A pungent smell of blood had awakened Josh, and as soon as his eyes opened, a dreadful sight was revealed to him.
Scattered at the entrance hall of Lumbers Mansion were brutally slaughtered corpses. Severed heads of Martin, Bryce, and Nolly rolled out a few inches away from their bodies. Not far from those was a burnt corpse of a werewolf. It must be the remains of Miguel because Kenjo was still alive and trying to kill Sierra who was the only surviving member of her brutally slaughtered clan.
Thanks to her locket, Sierra was still unharmed. And thanks to her magic, Josh was still alive. The young girl was in tears but her outstretched arms were firm in strengthening the translucent yellowish light that was shielding her and the young werewolf from the evil Crimsonfang candidate. He was viciously hammering the magical protection, leaving dangerous cracks on it.
“DIE!!!” Kenjo angrily bellowed as his bloodstained claws finally shattered the shield standing between him and his prey.
Grateful that there was still strength left within his body, Josh got to his feet and dashed in front of his friend.
Everyone kept on jumping in front of Sierra to suffer the deadly blows that should be for her. They were all bigger and stronger than her. They could easily shove her out of the way. Even Josh became as huge as Kenjo and when the young werewolf leaped protectively in front of Sierra, the only thing she could do was watch her friend get stabbed in the chest by the repulsive claws of the evil Crimsonfang candidate.
“YOU!!!” the evil werewolf roared more furiously before slamming Josh down on the ground. His claws pierced deeper into the chest of the young werewolf. “I TOLD YOU TO STOP COPYING MY FORM!!!”
He aimed to sever the head of Josh, but Sierra quickly grabbed the muscular arm of Kenjo and use the only spell she could easily execute without uttering a single word. Wrath was the only thing she needed and, right at that moment, her fury was overflowing.
She was trying to use that spell right after witnessing how heartless Kenjo had beheaded the Darkwood contender but her family kept on interrupting and their words were powerful enough to make her necklace react and restrict her from using that forbidden spell.
Now that everyone from her family had already been killed by the disgusting werewolf, Sierra could finally use that deadly spell without any disruption.
Kenjo felt its danger the moment her hands locked on his arm and his voice trembled a little when he asked, “What are you doing?”
“What I’ve been wanting to do right after you killed Martin. I am taking your soul,” Sierra could not help but smile at the fear she sensed in the eyes of the evil werewolf. “You will die with us.”
“LET GO OF MY ARM!!!” Kenjo hastily pulled his claws from the chest of Josh but the latter grabbed it before the former could sever Sierra’s tiny arms.
“Sierra, please stop,” Josh weakly pleaded while the hole in his chest was surprisingly starting to mend on its own.
“No,” Sierra stubbornly refused. “I will only stop after I kill him.”
While securing the claws of Kenjo with his right hand, Josh grabbed one of Sierra’s wrist with his left, “You must keep your promise to your family. Let me do it.”
Sierra felt her energy being drained and only then had she fully comprehended how Josh managed to keep up and win over the seven experienced contenders, how he could suddenly transform and looked exactly like the werewolf form of Kenjo, and how his should-be-fatal wound was mending on its own.
“Forgive me for absorbing your energy, Sierra,” Josh effortlessly pulled her hands from the arm of Kenjo. “Kill me right after I’m done with this monster.”
Josh gathered enough energy from Sierra and Kenjo to heal his wound and stand on his hind legs. He faced the evil werewolf that was too weak to move and could only tremble in fear before him.
“Don’t be scared. I will not harm your body,” Josh grinned wickedly at Kenjo. “Your soul will be enough to appease everyone that you killed today. I think they will even feel glad that your soulless body will loiter around this forest for other monsters to eat, or lost souls might find your empty vessel as a suitable home, or they can use your useless body for other reasons,” the young werewolf looked thrilled as he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, whatever happens to your body, I bet that will be fun,” he followed those words with chilling laughter. “Your body might even live forever. Isn’t that what you wanted? You should be thankful instead of frightened.”
“Let go…” the horrified werewolf tried to free his arms from the strong grip of Josh but like Sierra whose energy had been drained, he could not successfully pull away to safety and, within only a few seconds, his soul had been completely absorbed by Josh.
Sierra relished that moment when the eyes of the monster who killed every member of her family became empty. But her elation only lasted for a few seconds.
After Kenjo dropped soulless on the ground, Josh approached the dead bodies nearest to him. They were the parents of Sierra.
All the corpses scattered at the entrance hall died only a few minutes ago. Their souls were still intact, and Josh was on his way to absorb all of it.
Her family did not lie to her. The spell had a terrible consequence. Josh consuming a wicked spirit had no doubt infected his own soul. Watching her friend ruthlessly devour souls from the fresh corpses, Sierra could not help but be reminded of the merciless killings Kenjo did a few minutes ago.
With her energy drained, Sierra could only close her eyes and use her soul to confront Josh. Fortunately, her friend was busy absorbing souls. Closing in on him was not that difficult. Her right hand penetrated the chest of the young werewolf without causing a wound. She steadily grabbed his heart and gripped it tight.
“Stop or I will kill you,” she bitterly threatened her friend. They had been repeatedly warned about the consequences of her curse. They were both ready to accept it and die because of it.
Surprisingly, Josh stopped devouring souls and glanced at Sierra. His eyes were in tears and filled with remorse.
“Sierra…” he seemed to be in great pain when he breathed those words, “Kill me… while I can still… stop myself… please…”
“Kill my son and your body will surely die with him.”
The protection spell around the mansion must have weakened at the annihilation of nearly every member of the Lumbers Clan and it granted entrance to the wicked mother of Josh. She was pointing a dagger at the soulless body of Sierra. The edge of the blade was only a few inches from her chest.
“DO NOT HARM MY FRIEND!!!” Josh furiously roared and impulsively rushed towards his mother.
Sierra was shocked by the sudden movement of her friend that she could only let go of his heart when she felt his arteries snapped.
Josh managed to knock his mother out before she could stab Sierra to death. The wicked woman dropped motionless on the floor. Josh collapsed beside his mother while coughing out a lot of blood. Sierra was pulled back to her weakened body and all she could do was gaze regretfully at her friend.
“Josh… I’m sorry…” her tears began to pour endlessly. “This is all my fault. I should have listened to you right from the start…”
“This is not your fault,” Josh tried to get up and crawl towards Sierra. “I am the one to blame,” he coughed out more blood. “I killed them, Sierra. I killed them all.”
Sierra jerked awake with terrible pain in her chest and tears all over her face.
“Sierra, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Kate sat on the bed and gently stroked her back, helping her to calm down.
“I’ll get you a glass of water.”
“No, Ella,” Sierra finally managed to say despite her pouring tears and the tightness in her chest. “Stay here, please.”
“What happened? Why are you crying?” Ella also sat on the bed and held her hand.
“I…” Sierra hesitated then wept uncontrollably.
“It’s okay, Sierra,” Kate gave her a tight embrace while continuously stroking her back. “If you can’t say it, you don't have to force yourself. Just cry it all out.”
“It’s my past,” Sierra quietly blurted. She was still sobbing but not as hysterical as a few moments ago. “I remembered my past.”
“Is it that bad?” Ella stacked up the pillows so that Sierra could rest her back on it.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Sierra was feeling a bit better, thanks to her friends. “Where is Josh? I need to talk to him.”
“We cannot find him anywhere,” Kate answered.
“What happened to the two of you? We found you lying unconscious on the kitchen floor and Josh was nowhere to be found. Were you attacked by him?” Ella anxiously inquired.
“No,” Sierra sighed as she remembered stabbing Josh plenty of times. “I’ll go back to sleep. Please, don’t leave me alone in this room.”
“Okay,” Kate tapped her on the shoulder. “Sleep. We will stay here with you.”
“Let’s eat noodles when I wake up,” Sierra smiled weakly at her friends before closing her eyes.
As soon as her consciousness faded, her soul had drifted away from her body to search for Josh.
^#######################################^
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