CORY

This whole place…it really is a grave.

Right now, Lisa and I are patrolling the entire town of Dark Falls. To keep an eye out, and to make sure that none of Slappy's monsters are here. Last I recall, we weren't followed on our way here…

But the whole town must've changed in the past decades. I don't recall a theme park called Carnival World being here. Looks pretty fun, though. I bet Max would've loved to come here when it was still operational.

Hopefully the Darks are still okay. They must've gotten the message by now. Knowing Lucy, she'd be focused on her family more as the unofficial father. Max still has to go to school, and when she's not sticking to her job as a librarian, Lucy's settling down with Dina for some…uh…alone time.

I'm getting flashbacks to Horrorland at the sight of this place. Maybe Shock Street and Panic Park, too. They've even got a Tunnel here, too. But not one of Screams of Hate. This one is supposed to be a "Tunnel of Fear".

Well, nice try. But I'm not afraid of the dark.

"Help me…please help me…"

Huh? A voice…

"Did you hear that?" I ask Lisa.

"Huh? I wasn't hearing things again?"

"Sounds like a kid. But what is someone else doing here? This place is supposed to be abandoned!"

"Something's wrong here…"

We proceed forward through the tunnel. It COULD be a trap. With armor and weapons at the ready, we emerge into the light, following the voice.

And once our vision clears, we see who's calling for help.

It is a kid! Trapped in a cage!

"Holy-!"

I rush over and break the lock off. The kid scrambles out, and I see his frail look. Oh my god…

"Hungry…" He groans. "S-So hungry…"

"Here. Have this."

Lisa gives him a protein bar she brought along, and he eats it without question. Still…he looks pale and frail!

"Dear god, when was the last time you ate?!" I ask.

"A…A few days ago…" The kid moaned. "Before this park was…empty. Am I…still at home?"

"Do you live in Dark Falls?" Lisa asks.

"Uh…n-no…why?"

"T-That's where we are right now." I state. "Who locked you up there, anyway?!"

"Manny Ferber." The kid says. "We were trying to catch something called a Weirdo."

Lisa and I only look at each other.

"Well, you look nothing LIKE a Weirdo." She replies.

"N-No, this thing's a monster! It can shapeshift to look like anyone! It called itself Robby, and tricked Manny by pretending to be me: Jordan Keppler. If it eats anything, it becomes monstrous and aggressive…"

"A Blender…?" Lisa asks.

"Doesn't sound like any I've heard of before…" I replied. "But lemme get this right: Manny thought YOU were the Weirdo and locked you up. All because the Weirdo insisted that it was the REAL you. So…that thing's still on the loose."

It could be anywhere by now. And I'd prefer Robby Schwartz over this other Robby. Last I heard, he had become a successful comic book artist thanks to his Dr. Maniac character.

And the Weirdo sounds like just the thing that Slappy could mind-control and look for us…

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Weirdo?" Lisa asks.

"It always acts hungry. And it probably is." Jordan answers. "It has green and cyan fur and yellow eyes. And it can spew out orange vomit."

"Ew…"

"A hungry monster…what does it eat?"

"All kinds of food." Jordan says. "Chocolate bars, cereal, candy, anything."

That's when it hits me. There's still some leftover food at the old grocery store. And Glorton was going there for rations today!

"I think I know where to find this thing and trap it." I say. "In the meantime Jordan, we'll be taking you back to our place where you'll be safe. Thankfully, you won't starve ever again."

"T-Thanks, sir. But…how will you catch it?"

"I'm something called a Monster Hunter." I smile. "Name's Cory Waldhorn. My sister Lisa and I just so happen to have tangled with similar creatures like this one for over ten years now. Trust me: We know what we're doing…"

GLORTON

It's almost crazy, sending the Deadly Sin of Gluttony to find some food. He's bound to eat it all. But can you blame him?

Well, there's a bonus to all this. I don't have to wait in lines, and the food's free. The downside? Some of it has gone bad.

The old Value Center in Dark Falls has certainly seen better days. There's no power, and no lights. And no refrigeration. Securing new provisions is no easy task.

I gather as much as my big hands can carry. Can't exactly carry some in my second mouth. I might accidentally swallow something. Well, with no one around, at least I don't have to don that stupid human dad bod form called Gordon Diaz.

Once I get enough, I shove the doors open. That stupid automatic feature isn't working anymore. At least I don't have to worry about any carts.

"So how'd it go?"

"Huh?"

The Waldhorn twins? Aren't they supposed to be on patrol with the rest of the Sins?

"Found a kid and brought him back." Lisa says. "And we got wind of a monster called a Weirdo that has an enormous appetite. Green and furry."

"So it could deplete the amount of food in this old store?" I ask. "I managed to secure some, but not nearly as much as I'd hoped. These rations won't last more than three days with our numbers. And the ones we managed to snag from back home are running low."

"Slappy must've planned for this, too." Cory groans. "Having our supply line cut off was a heavy blow indeed."

"This is the only place I could find sustenance. This entire town is in shambles. I may not be Slor, but if this continues, we'll need to come up with some kind of long-term strategy."

"Uh, I'll leave that to him later. Cause you've just got some competition…"

I hear the sounds. Munching and gulping. Cory only portals the food back to base, and we rush back inside the store. Sure enough…something's there.

At first, it seemed like a little boy with brown hair, eating whatever he could in the candy aisle. But when it sees us, it changes its form, morphing into what resembles a giant bear with yellow eyes, green fur and giant green paws.

I only chuckle and crack my knuckles. Finally, some action. What Wargon would KILL for something like this.

I charge with a roar and strike with my massive fists, the Weirdo roaring and retaliating with claw swipes. They seem fatal to other monsters, but not Makai like myself.

I grab and throw the beast through some more aisles, and when it charges, I inhale with my second lower mouth, and it scrapes the floor with its claws to avoid getting sucked in! Some magic blasts from the twins break its grip, but the creature's strength is enough to hold back the jaws!

So I only belched out large amounts of hellfire to scorch it. The Weirdo roars out in anger and goes into a feral state again, and that seems to make it stronger. It vomits out orange goo that manages to stun me, maybe to spice up its next meal.

I wipe the gunk off, but it's a distraction. Long enough to knock me through more shelves. The twins are up next, getting hammered, slammed to the floor, and tossed into doors of the frozen aisle. That must've hurt, because I see them writhing in pain…

Hold on…IS that pain? I'm…sensing an odd magical energy emanating from them…

And suddenly, they begin to transform. Cory grows fur, wings, fangs, and claws! Lisa ends up leaking black tears and black blood. And her magic grows darker, enough to form two tentacles. She ends up laughing as Cory, now in his vampire-werewolf hybrid form, roars like a primal beast!

Lisa lashes out with one dark tentacle, but the Weirdo grabs it and throws her to the ground, where she plows it with a barrage of dark magic orbs! Cory strikes next, tackling the Weirdo with a flying lunge and slamming him against the ground before throwing it into a wall!

As the battle continues, I remember what these are: Cory and Lisa had informed off of a serious mutation they've been cursed with: Cory is becoming the Ultimate, the most powerful and scariest monster, whereas Lisa is becoming the Dark Chaos! Heralds of the end times…for ALL realms.

The Weirdo doesn't stand that much of a chance. It's bitten on the shoulder, but a splitting headache the Ultimate suffers from suddenly spares it. The Dark Chaos is laughing like mad and writhes around as well. As if hearing something that I can't.

The Weirdo ends up running away, having swiped some more food, and I see the twins revert back to normal, coughing up blood and shaking in pain.

"Dammit…it's…getting worse…!" Cory coughs. "I feel it…getting FASTER!"

"Holy shit, I felt DEAD!" Lisa panics. "My mind's gonna die if I turn!"

"Perhaps we should head back now!" I say. "We must warn them! And ensure that the Ultimate Amulet is forged in time!"

As we rush off, I see Cory try spitting the flesh out. And I hear him questioning, under his breath, how surprisingly good it tastes…