to the back of his head. Robbie tilted slightly—just enough to block with a raised forearm.

  Yuta shot a spike of ice towards him, and he merely swatted them away like bugs.

  “We’re not breaking through,” Aisho growled.

  Robbie roared again. “KAAAAAA!” and a third Vein Channel exploded. Dust spiraled. The dome rang.

  Both girls skidded away again. The pressure was mounting now.

  Aisho coughed. ”I’m running out of Dragon Vein energy.”

  “You’re still the fastest person I’ve seen,” Yuta reassured, breathing heavily. “You go for your Seishinryu Line, I’ll support you.”

  The dome now had a radius of fifteen meters. Barely a space to sprint.

  Aisho staggered forward. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, focused in—locked onto the presence inside her. Then it clicked—her pulse synchronized.

  Aisho powered her Yogen with new, revitalized energy and circled the edge of the dome. Eventually she shot towards Robbie, like a lightning bolt.

  Robbie turned just in time to see a wing of golden light burst from her back. Golden lightning crackling all about her body.

  “RETSIN PULSE!” she shouted.

  Her fist slammed into his torso with full momentum. The impact created a blastwave, the air channeling a terrible crack-like sound.

  For the first time, Robbie staggered backward, coughing blood. He dropped to one knee, gasping.

  The dome fizzled and vanished completely—his Dragon Vein energy depleted.

  “Impossible,” he muttered, low. “You’ve… grown.”

  Then the sound of a rustle in the trees cut through the air. From the mist, Cassidy emerged.

  Her smile was bright. But her eyes—dead flat.

  “Oh!” she called casually. “You’re still fighting? Took me forever to get away.”

  Aisho whipped toward her. “Cassidy! You’re okay?!”

  “Yep!” she said with a mischievous grin, holding up three glowing beacon cards. “I ran into some people called Claudia and Eli Quack. Took their beacons as thanks.”

  Robbie flinched at the name. “Those were… my siblings,” he muttered.

  Cassidy strolled forward, stepping over the broken terrain. She glanced at Robbie with her usual bubbly tone, “Sooo, you got any beacons left?”

  Robbie didn’t speak. He slowly pulled a single card from his vest and held it out.

  Cassidy plucked it from his hand with a giggle. “Thanks, ducky.”

  She turned back to the others—but not before she leaned toward Robbie and whispered. “I was going to kill your stupid duck siblings.”

  The whole atmosphere shifted.

  “Your sister couldn’t even speak. Just sat there, hugging her knees. And Eli…” She blinked, as if recalling the situation. “He was under my boot. Crying. I didn’t feel anything about it. Just… noticed he looked kind of cute while begging. If he hadn’t looked like that, I think I would’ve ripped them both apart. Maybe pulled out their organs. Not only that, but their older brother would’ve come back to their mutilated siblings.”

  She tilted her head and winked. “But I didn’t.”

  Cassidy then skipped away, approaching Aisho and Yuta.

  Aisho tilted her head. “What’d you tell him?”

  “Nothing!” Cassidy smiled. “Just told him he shouldn’t mess with the girl squad!”

  But Robbie remained still, his head down, sweat beading down his temple.

  Yuta’s brow furrowed

  Cassidy smiled at her. “You okay, Yuyu? You’re looking at me funny.”

  “…Yeah,” Yuta muttered. “Name’s not… Yuyu.”

  Aisho clapped Cassidy on the shoulder. “Glad you’re back. Let’s move camp, though. This Quack family knows where we are. They could come back for a rematch.”

  Cassidy tilted her head. “Oh, we don’t need to worry. They won’t be coming back.”

  Aisho raised a brow. “How do you know?”

  “I just do,” Cassidy said, laughing. “Call it a hunch!”

  Robbie finally stood, staring at her as if he’d seen his worst nightmare. And walked away, silent.

  Yuta watched him vanish into the mist—Robbie’s hands trembling. Then glanced back at Cassidy.

  Something about her… felt different to Yuta. And she didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a very, very bad one.

  ***

  The air in the underground arena was thick. Pale lantern crystals hung from roots in the ceiling. Cassidy’s body slammed to the ground in a small crater of dust and gravel, still bound by Claudia’s lattice. The crystalline threads cracked and fell apart, releasing her. She looked towards the exit but saw that it had been blocked off by thick vines in an instant.

  She stood up slowly, brushing herself off.

  “Ugh… okay. That was a little rude,” Cassidy muttered, rolling her neck. She looked around the cavern.

  “I hope you didn’t chip a rib,” came a relaxed voice. Eli Quack emerged from the gloom, arms crossed, chewing on something small. Claudia sat atop a vantage point.

  “My name is Eli Quack,” he said. He looked towards Claudia, “This is lil sis, Claudia Quack.”

  Eli began to walk towards Cassidy. “My brother, Robbie Quack, is currently handling your friends. If you would just comply and hand over your beacon cards, no one would get hurt.”

  Cassidy blinked, expression unreadable. “Wow, all this effort just for us. You must’ve had a team meeting and everything.”

  Eli laughed. “You and your friends aren't that special. You three just seem like easy pickins.”

  Cassidy tilted her head. “Y’know, I should be afraid right now. I know that. But I don’t feel anything. Isn’t that weird?” She looked at her hands.

  Eli narrowed his eyes. “You saying we aren’t intimidating?”

  “Come on Eli, let's make this quick,” Claudia demanded.

  The ground around Cassidy shivered.

  She blinked once and stepped back. She looked down—and saw them. Dozens of tiny, sprouting seed-pods were embedded in the gravel and soil around her. As she stepped on one seed, an electric shock was sent throughout her body.

  “Electric… seeds…huh?” she winced as the shock wore off. “You’re a trapper. That’s cute.”

  “You’re surrounded,” Eli said, grinning now. “This whole area is rigged. Continue stepping onto my seeds and you’ll fry yourself. Listen, it's not too late to give up your beacon card.”

  Cassidy crouched slightly. “Y’know, I’ve fought people stronger than you.”

  “I doubt it,” Eli snapped.

  Cassidy smiled as she activated Raspberry Marrow, her pink skeleton manifesting beside her. Raspberry Marrow blitzed forwards towards Eli, winding up a haymaker.

  Eli barely had enough time to throw his hands up to guard, taking the blow. He slid back.

  That force, it was incredibly strong, Eli thought to himself. That pink skeleton… it was almost like I didn’t see it charge towards me.

  “What was that! Big bro, are you okay?” Claudia asked.

  Eli turned his head slightly. “That pink skeleton must be her Yogen.”

  “Huh? I must’ve blinked because I didn’t see anything.”

  Eli had a moment of realization, then gave a thumbs-up. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. He turned towards Cassidy. “It’s either that her Yogen can only be seen by certain people or it is invisible at range. Claudia, I just need you to target the Dragon Vein user, okay?”

  “Will do!”

  Cassidy vanished, using the Kageuchi technique: Body Flicker. Reappearing behind Eli. Before Cassidy could attack, Claudia shot a crystalline lattice towards Cassidy—planning to apprehend her.

  Cassidy jumped out of the way but also stepped onto one of Eli’s seeds, being shocked once more.

  Eli held his hand up to his mouth, and a cluster of seeds fell from his mouth. He threw them in front of Cassidy.

  “Gross,” Cassidy’s face contorted. “So that’s where the seeds come from.”

  A second later, the seeds transformed into small seed creatures. They jumped at Cassidy, planning to launch a static bolt—but Raspberry Marrow grabbed each of them and crushed it to dust.

  “You’re lucky,” she said. “You still feel fear. I’ll end this now”

  Then—Cassidy raised her hand. Her fingers shimmered. Her pupils cracked like glass, glowing bright blue. The air turned cold as Cassidy’s Dragon Vein pressure skyrocketed, causing Claudia and Eli to tremble at the force.

  “This Dragon Vein pressure,” Claudia stepped back. “Her eyes… that can’t be…”

  “Shingan?” Eli muttered, voice nearly inaudible. “The eye technique. How do you know Shingan?!”

  Cassidy’s gaze snapped to him—and the world bent.

  In her sight, Eli’s face flickered with false bravado—while Cassidy could see his Dragon Veins inside him twisted with writhing, anxious roots.

  “You pretend to be confident. But you’re drowning in inferiority,” she said. “Always wishing you were stronger.”

  Claudia held out her hands—and her lattice flung out like a trap—but Cassidy didn’t move. Raspberry Marrow punched through the lattice. Instead of the lattice spreading around Raspberry Marrow, it broke apart.

  “That’s impossible!” Claudia shouted. “My lattice should’ve caught you!”

  But Cassidy had already turned to her.

  “You act quiet. Stoic. Like you're in control. But your Dragon Vein pulses with dread. You secretly despise yourself.”

  Claudia froze—already doubting herself.

  “Just shut up!” Eli screamed. “You don’t get to play like you know us!”

  “I don’t,” Cassidy said, voice low and hollow. “I’m just listening to your bones.”

  Eli tried to form another seed creature—but the tremble in his wrist disrupted its charge.

  Eli thought to himself: W-What’s happening to me. Why can’t I fight? Why does my body not want to?

  Claudia felt the same way.

  “You two try to act brave when facing danger. Now, what’ll you do… when your courage is gone.” Cassidy said, her voice flat.

  She tilted her head. “It’s okay. I’m not angry. I’m not anything, really. But something in my body says I should kill you both.”

  Her Dragon Vein pressure increased a notch.

  Claudia didn’t move. She was still frozen behind Eli, too shaken to act.

  Eli, meanwhile, had collapsed to his knees. Sweat poured from his brow. His mouth moved without words as he stared up at Cassidy.

  She stepped forward. Slow. Deliberate. The seeds in the ground were no longer triggering any shock current, a sign of Eli’s weakening Dragon Vein energy.

  Cassidy looked at her hand and flexed her fingers.

  “I’ve killed people before,” she said quietly. “You wouldn’t think it, right? I mean, I’m usually all smiley and weird. But when it happens—when someone dies by my hands—my body feels something.”

  She looked down at Eli, her expression unreadable. “I don’t know if it’s joy. Or peace. Or rage. I can’t tell. But whatever it is, it burns.”

  “I guess you could say…” she continued, brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear, “my body ‘loves’ it. That’s the closest word I can think of. My brain can’t label it right. But when I feel a pulse stop beneath my fingers, something inside me just—” she smiled. “feels different.

  “Y-Y-Your sick,” Eli whimpered. “P-Please. Don’t—don’t kill us. Just not Claudia or Robbie. I was the one who—”

  She stomped on his head, pushing him in the dirt.

  She followed up with a kick to Eli’s face. He let out a gasp of pain as her boot knocked the air out of him.

  “Y’know,” Cassidy said, looking down at him, “you actually look kind of cute when you’re begging like that. Like a scared little animal in a trap.”

  She continued to stomp and kick him until he was practically coughing blood.

  “Continue begging for me!” Cassidy screamed as she continued to stomp him. “Like the good dog you are!”

  Blood had splashed onto the edge of her boot. She stared at it for a moment.

  “Remove the vines blocking the exit,” she said

  Eli’s hands trembled as he pressed them to the ground. Within moments, the thick root barrier at the far wall slithered apart, revealing a path upward.

  Cassidy tilted her head toward Claudia. “Beacon cards.”

  Eli’s breath hitched. “She—She doesn’t have any. I took them all. I have three.”

  Cassidy blinked once. “Give them.”

  He did. He scrambled forward and handed over the three glowing cards.

  Cassidy pocketed them without a word, then she turned toward the exit—but not before looking back at the pair.

  “I don’t hate you,” she said, her voice lifeless. “I don’t feel anything toward you at all. But something in me wants to make people like you disappear.”

  Then she left.

  Just like that.

  A minute passed. Claudia finally moved rushing to her brother’s side. “Eli—are you—?!”

  He nodded weakly. “She… spared us.”

  Eli’s face had been bloodied and badly bruised.

  Claudia looked toward the tunnel where Cassidy vanished. Her hands trembled. “She’s not normal. She—she has to be some serial killer… what reason would someone like her want to be a Lancer for?”

  More time passed.

  Then came footsteps.

  Eli and Claudia tensed.

  Robbie Quack emerged from the darkness, eyes locked on the two of them. Upon seeing Eli’s state, he knelt beside them.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  Eli sat up with Claudia’s help, eyes glassy. “That girl… She… She is a killer in disguise…”

  Claudia nodded, still visibly shaking. “She just stared. Like she didn’t even care if we lived. It was like she wasn’t even human.”

  "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."

  — Ecclesiastes 8:11 (KJV)