Imagine the different plants in a jungle were thrown into a black sludge. Then, someone stirred the sludge until the exterior was well covered in decaying fauna, but the sludge can still be seen leaking out of the gaps. Then, imagine on one side of the sludge ball, there was a large figure, resembling a feminine humanoid, protruding out of it, hovering in the air as her lower body was connected to and supported by vines that were extending outward of the ball. Such was the nightmarish creature as the clouds parted, allowing the moonlight to illuminate it for everyone to gaze upon.

  “Ahhh… finally.” The monster’s voice was layered together from many origins. It sounded deep and crude as one may imagine from such a creature, but there was also a woman’s voice sandwiched in it.

  The creature aimed its “eyes” at the settlement in the distance and grinned. “Miuzika City. Still the same after so many years. I will relish destroying you all. But first..” Trunk-like legs sprouted out from the ball and stomped on the ground before they all slowly carried the ball in the direction of the piano.

  “What the fuck is that?!” Ryder shouted in a trembling voice.

  The Felmiers stared in horror as their faces turned pale.

  “That-” Purple stood and pointed. “-is a Pestilence. Most of it is.”

  “Most of it? What do you-”

  “Well, well, well.” The monster halted in front of the Knight and glared at it. “I see the travelers’ rumors echoed in the jungle still hold true. I bet you can’t even recognize me in that cursed form of yours, but I can, and I’ve missed you, brother.”

  Green growled in shock.

  “Brother? Then it must mean-”

  “She’s Sappho.” The rider stared at the two monsters with wide eyes and mouth.

  “I was such a fool. I gave you the key because I was convinced you would save her and bring her to our meeting spot, but I never thought your loyalty would triumph over your LOVE!” A sludgy, vine-y arm burst out of the ball and smashed the Knight away from the piano before slamming it down into the ground.

  “Did you know what happened when you didn’t show up? The mercenaries I hired to kill you turned on me. They were bought out by Phlenx, and they handed me over to the army after knocking me out. You want to know what was the first thing I heard when I woke up?!” She raised her fist again and smashed it down. “They were celebrating Cybele’s death! She died because of you and that fucking mayor!”

  The fist shapeshifted into a spike before stabbing downward on the same spot. “My plan was flawless! The Pestilence would’ve gone away after it kills you, but that old fart just had to pick the worst fucking time to be competent! The worst part is, I thought of using you, and it was the greatest mistake I ever fucking made!”

  She lifted the unmoving specter, which had gained a massive amount of black aura around it, and pierced through every major part of its body with spikes, letting it hang in the air. “I fought back, you know, unlike you. I killed as many soldiers as I could after drinking the part of Pestilence I was using to control it. Even though I died as a monster, it gave me a chance at rebirth. It gave me a chance to take revenge on everyone that stood in front of my happiness.”

  The spikes bent and started pulling in different directions, causing the Knight to roar. “I was so… happy when I heard she cursed you. You, the person who she could never look away from. I never understood why she loved a meathead like you, but I guess she never really did because she cursed you! She cursed you!”

  The monster howled with laughter before continuing to speak with suppressed joy. “Since I can’t kill or torture you, I’ll destroy the city instead. You’ll watch as I tear all the buildings down and crush all the people there into a fine paste. If there’s still a part of you hiding in this husk, then maybe, just maybe, you’ll know a fraction of my pain.”

  The Knight struggled even further, but it still couldn’t escape.

  “You’re not going anywhere!”

  Sappho turned her head and noticed the dragon rider gang. “Ah, I didn’t realize I have guests.”

  “I won’t let you go to the city.” Ryder raised his sword against the monster.

  “How adorable.” A thick vine suddenly shot out from the sludge ball and slapped the human away. He tried to cut the vine off, but it didn’t work, and he was promptly thrown into the air. Purple flew up and caught his rider in his embrace.

  “Your little toy isn’t going to work on me. Only Cybele’s power can hurt me, and I know there hasn't been anyone born with that ability in this entire region. Not even the Terror of The East can stop me!” With another swing from her two arms, she swatted the entire dragon rider gang further away.

  “Now, let’s see how long your beloved city will last. I promise I’ll make it slow.” Sappho cackled again as she raised her foot and aimed at the piano. “And I’ll make sure you get to spend an eternity watching over its ashes!”

  “No!”

  Aoede ran out from her hiding and stood in front of the piano with her arms stretched out.

  The monster widened her eyeholes as she placed her foot down somewhere else. Her head lowered to the ground before she stared at the girl with her hollow eyes.

“Cybele?”

  The Knight’s head forcefully turned itself around and saw the girl as well. For a split second, its sharp eyes weren’t obscured by the black aura.

  “No, you’re just a fake! How dare you!” Sappho raised her arm and slammed it in the direction of the girl.

  Aoede held her arms up and screamed.

“AOEDE!”

  Time seemed to slow down. Findir was reaching out his arm as he sprinted in her direction, but he was still meters away from her. The dragon rider gang, while fast, couldn’t cover the distance quick enough. So, Ryder summoned a thick vine from the ground near the girl to catch her, but it was moving slower than the foot that would spell her death. All they could do was watch as the foot removed her from their sights.

“NOOO!”

SCREECH!

  Just as despair was about to dawn on them, Sappo shrieked in pain as the arm she was using to hold the Knight flailed about. She uncontrollably took a step back and revealed the Knight, who was holding the girl in one arm and the piano in another. Aoede stared at the Knight as it stared back at her. Moments later, the specter placed both the piano and the girl down before rushing toward the monster. The dragon rider gang finally arrived at the dazed green-ear and brought both Felmiers as far away as they could.

  “How?! How is this possible?!” When Sappho returned to her senses, she steadied her feet. When her eyes locked on the specter again, she saw it was emanating a black aura so big that it was extending a full meter away from its body. Then, it stepped into the moonlight, and the monster saw what hurt her.