"What!?" Res exclaimed as he raised his arms up in defense. His friends also raised up their guards.

 

Suddenly, two of the props - a werewolf and a zombie - sprang to life as if possessed by something supernatural. With threatening growls, the monsters attacked. Jade yelped as adrenaline coursed through her veins, drawing everyone's attention to the attackers.

 

As everyone focused on the monsters, Kyros took advantage of this opportunity and lunged forward, smashing Res to the side. He attacked with such force that the young man's body exploded with blood and guts.

 

Upon seeing Res's demise, Jade - a rookie Writer and someone who hadn't seen Res's ability - screamed in utter horror. In anger, she activated her special ability and launched an attack on the monsters.

 

"Activate! <<Jade>>...Dragon!"

 

Jade's ability <<Jaded>> allowed her to create jade with her Imagination and shape it into something of her choice. Creativity steamed out from Jade's body and formed into the outline of what looked to be a jade-colored winged dragon. In a matter of seconds, the gassy dragon coagulated.

 

Upon solidification, it released a soundless roar and immediately flew towards the nearest enemy, knocking it down flat. The zombie smashed into the ground, losing an arm in the process. As it could not feel pain, the monster quickly scrambled back on its feet.

 

But, before the zombie could advance towards Jade, someone shouted from behind the girl. "Activate! <<Cupid's Arrow>>!"

 

A red arrow flew past Jade and struck the zombie square in the torso. The zombie staggered back a couple of steps before it stopped moving. Red hearts formed around the zombie as it looked towards the archer with adoration-filled eyes.

 

"That was a close one! Jade sighed as she flashed the archer a bright smile. "Thanks Kupid! I owe you one!"

 

"No problem. Though, the zombie is pretty resilient. The arrow's effects won't last for long. Finish it off quickly so we can help Owl." Kupid nodded in response as he glared at zombie.

 

<<Cupid's Arrow>> was Kupid's skill. It allowed him to summon and fire an arrow filled with the power of love and adoration. Whoever or whatever was pierced by such a weapon would attract and become non-aggressive towards the archer as well as the archer's allies. The only downside was that Kupid's skill could only be used one target at a time and each time lasted five minutes.

 

"Alright." Jade nodded as more Creativity emitted from her body. "Activate! <<Jade>>...armor and short staff!"

 

Green steam wrapped around Jade's body, forming armor, while a short staff appeared in her hands. Twirling the short staff like a baton, Jade thrust towards the zombie, dealing blunt damage to the unguarded monster.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Just as she took a few steps back to put some distance between her and the zombie, she felt a sharp pain in her upper chest. Jade peered down and saw a bloody hand sticking out from her diaphragm. An earthy sphere swirled within the hand. It was her Creativity Core.

 

Jade struggled for a few seconds but her strength quickly depleted from her body. As the hand pulled back, Jade used her remaining strength to turn around.

 

Collapsing to the floor, she looked up and saw her attacker. It was a woman wearing a white dress with black hair, black eyes, and black veins. A shiver of horror crept down her spine as she witnessed the woman swallow her Creativity Core in one bite.

 

Jade trembled slightly before breathing her last. Just as she was about to die, Kyros grabbed her by her head and began draining away the last of her vitality. All of this happened in mere seconds. Before Owl or Kupid could react, Kyros had drained Jade dry.

 

"Jade!" Owl roared as he summoned ten owls and sent them scattering about.

 

Kupid activated his ability and pierced an arrow into the werewolf. "Get that demon bastard!"

 

However, the werewolf did not obey his orders. Instead, it continued to charge towards him. With a resounding tackle, Kupid was knocked down onto the ground. The werewolf continued to chomp on his shoulder.

 

In pain, the young male Writer grabbed onto the monster's fur and scratched its back. This feeling! Unlike the zombie earlier, this werewolf was not made out of flesh and bones...instead, its made from plastic, wax, and cloth!

 

No wonder his ability didn't work. <<Cupid's Arrow>> could only work on organic lifeforms. This werewolf was just a puppet possessed by a demonic spirit. But then...what about that zombie? But, when he looked at Jade's current condition, realization struck him. The zombie was the corpse of previous victim!

 

As Kupid struggled some more, the werewolf bit harder and with a jerk of its head, ripped a chunk of flesh from his pale neck. Blood sprayed out while the werewolf disengaged from the dying boy.

 

Kyros rushed forward greedily and removed Kupid's Creativity Core before he breathed his last. After consuming the core, Kyros grinned at the dying body and grabbed Kupid by his head. Kyros's nails dug in and, as if there were suctions within his nails, began to drain away Kupid's blood as well as his remaining life force.

 

Owl howled in anger and sent eight of his ten owls diving towards Kyros. As the birds of the night scratched and pecked the demon, Kyros looked towards Owl, unfazed. Seeing this, the frightened young man subconsciously took a step back.

 

Shit!

 

Owl quickly eyed one of the two owls that remained by his side before staring at the demon and the werewolf. Suddenly, he heard footsteps from behind him. The woman! Owl spun around and crossed his arms.

 

"Puuaagghh!"

 

Owl was knocked back by the woman's sharp kick. As he crashed into a wall, he realized that both of his arms were broken from the attack. The woman grabbed him by his throat and lifted him to his tiptoes.

 

"W-Who are y-you?" Owl gasped as he struggled to break free of the solid grip.

 

The woman smiled...or rather, bared her canines. "I am the Hallow Fiend!"

 

"H-Hallow Fiend!"

 

"Yes. You kids will be the first of many sacrifices. With your powers, I will break free from the Saints' shackles and rule the world once more!" The Hallow Fiend cackled and began to drain away Owl's life force.

 

"Kugh! I don't want to die. Uwwaaahhh!!"

 

"Let go of Owl, you bitch!" A voice exclaimed behind the Hallow Fiend.

 

The Hallow Fiend glanced back without letting go and saw Res, breathing and fully regenerated. She was shocked to see that Res was alive and well. Kyros, too, was shocked when he saw the living Res. How could this be? He clearly pulverized the young man's midsection. Could it be?

 

Kyros glanced at the Hallow Fiend and exclaimed. "Hey, this ability seems familiar. It couldn't be?"

 

"It is, you dunce! This is the ability of Saint Vincent the Resurrector! If I kill him and take his core, I will also be immune to death!"

 

"Haha! Then, you mean I will? You have fun with that boy while I take this one!" Kyros rushed towards Res and plunged his hand into the young Writer.

 

With a jerk of his hand, he yanked out the Creativity Core. He glanced at the spiraling black pearl and marveled at its beauty. Little did he know, the Hallow Fiend had released her hold on Owl and made her way to the large demon's side.

 

"Dare to take what's mine?" The Hallow Fiend roared and raised her leg.

 

With a sharp kick, she thrashed Kyros out of the way, causing the large demon to drop the core. The Hallow Fiend bent down and picked up the Creativity Core. With a huff of her breath, she stuffed the core in her mouth.

 

As the sweet savor of power melted in her mouth and trickled down her throat, she glared at the collapsed elder demon and sneered. "Do not forget who is the superior. Do that again and die."

 

Kyros muttered a single word of acknowledgement and scrambled to his feet. Since he couldn't eat the core of a Resurrector, he might as well take in more vitality. He reached down at Res and drained away the young man's life force.

 

He looked up at the Hallow Fiend and noticed that he did not make a move against Owl again. With a grunt, Kyros made his way towards the young Writer.

 

After the Hallow Fiend released his hold on Owl, the young Writer struggled for a brief moment before using up most of his power to sent out one last message. "Zero300...everyone...it's dangerous in here! There are two demons in here trying to take over the world! They...they've already killed Kupid, Res, and Jade! Z-Zero...h-help m-"

 

Before Owl could finish his message, he was grabbed by the throat and hoisted into the air. The elder demon, Kyros, grinned at the frightened young man and pierced his nails into his victim's diaphragm.

 

As he pulled out the young man's Creativity Core, Owl muttered his dying words. "Die, you bastard!"

 

Owl focused all of his willpower into his Creativity Core and forcefully caused it to explode. The explosion ruptured his body and the shockwave knocked Kyros back. As a result, the elder demon took a little internal damage and even spurted out a mouthful of precious vitality.

 

In anger, he grabbed Owl's shattered body and, in a matter of seconds, drained away all of the blood and life force from Owl's body, leaving behind a mummified and crumbling corpse. With a wrench of his wrist, Kyros tore away the fragile bonds and the mummified body crumbled into dust.