Betraying oneself

"...Interesting."

After a brief, heart-stopping silence, Amon chuckled and offered his assessment.

At some point, the Crystal Monocle in his right eye socket had slipped askew, almost falling off his face. The black glove in his hand jumped restlessly, as though it possessed a life and mind of its own. It turned toward its new owner in midair, spread its five shriveled fingers, and grasped several times.

It stole nothing.

Instead, Amon waved his hand again, returning the "Parasite" glove to his palm. Holding the leather glove by its fingers, he shook it with one hand and caught what fell out with the other. He pinched the charm between his fingers and turned it over for inspection. It looked as though it had been ground from a purple gem, but its interior was exceptionally dim.

Behind him, the Amon avatars who had revealed their true forms also stopped moving. Their gazes crossed as they looked toward the two-story house and the Amon who had gathered their power.

They did not attack one another as Angel had expected, nor did they suffer the same miserable fate as the enemies previously affected by the "Betrayal" charm. For a moment, she thought her charm had had no effect at all.

But soon, something strange happened.

On a rooftop across the street, a middle-aged gentleman wearing a monocle began to shine brilliantly at the chest. A translucent little worm with twelve segments, already familiar to Angel, flew out and shot like a meteor into the body of the Amon in classical robes before her. Not far away, beside a cart transporting stone, a similar worm appeared behind the driver, who was pulling at his horse and occasionally adjusting the monocle in his right eye socket. It was drawn into the air and likewise returned