(Disclaimer: This chapter contains mild scenes of violence and gore that some readers may find uncomfortable.)

Dante ran through the dense forest chasing after the blurred figure. He wasn't sure who or what it was, but his instincts told him it wasn't anything good.

He stopped running once he found himself surrounded by a thick fog. He looked around with his sword drawn. He realized he must have ran too fast because Seri was no longer behind him.

He heard footsteps to his right and quickly jumped to the side, barely missing a slash of a sword. He held his sword out defensively. The fog cleared up slightly revealing a young teenage boy wearing all black with a white mask.

Dante recognized this uniform. It was the uniform of the child soldiers in the Sanki Kingdom. They dressed in black and wore white masks with a black insignia. They brought fear to anyone who witnessed them. These children trained from birth to be ruthless killing machines.

The boy in front of him looked to be around 15 years old, but Dante couldn't be sure. But there was one thing Dante was sure of. He knew this person personally.

Dante's grip on his sword tightened, "You... You can't be real."

If this was real, then that child should be much older by now. However, he looked just like he had Dante's memory. It was as if he hadn't aged a day.

The boy's cold laughter reverberated throughout the forest. It seemed to be coming from every direction. The boy tilted his head upon seeing Dante. His chilling voice whispered hauntingly, "I found you..."

The boy lunged at Dante so fast that Dante was barely able to block his attack. The boy kept up his attack, intensifying his speed. Dante could only block his attacks, but he couldn't gain the upper hand. He was slowly being pushed back.

Dante tried to figure out the boys attack moves, but he realized that his fighting style wasn't recognizable. Everytime Dante figured it out, the boy would change it up. He couldn't predict his moves.

Dante avoided a swing and managed to parry the attack. The boy stopped his assault and looked at Dante through his mask. Dante pointed the sword at the boy with a fierce expression.

The boy chuckled behind his mask, "You put up much more of a fight than your mother did."

"Shut up." Dante's voice was full of hate and resentment.

The boy admired the reflection in his sword, "I never would have guessed that your mother would let you hide and watch..."

"Shut up!"

Dante charged at the boy fueled by rage and started attacking him. The boy effortlessly blocked his attacks while laughing disturbingly.

The boy continued to taunt him, "And here I thought that she had sent you away somewhere... Oh well... It's not like it took me long to find you again."

Dante's glare intensified as he continued to attack. However, the boy wasn't even fazed by his attacks. The boy made a feint and then charged forward. Dante realized he wouldn't be able to escape in time.

"Dante!"

A knife soared passing in between the both of them. The boy jumped away, barely avoiding the blade. Dante looked toward the voice and saw Seri with a concerned expression.

Seri shouted, "Who the hell is that kid?!"

Dante's mouth went dry, "Seri! Run!"

But it was too late.

The boy had appeared behind Seri and grabbed her arms. He held them firmly behind her back with one hand. He held his sword to her throat, "Don't take another step."

Dante froze as he looked at Seri in a panic. Seri's eyes widened as she realized the seriousness of the situation, "What the f*ck?!"

Dante tried to think of an idea. Anything. But he couldn't. His anxiousness muddled his brain. He could only watch the scene in front of him feeling powerless.

Dante growled, "What do you want?!"

The boy answered devoid of emotion, "I must complete my mission."

Seri's eyes wavered, "Dante... I'm scared... I-I don't want to die."

Dante was shaken to his core. He was terrified.

What could he do?! He had to do something!

Dante forced a reassuring smile, "Seri... You're going to be alright..."

The boy chuckled, "Do you really believe that?"

He pulled the blade along her throat.

Seri's eyes widened as blood poured out of the cut on her neck. The boy released her and she collapsed on the ground gagging on her own blood as she held her throat.

Dante rushed forward, "SERI!"

He grabbed onto her with a pained and desperate expression. Seri looked back up at him with eyes full of fear. She gagged on her own blood as she struggled to live.

She reached up towards him with her last ounce of energy. Her hand brushed Dante's cheek before falling back down. The gurgling sounds in her throat stopped.

Her lifeless eyes stared ahead, still containing the look of fear she held before her death.

Dante could only cry in desperation as he held onto her body. He held her lifeless corpse tightly, "Seri... Seri... I can't live without you... Please... Please don't leave me..."

However, Seri didn't respond.

The boys laughter echoed, "It was your fault! Because of you, your mother died! Because of you, your beloved died! You're a man surrounded by death! Did you really think you could just live happily ever after with dear Seri?!"

Dante glared at the boy with red eyes. He charged at him, "I WILL KILL YOU!"

....

(Seri's perspective)

I ran through the forest after Dante, but quickly lost him in the thick fog. I stopped and bent over trying to catch my breath.

"Leia?"

My breath caught in my throat as I looked up. I saw a familiar face which filled me with dread. I took a step back, "Y-You shouldn't be here!"

My breathing quickened as he stepped closer to me with an eerie smile, "Leia. I heard that you sold another car. You're really incredible at that. I'm terribly jealous."

I stepped back, "J-Just stay there! Don't come any closer!"

His smile turned sinister, "Why? What are you going to do? Stab me? Because that worked so well last time..."

I screamed and threw the knife at him. It went straight into his chest and flew out of his back as if he was a ghost. It hit the tree behind him. My mouth dropped.

He cackled, "You really think you could kill me?! You couldn't kill me then! How could you kill me now?!"

I screamed and took off running. As I sprinted through the woods, my foot caught on a root and I fell down. I rolled right into a tree.

*thud*

....

I groaned as I slowly picked myself. I rubbed my head, "Oh. I definitely have permanent brain damage..."

I groggily looked around trying to make sense of my surroundings. Above me, I saw a hole in the ceiling letting in a thin ray of moonlight. Everything else was dark except for this one spot of light.

Even though it was dark, I had a feeling I was in some kind of basement. I couldn't make my surroundings out, but the floor felt like concrete, hard and cold.

I sighed from a mix of relief and anxiety, "Looks like I'm all alone."

"You're not alone..." A distorted voice came from the darkness.

I shrieked, "WHO IS IT?!"

A dark figure creeped out and stepped into the moonlight. I looked for my knife and discovered I didn't have it on me. I felt around in the darkness trying to find something to defend myself with.

I felt something hard and quickly grabbed it. I held it out threateningly towards the figure. I looked down at the object and noticed it was a long, pale white bone. I shrieked and dropped it.

The hooded figure stared at me. I couldn't make out his face or any of his features since the hood created a shadow covering it entirely.

The figure stepped closer and whispered, "I see you've found my collection... It's a shame... They didn't want to be my friend... So I had to decapitate them..."

I nodded trying to play it cool, "Uhuh. Yup. Sounds reasonable."

The figure tilted his head, "Do you want to be my friend?"

I stood up and forced a smile, "How could I say no?! Let's be best friends!"

The figure hesitated, "Really?"

I nodded, "Oh, definitely."

The figured seemed happy with this, "I've been here for so many years... Yet no one has ever agreed to become my friend..."

I have a feeling they didn't know what would happen if they didn't agree.

But who the hell is this person? If only I could see their face...

I looked at the figure in curiosity, "But as your bestie, you should show me your face."

The figure thought for a moment before nodding, "I suppose I could."

My face lit up as he took off his hood. My face fell.

Oh. My. F*cking. God. I'm going to f*cking die.

Is that thing even human?! Is that a worm crawling through his "face"?! I'm going to be sick...

I cleared my throat, "Ah.. That's... A really handsome face..."

I forced back down the vomit in my throat.

The creature looked at me, "Is it bad?"

"Nope." I said quickly, "Really nice. I bet the ladies love it."

"No. They usually scream and then I kill them."

"Uhuh. Right. Makes sense." I looked around, "So, just out of curiosity... How do we get out of here?"

The creature frowned, "Why? Do you want to run away from me?"

"No!" I shouted quickly, "No... I would never run away from you.."

"Really?... Because you seem eager to leave..."

I forced a smile, "No! Why would I want to leave? This place is truly amazing... Really homey..."

I noticed the creature was getting restless and upset. He didn't seem to believe me.

I rushed to his side and wrapped my arm around his. I smiled as I tried not to cry and vomit due to fear and disgust. I spoke in a charismatic tone, "Now, now my best friend. Don't get upset. Doesn't a walk in the moonlight sound amazing?"

The creature nodded after thinking about it, "That does sound nice..."

As he nodded, a maggot fell from his face and landed on my hand. I stifled my cries as my smile twitched. The creature picked me up and jumped through the hole. He landed on the next level without disturbing the dust. He let me out of his arms.

I chuckled, "Wow. I'm starting to think you are a ninja."

"Ninja?"

"It's a compliment."

"Ah, I see." The creature seemed pleased by this, "No one's ever complimented me before."

My face twitched. Somehow I don't doubt that.

I looked around the murder house, "So is this your home?"

He chuckled, "Yes... I've been here for many years..."

I brushed my finger along a table and looked at the dust on my finger, "How many years?"

He thought for a moment, "Probably... A few hundred years?... I'm not sure..."

I nodded trying not to seem too freaked out, "Only a few hundred? Okay, cool. Cool."

GET ME THE F*CK OUT OF HERE!!! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS!!

When did this novel become a fantasy/mystery?? Everything else so far has been in the realm of possibility!!!....

... Okay. Maybe not everything. But I've never encountered a walking corpse before!!!

Have I accidentally transmigrated into another novel?

The creature spoke, "Shall we go for a walk?"

I nodded, "Yes, let's bathe in the moonlight."

As we walked through the woods, I tried to come up with ways of escaping. However, something told me not to do anything rash. The creature stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

"Ah.. Dawn is coming."

I looked up, "What's wrong with the dawn?" I hesitated and looked at the creature, "My friend, are you a vampire?"

The creature laughed and smiled at me, "There are no such things as Vampires."

I heard a commotion from the left of me and noticed Dante running through the forest with his sword drawn. His eyes were red and his expression was particularly terrifying.

I frowned, "Dante?"

Dante stopped abruptly after he heard my voice. He looked at me in surprise. He dropped his sword as he sprinted towards me. I was so confused I didn't know whether to run away or not.

He collided into me as hugged me tightly. I nearly fell over from his forceful embrace. My mind went blank from his unusual mood.

"Uhh... Dante?"

He pulled his head away and looked into my eyes. He refused to let go of me. "Seri? Are you real?!"

I blinked in confusion, "Yes? I'm pretty sure I'm real..."

Suddenly I was attacked by a barrage of kisses.

AKSJKBHKZS?!

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

My mind went blank as Dante continued to kiss me relentlessly. My brain couldn't catch up to what was happening. Finally, he calmed down and hugged me tighter. "Seri... Seri..."

I blinked, "Uh... Dante? You okay? You're acting a bit strange..."

Dante pulled his head away and looked at me with a glum expression, "You died in my arms..."

...Uh. Wut.

"What are you talking about?"

Dante sighed, "In the forest... You got killed trying to save me."

My eyes widened. Dante must have encountered something similar to what I did in the fog.

I gave him a reassuring smile and ran my fingers through his hair, "I think that was just an illusion. You don't need to be scared. I'm right here. I'm fine. I'm alive."

He nodded and observed my features as if he wanted to convince himself that it was real. After a while, he spoke. "But what happened to you?"

"Oh, well I saw something in the fog and ran off. Then I smacked my head against a tree and woke up back at the murder house."

"The murder house?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah! I met the owner. Whatever you do, say yes to being his friend and don't scream. He's right-" I went to point to where the creature had been, but noticed he had disappeared.

I gulped, "You know... I think it's better if we go home early... I don't think we should stay any longer..."

Dante nodded in agreement, but made no effort to move.

"Uh... Dante? Are you going to release me?"

He whispered, "Just let me hold you a little longer..."

I smiled as I hugged him back. I rubbed his back soothingly, "Let's take our time then."

I'm not sure what exactly he went through... But if it could scare the fearless Dante this badly.... Well... I'd rather not know.

_____

After we arrived back home, Bertram and I decided to pay a visit to Charles. It had been a while and I needed to check up with him about our situation with the Thieves Guild.

We entered the shop and made sure we were alone before we began our conversation. I looked at Charles haughtily, "So how is the investigation going? Have our birdies found them yet?"

Charles looked at me with a serious expression, "About that... Every single member in the Thieves Guild has disappeared."

I frowned, "You can't find them?"

He shook his head, "No. It's not that. They've disappeared without a trace."

I sighed, "So you think they may have skipped town?"

His expression turned grim, "No. Thanks to your network, I was in contact with other towns and cities trying to find them. But no one could find a thing."

He looked at me with a grave expression, "I believe they've been murdered."