A/N: I do not own the lyrics in this chapter. (Obviously.) The song is, of course, Seasons In The Abyss, by Slayer. If you don't know it, you should listen to it. It's a good song.

I'm using a different word processer this time, and it's slightly outdated. I don't think it'll be an issue, but I don't know for sure. I'm not an expert on this kind of stuff.

Jason, after collecting the map, went to the dock itself. From what he could tell, there wasn't anyone around. The docks held an oppressive atmosphere, one that made Jason pause. It almost felt as if all the bad experiences in the town had coalesced into a thick fog of despair.

So after acquiring a rowboat through… questionable means, he set sail.

The waters were calm, and with his strength, the paddles violently propelled the rowboat, sending it rocketing forwards with every stroke.

With speed like this, he'd make it in no time, right?

Oh, how little he knew.

*LINEBREAK*

Granberia had felt disgusted at the thought of leaving the masked man alone. Sadly, orders were orders, and she had to follow them to the letter. She couldn't hunt him down, as she had other duties.

She wanted to kill him, to rip him apart. She wasn't even sure why. Something about him just made her want to go berserk, to maim, kill, and slaughter. The thought of doing nothing just made her want to scream in rage.

Granberia spent hours pondering on what to do, at one point considering disregarding Alice's order all together. However, her discipline prevented her from doing so.

It didn't prevent her from accidently starting a forest fire, though. Nor did it stop her violent rampage against the environment.

She was being childish, and a small part of her knew that. However, that small part was drowned out by the inferno of rage burning within her.

This anger wasn't natural. It felt different, almost foreign. It felt as if her emotions were some sort of mental attack.

Eventually, she calmed down. She had things to do, no matter how much she hated him.

She wasn't the only one who hated him…

*LINEBREAK*

Luka was not in a good mood.

Upon arriving in Enrika, he immediately could tell that something was off. The atmosphere was solemn, and quiet. With dawning horror, he realized that it felt almost exactly the same as Harpy village.

He shook his head, ignoring the growing pit in his stomach.

The town was deserted. As far as he could see, there wasn't a soul anywhere.

Concerned, Luka walked deeper into the town. There could be injured people, for all he knew.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone there?"

Receiving no answer, he traveled to the heart of the town. Maybe he'd find someone there.

He looked around, before spotting a blonde woman out of the corner of his eye. She was marching up to him, an angry scowl on her face.

Her eyes seemed to scan him, looking him up and down. When she saw his mother's ring, however, her expression softened somewhat.

"Oh, you must be Luka." She smiled.

Luka, of course, had no idea who this chick was, and responded appropriately.

"Uhhh… Do I know you?" He asked, confused.

The woman chuckled.

"I knew your mother and father when you were very young." She said. "You've grown so much."

"You knew my mother? Who are you?" Luka asked.

"My name is Micaela." She said.

The conversation went on for a while. Both reminisced about Luka's parents, laughing and sharing stories.

Eventually, the conversation was ended, and Luka left the town, continuing on his way.

*LINEBREAK*

Thunder crashed from above. The ship was nearly capsized by every wave. Rain pelted the boat like machine-gun fire.

What a fool Jason had been to think it would've been easy. The shopkeeper had mentioned the storm, but ignored it, thinking it wouldn't affect him. His life wasn't in any danger, of course, but the boat certainly was. It took nearly all of his concentration to keep steady, much less row.

Jason had dealt with storms before, but this was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It was as if the ocean itself was alive, and angrier than he could ever get. Most people would've been tossed around by the waves, sucked into the briny deep.

A bolt of lightning flashed, briefly outlining a winged figure in the sky. Jason's eyes narrowed, but he kept his focus on the task at hand. They hadn't bothered him yet, so he'd ignore them until then.

Even though he was struggling against the storm, he still made decent progress. His powerful strokes sent the boat cutting across the water's surface.

The water, even though it was throwing a fit, still looked lovely. It was a rich, deep blue that reflected the storm clouds above, giving it a murky appearance. If he squinted, he could see fish swimming around, and an occasional tentacle rising from the deep.

At one point, the storm became particularly rough. The waves were so bad that the boat sometimes left the water. He was almost completely flipped three separate times. They were close calls, but he managed to right himself in time.

He began to worry when the storm around him disappeared, leaving a giant circular hole in the cloud.

The air around him changed almost immediately. Something was certainly off.

The winged individual descended from the cloud, stopping in front of him, barely above the water.

She was dressed sinfully. That was, of course, the first thing Jason noticed. Coupled with her expression and body language, she was just lewd. Everything about her was just an affront to all of what his mother taught him.

"You're not supposed to be here." She said, licking her lips. "Oh, how naughty~"

Jason blinked for a moment. Was… Was she hitting on him?

"Speechless?" She asked, smirking. "What, are you just admiring the view?"

She crossed her arms under her breasts, bunching them up for effect.

Jason was tempted to kill himself right there. Never had he seen something so… So wrong! Sure, he'd walked in on people doing the N, but this was different. It was as if her entire body was dedicated to sin!

Slowly, he grabbed his sword, never breaking eye contact.

"What? Don't you want to play with me?" She pouted, pretending to be offended.

Jason analyzed the situation. He had to kill her, but fighting would obviously flip the boat.

He could feel her power. It ran through her like a tornado, with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

Maybe if he ignored her, she'd go away…

Grabbing, his paddles, he continued to row. Concentrating on the boat's floor, he continued to move away.

She flew in front of him again.

"You really can't be here." She said. "The storm's there for a reason, you know."

He flicked his hand at her in a shooing motion, before continuing to row.

Suddenly, she was standing on the edge of the boat.

"Oh, I see." She said. "You're the silent type, aren't you?"

Jason leaned away from her, leveling a wary gaze upon her body.

"I'm very good at making people scream~" She moaned lewdly. "I wonder what kind of noise you'll make."

Jason scowled, and shooed her away again.

She hopped onto his lap, her face leaning closely into his.

Jason decided that she needed to die.

With as much force as he could muster, he punched her in the side of her head. It knocked her off balance, sending her overboard with a surprised yelp. He went to hit her with the oar, but she caught it.

"Oh, you're feisty." She said. "I like that."

She went to grab his mask, but he stopped her, closing his hand around her wrist.

The moment they touched, a current of power swept through Jason, whirling within him like a twister that did too much cocaine and had a stroke.

Evidently, The Sinful One (Jason refused to refer to her as anything else.) had also felt this, as she recoiled violently, jumping into the air.

Unbeknownst to Jason, the wind had started to pick up around him, creating a violent, howling gale. He glared at her, and the gale seemed to pick up. A wall of condensed air hit her dead on, and it took a surprising amount of willpower for her to stay in the air.

Alma recognized this almost immediately. Being proficient in the power of the wind made it pretty easy to see when someone else was using it, after all.

Jason, meanwhile, had no earthly clue what was happening. Magic was obviously involved, of course, but this wasn't the kind of magic he was familiar with. The shock that rippled through him when touching her was the first thing he'd actually felt in a long time. It wasn't painful, and it left behind some strange energy that pulsed through his undead body, racing through every pus-filled artery. For a moment, he thought he'd felt his heart beat.

The energy felt exactly like what was contained within the Lewd Woman's body, which worried Jason somewhat. He didn't want to be like her.

He looked at his hand, watching the occasional air current flutter from fingers. After a moment, he turned back to the woman.

She was a lot more serious, it seemed. The lewd personality was abandoned (Jason was thankful for that.), having been replaced with a cautious, slightly angered attitude.

He stared at her for a moment longer, before grabbing his oars again, preparing to continue his journey.

Out of nowhere, she punched him, knocking him off the boat.

He slipped into the water with a loud splash. He watched his fingers slip off the edge, sending him down into the dark depths below.

Jason decided that it was not a good day.

*LINEBREAK*

Alma Elma looked down into the ocean, holding her wrist against her chest. She sighed in relief, her breath coming out shakily.

That man had been able to steal part of her power! It wasn't much, and it would probably get replenished before the day was out, but still! How did he do that?!

She could still sense him. He was sinking rapidly, but he wasn't dying at all. It was as if he was still on land. That wouldn't matter though. Soon enough, he'd be crushed under the ocean's pressure… She hoped.

When he'd touched her, a strange sensation had overcame her. She didn't quite know how to describe it, but it definitely wasn't pleasant.

After a while, his presence passed out of the range in which she could sense things. A few long minutes of silence went by. For a while, it seemed as if the ocean itself had stopped moving.

She heard laughter, and took a moment to realize that it was coming from her own mouth.

To think, for a moment, she'd been afraid! Afraid of a human (He was sort of rotten, but definitely not a zombie.) who couldn't hope to compete with her power!

After a while, she flew off, back into the storm. She couldn't let anyone get to Sentora.

*LINEBREAK*

I awoke as soon as I hit the ocean floor. Thankfully, my memories hadn't failed me this time, as I knew exactly how I got in this situation.

Normally, I would've expected the bottom of Davy Jones' locker to be pitch black. That was not the case however, as I could see perfectly fine. The light felt artificial, which I assumed was just a magic thing.

All of this was unimportant to me though. Having been watching Jason's progress, I of course knew about the whole incident with the succubitch. Strange energy flowed through my body, coursing all the way from the top of my skull to the tips of my toes. It was chaotic, but also kind of chill. It felt like a paradox.

I reached for it mentally, trying to access it.

Now, looking back on things, trying to use a power that you have literally no experience with was probably a bad idea. I could've torn myself apart for all I knew.

Thankfully, it didn't do that.

As soon as I had grabbed hold of it, raw energy surged throughout my body. It roared through me like a devastating gale, creating several whirlpools that careened out into parts unknown.

I felt goose bumps break out across my entire body, the strange sensation making me feel oddly giddy. I felt on top of the world, like I could do absolutely anything.

I thought it was kind of weird that I could feel it, because I hadn't been able to feel anything since I woke up in this world. However, I didn't give a shit. This was the best thing ever.

I turned to a structure in the distance, deciding to investigate. I took one step forward…

And suddenly, I was cutting through the water, shooting towards it faster than a missile. That was no exaggeration, by the way. I just fucking launched.

In a few seconds, I was only about five hundred feet away from the building. Then I crashed into a reef, destroying multiple plants and probably mulching some fish.

I laid there for a moment, waiting for that power to dissipate. I was clearly not equipped to handle it.

It slowly went away, fading back into the depths of my soul.

My body was in a sad state. Several large cuts bled an inky black substance, which rose into the water, clouding around me. Bones stuck out at odd angles, and my left leg was hanging by a thread.

So, obviously, I had to wait for myself to heal.

As I watched my bones bend back into place, Seasons In The Abyss popped into my head. Unconsciously, I started singing it. The water turned it into garbled nonsense, but I didn't have anything else to do.

Razor's edge outlines the dead

Incisions in my head.

I smiled, bobbing my head along to the imaginary instruments.

Anticipation the stimulation

To kill the exhilaration

My voice had begun low, but swiftly became a shout as I came to the chorus.

Close your eyes

Look deep in your soul

Step outside yourself and let your mind go

Frozen eyes stare deep in your eyes as you die

I spotted a mermaid in the distance. She seemed to be looking at me. I didn't stop singing, though.

Close your eyes and forget your name

Step outside yourself and let your thoughts drain

As you go insane, go insane!

I was about to belt out the next verse, when the mermaid distantly shouted: "What the fuck are you singing?"

"Don't worry about it!" I yelled, before realizing that she probably couldn't understand me.

Wait… How could she speak under water in the first place?

She swam even closer, to the point that she was only about an arm's length from my face.

The mermaid was a pretty thing, with blue hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. She gazed upon me, her face etched with concern. Her eyes seemed to scan me over, widening as she saw the carnage.

"Holy fuck…" She muttered in horror.

"Hey." I gargled. It was pointless. Talking under water wasn't possible for me, it seemed.

An idea popped in my head. I pointed up to the surface, trying to convey to her that I needed some help getting up. The mermaid seemed to understand, and with surprising strength, she lifted me up, taking me out of the water.

"Thank you." I said gratefully.

"Holy… How the hell are you alive?!" She exclaimed, her eyes roving over my wrecked form. I laughed sheepishly.

"I was just bein' stupid." I assured her. "Don't worry, I'll heal."

"How?! You look like a fuckin' zombie!" She yelled.

I was… more than a little offended at that remark.

"I'd rather you not compare me to one of those wretched things." I growled. "I'm still a fully functional person."

The mermaid cringed, looking away sheepishly. After a moment, she quietly apologized. I told her it was fine, and then the silence resumed for a moment.

I followed her gaze to my chest, where my ribcage was slowly reforming.

"… Would you look at that…" She mumbled.

Feeling more than a little awkward, I changed the subject.

"So, what's your name?" I asked in what I hoped was a conversational tone.

"Oh, my name's Clarisse." She responded. "What's yours?"

I froze for a moment, my mind going blank. Should I give her a fake name? It's not like I'm well known as Jason, but it's better safe than sorry.

Wait… Why did I ever introduce myself as Jason in the first place? That's not my name.

Ah, fuck it, I'll still give her a fake name.

"I'm Axel." I said, cheerfully. "Nice to meet you."

We spoke for a while, getting to know one another. Eventually though, she had to go home.

"Where do you live?" I asked in a totally-not-creepy way.

"Well, there's this port that allows mermaids…" She trailed off.

Wait a minute… Port?

I smiled under the mask. I could get back to dry land!

"Would… would this port happen to be on Sentora?" I asked.

"Why, yes it is." She said. "Is that where you're headed?"

I nodded.

So, we went there. Most of the journey was just her dragging me along, but that was unimportant. It only took about thirty minutes to reach land, so there weren't all that many long silences.

Once we reached by the docks, we were stopped by another mermaid. This one had brown hair, green eyes, and slightly tanned skin. She seemed to be the harbor master. (The person that you check in with when docking. I don't fucking know what it's called.)

"Okay." She sighed. "What the fuck?"

"Oh, hey Mildred!" Clarisse exclaimed. "What's up?"

"Why are you carrying around a corpse?" The mermaid known as Mildred deadpanned.

"I'm not a corpse, thank you very much." I snarled.

… Okay, maybe I'm a little too sensitive.

She looked at me for a moment, before her eyes widened.

"… Clarisse, could I have a word with your 'friend' in private?" Mildred asked, scowling. She seemed to exude anger, seething angrily. Her body was even shaking slightly.

This seemed to go right over Clarisse's head. She blinked for a moment, and scratched her head.

"You're not gonna fuck him, are you?" She asked, confused.

I tried to suppress my laughter, but it forced itself out in great loud gales. I couldn't tell you why, but that was fucking hilarious to me.

"Wha- WHAT?!" Mildred exclaimed. "NO! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT?!"

"He's like, rotting." Clarisse continued, either ignoring or being completely unaware of her distress. "That would, like, make you sick."

"Sh-shut the fuck up! I don't even want to touch… him." Mildred stuttered, staring at me in horror.

I saw an opportunity, and sure as hell, I fucking took it.

"Awww~" I drawled, grinning. "You don't wanna play with little old me?"

Mildred's expression took on an amazing combination of red and green. Such was the magnitude of its remarkable nature, that the laughter restarted, joined by the laughs of the witnesses around us.

Mildred grabbed me by the wrist suddenly, and dragged me away from Clarisse, onto dry land.

Once we were in a somewhat secluded area, she turned to me, full of anger and suspicion.

"Who the fuck are you?" She growled, flashing her surprisingly sharp teeth at me. She seemed about ready to tear my throat out.

"My name is Axel." I said, using the name from earlier.

"Well listen here, Axel." Mildred spat. "Fuck off back to wherever you came from. Nobody needs your shit."

I blinked, bewildered at the absolute anger in her voice.

"E-excuse me?" I stuttered. What the hell did I even do?

"You heard me. Get the hell out of here." She said.

I puzzled over this, wondering what was wrong. She couldn't have known about what happened on the other continent, could she? No, if that was the case, I would've been attacked immediately.

"What exactly did I do to you?" I asked. "You have no reason to hate me."

She sighed.

"You have dried blood all over you! I think I can tell a fucking psychopath when I see one!" She seethed.

My eyes widened. Quickly, I looked down, looking for stains on my body. To my utter confusion, there were none.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about. There's nothing there." I stated, slightly confused.

"Just because I can't see it doesn't mean I can't smell it." Mildred explained. "Most people wouldn't notice, but I sure fucking do."

That seemed like bullshit, but I didn't think she was lying. It was hard to fake real anger like that.

If, in fact, she wasn't bullshitting me, then that was a serious problem. She could call me out at any time. Maybe I could play it off as a misspent youth, or some shit like that.

"I have indeed done some bad things, I will not lie about that." I said. "But I am not as evil as you make me out to be."

I expected my words to trigger some form of inquiry on how I wasn't such a bad guy. Maybe I could've spun a small tale about my life, or something. I can tell you right now, that is NOT what happened.

Mildred's face, which already showed her disgust, contorted even more, presenting raw fury.

"Don't lie to me, you asswipe!" She growled. "You don't get that smell from killing a couple people. It takes years of slaughter to get it to where you're at!"

Fuck.

Sometimes kids, having the physical form of an infamous serial killer was a very large inconvenience. This, I think we can all agree, is one of those times.

It seemed that she said that last bit a little too loudly, as I noticed one of the guards attempting (And failing miserably) to approach me without appearing suspicious.

Okay, this situation has spiraled out of control in a way that I could not have prepared for. I'm pretty sure that if I was still in a living body, I'd be having a heart attack. Unfortunately, being clinically dead doesn't shut off the panicked shrieks of anxiety as you slowly question the events that led you to the situation.

I decided that it was time for my ultimate move: running like a little bitch.

I turned on my heel in a way that was almost ballerina-like, and dashed away, quietly swearing as I sprinted through the city.

I heard a guard shout at me to stop, and briefly wondered how often hardened criminals would actually listen, before deciding to actually focus on my escape attempt. As I moved, I searched for ways out of the city.

All of the different roads seemed to feed into the main road, so there was only one exit. I didn't think of that as a problem, until I actually reached it.

Let me paint a picture for you. So, the road went on, eventually going over a hill, and dipping out of sight. I could probably get there in about 5 minutes, if I ran the whole way.

Unfortunately, some more guards had taken notice of the chase, and had formed a make-shift roadblock. I didn't want to hurt anyone, for fear of another bounty, so I skidded to a halt in front of them.

The one behind me finally caught up. He, of course, didn't look too happy.

"Sir." He said. "I have a couple questions for you."

I shook my head.

"That lady is a fuckin' nutcase." I stated calmly. "Don't believe a word she says."

"Mildred is a trusted member of the community." The Guard said. "I'd rather trust her over some zombie-looking asshole."

That comment made me… more than a little angry.

"What… did you just call me?" I growled.

"Sir, do-" He began, before I cut him off.

"I am not a fucking zombie!" I shouted. "Do I look female? Do I require sex to live? NO! So don't fucking call me that!"

"Sir, please calm down." The guard said. "Just make this easy on all of us."

Yeah, I didn't do that.

The bounty was almost assured at this point, so I just pushed one of the guards out of the way, and kept running.

On a scale of one to ten, this day had been a solid 4.

A/N: And done. That one was… difficult, to say the least. A lot of stupid tech stuff happened, but I want to live to publish this chapter, so I won't get into it. I apologize if the quality is inconsistent.

Anyways, you all have a nice day.