“The deeper we go into this forest, the more this uneasiness inside me grows. Do we really have to do this?”

  “Can you please calm down for a moment?!”

  “Yes, but...”

  “Look... ah!”

  Number 16 let out a deep sigh, rubbing her eyes with two fingers. She lowered her hand and slowly scanned her childhood friend in front of her. In her charming purple-toned robes, this girl looked like an adorable witch, but to Number 16, she was just small and cute. Her snow-white skin, green eyes, and wavy light-brown hair that brushed her shoulders always made her the center of attention. But now, the staff in her right hand—casting a dim light on the dark path—trembled in her grip, while her left hand was clenched into a fist over her chest, betraying her tension.

  “Why do we have to go after Number 99? Couldn’t we just leave him alone?”

  Number 15 asked, her voice trembling with inner turmoil. Her pupils were wide with fear, making their green color even more pronounced.

  Number 16 slowly placed her left hand on Number 15’s shoulder and smiled, gently rubbing it with her thumb. “My dear, you know as well as I do that man has been an obstacle in our path since the moment we saw him. Didn’t we agree to win this game together? If we turn back now, we lose the opportunity to catch him off guard and eliminate him.”

  She lifted her hand from her friend’s shoulder to cup her small cheek, raising her eyebrows as if waiting for confirmation.

  Number 15 gripped her staff tighter and bowed her head. She knew her beloved friend was right. Yet, with every step she took into the forest, the fear inside her grew, making her chest feel tight.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, pressed her left hand to her forehead, and let out a deep breath. Tucking her staff under her arm, she adjusted the simple silver brooch in her hair with pale hands. Regaining her composure, she raised her head to look at her childhood friend.

  Number 16’s inner resolve was reflected in her dark brown eyes. With her wheat-colored skin and long, straight black hair tied in a ponytail, she was the complete opposite of Number 15 in both appearance and character. She wore light armor made of iron plates and leather pants that accentuated her long legs. The hilt of the sword on her back extended above her shoulder.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Number 16 said, breaking the silence.

  Number 15 took one last deep breath, gave her friend a sour smile of approval, and they continued on their way into the depths of the forest.

  ***

  “What do you think he’s like?” asked Number 15, walking cautiously behind Number 16.

  “Who... ah, you mean Number 99?”

  “Yes, there are so many rumors about him.”

  “Does it matter?” Number 16 said, her tone laced with mockery. “The last thing he’ll see will be the sharp end of my sword,” she added, gripping the hilt of the rough blade on her back.

  Visibly disturbed by the conversation, Number 15 changed the subject. “They said there was a great kingdom in this forest, filled with enchanting creatures.”

  “No doubt it’s an enchanting place! What do you think?” added Number 16.

  Number 15 giggled like a small child. “Real—”

  “AIIIEEE!”

  Unable to finish her sentence due to the high-pitched sound, Number 15 lost her balance. Just as she was about to fall, she found herself in Number 16’s arms. As she straightened up, the cheerful expression on her face was replaced by fear.

  “Who’s there?” she said, her voice resembling that of a frightened child. At that moment, Number 16 drew her sword from its sheath, gripping it tightly with both hands as she scanned their surroundings.

  As she looked around in the pitch-black forest, unsure of what she was even looking for, she noticed a pink glow behind a tree branch.

  “Hey! I can see you!” Number 16 shouted.

  While she tried to figure out what she was looking at, Number 15 collected herself and sent a beam of light from her staff in the direction Number 16 was facing.

  As the light slowly illuminated the area around the branch, Number 15 said excitedly, “It’s a fairy!”

  The creature, who had been trying to hide behind the branch, cautiously revealed itself. This fairy was about the size of a human hand and quite striking, with light pink wings and hair of the same color. Its ears were slightly pointed, and its eyes were large in proportion to its head. It pointed its index finger in the direction the two friends were heading, shaking its head left and right in a frantic ‘no’ motion, trying to tell them something.

  “It’s like... you don’t want us to go that way, is that it?” Number 15 asked gently.

  Number 16 turned to 15. “We’re moving on!” She wore a confident smile, fueled by the excitement of approaching her target. As she turned towards the path, the fairy quickly came up from behind and desperately tried to pull her back by her ponytail.

  Number 16 reacted with annoyance, trying to swat the fairy away.

  “Don’t you think we’re being a bit hasty?” Number 15 asked.

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “Shouldn’t we try to understand why the fairy wants to stop us? It’s obvious it’s trying to protect us from something.”

  “It’s just a tiny fairy! It might be scared, but I’m not afraid of Number 99!”

  Number 15, accepting that arguing with 16 would lead nowhere, continued to follow her. As she walked, she slowly turned her head to look back at the fairy.

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  The fairy had clasped its tiny hands together, watching the two friends with a look of utter helplessness.

  “The air... it’s got so heavy. I feel like I’m going to suffocate,” said Number 15. She was struggling to follow Number 16 while trying to keep herself composed. Every step she took felt as if a heavy weight had been placed on her.

  Number 16, acting as if she hadn’t heard her friend, continued on her way in silence. After a while, the path they were following led them to a ruin.

  As Number 16 entered the ruin, she slowed down and raised her right hand in a “stop” gesture. She turned to 15. “I can feel him. He’s here,” she said.

  Number 15 wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, taking deep breaths. She turned her eyes to 16, her expression clearly asking, What do we do now?

  “I think these are the ruins of that kingdom you mentioned. Let's search the area. Quietly,” Number 16 whispered.

  Number 15 nodded in agreement, and as she followed 16, she took graceful steps, taking great care not to make a sound.

  As the two friends moved through the ruins, they bore witness to the history and culture of a kingdom. Number 15, examining the unusual architecture, couldn’t help but wonder how beautifully this kingdom must have shone in its glory days.

  SNAP!

  At the sound of the crack breaking the total silence, Number 16 froze and motioned to 15 with her hand, pointing in the direction the sound came from. Moving with heavy steps toward the sound, the two friends arrived at the entrance of a wide courtyard.

  While Number 16 tried to identify the source of the sound from behind the wall she’d taken cover behind, Number 15 crouched down, trying to suppress her anxiety. She quietly placed her staff on the ground, took a deep breath, and lightly slapped her cheeks with both hands to gather her focus.

  “Do you see anything?”

  “No. But I’m sure the sound came from here,” Number 16 said, confident in her senses.

  Number 15 tore her eyes away from 16 and scanned the surroundings. She noticed a faint movement in front of a collapsed structure that resembled a monument.

  “It looks like there’s someone in front of that monument.”

  Number 16 focused on the monument 15 had pointed out. As she stared with all her concentration, she made out a man dressed in all black, standing in front of it.

  “That’s Number 99.”

  ***

  “You know what to do,” Number 16 said, looking at 15. She gripped the hilt of her sword with her right hand and focused on Number 99, ready to attack.

  Number 15 aimed her staff at Number 99, gripping it tightly with both hands, and began to concentrate. The fact that Number 99 was standing completely still caused a strange tension within her, but she began to murmur her incantation. The stone on her staff turned from a pale white to a glowing, heat-radiating crimson.

  Number 15 took a deep breath and launched a massive fireball from her staff toward Number 99. The great fireball illuminated the courtyard with its brightness as it sped toward its target.

  Just as the fireball was about to hit Number 99, he spun around and, with his right hand, unleashed a dark mist that extinguished the bright fireball in seconds. The spreading dark mist reached all the way to where 15 and 16 were standing, snuffing out the light on Number 15’s staff in the same instant.

  Number 15 staggered from the shock. Faced with her magic being nullified so easily, the uneasiness she had felt from the very beginning struck her chest like a physical blow.

  “Stay calm!” Number 16 ordered, her voice full of confidence. She gripped her sword with both hands and turned to Number 15.

  “Cast the support magic. I need my endurance boosted,” she said.

  Number 15, pulling herself together, aimed her staff at her friend. The stone, now glowing an open green, wove itself around Number 16.

  Empowered by the support magic, Number 16 charged toward Number 99. Seeing Number 99 waiting for her, perfectly still, only made her more furious.

  Number 16 closed the distance, raised her sword high with all her strength, and swung it down on Number 99.

  Waiting with a terrifying coldness, Number 99 caught the sword mid-blade with his bare right hand. A dark mist erupted from his palm, and he shattered the sword, turning it to dust. The force of this incomprehensible magic sent Number 16 flying backward.

  Struggling to get up from the impact, Number 16 first looked at Number 15. Her friend was frozen stiff by the events, staring back at her with a look of utter helplessness.

  Turning her head back to Number 99, Number 16 saw her opponent waiting idly, as if nothing had happened. The rage she had been struggling to suppress finally consumed her. She reached for the dagger hidden at her waist. As she tried to grab the hilt, she noticed her hand was trembling.

  She finally pulled the dagger from its sheath, forced herself to her feet with all her strength, and lunged at Number 99. Screaming in fury, she tried to strike Number 99’s heart. In that same instant, Number 99, who had raised his right hand, brought it down swiftly. A blood-soaked sword, covered in purple runes, materialized in his grasp.

  Before Number 16 could even comprehend why her attack had stopped, she looked at the blood-soaked sword. And then... she noticed her right hand, still clutching the dagger, on the ground.

  Staggering back in agony, Number 16 lost her balance and fell. She clutched the severed stump with her left hand and began to crawl backward, pushing herself with her legs. When her back finally hit a stone, she looked up with eyes full of terror at Number 99, who was approaching her with heavy steps. The man, whose face she couldn’t see in the darkness, was massive.

  Just as she thought it was all over, she noticed a faint beam of light strike Number 99. It was Number 15 who had cast the spell.

  Number 99, unharmed by the dark mist he himself had created, stabbed his sword into the ground in front of Number 16 and turned toward Number 15.

  Number 16 turned to 15. “Run! Save yourself!” she yelled. Her voice had none of its previous resolve; instead, it sounded like that of a small child just learning to speak.

  As Number 99 advanced on Number 15, her entire body trembled, as if screaming at her to flee. But she had no intention of leaving her beloved friend behind. Despite all her fear, she once again aimed her staff at the approaching Number 99.

  Just as she was about to cast a new spell, her eyes met Number 99’s. And in an instant, everything went dark.

  Number 15 collapsed to the ground involuntarily, dropping her staff.

  Number 16, not understanding what was happening, realized her friend’s eyes had turned pitch black. Number 15 first began to tremble uncontrollably, then started to let out agonizing screams, clawing at her own face.

  Number 16 begged Number 99 to stop, but as she watched in horror, she couldn’t comprehend why he was just standing there, while 15 was inflicting this pain on herself. Unable to bear her friend’s suffering, Number 16 tried to get up, but her legs wouldn’t obey her. As she tried to lift herself, Number 15’s pitch-black eyes suddenly began to glow.

  The more they glowed, the more she screamed, until finally, she collapsed to the ground with a massive shockwave.

  Number 16 froze at what she saw. Number 15 lay motionless, covered in blood, her eyes bulging from their sockets.

  With all her hatred, Number 16 forced her disobedient body up one last time and threw herself at the sword Number 99 had left in front of her. The moment her left hand grasped the cursed blade, the strength she had drawn from her hatred vanished. Falling to her knees, Number 16 tried to pull her hand from the sword but couldn’t free herself. As this happened, the cursed sword’s purple runes began to glow.

  Number 16 tried to free herself in a panic as the sword began to slowly, steadily drain all her energy, as if pulling her very soul into it. Her strength faded, and her struggle to escape grew heavy.

  “It’s like it’s sucking out my soul,” she thought, but she no longer had the strength to even react to the idea.

  After staring at Number 15’s lifeless body for a long moment, Number 99 turned toward his sword. Number 16 was kneeling, holding the sword, motionless.

  “Touching my sword was your biggest mistake,” he said, his voice disturbingly calm.

  He slowly pulled Number 16’s hand from the hilt and lifted the sword with his right hand. The blade, which had appeared from nothingness, vanished back into nothingness after he raised it.

  As silence once again fell upon the ruins, Number 99 looked at Number 16 one last time. Number 16’s entire body had collapsed, her muscles wasted away; it was as if a grey veil had fallen over her eyes.

  “What a pity,” he said, his expressionless mask intact, and disappeared into the darkness, walking slowly away through the ruins.