Kings, Queens, and Pawns| Finale

Things are dicey right now... I'm usually too embarrassed to do this, even with Ria, but... I need you for this operation, Reyna, so I'll...

With all my confidence, I embraced her.

"I'm warm, see? This Miles's warmth, right?"

|...|

I've never comforted anyone before. Usually, because I'm the one who needs it, but... I'm not alone anymore, so I have to step it up. There must be something that can calm Reyna down!

As I try to figure out a way to comfort Reyna, a recognizable voice whispered in my head.

"Master, isn't that the girl who saw your past?"

"Nori?! Aren't you supposed to be keeping Eric at bay?!" I muttered back.

"Eric is recharging right now, so I have time."

"What brings you here?!"

"I thought you needed help, so... Master, touch her forehead, and leave the rest to me."

"S-So... what will you do to Reyna? You aren't going to cast a spell on her, I assume?!"

With a meager grin on her face, Nori answered, "Don't doubt me, Master! It's perfectly safe... but it does involve tampering with her memories a bit..."

"Nori! Playing with memories sounds dangerous, don't you think?!"

"Master, for the sake of the plan..."

"Argh! Fine!"

I raised my right hand and placed it on Reyna's forehead, and suddenly...

"It's bright!" I exclaimed.

My right hand is glistening white! Almost as if it was a light bulb! I don't have a fucking clue of what I'm doing, but it looks cool, so fuck it!

My enhancement Memories is an overpowered weapon... every time I activate it, I discover another use, but... like what Dr. Gustavo said, it may lead to my death.

I, Miles Reyes, a former loner, solemnly swear that after this whole Midway saga is over, shall never use Nori to see the future again!

Nori said it herself... that entire "seeing the future" thing is what drains my life energy, but the other uses of my enhancement don't require that much.

It's a convoluted system... this enhancement shit piques all my interest, but that's a problem for another day.

"Master, it's finished." Nori whispered in my head again.

"T-Thank you for your work, Nori."

Now the question arises, did it work?

I glanced at Reyna, and it appears that her tears stopped falling... that's a good sign. Her fingers are still shaking, but the rest of her body isn't, so I guess she isn't fully back to herself.

"Miles, hug me again." Reyna muttered.

"Eh? Uhh... it's quite embarrassi-"

Before I finish my sentence, she embraced me as tight as a can of pickles. While within her warm embrace, she whispered in my ears, "Sorry... I didn't know."

Starting off with repentance, huh? I suppose she's back to her usual self.

"If you're really sorry, do something about it." I replied with a friendly tone.

"Then I'll happily accept being your pawn."

"..."

That's... unanticipated. Did Nori show her that? Well, I didn't necessarily mean it, so I have to apolo-.... wait, no. Let me just playing along with her. Humans have a twisted sense of Justice; Regret can only be overwhelmed by atonement. It's uncalled for of me to stand in her way.

|...|

"Hmm... what may this be? I thought you already rejected her! You're quite the player, Miles." A familiar and irritating voice popped out of nowhere.

"Eh?! S-Sir Konstantin?! I-It's not what you think!" I flustered.

As I scrambled away from Reyna's embrace, I felt an all-so familiar sting of pain on my stomach.

"*Thunk!"

"Arghh! Reyna! Not the stomach again!"

Reyna stood up and exclaimed, "Sh-Shut up, you closet pervert!"

Eh? I think she was enjoying that hug just now... but back to the present!

"Ahem... So uhh... uncle, we caught the gang members."

Sir Konstantin surveyed the area and asked, "Hmm... so those three bloody men must be your doing, Miles. And Reyna! Don't call me uncle!"

I bowed my head and begged, "I apologize, Sir Konstantin! Fukitsu was... more violent than I expected, so I wasn't able to control him!"

"Well, it was for self-defense, so raise your head." Sir Konstantin exclaimed as he took a sip of his coffee.

Now that Sir Konstantin is here, it's about time for phase three to start... but where are the others?

I stood up and asked, "Sir Konstantin, where are the others?"

"Hmm... they're needed in the main assault, so only Sergeant Berko and I will assist you."

Sergeant Berko? But he's not here!

"Sir Konstantin is right, kiddo." A voice of a man appeared behind my back.

I turned my head around and...

"Ah! Sergeant Berko! How long have you been there!"

"Ever since Sir Konstantin arrived."

Berko-sensei's ability to hide his presence is still unmatched! And that's perfect for infiltrating.

"Uncle, what do we do with those guys." Reyna asked as she pointed at the three men I mutilated.

"We'll torture them for information!" Sir Konstantin casually exclaimed.

"W-Wait! Can't we rush them in the hospital first?"

I can't let those gang members get tortured after what I've done to them! I don't want to be responsible for their deaths... I've already killed enough!

"That's contradicting Sir Rigor's orders, Miles... Sure, you have his permission to pull off this crazy stunt, but unless you have another way to extract information from them, I'll be taking them to custody."

Sir Konstantin is right... I've already asked enough favors, but-

"Miles... use your enhancement." Reyna interfered.

How does she-... wait, it's obvious. I don't know what Nori did to her, but I reckon Nori showed some of my recent memories to Reyna. It's favorable that Reyna is no longer clueless, but... there are some things she's better off not knowing.

"What's this about your enhancement, Miles?" Sir Konstantin asked.

"I can tap into their memories-"

Sir Konstantin spat out his coffee and yelled, "You can what?!"

Why does he keep spitting out his drink? He must really dislike beverages.

"I told you before, Sir Konstantin. My enhancement is memories, right?"

"Y-Yeah... I knew that! W-Well, I suppose we can make an exception... After this whole infiltration thing, use your enhancement on those gang members."

"T-Thank you, Sir Konstantin!"

"Well, speaking of infiltration, it's about time to commence phase three of your plan, I assume?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Sergeant Berko, teleport as please."

Sergeant Berko raised his hand and snapped.

|...|

The ground feels... soft. It certainly isn't concrete; it's dirt, I guess?

"U-Uncle! W-Why are we underground?!"

Reyna's voice seems shaky, and it appears that we're in a tunnel. We must be in the third escape route Fukitsu found on the map.

"Don't call me uncle! It makes me feel old!" Sir Konstantin exclaimed.

"There are bugs in here, right?!" Reyna freaked out.

Don't tell me... she's afraid of insects! And here I thought she isn't scared of anything!

"Miles, can you hold her hand or something? Just for five minutes. We'll reach the end of the tunnel by then." Sir Konstantin requested.

"Sir Konstantin... I don't think you underst-"

|...|

Reyna took my hands... No, she's gripping it as tight as she can. It's no use trying to break away from this she-gorilla, so I'll just let it be!

"Master, don't forget about your Ria." A familiar voice whispered.

"Nori? Again, what the hell are you doing here?!" I muttered in my head.

"As I've said, Master, Eric is recharging..."

"Hmm... I have a question, Nori."

"Go ahead, Master."

"What did you show Reyna?"

It isn't anything significant, but it still bothers me for some reason. Reyna is just a tool.

So is Sir Konstantin and his squad.

So is Sir Rigor and his police corps.

And so is Ms. Alice and her people.

This entire operation is a chessboard; I'm the king, and they're the pieces. And I'm playing against the world.