"Group hugs are always the best way to refill your spirit!" I cheered with both arms outstretched.
Ronald nodded in agreement while Rona poked at the emotionally-dead Isaac, who sat stiffly with blank eyes, muttering like a broken machine.
"Blood… Sticky… Disgusting…"
I stared at the group, something bugging me.
Hmm… something's off.
Their faces were pale. Their fingers, coated in dirt and grime. Their breaths, heavy.
They look tired. Like… they've seen something worse than death.
"All four of us are here, right?" I counted silently. "Ah! There's four of us! Wait—what happened to Dan?"
I turned toward the still-mumbling Isaac and slapped his cheek without hesitation.
Smack!
"OW!!!" Isaac screamed, snapping out of his trance. "What was that for, you coo coo bird?!"
"Where's Dan, midget?"
Isaac clenched his fist, his eyebrow twitching. "M-Mi—No, wait. That's not important right now." He glanced around cautiously, then grabbed my wrist. "Come with me."
He pulled me into a dark corner of the corridor, away from Ronald and Rona.
"If that slap made you think this is the right mood to confess," I warned, "then you are soooo wrong."
"Shut up and listen," Isaac whispered sharply. "Dan isn't Dan. He's a Devo named Alma. One of Scorpion's underlings. He tried to kill me with a sword. If I hadn't dodged, I'd be bisected right now."
"…And who gave him the weapon?"
"How should I know he was going to use it on me?! Each of us got paired with a Devo before the maze started." He paused. "That means…"
Our eyes slowly turned toward Ronald, who was happily twirling Rona like a big brother at a picnic.
"…Ronald can't be a psycho killer," I muttered. "He's way too nice to Rona."
"Dan was nice too. Until he split himself in half and screamed, 'I am Devo Alma!'"
"…He cut himself in half?"
"Can you focus for just a minute?!"
"Alright, alright." I rolled my eyes. "So what do we do about Ronald?"
"We confront him. Subtly. We can't risk him snapping. If he is a Devo… he might hurt Rona."
"Fine. You do it."
Isaac nodded solemnly. Then screamed and pointed at Ronald:
"You murderer! Stay away from Rona!"
I blinked. "Oui… I forgot this bozo's overprotective."
"Way to be subtle," I groaned. "We're all going to die."
Ronald turned with a confused blink. "Murderer?"
Isaac marched up to him like a bratty knight. "We each got paired with a killer. Who says you aren't one too, huh?"
I reached out to yank him back. The last time he challenged Ronald, he got thrown like a stick. But Isaac slapped my hand away.
"Well? What are you going to do now? Kill us?"
I buried my face into my palms. Why did I let him be the negotiator? Since when did I become so stupid? Ever since I met Isaac? Someone give me a time machine!
Ronald stood still.
The air grew heavy.
Then… he smiled.
"Oh… Then, luckily, I pulled the boy away from Rona."
"Huh?" we both said.
"My partner was a girl," Ronald said. "But I wanted to talk to Rona. So I swapped places with the boy who was supposed to partner with her."
He scratched his cheek and blushed.
"We… can swap?" Isaac blinked.
"I guess so. You won't know unless you try."
"He's a genius!" I clapped. Ronald gave a shy nod.
Isaac narrowed his eyes. "And how do we know if he's telling the truth?"
I grinned. "I can smell a lie a mile away. He's clean. Let's move on."
"That's… not reassuring," Isaac muttered.
I smacked his back. "Suck it up."
Rona interrupted, twirling her finger. "Ronald can't fight females."
"Why?" I looked at Ronald.
"I just can't. It's rude," he said, averting his eyes.
"Oui… So if she stabs you, you don't stab her back?"
Ronald stiffened. "No."
"You idiot!" I snapped. "Stab her back!"
"B-but—"
"Hush! You stab whoever stabs you. Guy, girl, ghost, gremlin. With interest, got it?! That's why there's a term called gender equality."
Isaac mumbled, "Wow, she actually said something sane. But wait... that's not how gender equality works, right? Is it? Ugh, being with her too long is frying my neurons."
Ronald tilted his head. "Interest? Are you a loan shark?"
"No," I grumbled.
"Then how do you know about interest?" Isaac snorted. "With your pea brain, I doubt—"
I cut him off. "My teacher told me: when you sell something, add interest. No interest, no profit."
"…And how does that apply here?"
"Revenge with interest, bruh."
Ronald looked even more confused and turned to Isaac for help. Isaac just shook his head.
"No one understands what goes on in that empty cranium."
"I heard that!!" I screamed.
Rona patted me. "Don't be mad, Llyne. Rona understands."
Isaac cleared his throat. "Let's stop wasting time and move."
I smirked. "He just can't insult Rona."
"Hm? What did you say?" Rona tilted her head.
"Oh, nothing important." I ruffled her hair.
Then I reached behind me and handed out weapons. Isaac took the gun and asked, "Where are you getting all this gear? I haven't seen any chests on the fourth floor."
I equipped my twin swords. "Nah. I just loot the monsters. Like in those RPGs—you grind, they drop gear. Simple."
The group looked at the literal mountain of weapons on my back, then stepped back.
"…Why do you all look like you're scared of me?"
They shook their heads and walked ahead.
Soon, we reached the center of the maze—a wide-open space shrouded in gloom.
Our clothes were stained in monster blood, our steps sluggish from the endless swarms. Isaac collapsed on the ground and muttered, "How does this jinx attract so many monsters?"
"Oh! That was fast. Good boy." I patted Isaac's head with a grin.
He smacked my hand away like a grumpy cat. "Don't treat me like a dog."
I rubbed my poor, smacked hand. "You're more like a fickle cat than a dog anyway."
"Blu…" Even tiny slime agreed with a soft hop.
Then Rona pointed forward, eyes gleaming. "Lookey, a pretty building."
At the center of the maze was a lone structure—half gazebo, half throne. A strange man sat casually at a round table, sipping tea from fine porcelain. His massive sword, nearly identical to the one Dan had used, leaned against the wall. The air around him was calm—too calm.
"That's Alma," Isaac said as he stood, his voice hard. "Be careful. He claims he's the strongest Devo."
"Pfft… Claims himself? He can be the weakest for all we know." I scoffed, twirling my twin swords in hand. Even tiny slime bounced in agreement. "Blu!"
But Isaac's face remained grim. "Just be careful. We don't know what he's capable of."
As we approached the patio, a warm, fragrant scent wafted into the air.
"Earl Grey tea! My favorite!" I inhaled with delight.
Smack.
"Focus, dumbo." Isaac glared at me.
The man placed his cup down with a dainty clink and smiled. "That's right, it's Earl Grey. Would you like some?"
He poured a second cup and nudged it toward us. His eyes were closed, lips curled upward like a host greeting old friends rather than enemies.
"Here. I hope you like it."
Rona was already on the move. "Rona would like to try!"
"Rona, wait—!" But it was too late.
She picked up the cup, took a dainty sip, and immediately spat it out. "Blergh! I don't like Err Grey."
I corrected her, sighing. "It's Earl. E-A-R-L."
Rona nodded and skipped back to Ronald, who caught her and kept her close.
Alma rose, brushing dust from his pure white coat. The way he moved—smooth, practiced, wrong—made my skin crawl. His smile didn't reach his eyes.
He walked down from the patio, arms wide as if welcoming a reunion. "I'm happy that we're all together again. I miss you all every second. The thought of being separated tears my heart into a million pieces."
Ronald stepped protectively in front of Rona, who hissed like a cat. I shrugged. This creep had main villain monologue energy.
Isaac, on the other hand, was fuming. "Hypocrite. We know your real identity. Just drop the act already."
Alma sighed like a disappointed lover. "Oh, I'm so disappointed in you, Isaac. How could you leave me to fend off that monster all by myself, hmm?"
"You clearly could handle it on your own."
"Still, it broke my heart. I thought maybe after I defeated it, we could share some quality time." He chuckled, the sound slithering like a serpent.
Isaac crossed his arms. "I don't want to waste my time on someone like you."
I rubbed my temples. "Oui… Seriously? A love quarrel? Can't you two get a room?"
Ronald blinked. "Love spat? But they're both men."
Alma grinned. "Oh… Not to worry. I can become whatever gender—or form—you desire. In fact, I've had many experiences with different lifeforms. So you don't need to worry… about anything."
Ronald's face went pale. Rona narrowed her eyes and said, "You're a slime!"
Tiny slime jumped, startled. "Blu?!"
I shook my head. "Nope. He's not your mother."
Alma's eye twitched. "Slime…?"
And then it snapped.
WHOOSH—!
A gust of pressure exploded outward.
My danger instincts screamed. "WATCH O—!"
CRACK!