Chapter 245: Unexpected Visit

Meanwhile elsewhere...

In a place where absolute darkness reigned, a place where the concept of light was never born and nothingness reigned as the only sovereign... 

His eyes opened wide accompanied by a deep inhale and then closed tightly and several harsh growls came out of his throat.

The sensation of his soul crackling with the slightest movement was something he did NOT miss, no doubt he would rather be in the tomato soup and not here. But resigning himself, he gritted his teeth and opened his eyes again, in that absolute darkness his scarlet eyes glowed like the last embers of a dying campfire.

As soon as his mind processed what he was seeing, or rather the lack of it, the man let out a long sigh again.

"Home sweet home..." Adryan Kenway complained in a bitter voice as he looked around but all he could find was more of that darkness, a darkness he never thought he would see again so soon. 

Floating in nothingness itself, the redhead found himself smiling in satisfaction.

"Looks like I won the bet eh? Hunters Hallow really pulled it off." Honestly, Adryan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He was expecting something different, not going back to this Void directly.

"Though I suppose that's a good thing... If I had 'seen' something who knows what would have happened to me?" mumbling, the red-haired man left the subject for later, his attention returning to his surroundings.

Nothingness itself is his only companion. Unlike before, he couldn't sense something familiar here, Hunters Hallow was not present.

'It may be that the tunic functions as a sort of bridge between my body and soul. Every time I die it takes care that my soul has a 'path' to travel so I can return?' Adryan felt that this was a part of the truth but he also felt that something was slipping away from him, as if he was forgetting something important... His whole body tensed and despite the great pain he was feeling, the cold sweat that ran down his back was so clear and present that he thought that the cold hand of death was touching him.

He felt that he had forgotten something extremely important!

This alarmed him greatly! Now that he thought about it he could feel a huge void in his mind that was not there before! 

It was as if all that information had been erased but he knew, or at least felt he knew, that it was there before!

Letting out a shaky sigh and inhaling slowly, Adryan regained his composure. Now he couldn't lose his cool, he had to keep a clear head if he wanted to find his body.

Shaking his head, he would leave that for later... Just because now it didn't seem to present any danger to him, and very much against what he would have wished, he allowed himself to let the subject go a little...

Not without first burning it into his mind, for as soon as all this was over he would spend the next few days in the City of Calamities to think and try to discover what he had forgotten... And if he hadn't forgotten something else...

Looking around and seeing nothing, the red-haired man snorted ungraciously and spoke mockingly.

"At least you could have prepared a party for me you know? And the balloons, confetti, and candles? Where's my 'Welcome Back Idiot' cake? Or you didn't miss me? The feeling is mutual then you wretches" Adryan self-deprecatingly laughed hollowly.

The only response from the Void was nothingness itself, not even any echo. Adryan didn't even think he heard his own voice, it was more like he was talking in his head than with his mouth.

Shaking the aforementioned and taking the direction that his instinct and spirituality told him, the red-haired man began to advance in search of his body. A predatory smile grew on his face, a smile that promised agony, a smile that grew each time he felt his soul break.

"Just wait for me to come back you sons of bitches! I will return every blow, cut, broken bone, severed limb multiplied by a thousand! I will tear your bodies apart to such an extent that you could no longer be considered human!" The red-haired man exclaimed madly, no longer just shaking from the cracks in his soul that he was unable to see but was sure were there but from the anger and hatred, he felt towards those who tortured and murdered him.

Before he could continue thinking of the 76th way to remove the head of a certain batsman, a great and sudden sharp pain clouded his mind and Adryan could only let out a grunt and stop himself while holding a hand to his chest in an attempt to stop the pain but failing for obvious reasons so that movement was only a mere consolation for him.

After a few seconds, the pain became more bearable and he was able to sigh shakily.

'Okay... No talking...' Gritting his teeth, Adryan resumed his swim with determination in his eyes. Fighting against the enormous pain that caused him to move his body or rather soul, he moved forward.

With nothing to do and with only an absolute emptiness surrounding him, Adryan focused one part of his mind on what was going on outside while the other large part was focused on finding any trace of his body. This could also help him ignore the sensation of his own being slowly but extremely painfully breaking apart.

The first thing he thought of was the most important thing to him. What happened after he died?

'Whatever happened in the world of the living I'm sure it was horrible. With that amount of sacrifices, I doubt that whatever happened after I died was anything but disastrous'

Adryan knew that they hadn't just sacrificed him to add another number to the already huge casualty count. No. He knew that they had most likely used his death as a kind of trigger, a switch for something.

He didn't doubt this because of what the Doctor had called him.

'Herald of the Hunt...' 

It was strange, that name felt... right? It was something he couldn't help but feel that it referred to him and him alone. But at the same time, it also bothered him quite a bit that the one who called him that was that unhappy dick-eating pervert.

'That Pillar... I'm sure it's somehow related to the bastard... Something left behind by them? Maybe they used my death to activate it?' Adryan resisted the urge to shake his head to avoid further cracking his soul so he opted for an inaudible click of his tongue.

Every time he looked deeper into what had happened to him it looked worse and worse to the point that he did not doubt that a disaster was what awaited him when he opened his eyes.

A possible artifact of a being capable of ripping him from his world and bringing him here? He didn't want to imagine what happened after he died but he knew he would have to face it soon.

A sense of great guilt began to settle over him. Crushing his heart and threatening to take his breath away.

How many people had died? What had happened? Would his team be all right? Would the people he knew be okay? 

Gritting his teeth to the point where he was sure that if he continued in his would make the veins in his neck burst, Adryan let out a deep, bitter sigh that sounded more like that of a tired grandfather. No longer holding back, he slowly shook his head, the sharp pain worked like a cream for him at this point.

'No, there's nothing I can do about it. Whatever awaits me when I wake up, I'll face it as I always have. With my eyes up, a gallant smile and a fiery hook.' Letting out a slight inward chuckle that barely and hardly made him laugh, Adryan's mind wandered to the people he knew.

'I don't think you have to worry so much about Teacher Isengard, he's the one from the pathway of the eggheads I'm sure he'll know how to take care of himself.' Dismissing his teacher, the redhead's mind went to his team and he couldn't help but smile a little proudly.

'They are smart cookies, I'm sure they related the information I gave them to the Monarch's warning... I just would have liked to send a longer message than those few words but I'm sure Joseph wouldn't have let me, one can only pretend to be unconscious for so long while being tortured..." Adryan tried to look on the bright side of his recreation time with Joseph and that was when he discovered that he could safely enter the City of Calamities!

That was wonderful as he had stored there several changes of clothes he would need once revived, and several tools including the artifacts he didn't have on him when he was ambushed... Thinking about what he lost, Adryan couldn't help but curse with venom in the bottom of his heart.

He had an idea of how it could have happened, the little information he had gave him a picture of the painting that was quickly filling with red and black colors. 

He knew he had them before he went through the door and when he came out they were gone, and also how they went 'crazy' when that door appeared and stopped working. He also couldn't forget what that door did to the people who came in.

'Maybe whatever transformed those people into those piles of flesh could have also transformed the artifacts on me into characteristics directly... It wouldn't be too crazy to think that considering what a flesh door means in this world... Tch' Adryan clicked his tongue in annoyance at the thought of a possibility.

'Maybe even my artifacts are underneath that pile of human flesh, only now they'd just be rocks or some kind of weird slime...'

Considering how the ambush had been planned and how the Doctor looked like someone careful and meticulous, Adryan felt that was what happened.

They used a foolish wretch to activate that strange charm that trapped him while disabling and destroying his sealed artifacts which in turn moved him to the ambush site leaving him with no way out and no chance of escape even if he dodged the first surprise attack...

Nor could he forget Hunters Hallow's words that someone had beaten it. Perhaps it was too late to save the artifacts when the robe awoke?

'Congratulations Doctor, you got a 10 out of 10 on your grade. Come pick up your little star!' Adryan could only growl bitterly at that. His heart heavy and he couldn't help but feel somewhat sad and very frustrated.

He lost the Burnt Band, an artifact that had been with him for a long time and was by far his favorite. Vecchio Pomodoro, an artifact that literally gave him extra lives and was almost priceless to hi, the only reason he would ever get rid of the glove would be to transform it into characteristics for Nathan. And the worst thing by far was that he also lost the damn Creeping Hunger!

'If Klein knew I lost his beloved he'd kill me! What the fuck! How could I lose Creeping Hunger?! I'm an idiot!' 

One of the most powerful artifacts in the original history and a fan favorite, including his own, was lost because of stupidity! If he wasn't in this situation, he would cut off his own hand for such a resounding failure!

The only consolation he had was that he didn't have Hangover Time on him when it happened...

Letting out another inward sigh, Adryan focused his gaze to the front, or what he at least thought was the front, and continued to move forward.

'But that doesn't matter anymore... What's done is done...'

'Sasha, Charlotte, and Hazel... They should be safe but there's someone who isn't. No matter what happens here, I have to hurry and find my body!'

Right now there was someone who needed him urgently and it wasn't any of the members of his team... Even though he already considered her an important member of it, no matter how much that old woman wanted to deny it. 

'Wait for me, Flora. I'm coming...'

He would deal with the widower Klein, the burial of his toys, and whatever it was that awakened after his death later.

He now had to save his beloved, and extremely perverted, Miss Worm!

Some unknown distance in front of him, a bright flash appeared. So distant that it looked like a star in the night sky.

Seeing this, Adryan's lips rose in a sharp smile.

'Bingo!'

He recognized that glow! He had found his body!

Without wasting a single second and gritting his teeth, he sped up his swim. His soul protested sending out waves and waves of pain. Every time he moved forward he could feel everything in his being creaking and cracking. 

"grrr...." Groaning through the pain, Adryan just focused all his attention on the 'star' that was getting bigger and brighter, his soul threatening to split apart.

After what the redhead felt like an eternity he managed to reach his body and the smile that was on his face disappeared and turned into a scowl.

'...I look like a boiled tomato...' noticing the similarity to the fruit, the redhead could only think that Miss Worm's nickname was pretty accurate at the moment.

His gaze then lowered to the swollen belly on his body, his expression showing complete disgust and enormous revulsion. He even recoiled a little at what he saw.

'Don't tell me I'm pregnant?! Shit! Shit! Ojojo I'm going to kill them!! I'm going to kill them!' Ohoho he would take his time, his sweet time! He would do it slow, or so sweetly slow. How dare those sewer rats leave him like that? If those bastards think he's going to give birth then-

Before his mind could go to scenarios involving babies or men giving birth, Adryan hit his chest... hard.

His mind clouded over and he was sure he screamed, but the pain managed to snap him out of his panic attack and he couldn't help but let out a long, heavy sigh.

Closing his eyes, he took a few seconds to gather his courage.

Opening them again, the disgust and revulsion clear still in them, Adryan took a better look at his body... 

The more he looked, the more his expression relaxed and he could feel himself getting calmer.

'... It doesn't seem like the description in the original story of what one looks like after being affected by the Divine Whore's corruption...'

He didn't see the exaggerated belly one would expect from a woman 9 months pregnant so Adryan took it as a wonderful sign.

'It looks like it was a false alarm. That belly I think it's more because of all that blood I swallowed... As soon as I revive and find the opportunity I'll take the morning-after pill.' The redhead wasn't planning on taking any chances and having a xenomorph come out of his stomach so he planned to take 'preventative measures'.

Preventive measures translated to performing a thorough purification with the City of Calamities and Tauk Millennium. If he found anything, he would not hesitate for a second and would gladly abort it.

'I may have been a bit against it in my previous life but now? Ohoho~ Pass me the hanger sister!' Regretting his previous decisions, Adryan only let out a sigh and looked at the swollen eyes of his corpse.

Unable to help himself, his gaze went up to her bald head and a chuckle escaped him.

What could he say? Bald people were always funny to him, whether he was one of them.

'I always thought if my hair started receding I was going to shave it all off.'

Shaking his head, and lamenting the knee-headed people, Adryan extended his arm towards his body.

'This is the worst part...' preparing for what was to come, the redhead wasted no time and touched his body.

The effect was almost immediate.

The black void began to boil at the same time as an illusory white light began to glow from where he touched his body. Adryan gritted his teeth as the light grew stronger and stronger removing the darkness that enveloped his entire body leaving him to see the familiar black cracks.

His soul wanted to break, he could feel it, how his soul was breaking and separating but the white light was forcing it to hold together. 

He felt as if millions of needles were piercing his body to the bone, breaking and moving it to try to accommodate them in places they shouldn't but these broken bones refused and went back to their original place and repaired themselves. All so that not a millisecond later the process would repeat itself only this time worse. So on and on and on, growing in pain along with the light that already almost blinded him.

Like the last time he was here, Adryan all he could do was scream from the agony.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" 

Thus with his pain, the light peaked and engulfed him and his body.

Unlike the last time he was here, this time no voices or images were popping into his head. There was nothing.

...

"Is this the famous Fire Mage?" asked a woman with short black hair and eyes full of dark thoughts.

"The one and only." Samuel looked at the woman with sweat pouring from his forehead not only from the temperature but from carrying the corpse all the way here running. He along with his partner were exhausted.

The woman looked deeply at the body, after a few seconds she snorted and turned away from the door giving free way.

"It's a shame he's like this, I would have loved to see him when he didn't look like a newborn. Everyone says he was quite a sight for the eyes." 

Samuel snorted at that, "Well you missed him. Now he'll become one of Mr. Joseph's toys until he gets tired of it and eats it or throws it away."

"Considering how he's been looking at us, I bet he eats it." Her companion, Clarico, commented as he held the corpse's armpits.

Shaking her head, the woman just looked at them with annoyance, "Just do what you came here to do and get the hell out of here. The warehouse is empty so you can dump him anywhere you want. I think there was a blanket over there that was left over, put it on that. You don't want Mr. Joseph to find his new toy on the dirty floor do you?"

Nodding somewhat palely, the men walked through the door and as the woman said, everything was empty. The materials and ingredients that had been used had been taken out several days ago in preparation for today leaving only a few oil lamps that barely illuminated anything so the only thing that would be in the warehouse would be the corpse they were carrying.

Finding the blanket the woman said, which was a thick wine-colored cloth, the men walked over to it and began to lower their load.

"Gently, gently. I don't want to spend a recess with Mr. Joseph because you weren't careful with his things!" Samuel grunted as they carefully lowered said object, their movements slow and careful, making sure not to damage it.

Clarico could only nod, normally he would have insulted the worthless man but now he was too focused on his current job. If something were to happen to Mr. Joseph's things, what would await them would only be comparable to what the man did to the Fire Mage. Even more so considering that the latter spent all his time annoying and tormenting the man who was torturing him. They only knew it because the Doctor told them everything when he returned from healing the Mage.

That's why they refused to make a single mistake.

Bump...

Clarico who was clutching the corpse's armpits so his hands were in some contact with the corpse's chest paused his descent for a second frozen and wide-eyed, unsure of what had just happened.

His eyes fell on the body with some shock, he thought he felt something that a corpse shouldn't have but believing it was a game of his imagination, he let it go.

Shaking his head and ignoring the good-for-nothing, they almost finished lowering the corpse onto the blanket and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. 

He almost thought he had felt a pulse! That almost made him shit his pants.

It had been a long day, after all, it was obvious he would start imagining things-

BumpBump...

Clearer this time, so clear to the point he could feel it, the man's eyes twitched and his already pale skin paled even more.

"SHIT!" with a scream of horror that sounded more like that of a little girl than a man of 30, Clarico dropped the corpse to the ground as he jumped backwards, in his haste to get away he ended up tripping and falling to the ground with pure horror on his face.

Samuel watched in shock and an equal degree of terror as the body's head hit the ground with a thud. Shock and terror quickly turned to fury as he swiftly placed his legs on the ground and walked with heavy steps toward his idiot partner.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU WANT TO DIE THAT MUCH?" Samuel roared in Clarico's face as he grabbed him by the neck hard, his back to his body.

"Hahahahahaha Trouble in paradise Samuel?! Ahhahahahahah" The woman's voice sounded behind the door, clearly pleased with what was going on inside.

"SHUT UP TASHA!" Samuel roared at the door but only succeeded in making the woman laugh louder.

Clarico tried to say something but his grinded and dirty mind could not find the right words, his sight at no time left the body.

A body that began to shake and whose swollen red skin began to steam. Broken red skin was falling off, peeling off like old paint leaving a layer of the red muscle that was quickly being covered by healthy white skin. 

'What's going on?! Wasn't he dead?!!'

Every thought process he was going through, every excuse he was trying to make... It all died when he saw how the already healthy arm of the one that already looked more human trembled slightly.

'Is he even human?' He should alert his partner, and warn him of what was going on behind him...

"Behind... behind...." What he wanted to shout... It only came out as faint murmurs, barely able to send the message he so desperately wanted to give.

Mumbles that were easily silenced by his partner's shouts and Tasha's laughter from outside.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF MR. JOSEPH'S PROPERTY GETS DAMAGED HUH? WE'LL BE HIS NEW PROPERTY!!!" So loudly he was shouting, Samuel was bathing his face in saliva but he didn't care, his eyes were still glued behind him. 

Plap!

No longer able to stand being ignored, Samuel slapped the man hard and he continued to not look at him. With veins throbbing in his neck, Samuel moved so close that their noses were almost touching.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU YOU BASTARD-"

"Your voice is really annoying." 

"!" Every word that was going to come out of her mouth died the instant her heart seemed to stop beating. A hot breath on the back of his neck and a voice so cold it made his blood freeze and he felt his limbs drop.

There was only one person who made him like this every time he spoke.

'Mr. Joseph!'

'No... That's not his voice!' 

With the new clarity, his mind returned to normal, at first he thought it was the demon coming to check on the state of his treasure but the voice now lacked the raspiness of the Demon's.

This voice was thick, somewhat deep clearly that of a man but you could still hear the youth in it, it had a tautness that made her hair stand on end and an edge that caused a chill to run up his back. 

It was a completely different voice than Mr. Joseph's!

This was an unfamiliar voice!

But with that clarity he could see perfectly his companion's face and that made his hands start to shake.

The madness of being a Lunatic made it take him too long to notice that his companion was catatonic and that at all times he was looking behind him with the greatest of fears plastered on his face.

Clarico face grew paler and paler, he even began to tremble, his mouth hanging as if it were broken. Huge tears streamed down his face. It looked like he had seen death.

Samuel tried to turn and connect a blow to whatever was behind him but that was faster. Before he could even turn his head, a powerful fist of fire shot through his chest destroying his heart while another hand grabbed his head and twisted with the force of a bull.

Crack!

Clarico was in shock. He just stared with blurred eyes at the monster that had just killed his companion.

Rising to a height of 1.85 meters, long vibrant red hair like flames covered his head and ended up framing his face giving him a savage look. His face that previously had puffy eyes, cheeks, lips, and ears now lacked that hideous and repulsive appearance. Sharp and savage features but which at the same time were soft and smooth, plump and pink lips. Most of his once red and swollen body was now a healthy pale, the few remaining red patches were shrinking rapidly. The former swollen flesh had returned to the prominent, marked musculature of a hunter, his plump belly returning to a marked abdomen...

The rumors weren't lying when they said he was quite a sight for sore eyes.

But for Clarico, he wasn't seeing the naked beauty in front of him. No.

All his attention was upstairs. The reason he felt he couldn't move and felt his mind go blank was because of those two glowing orbs. Those were the eyes of a raging predator, a hungry beast, eyes that weren't even looking at him but staring at the door.

He was not worthy to be the one to satiate their hunger.

Scarlet eyes that glowed with such intensity, he was sure they burned as brightly as the blazing fire that covered his hand.

Before he could realize it, the same fist that killed his partner and was still piercing him grabbed him by the neck and before he could scream from the flames that burned his neck and ate away at his flesh.

Crack!

Still with his arm plunged into the man's chest, he lowered them carefully, his eyes always on the door where a woman's laughter came from.

Depositing the bodies on the floor and pulling his blood-covered arm out of the man's chest, the red-haired man fell to his knees to the side. His cheeks swelling rapidly.

Blugh!

A hot crimson torrent came out of his mouth with force, the man made no effort to contain it any longer and let it all out while trying to make as little noise as possible. A difficult thing to do as what seemed to be gallons and gallons of what seemed to be liters and liters were shooting out under pressure from inside him.

Huff Huff 

After vomiting for what seemed like an eternity and being somewhat agitated, he wiped his mouth with his wrist. An expression of utter disgust on his face.

'That tasted horrible...' That blood was by far the worst thing he had ever tasted. There was no way the taste would go away for months, and he seriously doubted he could forget it...

The woman outside was still laughing loudly so he could take a few seconds to calm his headache. 

"I was planning to throw you a party in celebration but it looks like you've had enough glasses of wine." A familiar voice spoke inside him and the man could only let out a quiet chuckle.

"It tastes horrible and I don't think someone your age can handle it. But don't worry, I'll make you some grape mush so you can play with the young ones." Responding back in a raspy and extremely low voice, the man couldn't help but give a smile as he heard the annoyed grunt inside him, inwardly relieved that she was okay.

After a few seconds of grunting, she let out a sigh of relief.

"You're still you... Welcome back Princess." 

"Sorry for the delay Miss Worm. Traffic in hell is horrible." Adryan Kenway smirked as he looked at his blood-covered arm with curiosity and some surprise in his eyes.

'My spirituality was practically empty when I died but when I was resurrected it filled up instantly and not only that. The spirituality I spent on that little attack filled up faster than I spent it...' 

'When I first died I was Sequence 8 so I couldn't notice the difference that much. But now that I am Sequence 7 digested I can notice it...' 

Noting these effects for a review, Adryan lowered his hand with his eyes already focused on the door.

'She's the last one left... I can't hear anyone else...'

The red-haired man thought for 5 seconds and shook his head, grabbing the legs of the bodies he was going to drag them away and hide them but his sight focused on the wine-colored sheet. 

'Right now I'm invisible, I can't lose that. Unknown number of enemies and another unknown place. Fighting would be like screaming at the top of my lungs that I'm still alive.'

'That necrophilia bastard said I'd be his when this was over. I'm no longer at the lake so I can assume this is where he was going to keep me...' Looking down at the men he killed, an annoyed look blossomed at the sight of the taller of the two.

'A few centimeters shorter but it should suffice.'

Releasing the shorter body, he quickly dragged the taller one to the sheet he came and placed it on. Without wasting another second, he grabbed the thing's pants belt and began to remove it with a flat stare.

"Princess-"

"I don't want to walk around with my spear in the air all day. He doesn't need them anymore anyway so why not take advantage and wear them right?" immediately cutting the worm off and not being in the mood to deal with it, Adryan whispered.

He was proud of his body but he was getting tired of walking around all day in his Birth Suit. He wasn't a pervert who enjoyed that.

"...It's a good idea, after all a Princess must keep her purity right?" Flora replied calmly, internally disappointed.

Rolling his eyes at the old woman's words, Adryan pulled on his pants and could only groan internally at how tight they were and didn't leave much to the imagination.

He was sure that if he did a squat or lifted one leg too much they would tear.

'The disadvantage of having big legs...' Shaking his head, Adryan quickly went back to his work and removed the rest of the man's clothes.

The shirt and vest were placed under the body, they were too small for him so he had no choice but to discard them. That done, Adryan quickly grabbed the edge of the sheet and covered the body.

Knowing he had no more time, he moved with speed and silent steps to a dark corner where the lamps did not illuminate well and threw the remaining body there.

His eyes then moved around and he could only grunt. He had noticed 2 things as he was moving; First, this place was once used as a warehouse, and second... he didn't see any way out. So if he wanted to get out he had to use the door that these two little songbirds came in.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of the door being slammed made Adryan immediately go on guard. His fists caught fire. The door handle was then pulled down but the door did not open.

"Hey, did you guys finish putting away that sack of meat?! Or are you fucking now?!" 

"I'll give you 2 seconds and you better hope that when I open this door you guys have your pants up!"

Quickly considering his options and what he had on hand, Adryan clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was at the back of the warehouse and there was no way he was going to make it in time before the door was opened, there was no place to hide either...

Without further delay, he extended his left hand to the front, and from the flames a bow of fire was formed...

Extending the string and forming a fiery arrow that quickly turned to burn white, Adryan extended his senses and pointed to where he heard the woman was. 

'The likelihood of her being a sequence higher than 7 is extremely low... Guarding an empty storeroom doesn't take a lot of force, if anything a Sequence 8 Beyonder to keep anything from getting back in here. Using a lot of force on something that is no longer useful would be a waste...'

'So I can rule out that woman being a Wraith or Zombie. Also that she is a Devil, there is too much emotion in her voice and I can't sense that lack of humanity... So at most, she is a Lunatic and if I'm unlucky she would be a Werewolf and this attack may not kill her in one hit...'

'Sure this will no doubt draw everyone to the party... That would be if I explode the arrow but if I just condense the power and contain it that won't happen. If anything the only thing that could happen is that the body will be torn apart and I'll have to hide it in pieces...'

'I'll finish this quickly. By the time anyone comes I'll be gone.'

With sharp eyes, he prepared to release the arrow.

Fushhh...

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped and Adryan found himself capable of looking at his breath. 

A familiar presence made itself known and the red-haired man turned his head as the bird's skull embedded itself in the bone door and it opened revealing the fog he was so familiar with.

"Chicho?" the red-haired man muttered in disbelief, the bow of fire in his hand disappeared and all his attention was focused on the bone door.

Before he could say anything else and contrary to his expectations, a hand came out of the door and faster than he could blink grabbed his arm.

Adryan was quickly pulled into the bone door at the same time the warehouse door was opened.

"Listen you wretches better keep your- Ughhh that's cold!" Tasha entered with a furious step but upon seeing the empty warehouse she was unable to withstand the shiver that went up her body.

This immediately alerted her and she stood on guard, pulling a revolver from her belt and looking around. She could only see a body covered by the sheet but failed to find the two imbeciles who entered. This only alerted her further.

Taking a step back, Tasha turned around intending to leave the warehouse and sound the alarm but she froze.

Standing in the doorway and outrunning her by several heads was an enormous bird whose body was composed entirely of white, slightly cracked bones, a thin skull that was staring at her with its empty sockets in which floated cold white flames that seemed to dance in a wind that wasn't there.

Tasha didn't even have time to blink.

Thud!

The sound of a body falling to the floor echoed in the storeroom whose door was slowly closing. The only thing that filled it was a naked body, a body with a broken neck, and a skeleton without a head.