"Monsters?" Hearing Lily's terrified whisper Claudia instantly called out to her. "Don't believe anything that comes out of that fiend's mouth Lily. You're not a monster."

However, the cultist leader laughed in amusement at those words. "Oh really? Then why do you think we had you undergo all these experiments?"

The experiments? She never truly understood their purpose, beyond the fact that they hurt... a lot at that as well. "Don't-" Claudia's words were however brutally interrupted by the cultist leader. "They were meant to transform you into ghouls!"

Lily shook her head violently. It were lies! All deception of these evil people! Claudia was right! She shouldn't listen to them! She was what they called an Athlas Elf! Sure, the was different from most of the elves but she certainly wasn't something like a monster...

However, it were the words that followed that were the more painful. "Especially you: Yes, you might look like a pure innocent little elven maiden, but we know of the powers that slumber inside you. You're nothing but an abomination."

Claudia suddenly broke into a lunge toward the cultist leader. "Don't talk about her like that scumbag!" A fist raised for the man's face...

WC: 200
Total WC: 200/1000

Yet it was an attack that never connected. No, instead the man revealed a small device in his hand, a button was pressed and a scream came from Claudia who collapsed onto the ground mid-motion. Lily worriedly ran over to her friend, glaring at the cultist leader as she yelled at him. "What did you do to Claudia?!"

The cultist answered her glare with one of equal coldness as he replied harshly. "I merely removed the limiter of her collar to teach you two a proper lesson. Now look at your friend and try to doubt my words again."

Lily turned her gaze toward Claudia who kept lying on the ground, whispering softly. "Don't look at me Lily... Please close your eyes for a moment."

Claudia's shaky voice made her all the more worried as she tried to help her friend upright but soon realized what the cultist meant as she did so. The eyes of her friend had turned a pure black, a trail of blood dripping from their corners. "Claudia?! You're hurt!"

Yet the cultist leader was quick to correct her: "She isn't hurt, she merely reverted to her state as a ghoul." Claudia turned toward her, tears mixing in with the blood as she whispered softly. "I can't hold myself back much longer Lily-"

Claudia hesitatingly lowered her arms to her side, making Lily dread all the more what was to come. She knew what her friend was about to say. "Please kill me Lily... Before I hurt you!" But Lily shook her head violently in response. "No! I'm going to keep our promise! I'll save us both! We'll get out of here and flee to Hargeon!"

Lily gently reached with a hand for Claudia's, attempting to grasp it lightly. "Lily... please..." Yet the poor girl didn't want to hear it. "I'm going to introduce you to Sofia and Alisa, and we'll eat lots of yummy seafood together!" But it was too late. Claudia tearfully jerked away her arm as it became consumed by her kagune organ, the bladed appendage manifesting as Claudia tried to tear it off from her arm. "LILY! KILL ME BEFORE THEY MAKE ME KILL YOU!" The desperate cry of her friend finally was accompanied by the shattering of her resistance as Claudia lunged toward Lily, the girl letting out a panicked cry as she raised her arms. But the blow never came.

WC: 400
Total WC: 600/1000

Instead of stabbing her, Claudia had at the last moment turned her kagune organ downwards and swung at her own leg, causing it to be ripped off as she collapsed off-balance. Lily's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight in front of her. "Claudia!" The Ghoul had fallen onto the ground, her injury and already weakened state seemingly suppressing her bloodlust. "Silly Lily... even in the face of death you're too kind..." Tears ran down Claudia's cheeks. "Why... why did someone as sweet as you have to suffer this fate? I... I wanted to protect you... Go on all these adventures we talked about." Lily gently grasped her friend's hand. "But we still can! We'll beat these guys and then we'll go home, together!" Yet Claudia smiled apologetically at her. "Sorry Lily... it seems... I won't be able to keep my promise."

Lily shook her head firmly at these words. "No... don't say that. Save your strength-" A hand gently raised for her cheek. "But do me a favor, please? Try to smile.... you... look so much more pretty when you're smiling~"

Hearing these words Lily could almost feel herself sobbing but bracing herself she instead smiled gently at her friend. "Hold on Claudia-" But before she could finish her sentence a crossbow bolt was launched, impaling her friend's torso as the last of her life faded away. "Finally done? This drama between two monsters is starting to bore me."

The cultist leader's words barely were noticed by her, her eyes widening in shock as she felt her friend's hand gently collapsed onto the ground. "c...cla...claudia?" Lily called out, the cultist leader meanwhile grumbled in annoyance. "Guess I should activate your collar as a punishment as well-" Yet as he reached for the device again and pressed the button a sickening crack came from Lily's collar as it crumbled into nothing. "a..ah....AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"

A feral cry came from the girl as her aura flared around her, the air around her cackling with electricity as she rose onto her feet. He wasn't sure what happened to the girl, but the way her eyes looked... It was as if she was in a daze, and he could feel the sheer rage overflowing from her presence.

One of the cultists dashed toward Lily, but the moment he got near her the girl raised a hand at him and easily intercepted the swing of his fist. Even as she grabbed a hold of the man's head and crushed it like it was nothing the cultist leader's expression didn't change in the slightest...

WC: 400
Total WC: 1000/1000