Amidst the sound of water dripping down the walls, the moss covering the ancient stone floor, and the rusted, dark, and dusty cells, someone opened their eyes. The environment was alien and agonizing. As he tried to shift, the sudden rattle of chains bound to his wrists sent a jolt of terror through him.

  He tried to scream, but his voice was choked by failed whispers and a desperate lack of air. The sound of slow clapping echoed down the vast, dark corridor, drawing closer and heightening the agonizing tension. In the dim light, the silver-haired woman approached, her wide grin and eyes filled with a twisted longing.

  "HAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed, tilting her neck at an unnatural angle. "Bravo, bravo... you look quite startled. Perhaps I should give you a hug or something of the sort?" "HAAaaaa... HAAAaaaa..." The screams emerged as nothing more than faint rasps, his voice stripped of strength and will. "How cute, are you whimpering for me? Maybe my new pet deserves some extra attention, don't you think? HAHAHAHA!"

  In the depths of the darkness, something slammed against the thick bars of another cell, snatching the silver-haired woman's attention. With a simple flick of her hand, the darkness vanished, revealing the girl whose appearance now mirrored a beast's. Her limbs were long with sharp claws, her tail bushy, and her snout prominent. Foaming with rage, Frey threw another strike at the bars... but to no avail.

  "Don't you ever tire of trying to escape?" Aurelion's voice turned cold and sharp. "It's useless; these bars are sealed by my own magic. I would never let the two of you escape—not after finally finding that knight again."

  Giyo tried to move once more, his chains clashing with every frantic lunge. He groaned in pain as he struggled to speak. The woman snapped her fingers, granting him back his voice.

  "WHAT IS THIS? WHO ARE YOU? WHERE AM I?" The boy's questions came out in a torrent of desperation. "HAHAHAHA!" She laughed at his curiosity, leaning forward with an elegant bow, her gaze locked onto his. "You certainly have a lot of questions. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Aurelion, famously known as the Witch of Wrath. It's a pleasure to meet you... Host of the Devil!"

  "Witch of Wrath?! I don't know what you want with me, but I won't let you get away with this!" The boy was tense, his mind filtering out most of the overwhelming information.

  "Hmph, and who's going to stop me?" Aurelion mocked him. "I am a Witch. No one has ever managed to defeat me... not even that Witch Hunter." "A Witch... Hunter? Are you talking about the knight?" Giyo asked, his confusion growing.

  "Who else would it be? The knight of the animal kingdom, Neru, the Witch Hunter. The man who vowed to hunt down every last Bishop of Sin..." Aurelion puffed out her chest, trailing her hands over her body with a hint of lingering frustration. "I am the only one left alive. And for my revenge, I will slaughter that little girl right in front of his eyes. But you... I feel something radiating from you." Aurelion pointed toward his chest, a slow, predatory grin spreading across her face. "This negative energy... something screaming for blood."

  With every word, her face flushed deeper; she rubbed her thighs together in a fit of dark excitement. "HAHAHAHA! I promise to take very good care of you, little boy..."

  Aurelion regained her composure and turned away, the click of her heels echoing through the vast, dark corridor. In her beastly form, the girl slumped to the floor, leaning her back against the iron bars.

  "I can't believe he's still hunting witches... I thought he would keep our promise," Frey muttered, staring at the ground, her spirit seemingly broken.

  "Hey... I..."

  "DON'T SAY A WORD!" With a single punch, Frey cracked the stone wall completely. The entire cell block trembled, and Giyo flinched at her sudden outburst. "I... I just wanted him to stop. Neru always wanted to protect me... I remember it like it was yesterday."

  In the past...

  The trees swayed under the force of the wind, and birds soared through the leaves, chirping a gentle melody. "Hey, Mr. Knight, why are we going this way? Wouldn't it be better to stay on the trail?" The little girl pointed back, looking worried about their direction. "The hunters are out in greater numbers now. We must stay out of sight," the knight replied, his tone cold and stern as always. "Are you talking about those hooded men? I really don't like them... those sharp knives and the hoods with that wide-staring eye... they scare me."

  Hearing her confess her fear, the knight couldn't hold back any longer. He stopped, turned around, and knelt before her. His rigid posture softened; beneath his helm, droplets fell as tears traced paths down his neck. The sound of his sobbing made Frey feel uneasy yet deeply moved. She was captivated—not by his sadness, but by finally seeing her partner show a different, genuine emotion.

  The knight's hands reached up to her head, gently stroking her ears. "Frey... I want to make you a promise. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how much pain we feel... you and I... we're going to stay together. Forever."

  Present Day...

  "I can't sense the Princess's presence anymore..." the knight thought, desperation clouding his senses. Sprinting through the isolated streets, Neru was frantic. His panic was visible: his hand trembled, and his eyes searched wildly for any trail. "FREY! FREY! WHERE ARE YOU?" he roared, trying to locate her in the city's deathly silence.

  In the middle of his dash, the black mist returned... and that woman appeared once more. Pricila bit his ear, laughing in a provocative, unsettling way that would make anyone's skin crawl. "I see you're lost. I can't wait to see what you'll do to my daughter, HAHAHAHA!" Pricila laughed with uncomfortable delight. With an enchanting gesture, she pointed toward a dark alleyway. "That way. You'll find what you desire." Her gaze returned to him, tracing the line of his jaw. "But be careful, Knight. Who knows what surprises she has in store for you? HAHAHAHA!"

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  Neru bolted toward the alley, coming across a massive, rusted iron door. As he approached with now-calculated steps, the whistling wind escaping the door set his nerves on edge—a clear warning of danger.

  Suddenly, the silhouettes of two hooded men emerged from the shadows of the doorway. They lunged with long knives, but the knight moved with overwhelming force. Clenching his fists, he charged; his punches tore straight through the stomachs of both opponents with brutal ease!

  Continuing his advance, he flicked his hands to clear the blood coating his palms. He drew his longsword and pulled a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun from his belt. As he stepped inside, total darkness swallowed his vision. His eyes struggled to adjust to the flickering torches on the walls and the sickening sound of meat being ground up.

  Descending the stairs, he finally reached the source of the disturbing noise. "What the hell is this?" Neru muttered, staring at a rotting corpse being trampled and ground into the floor by kicks and stomps.

  The hooded cultists were gathered there; some hummed a melody that grated on the ears, others seemed to be dancing, while a single figure recited words in an incomprehensible tongue.

  Upon spotting the knight, the cultist leading the reading let out a cry, alerting the others to the intruder. They all drew their blades and lunged. Neru moved with lightning speed, impaling several enemies on his longsword until the blade could hold no more. He then drew his firearm, discharging projectiles into those charging from a distance.

  A few managed to close the gap, but Neru simply used his raw strength, slamming their heads against the stone walls. With his sword now too encumbered to wield, he pressed forward, firing his remaining rounds at the survivors. He landed a direct hit on the hooded man clutching the strange book.

  "Damn you... just stay dead!" With a precise shot, Neru took down the one trying to flee.

  The rest scrambled back in terror, but Neru finished off his remaining opponents with his bare hands. "Huff... Huff... Huff..." His heavy breathing betrayed his exhaustion. "I must be getting out of shape... I've lost my touch."

  Despite being drenched in blood, Neru pressed deeper into the facility. Moss and overgrowth claimed the walls and stone floors, and the sound of dripping water echoed through the darkness of a vast corridor. With every step, he peered into the cells, seeing nothing but the skeletal remains of former inmates. "Looks like this place was a prison for criminals... who would've thought the Kingdom would just abandon this place with people still inside."

  "HELP ME!! I'M DYING!"

  "HUH?!" Neru flinched, bolting toward the source of the screams.

  As he reached one of the locked cells, he fired a shot directly into the lock. "Don't play games with me... I know a mimic when I see one."

  The weeping woman inside bore the striking resemblance of his companion; the orange hair with black spots was a perfect match. But like any hollow imitation, the mimic had overlooked the subtle details that only those who truly love someone can recognize. "What are you talking about? It's me! Your companion!" the mimic pleaded.

  Neru raised his weapon once more and fired point-blank into the head of the creature wearing his partner's face. Brain matter splattered across the floor before it could utter another word.

  'I only had four bullets. Two shots left... I hope I find the Princess before I run out of ammo,' the knight thought grimly.

  Continuing his descent, down flight after flight of stairs, he finally reached the third basement level. His footsteps echoed through the hall, his heavy breathing the only sound in the oppressive silence. When he reached the very end of the corridor, he slumped down, resting his back against the bars of a massive cell.

  "Princess... I'm here." The knight sounded exhausted, but he had finally made it to save her.

  "I noticed. The screams from upstairs, the sound of your fists and the roar of your gun..."

  "Princess, I..."

  "I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO BE TOGETHER!" Frey screamed in despair, her voice thick with rage. "I told you days ago to put down those weapons and lead a quiet life here in this kingdom... No more witch hunting, no more killing... I want to live without this pain!" She curled into a ball, her body racking with sobs. "WHY DO THESE WITCHES WANT ME SO BADLY? TELL ME!"

  Neru simply stared at the ceiling, trying to grasp one of his precious memories, but the only images that surfaced were stained with the blood of those he had already slaughtered. "Princess... in the past, back when I was just a knight protecting the realm, the King summoned a witch to the castle. That was the day your engagement to a young noble from another kingdom was to be announced. You were only seven years old then." Neru pressed his hands to his head, visibly shaken by the memories. "The witch was tasked with blessing your marriage and warding off the spite of the envious. The King had some strange ideas in his head, haha... ha."

  He shifted slightly, reaching the heart of the story: "She demanded the heart of someone you loved dearly... your own mother's heart. The King refused and cast her out of the castle. Infuriated, she used her raw hatred to awaken a dragon that had been slumbering nearby."

  His words carried the raw agony of a soldier scarred by the brutal stress of war. Frey swallowed her sobs, listening intently as every horrific detail fell into place.

  "The dragon incinerated civilians... your fiancé... and your... mother." At the mention of her mother, Neru stared into the void, his mind trapped in the past. "The King himself charged me with protecting you and, one day, bringing you back to the realm. Unfortunately, I failed. The witch who destroyed our home attacked us and pierced your heart, killing you in my arms... I was blinded by rage. In the same way she charred our world to ash, I made her feel the very flames of hell!"

  Frey covered her mouth, reeling at the scale of the tragedy. She could almost hear the screams and see her companion fighting to the death against the great dragon and the witch who had undone them.

  "I had to strike a bargain with one of the Witches of Sin to resurrect you, binding your soul to mine. Now, we are eternally joined... in life and in death," the knight revealed. "Neru? Is that really true? I had no idea..." She reached out a hand delicately, as if he might shatter at the slightest touch. "It's alright, Princess. I fight for us. Did you really think I'd forgotten our promise in the woods? 'We will never be apart'... that's what you said."

  Frey's eyes brimmed with tears as her beastly form dissolved, returning her to her human appearance. Her sobs echoed through the chamber once more. The knight stood up and fired a shot at the cell's lock, swinging it open.

  "Hey! Don't forget about me! ._." the boy called out. "Hahaha, right... I forgot she'd snatched one of the kids." Neru helped him out as well. "Let's get out of here, fast. I don't want to—" "Don't leave yet. The show is only beginning."

  The familiar voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Neru drew both his sword and gun, dropping into a protective stance in front of the two. Spotting a barrel ahead, he kicked it away and shot it, the resulting blaze cutting through the pitch-black darkness.

  In the firelight, Aurelion was visible, her body drenched in a strange liquid—some kind of oil. "You know how dirty witches play, don't you?" Aurelion taunted. "Did you really think I'd come to kill you in my true body?" "YOU WITCH!" Neru fired, igniting her oil-slicked form. "Die... Witch of Wrath!"

  Even as she went up in flames, she lunged at him, clutching two explosive barrels. Neru shoved his companions away, throwing them clear of the blast zone. Aurelion closed the distance, wrapping him in a deathly embrace. Then, the sparks hit the powder... BOOM!

  The ceiling buckled and collapsed, sealing off the only exit. Dust billowed as everyone scrambled for cover among the rubble. When Frey and Giyo finally opened their eyes, their breath hitched in pure terror. The knight who had saved them was torn in half; his organs were exposed, and low groans of agony escaped his lips. It was a true scene of horror.

  "NE-NERU!!"