“Honey? I’m home. I bought pizza as promised.” Jack Quinn exclaimed as he entered his house.

 

As he walked into the living room, the burly man with mutton chops glanced around and approvingly nodded at all the decorations. Like his wife, Jack was also a fan of Halloween. After all, the holiday matched his day job very well. Jack was a makeup artist who had designed a number of well-known masks for amateur horror films and theatrical plays.

 

After receiving no response from his wife, Jack became curious. He set his bag down and placed the box of steaming hot pepperoni pizza on a nearby table. Then, he made his way towards the kitchen where his wife should be preparing for tomorrow. Surprisingly, his wife was not in the kitchen room making sweets like usual.

 

Worried, Jack called out once more. “Honey? W-Where are you? Are you home?”

 

He suddenly heard a sound coming from the bedroom upstairs. Oh ho…trying to scare me now eh? Typical Olivia…watch me stone-face it when you jump out of nowhere.

 

The middle-aged man clambered up the flight of steps with slight excitement and opened the door to the bedroom. “Olivia? Is that you?”

 

Jack walked in and turned on the lights. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, he saw the figure of his wife standing beside a corner with a white dress on, her head bowed and her face covered with her black hair.

 

A shiver danced along his spine as he chuckled nervously. “Did you dye your hair? It looks perfect for the occasion...but enough playing around. I know that’s you, so don’t try to jump-scare me or something.”

 

Jack approached his wife slowly and reached out with his hand. Suddenly, his wife looked up, her head tilted sideways unnaturally and her black eyes glared silently at him. Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Olivia’s face, her expressions distorted into a nasty scowl. It was pure horror.

 

However, believing it to be a disguise, Jack laughed off his shock and gave a dry smile. “Wow, Olivia. That’s some makeup you did. It looks so real! Are those contacts? Where did you buy them? Haha, did you buy a pair for me?”

 

Hearing no reply from his wife, the oblivious man blabbered on. “I like the decorations you put up. It has a real Halloween spirit to it. N-Not like you didn’t have it last year, haha. Anyways, it seems like you’re going all out for the contest tomorrow night. I’m sure you’ll win this time. If not, then them judges are blind, haha. Oh and don’t worry about me, dear. I’ve got just the mask and costume to complement yours. Stay here while I go get my bag.”

 

Jack slowly edged towards the door and opened it. As he exited and closed the door behind him, he patted his chest and took a deep breath. That makeup that Olivia had on was so real and terrifying that even he, a makeup artist, could only look on in defeat. Where did she get her makeup done?

 

He felt his competitive spirit rising. He didn’t want to lose to Olivia in terms of scary makeup. Otherwise, he should just switch jobs with her. Jack hurried downstairs and opened his bag. Inside was a costume that he had personally designed and crafted for nearly two months. Nestled in the center of the outfit was a mask of a two-horned demon.

 

The demon mask could be said to be his masterpiece. He had spent a great deal of research and time on creating the design for the mask. A few months ago, he came across a depiction of a horrendous demon called by many as Kyros.

 

Kyros was a demon general who was known for his power and bloodthirstiness. In the beginning, he once lived as a human. But after suffering through a thousand years of torture in Hell, he was able to rise through the ranks to become a demon.

 

It was rumored that those who saw Kyros’s face would shrivel back and freeze in fear. This was what Jack had hoped to accomplish. He wanted to make a mask that would instill initial fear upon those who saw it.

 

“Jesus Christ! Almighty God!” Just as he pulled out the mask and turned around, Jack screamed. Olivia was standing quietly and motionlessly behind him! “Dear, when did you get here? At least give me a heads up, will ya? I’ll admit, you nearly scared me to death!”

 

Jack’s wife looked up at him and beckoned him to come closer. Jack leaned forward, a little on guard for what’s to come. And though his guard was raised for another scare, it was not what he had expected.

 

Suddenly, his wife growled and tried to grab him. But Jack was no ordinary person either. He was also someone who had formed his Creativity Core. He was a Makeup Artist of the Art Faction like his wife.

 

Since he was on guard, Jack saw through Olivia’s ploy and evaded the grab. Stepping back a few feet, he glanced over at his wife and sensed something different from her. The demon possessing Olivia, realizing that her cover was blown, decided to reveal herself.

 

Jack watched in gaping horror and disbelief as wings sprouted from his wife’s back. Her skin stretched and darkened as her muscles burst forth unnaturally. In a matter of seconds the monstrosity before him grew until it towered over him by a foot.

 

Jack grimaced with sorrow and stared straight at his wife’s eyes…or whoever this monster was. The monstrosity looked like a combination of a strength-type Eraser and a flying-type Eraser. Having dealt with Erasers in the past Great War, Jack was prepared for such dangers.

 

He reached into his fanny pack and pulled out a makeup brush. Twirling it around his fingers, he injected Creativity into the brush, enlarging it and enhancing it. The brush expanded in size until a powerful brush-sword appeared in Jack’s grasps.

 

Jack held the brush-sword with both hands and adopted a defensive stance. “Whoever you are, get the fuck out of my house!”

 

“Oh? But dear, I am your wife. How could you say such a thing to your beloved?” The monster cackled in a raspy voice that seemed similar to Olivia’s voice but dissimilar at the same time.

 

“W-What do you mean?” Jack thought of one possibility but nonetheless hopefully asked.

 

“This body is still your wife’s. As for her soul…delicious!” The demon smacked her lips.

 

Silence fell but not for long. Rage erupted from the burly man as his face contorted in pain and fury. Jack thrust his brush-sword towards the demon and charged. Although he had no knowledge of sword techniques, he had been in melee battles during the Great War and learned some swordsmanship from a Larper of the Crafts Faction.

 

Jack wielded his brush-sword with ferocity, swinging it about and leaving no room for the demon to dodge. However, the demon did not dodge or block the incoming attacks. Instead, it did something totally unexpected.

 

As the enemy approached with his sword, the demon morphed her face back to her original look. The demon’s face had become Olivia’s face. The face shone with beauty and charm. And it startled Jack. Seeing his wife’s face, Jack couldn’t help but slow down mid-charge and lower his weapon.

 

“Jack? What are you doing? Did you get the pizza? We still have some more decorations to do before the contest tomorrow.” The demon replied with Olivia’s face.

 

Entranced coupled with the stress from his rage, Jack murmured back in confusion. “O-Olivia? I-Is that y-you?

 

“Jack, what are you doing with that thing out? Put it away. Quickly now!” The demon continued.

 

Upon hearing his wife call his weapon a ‘thing’, his face fell as he snapped out of his trance. “Thing? Are you really Olivia? Don’t you know it was you who named this ‘thing’ a brush-sword? Demon! Your trickery ends here!”

 

Jack sped up once more. Just as his brush-sword slashed across the demon, her face changed once more. It was still Olivia’s face, but the face distorted with pain and sorrow. The demon stumbled back, barely evading the strike.

 

Just before Jack raised his weapon up for another blow, the demon sobbed pitifully. “J-Jack! You’re h-hurting me! Stop, Jack, don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me! It hurts. It hurts!”

 

The burly man nearly wavered again as he saw such a sight. But, his heart and mind was steeled as he struck down. “Dare to play with my emotions? Hmph! Die!”

 

“Well, I tried.” The demon replied with a shrug. She reached out with one hand and stopped the incoming brush-sword.

 

And then, there was blackness. The demon had taken advantage of Jack’s surprise at his failed attack and knocked him unconscious. The tall man slumped over and tumbled to the ground. The demon in Olivia’s skin looked at Jack and grinned sinisterly. She reached over and picked up the mask in the unconscious man’s bag.

 

“Wow! This is an exact replica of Kyros’s face! Wonder how a human could have chanced upon that without going insane?” The demon expressed in shock as she examined the mask. “Hmm, this gives me an idea.”