Under Her Cursed Scythe

"No! I didn't plan to do anything to you. I only want to save you."

"He's lying…" Something whispered wickedly at the back of Alivia's mind.

"Stop pretending to be a sage!" Alivia burst with violence, "Let's have it! You can't accept it…Alivia Hestia, a bloody killer! Or... perhaps you have suspected me long in silence? Cuz why not? The gloomy, creepy introvert who lives in a haunted house with her lunatic mother. Anyone in the right mind would have suspected me, right? "

"I told you I never suspected, Alivia, because I know you have-"

"He's lying…" the husky voice repeated, weaving in between Joshua's words.

"Stop lying!" Alivia screamed at him and clapped her hands over her ears.

"No, I'm not...I just need more time to fully digest it, digest everything, Alivia. I..." Joshua tried to explain but none of his words reached into her ears anymore, for they were all suppressed by the husky voice in Alivia's mind.

"He despises you. He doesn't understand you, Alivia. He has disappointed you just like everyone else…kill him! Kill him!"

Alivia could now sense something else rising up inside, something other than shame, guilt and rage, a dark and evil force that felt so uncomfortable but still, tempting, swelling out from the ruby ring on her finger and spreading across her body like toxins as the husky voice grew louder and louder. It made her more indignant than ever, granting her the impulse to crush and smash everything before her eyes. The impulse grew so strong that the second she caught Joshua and the others off guard, she dropped on the ground and promptly grabbed Molly's golden dagger on the floor, held it up, like a pitcher striking a homerun and aimed it at Joshua, injecting all her negative emotions into that one single weapon.

"Joshua, look out!" Ming and Molly warned him simultaneously.

However, before Alivia could toss the dagger at Joshua, her movement was ceased and she loosened her grip on the hilt of the dagger, letting it clash with the hard surface. As confused as anyone else at that site, Alivia found herself being compelled to back off by the same force that urged her to pick up that dagger, as though the winding of a doll ended.

At the same time, she heard the voice chanting in a delightful tone. "You are finally ready!"

After that, she heeded the change of the dark mass within her. It was no longer just running through her body anymore, it was penetrating the core of her soul too and gradually eating up her mind...but she didn't bother to stop it.

"What on earth is going on with that Witch ?" Molly, being awestricken and confused by Alivia's dramatic changes, whipped her head at Joshua and inquired.

"Don't listen to him. I know what you truly desire and I can give you that if you let me in." The husky voice whispered into her ears. "I will give you whatever you want."

At those tempting words, Alivia, whose mind could no long process properly, muttered, "But I want to..."

"Don't…"

"What is it, Joshua? What's happening to the Witch?" Molly queried, eagerly.

But Joshua didn't answer her.

"It will give me what I truly desire…"

"Don't, Alivia. Don't listen to it. It can't give you what you want." said Joshua.

But it was too late. Alivia had made up her mind and the moment she closed her eyes and a single drop of clear fluid cascaded down her cheeks, she loosened the grip on herself and let herself go entirely.

She could instantly feel a sense of lightness as if something heavy was taken away from her and she was floating in the middle of the air, allowing the black mass to enfold her, control her and to drift her towards any direction it desired.

In the meantime, the black and unpleasant gas-that had filled up the gemstone of the ring-unfolded from it and covered Alivia's limbs with black marks. What's more, when her eyelids lifted again, they had already turned entirely yellow, covering both her whites and irises; and her face bore no life but just a look of vacancy.

"Its eyes-" Molly's skin prickled with terror the instant Alivia's yellow pupils bent on her. "Abz was right! A daemon was infested on it...a powerful one!" Then, she turned towards the direction where Joshua was at and cried, "Joshua, trap it! Trap the Witch now before it hurts anyone!"