Samuel woke up feeling empty.
None of his plans had succeeded.
Everything had failed — because Nahum was a disappointment.
He was supposed to be the turning point.
The ultimate weapon.
And yet, twice now, he had been defeated.
Samuel rose and headed to the headquarters of the H.U.M.A.N Party.
He was greeted warmly, as always.
"Good morning, sir," said Scott, his secretary, handing him a coffee with a nervous smile.
Samuel put on his best false smile.
"Of course I'm here," he said calmly.
"I have to make sure you all keep doing the excellent work I know you're capable of."
A lie.
The real reason was simple: keep them satisfied.
Keep them from asking questions.
Before his scheduled speech, he wanted to speak to Nahum alone.
He entered the dark chamber.
"Nahum," Samuel said softly. "How good to see you."
Nahum stirred.
"Yes, my lord. What do you require?"
Samuel smiled.
"I want you to look around a bit. More precisely, I need you to find someone."
He leaned closer.
"Find the Pied Piper of Hamelin."
Nahum's posture changed instantly.
No hesitation. No emotion.
Mission.
He left the room at once.
Samuel turned toward the stage.
Below him stood more than six hundred followers.
A good start.
Not nearly enough — but sufficient.
And the best part?
They listened.
They believed.
"My fellow believers," Samuel called out,
"we fight this battle together — and we are winning!"
Cheers erupted.
"Our avatar, Nahum, is one of the strongest beings to ever exist. With him at our side, victory is inevitable."
More applause.
"At this very moment, he is recruiting a new ally for our cause. Together, we are unstoppable!"
"We are H.U.M.A.N!
Humanity United. Might Above Nature
AND WE WILL WIN THIS WAR!"
The crowd roared.
Samuel left the stage.
Every word had been a lie.
Not we would win.
Only he would.
And Nahum couldn't even defeat two sixteen-year-olds — even with an adult present.
But they didn't need to know that.
They only needed to believe everything was fine.
Nahum was traveling to find the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
He had been driving for hours.
He didn't think about why he was doing this.
He rarely thought at all.
And never about the orders of his master.
What Samuel said was law.
As the road passed beneath him, the legend replayed in his mind.
The Piper had driven the rats out of the city with music.
When he was not paid, he returned three days later.
He stole the children, led them through the eastern gate, and into the mountain — the Schweineberg.
That's where I'm going.
Nahum parked at the base of the mountain.
When his hand touched the grass, he felt it immediately.
Magic.
It flowed from the mountain like a silent breath.
After a short search, he found a cave.
A few meters inside, he heard music.
Electronic. Distorted. Wrong.
Bodies lay to his left and right.
From their twisted expressions, he could tell that normal humans had lost their sanity here — before dying.
The sound didn't bother Nahum.
He continued forward.
The music grew louder. More intense.
Then he saw her.
A woman stood inside the cave, playing a flute.
She froze when she noticed him.
"H–how did you get in here?"
"I didn't give you permission."
She played harder. Louder.
Nahum remained unmoved.
"Don't waste your breath," he said calmly.
"Come with me."
The Piper smiled.
"Where are your manners?"
"You should ask for a name first."
Nahum sighed.
"My name is Nahum."
"Leonhard," she said, giggling.
Nahum frowned.
"That's a very masculine name. Are you trans or something?"
She laughed softly.
"One might think so. But no."
"I am the same Pied Piper from all those years ago."
She raised the flute.
"Because of this."
Nahum interrupted.
"Doesn't magic lose power over time?"
"I WASN'T FINISHED!"
Anger flashed — then faded.
"With this flute, I placed my spirit into the children," she explained.
"I lived each life to old age. Then I changed bodies."
"One song — and my mind was planted anew."
She took a deep breath.
"And to answer your question: this flute was born from a pact with the Devil."
"As long as people believe in him, it remains strong."
A mad laugh echoed through the cave.
"How about a deal?"
"I'll play my strongest song."
"If you survive it, I'll come with you willingly."
Nahum smiled, confident.
"Deal."
And she began to play.
And despite Nahum's confidence, he suddenly collapsed to his knees.
His body trembled.
Inside him, a different conversation began.
Leonhard's voice.
Or rather — Leonhard's curse.
"Let me in."
"Let me in."
"Let me in."
The words repeated endlessly, digging deeper, searching for control.
Just as it touched his mind —
it was torn away.
Another voice echoed.
Deeper. Heavier. Absolute.
"You dare attempt to claim this mind?"
Nahum froze.
"THIS mind is MINE."
The power behind the words was overwhelming.
"Born from belief in ME."
An unseen force hurled Leonhard out.
"And you will not take it from me."
Silence.
Leonhard gasped for breath.
Then she smiled.
"Alright," she said calmly.
"I'll come with you. As promised."
She studied Nahum carefully.
"Your master just became… far more interesting."
She lowered the flute.
"But first, sit down and eat something with me."
A faint smile.
"We're not in a hurry."
A pause.
"You're not being followed, are you?" and so they sit down
What none of them knew was this:
They were being followed.
Henri.
Ben.
Lovran.
And a small unit of royal guards and police.
"Ben," Henri asked quietly from the vehicle,
"are you sure we're right about the Pied Piper?"
Ben nodded.
"We're heading straight for the mountain near Hamelin."
They had been following Nahum for nearly four hours.
"And did you contact emergency support?" Henri asked.
"Yes," Ben replied.
"Roxie and Heinrich. If we don't check in every twelve minutes, they'll intervene."
Henri exhaled.
"Good. Then we're covered."
After a brief search, they found the cave.
The royal guard went first.
Then the police.
Then Henri.
Ben stayed at the rear.
The sight of the corpses near the entrance made Ben feel sick — but he forced himself onward.
A voice echoed through the cavern.
"WHO'S THERE?"
Music followed. Loud. Overwhelming.
But they were prepared — cloth stuffed into their ears.
They reached the main chamber.
Nahum stood there.
Beside him: a woman holding a flute.
Before anyone could react, Nahum charged.
He ripped the cloth from their ears — one by one.
With every victim, another weapon changed sides.
In moments, nearly everyone stood with Nahum — and the Piper.
"Finally," she cried.
"Finally I've succeeded! You two are nothing compared to me. You will die!"
But before she could play —
a motorcycle slammed straight into her face.
Roxie.
The engine roared.
"Damn," she grinned.
"Looks like you really needed backup."
In that instant, Nahum grabbed the flute—
BANG.
A gunshot.
Straight through his chest.
Heinrich.
Nahum froze.
No blood.
Ben noticed — but before he could speak, more shots rang out.
Police.
Royal guard.
Nahum collapsed onto the Piper.
With his final strength, he absorbed her energy.
The flute clenched in his hand.
A whisper.
"Teleportis auferet."
And he vanished.
Henri and Ben sat at the table with Roxie, Heinrich, Lovran, and the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Guard.
Everyone spoke —
except Lovran, who could not speak,
and the guard officer, who deliberately chose not to interfere.
Ben rubbed his face.
"Alright. First point: shit — he has the flute.
Second point: he didn't bleed.
Third point: he escaped."
His voice sounded tired. Hollow.
Heinrich nodded slowly.
"Yes. And after today, he'll remove the tracker. I'm certain of that."
Silence settled over the table.
Then Roxie leaned forward.
"True," she said calmly, "but we eliminated the Pied Piper.
And knowing that he isn't human could actually be an advantage."
Henri nodded immediately.
"I agree. And now we also know he's most likely connected to H.U.M.A.N.
He spent the night there, after all."
Ben sighed.
"You're right," he admitted.
"At least some good came out of this."
The discussion continued for another half hour — strategic, calm, measured.
Eventually, the group dispersed.
Roxie stayed behind for a moment with Ben and Henri.
"Thank you," she said sincerely.
"Thank you for trusting me. It was a pleasure to help you."
Henri smiled faintly.
"No problem. I just had a feeling I could trust you."
Ben nodded.
"I wasn't sure at first," he admitted,
"but Henri convinced me."
Roxie smiled back.
"Still — thank you."
Then she turned and left.
Elsewhere.
WHAM.
Nahum was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall.
"You disappointment," Samuel growled furiously.
"You had a job — and you failed."
He stepped closer.
"And that's not even the worst part," he continued.
"You had two perfect opportunities. Two targets.
You could have killed them — if you had simply said 'Fire'
instead of delivering a damn monologue."
Samuel kicked Nahum in the face.
"You are literally the avatar of the party," he hissed.
"You are supposed to be one of the strongest beings alive."
Another kick.
Then another.
Something shifted inside Nahum.
A voice, buried deep in the back of his mind.
Defend yourself.
His muscles tensed.
But he resisted.
Samuel breathed heavily, slowly calming down.
Then he knelt beside Nahum and tore open the skin where the tracker was embedded.
"And you even let yourself be tracked," he said coldly.
"You disappointment."
He ripped the bloody piece of flesh free
and threw it into the fire.
Nahum clenched his teeth.
"I… I'm sorry, sir," he said quietly.
"It will never happen again."
Samuel screamed back:
"IT BETTER NOT.
NOW — DISMISSED."
Nahum left the room.
But deep inside his mind,
the voice kept whispering.
Strike back.