Chapter 8

Unveiling a disgusting smile

“K-K-Kiyro?” Eve stuttered as she shook his shoulder violently. "I'm just seeing this r-r-ight?"

Flying in front of them was a giant black dragon with wings spread outward. Its ghastly body faded in and out like a ghost. The Dragon could only cause havoc using its voice; the electric sparks went off erratically on all electronics. Some even burst into flames.

People were screaming in horror at the commotion around them. They dropped phones; some were burned by it, and others panicked. Kiyro noticed in the crowds that people couldn't see the dragon ghost floating in the air.

"Can't people see that?!" Daulton shouted in disbelief, shaking his hand over his head. "I mean, a giant dragon is hovering in the air!"

"I don't think they can," Will murmured. He was staring up into the sky. His mouth opened and closed like a fish with a skeptical look. Is that even possible? Dragons? Here?"

"I don't know..." Kiyro replied. He had a hard time believing in what he saw through his Alive Gear. His hand reached up and pulled his Alive Gear down to the bridge of his nose, and he still saw the same Dragon hovering in the air. How was this possible? Was everything just an illusion, or was it real?

What confused him was how he could even get a Devil Quest. What action did he take even to initiate even one?

Devil Quest: Free the Black Dragon into the Realm of the Living

Blood sacrifice is needed to make the distortion between realms a reality, giving the Black Dragon a solid form. Kill twenty people to satisfy the Dragon's quench for blood. The evil black Dragon had been bidding since ancient times to come back into the world of the living. The thin layer of dimensional barrier is at its highest during Samhan, giving rise to the temporary opportunity for the dead to cross over and vice versa.

Quest Level: A

Reward: Ancient Dark Magic

Failure: Your life would be forfeit.

"You gotta be kidding me." Kiyro groaned. This was becoming the worst day of his life, and it was just starting.

"This is a joke, right?" Daulton came up next to him. His voice trembled. "Devil's quest?"

The people were crying out in terror. Fear-filled shots rang out; people were falling on the ground dead as blood pooled around them. Some were trampled to death by the people who were running away.

With a beep, the Alive Gear received a message.

Death Count: 3

Kiyro was amazed at what was happening before him. Even without him killing anyone, the death count was rising.

Death Count: 4

"Kiyro, this is not good. We need to stop this." Eve was shaking at the sight that was playing out before them.

"How? I mean, didn't you read the Quest failure?"

"I know, but this is wrong. The concert hall is chaotic, and if more death rises, I fear something worse will happen. Plus, this is my fault. I shouldn't have sung." Eve was filled with guilt. She clutched her chest and wheezed.

Complete chaos was being ensued out in public. The fire continued to burst throughout the area, causing large-scale fires onto equipment and buildings. The fire leaped and licked from one spot to another as if it were a living entity. Any nearby debris from above begins to fall on top of people, pinning them down onto the ground.

The black Dragon continued to roar ruthlessly without remorse, causing windows to shatter, electronics to burst, and even the lights to flicker chaotically. The power of the black Dragon was starting to grow stronger and stronger with each death.

Streetlights started to bust from the unearthly roar, and even the air shook in tremors. Kiyro could feel his hair rise on end, giving him a chill. Then, not even a moment later, the metal around the arena started to shake violently, metals began to groan, and finally twisted and crumbled downwards with a loud clang.

Kiyro dodged out of harm's way; heat smashed him in his face, and sweat started to flow, causing him to be on edge. Finally, they burst, jumped through the fires, and came out into the clearing away from the burning flames.

"Kiyro!" Will ran over, dodging the blast of fire that seemed to erupt around him. "We need to get out of here now!"

Death Count: 8

Daulton spoke with fear. "At this rate, we either die from failing the mission or become murderers."

"I don't think that's even half of it," said Kiyro. He wrinkled his nose, wondering what he should do next. But first, they needed to escape the massive mayhem playing out before them and plan what to do next.

Everyone bolted towards a wall that kept them safe from the chaos around them. Will, Tonia, Daulton, Eve, and Kiyro made it safely, hiding from the Dragon's raging fire. They gasped and coughed, trying to catch their breath. Even Kiyro could feel his heart thumping erratically in his throat; he searched around, tensed for others missing from the group.

"Where's Alex?" Eve glanced around, looking for Alex, but he was nowhere to be found.

"I thought I saw him escaping from the other side. He was helping with the magic show not too far away from here. But wait, is even everything happening out there even real? I mean, this is just a magic show, right, guys? Right?" Tonia asked with a shaky voice. Her finger reached up towards her mouth and she began to bite on her nails.

"I don't think this is all just a show anymore," Will spoke out loud to the group. "We all have an insane Quest putting our lives on the line. I don't know about you, but I'm not for murdering people."

"Yea, but do you believe this quest could kill us?" Tonia stopped biting her nails. She wiped her fingers on her pants as she grabbed her jeans.

"I don't think it's the quest that will kill us but the people who're behind the quest. Our supervisor Angel has been acting weird, and I believe he will push the button with a snap of his fingers. Haven't you heard? He's a cold-blooded killer."

"W-where did you get such information from? I mean, wasn't that just a rumor?"

"No, someone saw him kill one of the students in the back of the Academy. You know Johnny, the one that had the lowest ability out of all the students?"

Tonia slowly nodded.

"That's him."

With a gasp, Tonia held her breath in disbelief. "No way."

"Yes, way."

"Then how are we even supposed to stop this from even happening? I mean, even I'm not up for killing people when they have done nothing to us." Daulton spoke. "Do you have a solution?"

"That-"

Death Count: 16

"Did the death count just jump in numbers?!" Eve's voice went up into a shriek in disbelief. Her eyes became diluted, and her breath quickened. "Who's going around killing people?"

The others were reading the message in confusion. They, too, were wondering who was causing havoc in the middle of the night when a large number of people were present.

Death Count: 17

"We won't need to do anything at this rate." Daulton half-heartedly jokes.

"Still we'll become accomplices!" Eve hissed. "Right now, my conscience is against all this, and we're letting this all happen right in front of us!"

"Calm down Eve. It's not like we're making the killing."

"Still!" Eve was fuming at the loss of life before them, but they did not know what to do. They were in a life-and-death dilemma, and no one had a single answer.

Death Count: 18

Kiyro held his breath. He was stunned at how quickly people were dying and were not even sure how. No gunshots rang through the crowds except the soul-shaking screams could be heard.

Sneaking a glance out to see what was going on, Kiyro noticed that the ground was littered with dead bodies. Suddenly everything became silent, the wind stopped blowing, and even foul-smelling sulfur permuted the air. Then, an unholy ghastly scream shot outwards, causing them to freeze.

Off in the distance, Kiyro noticed a shadow dashing through the crowds. One of their groups was dashing toward a running pedestrian, trying to escape a man with a mask. With a downward slash, the sword cut through the body and into the heart. Blood spilled outwards, leaving a pool of red liquid on the floor.

Death Count: 19

"Kiyro! One of our own is killing them!" Eve shouted in alarm. "We got to stop whoever that is!"

Eve was about to run forward when Kiyro stopped her.

"Stay here!" Kiyro hissed. He grabbed the broken metal pipe and ran forward. Even though he saw one of his members killing people made, Kiyros's blood boiled. This was not what he signed up for, nor was he a murderer. But, even if it was a selfish thought, he knew what to do.

With a flick of his sword, the man with the sword ran forward, honing into the next target. Kiyro clashed against the enemy, stopping the person in front of him. The metal sparked, and the sound loudly rattled against one another.

"Why are you doing this?! Don't you know this is murder?!" Kiyro shouted with anger. "How could you do such heinous crimes over a Devil Quest?! This is wrong!"

The voice coming out from the mask was low and husky. "Someone so weak-minded couldn't ever understand."

Kiyro could not tell who it was behind the mask. They were almost the same height, except the opponents were slightly taller. Only a few people that he knew were taller than him. They were Russ, Cain, Alex, Will, and Stork. But, of course, he will be with them, so he was out of the question.

He believed that Alex was not the type of person to go around killing people; he was their friend. However, Russ, Cain, and Stork were different stories. He knew nothing about them, and the chance of Russ possibly being a suspect was high. His selfish attitude in sacrificing his group was what many people knew in the game, but taking a further step in killing someone was a difficult line to cross. The question was, was Russ willing enough to cross the path of no return?

Kiyro dodged out of harm's way from the oncoming sword and swung with all he had. What

Kiyro did not expect at all was the inhumane body movement that completely blocked Kiyros's attack. With a solid clang, he could feel the bone-shaking contact momentum, making him stumble backward.

Cutting through the air, a high whistle-like sound could be heard of the blade aiming toward Kiyros head. He ducked just enough time to not get his head sliced off. With a kick off the ground, Kiyro bulldozed forward with his metal pipe in hand. With a swing, he missed and hit the side of the streetlight instead, sending a stunning shock throughout his whole arm.

The man kicked him with his boot, causing Kiyro to stumble backward. Then, he raised his sword, ready to strike down at Kiyro, who was on the ground.

"No!" Eve dashed forward and slammed into the man.

The man faltered and fell backward. He stumbled forward and turned around. Pulling back his sword over his shoulder and hurling it through the air. With a frightening speed, the sword fell from the sky and pierced a woman through the back, causing her to stumble forward and die.

He then saw something that ultimately took him off guard; an apparition of the dead woman floated outwards from its dead body and hovered over her body like an evil ghost. What happened next startled him; the apparition was suddenly pulled into the air like a streak of green light, heading towards an unknown source under the black Dragon hovering up in the sky.

Death Count: 20

Devil Quest: Free the Black Dragon into the Realm of the Living has been completed.

The special reward has been sent to your inbox. In three hours, the present will disappear if not opened. All Devil's Quest data has been completely erased. Infamy has risen by 1500.

Kiyro rolled over and kicked the man from behind; the man dove forward into a roll to cushion his blow. He then got up and ran away. He disappeared into the darkness in seconds, leaving Eve and Kiyro behind.

"Kiyro!" Eve shouted. "Look behind you!"

“What-a-at?” Kiyro stares in disbelief.

The black dragon apparition flying overhead was getting stronger by the second till, finally, the last human kill made it possible for the Dragon to start to manifest itself into reality.

The world around them started to distort and change. The ground turned into a familiar scene he did not expect to see. It was the dungeon inside the Pyramid of Light, the last boss room, warping everything around them. From murky to the dark atmosphere to the foul-smelling air, even the oppressive atmosphere was apparent everywhere, getting stronger and stronger.

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Dark, humanoid Anubis-like shadows appeared from the shadows and surrounded all around the Black Dragon. Each Anubis shadow had ghastly green eyes that stared toward them with hunger. Then, they started sling forward with a staggering waver, making their way towards Kiyro and the others.

"What the hell. What the hell? What the hell!" Tonia was yelling in fear. The shadows started to speed towards them with open claws. Then, with a vicious slash, they jumped and surrounded Tonia in seconds.

Tonia screamed in horror as she put up her hands in fear. Large cuts formed on Tonia's body, and blood splattered outwards from her open skin.

"Tonia!" Daulton yelled. He rushed up with a wooden bat in hand. He swung at the shadows in the hope of keeping them off. But, unfortunately, his bat slipped through the shadow as if they were air; instead, nothing happened.

Instead, they turned around on Daulton, scratching him across his chest. "Augh!" He stumbled backward in pain. "Back off!" With a growl, this time, he willed his pyrokinesis to activate and cause the fire to burst forth from his wooden bat.

With a sickening thud, the dark shadows were burnt to a crisp, disappearing into the smoke. Daulton stared at his inflamed bat in complete disbelief.

"Daulton, behind you!" Tonia snapped him out just in the nick of time before another shadow creature could smack him from the back.

Kiyro ran over to the dead lady and pulled out the sword. He felt sick pulling out the sword but needed a better weapon. The metal pipe that he held hand in hand was bent up in many pieces. He silently prayed to the lady, hoping she would ascend to a better place.

With the sword in hand, he ran forward. He let his ten years of ninjutsu training kick in, allowing him to maneuver his sword with pinpoint accuracy. His sword cut through the shadow but came out without harming the shadow in any way.

Kiyro was confused. How was it that Daulton was able to blast through the shadow of Anubis without a single hitch? He jumped backward just before the shadow cut through his left arm. A burning sensation ripped through his arms, causing him to freeze up. His hands were numbed with pain from the sudden attack. He could not move his hand at all.

"Kiyro!" With a metal pipe in hand, Will jumped forward and bashed the shadow into the ground. The shadow turned into smoke and disappeared into thin air.

"How?" Kiyro was shocked that both of his friends were easily dispatching the shadows as if they were nothing.

"Did you forget all your training?!" Will was busy pushing back the shadows from overwhelming them. "Come on, Kiyro! Will your energy form and coat your sword!"

"Ah."

"Don't ah me!" Will slammed the metal pipe into the side of a shadow and, in seconds, caused it to disappear into smoke.

An interruption of his Alive gear started to flicker on and off.

Angel Quest: Invasion of the Evil Black Dragon

Stop the Black Dragon from taking full form and possessing a body. Destroy the source of power: the Emerald Gem. Since ancient times, the black dragons have lived in Gehenna for thousands of years. They are masters of necromancy and dark arts. Coming upon a black dragon is considered an ill omen, especially of a younger race of dragons. They are considered more hot-tempered than the elder race of Black Dragons that have lived for millions of years. It is best to send them back as quickly as possible, for the damage to the physical realm could be astronomical.

Level: A

Reward: Angel's Good luck for a week.

Failure: Possible Possession of your body.

"Another one?!" Eve stated in disbelief. She, on the other hand, was busy punching her way through. The timid girl was gone, and instead, a warrior took her place. "I mean, what's with today? From Devil's Quest and now to Angel's Quest? Is this even possible?"

"Quit yapping and keep smacking women!" Daulton shouted in between each swing. He aggressively moved forward, mowing down shadows that seemed to encroach upon them with vigor.

Eve snapped back. "I am! Can't you see I was making an important statement?"

"We don't have time for it!" Daulton was trying his best to push the shadows back. Will, Eve, Kiyro, Tonia, and Daulton formed a tight circle with each other's backs.

Kiyro moved a step forward and swung downwards, his glowing sword coated with his energy cut through the shadow in half. If Kiyro could explain the situation, it felt like a zombie apocalypse from the swarms of shadow creatures that seemed to come out from the ground, stumbling towards them.

"Our priority has changed. We get to the Emerald of the Black Dragon and destroy it. This should give us a fighting chance!" Kiyro slashed in an arch, getting rid of the shadow around him.

"Easier said than done. Come on; they're going to keep coming and coming. That abomination is a monster!" Tonia yelled with a heavy breath. They were starting to lose stamina from the onslaught of shadows that they could not make out.

"The question is, where is the Emerald?" Daulton swung his flaming club side-to-side, keeping the shadows back.

"I remember seeing something fly under the black Dragon from the last death. I'm sure it's there," said Kiyro as he slashed through the shadow on his right and then moved to his left. He was not going to back down and get possessed by some creature, especially an evil black dragon. The thought of having something crawling in his body made him shiver.

"We should split up," Will spoke. "This should give us a chance to get towards the Emerald. Plus, we could watch each other's backs."

"Fine. You guys go towards the right. Eve and I will go the opposite way."

"I'll give you guys a three-second window!" Daulton stepped forward, and he raised his burning wood. Then, controlling the flames as best as he could, he willed it outwards into a small torrent that swirled even hotter on the burning wood. "I can't keep this going forever! I don't have infinite power!" The shadows reeled backward from the sudden explosive, bright fire that flickered outwards.

Kiyro knew that the flames were not normal fire; he could feel the power of Daulton's energy mixing in with the flames giving it a life of its own. Likewise, his blue aura was slightly mixed with the fire giving it that slight sparks of blue energy snapping up in the air.

"Now!" Kiyro yelled.

Will, Daulton, and Tonia broke apart from the team and headed toward the right. Kiyro and Eve splitted up and dashed toward the left. They pushed through the shadow crowds, trying not to tangle in with the shadows that seemed to come rushing towards them.

They ran between the rubbles and the fire that made a good three fourth of the debris on the ground. Kiyro and Eve pushed forward, slashing through the shadows with every power they got.

Kiyro and Eve ran through from left to right, cutting the shadows in half. Each one disappeared into thin smoke, leaving them an open path. They did not see a single person in the debris left behind by the fear of being killed.

The fire continued to burn rapidly into swirls; Kiyro and Eve ran to cover, trying not to get burnt to a crisp by the fire. What was worse was that the Black Dragon was getting more powerful by the second, allowing the green fire to become more chaotic. Each time the fire burst into short flames, making both Eve and Kiyro jump back in surprise. The sudden burst of fire made them feel very uncomfortable.

“Roooooooooooaaaaaaar!”

With a terrifying yell, the black Dragon sent out a shockwave of energy that shook the surrounding buildings. Anybody even a mile away shuddered like bugs in fear that the earthquake-like tremor would bring down the building around them.

"What's going on?!" The people screamed out in fear.

"An earthquake?"

"How is this possible?"

"Ahhhh!"

"Someone save me!"

People ran around in panic. The building trembled, and some buildings broke apart, causing them to fall onto the ground. Large smokes of dust spread outwards from the sudden collapse of buildings.

"Kiyro, I see what we are looking for!" Eve quickly pulled on his sleeves. Not too far away from them was a small emerald in the middle of a burning green fire. From the fire, a large ghastly smoke arose toward the Black Dragon in the sky. Ghastly apparitions of lost souls started to swirl around the fire and upwards into the Black Dragon's body.

Eve and Kiyro glanced around for any way to get towards the Emerald resting on top of a burning piece of wood. But, unfortunately, they could see many shadows surrounding the Emerald with every step they got closer. What was worse was that the oppressive energy that the black Dragon was giving off was no joke. It was heavy, almost suffocating to the point where it was difficult even to walk close to it.

An insatiable, evil hunger that tore at anyone that got too close to the blazing inferno of the Emerald scorched their very souls. It was hot and cold simultaneously, making their bodies cry in pain.

Every step was excruciatingly painful, and both Kiyro and Eve were groaning from the suffering heat that seemed to burn their body and soul. At first, they ran towards the shining Emerald, but as they got closer, their steps became heavy like lead.

"What the hell is that thing? How.. argh... is it so painful?" With heavy hands, Eve was groaning in pain, and she punched the shadows surrounding her.

"I don't understand….either." Kiyro stumbled forward, clutching his chest.

Both of them were making their way excruciatingly slowly toward the Emerald that was surrounded by green fire.

Of the two, Kiyro was the only one getting closer to the Emerald itself, while Eve couldn't move any further.

“Kiyro….the dragon’s too strong….I…” Eve was huffing and puffing; her hands were busy pushing the shadows around her back. "I'll hold them back. Go!"

"But!" The shadows surrounded her in droves to the point of overcoming her in seconds.

"Go! I got this!" Eve shouted. A sudden burst of bright light surrounded her body, giving her a barrier that kept her safe. Even still, the aura barrier she had put up for herself was not strong enough to keep the swarms of shadows at bay. Each time they struck downwards into her shield, a large crack formed around it.

Kiyro knew that Eve could not hold any longer. There were too many that swarmed her, and even he was surrounded. He had two choices to move toward Eve, but this will drag his swarms toward her and possibly miss the chance to destroy the Emerald. If he instead went after the Emerald, he could stop these chaotic shadows that seem to spring out from the ground continuously, but at the same time, this would put Eve in grave danger. His instincts were telling him that if he did not help Eve now, she would die.

"Damn it!" Kiyro cursed. He swung his sword into an arch, cutting down the enemy before him.

"Eve!" Dashing towards her, he swung his blade towards the shadows that were pummeling down upon her small shield.

Each of the shadows perished under his blade. Quickly he grabbed Eve's arm and pulled her up towards him.

"Kiyro! You should've destroyed the Emerald!"

"No time!" Kiyro swung his sword and pulled Eve behind him. More and more shadows fell to his blades, but for everyone he killed, three took its place.

"Huhuhuhuhu." A low raspy voice spoke outwards towards them. "Kahahahahahah!"

Kiyro looked around, trying to find the source of the laughter, and when he glanced up, he noticed that the black Dragon was the one laughing.

"What are you laughing at!" Kiyro shouted.

"Ah? There is someone who could see me?" The black Dragon stopped speaking and glanced downwards at Kiyro and Eve. "No, I was wrong, there seems to be more….the total of ten can see what I am."

"Why are you doing this? What are you trying to accomplish!"

The shadows suddenly stopped encroaching upon Kiyro and Eve. They were surrounded. The Dragon was silently hovering over the Emerald. On the other side, he noticed that Daulton, Will, and Tonia were making their way toward the Emerald.

"Truly, humans are so stupid. Why do you ask such questions when you are in a battle?" The black Dragon flickers his tongue. "It is saddening to see that humanity has come so low, for only two out of millions of your kind to see me, truly earth has gotten so low in sensitivity. But, I must say, this is quite pathetic. Either way…. let's see."

The black Dragon scanned Zero and Eve with beady green eyes and sighed. "Even the quality of the body is so low." Then, with a puff of his breath, green fire escaped his mouth. "No matter which of the five, I think yours is the best."

Kiyro felt a shiver, and he saw the black dragon's gaze rest on him. He knew his life was in danger.

"Yes, I actually might like yours the best." The black Dragon pointed toward Kiyro, and the shadows started moving again. This time every single shadow was heading straight toward Kiyro. "Give me yours, human."

"Never!" Kiyro slashed his sword, cutting down the shadows in front of him.

"Kiyro, we won't be able to keep this up!"

"I know!" Kiyro gritted his teeth, his stamina was becoming dangerously low and they were surrounded all around them.

"I got this!" Daulton yelled; he ran towards the Emerald and put his hands into the burning fire. A sudden blast of fire encompassed Daulton's arm, completely different from green fire, protecting him from the rampaging flames. He grabbed the Emerald out of the fire and fell back, his whole arm covered in green flames.

"Aggggghhhhhhh!" Screaming in pain, Daulton rolled on the ground, trying to get the green fire off his body. Unfortunately, his fire was barely protecting him from getting completely burned alive.

Will ran over and kicked the Emerald out of Daulton's hand. The green flames disappeared, leaving Daulton slightly burnt on his arms. "Tonia! Destroy it now!"

"I'm on it!" Tonia lifted the metal pipe in her hands, glowing with energy from her own body. Then, out of nowhere, one of their teammates bulldozed into Tonia's back. A sharp broken metal pipe was stabbed into Tonia's back and into her lungs. Blood spilled out from her wound, causing her to collapse. The look of defeat and anguish crossed her face, and she suddenly realized who had caused her harm.

"Tonia!" Will yelled in horror, seeing that one of their teammates was down.

"Yes. Yes! Yes!" A familiar voice rang out with pleasure. The person took off his mask, and Russ was revealed next. He grabbed the burning Emerald in his hand, but the green fire did not burn him. "I won." With a chuckle, he gazed down upon the Emerald with pure happiness.

"Russ!!!!" Will shouted in anger. "You piece of shit, how could you?!"

"How could I? Easily," Russ smirked. He kicked the metal pipe on Tonia's chest, causing more blood flow. Tonia was drowning in her own blood, dying slowly. "This is just a game. Even in the real world, power is gained through many sacrifices, and this is one of them. In my hand is the power that I need to change my life."

With a hum of power, the green Emerald began to flare. Russ's laughter could be heard mixing in with the black Dragon over his head.

A burst of green flames erupted around them, making the surroundings excruciatingly hot. Even the shadows of humans started to come out from the ground. Powerful, dark energy flashed outwards into sporadic energy, causing everyone near Russ to stumble forward. The ground shook, and the building trembled. Windows broke into many pieces, and even people who were a mile nearby were affected by the oppressive energy. Finally, they fell to the ground, completely drained of energy.

"Russ!" Kiyro yelled in anger. Kiyro and Eve fought as hard as possible, but they could not get closer to Russ.

"Oh? If it isn't Kiyro. I swear something about you is very familiar." Russ tapped his finger on his chin. "Almost like that annoying black and gold dragon."

"If I get my hands on you, I'm going to pummel you into the ground!"

"Please." Russ shrugged his shoulders. "Let's see you try."

A blast of green energy shot outwards, hitting Kiyro and Eve in the chest. Eve threw up her defensive barrier but was broken in seconds by the sudden powerful wave.

Even Kiyro was hit hard, causing him to stumble backward. Eve fell to the ground in pain from the oppressive green energy that seemed to taint their soul. Devouring their spirit step by step, making them powerless and slow. Finally, he fell onto the ground, and the shadows swarmed around him.

"This body is good as well." The Dragon flew upwards towards the sky and dove toward the Russ.

All Kiyro could do was watch the Dragon flying downward Russ, and even Will could not get towards Russ in time. Daulton was still immobilized on the ground, and both Kiyro and Eve were surrounded.

Kathunk! Crack! Crack!

A dagger encased in a red aura was thrown as it embedded into the green Emerald. Static green electricity sparked outwards, warping the crystals energy and even the black Dragon that dove down toward Russ.

"No! No! No!" The black Dragon screamed in pain as it warped into many knots. "This is not over yet, human!" Then, with a screeching pain, the Dragon warped and turned into smoke, leaving Russ behind.

All the explosive fire suddenly calmed down, leaving behind a chaotic mess. Every single one of the shadows quickly disappeared like smoke.

Kiyro and Eve were bruised with heavy cuts on their bodies. They both got up with heavy feet, wondering what had just happened.

"What? Who?!" Russ called out in disbelief. "No!" He threw the Emerald onto the ground, but what happened after startled him. A human-sized dragon shadow jumped out of the Emerald and flew into Russ's body.

It didn't take a second before Russ was completely taken over. When he opened his eyes, the color changed into an eerie green color. The black bracelet on his wrist turned into dust, leaving him completely free.

"Hahahahaah!" Russ threw his head back in complete joy. "This body is not bad." He looked at his arms with a smile.

"So it seems we have failed." A familiar voice spoke out. Four different people with different masks stepped out of the shadow. The first was a woman with a white rabbit mask, the second was a man with a creepy yellow smiley face mask, the third was a skull mask that covered half of the man with black clothes' face, and the final was a little girl with a crow mask wearing lolita like an outfit.

"Not quite." The girl with the crow mask swung her black umbrella to the side. "We achieved our mission. Instead, we should worry about what to do with this boy."

"Leave him be."

Kiyro's eyes became wide in surprise. He knew that voice anywhere; it was Angel's.

"We should leave before we bring more attention," Angel spoke indifferently. "Come here." He motioned Russ to move forward towards him.

"Who are you, human? To order me? The great Delvare." Russ growled, baring his teeth.

"Come here, BOY." Angel sent out a silent chill that suddenly shut Russ up in seconds. Instead, Russ started to shiver in fright and shuffled forward. "Good boy." He rested his hands on Russ's head.

"Pft, this is too funny." The lady with the rabbit mask laughed. "I mean, really? The great Delvare? Pft Hahahahaha!"

Angel turned toward the lady with the rabbit mask and gave her a cold stare. In seconds, she stopped laughing and went silent. "Disperse." His voice coldly spoke. Russ's eyes fluttered close, and he fell into Angel's arm unconscious.

All four of them disappeared into the shadows, leaving them all behind.

Angel Quest: Invasion of the Evil Black Dragon has been completed. Angel's Good luck for a week has been activated. For one week, your luck will be astronomical. Certain restrictions are applied.

The final Boss in Pyramid of Light has been defeated in the Game of Growth.

Kiyro was stunned by what he was reading. How could the final Boss of the Pyramid of Light be here? This did not make any sense at all. The only thought he had was of the strange occurrences that had happened once when he somehow made his way toward Angel in the spiritual realm. This could only mean that the game was starting to affect the world more and more, or it could be the other way around.

More questions stem up in his mind; the game of Growth was more complicated as time went on.

There were just way too many questions that were not making sense, but they needed to get out of there right now.

Not only that, Kiyro got the feeling that there was a lot more to this whole mess than he had thought.

Moments he could hear the Sirens could be heard from all around them. Then, finally, fire trucks came to a halt, bringing in their water hoses to quench the fires that were going erratic.

"Hurry up!" A fireman came running through with a water hose. He pulled back the lever allowing the water to blast through to the fire. More and more firefighters came running, creating a shower of rainwater. Even the sound of policemen could be heard going through the wreckage to see if they were any people were hurt. Finally, the ambulance came screaming from behind, picking up the injured bodies that were littered all around them.

"Kiyro." Alex came out from the shadows away from him.

"Alex? What? Where were you this whole time?"

"I waited till the right moment to destroy the Emerald."

"So that was you?"

"No time to explain. We all need to get out of here now." Alex called out to them. "Come on. Follow me!"

"But Tonia! She got skewered by Russ!"

"No time. She's dead. It's too late."

"How do you know? I mean, you didn't even check!"

Alex threw up his hand to cover Kiyros mouth. A sudden crack-like sound was heard from behind. He whirled out his dagger and pushed the tip into the enemy's throat.

"Woah. Woah. Woah!" Daulton threw up his reddened hands. "It's me. Daulton."

"Daulton?" Alex dropped his dagger. "Glad to see you're still alive."

"Half alive." He weakly chuckled. He was holding his arm closely next to him.

Will came up from behind with Tonia in his arms. His face was stricken with grief. "She's dead. I couldn't just leave her here."

"Come on, quickly follow me."

"Wait, what happened to the other four?" Everyone was running behind him closely, dodging the police men.

"They're dead as well. They were used to revive the black Dragon into this world."

"What?!" Daulton's voice spiked up. "Russ killed them?!"

"That piece of shit even killed his teammates?" Will spoke in disbelief.

Alex didn't reply.

"Who were those four people?" Will asked. "What did they mean that their mission failed? Was there something more?"

"I don't know. Now is not the best time to dawdle on such thoughts and get out of here safely. Quickly this way." Alex pushed the rubble aside, letting them all through. They slipped through the building and into the back alleyway. Eventually, making their way into the van that they came in from. They spilled into the van with heavy breaths and closed the door behind them.

With a grunt, the van spluttered forward, leaving the smoking concert hall behind them.

#####

"Breaking news on channel BBK. Today around 11:34 pm in Tampa, Florida, a serious fire outbreak in Soul Festival caused massive damage to the arena. A total death count of forty-five people died tonight in the fire." A pretty lady with a flowery dress spoke out with a frown. "We believe this might be caused by a possible terrorist organization, the Watchers, that has been terrorizing certain countries."

The lady pushed her hair backward. A picture of the Watcher's emblem was plastered on the side of the screen. It was a Black Raven with an eye set in the middle of the Raven's chest.

"If you have any information about the terrorist group, please call your local police. For the unfortunate people who have passed away, any information to bring justice to this group will greatly help."

"In the Terrorist event, another Murder Art title," Smile," had been found last night inside the Silverlight Hotel. Sam Livingston, the writer of the Book Demon, and I had died from head trauma not too far away when the Terrorist Event was happening. An ongoing investigation speculates that the murder happened exactly at the same time as the Event. Almost as if the murderer had foreseen this Event, allowing him to divert attention away. So far, fifteen police officers have been killed, most unusually. Every single one of them had on a creepy smile inside the hotel splay out in different poses, doing their routine every day."

A video of the hotel could be seen on the screen. Other police officers and civilians were walking out around the hotel. The anchor man was in front of the hotel staring at the destruction of the concert hall further behind him.

"This is the place where the Murder Art, Smile, happened. Fifteen different detectives and police officers that were on the Murder Art case died in this building. There is a possibility that other members of the Murder Art could-"

"Hey! Stop that camera!" A police chief called out. A couple of policemen ran forward to stop the taping of the video, and suddenly the TV blacked out.