“P-Please do…” Olivia muttered.
“I’ll get her,” The NPC remarked before seemingly vanishing in thin air.
Approaching the debris-filled area of shattered branches and trees splintered across the area, the developer stood in front of Lilith.
“Hey, Lilith. Good performance out there!” The developer commended her.
“Ugh…you…when did…you get here?” Still slouching on the tree she slammed into, Lilith tilted her gaze upwards to the developer.
“Not too long ago. The doctor should be here soon to heal you guys,” The developer said. “Do you need some help to–”
“I can…walk by myself…I don’t need your help,” Forcing herself to her feet, Lilith staggered past the developer. “Don’t act…kind to…me.”
“Heh, someone’s learning to be more independent!” The developer said as he looked back at Lilith with a devious smirk. “That’s the mindset I want to see.”
Though the developer’s help was denied, her ‘mindset’ may not have been the reason as he thought. As motivated on self-growth as she currently was, Lilith found her staggering body given support by the concerned Olivia.
“It…It’s okay, Lilith…I’ll help you,” Quickly approaching her new friend and placing her arm over her shoulder, Olivia assured.
“Ugh…you didn’t need…to help me,” Lilith’s words never matched her receptive actions towards Olivia’s aid, as she was taken to the porch without any rebellion.
“Hey, Lilith! That was way more fun than I’d ever thought fighting you would be!” Eagerly approaching the two, the bloody Charles commended. “You should get stronger so we can fight even harder than this!”
“...I told you that I’m not getting stronger to fight you, Charles,” Lilith replied.
“The motivation for your growth doesn’t matter to me, it only matters if you get stronger!” Charles said. “So keep thinking of your boyfriend if that’ll make you even more powerful!”
“...Sigh, you really are…something else, Charles,” Lilith muttered.
“S-Sorry, Charles…Lilith isn’t in…the best of s-shape…for a conversation,” Olivia remarked as she opened the entrance door. “Y-You can talk to her later.”
“Yeah, sure!” Charles replied. “Hurry up and recover so you can get stronger.”
Parting with those words, Olivia escorted her friend inside. All that was left was Charles and the developer.
“Heh, Charles. How have things been going?” As he approached Charles, the developer questioned. “Have you been enjoying yourself?”
“The last time I enjoyed myself was when I fought that female super soldier and her allies,” Charles remarked. “All that’s really left here is a bunch of scrubs.”
“Hmm, that’s a shame, huh?”
“I thought I made the right decision joining your little game, but I’ve yet to get that same rush I did when I fought the blessed slaughterer,” Charles continued. “Since Jack died, your game has lost its fun.”
“Well, I guess it’ll seem like that to someone like you, but this game is still in its tutorial phase,” The developer replied. “I had to wait for Lilith and the others to become stronger so we can continue, and they are getting closer to completing the tutorial boss.”
“Man, you’re still yapping in weird game lingo…and I have no clue what you’re saying.”
“Heh, don’t worry about it. Before I forget though, I saw that you lead a super soldier here,” The developer said with a smirk. “They’re heading back and likely told their superiors about this hideout. That’s a great move from you, I must say.”
“Huh?”
“Because of you, Ada knows everyone’s whereabouts except for Zack. There’s no way she’ll just leave Lilith and Olivia alone,” The developer explained. “This’ll be the deciding factor if my game characters grow…you guys get culled.”
As the developer explained, an ecstatic expression formed on Charles’s face.
“Hmm? What’s got you smiling like that all of a sudden?”
“Haha…here I thought I’d just get to fight a bunch of people if they knew where we were, but this is even better!” Charles replied. “I get to fight a bunch of soldiers on Ada’s side, then I’ll get to spar with a stronger Lilith!? It’s like having your cake and eating it too!”
Heh, you and Jack are the best…
- * * *
Just as the developer said, the super soldier returned from his successful stakeout. His entry into the office of his military base was that of a skipping, delighted soldier – he did complete his mission despite the risky situation of following dangerous criminals…could you wrong his delight?
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“I have returned, Chief…I have successfully found out the whereabouts of the S-Class criminals!” The super soldier said as he saluted. I’m so gonna get a promotion.
“Did you now?” In the office was the Chief of Defense and the two blessed hunters of the new generation, but there spoke another, more important woman – Ada Foster. “Well, aren’t you a good little boy?”
“P-President Ada! I-I’m pleased to meet you!” The super soldier replied as he stuttered. “M-My name is–”
“Yeah, yeah…I’m not in the best of mood, so why don’t you introduce yourself some other time,” Ada interjected. “I’m sure my praise is enough for you, right?”
“Y-Yes–”
“Hey, quit yammering and give us the tracking device already,” Not letting the super soldier speak, Mohawk interjected. “No one gives a crap about something as stupid as your name when there’s something more important!”
“...Understood,” In a dejected voice, the super soldier replied. From his pockets, he revealed a smartphone. “Here you go, president. This will tell you their location.”
“Ah, finally…thank you for your work. I have been waiting with bated breath for this,” Ada replied as he handed her the phone. With a menacing smirk, Ada gazed at the electronic device. Hah! I bet you thought I would play your stupid waiting game, developer. Ada pondered. Like I’d wait for you to tell me where they are….Can’t you see I’ve always been superior!? “We can finally put this long chapter to a close.”
“That’s good…We can finally take them out…especially the battle-crazed killer…” The Queen Deathbringer chimed in. “But what about the location of Zack Isaac? He should be with the surviving Bluebloods…”
“Hmm…well, we can’t even be sure that Charles is at the same location,” Ada replied. “The only confirmed ones are Lilith Ashley and Olivia Gray.”
“...Well, there’s reason to believe Charles is with them too,” The super soldier said. “I uh…I saw him fighting Lilith…it looks like they were sparring or something.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Ada said. Does that bitch think she could actually be something important or something, haha.
“Well, if those guys are confirmed, what are we going to do about the Bluebloods,” Twintails questioned. “It would be a pain for the Bluebloods to regain their strength with time and become a problem once more, even after we eliminate the S-Class criminals.”
“...Sigh, there’s just no end to these problems, huh,” The Queen Deathbringer muttered with a bit of dejection.
Hmm, to be honest, I don’t give a shit about the remaining Blueblood associates. My current focus is to destroy the developer and all his characters…after inflicting as much suffering on them as possible. Ada pondered. But it would be a pain for them to eventually ruin my world and all my toys in it.
Amid her thoughts, memories flooded Ada’s mind – memories of Zack. His rejection of the kind woman’s hand that stretched out to him and simultaneously his obsession with offering his hand to protect his friends from dangers such as the very same woman, Ada was reminded of Zack’s unbreakable loyalty to the ones he called his friends.
Heh, that good for nothing lowlife is always like that, isn’t he? Always concerned about Nathan and the rest. Ada thought. “I don’t think we need to worry about the Bluebloods.”
“Really? We don’t?” Mohawk questioned.
“Nope. We should focus on attacking Lilith…well, maybe not launch a direct attack as yet. I’m sure the S-Class criminals communicate with each other, so we can snuff Zack out if we put them in sufficient danger,” Ada explained. “Then our best bet would be capturing Zack.”
“As expected of the president. If we capture Zack, we can receive information about the remaining Bluebloods’ whereabouts,” Twintails deduced.
“Yeah, that is the idea, but I’m not too sure Zack’s going to rat out his allies even if we torture him, so we shouldn’t keep our hopes up on that,” Ada said. “If anything, we can just use the blessed soldiers from England like Amber Hoss…or whenever Rebecca finishes the project zero modification, we can use her to find and eliminate the rest of the Blueblood crime organization.”
“Heh, you really are such a smart president…taking everything into account,” Mohawk said with a smirk. “As of right now, the S-Class criminals are the most dangerous so we should get rid of them first!”
“Yes…and there won’t be any more failures like in the past. As its god, I will bring peace and order to this world,” Ada replied. I will shape this world into how I want it after making the developer kneel before me. “I leave the planning to you guys...but your mission to eliminate these criminals begins today.”
“Yes, ma’am!” In perfect synchronicity, everyone in the room replied.
- * * *
Though the Zack who once seemed lit with life after meeting ones he could call ‘friends,’ could now only be seen as nothing more than a shadow of his former self. The Zack who risked his life to help Nathan was a complete mess.
Rose, who sat alone in the living room of her current hideout, sat with a clear angst on her face. The television which played was nothing more than background noise as Rose strangely tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair with frustration.
“Tsk, it’s ten o’clock and Zack still hasn’t left his damn room,” Rose said. “He doesn’t normally sleep so late!?”
The longer she waited in her solitude, the more her frustration grew.
“Screw this! I gotta see what that bastard’s doing!” With her impatience reaching its limits, Rose left her seat. She strolled through the passage connecting the living room and other rooms and stood in front of a door.
KNOCK, KNOCK!
“Hey, what the hell are you doing in there!?” Knocking on the door before her, Rose yelled. “It’s 10am! Don’t tell me you’re still sleeping!?”
“Uuughhhhh…” From the other side of the door, a low, dragging groan could be heard. The sounds only brought curiosity in Rose as she raised an eyebrow.
“...What the hell?” Rose muttered. “Whatever…I’m going in.”
With the creaking of the old doors, Rose entered the room. Almost immediately, her hand reflexively put itself over her mouth as a sharp scent struck her nose. Her eyes widened as the state of Zack was revealed to her.
The living room was like a trash site: empty bottles of liquor, crushed cans and cigarette buds were spread across the room. There were also bits and traces of snow white dust across the floor as well.
Zack lay flatlined on his bed, his clothing and face dusty with that same snow white powder. His breath was slow, rasping and irregular, and his barely open eyes were unfocused on anything.
“Urgh…R-Rose?” In a groggish tone, Zack muttered. “T-That you? G-Get me…urgh…some water.”
“...What the hell!?”