Huh?!

That voice! Impossible!

A spear pierces the hunchback’s foot and then extends to pierce his jaw and skull. The spear retracts, and the doctor drops dead on the ground.

The goo moves and forms into a humanoid figure. Its body is red with a single eyeball and a crooked mouth.

“Hello, boys. I’m back!”

Amelia!?

“A… Amy?”

The boy widens his eyes in surprise as the two goons rush to attack the figure who murdered their employer.

“That’s it! Come at me. Give me your hatred! Hahaha haha!”

One guard rushes at Amelia with a hammer. She turns her arm into a sword and slices him in half. She turns to the other one, but he drops his weapon and runs away, screaming.

“Tsh! How disappointing. Can’t hunt down a guy who turns his back and still calls in self-defense, can I? Huh…”

“A-Amy? Is that you?”

“Yes, smelly breath. It’s me.”

The monstrous figure looks down at Bailey with her twisted features. She sees the confusion in Bailey’s eyes and looks at her hands, then touches her face.

“Oh, I see. Do you have a mirror?”

“Er… no?”

“Does anybody have a mirror?”

The children look at each other and shake their heads.

“Whatever. How hard can sculpting a face be? Two eyes. Two ears. One mouth and nose. Vola! How do I look?”

Amelia’s new face looks like a poorly made children’s sculpture, especially without hair.

One kid opens her lips,

“You look… funny.”

“It’s the best I can do without a mir—”

“Amy!”

Bailey leaps up and hugs her.

“Amy, I miss you so much! I have so many things to tell you!”

“Shut up! I heard everything you said for the past two years, idiot! It’s annoying as hell!”

“Amy, I knew you could hear me! I knew you’d be okay!”

Amelia… My Amelia is alive?!

Did she just… put herself back together?

Don’t look at me, man. I saw the same thing you did.

Devil! What the hell is going on?! No, what the hell happened twenty years ago?!

Questions, questions, so many pointless questions.

Hey look, doesn’t the devil look… embarrassed?

Shhh! I’m trying to watch the memory.

Amelia awkwardly pats the crying Bailey. After he calms down, he leads the group of artificial magic users to rescue the other children in captivity. Most of them look at Amelia fearfully, but some laugh at her.

“Why are you naked? And where are your private bits?”

“I’ll form one later when I have time. Now more your ass, brats!”

They make their way to the exit. But just as freedom is within sight, the door opens and a group of men in black walk in.

“Well, what do we have here?”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“It’s a prison break, boss!”

“We can’t let that happen, can’t we? Bet the crazy old coot will pay me extra for capturing all of you—again! Take ’em, boys!”

The group of men rushes to attack and Bailey leaps out to defend them. The children who see Amelia cut a man in half look at her for help.

“I… don’t have enough energy. Tsk! If only there’s a source of ‘Hatred’ like the half-man nearby.”

She makes her fingernails longer and leaps on the masked men like a tiger. The rest of the experimented children rush to help.

Wait, did she say a source of ‘Hatred’?

Why hate? What does that have to do with anything?

Look, the devil is sweating profusely.

Devil! What happened that day? Where is Amelia?! Answer me!

The battle intensifies. The criminals stop holding back against the children. It’s a slaughter!

The building is on fire! People are choking and dying! Even Bailey and Amelia don’t stand a chance!

“Cough! Amy! Amy, stick close to me. We gotta find another way out!”

The boy uses his magic to clear a path. A few children try to stick close to him. Amelia grabs a crying baby and wraps her arms around it.

Please, make it! Come on, devil, you promised Amelia you’d get her out of there!

That’s right! Don’t give up, devil! Don’t you dare lose her again!

Devil, let’s go! Fight!

Er… you guys, it’s all in the past so…

They make their way to an underground sewer. Only Bailey, Amelia, and the baby still live.

“Just a bit more… I promised I’ll get you out of here… Just a bit more…”

Amelia falls down. Her red body starts to melt again.

“Amy!”

“Kid, take the baby and go. Don’t worry about me.”

“No, I won’t leave you!”

“Relax. I came back once. I can do it again.”

“No, you can’t!”

“Smelly breathe…”

“You said you were out of energy. Tell me what you need!”

“Kid…”

“Tell me, Amy!”

“I… I feed off hatred… I need someone to hate me more than anything in the world.”

“Hate…”

“Hate is a powerful emotion. It’s something you can’t give me.”

Amelia raises her hand to wipe Bailey’s tears. It leaves a red mark on his face.

“I should know. I’ve been trying to get you to hate me since I met you. Now go. Become the knight you always wanted, Bailey.”

“Amy…”

Amelia smiles and hands the baby in her arms to Bailey, but he refuses to take it.

“No.”

“No…”

“I refuse to let you die here! I hate you! You hear me!? I hate you for telling me to abandon you! I hate you for being mean to me for all these years! I hate you for saying my breath is smelly! You hear me!? I hate you more than anything in the world!”

“Bailey…”

“I hate you… I hate you so much I could die.”

The boy hangs his hate low. He gathers his remaining mana and uses it to seal Amelia in an air bubble.

“No, don’t!”

“Goodbye, Amy. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Bailey pushes the air bubble forward as his body collapses. The bubble makes its way out to the river and pops when the caster breathes his last breath.

Amelia swims to the shore. The child in her arms still breathes. She gazes towards the burning building across the river, then grits her teeth and gets up.

She looks at her hand and sees that it stops melting.

“What do you know? He actually did it… That boy never fails to surprise me.”

Amelia wipes tears from her eyes and looks at the baby in her arms.

“Let’s go find you a home, shall we?”

She smiles with her crooked face and walks into the forest.

What… does this mean?

Did the young devil just… die?

If he did… then whose memories are we looking at?

No… No, it can’t be…

A shape-shifter who feeds off hatred…

No way. No fucking way!

The screen is still projecting her image.

Amelia! It’s you, isn’t it?! Amelia, answer me! Please… Amelia.

Huh… Stop yapping, you old fart. You’re giving me a headache.

The devil’s figure melts and then reforms into a young girl with blonde hair and green eyes. She takes the opportunity to cast off her bindings, then looks towards the duke.

Amelia. You returned to me…

Amelia’s mouth splits open like a snake and gives out laughter that sends chills down everyone’s heart.

Her figure melts again and transforms into a face that makes the duke’s blood run cold.

Don’t be so happy to see me, old man. After all… I was the one who murdered your beloved wife! Hahaha haha!