Sao followed Anton to the shortcut that he told him. The path was covered in grass as nobody walked there before. Anton said this path would lead to Hope's backyard, as they were welcomed by banana trees.
Sao has questions as to why Anton knew this path, but his thoughts were currently occupied by his worry about Lorian. As they got deeper inside the banana trees, Sao saw Hope hugging her lower half, while Joey and the beaten Lorian stood there listening to what Hope said.
As her wings grew behind her back, Sao started dashing with all his might. A rope he got from his bag that was wrapped around his body was unraveled, holding at its end and flicking it. The rope flew to Hope's legs, and by tugging it back the rope wrapped tightly on her legs, stopping Hope from escaping.
"Do you think you can run away, after beating my partner like that?" Sao said, slamming her back to the ground.
Hope crashed on the ground, accidentally letting go of her lower half. On Lorian's end, he saw the scene of Sao slamming Hope, and he felt relief. Enduring the pain in his ribs when he was moving, Lorian ran to Sao and assisted him.
Hope, covered in dirt and dust, stood up and hissed at Sao and the running Lorian. With two people battle-ready, someone will slip and deal damage to her lower half if she dropped her guard. Gritting her teeth, her nails grew longer, her size and muscle expanded, and her head transformed into a grotesque beast with razor-sharp teeth.
"You're pushing me too far, brats." she roared.
Hope became a six feet monster, with eyes lacking color and reason. She vanished out of thin air, leaving only an afterimage. Out of nowhere, she appeared facing Lorian with her knuckle aimed at his stomach.
Lorian saw his life flash in his eyes, but he mustered every strength he had. He directed the bronze knife at his stomach, holding it with both his hands. A force, the same as a motorcycle hitting a person blasted Lorian, sending him crashing into ten banana trees, breaking them. Fortunately, the banana trees served as his cushion, receiving non-fatal damages and still keeping his consciousness clear.
The bronze knife was stuck inside Hope's right hand, constantly burning her flesh. Excruciating pain made Hope momentarily immobile, giving Sao an opportunity. He dashed at her lower half like crazy, with the stingray's tail and bronze knife at hand.
But the beast that she transformed into, was not your run-down-the-mill supernatural. She bit her right arm off, ripping it like a crab's limbs. Grabbing the decapitated arm, she spun and threw it to Sao.
Sao whose back turned to Hope only heard a zoom. His back arched like a bow as he was struck by the decapitated arm. However, Sao anticipated her attack. Using the decapitated arms momentum, Sao managed to flip, spinning like a windmill before crashing down to the ground, minimizing the damage he took.
Without any choice, Sao decided to change his plans. Tying the bronze knife with the rope, Sao swirled it around. He planned to battle Hope head-on.
Hope stood looking at Sao's stunt, while her right arm regenerated back to normal. She elevated his head, inhaling greedily that her stomach started expanding. Sao looked troubled, as he saw her ever-expanding body. He didn't think twice, running like crazy away, before stopping and taking cover behind the banana trees.
Hope looked at the running Sao, she opened her mouth and screamed in the highest pitch possible. The sound didn't travel around the perimeter but it headed to a straight path. Anything that came in contact with it started exploding from the inside by the intense vibrations produced by Hope's voice.
One by one the banana trees were obliterated into bits. Sao sensed the danger he was in, gritting his teeth without any choice he opened his mouth, "Hifsik!"
When Sao uttered that one word, the sinister sound stopped, slowly dissipating into silence. After the sound disappeared, it didn't stop there. An invisible energy slithered through the source, restricting Hope's movements like a chicken being grabbed on its neck.
"What sorcery is this!" she said with a face filled with dread.
Sao stood up, coughing violently with blood leaking out of his mouth. "It's not sorcery. It is the word of God." Sao replied while signing the cross, clasping his hands and saying 'amen'.
Hope's hair stood up upon hearing this, it was like she was facing a Saint. Sao ignored her, using the rope tied to the bronze knife, he wrapped her body and tied her tightly before stabbing her spine immobilizing her.
Sao went to a corner, picking up the stingray's tail that he dropped a while ago. He started walking towards Hope's lower body to finally finish her off. This mission made him use his hated ability, he needed to rest himself.
As he was walking toward Hope's lower half, Joey stood in between stretching his arms wide. "Please, don't kill grandma Hope. She's only doing it for my sake. Forgive her, please, please." Joey kneeled in front of Sao and begged.
"For your sake? Can you explain?" Sao asked curiously.
"I think I know the reason why grandma Hope was doing this. Because ma'am Pricilla and sir Anton have been m-" before Joey could explain, the sound of two gunshots rang out of the area.
"Oh no, I'm very sorry. I was aiming for the lower half, maybe my nervousness got to me." Anton said, appearing behind Joey holding a gun, its barrel smoking.
Joey fell to the ground lifeless. "Noooooo! You monster, I will kill you! Aaaargh!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Struggling and squirming, she tried breaking free from being bound but she can't exert any strength because of the bronze knife in her spine.
She looked at Sao who was shocked at the turn of events. "This is all your fault! If you just let me kill that monster. If only-" she cried, while her complexion returned to a young lady.
Hope crawled towards Joey's dead body, her face overflowing with sorrow. If only she reported this couple's malicious acts, maybe Joey is not lying here dead. Maybe she doesn't need to accept a deal from the man in a long coat.
"Now, now don't try to move. Or you will be lying next to that boy." Anton said, aiming the gun at Sao.
Sao gritted his teeth, he didn't expect things to get this complicated. He overexerted himself in this mission, and he still failed to finish it. They even got casualties and might die in the process. His eyes turned apologetic as he looked in Lorian's direction, however, he saw nothing.
Anton followed where Sao was looking, at the distance strewn pieces of banana trees and dried leaves littered the ground. Something clicked inside Anton's brain. He remembered a guy that was blasted by Hope in that area, however, not a single trace of him was left in the area.
He was about to say something, but a hand appeared behind him. It wrapped his neck quickly choking him in an armlock. Anton tried to aim his gun at the person choking him, yet the person stabbed Anton's hand making him release the gun from his grasp.
The gun dropped to the ground disarming Anton. However, Lorian blinded by rage didn't stop on Anton's hand. His stomach, liver, and ribs, Lorian kept on stabbing these areas, while Anton tried to struggle. He then slammed the bloody Anton to the ground, as he struggled to breathe.
Anton lay flat on the ground, spitting blood out of his mouth. He looked at the dark eyes of Lorian horrified, he felt his soul being sucked by the abyss. Lorian ignored Anton's expression, without mercy he lifted his right leg. Anton knew what was coming but he couldn't move his body.
"Aaaaargh!!!!!" Anton screamed as his mouth foamed, experiencing the most painful feeling a man could ever feel. Lorian stomped on Anton's crotch using his heels, crushing his jewels to mush.
Lorian bent and picked up the fallen gun on the ground. He pointed the gun at convulsing Anton. "Bring that pain to your death," Lorian said as he started shooting Anton's head, emptying all rounds inside.
Anton lay down his mouth open as he was screaming right before he died. His head was full of holes, and one of his eyes was crushed by the bullet. Lorian dropped the gun to the ground as he followed suit, losing consciousness.
Sao saw everything that happened, his face was in shock. He only thought of Lorian as a timid guy but he didn't expect him to be so brutal. The sight of the jewels being crushed made him shiver down there.
"Young man, kill me now. I don't want to continue living as a monster. My goal is already fulfilled. Those two molesters deserved to die, they don't deserve any mercy. They will rot in hell-" Hope said as she continued to absentmindedly talk to herself.
Sao gritted his teeth, his thoughts were unknown. He stood in front of Hope's lower half and stabbed it with the stingray's tail. The lower half started burning, along with Hope's upper half which transformed into the young version of herself.
The mission was accomplished, but it wasn't a smooth first mission. He and Lorian faced death several times just by facing a single supernatural. The night was still long, Sao sat near Lorian picking him up as he walked back to the jeep.
.
.
.
The bloody night retreated from the skies, as the sun started rising from the horizon.
Morning came followed by the sound of roosters crying, waking up the sleepless villagers. Hearing Hope's screams that night made them stay up in fear, cowering inside their houses holding anything sharp just to feel secure. They fear that they might be the next Pricilla.
The day started bright, but the villagers were gloomy. Everyone mourned after hearing the news of Joey's death. His parents came crying, at the sight of their son inside a coffin, lifeless and cold. It was the son's obligation to bury their parents, not the other way around.
Anton's gun was the important evidence for Joey's murder, however, Anton's death couldn't be explained. The number of bullets shot through his head didn't match suicide, but Anton's fingerprints were the only prints on the gun. And Sao knew that it wouldn't be traced back to Lorian.
As per the contract, they would live off the radar, every detail of them was changed, even their fingerprints. They couldn't stay inside someone's memories, making the villagers conveniently forget about them.
Flowers fell, as Joey's coffin slowly descended to the ground. His parents, classmates, friends, and the villagers were there, mourning the loss of a good child. As the coffin started being covered, people slowly left, until nobody was around anymore.
Inside the coffin, the corpse of Joey lay down wearing a suit, and on his neck was a necklace. The necklace has a weird red pendant that looks like an egg. Cracks started appearing on the pendant's surface, breaking down into pieces.
A wisp of red smoke hovered over Joey, slowly floating towards his head. It entered inside his head's orifices, heading deeper before stopping inside the heart. Red views appeared all over Joey's body, from his legs, arms, and head. The pulse started coming back and his stiff fingers started twitching.