The president was no different from the game characters, as her mind was wrought by the actions of the latter. Nothing mattered more than how she was viewed, and the criminals threatened that.
There she was in the Oval Office, lamenting on the fact as she stood by and gazed through the window. As usual, her work as a president was trivial compared to her own self.
A day passed and nothing about Zack had shown up on the television. It seems like they’re still under the belief that he’s dead. Ada pondered. That’s good but I really don’t know how long that’ll last.
KNOCK, KNOCK!
“Come in.”
“I’m here, madam. How are you doing today?” Happily greeting the president, Charlotte stepped inside. “Do you need me for some work…or something a bit more enjoyable?”
“Charlotte…I’m not in the mood for that,” Ada replied. “Right now I’m interested in how far the super soldiers have gotten with killing Nathan’s bitch.”
“...We haven’t heard anything from them since yesterday.”
“Urgh…of course, what the hell should I have expected?” Rubbing her forehead in circles, Ada muttered as she sat in her chair. “They had their location tracked, but they’ve done nothing with it, huh?”
“They’re utterly useless, huh?”
“...What the hell am I supposed to do to get useful damn dogs!” Slamming her fist on the desk with a loud thud, Ada yelled. “I’m sick and tired of these useless bastards!”
“You seem very tense…it is understandable though,” Coming behind her chair and placing her hand on Ada’s shoulders, Charlotte muttered in a calming tone. “But someone as perfect as you should never have to feel this way.”
“Fuu, I know, but I just can’t help it…Yeah, right there…” Relaxing her shoulders as Charlotte ran her fingers around them, Ada admitted. “It feels like everything I built, and everything that I can gain in the future is being jeopardized. Don’t these fools realize that?”
“Fufu, do you remember what we vowed to you when we came out of the slums?” Charlotte questioned. “Leon, Nolan, my brother and I; we’d all follow you to anywhere you go, and we’d make you the queen of this world.”
“...I remember.”
“That vow we made to you is far greater than any other promise, that’s why I pushed myself to such lengths,” Charlotte continued. “I refuse to let the incompetence of those soldiers compromise our promise to you.”
“That’s true…your role is to make me god by any means necessary.”
“You’re no stranger to pushing through tough times, madam. Just like the death of Jack Knight, and rendering Nathan Hayes useless, you’ve triumphed over hard trials,” Charlotte encouraged. “Apart from Charles Warner, the rest of the criminals are nothing dangerous. Those ants are the last thing in your way to become fulfilled.”
“...Yeah.”
“I think it’s time for me to get involved,” Charlotte suggested. “Because nothing pains me more than seeing you in this frustrated state.”
“Hehe, well, I’m not frustrated anymore, thanks to you,” Ada remarked with a smirk. “And when I remember Nathan and what happened to him…I can’t help but feel so delighted.”
- * * *
It was quiet in the humble cottage of the blacksmith, devoid of the game characters who gathered earlier. Only the blacksmith and the C. Specialist occupied the living room, casually eating together.
“Hey, do you know where the developer went?” The C. Specialist questioned. “He just disappeared as soon as the others left.”
“He’s still here, actually,” The blacksmith replied. “Uh, he went to check on Nathan.”
“Uh, the developer’s checking on Nathan? Alone?” The C. Specialist repeated as he put down his fork with raised eyebrows. “Lilith wouldn’t like that too much.”
“Shh, just eat your food.”
- * * *
In the quiet lodgings of the comatose Nathan, the developer had entered the room.
“So, this is it, huh Nathan? The game characters have left not too long ago…and yes, that also means your dear Lilith,” Slowly approaching the bed Nathan laid on, the developer uttered. “Today will determine whether my plans will come to fruition or not. To be honest, I feel slightly anxious.”
Not that he expected anything, but the developer’s words fell on deaf ears as he spoke.
“Heh, can you blame me? This game is bigger than anything you can imagine, and it’s determined on the outcome of a war between humans. Either they will fail and get slaughtered by Ada, or…a very welcome miracle happens,” The developer continued as he turned his gaze at the window beside the bedframe. “Eitherway, the outcome will be very bloody. You won’t be able to stop Lilith from getting herself killed or taking a life, Nathan.”
The developer’s smile slightly faded as he gazed at the outdoor scenery.
“...You know, I had higher hopes for you. I expected you to crack and finally become what I wanted to see from you. I liked how strategic you were,” The developer continued. “But instead Lilith, someone I never intended to even bring in this game, was the one who cracked, and you’re reduced to this pathetic state.”
He gazed at Nathan’s unresponsive state which forced a head shake of disappointment from the developer.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“You brought everything on yourself. If only you were crazier,” The developer said as he walked out. “I’m done here. I have to see how things turn out.”
With the slamming of the door behind him, Nathan was left alone…just like always.
- * * *
The day had proceeded just as any other – the bustling noise of civilians traversing along with the blaring horns of vehicles passing by and the buzzing lights of signs and businesses like normal.
Peace had persisted in Ada's own district. Well, the last time something other than peace existed was with the unfortunate death of the previous president – there was nothing to worry about if you lived in Washington D.C.
It was quite unfortunate that this capital will come to understand the scars that the S-Class criminals have left in the country.
Around the seat in what seemed to be a restaurant, a woman whose face was obscured by a black hood had sat alone – she had worn an amethyst tracksuit underneath.
RING, RING!
“Hello, Olivia,” Answering her phone, the voice of Lilith was audible. “Is everything ready?”
“Yeah, Z-Zack has the truck…nearby, a-and he has…set up everything,” Olivia’s soft voice stuttered on the other side of the phone. “I-I have my stuff ready…too.”
“That’s great…it’s eleven fifty seven right now,” Lilith remarked. “Three minutes left.”
“...Aren’t you scared?”
“Huh?”
“I-It’s just…even if we do kill her…right from the beginning, there’s no way…we can avoid a fight,” Olivia explained. “Everyone…on her side…is brainwashed to the point of seeing her as god. I-It’ll be impossible…to get away from them.”
“Fufu, you told me to not be afraid, but you’re contradicting yourself.”
“No, it’s just–”
“No, no, I get it. We’ll be fighting a massive disadvantage, numbers wise,” Lilith admitted. “But there’s one thing I learned.”
“W-What’s that?”
“...I really do love Nathan, with all my heart. I know this might seem obvious to you, but I’m just realizing my emotions,” Lilith admitted. “It doesn’t matter what happened before, and what may come after…it’s all meaningless. When you love someone, you’ll do anything for them.”
“...You really are amazing, Lilith,” Olivia muttered. “But we…should wrap up this conversation for now. It’s time.”
“Yeah, see you.”
With the end of the phone call, Lilith had left the restaurant.
“...Here we go.”
- * * *
In the same city and a few blocks away from the Whitehouse, were Charles and Zack. They had disembarked from a box truck. Strangely enough, Zack had held Lilith’s sheathed katana in his hand.
“Heh, doesn’t this feel like deja vu?” Charles questioned. “You really like trucks, huh?”
“Nothing’s wrong with being a truck guy,” Zack replied. “While there’s a good bit of explosives inside, this won’t pack near as much of a punch as the last truck I dropped off.”
“What time is it now? I can’t wait!”
“Hmm…heh, you won’t need to wait anymore, my good man,” Zack remarked as he checked his phone. “It’s twelve noon. Do your thing!”
“Hah! Great!” Charles remarked as he grabbed the box of the truck, digging his fingers into it. “Let’s start the show!”
- * * *
The president had occupied her lobby room, comfortably resting on her bed. With her was Charlotte, feeding her president what seemed to be a slice of cheese cake.
“Mmm…this flavor is amazing!” Savoring a piece on a fork that was fed to her by Charlotte, Ada remarked. “Where did you get this from?”
“It’s made by the best chefs in New York. I knew you would like it,” Charlotte replied with a smile. “I don’t want to see you looking frustrated again. You deserve all this.”
“I thought I was already getting spoiled after the stuff we did here earlier,” Ada remarked with a sly smirk. “But this is even better.”
“Fufu, and there’s more to come. Today is your day off from that president stuff,” Charlotte remarked. Almost immediately, her delight turned to rage as Charlotte shifted her attention to the door. “Tch, why are these useless bitches taking so long!?”
“Hmm?”
KNOCK, KNOCK!
“Hurry the hell up!” Charlotte yelled. “The president is waiting!”
“S-Sorry for taking so long!” Entering the room were two women wearing black, tight fitted t-shirts and yoga pants. “We had to–”
“I don’t care. Stop your damn talking!” Charlotte interjected. “The president is waiting for the massage.”
“Oh? This is a nice surprise,” Ada remarked before turning her gaze to the two women. She had looked them up and down, especially at the curves that were accentuated by their tight fitted clothing, and she couldn’t help but to smile deviously. “A very…very nice surprise.”
Before anything more could happen, a shimmer had occupied the peripheral vision of Ada and Charlotte – a shimmer in the form of a truck that is.
“Huh? What the–” Ada muttered as she slowly turned her attention to the windows.
“Shit!” Realizing the occurrence that took place, Charlotte had uttered.
BOOM!
The Whitehouse that once stood calm and immovable, and the lawn which stretched far and wide and reporting to the structure it surrounded, was gone in an instant. With the environment painted by a burst of light, the pale white walls and the tall columns were torn apart, and every blade of grass was lit on fire like a match…not before the ground beneath gave way by cracks.
The environment was not spared by the blast, as infrastructure, vehicles, street lights…anything that was within a hundred meters of the explosion had been destroyed.
“AAAHHHHH!!!” Understandably reacting to the destruction, civilians had done their best to run the opposite direction, unable to keep their voice inside.
- * * *
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
“Huh? What the hell?” As he hung around the Chief of Defense and Twintails, Mohawk questioned as a blaring noise rang in the military base. “What the hell is going on!?”
- * * *
With the wind clearing away the smoke, a large ball of rock became visible. Around the sphere were corpses upon corpses, barely recognizable as they were charred.
Strolling up to the disaster site were the game characters minus Olivia. Lilith had been given her katana by Zack.
Simultaneously, the sphere had fragmented and shattered which revealed Ada and Charlotte, both completely uninjured.
“...What the hell!?” With scrunched eyes, Ada questioned while looking around at the destroyed environment. “What happened to my damn house!?”
“...Of course you survived,” Lilith muttered, garnering Ada’s attention.
“Wow! You protected her from something like that, huh!?” After witnessing that, Charles remarked. “You must be strong!”
“You people did this!? How dare you!?” Ada yelled. “The White House was built centuries ago, and you destroyed it!?”
“You freaking animals! You dare attempt to assassinate the president!?” With pulsating veins and widened, twitching eyes, Charlotte yelled. “You’re all going to die!”
This was the first time one would ever see law enforcement acting quickly, as the game characters witnessed soldiers in the distance approaching the site.
“Fufu, you lowlives couldn’t wait to die, so you just came right to me, huh?” Ada remarked as she gazed at the incoming army with a smile. “Today really is a good day after all, Charlotte. We can wrap things up here.”
“...You’re right.”
“Yeah, Today is a good day, because It’s either going to be your group or mine, Ada,” Lilith remarked. “But hell will have to throw a big party by the end of this, huh?”
Her eyebrows reflexively scrunched as Ada listened.
“...Damn bitch.”