Chapter 7: Spear Wielder

Aries was catching his breath when he reached the closed gate at the southern border of House Ram. Fortunately for him, the iron gate and the stone wall were covered with towering trees and rich bushes. It provided him a place to hide from those people that kept on calling his name, giving him things, and wishing for his speedy recovery.

He hated gaining a lot of attention. And it seemed that hell wanted him to suffer all the things that he despised.

"You looked pissed."

Aries looked up and saw a woman that was probably the same age as him. She was comfortably sitting on a sturdy branch and her right hand was gripping a spear with a dark purple blade. The color of her eyes was like an amethyst. Her pupils were sparkling but they were also giving Aries a dangerous vibe.

"Vermillion," he whispered and was a little amazed at how the crimson blade manifested in his right hand out of thin air..

"Ooohhh…" the girl was clearly mocking him. "It must be true," she vanished on top of the branch and reappeared in front of Aries with her spear raised and ready to strike him dead.

Aries wondered if he can still die. He lowered his sword and waited for the spear to pierce his head, but it did not come. He only felt something cold splattered on his forehead.

He opened his eyes and saw the tip of the spear splattering water on his forehead and the woman wielding it was laughing at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aries frowned at the woman. At one moment, he was ready to slice her body in half, but in the next second, something inside his head was forcing him to keep his sword pointed on the ground.

He hated it.

Hesitation could kill him.

But then again... I am already dead. I cannot die again. Right?

"Aries! She is Siorre!" Pieffer was running towards them and Sunrei trailed behind her.

"Hello," the spear-wielding woman waved her left hand at him. "The moment you stepped out of your house, I've been observing you," she squinted and leaned her face closer to him. "You cannot recognize anyone. That is the reason you were running away from your own people."

"I asked Quaria to tell you about his condition," Pieffer stood beside Aries.

"He cannot remember anything," Siorre reminded Pieffer and Sunrei. "Don't you think he should get his memories back before you stormed to the House of Lion for the second time? Or are you that eager to die?"

I'm already dead, Aries wanted to say but the words that came out of his mouth were, "If you are worried about my fighting skills then why don't we fight?"

I want to see if I can die again.

Pieffer sighed and rolled her eyes, "Fine. Do what you want."

She sat beside a tree and took one of the lunch boxes Miko had packed for them.

"Just don't kill each other," Sunrei sat beside Pieffer and opened another lunch box.

"Is that Miko's dishes?" Siorre was staring hungrily at the lunch boxes.

"You want to eat first?" Aries sneered.

"Of course," Siorre sat beside Pieffer and opened a lunch box. "Miko cooks so well. And I don't want to fight you. There are only five of us remaining. We should help each other out and focus on defeating those corrupted souls," she winked at Aries then started eating.

"As if you have a way to defeat those corrupted souls," Aries took one of the lunchboxes and settled beside a tree that was a few feet away from Pieffer, Sunrei, and Siorre.

"Tauren and Quaria are continuously looking for ways to send those corrupted souls to where they belong," Siorre pulled a bundle of bracelets and a few glowing vials from the pocket of her sleeveless purple overcoat. She gave them all to Pieffer and explained, "According to Tauren, the clean water from the House of Pitcher helped in creating those holy waters. But as of now, it will only work on weak corrupted spirits. Quaria said that clean water is not enough. It needs to be purified."

"The only person who can do that is Gin-Ren. But her house had fallen, and we don't know her whereabouts," Sunrei sighed in frustration.

"We need to find Leon as soon as we can," Pieffer put down her lunch box. It was already empty. "Are you guys ready?"

"Five more minutes," Siorre ate her food in silence.

Aries wanted to ask about their priorities but decided to keep his mouth busy with the food Miko had prepared for them.

It was not a lie. The food was so scrumptious that Aries kept on eating until there was no more food left. He wanted to eat more but all the lunch boxes had already been emptied. Pieffer looked like she was on a diet, but she had eaten more than the rest of them.

Aries smiled.

Shit. This hell is really getting into my head.

"Let's go," he was about to throw the lunch box on the ground but Siorre seized it away from his hands.

"Miko will look for this," she gave the lunch box to Pieffer.

"Here," Pieffer gave each of them three vials of holy water and different colored bracelets. "How do we use the holy water, Siorre?"

"Tauren said that a single spray should force the corrupted soul out of its vessel."

"Got it," Sunrei said.

"I think we should not go in big groups. We instantly attracted attention the last time we did that," Pieffer said. "And I think it will be faster to find Leon if we split into two groups. Siorre will go with me. Aries, you go with Sunrei. Let's meet at the Mane's Inn by midnight."

"Okay," Sunrei said while Aries nodded.

Though Aries wanted to say that Pieffer should go with him, he did not want anyone to misinterpret his intention, especially Pieffer. And even though he wanted to keep her safe, he also wanted to know if something will change in him once they parted.

Siorre also looked capable. She can protect Pieffer.

Damn. I am getting more and more involved in this hell's game.

"Aries, only you can open this gate," Sunrei pointed at the enormous iron gate a few meters away from them. The head of a ram was engraved at the center of it. "Tap it lightly with your sword. Another tap will close and lock it."

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Aries approached the gate and did as he was told. It opened with the slightest touch of his blade. They quietly passed through the gate and within only a few meters ahead of them was another closed gate with a head of a lion sculpted in the middle of it.

"How do we open that?" Aries asked after closing the gate behind them.

"We don't," Pieffer smiled nervously. "We will use the bracelet."

"We can use that anywhere, right?" Aries glared at Pieffer who nodded with an apologetic smile.

"We could have used it inside your mansion," she further explained. "But your people wanted to see if you are well. That is the reason we didn't use the bracelet. You needed to show them that you are okay."

"I think they now know that I don't remember any of them?" Aries was still glaring at Pieffer.

"Yes," Sunrei answered. "We explained it to them. But for your people, even without your memories, you are still their leader. They still believe in you. So, don't fail them."

Aries rolled her eyes and pulled the bracelets from the pocket of his overcoat, "What bracelet will we use?"

"This," she picked up the one with the red-orange color. "The last time we were inside, I managed to bury the bulb not far from this gate."

"How did you manage to enter that time?" Siorre asked the question that Aries had in mind.

"It was open," Pieffer simply answered. "They are already trying to enter the House of Ram but we managed to shove them back to the House of Lion. Even though I was expecting this gate to remain open, I still made sure that we have another way in."

"Leon is the only one who can open and close this gate," Siorre gazed hopefully at the lion crest on the closed gate. "I hope we find him tonight."

"We will go first," Sunrei grabbed Aries by his arm and broke the red-orange bracelet on the ground.

It transported them on the other side of the wall, beneath the tall trees and rich bushes.

"Follow me," Sunrei was moving stealthily behind the trees.

Aries was cautiously trailing behind him. At that moment, he was like the Sunrei he knew.

Will he reveal his true nature now that we are away from Pieffer?

"Stop," Sunrei whispered and pointed to where they had been transported a few moments ago.

Pieffer and Siorre appeared behind the tree through a silent explosion of blinding light. Those two had spotted Aries and Sunrei. They waved at them before traversing the opposite way.

"Let's go," Sunrei sneaked quietly from behind the trees and towards an empty alley.

The strange thing Aries noticed the moment they entered the House of Lion was the gloominess of the place. The sky over that land was dark as if it were already nighttime. When on the other side of the wall, the sun has yet to set.

"Don't talk to people unless you are sure that they are not being possessed."

"I know," Aries snapped at Sunrei. "Just tell me what this Leon looks like."

"His hair looks like a blazing flame. He is the only one who has that strange hairstyle," Sunrei paused when they heard a faint cry.

"Let's check it out," Sunrei rushed towards the source of that voice.

Aries followed suit but stopped when a child bumped into his abdomen. It was a boy that seemed to be as old as Matchi. He quickly pushed the boy away and searched for the vial in his pocket.

"Help… me… please…" the boy whispered while slouching on the ground. Aries could not see his face because he was always facing downwards, and his long and messy hair was covering his eyes.

But he could sense danger emanating from the boy. He was ready to spray the holy water but realized that he finally had the chance to end that game.

I am dead. So, what is the point in struggling? The game will be over once I die, and the devil will lose interest in this stupid game. It might make him angry, and finally start getting serious in tormenting me.

"Hey, boy. Kill me," Aries returned the holy water in his pocket and dropped the crimson blade on the ground.

The boy laughed, "So it is true. Aries from the House of Ram had gone crazy," he raised his head and revealed his pitch-black eyes. "Why will I give you an easy death? You've been such an infuriating pest since you've become a house leader. You should suffer."

"Make me suffer. I will not mind," Aries dropped on his knees with a smile. "Actually, that is what I really want. Do it. Torment me for eternity."

The boy squinted suspiciously at him, "What are you planning?" he pulled a knife from the back of his belt and slashed Aries at his chest.

"Come on, boy. You cannot kill anyone with this shallow cut," Aries grabbed the weapon hand of the child in frustration. "Pierce me…" his voice faded when he noticed that the hand he was holding was cold and trembling.

The boy was terrified.

"You… helped… Matchi…" the boy cried. "Why… won't you… save me… Am… I… not worth… saving?"

Shit. This is not happening. I am a killer. I don't save lives.

But why...

Aries pulled the holy water from his pocket and sprayed it on the boy.

"NO!!!" the boy bellowed in agony as black smoke seeped out of his body.

Aries seized his sword and slashed the smoke in half. As it floated away from him and the boy, more children approached Aries.

"This is crazy," Aries put the boy behind him. With a vial of holy water in his left hand and a sword in his right, he prepared himself for the swarm of possessed children.

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