456 [85.6] A Siblings Unbreakable Bond

Moni went to the office, staring out of the bleak windows into the dark with only the moonlight illuminating the grass, "Well?"

Hank spoke, "After that girl claimed that one of our demonic sympathizers drained her uncle and his crew of mana, we discovered that it was some underling of Shafer's."

"I remember. And did you finally figure out it was Shafer's order?"

"Every witness couldn't talk. They kept saying: 'I can't say'."

Moni scowled, "He enchanted them to keep his identity a secret."

Hank nodded, "But that's not all… I think Shafer has been going around and-" 

Hank paused, looking at Moni hesitantly. Moni glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, "Go on."

Hank continued slowly, "-He's been pretending to be you."

Moni's hands tightened into a fist, but forced himself to not show his anger. He spoke slowly, "And what exactly has he been doing as me?"

Hank gulped, "Red says… That he's been kidnapping children from the slums and orphanages and putting them into mana trafficking camps… He's not just taking mana… He's draining them completely."

Moni's expression darkened completely, his fury overtaking his reason. Cracks appeared on the glass in front of him, startling Felix from inside. Moni suddenly snapped out of his anger and turned back to Hank calmly, "Figure out the locations of the camps and how he is operating."

Moni walked out of the office, pausing beside Hank, "And don't get caught."

Hank nodded quickly.

The next morning, Felix/Moni appeared in front of Priscilla's door with a bright smile on his face. He opened the door, "Priscilla! Let's play outside today-"

"-No!" Priscilla cried out from under her covers. Her trembling body was obvious despite the exquisite thick blankets covering her.

Felix/Moni let out a sigh and went to her side, carefully pulling back the cover to see her face. She looked just like a scared kitten, her eyes as wide as saucers. Felix/Moni tried to comfort her, "Father and Mother won't be there-"

"-They'll get mad! They don't let us leave!"

"-Well, they do now. Trust me."

"-No! They are going to kill us!"

Felix let out a worried sigh and asked telepathically: <<I don't know what to do. Should we have the Duke come in and show her that he's harmless now?>>

<<We can try.>>

Called by his Master, the Duke appeared in the doorway, "Priscilla. I am allowing-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Priscilla burst into panicked tears, grasping her brother so tightly, her fingernails dug into his skin, "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

Moni quickly forced the Duke to speak, "Priscilla. I'm not mad-"

Priscilla was too panicked to listen, breaking into miserable and panicked sobs. Sensing that her trauma was too deep, Moni sent the Duke away. Even still, she didn't stop crying.

Felix felt himself being ripped apart as he listened to her cries: <<Moni! Please! Do something!!!>>

Moni stared at the feeble doll-like girl, uncomfortable at her crying. He felt as if the wound in his abdomen was starting to get larger. 

He took a deep breath and spoke aloud, "There is something I can try."

<<What is it?>>

"I can take away her memories about her parents. I can leave only the good memories with you and them…"

<<You can do that!?>>

"I can… But…" Moni stared at the girl who was too scared to be confused by his one-sided conversation, "If she ever remembers, it's going to cause a complete mental breakdown."

<<Will it happen?>>

"I can't say. She may remember, she may not. It just depends on if she wants to remember or not."

<<It's worth a try! Please help her, Moni!>>

Moni smiled softly and reached out to rub Priscilla's forehead, "It's okay. It'll be okay now."

Moni jumped into her mind and found himself in a pitch-black area. He looked around without any expression and reached his own mind deeper into her heart. His eyes dulled when he finally understood.

Priscilla's safe place was a dark closet she and her brother would hide in. 

Moni let out a sigh and walked in further. As he did, beautiful flowers grew from the darkness, playing images on them. Moni found the first bad memory and leaned down. As soon as his finger touched it, the flower wilted and dried up. He walked through the darkness, getting rid of each one. When he finished, he turned around.

Almost every single flower was wilted and only a handful remained.

On those few remaining flowers, only Felix's face could be seen.

Moni somberly lowered his eyes and returned back to Felix's body, pulling out of her mind. He stood up silently, "It's done."

When Priscilla woke the next day, she had a bright smile on her face.