“Hahaha, how nice! You’re coming for me?” John Doe chuckled as Henry’s two feet gently landed back on the ground. “When is that? Today? Tomorrow? I can’t wait!”

  “... Let Henry go.” The scarecrow canceled the summoning of his sickles and held both arms up. “If you really want to fight me directly, leave now.”

  “...?” Lulu turned her gaze to Somnu, her fists clenched tight and her teeth grinding against each other. “He killed… Benji…!”

  Then, before she realized it, her knee touched the ground.

  “Easy, Lulu… That’s not… his main… body…” Mathros tried to resist, flexing his lizardman muscles, but he was ultimately brought to a knee himself.

  “What’s… going on?” Carmella chimed in, dropping to all fours not far from Somnu.

  The glows and glitter around her body indicated attempts at an escape, but none of them worked.

  “What do you say?” Somnu, being the only one barely standing, urged his enemy to reach a decision.

  “Alright! I’ve thought about it!” John Doe cheered, opening Henry’s arms wide. “I won’t make it so easy! If you can’t survive this, you’re not worthy to fight me directly!”

  “If I die here-”

  “Don’t get the wrong idea!” The murderer cut Somnu off with a click of Henry’s tongue. “I’ve got plenty of toys to play with until you find me! You and I, we’re connected, there is no way you would die here and leave me hanging!”

  “Don’t make me kill another person just to get rid of you, leave.” The scarecrow said with a twitch of his empty eye sockets.

  “That’s no fun! I’ll at least take one of your friends for now…” Henry’s head darted left and right, studying each of the allies surrounding Somnu. “Hmmm! Yes, we got four females and one male! Let’s even those numbers a bit!”

  “No!” Somnu quickly canceled the summoning of both Fala and Naga, the panic in his voice made sure they wouldn’t summon themselves back without his order. “Focus on me, we’ll do this, just you and me.”

  While Henry’s chin was being stroked, Lulu and Mathros furrowed their brows. In the meantime, Carmella sent another wave of glitter and rejuvenation to Somnu, who, despite being unable to see her, gave her a faint smile for the gesture.

  “You can’t use a single skill right now, I can tell from the lack of blood in your body. The only reason you’re still standing is because you lost too much of it.” John Doe explained, then pointed directly at Lulu and Carmella and scoffed. “You know how easy it is for me to kill all of you now? But I’ll be generous. Choose one.”

  “!”

  “What are you-?”

  “I’ll give you two choices! Decide who lives on and who dies!” The murderer stretched Henry’s lips into a wide, eerie grin. “Even if you just met Carmella here, you still didn’t want her dead. But, do you care so much for her that you’d choose her over this other female bunny, or will you change your mind now?”

  “...” Somnu gritted his bloodied teeth, the taste of metal still strong on his tongue. Despite that taste, and the lightheadedness his head was experiencing, a rush of pure rage jolted his body awake. “How long are you going to keep playing with other people’s lives?!”

  “Until you can stop me. Duh.” John Doe used Henry’s shoulders to shrug nonchalantly. “Whether it's here, the waking world, or at the fort, I’ll keep enjoying myself to the fullest until you can find me. If you don’t like it, you better hurry!”

  “Why not just tell me where you are then if you’re so eager?!” Somnu cried out, taking another step forward. The back part of his hood sank behind him, his sleeves began to slowly disappear. “Tell me where you are and I’ll make my way to you right now! I’ll even run naked there if that sweetens the deal!”

  “What?” Even John Doe seemed taken aback by that last part, then sneered. “I didn’t know you were a pervert, that’s news! I guess it makes sense considering how you fought last time we met! We might not be so different you and I-”

  “Can it! Just tell me where you’re at!”

  “No can do. You’re a fan of puzzles, aren’t you? There were so many in your home, after all.” The murderer tilted his head slightly upwards, looking at the indifferent sky in the distance. “Try to find me then.”

  “At least a hint-”

  “Stop dragging this out, I’m getting bored!” John Doe suddenly shouted, his tone changing. “I gave you two choices, choose one! The bunny girl or the human girl?! I guess the bunny is an animal, maybe you don’t care that much. While this one here…” Henry’s feet took a few steps in Carmella’s direction. “Does she look a little like your mother? Is that why you saved her? No… never mind, I can’t remember much about that boring woman…”

  “...” Somnu clenched his fists enough to draw blood from his right palm. The sound of his teeth grinding against each other took over the silence.

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  “If you won’t answer, I’ll kill them both. I guess that’s your third option? Are you happy now?” John Doe snickered.

  “You know, I think I’ll go with a fourth option after all.”

  “?” Henry’s pupils, now surrounded by crimson, constricted suddenly. “Why are you fully naked now? You really are a pervert, huh?”

  “See you soon, asshole.” The punk scarecrow proclaimed, having cheated once more.

  “What?!”

  “?!”

  Everyone’s eyes quickly widened, seeing Henry’s tie suddenly transform into Grudgekeeper, stretching, enveloping and fully biting down on his head.

  “How…?!”

  “I had an inkling you would show yourself. You said you laid traps for me everywhere, had multiple pawns just waiting for me to appear.” Somnu walked towards Henry’s body as it glowed multiple colors from within Grudgekeeper’s prison. “For Henry to show up so soon after we left the cave, and from the direction of the fort, it seemed highly likely you were behind it.”

  “Hahaha! How great! How nice!”

  “Laugh all you want, it’s only a matter of time now.” Using Fala’s vision as she landed on his shoulders once more, Somnu looked down at the murderer as Henry’s body dropped to its knees.

  As Henry went to raise his arms, Naga appeared again and restricted him in place. The fact was, Somnu had only canceled their summoning for a moment, but the disappearance of all clones at the same time acted as a perfect cover.

  Even the four henchmen had been freed from their restraints, but they didn’t seem to move to attack anymore.

  Needless to say, the scarecrow had continued to rely on his familiar’s vision to see everything, and he had waited for the right time to execute his last contingency.

  While Naga had restrained Henry the first time, part of Grudgekeeper had already snuck into the bulky man’s outfit, ate his tie whole, then replaced it. That had been Henry’s Dream Catcher, which ultimately weakened him even further.

  In his panic, he had believed the serpents were too strong for him, when in fact, the red tie that was supplying him with power, disappeared. He must have not even looked at any System messages either.

  Either way, during the conversation with John Doe, Somnu had slowly relocated Grudgekeeper starting from behind, then made a point about running naked to shift the murderer’s focus. Thankfully, the Bloodfiend was easily influenced, having believed he had the upper hand.

  Now, although never perfect, Somnu’s plans had reached an end. He turned Carmella to his side, beat Henry and his patron, and most importantly, protected all the ones he cared about.

  Losing two eyes in comparison didn’t seem that bad.

  “Hahaha! To think you would so easily kill now! Lying, cheating, taking lives! Perhaps it’s your nature too!” John Doe laughed, despite the blood oozing out of Grudgekeeper.

  “I didn’t want to kill Almon…” Somnu lowered his head. “But if it's someone like you, a murderer who kills without a second thought for other people’s precious lives…”

  “Yes? Say it!”

  “Then, I don’t care. I’ll kill you.”

  “Hahaha! How nice! How delightful! I’ll be waiting! This pain… I’ll look forward to it!”

  “...”

  Just like that, the body inside Grudgekeeper fell motionless to the ground. This time, it would not be coming back. Not even rapid regeneration would have saved it from a never-ending appetite. Even the four headless henchmen lost their livelihood and became empty husks once more.

  “!”

  “We’re free…”

  “Dammit!”

  Carmella, Mathros and Lulu all stood up, their strength returning to their bodies as their blood regained its normal weight.

  ““Master?””

  Fala and Naga both noticed Somnu’s silence and while the one nudge his face from the side, the other crawled around his body again to match the other cheek.

  “It’s nothing…” The scarecrow raised his arms and patted both his familiars for a moment, then pushed them closer to his face. “You two did good. Thank you.”

  “W-what’s this, master?! Is this the praise I was promised?! Is it starting?! Hiss!”

  “Caaw! You’re still going on about that, skank?”

  Somnu curled the corners of his lips into another faint smile. The truth was, he was savoring the moment with them for a single reason.

  He had killed someone, which only meant a punishment was on its way. He had no chance of knowing how long he wouldn’t be able to see his familiars or rely on their visions.

  Soon, his world would become dark.

  “You all did good.”

  Nevertheless, he raised his head and relying on his familiars’ visions for a bit longer, he looked at his comrades.

  “Anything for you, dear.”

  “...”

  While Carmella returned the smile and stepped closer, Lulu and Mathros seemed to have too much on their minds to say anything.

  Well, at least not about what Somnu was implying.

  “Somnu! Get away from her! I’m killing her right here too!”

  “?!”

  Lulu jumped in, standing between Somnu and Carmella, alerting everyone.

  “Wait-”

  “No! She’s a killer too, right? She killed innocent people! And she might turn on us at any moment!” The bunny girl dug her feet in the ground, preparing to leap forward.

  “Stop! I’m pregnant!”

  ““Huh?!””

  Hearing the lady’s plea, everyone suddenly turned their heads to Somnu, even his familiars.

  Considering his vision was still synchronizing with Fala’s, he was looking at himself too, making the whole ordeal even more awkward.

  “Eh?”