The tension in the cramped cellar grew heavier still as the gaunt man—the Script-Decipherer operative—dragged himself upright after the previous attack. Fury burned in his eyes, and his unnatural form shifted into an even more contorted stance.
"You think it's that easy to corner us?" he snarled in a raspy voice. "You sightless fools!"
Joseph and Charles stood side by side, keeping their eyes on the enemy. Meanwhile, Simon maintained his guard on the large mirror, refusing to let his attention slip.
"Sula'ira!" the emaciated man incanted. His body lunged forward at incredible speed, blurring toward Charles like a smeared shadow.
Charles tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough; the man's elbow smashed into his midsection, knocking him backward.
"Charles!" Joseph shouted, raising a hand. "Do not move!"
His command radiated out, but the wiry man bent at an impossible angle, slipping beyond the reach of Joseph's imposed law.
"Tara'sumal!" the man chanted again, and a shuddering force rippled through the room. The floor, walls—everything trembled. Everyone in the cellar lost their balance for a moment.
Charles seized that opening, channeling his own power. Instead of a physical blow, he aimed straight at the intruder's mind, forcing him to feel the pain he'd sustained from crashing into the wall earlier.
The thin man winced; his movements faltered for a heartbeat before he gritted his teeth and hissed, "Damn it! You damned Neuro-Melders…"
As he momentarily lost control, the slender man splayed his fingers by reflex. Invisible strands of power lashed out in chaotic arcs, wrapping around everyone in the room—including Simon, who was still desperately watching the mirror.
"No!" Joseph yelled as he saw Simon being forced to turn his head from the mirror. If Simon stopped looking at it, Edward, Professor Lawrence, and the others battling inside would be in grave danger.
Charles swiftly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, snapping it outward. In a flash, it transformed into a gleaming sword under the dim cellar light. He lunged toward the enemy, hoping to sever the power binding Simon.
"Hréoda!" the skeletal man shouted back, unleashing a shockwave that blasted Charles back. Charles staggered but managed to keep his grip on the sword.
Joseph took advantage of the distraction. "Do not move!" he commanded, conjuring new restraints around their foe. But the opponent contorted his limbs at grotesque angles, slipping free of the boundary Joseph set.
"Sula'ira!" The man chanted once more, dashing across the room in a spastic but lightning-fast burst. He shot directly toward Simon, who struggled against the invisible force drawing his gaze away from the mirror.
Charles knew full well they had to stop him before Simon's eyes left the mirror. Summoning his powers, Charles focused again on the man's mind, pushing a surge of pain into the villain's psyche.
The wiry man flinched, halting for an instant. It was long enough for Joseph to shout again, "Do not move!"
His rules enveloped the enemy once more, momentarily locking him in place, but the man's fingers still twitched, maintaining the phantom strings gripping Simon.
"Tara'sumal!" the man called, unleashing a fresh quake. The cellar walls rumbled violently, causing Joseph to stumble and break his concentration. Freed of Joseph's law, the gaunt figure roared:
"Hréoda!"
A burst of energy pulsed out in all directions, sending everyone flying apart. Simon, who had been holding out for so long, finally began losing control, his head forcibly turning away from the mirror.
"Damn it!" Charles spat, springing upright. He hurled himself at the skinny foe, sword raised to slash the threads controlling Simon. Yet his blade found only empty air, as if slicing through mist. Whatever intangible tether the man had was immune to physical cuts.
"Damn it all!" Charles growled, frustration darkening his face as his strike failed to bite into anything real.
A hollow laugh escaped the man's throat. "Worthless fool!"
He gave his fingers a subtle jerk, and Simon's head turned even farther from the mirror despite his struggle.
Joseph, back on his feet, cried out, "Simon! Don't look away from it!" His voice quivered as he thrust his palm forward. "Do not avert your eyes from the mirror!" A new law took hold, sweat trickling from Joseph's brow as he strained to hold it.
"How long can you keep fighting my power?" the wiry man rasped, twisting his body into another unnatural angle.
Charles swiftly assessed the dire scene. 'If I can't cut the threads… I'll go for the source!' he thought.
"Hréoda!" he bellowed, releasing a furious kinetic blast directly at their foe. But the man contorted himself again, knotted limbs twisting away.
"Too slow!" he sneered. "Sula'ira!" Bolts of speed crackled across his body, and he streaked toward Charles once more.
Charles raised his sword to parry, only to find the assailant had vanished in a blur. Instantly, a sharp elbow sank into his back.
"Gah!" Charles went sprawling. Pain radiated through his spine.
"Pay attention, halfwit," the intruder taunted. He flicked his fingers again, causing Simon to convulse. "Your friend is already losing this battle."
Joseph desperately tried to maintain the rule forcing Simon to keep watching the mirror, but sweat poured down his face, his body shaking from fatigue. The enemy's constant tug on Simon devoured Joseph's energy with every passing second.
Charles clenched his teeth and pushed himself upright, frantically searching for another way. 'If direct attacks won't work, I need another approach,' he thought.
Closing his eyes for the briefest moment, he opened them and unleashed his power toward Simon himself. The goal wasn't to harm but to sharpen Simon's focus, to make him fixate on the mirror above all else—nothing else existed in Simon's perception but that reflective surface.
"What…?" The gaunt man felt the sudden surge of mental resistance. Controlling Simon grew more difficult. "Damn it…!"
"Hréoda!" Joseph cried, generating a minor shockwave that shoved Charles aside. In that instant, Joseph once again declared, "Do not move!"
He shrank the area of effect, tightening his law around the tall man's body. Though pinned in place, the man's fingers still twitched, tugging on the invisible threads binding Simon.
"You really think this is enough to stop me?" The man smirked darkly. Though he couldn't budge his body, his unnatural ability remained active.
Charles tightened his grip on the sword, gauging the distance. He suddenly hurled it straight at the man's hands, letting it spin rapidly through the air.
The blade whirred at high velocity, aimed at the wiry man's fingers. Right then:
"Tara'sumal!" the man cried again, sending ripples of vibration outward despite being mostly immobilized. The sword's trajectory shifted from the quake, veering just past his hand and embedding into the wall behind him.
"Garanu!" Charles incanted, and the sword shimmered. It ripped free of the wall and shot back toward him.
The man's eyes widened. "Tara'sumal!" Another shockwave was launched in an attempt to knock the returning blade off course.
But Charles was ready. He guided the blade's path with his power, adjusting its angle mid-flight. The sword swerved around the trembling energy and zeroed in on the man's fingers again.
"Shit!" the slender man spat, unable to dodge while pinned by Joseph's law. He tried to wrench his hand aside, but his paralyzed body only moved fractions.
Thwack!
Steel sliced through flesh with a sickening crunch, and the man let out an agonized shriek. Two of his fingers fell to the floor, bright red blood splattering across the ground.
"Aaagh!" he howled. The invisible strands controlling Simon vanished the instant those digits were severed.
Joseph wasted no time. From the start of this battle, he hadn't been able to use his firearm—releasing his law to draw the gun would have freed their foe. Now, with the man momentarily stunned, Joseph seized his revolver from his coat, aiming it at the collapsed, writhing figure.
"Your time's up." His tone was glacial, finger settling on the trigger.
"You think… you've won?" the gaunt man rasped back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots reverberated through the cellar in rapid succession, each slamming into the man's frame—one in the left shoulder, one in his right chest, and one in the abdomen. Blood spilled in rivulets, and to Charles's alarm, a strange smile curved on the man's lips.
His body twitched violently, not with pain but with some unsettling spasm. Muscles spasmed, bones contorting at unnatural angles. A small, cylindrical object tumbled from his coat pocket, bouncing on the floor with a metallic clink. Its lid popped open, revealing a tiny, spinning figurine.
As soon as the lid lifted, a distorted lullaby began playing. The melody warped and eerie, a haunting series of notes that reverberated into the marrow of everyone present, rousing an indescribable sense of dread.
Charles immediately sensed the danger. A powerful force seemed to worm its way into his muscles, causing abrupt spasms. Arms and legs jerked in time with the grotesque tune, as if invisible puppeteer strings were jerking him about.
"What… the hell!" Charles roared, trying to fight the controlling force. But the more he resisted, the more excruciating it became.
Simon, still standing watch over the mirror, fell victim too. His limbs jerked around, knees twisting at angles a human body was never meant to achieve. He clenched his jaw, clinging to the last shred of his will to keep his gaze on the mirror, sweat dripping in large beads from the sheer effort.
The gangly man, ironically, was also caught in the box's power—but thanks to his aberrant physiology, it almost benefited him. He gave himself over to the unnatural dance, joints twisting as if he were a macabre marionette. A raspy laugh bubbled out as his body jerked and spasmed to the tune.
Joseph, already exhausted from using his abilities, felt an even stronger pull. His left leg began to bend in ways no human leg should—pain sliced through him as the foot twisted backward, bone and tendon straining.
"Nngh!" Joseph clenched his teeth, fighting the rising agony. The crack of bones and tearing of ligaments rang out. When his ankle forcibly rotated nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, the next shriek of pain burst from his lips.
"Arrgh!" His scream resonated in the cellar, sweat bathing his ashen face. His left leg was hideously contorted, the ankle bent the wrong way, the knee angled sideways. The sight was nauseating.
"This is only the beginning," the gaunt man rasped, voice crackling with dark glee. The warped lullaby continued, showing no sign of abating.
Charles heard Joseph's anguished cries. He tried to rush to help, but his own limbs flailed as though commanded by an amateur puppet master. His right arm jerked violently overhead, while the left was yanked sideways.
He clenched his teeth, fighting back, but realized only one solution remained. 'I've got to shut that damned music box!' he thought.
Forcing himself to focus, Charles latched onto the box with his mind. "Gara… nu…" he rasped, but the next moment his face twisted into an involuntary, ghastly grin that broke his concentration. He bit down hard on his lip, trying again.
"Garanu!" This time he succeeded in loosing the incantation, aiming his power not at the man but at the box. It trembled slightly, edging across the floor toward him.
But as it came closer, the lullaby's pitch escalated, hammering into Charles's skull. His body contorted more violently, joints snapping. Pain roared down his spine.
"I… refuse… to give in!" he growled, straining to drag the music box closer. Each slow inch it slid across the floor multiplied his agony. Sweat poured from his brow.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" the lean man cackled. "The more you fight, the more it'll shred you apart!"
By now, the box was halfway to Charles, but he was nearing his breaking point. Every muscle shrieked in torment, bones creaking under the unnatural tension. Yet he kept his gaze locked on the infernal device.
"Bastard…!" Charles spat the word in near-syllables. Again he commanded the box. It jostled a few more inches closer, but the lullaby's final notes stabbed into everyone's ears like needles. Charles felt his spine twist backward, tendons stretched beyond the brink.
"Aaaargh!" he howled, the sensation like a row of spikes tearing up each vertebra. The box was a mere hand's breadth away. Each second felt like a lifetime, his body on the verge of snapping in two.
Simon, still fixated on the mirror, let out a ragged moan. The contortions wracking his body grew more vicious. But he, too, refused to shift his focus, forcing his twisted legs to keep him upright.
"One more… inch…" Charles gasped. His fingertips brushed the box's edge at last. With the remains of his strength, he slammed the lid shut.
The twisted lullaby ceased abruptly, cutting off in a shrill clink. Instantly, the marionette control over their bodies dissolved, letting everyone drop in relief. Charles collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, drenched in sweat.
Yet Joseph did not squander that reprieve. Though his ankle was dislocated, he raised his revolver once more.
Bang! Bang!
Two shots thundered in the cramped cellar, shredding the gaunt man's thighs. He let out a tortured scream and toppled, blood pooling around his legs.
"Gahh!" The wiry man's howl reverberated against the walls. His twisted form spasmed as his power ebbed away.
Bang!
A final bullet tore through his left shoulder, wrenching another cry from him. He collapsed, groaning, blood seeping from multiple wounds. He would live, but he was in no shape to fight on.
"At last… done," Joseph said hoarsely, lowering the gun. His face was ashen, sweat streaming from the pain in his ruined ankle.
Charles pushed himself upright with a pained grunt. All his muscles screamed in protest from their forced contortions. "Are you all right?" he asked, gaze straying to Joseph's ankle—now grotesquely bent out of place.
"I'll live…" Joseph managed, forcing a tight grin despite the clear torment etched on his features. "But I guess… I'm going back to that hospital bed for a while…"