The moment a third rumble rippled across the dark sea, an entire band of gray robed men prepared for the inevitable. They sat on the shaky waters, raised their lion-crested banners, and locked their hands like praying children. A display of weakness for the arrogant, but a sign of good entertainment for the two bystanders watching from above.

One of them was a girl trapped in a fifteen year old body, while the other was a boy whose name only dead people could speak. Both were ancient, and both couldn’t care less for the trembling men below. They were only there to watch the carnage unfold, until the final piece of their plan arrives at the foot of their unscalable wall.

“do you think it’s one of them?” the girl asked, her golden eyes glistening beneath her black mask.

The boy answered with a frown. He wanted to be hopeful, but the long list of false predictions kept his optimism low. “no comment. I’m done playing the prophet”

“hm? But that’s what makes this fun!”

“it stopped being fun a long time ago”

“just do it for me then"

A pained smile emerged on the boy’s face. “you really want to see me suffer huh?”

“of course” the girl said without batting an eye. “I’m fond of you, so it makes me happy when you’re in pain”

Before the boy could start his rant on sadistic tendencies, a fourth rumble, far greater than the previous ones, turned their rigid stone wall into a giant rocking chair.

“it’s coming! It’s coming!” the girl swung her hand excitedly, but none of her slaps hit the mark. The boy already scooted one foot away, his red eyes glued at the pillar of water rising before of the men’s tight phalanx.

“contain!”

A powerful voice rose out of the group and spurred the men to action. They performed a synchronized clap and echoed the command with conviction. As a result, six sheets of glass were created out of thin air, joined together to trap the monster inside a castle-sized cube.

The boy whistled. “these kids look good!”

As soon as the compliment left his lips, the cage’s roof bursted into a million fragments. Countless black tentacles latched on to the top edges and pulled out the rest of the monster’s body for all eyes to see. A tower of black scales crowned with a humanoid mouth, surrounded by a ring of muscular appendages that resembled flower petals.

“bind!”

Crystal chains sprung out of the sea and wrapped around the monster's upper body. Enraged, it let out an ear-splitting screech and shot its tentacles at the men, only to be rejected by a wall created from the same glass it shattered to break free.

“shower!”

With the target pinned in place, the men summoned countless glass arrows that rained down on the monster’s head. It squirmed and thrashed, but to no avail. The chains remained intact, and the projectiles continued pour, causing its tentacles to fold around its wounded head.

“halt!”

Once the last volley was released, the men jumped to their feet and filled the dark world with triumphant cheers. Hugs were exchanged, prayers were whispered, and of course, arrogant displays were championed above all else.

“victory!” the girl applauded them and made foolish noises of her own. But as for the boy, he didn’t even break a smile. His eyes remained glued to the monster’s concealed mouth, wishing for it to remain closed, wishing for the men to retreat while they still could.

“what’s wrong?” the girl asked. “aren’t you happy for them?”

The boy looked at her with grim eyes. “you haven’t seen a hell flower yet have you?”

“it’s my first time seeing one in the flesh, and to be honest, I don’t understand why its more dangerous than hell fishes”

“but you read its section in the manual right?”

The girl scowled. “of course I did! It’s the third on the list!”

“did you read the remarks at the bottom?”

While the girl rummaged her memories, a chorus of gasps rose from below and made the boy's hairs stand. He pulled the girl to him and covered her mouth with both hands. She resisted at first, but after a speck of red dust passed before her eyes, the anger in her face turned into a horrified realization.

“do you remember now?” the boy asked, his eyes now rested at the men who stood as still as statues. They no longer laughed, cheered, nor showed any sign of joy in their faces. All that remained were open mouths and wide eyes, captivated by the red pollen escaping out of monster’s reopened head.

“so pretty”

“let’s gather some and present it to the king”

“we'll surely be rewarded for this!”

The men removed their robes and fashioned them into sacks. They broke away from formation and made tight circles, catching as much of the red dust as they could.

“stop this now!” a white haired man stood in their midst and brandished a sword. Only he and the guard beside him had their robes intact. A sight that did not sit well with the rest of the men.

“ease up lieutenant, we already won”

“he’s right. you’re always so uptight, relax"

The lieutenant swung his sword. “we can’t let our guards down! Get back to your positions, it’s time for us to go back!”

Despite using the commanding voice that ordered the men through out the battle, the white haired man failed to regain control of his group. He repeated his commands and even included threats of crucifixion, but his men would no longer listen, they’ve already become their own masters.

“my arm!”

A sudden scream pulled everyone back to their senses. It was a comardes kneeled on the waters, his right shoulder now resembling the hell flower's tentacles.

“son of Ryla...

“what the hell is that?!”

The bald man fell on his face as another tentacle bursted out of his other shoulder. “cut them off... Please...”

“hold still!” one of the men pulled out a knife from his tunic and approached his comrade. He held the tentacle’s tip and raised his knife high, but when it was time to swing it, tentacles bursted out of his skull.

“fall back!” the leader pointed his sword at the wall and lead the retreat. Legs, arms, even parts meant only for intimacy, all began to explode into tendrils as they ran across the still waters.

By the time they reached the wall’s entrance, only the leader and his loyal guard remained in one piece. The rest were either dead, or manipulated. Flesh puppets obedient to the tentacles’ will.

“son, quick!” the leader yanked the metal bar fastened on the wall's entrance. “help me open this!”

The guard did not reply. He merely gave a feeble nod and turned towards the undead mob, stripping his robes and under garments to expose the serpentine marks squirming underneath his skin.

“Yotan...” the leader fell to his knees and called out to his son repeatedly. Instead of obeying his orders, the child dragged his feet forward and greeted the tentacles reaching out from their comrades’ bodies.

“what a waste” the boy removed his hold on the girl’s mouth and rested on his back. “thank goodness I didn’t predict a victory”

The girl chuckled. “but you’re still pained”

“quit dreaming. I don’t care what happens to those fools”

“I’ve observed you for fifty years now. You don’t avert your eyes when you don’t care”

The boy bit his lip and distracted himself with the stars. He wanted to interfere, to repay the man for his entertaining show. But he could not do it. They only had three tries to make the right decision. He can not afford to waste one on a person who’s clearly not the final piece.

“hey” the girl said. “they’re dragging him to the flower now”

“so what?”

“let’s save him”

The boy clenched his fists. “three tries is all we have. We can’t waste any of them for a fool”

“he’s the only entertaining fool we had in a while. We can’t let him end like this”

Before the boy could summon more will to resist, he found himself gazing back at the man being dragged like a lamb for slaughter. Forget about the final piece, the girl was right. They can not let a man who fought a good fight die as a loser. Not when both of them knew how painful it was to be one.

“so we’re doing it?” the girl asked.

He bowed his head and locked his hands. “quickly”

Without hesitation or delay, the girl jumped off the wall and dove head first into the scene. The hell flower sent its tentacles to catch her, but the moment they snagged her cloak, her body vanished without a trace.

“what was that for?!” the boy asked.

A giggle rang in his head. “I was wondering how fast it was”

“was the whole battle not enough?”

“stop whining and call me already!”

The boy rolled his eyes before closing them. One thought after another, he cleared his head of all distractions and freed his heart from doubt, preparing himself for the suffering he was about to endure once he spoke the girl’s name.

“Erze, come forth”

Searing pain blossomed in his chest and crawled out up to his fingertips. His skin sizzled, his flesh screamed and still, his mind remained intact. All thanks to the playful melody created by the girl’s unleashed soul.

“ready when you are” the girl said.

The boy nodded and said. “needle"

In the blink of an eye, a glass spear materialized above his head. It darted straight to the flower and drilled through its tentacles, sinking itself deep into the monster's head.

There was no scream nor struggle. After the spear returned to the boy, the hell flower's tentacles grew limp. At its feet, the flesh puppets fell on their faces and left their captive on his knees, sobbing silently in front of his son’s remaining upper body.

“my, this man is heavy" the spear carried the man to the wall and the boy knocked him out with a punch. As he slept, the weapon returned to her human form and kissed his lips, transferring a portion of her blood to slow the growth of the tentacles inside him.

“there!” the girl said with a satisfied grin. “one hour conversation secured!”

The boy shook his head. “not really, we still need wait until he wakes up"

“then why did you knock him out in the first place?!”

“do you think he'll just let you waltz to a kiss?”

“hmp!” the girl folded her arms and whipped her head sideways. “I'm fast! He won't even know what hit him!”

The boy leered at the void blood splattered on the floor. “you filthy brat, do you know many hours it took to mop this roof?”

“I'm not fil..." the girl trailed off as huge lumps of black blood slid down her forhead. It was not fatal nor poisonous, atleast not to them. But the sheer stench it carried was enough to challenge the boy's high tolerance to filth.

“see?” he said. “you're disgusting, take a bath now"

The girl flicked a handful on his face and proceeded to spread it like icing on a cake. “oh I'm really sorry, my hand slipped. What were you saying again?”

“you're going to wash me for this"

“sure"

“huh?” the boy scooted away. “come again?”

“we have to wait right?” the girl’s mischievous eyes went to the trap door beside the boy. “why don't we take a bath? We haven't shared one in a while”