Screams.
They erupted not from mouths, but from souls. One by one, the bandits, still on their knees, woke up.
Some wept. Some gasped in apologies. Others simply laughed—dry and broken—or thanked the Monster even as their fingers wrapped around the blades that hovered by their sides.
Why such acts...? Just because they heard it, they learned their sins and his kindness—how could they not thank him?
A final judgment so one more shall drown...
Everybody's death was almost kind.
Almost.
The world did not breathe under them, so neither should they.
No wind stirred the blood beneath their feet. No stars above dared shine on them.
For them, there was only the lake—crimson, glass-like—its still surface reflecting a figure too dark to be natural.
Monster...
There was—he was—the path right before them, laid bare. He was pure kindness.
And then—
One slashed the crimson blade through his own throat, whispering, "Forgive me…"
Another pressed it against her chest with a smile and a sob. "Thank you…"
Dozens fell.
Not by force.
But by truth.
It was washable, the weight of what they now remembered, what they saw. By the blood dripping from the blade—it was their own.
What they could now become. It was free. Being free—just like the moment of birth—pure and free of all sin.
Mercy clutched her arms, breath shallow, her skin pale. Her legs wanted to move—to run—but they didn't know where to go.
She was witnessing it. All of it.
The end of evil not by justice… but by 'honesty.' But that's just poetry—it was suicide. It was vengeance for even the ones who long since died.
Blood bloomed across the mirror lake. Everybody fell silently, not disturbing a single ripple.
Then one stood out—he remained.
William.
He stood up, stepped forward—not trembling, not afraid. His gaze was clear. As if something within him had finally been washed clean, as if he was finally content with everything.
Monster turned his gaze toward him. The world waited.
William's voice cracked but did not break.
"…Is this what it means? This… this is the end for those of sin? I believe your words, I saw that path... I also hope you will be able to walk down that path... but..."
What did he doubt...? His words trailed off...
Monster said nothing.
William smiled. A true smile.
Not bitter. Not forced. Something soft beneath the scars.
"Then… before I go. Just one last thing."
A breath.
"Vengeance."
Monster's head tilted.
"I want vengeance. Not just for me. But for… them. Against the ones who sold the girls. The ones who hunt for fun. The ones who laugh while they take everything. Let them feel it. Let them face it. All of it—as we did today. No, as they sinned that day!"
Monster stepped forward until his shadow draped over William like a veil.
"No need to ask."
His voice—like a funeral bell.
"They will be judged, all the same. By their own sins."
William's grin trembled. His voice broke with quiet laughter.
"…Thank you. Thank you for this chance. In the name of the people also, God of Vengeance."
He bowed his head.
Monster said nothing. It mattered none if they misunderstood who he was now... but maybe I had seen a slight movement at his lips...
And like the rest, William's hand did not hesitate.
The blade pierced his chest.
He fell.
And silence returned.
A long moment passed.
Then—
A voice.
Small.
Panicked.
"…I—I don't want to die… I can't…"
Monster turned slowly.
A boy. No older than fourteen. Barely taller than Mercy's shoulder. Dirt on his face, wide eyes, and hands shaking so hard they looked like leaves in a storm.
Mercy gasped. Her mouth opened, but no words came. She didn't know what Monster would do. She didn't know if he even could… be merciful.
Monster's steps echoed—too soft, too slow—across the lake of blood.
The boy fell backward, scrambling.
"I didn't! I—It was just for the money—I didn't kill—I didn't touch anyone—I just wanted to feed my sister—!"
Monster stopped before him.
His voice, quiet.
"You judged yourself."
"…?"
"You knew. You sinned. Not once. Not many. But enough. Your desperation… your guilt… it hurt more than enough. But sin is still sin. Very few are born evil. Most… just begin walking the same path you do now."
The boy's mouth opened, trembling.
"You needed coin. And so, you joined. You saw what they did. You looked away. Maybe you told yourself you couldn't stop them. Maybe you believed it. But still… you stayed."
A pause.
"Would your sister want to be fed with money that dripped blood?"
The boy froze.
Monster's voice softened—not warm, not kind, but… honest.
"William shielded you. Tried to remember his better self. That's why you are still so pure. Why you still stand here."
"…W-William…?"
"Do not disappoint his wish."
Tears. A full collapse. The boy's forehead hit the blood-solid ground.
"I—I'll change. I'll be better—I swear—I thank you, thank you—more than anything—!"
Monster knelt.
And he whispered, slowly:
"…Those eyes. I like those eyes."
The boy looked up, confused.
"I want them."
"…!?"
The boy's hands moved suddenly—too fast—rising to his own face, fingers shaking, aiming for his eyes—
BOOM. Monster's hand moved, and the blood itself froze mid-vibration.
The boy's hands stopped inches from his face.
"Not now. Not yet. I will come when your time to pass has truly come."
"…Ah…" The boy nodded slowly, dazed. "Y-Yes… I'll wait. Thank the… thank the God…"
Monster stood.
"Your sister… is waiting."
He raised one hand.
A soft ripple passed over the boy—like mist.
In a blink, he was gone.
And when his eyes opened again…
…he was standing before a small wooden door.
He hesitated.
Then pushed it open.
A warm light spilled out.
"Brother!"
Arms wrapped around his waist, small and trembling—but most of all, real.
He fell to his knees.
He wanted to ask if this was a dream.
But his fingers burned.
The pain in his eyes—he had almost torn them out.
No.
This wasn't a dream. He felt strange, but somehow it didn't matter as he embraced her.
...
Right after the boy vanished into nothing, as only Monster and Mercy remained.
Silence again.
The lake of blood lay still, just like the bodies.
Her hands trembled, her knees weak—but she stood. Barely.
The aftershocks of what she'd witnessed hadn't even begun to settle. Was she truly in the presence of a god? Was this even Liam—despite wearing his face.
Then—
A blur.
A hand around her throat.
She gasped, too stunned to scream. Her feet kicked, dangling off the ground.
Monster held her aloft with one arm—expressionless, eyes red and cold.
"L-Liam—" Mercy choked, "wake… up… please—"
His eyes narrowed, his grip tightening.
"You speak his name—he who died for you," he said, voice flat. "You… betrayer. I only promised to save her. Not to not kill her."
She clawed at his arm, tears streaking her cheeks, but no power came to her limbs—no control, only fear.
"Monster—" she rasped, a voice that wasn't quite hers, words she didn't even want to speak. "She is innocent…"
"I can revive her later." So cold. So blank.
What was this feeling of drowning... like her body was being pushed down, no not her body rather something was pushing her being deep down, into such a dark space, where only a smal light shone at the top, from where she could see the outside world, from where she heared the voice once again the one that still felt so familar yet also new.
"Cough… you… you would have… already..."
Mercy didn't meant to say that, and even more it felt like, she coud't move anymore or even speak, now just like an outside witnes.
The voice still spoke, it wanted to say it to continue, but hesitated... 'she' was not as cold as the 'others'—and such a gamble… to secrifce a life...
No reply.
Only pressure.
And then—
Snap.
Her body jerked—but not from Monster.
She twisted herself free mid-air. A burst of movement that did not belong to Mercy.
Monster's arm cracked sideways, his wrist torn from the angle.
He let go—not from mercy, but from physics.
She landed in a crouch, eyes flickering. The faint blue seemed more alive, her posture unnatural for the woman she wore.
Monster stood silent for a moment.
"You... got stronger..." he whispered as he looked at his arm snapping back together.
"Took you long enough to notice, I had time to adjust, and this body is nice, not as rigid as all the others we were." said the voice, clearly speaking from the mouth, though she now stood straight. Her voice, her stance—nothing like Mercy's.
"But thats not the point now so... Let me say this again... I am no betrayer. I did not betray us..."
Monster's head tilted.
"You left. You walked away. You hid. Your guilt... I feel it."
"Don't you dare say it like I chose this." The voice was sharp. "I woke up inside her. I didn't even know why. Or how. And when I realized where I was—she was dying... and... and..." His gaze, such a dark an uninterested gaze, like nothing could sway it, her voice easily got drowned by that gaze.
"You ran..."
"I woke up!" she snapped again. "I didn't even know where the others had gone. I was alone... I was alone..."
Her voice softened—almost. Tears forming in her eyes.
Monster stepped forward again, and the lake beneath them rippled.
"Tiana... You are outside. That's all that matters."
"You would've killed me if you believed I truly left... And you didn't."
Tiana's eyes glinted, like she was reaching at a last hope. "Why?"
Monster paused.
"You were hiding behind the girl... I couldn't see you. I could only see her."
"...!?
So... there are things even your power does not see..."
She let out a sigh of relief. She had almost doubted her own memories and mind after all. Monster sees all...
"And now? What do you see?"
A breath passed. Monster reached out with his will—not his hand.
The air tightened.
Tiana blinked once.
She muttered, "Go ahead. Search."
She stopped resisting—like she even could—and closed her eyes.
And the Monster... he saw... everything.
He saw it all—not just the source, but the moment, the confusion, the guilt, and the full truth. The decision to remain apart—not from hatred, not betrayal, or fear—but love.
Love of what she had adored all her life.
Love for the girl who would cease without her.
And love for the only man in her heart.
Monster exhaled.
"…You didn't leave."
"That's what I've been saying... When I woke up, I was inside the girl, and the last thing I remember before that... if my memory serves me right, it was the two of you asking us—all of us—to go to sleep...
Also, I didn't even know how to go back," Tiana said as her voice trailed off. "And after a while... maybe I wasn't sure if I wanted to."
The silence stretched.
Mercy's body trembled. The control was still not hers—but she felt everything, heard everything. This strange unease in Tiana... maybe that's why she didn't fight to take her body back.
The silence spread between them.
It was strange.
No threat.
No punishment.
Just quiet.
Monster's gaze lowered. His arms relaxed and he stepped back.
"…Then stay."
Tiana blinked. "What?"
"I said… stay. Here. There. If you wish."
Her lips parted—but no words came.
He had accepted it. Just like that.
This was strange. It felt wrong.
It was one of their core ideas—that none of them could leave, only in one way... but this wasn't such a way...
But then—
Monster's eyes twitched.
He took a step back.
Tiana froze.
"…What?" she asked, voice low. "What is it?"
He didn't answer.
His gaze shifted downward.
"…No. That's not right…"
His lips moved again.
"…But… it was trying to affect even me…"
Tiana also took a step back—but this might have been unintentional.
Her spine straightened. She felt that something was wrong with Monster after he look into her, but of the few times they had met, she didn't know if this was just another "normal" state.
But she could say nothing, because in that next moment…
Monster's pupils trembled.
His gaze dropped even lower—to the blood-soaked mirror beneath his feet.
His lips parted—but they didn't move.
Instead, the world grew still.
The red sea beneath him no longer shimmered with reflections. It froze—glassy and unmoving.
His voice was low.
Too low.
"I remember..."
He said it. Something she couldn't understand.
Her breath caught.
Mercy's body—even as it shouldn't be controlled, even through Tiana alone—it twitched with fear.
Monster never forgets.
So why would he say that?
"Ah…" he whispered.
Then—
A chuckle.
"Ahaha…"
Tiana flinched again.
'He's laughing?'
The laugh cracked like ice under pressure. It echoed across the living lake, louder than the drowning silence that rules it.
"Aha… ahahah… AHAHAHA!"
His arms spread wide, as if embracing the skyless heavens.