Alt flew towards the panda kin and swung both his daggers at his neck. Even if the panda kin was inebriated and unprepared, his entire body was Mauled and core repulsed the blades from even causing a nick.

Realising the futility of this, Alt hopped towards BlueEyes and targeted his neck. The same weird energy flowed to heal every wound Alt created. Alt jerked away in shock and ran back to Corn just as quickly.

“He’s Winged you idiot,” hissed Alt.

“Wahhth?”

“He uses Vitality.”

‘Never let someone with Vitality touch you’ was a popular saying because Vitality manipulated life-force. It was second only to Magic in sheer power.

If BlueEyes used it, it meant that BlueEyes was untouchable and Wall would be trapped as a slave ghost forever. He could see her form flickering next to BlueEyes, ready to help in battle.

No! Not if he could help it.

The mage had used a spell circle to erect an earthen wall which separated their side of the hallway. Corn ran up to the wall and crouched down. Once mana generated by a spell circle would have been inedible to him. Not anymore.

He used his tongue and teeth to cut the mana threads and nibble out a hole at knee level. Then, he took out a gun. As a general rule of thumb, Strength and Speed could not be used with guns but they were issued to all members of Blood Falls. Just in case.

Earlier, he had even borrowed Alt’s magazine. Stingy as Alt was, he allowed it because he couldn’t use Speed to bend the time of the gun and its inertia would disturb his movements.

Corn easily placed the barrel inside the hole and waited for BlueEyes and the mage to come closer. The healing was almost done. Corn emptied the bullets of both magazines into their knees.

Screams and swearing filled the hallway. Enraged, the panda kin charged at the wall. Corn could see the fury on his face, so he got up and ran. The wall burst open as the panda kin ran after Corn.

Could he bait him?

Ambient mana was leaking from the mage’s staff. Corn tapped it through his circuits and tossed a pebble at the panda kin’s head.

He ran to the end of the hallway, where the wall was covered in glass. The panda kin chased, each booming step shook the floor. Corn pretended to fall and released mana water to the floor. Once it spread, he froze the water.

Corn got up and tottered in front of the water, preparing his trap. When the panda kin was close to enough to smell his drunken breath, Corn dove to the right. The panda kin slipped on the ice and crashed into the glass.

The sheer amount of core in his body worked against him as the momentum shattered the window.

He fell, disappearing from Corn’s sight, straight to the ground floor.

One down. Corn ran back to where the mage was. He could see spirit forms of Wall and two flowers next to Alt. A large spinning millipede met their attacks. Care’s reinforcements.

Alt, oblivious to the spirit battle, was pelting the mage with broken pieces of the mana wall. Mana made objects were much more capable of accommodating Stats, even if they weren’t Mauled.

Corn peeked across the corridor.

A spell circle formed. Alt dodged immediately.

Corn drew a line across his neck and Alt catching the gesture shouted, “Wait!”

“Wait, why are you helping him?”

“I’m a mage,” she screamed, gritting her teeth.

“So, you don’t know him, do you?”

The mage looked across her companion, her face wrinkled in doubt.

“You have no idea what he’s done?” asked Corn, catching on to Alt’s plan.

“Your friend already lost a life. We only want him, is it really worth losing a life for this oaf?” said Alt, pointing to BlueEyes.

“Hang on, hang on. I healed you. I saved your life, these f-fucking rats are the ones trying to kill you,” argued BlueEyes.

“That’s a really wonderful staff,” said Corn. Even in third vision, the glare of its glow dulled all the details around it. “Maybe you’re ok losing a life or two, but is it really worth losing your staff for that guy? As a mage I’d love to have it,” he smirked.

Most mages were materialistic and extremely envious of every other mage. “Fucking free former. Ok, let me go.”

‘What was a free former?’ wondered Corn.

A lift opened.

“Hang on, hang on. These fuckers-”

“Oh stop whining, it’s just a life.” With that the doors closed and she left.

“I represent the Noble Cavern family and I-”

“Do you know who we are?” asked Alt.

“N-No. I mean he’s mage and you’re a-”

“Then just die.”

BlueEyes howled and charged at Alt. But Alt zipped to the side and slashed him with a short sword. Corn stood behind and pelted him with ice blades. No matter what BlueEyes did he couldn’t reach Alt or Corn. Whenever he got close to one the other would intervene with a blow and he’d have to heal.

Corn grinned.

Revenge felt good. After all that he had suffered as a Base Slave, he could finally deal the blows back. Every howl, every cry was music to his ears. Especially knowing it was BlueEyes.

“Fuck, why isn’t this guy dying?” asked Alt. Even Corn’s mana reserves were dropping.

The distance they had to maintain meant that the slashes weren’t fatal enough.

Corn threw a few ice blades and lunged, using his short sword to hack of his right hand. BlueEyes fell to the ground howling.

“Why, why are you doing this? What did I do to you?” he cried, holding his bleeding stump.

BlueEyes kneeled on the ground, making him an easy target. Corn ripped through his back and slashed his chest. BlueEyes dropped his arm and his severed hand fell to the floor. Corn kicked it aside.

“Finish him,” cried Alt.

Corn ignored him and thrust at the arm stump.

“Finish him!”

Corn could see the Vitality flow inside BlueEyes. He was trying to escape.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he cried and tossed an ice blade straight to BlueEye’s blue eyes.

But before the blade could sink in, his body turned to ash and his torn clothes and a Life Counter fell to the floor.

Fuck BlueEyes! He escaped.

Corn kneeled on the floor panting. Blood was splotched on his clothes and meager leather armour.

It wasn’t enough. He could have done more.

The lift pinged and Care came. She had been waiting in the floor below for the battle to end. She surveyed the bloody scene grimly.

“He-” started Alt but Care shushed him.

Corn had forgotten, say no more than is absolutely necessary. He could see Wall’s figure, she was barely floating. The fight with the Care’s spirits had exhausted her. Corn motioned to her. She bobbed toward him.

Care must have communicated with her because she approached his hand.

There was only one way to do this according to the soul eater. If he had to save the ghost of Wall, he had to attach her to him somehow. Corn was young and therefore his own soul was immutable according to Care. A vessel with a pre-existing soul to attach Wall’s ghost, like the soul lamp, would be phenomenally expensive.

The alternative was his bracelet. Every Indentured Servant had one on their wrists. Inside this bracelet was a fraction of a soul, an intelligence. Wall’s ghost could be attached to this intelligence.

Care held the bracelet on his hand and used Intelligence on it. The bug that Corn had been holding with his mind squirmed.

Corn’s thoughts began to wonder. Part of the reason he had escaped slavery was because he could control the Creature on his collar with his mind. It meant that he could disobey orders. And it was the same ability that allowed him to squash the bug on the bracelet.

But when Care had proposed her plan, he realised he had been controlling a soul. It didn’t make sense. How could he do that? All powers were neatly divided into Stats. If you could control a power you had the corresponding Stat. He only had Magic, so how was he controlling a soul?

“Ouch,” cried Wall. The bug finally settled down. He could see a thin line connecting the bracelet and Wall. It was done.

Alt took the Life counter while Corn took all of BlueEyes possessions (including his severed hand). They left the building as quietly as they came. Alt drove the sedan out of Iridi and parked it in a corner. The four of them ditched the sedan and planned to use public transport to get back to their new headquarters.

Of course Corn was cut of the System, so after making a couple of excuses, he and Wall had to walk back.

Wall floated in front of him and mimed with her mouth.

“Yeah, we can speak now.”

“Yaaay! Big hug!” sang Wall and her ghostly form rushed forward to bear hug him. Corn couldn’t feel a thing.

“You look soooo weird. How do you even see without eyes?” Wall waved her hands in front of Corn

“Three dimensionally. With magic.”

“Ahh? You’re a mage now! So you can even see this?” Wall waved her hands at the back of Corn’s head.

“Yep.”

“That’s so cool!”

“How do you see?” asked Corn.

“Like normal, if I’m here. In the Abyss, everything looks soooo weird. People don’t have heads or limbs and are always screaming and moaning. They’re so boring! Looking at the real world looks like looking at a reflection. Honestly, if I couldn’t have seen your soul, I don’t how I’d recognise you. You look so different.”

“Aren’t there monsters in the Abyss?”

“Don’t know. I haven’t gone that deep. I usually hang out right below the real world.”

Corn was silent.

“Wall?”

“Yeahh?”

“What do you remember when we were Base Slaves?”

“Hhhmmm, not much.”

“No, I mean what do you remember exactly?”

“Let’s see… I remember hanging out with all the other slave children. I remember the ceremony when we turned sixteen and we met you. You were crying so much because you couldn’t remember your name. And then I felt sorry for you and told you we could share names. You were so happy then.”

Ugh, that was embarrassing.

“And then we all had to convene in the ceremony hall.”

“And then?” asked Corn.

Wall sighed, “And then I was lying on a metal table. I remember hating you. Hating you so much. So much that I would have bit you and stabbed you and killed you. Ughhh! The hatred was burning me alive. Then I died.”

“Wait, wait. You don’t remember anything in between. Like why you hate me?”

“No, it’s more a really strong feeling than an actual memory.”

“But you remembered that I wanted to be a mage?” asked Corn.

Wall shrugged her shoulders.

Corn went silent again. He continued walking with Wall hanging from his shoulders.

“Why are you soooo moody, Corn? We should be celebrating. You killed BlueEyes. We’re free!”

“Wall, I just killed him once.”

“Soooo what? He’s dead.”

“In the real world, people are born with five lives. I only took one of his lives.”

“You’re lying.”

Corn shook his head, “Dead serious.”

“That means…”

“He’s coming after us. He might not know who I am exactly. But he’s probably going to find out and find us.”

Wall unfurled her arms from his neck and started floating next to him and sighed, “Now, I’m moody too.”