“Uwaaghh!” A boy in his late teens screamed in pain as his Creativity Core was dug out of his body.

 

The core was connected to the boy’s body via a white strand-like energy. The boy lurched as if to hang by that thin strand. With a slight tug, the strand snapped in two. Devoid of the connection between the boy and his Creativity Core, the young man collapsed onto the ground, motionlessly. 

 

Without his core, the Creativity formed from his inner Imagination dispersed. Not to mention, his connection to the nature’s Imagination had been lost as well. It was basically the same as getting ‘erased’. However, his problems did not stop there. His attacker grabbed him by the head and began to drain away his vitality. In mere seconds, the teenager’s body mummified and crumbled into dust.

 

The attacker – the Hallow Fiend – wiped her dirtied hand on her dress. She held the shining Creativity Core in her other hand and peered curiously at the dancing green sparks. After wrapping her demonic energy around the core, she proceeded to compress it into a bite-size pearl.

 

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the compressed core into her mouth and swallowed it whole. Licking her lips, the Hallow Fiend grimaced. “Not another plant manipulation ability. This is the third one already.”

 

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” A shrunken Kyros pointed out as he shoved his hand into another person.

 

“What do you mean?” The Hallowed Fiend cocked her head to the side and peered at the elder demon licking his fingers after swallowing a bloodied Creativity Core whole.

 

“I’d assume the cores with green sparks would generally mean some sort of plant-like or nature-like ability. Just like this one here is a water ability.” Kyros shrugged as he pulled out another Creativity Core with swirling sea blue colors.

 

“Really? Let me have it.” The Hallow Fiend swiped the core from Kyros’s hand and chucked it into her mouth. “Hmm...you’re right! This is a mist ability of sorts.”

 

“Yea. I’m sure all of these different abilities are good, but what exactly do we need to defeat the Saints?” Kyros impatiently grumbled.

 

“Hold on, let me think.” The Hallowed Fiend tapped her head in thought. “The abilities needed must be able to counteract the abilities of the Saints.”

 

“Counteract how?” Kyros asked.

 

“They should about match with the abilities of the Saints. For instance, Saint Vincent was an undying immortal. He could resurrect any time and as many times as he want. Thus, we need to find someone who has a similar resurrection ability.” The Hallow Fiend explained. “If not, we need to find someone with an overwhelming destructive ability.”

 

“I see. Hmm, that will be tough.” Kyros nodded as he examined the list of abilities he had already consumed. “But, since the core has to do with death, it should give off a blackish color. So, we should look for Creativity Cores with black sparks, right?”

“That’s right.” The Hallowed Fiend clapped. “Alright, let’s keep looking. I haven’t seen one yet so it must be really rare.”

 

“Oh ho, here comes the next batch of victims.” Kyros walked out of the house and greeted the visitors. “Welcome to our haunted house! I’m your host – Jack Quinn! Come on in. Anyone who can navigate through the horrors of the house without screaming will win the ultimate prize of a barrel of Reeses!”

 

There were three teenagers by the door. The two boys wore matching steampunk outfits while the girl wore a medieval dress. As the three walked in, excited to participate in a haunted house, one of the boys asked if there really will be a barrel of Reeses waiting for them at the end of the house.

 

“Of course!” Kyros chuckled as he showed the teenagers the prize pot.

 

Seeing the barrel of Reeses cups motivated the trio. The younger boy immediately rushed over to check if it was actually a barrel of Reeses and not just a top layer. Kyros looked at the boy moving closer and closer to him with an engrossed expression.

 

However, just before the boy could move a few steps, the girl grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. The two boys looked at the girl curiously as she sniffed the air. Her nose wrinkled slightly as a frown formed on her face.

 

“What’s the matter, Kimberly?” The older boy asked cautiously.

 

The older boy was Kimberly’s older brother. He knew that his sister had a very sensitive nose, capable of picking out different scents in different items. And, though his sister wasn’t picky about smells, certain ones would cause her to frown…like death and rot.

 

“Something’s wrong. I-I can smell death in here…and blood.” Kimberly grimaced as she took a step back towards the entranceway.

 

As soon as she said that, Kyros frowned while the two boys leaped back and adopted defensive stances. The older boy pulled out a brush and paper. In a few seconds, he drew a spiked flail and a medium-sized shield. After pouring some Creativity into the drawings, the drawings materialized.

 

Meanwhile, the younger boy pulled out a Roleplay and a pen. Twirling the pen in his fingers, he injected it with Creativity, enlarging it by two feet. The girl started singing softly as faint outlines of musical notes hovered around her. As she directed her attention towards the two boys, they could feel their strength and speed boost.

 

“See? This is what happens when you don’t clean up after yourself.” A feminine voice carried over the tense atmosphere.

 

Kyros and the three humans turned to look at the Hallowed Fiend as she sauntered down the stairway into the living room. Seeing the demon come in from their right, the two boys positioned themselves in front of the girl. The trio instinctively formed the wedge formation with the older boy in front as the vanguard and tank while the younger boy moved to the left side to both protect the rear as well as to shield the girl.

 

Kyros grunted at the sight of the three kids uselessly trying to defend themselves. “Hallowed Fiend, I got this. There was no need for you to come down.”

 

“And miss all the fun? These three are surprisingly more cautious than the last batch of victims.” The Hallowed Fiend chuckled as she slowly transformed into her demonic self. “At least, they’ll provide us some after-snack exercise. And we can see how these humans fight in groups.”

 

“Oh?” Kyros raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to do the honors since you’ve already exposed yourself?”

 

“Yes.” The Hallowed Fiend grinned before opening her wings in full span.

 

The three human kids trembled in fear as they raised their guards. The older boy roared to pump himself up. “Get ready! Get ready! Get ready!”

 

The younger boy shifted his position towards the Hallowed Fiend and immediately threw down the Roleplay after clicking a button. “Activate! Hound of Mainesville!”

 

The Roleplay landed on the ground with a spark as a small circle of light expanded outwards from the device, covering the Hallow Fiend as well as the three teenagers. Thin strands of light exploded out from within the container and connected the four individuals. With a forceful yank, the Roleplay dragged them into the virtualspace of the Roleplay container.

 

“Well, now that’s interesting.” Kyros wrinkled his brows as he faintly smiled.