--- [Alex’s perspective]

“Let’s go then.” – Alex

“Aight.” – Shin

I take a final look at Illian before we take off.

I’m sure he’ll be okay, but if she’s anything like those kids, it won’t be easy.

As we run down the hall, Shin notices that I’m worried about him.

“Those cuts and bruises… She’s the one that gave them to him. She tortured him.” – Shin

“What?!” – Alex

I immediately halt my running, then turn around to run back to him.

“That little…!” – Alex

Just as I’m about to take my first step, Shin grabs my arm.

“Let him deal with her. This isn’t your fight. We need to check on Lett, remember?” – Shin

“You go check on her, I can’t just leave him alone after finding out something like that!” – Alex

“Alex! … Trust him. Let him to it.” – Shin

…

“Fine… But as soon as we’ve made sure Lett is safe, I’m going back for him.” – Alex

“And I’ll be right there with you.” – Shin

Just as we pick up the pace again, the twins suddenly show up.

“There you are! Let’s get him, Shiki!” – Miki

Ugh, I don’t have time to deal with them.

“Shin, just ignore them. Keep running!” – Alex

“Kay.” – Shin

Miki has a look of disbelief on her face as we run away from them.

“You…! How dare you run away from me again?!!!” – Miki

“Yeah! How dare you!” – Shiki

“After them, Shiki!” – Miki

As they chase us through the lair, I notice that Shiki is shrinking.

It looks like the effects of his specialty is wearing off.

With every passing second, he gets smaller and smaller.

His skin goes back to normal too.

“Stop playing dirty! You can’t just run away until the effects wear off, that’s not fair!” – Miki

“Sorry kid, I still don’t intend to fight you.” – Alex

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You…!!!!!!!!!! Agh!! Just get back here!” – Miki

Her anger fuels her; increasing her speed even further.

But it doesn’t matter.

Just as that happens, we finally find Lett.

“Lett! You’re safe!” – Alex

“She is.” – Cinder

“Wait, what’s going on here? Weren’t you supposed to be fighting?” – Alex

“Why would I fight her?! She’s the love of my life!” – Lett

“…?” – Alex and Shin

What?

“She’s your what?” – Shin

Before she gets to answer, the twins catch up.

“There you are! I won’t let you run away anymore!” – Miki

As she’s about to attack me, the woman Lett was supposed to fight interrupts her.

“Stay away, Miki. Leave them to me.” – Cinder

“Hell no! He’s my prey!” – Miki

“Miki! He’s not your ’prey’. You know why he’s here. He’s for Lord Arthur and Lady Alice, not you. Now go away and let me deal with them.” – Cinder

Miki looks really annoyed but she doesn’t argue.

“Fine! Let’s go, Shiki.” – Miki

She crosses her arms and storms off in a fit.

Her brother follows right after.

“Now then, where were we…” – Cinder

She puts her arm around Lett and softly whispers to her.

“How should we deal with them?” – Cinder

“Alex and Shin are my best friends; they’re strong too. They can be helpful to you, just like me. Let them work for you!” – Lett

What’s going on here?

Why is she acting like this?

“What have you done to her?” – Shin

“Done to her? Oh… I haven’t done anything.” – Cinder

She says it with a smug smile on her face.

She’s so punchable…

“It must be a specialty of some sort. A form of mind control maybe?” – Shin

“Ding, ding, ding! Well, to be exact, I can make anyone I want fall madly in love with me, no matter what gender they are. So, when I activate my ability, you lose. You wouldn’t hurt the person you love the most, would you?” – Cinder

“Anyone, huh?” – Shin

“Yes. Anyone.” – Cinder

Actually…

Now that I’ve gotten a good look at her, I think I finally understand…

She’s an angel!

I slowly walk towards her, Shin does too.

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met…” – Alex

“I’ve heard.” – Cinder

“He’s right. You really are…” – Shin

She chuckles as she gives us a slight smile.

She lifts Shins chin with her finger.

“See? I told you I could make anyone fall madly in love with me.” – Cinder

Shin puts his hand on her cheek.

“Yeah…” – Shin

He leans towards her.

“RIGHT!” – Shin

As soon as he finishes, he slams her head down into the ground with immense power.

She’s instantly knocked out, and her power wears off.

“What the…? What just happened?” – Alex

“How? How were you not affected?” – Lett

“How? You know how. I’m not interested in that stuff. Now go check on Illian. I’ll stay here and deal with her when she wakes up.” – Shin

--- [Illian’s perspective]

“Other than Alex, we only need one of you to be alive. I’m sure Lord Arthur won’t be too mad about me killing you now. Especially since you’ve escaped and seem determined to hurt me.” – Cat

“Kill me? You? You kill me? Right…” – Illian

“Well, only after I break you of course…” – Cat

A knife appears out of thin air in her hand, and she runs her tongue up the sharp edge.

Her smile, her eyes, the way she talks…

It all points to the same thing.

She is fucking insane…

A batshit crazy sadist.

Well, she won’t be hurting me anymore.

It’s finally time to activate my shadow clone.

The damage I’ve already taken can’t be retroactively transferred to my clone, but from now on, she won’t be able to put even a single scratch on me.

“Your shadow… It just grew. I’m guessing it’s somehow related to your specialty.” – Cat

“Who knows.” – Illian

Time to give this bitch a taste of her own medicine.

I rush towards her, and she creates another knife.

She tries to stab me, but I drop down to the ground and slide past her.

I grab her ankle and pull it to make her fall.

She throws her knives at me, forcing me to let go so I can avoid them.

I quickly move back before she’s able to stand back up.

Just as I’m about to attack her, she creates a large tower shield to block.

Her metal is insanely hard, so I’d rather not directly attack it.

I pull my punch right before hitting the shield.

We stand back up and we’re back to square one.

--- [Arthur’s perspective]

“Alice… I promise, I’ll make up for everything I’ve done. But for now, I can’t afford to be the good guy. I tried that already… I really did… But we both know it doesn’t work. This is the only way…” – Arthur

“Then there’s no point.” – Alice

“What do you mean?” – Arthur

“If this is what you have to do to save me, then I would rather die. I’m not special, my life isn’t worth more than theirs. Please, just let them go. You’ve already gone too far, and I’m afraid you might go even further…” – Alice

“To me you are…” – Arthur