The purple energy traveled through her slime body, rewriting her shape...
She turned into a slime human instantly.
"What's happening?" She scanned her body.
"Am I... am I... really?" Her voice cracked.
Slime melted from her body, revealing soft skin beneath the jelly.
The air brushed against her skin almost painful.
It froze her.
Not like ice, but her veins pumped harder and faster.
Every breath froze her throat, her heartbeat raced.
She sat, her hands covering her figure, protecting herself from the air that no longer felt passive.
She hiccupped, tears still visible on her cheeks.
"I am alone." Her head hid in her hands once again.
"All alone," she added. "I don't want to see Denu now."
She sniffed.
Another portal opened beside her and took the letter with it.
"Who is behind this?" She didn't move. She didn't react. Just sat there, all alone.
She hid her face in her knees once again.
Silence stretched, almost uncomfortable.
Footsteps echoed there. She didn't react.
They got closer and closer.
"Hey, girl. Why are you naked here?" A familiar voice called her.
She lifted her head. Tears fell down; she cried.
"Denu!!" She cried louder.
Denu was almost taken aback by her reaction.
"Why are you crying? Did I do something?" He panicked.
He took off his coat and covered her with it.
"Take this," he added.
She tensed as the fabric of the coat touched her bare skin.
"You didn't recognise me," she said, not looking into his eyes. "Of course you didn't."
"Hmm?" He tilted his head. "Have we met before?"
She didn't reply immediately.
"I don't know." She curled further into herself.
Suddenly,
screams came out from inside the buildings almost abnormal.
They pulled Belly's and Denu's attention.
"Stay here." Denu ran forward.
"Perhaps I lost my ability too. They all got their control back," she whispered.
Denu arrived back to her, clothes in his hands, blood dripping from his fists, but it wasn't from an injury.
"Why are you doing this?" Belly narrowed her gaze.
"You seem in control, and I can't leave someone dying here. After all, I am the Ruler of Light." He handed her the clothes.
"Flexing? Could you give me some privacy?" She shook her hand, like moving something in mid-air.
"Sure." He ran inside the city.
People were trying to kill each other in their half-naked forms. Some grabbed knives; their expressions were pure rage and disgust. Dead bodies fell around. Some sat there crying.
Denu's gaze hardened.
"Time to clean up. Try not to kill anyone." He moved, almost abnormally.
Before they could realize,
his hands and their necks met, sending an electric pause through their bodies.
"Done." He was already far away.
He turned behind, all of them were falling unconscious.
Belly's loud cry reached Denu's ears.
"What's with her now?" Denu rushed toward her direction.
Somewhere else,
in the dark night, a few figures ran; footsteps echoed all over the area. Moonlight spread through the forest.
Akarum and Kashime came into view.
"We are almost there," Kashime whispered.
"I didn't murder any pond kid. It was a mistake," Akarum thought.
The wind was so quiet that it felt unnatural. Akarum, trailing behind, was trying to catch up with Kashime's pace even though his legs refused to push forward.Hours passed, the night became darker, but the moonlight didn't fade.
Massive gates rose in the distance.
Their legs stopped.
"So, it's the Light's Mansion." His breath was even and steady.
They moved forward; the guards stood there, flanking the massive, simple brown gates.
"Greetings, Miss Kashime." The guard on the right side bowed his head.
"How can we help you?" he added.
"I wanna meet Denu," Kashime requested.
How could she call the Ruler by his name? Akarum glaced at Kashime.
And no one even bothers to correct her.
"My Ruler isn't present yet," the guard on the left side replied.
"But My Majesty is inside. Perhaps she could help you." His voice was respectful.
"Yeah. Open them," Kashime ordered.
They moved to push the gates, giving their all; their arms trembled. They pushed the gates inward just enough to enter, but not fully. They were already breathless.
Kashime entered inside. Akarum followed her lead.
Green grass brushed against their skin, almost softly, like tickling.
Akarum's gaze drifted to a stage on the right side with chairs well placed in front of it.
Kashime turned left; her gaze focused on the brick path.
A large building stood ahead, and a white flag with a yellow bolt in the middle of it danced on top of it. Guards stood up there, their eyes alert, scanning for any kind of danger.
They pushed their legs to the doors of the building. A water fountain in the middle of the path stood; cold water fell from it. Its sound filled the area.
Kashime knocked.
"Coming." A loud voice came from inside.
"Try to behave around his sister," Kashime warned Akarum.
Suddenly,
a maid opened the doors.
"Please." The maid stepped aside.
Kashime and Akarum's eyes landed on a woman who stood upstairs. She wore a red frock; she stared at them with her purple eyes, almost intensely, her hand resting on her wrist.
Kashime and Akarum stepped inside. The maid closed the doors behind them.
"Mio?" Kashime recognized the woman.
Mio rushed downstairs, spread her arms,
and hugged Kashime tightly almost painfully.
"Oh, my sweet Kashi." Mio's head rested against Kashime's chest. A wide smile on her face.
"Uh... it's... it's... Kashime." She tried to free herself from Mio's tight grip but failed.
In Beauty in Hollow, Denu carried Belly in his arms. She wore a regular outfit and light pink pajamas.
"You can't even wear clothes." His voice was slightly irritated.
Tears still fresh in her eyes had made dry paths on her soft cheeks.
She sniffed.
"It was weird. Like my body being broken into pieces." Her voice was almost similar to a lost puppy's. She didn't move to get more comfortable; she didn't.