Courage

Don't die, Lorenzo Holmes!

As Eve ran, she repeated the words silently to herself. Honestly, everything she had experienced tonight was more thrilling than every event of her previous life combined: monsters that lived in the world's hidden depths, and the people who fought them.

The world was more complicated than Eve had imagined. The girl was troubled and distressed by that, but Lorenzo had also inspired her in a way she had never felt before.

He might have been the bravest person she had ever met. His personality was utterly terrible, but even faced with a monster capable of destroying his mind, he still had the courage to swing his sword. Compared to him, Eve had never felt so dim beneath his radiance.

She had no idea how long she had been running. She kept heading downward until she heard the rush of water—the canal Lorenzo had mentioned.

The girl stopped. The area around her was dim, lit only by a yellowish electric lamp that illuminated a rather small space.

She wasn't as knowledgeable as Lorenzo, and couldn't make out what was around her. Only then did the girl realize how important Lorenzo was. Without that detective, she might have died long ago.

But just then, the sound that had been relentlessly pursuing Eve rang out again: the faint yet distinct scrape of scales, like a writhing mass of snakes. With the water rushing nearby, Eve couldn't tell where it was coming from. She could only grip the gun in her hand and watch her surroundings warily.

Lorenzo had said that the thing would put incredible pressure on the mind. But once you got used to that fear, even the fiercest tiger was just a dangerous big cat.

Eve tightened her grip on the gun and swept her gaze back and forth through the darkness.

Her thoughts raced. In an instant, Eve considered so many things: what would happen if she survived, and what would happen if she died. There was nothing to be afraid of. She would simply have so many regrets.

For a moment, she felt strangely dazed. Eve wasn't sure when she had become like this. She remembered that long ago, she had been an ordinary girl who liked dresses and dolls. When had she started gripping swords and guns?

In the darkness of her mind, the girl thought hard. Everything grew clearer as she reflected.

Eve had been born after the Glorious War, but before her birth, she had had three older brothers. Just as the war stories said, all three had died in battle before she was born. Her parents had always looked at her with a touch of sadness, treasuring her as their precious child.

It was ironic. Her brothers' deaths had left a permanent sadness in their home, but because of those deaths, her parents had given Eve all their love. Eve's childhood had been like growing up in a house made of candy.

So why had she become like this?

Eve couldn't quite remember. Then, in the darkness, sharp claws came at her in an instant. The terrifying presence sent a chill through her, but Eve still managed to summon a little courage. She rolled away from the attack, then fired back. Dark red blood welled from the shadows and splattered across the ground.

Her heart pounded violently. But unlike before, when fear had left her unable to move, Eve was gradually adapting. Dragging her stiff body, she ran toward a corner of the darkness, just as Lorenzo had told her to do in the passageway.

His words from that memory rang in her ears.

"According to the Order's records, humans and Fiends once lived together on the land. Humans penned themselves behind sturdy walls, and when night fell, they hid in sealed shelters, enduring their fear without making a sound."

That was what Lorenzo had said.

"We trembled in the dark, until the first flame was lit and illuminated the dark forest. It could guide others lost in the night, but it could also alert the Fiends lurking in the darkness to your presence. So sometimes, light doesn't protect us.

"To kill a Fiend, you must first become one. Slip into the darkness."

The scraping of scales grew louder. Eve could even smell the stench hanging in the air. She pressed herself against the wall in the darkness. That way, she only had to watch the space in front of her.

She had to survive. At least until Lorenzo arrived.

The place was a circular chamber of sorts. Sounds bounced off its curved walls. The rush of water and the scrape of scales sounded together, making it impossible to tell which direction they came from.

Something seemed to brush Eve's face, but when she rubbed it with her sleeve, there was nothing there. Maybe it was falling dust, the girl thought. Then she abruptly raised her gun and fired into the darkness above.

Brilliant flashes burst from the muzzle, lighting up the darkness and the Fiend coiled across the ceiling. Its body was hideously twisted, pale bones joined to exposed muscles. Three or four pairs of hands clung tightly to the wall, sharp teeth protruded from its gaping maw, and countless eyeballs were arranged within it.

The bullets struck the Fiend. Eve had aced her marksmanship classes at the police academy. At such close range, she hit the Fiend right in the head. Several eyeballs burst, and it let out a hoarse howl.

"Stay calm, Eve. Calm down..."

The girl repeated the words silently, then rolled away from the falling Fiend. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hand trembled, but she still held on to her weapon. Honestly, it was hard to think of a twisted nightmare like that as just a dangerous big cat.

That was what made Fiends so terrifying. Every moment spent fighting one tested the mind. The moment you broke, death followed.

A sharp whistling came from behind her. It was a claw, and a ring still adorned its long, slender finger. It had once been human, but in the eerie events of tonight, it too had become a Fiend.

Eve spun around. She knew she couldn't escape, so she drew her short sword and swung with all her strength. But the girl's strength was no match for the Fiend's. The short sword clashed with its claw. Eve felt her hand go numb, and the sword was knocked from her grasp. Then a shallow gash appeared on her slender arm.

Perhaps the sight of human blood excited the Fiend. It let out a howl that sounded almost gleeful. Its sharp maw opened, and its twisted arms seized Eve in a crushing grip. Its meat-grinder of a mouth gaped right in front of her. If nothing changed, she was about to die here.

Was this it?

But perhaps it had to end this way. Several arms clamped around Eve like shackles, their long claws piercing her flesh. Her mind was fracturing further. It seemed that any second now, she would go mad.

What an unlucky night. If she had listened to her father, she might have been sleeping in a warm bed right now. She wouldn't have learned that Fiends existed. She could have grown up happily, until she met someone she loved and spent the rest of her life on a beautiful island.

That should have been how things went. So when had she become like this?

Was it because her father had taken to drinking at night after her mother fell ill and died? No. He had been like that since she was born. He had been grieving for her brothers.

A familiar picture frame appeared in her mind, but Eve couldn't remember the faces in it. She only knew they were her brothers. She was the princess of the Phoenix family, an undying bird reborn from the ashes.

But she was the one who had survived, while they had become ashes.

Every breath she took, every moment of life she enjoyed, had been bought with their deaths. Perhaps that was when she had become like this.

The Fiend's sharp maw churned as it descended. Just then, an astonishing strength erupted within Eve. Ignoring the pain of the claws, she wrenched her arm free, then thrust her fist—and the gun in her hand—into the Fiend's descending maw.

The pain was almost numbingly intense, but Eve didn't care. Extreme fear drove some people mad, while others fell into a hysterical sort of courage.

The countless eyes reflected the girl's fierce, courageous face. Her pupils narrowed with anger, like the vertical slits of a beast's eyes.

"Die!"

She roared and pulled the trigger. Muffled thuds rang out beneath the Fiend's grotesque flesh as bullets tore through its body, shredding its insides. It hurled Eve against the wall with brutal force. Blood poured from its maw, and its hoarse shrieks pierced the air.

Eve crashed hard to the ground. It felt as if every bone in her body had shattered. Her arm was drenched in blood, with a terrible wound, and the Fiend was in no better shape. But it was only in no better shape—it was a Fiend. The painful wound only fueled its savagery. The Stomach-Chewing Grass parasitic within its body sprouted, writhing like a frenzied nest of snakes.

Her timid heart had finally found courage. Eve gritted her teeth and struggled to her feet. Even if she died, she couldn't bring shame to the Phoenix family.

The Fiend charged at Eve again. She tried to move, but the pain throughout her body nearly made her faint. Still, the girl managed to move at last, dodging just before the deadly impact struck.

Dust billowed down in a violent cloud. A hideous shadow twisted and thrashed through the swirling haze.

Eve gasped for breath. She had survived, and bought herself a few dozen more seconds. But that was enough. She had to survive, at least until Lorenzo arrived. She had only known the detective for a short while, but the way he had held his ground alone against the Fiend had truly left its mark on her.

Lorenzo Holmes wouldn't die. He had stayed behind because he knew he could kill the Fiend. All she had to do was survive. Just survive...

Another thunderous assault came. Its wildly growing tendrils swept toward her like flying swords. Even a glancing blow left a wound, and the blood wouldn't stop flowing.

Her vision grew dim. Eve felt as if she had been plunged into the Ice Sea. The blood loss was making it hard for her will to withstand the Fiend's influence.

It seemed this was where she would meet her end. Eve watched the Fiend drawing closer and closed her eyes.

The seconds passed, but the death she had expected never came. A light seemed to rise before her. Eve opened her eyes, and blazing white fire filled her entire field of vision.