…
"Hummmhh, wanted to know our secret plan?" Ran teased him with a smile.
…
"Plan? What plan?" El asked, curiosity pulling onto his interest.
"Of course, to bring down that traitor. I believe you because I already know about Sill. Few of us already secretly investigated him. He used to go alone on his own when there was no one watching over him. Who knows what he intended to do? Don't tell anyone, alright? Sir Giles will nag me again later."
"Okay. So, what's the plan then?"
With a smirk, Ran replied. "We ambush him. Wanna join in?"
…
All of them walked down the building, dividing into groups to trace their path back to the base. El was now tagging along with Ran's group, which included three other members who had swapped with their original teams at the last minute – with the reason was to protect Ran. Two of the men appeared to be close to Sir Giles when El met them. And the last one was Gill, who was staring at him with even more dislike.
So currently, Ran led their group, which consisted of El, Gill, Sill, Glam, and two other guys named Leo and Zeke. The path they took this time was a different one from before as they met the cursed on that building.
Now, taking a path on the alleyway, suddenly, Ran turned back to call El to her side. She then whispered something in his ear, much to the dislike of Gill. "We're going to start the plan. Get ready when I give the signal."
"Ok," El nodded his head.
A few moments later, she exclaimed loudly, "Purple Orchid!" she then turned swiftly and hurled a small device. And it was an orb with a button in the center – in the direction of Sill.
Simultaneously, Leo and Zeke, who positioned themselves at the very back, also threw two identical objects after pressing their buttons. However, instead of aiming at Sill as originally planned, they directed their throws toward El, Ran, Gill, and Glam.
The orbs subsequently exploded in mid-air, releasing a burst of smoke. And from within the smoke, metallic nets spread out, trapping the four – Ran and El were caught in one net, while Gill and Glam were ensnared in another. The nets contracted, forcing the trio to kneel on the ground as the four points of each net anchored themselves into the ground.
Meanwhile, the orb thrown by Ran herself did not explode; instead, it was easily caught by Sill.
"Nice plan, little Ran. You get caught right in your own trap…" Sill said with a smirk.
"Wha… how? You two?" in disbelief, Ran turned toward Leo and Zeke, while still struggling with the net. "Since when?"
"Since when?" Leo and Zeke indifferently exchanged glances between each other, then spoke in a spine-chilling way at the same time, and with a hoarse voice that was a blend of an old man and an old woman. "Since we killed them both and took over their skin, of course…"
The corners of their lips then twisted into a grotesque smile, stretching unnaturally high until it reached their ears, while their cheeks split apart like a perfectly cooked mozzarella, oozing blood and pus. (*hee-hee – mozzarella, author note)
Witnessing that, El, Ran, and Gill widened their eyes in horror. The trio was left bewildered, unsure of what kind of creatures the two were - whether they were still human or something else entirely.
On the other hand, Glam, who at first didn't understand what this was all about, widened his eyes for entirely different reasons and emotions than the trio.
He exploded with fury as he shouted at the two of them, "That… that smile. I remember it. That's the smile of the creature who killed Ali and Rena. You!!!"
Glam turned his attention to Sill, who was smiling smugly at him. "So, you're in it too, right? B*stard!!! You b*stard. What do you know about their deaths?" he glowered angrily at Sill. His voice rose and echoed in the empty, gloomy, and slightly dark alleyway, despite the sun shining brightly above in the sky.
Putting his index finger playfully to his lips while gazing up at the sky, Sill responded, "What do I know about their deaths? Hmm… let's see. What I know is…" his smile then widened – and just like what the two did earlier, his lips stretching so wide it almost reaching his ears, now also leaking blood and pus.
"Because I'm the one who killed them. Ah, if only that b*stard Giles had been busy with something else, I might have been able to steal another skin for my collection. And when I'm done, I could feast on their juicy brains. Ah, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, it was a mess. I even had to kill some street nobodies to satisfy my urge to eat."
After delivering those whole hair-raising explanations, he looked up at the four of them, with saliva mixed with blood dripping from his grinning lips, revealing his teeth.
"Uh, damnit…" Ran gritted her teeth – struggling to let herself go from the net. Alas, it was of no use. This net was something she secretly bought with her savings. Now, it felt like a knife biting into her own skin.
Turned to the side, she watched as El was currently closing his eyes instead – and as if the danger and the ridiculousness couldn't get any worse than this, she saw him crossed his legs over the other like a kind of ancient cultivator in some novel who gain enlightenment and ready to go against the heaven.
"Hey, what the heck. What the hell are you doing now? Help too…" She chided him, her tone a mix of exasperation, anxiety, and urgency. Well, she couldn't be blamed, as, whatever the three in front of them was, whether it was demon, devil, ghost, whatever itty-bitty things they were – it will be damned if they going to kill and eat their brain like what that guy Sill had said.
"Shushh. I need to concentrate. I think I can do something about this…" El replied, still with his monk meditating style, while murmuring something under his breath. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…"
Then, there was another 'headache' that made things worse for Ran. And it was coming from another madman who was currently barking loudly – challenging those three figures fearlessly.
"Arrrrggggghhh, you b*stard – you devil. I kill you!!!" simmering in anger, Glam screamed at the top of his lungs. His face turned red from resentment clouding his awareness over the danger that might come to them all anytime by now.
To all of this, Ran could only facepalm over herself.
"We're dead!!!"
…