Meanwhile, in the virtualspace of the Hound of Mainesville Roleplay, four shimmering lights flashed as the Hallowed Fiend and the three teenagers were transported in different places. However, because the Roleplay was created by the younger boy, he was able to prevent the random separation between him and his friends. The three teenagers found themselves in a fortified bunker while the Hallowed Fiend landed outside a couple of miles away.

 

“Where are we? What’s so special about this Roleplay?” The girl asked as she took in her surroundings.

 

“This is one that I concocted last night. It’s inspired by the Hound of Baskerville story. We’re currently in a fortified bunker that protects us from the hound…and, hopefully, from the demon.” The younger boy explained while handing out bulletproof vests and handguns from the armory.

 

“So, how dangerous is the hound?” The older boy asked as took the items.

 

“Invisibility, fire-based abilities, the size of a cow, a howl that renders the affected in a confused state…are just a few of its capabilities.” The younger boy replied with a smile of confidence.

 

“That powerful? Then, how can we survive that?” The girl asked.

 

“As long as we stay in the bunker, then no harm will come to us.” The younger boy retorted. “Of course, if we do decide to go out, I know its weakness.”

 

“Oh? Tell us.” The older boy said with interest.

 

“The hound, unlike the real hellhounds of lore, is very weak against ink.” The younger boy replied back. “And this pen of mine is filled with ink. Not to mention, isn’t your flail and shield made from inkmetal?”

 

“Yea, and I’ll bet that demon doesn’t have any inkmetal on her.” The older boy nodded.

 

“Correct.” The younger boy agreed.

 

Suddenly, a faint sound alerted the girl as she exclaimed nervously. “Wait! You hear that?”

 

Howl….

 

“I hear it too.” The younger boy grinned. “The hound is here. All we gotta do is wait for the good news.”

 

HOWL!

 

***

 

AWWWOOOOOO!!!

 

The sounds of a ferocious beast ripped through the air and alerted the Hallow Fiend. Haven’t just raised her guard against the new environment, the howls of what seemed to be a hellhound had instead calmed the Hallow Fiend down. To a demon like herself, a hellhound was nothing but a trivial beast.

 

Instead of waiting for the hound to find her, the Hallow Fiend decided to look for the beast. With inhuman speed, she crossed hundreds of meters in mere seconds. But as the body was human, it could not keep up with the Hallowed Fiend’s speed and in half a minute, the demon slowed down to a halt.

 

“Damn human body! So weak and limited!” The Hallowed Fiend growled as she sniffed the air as if to catch the hound’s scent.

 

Suddenly, another howl echoed from her right. The Hallowed Fiend turned her head and saw the demonic beast appear from some tall bushes. The Hallowed Fiend frowned slightly and wrinkled her nose when she saw the ‘hellhound’. Something was off. Although it had the general features of a typical hellhound, it…smelled different.

 

Instead of the fiery scent of burning souls, the hound before her smelt astringent. There was a prevalent burning sensation in the scent but it wasn’t like that of the bittersweetness of dark chocolate but rather the dryness of alcohol. The Hallowed Fiend chuckled to herself upon realizing that the hound before was a fake.

 

The demon pointed her clawed finger at the monstrosity and beckoned it over. The beast roared in undisguised anger and pounced on the demon. Right before it landed its first attack, the hound disappeared.

 

Was it gone? No, it had made itself invisible instead. At least it acted like a hellhound. The Hallowed Fiend squinted her eyes as she tried to located the monster. Although a hellhound had the invisibility skill, it wasn’t fully invisible. There were tell-tale signs that anyone with familiarity in hellhounds could tell.

 

“Firstly….” The Hallowed Fiend murmured to herself with a smile as she turned her head as if to follow some movements. “Hellhounds can hide their outer appearance but never their smell.”

 

“Second….” The demon continued as she dodged a supposed attack. “A hellhound isn’t truly invisible. If I am to stare hard enough, I can see its blurry appearance…like right NOW!”

 

With a sudden outburst, the Hallowed Fiend lashed out and struck the hound in the side. The sudden burst of pain stunned the hound as it tumbled a few meters away, its form revealed. The hound shook its head as it stumbled to its feet. With an angry howl, the monster charged at the demon with fire enveloping its body.

 

HOWL!

 

The hound opened its mouth and spewed out a spray of fiery gas. Those that the fiery gas touched melted instantly. However, the Hallowed Fiend was not impressed. In fact, the demon felt that the fire attack was weaker than normal hellhounds.

 

“Trying to use fire against a demon? Pure idiocy!” The Hallowed Fiend snorted as she swatted away the hound.

 

With a quick step, the demon appeared behind the monster and grabbed it by its neck. Unleashing a mere twenty percent of her strength, she lifted the cow-sized hound over her head and tossed it up in the air.

 

Sharp, black claws formed from her fingertips as she thrust her arms upward. The claws tore through the hound like butter. As the monster squirmed in pain with blackened blood squirting out from its wounds, the Hallowed Fiend ripped the hound in half.

 

The demon opened her tiny mouth in ecstasy as she relished in the hound’s blood. However, before she could swallow, her tastebuds cowered and a nauseous urge rose from her stomach. With a cough, she spat out the black blood.

 

As the blood bubbled on the ground, the Hallowed Fiend took a closer look. This fluid was thinner than what blood should normally be. When she touched it, she could feel that it wasn’t sticky at all. This was a familiar experience. It reminded her of the time she stole enemy information by copying the messages.

 

“T-This feels a bit like ink.” The demon murmured before shaking her head. “No, this is ink. How did this happen? Is everything here made of ink?”

 

The Hallowed Fiend turned towards an uprooted tree on the side of the road and slashed at it. Chunks flew out as the tree gradually dispersed into a black goo. The demon reached out and dabbed her finger at the goo. With a sniff, she confirmed that the goo was a type of ink.

 

“This whole place is made out of ink. It seems I won’t be able to tear a void through this space.” The Hallowed Fiend muttered as she checked her wormhole skill. “I guess the only way to escape is to kill those brats off!”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, in the bunker….

 

“The howling stopped! Did the hound defeat the demon?” The girl asked as her ears perked up at the silence outside.

 

“Maybe. We need to exit the bunker to check it out.” The older boy replied as he peered towards the younger boy. “What say you? It’s your Roleplay.”

 

“Let’s do it.” The younger boy agreed as he and the older boy opened the steel door.

 

The younger boy climbed up the ladder and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. The older boy followed behind but realized that the younger boy had stopped climbing. The older boy thought that he was just trying to make sure the coast was clear and waited for him to finish.

 

However, after a while, the restless boy gently pushed the younger boy. “Hey? Is the coast clear? Hurry it up! Eh? What’s this sticky stuff?”

 

To the older boy’s horror, the younger boy slumped like a stringless puppet – a bloodied stump where the head used to be. Before the two could exclaim in horror, the body disappeared. As they were in a Roleplay, those who died were immediately transported back to reality.

 

Unfortunately, the younger boy added a little twist. Thinking that the enemy would be defeated instead of him and his allies, he added a result that would occur after death. Upon death, one would return dazed and fatigued. Who knew that this result would apply to him instead?

 

While the older boy and the girl attempted to gather their bearings, the Hallowed Fiend stuck her head through the bunker door and flashed a toothy grin. The older boy reflexively swung his weapon at the demon’s face only to have it blocked and held in place.

 

The boy struggled to free his weapon while the girl boosted the boy’s defense with an inkspell. With one last attempt at breaking his weapon free from the demonic grasp, the boy released his weapon and charged with a shield bash.

 

A loud bang resonated throughout the bunker’s chambers as the boy rebounded back in a daze, his shield shattered into pieces of inkmetal. The boy staggered to his feet and tried to conjure another set of weapon and shield. However, the Hallowed Fiend didn’t give him his chance.

 

The demon lunged towards the boy and grabbed him by his throat. With a heavy toss, she smashed him into the girl. The two collided with dancing stars and both reluctantly fell unconscious. The Hallowed Fiend slit their throats without a moment to lose, sending the three of them back to reality.

 

Soon, the three of them returned. As they were killed in the Roleplay, the children suffered the consequences of loss. The two demons made short work of them, extracting their Creativity Cores and absorbing their powers. As for their bodies, they were burned to ash and sprinkled on the backyard lawn.

 

“What happened in there?” Kyros asked since he was curious about the Roleplay.

 

“It was an interesting experience. The inside of the Roleplay was like a pocket dimension with its own set of conditions and consequences.” The Hallowed Fiend explained. “I think this is a valuable skill to learn. You keep up with the harvesting while I research this.”

 

“Alright.” Kyros nodded as the Hallowed Fiend headed towards her private quarters.