But this time, we were six.
Amelia had grabbed the little rat by the hair.
We had comfortably laid him on the ground in front of us.
His body shook like a leaf when he saw the monster's corpse next to us.
Maybe he was cold?
Amelia pushed back her scarlet hair.
"I think I won!"
I frowned. She had caught me off guard; otherwise, I would have been the winner.
Then I remembered a small incident.
I felt something prickling the side of my neck. A mosquito?
I turned my head.
Oh.
It was just Klaus staring. He looked angry.
I wonder why?
But we had more important matters to deal with.
And it was right in front of us.
The rat was really small, about five feet tall. His brown hair was slicked back. A pair of glasses with cracked lenses covered his brown eyes. His orange clothes were torn and stained with blood in several places.
Strange, he didn't seem injured. Was it someone else's blood?
Whatever, it wasn't really my business. However...
I gave a big smile, if I looked friendly maybe he'd stop trembling?
"My friend, may I ask why you were spying on us?"
Strange, he was trembling even more.
But he wouldn't speak. I frowned. I didn't particularly want to hurt him even if he had been spying. But I couldn't say the same for the others…
Ethan stepped forward, grabbed him by the hair, and dragged him toward the now-dismembered body of the creature we had killed earlier.
He brought the young man's head close to one of the creature's dorsal spikes, dangerously close to his eye.
"I hate wasting time."
The young man was already crying. Wasn't Ethan being a little too harsh?
Well, I probably would've done the same, but I'd have tried other methods first. He's just impatient.
The boy's scared voice rang out:
"It's… It wasn't my idea, hic, the boss wanted me to ,hic, to spy on you and—"
Amelia shouted:
"And what? Fucking stop whining and talk, you asshole."
The boy took a deep breath.
"He… He wanted me to kill you in your sleep…"
Ethan threw him backward, making him roll across the ground several times.
"Did you all hear this dumbass?"
Julia laughed softly.
"That tall witch vulgarity is rubbing off on you, pretty boy."
Amelia shot her a cold look.
And me? Of course I was smiling!
"Hehe, looks like we're gonna have some fun after all."
"Let's be serious. We're going to find these guys and tell them exactly what we think."
I grabbed the boy by the hair and pulled him back to his feet.
Not that it was really necessary, but the others had done it, so it had to be fun, right?
I gently patted his head.
"Be a good boy. Take us to your 'friends'. We'd like to… talk to them."
He nodded and turned around. His back was hunched, his legs trembling with every step. I put my hand on his shoulder to reassure him, he jumped.
He looked like a helpless little rabbit surrounded by five starving wolves.
We weren't that scary, were we?
We had only walked for a few minutes before we heard voices in the distance.
I turned around and put my finger to my lips, signaling my friends to stay quiet, especially Klaus and Amelia, who liked to charge headfirst. Even if it could be fun, humans are dangerous. I didn't want to lose my companions so early in this promising adventure.
We all crouched behind a thick curtain of ferns. I could see a small clearing ahead of me, and in the middle, a dozen prisoners like us. Even though they were twice as many as us, they seemed… boring. Disappointing.
There was no way I'd have fun with people like that.
Ethan whispered:
"Hey, I think they've got blades."
I squinted, trying to get a better look.
It's true! The one who looked like their leader had a butterfly knife, spinning it around in his hands. Who the fuck did he want to impress ?
I could see at least five others with wooden weapons. They looked crude, but I had no doubt they could stab me.
But I wanted that butterfly knife. I'd never held one before. It looked so cool!
Seeing the way I was looking at him, Amelia muttered:
"Don't even think about it, that bastard is mine."
Ethan clicked his tongue at her vulgar words.
I tried to argue.
"But please..."
She gave me a mocking smile.
"It's my reward for winning that damn game! Every game has a prize, right?"
She wasn't exactly wrong…
"Alright then. As the organizer, I declare that you shall receive that knife as proof of your victory!"
Even though she had cheated by tripping me, she had still won. As the organizer, I had to be fair.
They all laughed after my official announcement. Were they mocking my title as organizer? No, impossible. I'm just too good at this.
Klaus sighed.
"Can we go? I'm going to die of boredom otherwise."
My lips curved into a grin.
"Let's go have some fun!"
*
Sam was sitting on a rock, watching the edge of the small clearing while twirling his little knife, a habit he'd picked up years ago to manage stress.
He had sent one of his subordinates to assassinate the strange little group of inmates.
Ever since he'd seen them, he'd been wary. He knew absolutely every prisoner. He was a big name in the prison. He could name and recognize every single inmate, and every inmate knew him.
But those five, he had never seen them before. Which could only mean one thing,
They were considered too dangerous to be around others.
Sam had no intention of dealing with them now or later. He wanted them eliminated as quickly as possible. He was anxiously waiting for the boy to return. That boy was small and agile, he should've been able to do the job by now.
Or so he thought.
Sam stopped spinning his faithful knife. He had seen a slight movement in the bushes.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw not one but five figures moving toward him.
Each of them gave him goosebumps.
A little girl whose innocence masked deep wickedness.
A man whose seriousness betrayed mercilessness.
A woman whose noble aura couldn't bleach her blue bloodstained hands.
A man of rare beauty, yet unable to conceal his inhuman crimes.
And a boy whose ever-growing smile couldn't hide even greater madness.
Sam had always been good at reading people. That's why he was so respected. He knew what to say, when to say it, and to whom.
But at that moment, starring at the five figures, the only thing he saw was blood,
A lot of blood.
*
I stared at the man with the knife. He didn't seem too well, maybe he was shy?
Klaus was in front, as usual. He seemed used to being our leader. Even if he's kind of boring, I was starting to like him.
"Do you have a problem with us?"
Ethan rolled up his sleeves.
"You're wasting your time, Klaus."
Apparently, Ethan really didn't like talking.
But whatever. I looked at the two men next to me, my blood was pumping.
"So, what are we waiting for?"
I lunged at the first one, he didn't have a weapon. Not that it would've made much difference.
He threw a punch at my face, I tilted my head to dodge it.
I kicked him in the chin, knocking him to the ground, out cold.
My flexibility was my greatest advantage, and I knew it.
The second guy didn't wait. He swept my leg and knocked me down, jumping on top of me and punching me square in the face.
But was he really that confident to get so close to my face?
I blocked his second punch with my palm. He was heavier than me, keeping me pinned.
But I didn't need to break free.
I leaned forward just enough to reach his carotid.
And I bit down.
All the strength of my jaw clamped onto his throat, and with a violent jerk to the right, I tore everything out.
That familiar taste of copper and sugar filled my mouth.
How long had it been since I'd tasted it?
Blood poured down like rain onto my face, dyeing my skin a deep crimson.
It had lasted less than a minute. But these people had never killed, I could feel it. They hesitated.
It was almost too easy.
I pushed the still-living man's body aside, his hands pressed to his throat, maybe hoping to stop the bleeding.
I sighed.
"It's pointless."
I stood up, casually wiping the blood off my face with my sleeve.
I scanned the area. I wondered how my companions were doing?
Only silence greeted me. All eyes were on me. Why were they staring like that? Had I done something wrong? Weren't we supposed to fight?
Oh.
I had just realized it.
I knew those looks, the same looks I got that day. Looks that can be summed up with a single word.
"Monster."
I hated those eyes. I wanted to tear them all out of their sockets.
But that wouldn't be right. I shouldn't do that.
Not like last time.
I stepped toward the man with the knife. He looked paralyzed, it was kinda funny. He wanted to fight a moment ago, didn't he? Was my little show really that impressive?
I reached out toward him, his body tensed even more.
I was a bit disappointed. He wasn't a killer either, unlike me and my companions. Did they really put us in with children for this little competition?
Well, I was a child technically.
He stammered, lips trembling.
"W-What do you want?"
I smiled sweetly—though to him, it must've looked like it came straight from the depths of hell.
"Your knife. Give it to me."
"O-Okay, just please don't kill me."
He handed me the knife. It was beautiful, shiny silver with ornate engravings on the handle. So cool.
"Thanks!"
But… he had tried to kill my friends, hadn't he?
I spun the blade in my hand, it was light, easy to handle.
I felt a bit sorry for the man in front of me.
"Too bad you tried to hurt my friends…"
I slashed my right arm in an arc, slicing the man's jugular. He collapsed. At least I did it cleanly this time.
His eyes stared at me, as if he was calling me a liar.
Too bad I didn't care.
I returned to my four friends, they were still staring.
I looked at their expressions.
Julia looked amazed.
Klaus nodded.
Amelia looked sad.
Ethan seemed indifferent.
Strangely, none of them looked horrified. That was… odd.
Maybe they had done similar things? Or seen scenes like this before?
I felt something in my stomach. A really strange sensation. Was I sick?
Some kind of warmth rose inside me as I looked at these four strange people I'd spent nearly three days with.
Were we really friends? Maybe this little forest trip was some kind of slumber party?
I winked at Amelia and tossed her the knife.
"Your prize, miss winner."
I was already regretting it as I watched Amelia examine it the same way I had.
She smiled, giggling softly, her emerald eyes locked on my ink-black ones.
"Thanks, Cain."
My mind froze.
That sensation overwhelmed my senses.
What was it?
An emotion I didn't recognize.
My smile nearly vanished.
I didn't like this feeling at all.
I turned to face the remaining prisoners, some of them holding sharpened sticks.
I wasn't in the mood to play anymore.
Something had ruined my mood.
Probably losing that shiny knife.
I gave the biggest smile I'd ever made, spreading my arms toward our enemies.
"Do you still want to play with me~?"
"Fuck this, run!"
"That guy's insane!"
"Fucking psychopath!"
They all dropped their sticks, running off deeper into that damn forest. It was so easy to scare these little lambs, it wasn't even fun anymore.
Julia frowned.
"You're too selfish Cain!"
Ethan looked satisfied.
"We bought time. That's what matters."
"Yeah, and I got a fucking knife!"
Klaus crossed his arms.
"We should go rest. The moon's already high."
Still so serious, that guy.
But I couldn't help but wonder…
"Amelia, how do you think he managed to sneak a knife in here?"
For some reason,
Her face went pale.