Case #7-The Witch of the West Woods, Part 4

"Are you sure that you want to take me on all by yourself?" Crimson taunts. "You remember what happened last time, don't you?"

"Oh don't worry," Kardos replies as she activates the blade of her plasma sword and charges Crimson. "I'm prepared for you flames now, Devil Girl!"

"Hellfire Mace!" Crimson shouts as she invites her fists in Hellfire and charges Agent Kardos back. Crimson launches her fist outwards as Kardos swings her plasma sword towards the Devil, and the two attacks collide. The two women struggle against one another for a little while, until, much to Crimson's surprise, Kardos' human strength overpowers Crimson's own and knocks away her fists, extinguishing her Hellfire. Crimson's eyes widen as Kardos swings her plasma sword towards Crimson, who backflips out of the way to dodge.

"Not bad, eh?" Kardos smirks. "I guess I'm not lying when I tell people that I'm as strong as a Devil!"

"How…did you get so much stronger in such a short amount of time…?" Crimson asks.

"Not sure, but I don't care!" Kardos shouts as she charges Crimson again. "Conversation has no room in batte!"

Kardos slashes her plasma sword towards Crimson, who side-steps out of the way. Kardos' plasma sword slams into the ground, causing the ground to tremble as Crimson is knocked off balance. Using this opportunity, Kardos slashes Crimson across the chest with her plasma sword, drawing blood, then sweeps the Devil off of her feet.

"Hellfire Scream!" Crimson shouts as she ignites her hands in Hellfire then thrusts one towards Kardos from her place in the air, releasing a rush of Hell flames which Kardos just narrowly ducks under to dodge, but she's not swift enough. Crimson's flames singe the top of Kardos' shoulder and the side of her head, causing the Supernatural Investigator to wince in pain.

"And…Hellfire Pitch!" Crimson shouts as she opens up her second hand and lobs a fireball towards Kardos, which explodes against Kardos' stomach, causing her to gasp in pain as the wind is knocked out of her.

 Swiftly, Kardos scrambles back up to her feet and charges Crimson again, who ignites her fist in Hellfire then does the same. Once before one another, Kardos swings her plasma sword towards Crimson just as Crimson launches her flaming fist towards Kardos, embers flickering off of her attack. Just as before, the two attacks collide, Crimson's flaming fist and Kardos' plasma sword. Kardos then retracts her plasma sword before slashing it towards Crimson again, who counters by raising her knee and kicking the blade of Kardos' plasma sword, knocking it away, then kicking Kardos in the jaw, causing her to scramble backwards and clutch her mouth in a daze. Crimson then swiftly jumps up and cracks Kardos in the nose with a flaming punch, causing her head to violently snap backwards again. Kardos counters by swinging her plasma sword towards Crimson and slashing her across the chest. Crimson winces in pain as her wound erupts with blood.

"What's wrong, Devil Girl?" Kardos asks as she lands on the ground a couple of feet away from Crimson. "Your flames don't burn as hot as they did before."

"It's not that she's gotten stronger…" Crimson says to herself as she picks herself off of the ground. "-I've gotten weaker. I haven't been able to go to Hell since I've lost to Grim, and because of that, I've strayed from the source of my power, Hellfire. So until I can go back…I'm a shell of my former self."

"I don't buy that!" Kardos shouts as she charges Crimson. "Thanks to my defeat against you, I've gotten stronger, too! So use the power you used against the Reaper that day! And I'll snuff out your flames regardless!"

"It's true," Crimson replies as she dodges a swing from Kardos' plasma sword, and then another, followed by one more. "I am far weaker than when we first met. But you can't use your awakened plasma sword, so I still have the advantage."

Kardos pauses mid-swing. "Dammit…" she grunts. "It's still being repaired…"

"And one more thing-" Crimson continues as she chambers a fist and ignites it in Hellfire. "You didn't lose to me. You were able to deal more damage than anyone else could during that battle, and that's undeniable."

Kardos' eyes widen.

"So take pride in yourself!" Crimson shouts as she launches a flaming fist forwards, slamming it into Kardos' gut, causing the woman to double over and spit out a glob of blood. "Hellfire Mace!" Crimson shouts as Kardos is sent flying backwards due to the force of Crimson's attack.

"Dammit…" Kardos grunts as she lands on the ground on her back, her plasma sword falling out of her hands and retracting back into the handle. Kardos winces as she struggles to get up, but is unable too when Crimson places a knee on her chest, forcing her back down. Kardos stares up at the panting Crimson, as Crimson stares down at the bloody Kardos.

"Kill me…" Kardos manges to squeak out, causing Crimson's eyes to widen. "I lost to the same opponent twice, I have no use as a Supernatural Investigator."

"No," Crimson answers, and this time, Kardos' eyes widen.

"But why?!" She cries. "You're a Devil, aren't you?! Just kill me!"

"I've changed," Crimson replies. "All thanks to Zach Reaper, who your partner now is trying to kill." Kardos frowns. "Zach told me that I can live the life that I want, instead of what others want from me. So…from now on, I've vowed to walk my own path. And I don't know what happened to you that made you fall into this profession, but trust me, as someone who has killed hundreds, I can feel the apprehension in your swings. You're not made to fight." Kardos looks away from Crimson. "I was cast out of my home for losing. So my advice to you is don't throw your life away just because you lost. Because the people around you will still accept you, anyway." Crimson then lifts her knee off of Kardos and sits down on the blood-soaked grass next to her on her rear.

"What…are you doing…?" Kardos asks as she peers over at Crimson.

"I won, so our fight is over," Crimson answers. "And I chose not to kill you, so we're not enemies anymore."

"I see…" Kardos replies as she looks to the sky. "You know…you're really nice for a Devil."

"So I've been told," Crimson replies. "So I've been told."

***

"Dammit, get back here!" Agent Smith shouts as she savagely lobs plasma grenade after plasma grenade at Raiden and Evelyn, which explode every time they come in contact with the ground, causing the Earth to tremble, and also causing Raiden and Evelyn to tremble in fear.

"Evelyn, what the heck is chasing us?!" Raiden cries. "I can't look back now, or I'll die!"

"I'll tell you!" Evelyn answers as she turns and peers over her shoulder at their opponent, only to be met with the face of the seathing Agent Smith, who roars as she savagely launches another plasma grenade towards Raiden and Evelyn, which misses then explodes against the ground, causing Evelyn to flinch. "A monster!" She wails.

"Unfortunately, It looks like we won't be able to get out of this without a fight!" Raiden exclaims as he tosses the books into the air then spins around to face his opponent. Swiftly, Evelyn rushes over to the books and catches them. "Wait, she isn't a monster?" Raiden asks. "Evelyn…you do realize that this is a Supernatural Investigator, right? Which is even scarier!"

"I didn't mean it literally!" Evelyn snaps.

"GET BACK HERE!" Smith roars as she drops a plasma grenade behind her, which causes a rush of flames to explode behind her.

"Never mind, she is a monster!" Evelyn yelps.

"She's human, which means we can still defeat her!" Raiden exclaims as he brandishes his wind and spell book. Raiden begins flipping through his spellbook until he lands on a specific page. As he does so, Raiden waves his wand through the air, crackling with blue electricity. "Fulminis U-"

"EAT THIS!" Smith roars as she launches a plasma grenade towards Raiden before he can get his spell off, which explodes, sending Raiden flying backwards as he is caught in a rush of flames.

"Oh no, Raiden!" Evelyn cries.

"Darn…I'm too slow…" Raiden grunts from his place on the ground. His glasses have been knocked off and shattered to bits in the explosion.

"One down, one to go!" Smith cackles as she lobs a second plasma grenade into the air, this one towards Evelyn. Evelyn shrieks then spins around and begins running away, dropping the books in the process.

"Evelyn, your whip!" Raiden shouts.

"Oh, right!" Evelyn replies as she spins around the face of the plasma grenade, then draws her whip. "Wait a minute…I don't know how to use this!"

Before Evelyn can even react, Smith's plasma grenade smacks into her chest then explodes, sending Evelyn flying backwards as well, caught up in the rush of flames.

"Ahh…" Evelyn grunts as she lands on the ground on her back.

Smith is silent as she watches Raiden and Evelyn writhe on the ground in agony. This…is it…?" She asks. And then…a wide smile spreads across Smith's lips. "GHAHAHAHAHA!" Smith laughs. "PATHETIC! THIS is who the Reaper has hanging around him?! I'm surprised his bounty is this high if these are his employees!" Smith then spins around and begins wandering away. "Whatever, the weaker the better. Now I can focus on our true target…the Reaper."

"We're not…Zach's employees…" Raiden grunts as he slowly pushes himself off of the ground.

"Yeah, he doesn't even pay us!" Evelyn grunts as she struggles to push herself off of the ground as well.

"We're his friends!" Raiden answers as he stares down Smith.

"And we won't let you kill him!" Evelyn asks.

"Oh?" Smith asks as she turns and peers over her shoulder at Raiden and Evelyn. "But what is a slow-ass wizard and a regular human going to do against my bombs?"

"THIS!" Evelyn answers as she swings her whip towards Smith, but misses.

"Was…something supposed to happen?" Smith asks as she turns to face Evelyn and Raiden.

"Did you try to do something there?" Raiden asks as he peers up at Evelyn.

"I tried to grab one of her grenades…" Evelyn admits as she slumps down, looking defeated.

"You could have just said that!" Smith cackles as she lobs another grenade towards Evelyn and Raiden. "Here, eat one!"

The grenade explodes again, causing Evelyn and Raiden to howl in pain. But as the smoke settles, Smith's eyes widen as she sees that Evelyn and Raiden are still standing. "How are you still alive?!" Smith cries as the smile is washed off her face. "No one should be able to take the full brunt of my grandes and live!"

"Because Zach's counting on us!" Raiden answers as he aims his wand at Smith. "Fulminis Ure!" Raiden shouts as he fires off a blast of lightning, and Smith howls in pain as she's electrocuted by Raiden's attack. But, despite being shocked, Smith still manages to lob another grenade towards Evelyn once Raiden's attack lets up.

"Then I'll at least destroy your books!" Smith cackles. "I don't care about recruiting Circe Salem, all I Want to do is take the money on the Reaper's head!"

"Evelyn, look out!" Raiden cries as he spins around to face the pile of books. "She's trying to destroy the books we need to save Circe!"

"Quick, use a spell, Raiden!" Evelyn exclaims.

"I can't, I need time to charge up!" Raiden replies. "You need to do this, Evelyn!"

"Shit…" Evelyn softly says to herself as she watches the grenade fly towards the books. "But how…am I supposed to catch a moving target? I can't strike one that isn't moving?!" Evelyn's eyes then narrow. "No…I need to do this…I can't let Reaper's Paranormal down." Swiftly, Evelyn draws her whip and swings it towards the grende, and then, much to everyone's surprise, she snatches it out of the air.

"YES!" Raiden cheers.

"BUT HOW?!" Smith cries.

"Now send it back, Evelyn!" Raiden exclaims.

"Right!" Evelyn replies. And, with a battle cry, Evelyn swings her whip towards Smith, sending her grenade right back to where it came from. Smith's grenade then explodes, causing the Supernatural Investigator to howl in pain.

"I won't let you…DEFEAT ME!" Smith roars as she lobs one last grenade towards Evelyn and Raiden.

"Raiden, now it's your turn!" Evelny shouts.

"But how?!" Raiden cries. "My glasses were shattered, I can't read my spellbook!"

"Spellbook?" Evelyn spits. "You don't need that old thing anyway!"

Raiden's eyes widened. "You're right!" Raiden replies as he aims his wand at Smith. "I…am a Storm Wizard! My power…comes from the elements of nature!" Raiden closes his eyes as the wind arounds him begins to kick up. The sky darkens as clouds roll in, and as the rain begins to fall, Evelyn hears the nearby boom of thunder. Raiden opens his eyes again, and when he does his wand is crackling wihg blue electricity. "FULMINIS URE!" Raiden shouts as a powerful bolt of lightning blasts out of his wand, zapping Smith's grenade to ash as well as Smith herself, who howls in pain. Once Raiden's attack lets up, Smith falls to the ground, convulsing.

Evelyn and Raiden look at one another, both of their eyes wide in amazement.

"We…won…?" Evelyn asks.

"WE WON!" Raiden and Eveelyn then cheer as they leap into the air and hug one another.

"Now, let's go decipher these books!" Raiden says as he and Evelyn crouch down and begin scooping up Circe's spellbooks, but they pause when they hear a cough come from behind them, causing them to flinch.

"Dammit…" Smith grunts as Evelyn and Raiden turn around to see her cough of a cloud of smoke. "I really…needed that money…more than you kids could understand…"

"I'm sorry," Evelyn frowns. "But you dragged an innocent life into this mess when you targeted these books. We won't let you kill Zach, but we won't let you kill Circe, either."

And with that, Evelyn turns around and begins marching towards the library, with a proud Raiden in tow. Meanwhile, up above, the sky begins to clear.

***

"GET BACK HERE!" Agent Sniper roars as he fires plasma bullet after plasma bullet out of his dual revolvers towards Agent Gaumond, who struggles to dodge while running away and also carrying Zach.

"We're on the same side, man!" Gaumond cries. "It's my mission to kill the Reaper and I don't want to let the Chief down, so let me just do my job and you do yours!"

"NEVER!" Sniper roars as he fires off another duo of plasma bullets. "MY DUTY IS TO KILL THE REAPER, AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"Dammit, man, we're on the same team!" Gaumond shouts as he drops Zach to the ground before swiftly spinning around and drawing a small silver shaft with a button. Guamond presses the button, and a plasma shield extends out of the shaft which serves as a handle. Gaumond uses his plasma shield to block the bullets.

"We may work for the same Agency, but we are not on the same team…" Sniper growls as he fires off two more plasma bullets towards Guimond, who uses his shield to block.

"Your bullets are never too effective against my shield," Guamond smirks.

"Today they will be," Sniper growls back.

***

"AH!" I scream as I wake up and jumpt oy feet, punching whoever's standing in front of me. The person for me takes a horribly step forward in a daze, before falling face forwards to the ground.

"WH-WHAT HAPPENED?!" I cry as I frantically look back and forth. I then peer down at my feet. "Who…is this…?" I ask. I then look back, seeing Agent Sniper standing before me, his mouth ajar. "And what are you doing here?!"

"You took out my opponent, Reaper?!" Sniper snaps. "I was going to defeat Gaumond in order to hold one over his head!"

"How was I supposed to know that, I was asleep?!" I snap back. "And who the Hell is Gaumond?!"

"Agent Gaumond, the man you just knocked out!" Sniper replies

"Oh," I reply as I peer downwards,seeing that I'm standing right on top of this so- called Agent Gaumond's face. "Oh, sorry," I apologize as I take a step backwards. "So what's happening here."

"You're scary, Reaper," Sniper begins to say. "Woke up after inhaling poison lethal enough to kill a human in seconds after only a few minutes."

"Yeah, so?" I ask.

"The Supernatural Investigators are here," Sniper explains. "Not just me and Kardos, but another pair, too, Agent Smith, and Gaumond down there. Kardos and I have been tasked with claiming Circe Salem and recruiting her to join the agency, While Smith and Gaumond have been tasked with killing you. But instead…I'm here."

"You're just too obsessed with me, huh?" I sigh. I then perk back up. "So… you're no longer on the Reaper case?"

"No…" Sniper admits as he looks away in shame.

"How come?" I ask as I stifle my laughter.

"Because, I-" Sniper begins to say, but he pauses. "Wait, why am I telling this to you?!"

"YES!" I cheer as I throw my hands into the air. "No moooore…Agent Sniper!"

"Of course you won't see me anymore!" Sniper shouts as he aims his udal revolvers at me. "You won't be seeing anything anymore after I kill you here…"

"That's my line," I smirk as I draw my sickle-sword.

The fight between Agent Sniper and I starts off when Sniper fires off a volley of plasma bullets out of his revolver at me, which I dash to the side to dodge.

I continue running to the side to avoid Sniper's plasma bullets, but Sniper's revolver track my movements, firing off plasma bullet after plasma bullet.

After running to the side, I then dash towards Sniper, zig-zagging so that he can't follow my movements. Once I'm in front of Sniper, I raise my sickle-sword and slash it down, but Sniper counters by bringing one revolver up and blocking my balde. I raise my sickle-sword again before slamming it back down, but Sniper fires off a plasma bullet at my sickle-sword, changing the trajectory of my blade and causing my sickle-sword to miss, which clangs uselessly against the ground. Quickly, I raise my sickle-sword back up and slash it outwards, countering the plasma bullet that Sniper fired at me. Sniper attempts to fire off another plasma bullet, but with my free hand grab his revolver and force its barrel to the ground so that the plasma bullet can't hit me. Sniper shoots the ground.

Sniper then attempts to fire a plasma bullet with his second revolver, but I manage to knock that one out of the way as well. Sniper then fires plasma bullet after plasma bullet at me, but I manage to knock his revolvers away in time, though I'm unable to get a hit off on Sniper myself. After one of Sniper's plasma bullets manages to graze my cheek, I hop backwards.

"We've fought too many times now!" I taunt as I charge Sniper. "I've gotten used to your attack partners!"

"As have I!" Sniper shouts as he fires off another plasma bullet at me, which I leap over to dodge. As I begin falling to the ground, I swing my sickle-sword downwards towards Sniper, my Sniper side-steps my attack, causing my Stickle-Sword to miss as its blade pierces the ground again. I attempt to yank my sickle-sword out of the soil, but it's stuck.

"Perfect!" Sniper roars as he kicks me in the face, sending me stumbling backwards and forcing my hands off of my sickle-sword. I motion to grab my sickle- sword again, but Sniper fires off another volley of plasma bullets, forcing me to step back. "What are you going to do without your weapon, Reaper?" Sniper taunts. Sniper and I stare one another down for a moment, but then, I flinch. I motion to reach into my messenger bag, but before I can do so, Sniper fires, piercing my hand with a plasma bullet.

"Dammit," I grunt as I drop down to one knee, clutching my bleeding hand.

Swiftly, Sniper slides the cylinders out of his plasma revolvers and slides six bullets into each one, before snapping them shut. He's gotten pretty fast at reloading. Too fast. As Sniper reloads his revolvers, I swiftly reach into my messenger bag and pull out my soul, stuffing it down my throat and swallowing it. As Sniper aimrs his dual revolvers back at me, I stand up to face him.

"Swamp Monster Soul!" I shout as a burst of blue energy (the color of souls) explodes out of my body, which then changes into murky swamp water. We encountered so many Swamp Monsters while traversing through the West Woods and I've reaped so many of their souls that I can afford to lose two in one day.

"Water Bullet!" I shout as I bring my hands together, and a murky ball of swamp water begins to form between my webbed fingers. I then thrust my hands outwards, firing off my sphere of water towards Sniper. Sniper aims one of his revolvers at my Water Bullet, and -with a perfectly well-aimed shot- fires, piercing my Water bullet and causing it to explode when falling to the ground, sinking into the grass below.

"Water Bullet!" I shout again as I charge up then fire off a second sphere of water towards Sniper, who fires off a volley of plasma bullets back. Our two attacks collide, clash, then counter each other out. I fire off a volley of Water Bullets towards Sniper, who fires off a volley of plasma bullets towards me, and just as before, our two attacks cancel one another out.

Sniper and I continue clashing. I fire off a volley of water bullets towards Sniper who jumps to the side, firing off a few plasma bullets of his own before ducking behind a nearby tree for cover. I stand tall, firing off a few more water bullets until Sniper rolls out from behind the tree and fires off a few plasma bullets back, before ducking behind cover again.

Sniper and I continue firing, until one of Sniper's bullets manages to shoot me in the shoulder, causing me to stammer backwards and clutch my bleeding wound as my shot arm uselessly flops downwards.

As for Sniper, one of my water bullets manages to blast him in the chest, causing Sniper to spit up a glob of blood and force him out of his cover.

Sniper and I stare each other down, panting heavily.

"Dammit…" I grunt as I can feel the power of the swamp monster begin to fade. "If I use too many attacks, the power runs out much faster than when I used it earlier. Consuming two souls in one day…is never a good idea…"

"Give up, Reaper?" Sniper pants.

"No…" I pant. "Not when I still have this!"

Swiftly, I reach into my messenger bag and pull out a soul, holding it up for Sniper to see, causing his eyes to widen.

"We've fought dozens of times now, I know that eating two souls in one day is bad for your health," Sniper begins to say. "Eating three souls in one day…that could kill you!"

"So?" I ask with a sirk. "You're trying to kill me, anyway. What, were you faking it all these times? I hope your love life isn't the same…"

"SHUT UP!" Sniper shouts.

"Ah, so I struck a nerve?" I laugh.

"Me killing you is a lot different than me watching you kill yourself," Sniper explains. "It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I took your bounty after killing you in a weakened state. "As I said, we've fought dozens of times now…what makes this one any different?!"

"Because this time, you've threatened my friends," I reply as my smirk fades into a scowl. "Circe Salem…she's a nice girl. Too nice, she'll be wasted on you. I'm gonna recruit her to join Reaper's Paranormal before you can recruit her to join the Supernatural Investigators! I won't let another soul go tarnished by your wrath!"

Sniper's eyes widen.

"Plus…she's hot as Hell."

***

"We're here!" Raiden pants as he thrust the doors of the Landow Town library open.

"Finally!" Evelyn gasps as she and Raiden limp over to the nearest table (which does have a villager sitting there, but upon seeing the blood-soaked bodies of Raiden and Evelyn, they wince in fear then hustle away, leaving their books).

"Wizard boy…human girl…what happened to you?!" Cries Gary, who was taking shelter in the library from the multiple raging outside.

"We…won…" Evelyn answers as she flashes Gary a smirk while she and Raiden limp past him, before collapsing down at the table. Raiden and Evelyn then spread out the books, as Raiden frantically begins to flip through them, reading as fast as he can.

"What is he doing?" Gary asks.

"Zach found all of these books in Circe's cabin," Evelyn explains, causing Gary's eyes to widen. "We think that they hold the key to breaking the curse, but you guys couldn't understand it because you can't read Latin."

"I-I see…" Gary replies. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah," Evelyn answers as she turns to face Gary. "Get us some water."

***

"You made the biggest mistake when you dragged my friends into our mess!" I shout as I begin stuffing the soul into my mouth. "So to save them and Circe Salem as well…I'll kill myself if I have to!"

With a roar, I continue stuffing the soul down my throat, but before I can swallow it, Agent Sniper shouts: "NO!" Swiftly, he raises a revolver up and fires off a plasma bullet, which pierces the soul and shatters it to bits on the ground.

My eyes widen as I look down at the rotting soul then back up to Sniper. "What …was that for…?" I ask.

"I'm not going to let you kill yourself, Reaper," Sniper replies. "Because it's my goal to kill you."

"Oh?" I ask with a smirk. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Sniper hastily answers.

"Are you sure?" I tease.

"YES!" Sniper snaps. "Now shut up before I change my mind!"

"Zach, Zach!" I hear a voice call to me, and I look to where I hear the voice, seeing a blood-soaked Raiden and Evelyn rush over to me.

"Evelyn, Raiden, what happened to you?!" I cry.

"We won!" Evelyn answers with a smile, causing my eyes to widen. "We beat Agent Smith!" Evelyn then pats the whip hanging from her hips. "This thing came in handy!"

"Alright, you guys!" I cheer. "You two are badass!"

Evelyn and Raiden bump fists.

"Zach, we figured out how to break the curse!" Raiden continues. "Let's head over to Circe's cabin!"

"HUH?!" Sniper and simultaneously I cry as our eyes widen.

Sniper and I take one look at one another, then towards Circe's cabin off in the distance, and then, without another word, I kick Sniper in the balls as he socks in the jaw. And then, the two of us take off towards Circe's cabin.

"What…just happened…?" Evelyn asks as ehe pauses.

"They need me to break the curse, anyway," Raiden sighs as he turns around and begins jogging after Zach and Sniper. Evelyn does the same.

"Why are you following me?!" I shout as Sniper and I frantically try to shove one another to the side to gain the lead.

"You're the one following me!" Sniper snaps. "It's my mission to recruit Circe Salem, remember?!"

"Oh, so now you want to play that card?!" I sarcastically reply. "You were the one disobeying orders to kill me!"

"The situation has changed!" Sniper explains.

Sniper and I continue shoving another back and forth as we continue dahsing towards Circe's cabin. And as we do so, we pass by Crimson And Agent Kardos, why were sitting down in the grass having a chat.

"Kardos, what are you doing?!" Sniper barks as he turns over his shoulder to yell at his partner. "That's the enemy, kill her!"

"Ah, right!" Kardos cries as she jumps to her feet and grabs her plasma sword, swinging it towards Crimson.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Crimson cries as she counters with a flaming punch of her own. "We were having a moment!"

Sniper's distraction gives me the chance to take the lead. While he's busy shouting at Kardos, stick a leg out and trip Sniper. I keep running as I cackle maddly at Sniper, who falls to the ground.

"DAMMIT, REAPER!" Sniper shouts after me as I continue charging towards Circe's cabin.

Eventually, I reached Circe's cabin. I plunge directly into the poison gas surrounding the cabin as I make my way over to Circe. "Dammit, CIrce, I'm coming!" I cry as the poison fills my lungs. Finally, I reach Circe's cabin as I slam into it (literally), causing Circe to shriek from within. "I'm here, Circe!" I cry. But, before I can make it to the door, I collapse, gasping heavily for air. "Dammit…" I grunt. "Not again…"

***

"Oh, Zach, what are we ever going to do with you, or a foolish, head-strong leader?" Evelyn sighs from the distance with a shrug as she watches Zach desperately crawl towards Circe's cabin. "It's hard, being the most trustworthy members of the team, right, Raiden?" Evelyn laughs, but Raiden doesn't reply. "Raiden?" Evelyn peers down at Raiden, who's staring at Circe's cabin before them. And then, without another word, Raiden peels off his blue cloak and drops it to the ground, revealing his navy-blue body armor underneath.

"Woah, Raiden, trying to get into the moment, eh?" Evelyn recoils as her eyes widen. "I know that in order to break the curse you need…you know, but-"

"I'm going in," Raiden says, cutting Evelyn off.

"Raiden, are you sure?" Evelyn asks. "That could kill you!"

"I know," Raiden replies as he looks up at Evelyn and smiles. "Zach may be foolish and head strong, but he's brave and courageous, too. And I want to be like him."

"Yeah," Evelyn smiles back. "Me too."

Raiden turns and faces the cabin again as he takes a deep breath in…then out.

"Be careful, Raiden," Evelyn says. "But I know that doesn't mean much."

"I know," Raiden replies as he puffs out his cheeks and sucks in a gulp of air. "I will."

And then…Raiden plunges himself into the poison gas.

The very second that Raiden enters the poison gas, his eyes begin to water from the poisoning burning his eyes, and his chest begins to burn from the poison gas seeping into his lungs through his nose.

"Raiden!" Evelny cries as she watches the wizard collapse to the ground, writhing in pain.

But still, Raiden picks himself off of the ground and pushes on.

Raiden's aching muscles and burning lungs scream at him to stop, but Raiden doesn't listen. He continues trudging through the poison gas until he reaches Circe's cabin. And then, Raiden reaches the door.

"Rai…den…?" I weakly ask as I watch Raiden push the door to Circe's cabin, before collapsing face-first to the ground for good.

The moment Raiden enters Circe's cabin, he collapses to the ground, saliva, phlegm, and blood seeping down Raiden's chin as he desperately gasps for breath.

"Woah, who are you?!" Circe cries as she jumps out of her seat to greet her house guest. "I thought that Zach was coming, but oh well, at least I get to meet two people today! My name is Circe Salem, nice to meet-" Circe begins to say, but when she sees the state Raiden's in, she pauses. "Are…you okay…?"

"DON'T GIVE UP, RAIDEN!" Another voice croaks, and Circe looks to the doorway, seeing a blood-soaked Evelyn crawl through the door, then collapse half way into Circe's cabin.

"Is she…a friend of Zach's?" Circe asks, before peering down at Raiden. "And he is…Raiden?"

Circe's eyes widen. "They're going to die!" She cries. "I need the antidote!" Circe exclaims as she spins around and reaches for a green vial sitting on a shelf, but then, she pauses. "But none of my spells end up working…" Circe sadly says as she stares down at her feet. "Don't give up…" she whispers to herself. "Don't give up!" Circe repeats, louder this time as she looks up to the vial . "I can't give up now!" Circe exlcaims as she snatches the vial off of her shelf then crouches down next to Raiden. "Not when I'm so close to freedom!" Circe scoops Raiden's torso up then jams the vial into his mouth. "Drink up!" Circe exclaims as she tilts Raiden's head back , and the coarse, green liquid slithers down his throat.

Circe watches in anticipation as Raiden involuntarily swallows, but then… nothing happens.

"Oh no…" Circe whispers to herself. "Was I…too late…?"

But then, something amazing happens.

"ACK!" Raiden gags as his eyes shoot open and slaps the vile away from him. "That was disgusting-'' Raiden begins to say, but when he looks up, he pauses. "Oh… my…" he blushes.

"What, what is it?" Circe asks as she blushes as well.

"Nothing, I just didn't expect you to be so-" Raiden then cuts himself off as he scrambles up to his feet. "I'm Raiden, from Reaper's Paranormal, nice to meet you!"

"I"m Circe, from Landow Village!" Circe replies as she scrambles to her feet as well. "But you already knew that!"

"I'm here to break your curse!" Raiden exclaims, causing Circe's eyes to widen.

"Seriously?!" She cries. "But how?!"

"Um…" Raiden stammers as he sheepishly looks away. "I need to apologize, but we have to do something very…intimate in order to break your curse. Something that I've never done before…"

"Then so be it…" Circe sighs as she kneels down and begins to pull off a stocking.

"NO, NOT THAT!" Raiden cries as he covers his eyes.

"Oh?" Circe asks as she pulls her stocking back up. "Then what do we have to do?"

"We need to…to…to-t-t-t-t-" Raiden stammers, unable to say the word.

"Need to what?!" Circe cries. "I'll do anything for my freedom, even if I need to suck your di-"

"KISS!" Raiden shouts, cutting Circe off as his blush deepens. "We need to kiss!"

Circe is silent.

"Oh…my…" Circe says as she blushes as well. "I was worried that you were going to say something much worse."

Circe smirks as she takes a step towards Raiden.

"You mean you've-" Raiden begins to ask, but Circe cuts him off.

"No," Circe answers as she brushes her hair behind her ear and leans in close. "This is my first time, too."

And then…they kiss.

***

"ACK!" I cry as my eyes shoot open. "The poison knocked me out again?" Slowly, I push myself back up to my feet and look around. "I can breathe normally again…?" I then make my way into Circe's cabin, where I see a passed out Evelyn laying face-down halfway through the door. "What happened here…?" I ask as I stroll inside.

And then, when I see what's happening, my eyes widen.

Raiden and Circe are passionately making out in front of me.

"WOAH, Raiden!" I cheer. "You bagged a hottie!"

"ACK!" Raiden cries as he leaps away from Circe. "Zach, what are you doing here?!"

"I was here first," I reply.

"Sorry, Zach," Circe begins to say as she takes a seat and crosses her legs. "I know you said that you were going to save me, but I saved myself. And Raiden's help."

"So I get it," I smirk. "Raiden broke the curse, so Circe fell for him, eh?"

"Not exactly," Raiden replies with a bashful chuckle. "In order to break the spell …Circe needed a kiss from a wizard."

"Did it have to be for a couple of minutes and with tongue?" I laugh.

"N-no!" Raiden stammers.

"Then why didn't you tell me -or apparently Evelyn- that we couldn't do anything sooner?!" I snap.

"I would have but you ran off before I could say anything!" Raiden snaps back.

"The witch that cursed me made that the key to breaking the curse because she figured that no wizard would ever come here," CIrce explains.

"Oh, right!" I laugh. "So why didn't one of those old-ass wizards from the village just kiss Circe?"

"Oh, yuck!" Circe gags. "It had to be a kiss from an outsider!" Circe explains. "And on top of that, we wouldn't have known, anyway. None of us can read Latin. And there was no tongue!"

"I didn't need to know that," I gag.

"What happened…?" Evelyn grunts as she struggles to push herself up. I crouch down and help her.

"Raiden has a girlfriend!" I tease. "And a hot one!"

"The curse was lifted!" Raiden answers.

"Circe, Circe!" A voice cries, and we look to where we hear the voice, watching as the village Chief rushes over to us. The Chief pushes past Evelyn and I as she makes her way over to Circe.

"ACK!" Evelyn and I cry as we're shoved to the ground. Raiden laughs

"Mom!" Circe cries as she leaps over to the Chief, and they wrap each other in a tender embrace.

"Circe, Circe!" A second voice cries, and Gary steps over Evelyn and joins the group hug.

"ACK!" Ebelyn and I cry again, and Raiden laughs once more.

"No offense, Chief, but why are you here?" I ask as Evelyn and I help each other off of the ground. "Do you…usually get so cuddly with your villagers?"

"What are you talking about?" Circe asks. "What mother wouldn't hug their daughter in this situation?"

"MOTHER?!" Evelyn cries.

"Oh, sorry," Raiden replies with an awkward chuckle. "Zach and I sort of figured that out a while ago."

"But why didn't you tell us that you are Circe's mom?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow at the Chief.

"Just as I said, I'm not the sort of ruler that would make her subjects suffer," the Chief begins to explain. "If they knew that I had birthed Circe, then I would have been ostracized, and Circe would have been all alone."

"Sorry, old man, but why are you hugging me?" Circe then asks as she peers up at Gary. "No offense.

"I'm sorry that we never told you this," Gary begins to say, tears in his eyes. "But I…am your father!"

"FATHER?!" Evelyn, Raiden, and I cry.

"No kiddin'!" Circe exclaims. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Because then Gary would have been ostracized as well," the Chief explains.

"Well…all's well that ends well!" I laugh. "Case closed!"

"Yeah!" Circe smiles

***

After that…we celebrated.

The village Chief introduced Circe and Gary to the rest of the village, and although surprised, they accepted the two as members of their community. Once that was over with, the village Chief held a banquet in celebration, which Raiden, Evelyn, Crimson, and I were all invited too. We feasted like kings. I watched in amazement as Circe bounced from villager to villager, talking and socializing for hours. But mostly… she just wanted to talk to Raiden. I think something bloomed that night.

***

"Ohh…" Evelyn groans the next morning as she looks up to the sky.

"What's the matter?" I ask. "Your tummy hurts? 'Cause mine does."

"No…" Evelyn sighs. "I'm thinking of all the school and the assignments we missed. There goes my position as Student Council President…"

"I just wish that we could say bye to Circe…" Raiden frowns.

"What, you want to finish what you started?" I ask with a smirk as I jab Raiden in the ribs.

"No, I just feel bad leaving without saying anything…" Raiden replies.

"I know how you feel, but if we stayed until they woke up, then the village chief would force a reward into our hands, and I feel bad taking payment after we destroyed their village," I explain.

"But that wasn't us, it was the Supernatural Investigators," Evelyn exclaims. "Especially that Agent Smith…"

"But they wouldn't have attacked if we weren't here," I reply.

"I know…" Evelyn sighs.

"What's the matter, Crimson?" I ask as I turn to face the Devil, who's staring up at the sky in silence. "You've been quiet."

"I'm just…thinking…" Crimson answers.

"About…?" I ask, trying to lead Crimson on.

"Agent Kardos," she answers.

"What, you made a second female friend?" I ask.

"No," Crimson answers as she turns to face me, and I can see it in her eyes that she's upset, causing me to recoil. "I understand it for you and me, Zach, we were born into lives of combat and bloodshed, we had no choice. But for someone like Agent Kardos, where I can sense apprehension in her swings…what must happen to someone to make them enter a world of fighting?"

"I don't know," I answer with a frown. "I just don't know…"

"Hey, you guys!" A voice calls to us, and we turn around to where we heard the voice, seeing Circe standing at the edge of the village, waving to us. Behind her are Gary and the village Chief and the rest of the village. "Where are you going?" Circe asks as she jogs over to us.

"We're going home," I answered. "The case is over."

"But you didn't say goodbye…" Circe frowns, and I can tell that she's looking at Raiden.

"Saying goodbye…is difficult…" Raiden shamefully answers as he turns away from Circe.

"You left without taking your reward-" the village Chief begins to say as she makes her way over to us.

"No, ma'am, I can't accept the reward," I say as I hold a hand up. "We caused all of this damage to your property, and-"

"Oh, well that's good," the chief replies. "I wasn't going to give it to you anyway. We need it to repair our village."

"Oh…" I reply, matter-of-factly. "That's good."

"Just when I thought that you were about to change," Evelyn sighs. "Money grubber…"

"Will I…ever see you again…?" Circe asks.

"You will!" Raiden answers with a smile. "I don't know when, but one day you will"

"I see…" Circe sadly replies.

"See you later!" Raiden says as he turns around.

"See ya'..." Circe replies.

Circe watches in silent as Raiden as the rest of us begin walking intot he West Woods, but then, Circe shouts: "Wait!"

Raiden pausces and turns around. "Yeah?" He asks, causing my lips to curl up into a smirk.

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Circe shouts, causing our eyes to widen.

"That's why we left without saying goodbye!" I laugh as I look up to the sky. "Both Evelyn and Raiden begged me to let them join! I had a feeling that you would too, Circe, so I wanted to test your resolve! You passed, girl!"

"R-really…?" Circe stammers in her eyes widen. "I mean…yay!"

"But before I can officially let you join, we must go over the three rules that you have to abide by if you want to be an employee of Reaper's Paranormal!" I exclaim as I hold up three fingers. "First, is that I am your boss, and you will listen to everything I say!" I exclaim as I point to my first finger. "Second, is that if you reveal my secret identity…you're kicked out of Reaper's paranormal!" I exclaim as I point to my second finger. "And third-" I begin to say as I point to my final finger. "We're friends now, so just call me Zach!"

"Thanks, Zach!" Circe cheers.

"Circe, you can't be serious…" the village chief says as she hugs onto Gary tightly. "We didn't have any time together while you were growing up, and now that we finally have that opportunity, you want to leave?"

"Mom, dad…" Circe begins to say as she turns around to face her parents. "As much as I want to make up with you two as well, I've been cooped up in this village all my life. And now…I want to spread my wings and see the world!"

"I understand," the chief says as she wipes her eyes. "I had a feeling that you would want to leave as well. And I have no intention of stopping you. I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Mom…dad…" Circe begins to sob, as she leaps intot he arms of her parents, embracing each other once more.

The rest of us watch with sad smiles.

"Stay safe out there, Circe," Gary says as he breaks their hug. "It's a big, scary world out there."

"And come back to visit sometime, okay?" The chief asks.

"Bye, Circe!"

"Come back sometime, okay?"

"We'll miss you!"

The villagers cheer.

"Right!" Circe replies as she wipes her eyes. Circe then turns around and jogs over to the rest of us. "Well then…I'm off!" Circe exclaims as she turns and peers over her shoulder at her parents and rhe rest of the village and waves.

"Goodbye!" I call to the two.

"We'll visit again, sometime!" Evelyn cries.

"Sorry about your village…" Crimson apologizes.

"I'll keep Circe safe!" Raiden exclaims.

Gary nods at Raiden, and Raiden nods back. And then, with that touching moment behind us, the four, now five of us turn and face the West Woods.

"Well…we're off!" Circe cheers as she slings an arm around Raiden, causing the wizard to blush and tense up like a rock.

 "Hey, that's my line!" I snap, and Reaper's Paranormals begins to make our way through the now very safe West Woods, laughing all the way with a new member in tow.