Dungeon Raid
Back in the Subspace where their search-and-destroy mission was supplemented with a neutralization objective, Ephraim, Mana and their other subordinates are facing off against a lone Psychic of the Miyazono group.
"He's all alone!"
"We've got this!"
However, there was something about their opponent that none of them expected.
"Alone? You're got this? Hah! Don't make me laugh, you underling mobs!"
"What did you just say!?"
"Let me educate you what happens to those that challenge the Owari guild!"
To him, it was just him conjuring a portal skill after calling the attention of his guild members through their guild-only chat, but to the S.S.S Psychics, it was a high-level Spatiokinetic (spatial-manipulation) ability.
"He's got an A-class Psychic type!"
"Don't be reckless, everyone! You're dead if you do!"
One by one, from the portal that he conjured, his guildmates came out and they saw who they are fighting against, and an amused grin emerged from their faces.
"Hehehe! You sure brought us to a high-exp event dungeon, boss."
"I've never seen mobs like this who are full of exp and yet, looks so fragile."
"I'm lucky that I joined in quickly…"
From the first ones to arrive, a cocky-looking young guy came out of the forming crowd and nonchalantly gave out insults to the subordinates of Mana and Ephraim who, from their eyes who quantified their opponents using levels, health bars and many more numberings, seemed less intimidating than the two.
"Alright! I'm a gentleman, so I'll take on the female mobs and prepare them for the afterparty!"
"Wahaha!"
"That's so typical of you, Jijii-sama!"
"You're really standing up to your gaming alias, huh?"
(TN: Jijii is a derogatory slang for an old man. This is typically used to refer to an old man with a lecherous attitude.)
While they are cheering on this guy who has been making creepy gestures and staring lusciously at the female S.S.S Psychics, Hotaru approached Mana and began to ask her superior a question.
"Chief… Fujikawa, may I?"
"Hmm… sure, Hotaru-chan. You have my permission."
"Roger that…"
Slowly, Hotaru walked towards the man, and this made him rile up his perverted gestures and even start speaking like the lustful old man of his namesake.
"Ohoho! Here comes one who wants to get a taste of this! Haha! Come on, girl! Beg for it and- Huh?"
"
*Pyiii! KA-BYAAA!*
From her hand, a relatively quiet high-pitched sound that screeched for a short time was followed by the gruesome scene of the young man's head exploding like a dropped watermelon.
"J-Jijii!!!"
"What the hell was that-!?"
"You guys! Get ready to charge!"
Seeing the one-hit kill attack made by Hotaru, everyone stopped scorning them and drew out their weapons or conjured out their psychic abilities.
"That's quite the brutal welcome act, Hotaru-chan. That could've been done more cleanly by Kanna-chan, you know?"
"Hah… if it was Kanna, I doubt that she'd be as merciful as I am with this guy."
"I sure won't. I would've pierced his heart with a photon beam and made him bleed out hopelessly in there until he dies."
"Wow, Kanna… that's pretty brutal."
As if the tables have been turned, the group of young men who was laughing and insulting them earlier was now at the edge, with the S.S.S Psychics now staring them off to scare them.
"Kh! These darned mobs are Irregulars! Their stats and actual power level are not right!"
"Is it a Deception skill? Maybe a Fake Stat trait?"
"Should we use an Eye of Clairvoyance?"
"No! That is too expensive to use here!"
One by one, each of them began to ask each other and pass around information about Ephraim and the others. One of these questions caught the attention of Goro who turned on his earpiece and talk to Ephraim.
"Sir. I think I heard something oddly familiar."
{"Oddly familiar, huh? What is this about?}
"I read it from the report of Chief Eri… These guys seem to be players of PsyWorld and are not regular Miyazono Psychics."
{"How did you notice that?"}
"I know about the Eye of Clairvoyance."
{"How so?"}
"I used to play PsyWorld too… at least before the Augmented Reality update came and the ones like me who has a proper real life to live was pushed out by the Net Game junkies. It was good times…"
{"I see… that's noted. Everyone, beware. These guys are operating under the PsyWorld Seed system. They might pull off abilities and weapons that we are not prepared for. Watch yourself.}
{"""Yes, sir!"""}
{"Should we just mop them up then, Rai-kun?"}
{"Negative, Mana. That would be too inefficient, letting some of them escape out of here and request reinforcements from the outside."}
{"Alright… I guess you have a point."}
The conversation in their intercom was cut short after a group of five enemies charged with a coordinated attack pattern.
"
"
Two of them who had ranged abilities shot their psychic attacks towards Mana and the others.
"Eat this!!!"
"Hya!"
"Get crushed!"
Meanwhile, the three others went for closer attacks and brandished their swords and axes towards the ones who was out of range from the previous elemental attacks.
"Tch! You call that lousy sword strike something good?"
"What?!"
"You're kidding me! You guys really are just net game junkies!"
"Urk!"
Kamiya Kanna and Endou Jun were the ones who caught these attacks using the Japanese blades that they received from their training in the Sumeragi group. And it wasn't something that they received at random too.
"Let me and Jun show you three…"
"…what weapons can become at the hands of people who actually know how to use them!"
*Ka-shik!*
*Kya-iyk!*
"GYAAAA!!!"
"NOOO!!!"
Kamiya Kanna is a fifth-dan in both Iaido and Kendo, an impressive feat considering that she is only a teenager. Meanwhile, Endou Jun is black-belter in Judo and a fourth-dan in Kendo, another young person who have attained high regards in their respective disciplines.
Back when they are just simple and innocent students of the Miyazono Old Tokyo Academy, both of them held onto their martial arts as a way of disciplining themselves and to join in a circle of people that share the same interests.
"You don't want to join in the close quarters, buddy?!"
"W-What the-!?"
"It's no fun if you guys just stick on the back like this, y'know?!"
Alas, that was already far back in the past…
"Kanna! Jun! Get ahold of yourselves!"
"-!"
"W-What…"
After everything that happened back in the day… and when they Awakened as Psychics and entered into its cruel world of carnage, those martial arts were no longer a discipline that they voluntarily perform, but something that they needed and eventually became their source of maddening bliss.
"You are relapsing into those parts of yourselves again! Control it, will you two?!"
"S-Sorry, Chief!"
"W-We will be more careful!"
"…Tch! You two really are a handful… if only you two didn't Awaken back then because of that."
Even if she wanted to scold them severely, Mana was aware of how Kanna and Jun Awakened as Psychics. Unlike her and a majority of other Psychics, the two had their Awakenings after failing to defend their friends from a Seed Psychic-turned-Malignance.
The sight of being swatted off and watching helplessly with their own eyes their friends being slaughtered and eaten half-alive… it was something that no human ever deserves to experience.
"Individual attacks won't cut it! They already downed Jijii and Romi's crew!"
"Are you suggesting that we go on an all-out assault then?"
"Don't be stupid! We'll be prone to area-wide attacks then!"
Their enemies were once again, speaking using their gaming language. Based on what they are saying, it was clear to Ephraim and the other S.S.S agents that their opponents are still thinking that this was all a game.
"Can't they get a clue? Their friends just died, and they're never even bothered."
"Maybe their AR brain implants have convinced them that everything is a game now at this point?"
"That's a possibility… with in-game events and quests that provide real-life cash, there is basically no need for them to reconnect back to reality."
"But that doesn't explain everything yet… no matter how much they bought into the game being applied in real life, they should still be aware that there is a real-life beyond what their AR chips are telling them."
"Wait a minute…"
"Hm? What's wrong, Goro?"
"…"
A bothered expression formed on Goro's face after hearing his fellow Psychics words.
"I know that the possibility is almost zero… but even if this fails, we will at least have an idea about how all of this operates."
"G-Goro!?"
After placing his handgun on his holster and walking past Mana who was staring off their enemies, Goro spoke out loudly towards the Owari guild.
"Hey! Leet up me players!"
"W-Whoa! Did that mob just spoke in Leet!?"
"Y-You're hearing things! How can a monster like that manage to speak in Leet?!"
"I ain't downing! Leet up me! Down by dungeon, night first in the rope!"
"Goro! Quit speaking gibberish there and-"
"Don't stop him, Hotaru-chan."
"C-Chief?"
"Goro is… trying out something that might enlighten us about what the hell that game is really doing to its players."
Leet speak used to be one of the oldest ways back in the infancy of the public internet for people to share jokes. By replacing some letters with numbers or symbols that resemble its alphabetical counterpart, they make the word or statement standout and sometimes even sound funny by itself alone. Even the word "Leet" used to be typed as 1337.
As time went on, Leet speak evolved and combined with several gaming inside languages and even before the onset of the Third World War where video gaming almost died, Leet speak evolved until it became a defining trait of those who would inherit the gaming community.
Although, to be fair, those who used to type or speak in Leet back then would most likely no longer recognize or understand a single thing about what Leet has become now… especially when those to revived it was only able to do so from fragmented examples from jokes and very old online game jargons.
Thus, Goro knew that by speaking in that familiar language that the AR brain implants may not have countermeasures for, there is a way to know what the game has done to its players… and perhaps, save them from it.
"H-hey! This ain't normal! This mob is really speaking in Leet! Are you sure that this is actually a monster dungeon?!"
"It is, doofus! Why else would Jijii and Romi's group get zeroed in here if this ain't a dungeon! This is most likely a new trait of monsters or some kind of feature that we didn't see in the patch notes!"
"N-Nay! I ain't downing, players! Me ain't a downer! Me an off-rack player!"
"He's an old player, he says…"
"Argh! Alright, let's try out if this really is true… Hey, Leet mob!"
"Piche?"
"What separates a noob from a pro? Make a mistake and I'll blow a hole through your head!"
"O-of course, there's none! Anyone's a noob so long as someone else calls them that! It's not a fact, it's an off-hand insult!"
"-!"
"T-Then what about this? What game would never die regardless of how long it has existed? I'll give you a clue. It's math without actually looking like math!"
"T-Tetris! It's almost a hundred years old and it's still in there somewhere!"
"Alright… if you're really an old PsyWorld player, you'd definitely know this…"
"Hit me…"
After a short pause, the guy shouted out his question.
"Where were you at the Battle of Blood Isle?!"
"-!"
For some reason, that question shook Goro a bit.
"Goro? What's wrong?"
"…Kh."
"Hey! They're being cautious of you!"
"Goro-san! Pull yourself together!"
"…"
Seeing that he stopped speaking and seemed to be unable to answer, the guildmates all became suspicious while Goro was being told to answer already by the others.
"Hey, mob! Are you going to answer or did your AI fizzle out and we can continue this battle now?!"
"I…"
"You what?"
"I didn't fight in the Battle of Blood Isle… I became a greedy opportunist and joined the Scalpers who harvested the High-density Astra Gems in the Forest of Searo and razed it to hide our tracks."
"-!!!"
"You're one of them!?"
"You damned bastard! Searo Forest was the game's only unofficial peace grounds! Did any of you and your Scalper buddies thought about how much effort it took for every guild and faction to unite and agree to make Searo a safe space for everyone!"
"Yeah! Even during the 14th Psychic Faction Wars, Searo was a place that was never fought over! It even housed the neutral guilds and newbies!"
"Kh! I knew that this would really haunt me one day."
From his earpiece, Ephraim heard everything. Even what Goro mumbled beneath his breath about him regretting that decision.
"S-Stop! Shut up for a second, everyone!"
"""…"""
"Hey mob… since you confessed to that, I have no more doubt about you being an old player."
"T-Thank goodness…"
"But…"
"Huh?"
*FRIYAG-!*
"GORO-!!!"
"UWARGH!"
Before any of them can notice, an arrow struck Goro, squarely sinking itself into his left chest and still having enough force behind it to fling him back several meters away.
"We ain't giving amnesty to Scalpers like you."
"Everyone! CHAAAAARGEEE!!!"
At that exact moment, the over a hundred members of the Owari guild charged towards them. This prompted Mana to charge forward as well, followed by her subordinates.
"Misaki! Take care of Goro!"
"Y-Yes, chief!"
"Hotaru! They're forming up their shields! Break them up with a sonic blast!"
"Roger!"
While running, Hotaru formed a ball of highly compressed sonic blast to the point of critical mass.
"Kanna! Jun! Slice their ranks into shreds!"
"Gotcha!"
"We're on it!"
Meanwhile, the two swordsmen took out their blades and unlike before, preserved their sense of self in order to fight properly.
"Jun! Take care of the rear and trap the injured ones in water orbs!"
"Will do!"
Meanwhile, the last of her subordinates formed giant orbs of water to trap their injured enemies into.
"Kh! Why did we let you even try that out, Goro-san…?"
"…Argh."
"Come on! Close up, already!"
From her hands, a gentle light glowed irregularly against the deep wound left by the arrow that struck Goro. Her forehead was covered with cold sweat and her hands and arms are shaking terribly. It was then did she receive some words from Ephraim.
"Calm yourself first, Misaki-chan."
"V-Vice Chief!"
"Come on… We can't afford to have even the healer panicking out like this. Calm down."
"Y-Yes!"
After being told off by Ephraim to stop panicking first, Misaki breathed out and restarted her healing ability. Now, it is a continuous and bright light that began to plug the blood vessels that are bleeding out profusely and even rapidly regrow the torn muscles on Goro's chest.
"Kak! Kah!"
"G-G-Goro-san!"
"Haaaah! HAAAAAH-!"
"Tch! He's going into hypovolemic shock! I'll lend you a hand!"
"Y-Yes, Vice Chief!"
Supposedly, Goro should've lost only a small volume of blood because the arrow hit him deep enough and when it was taken out, Misaki's ability was able to stop the bleeding quickly.
But there was something that bothered Ephraim greatly… which is the fact that the angle of the arrow ensured that instead of outside, that great deal of blood was trapped inside of Goro's body.
"Misaki! Stick this deep at these points! But be careful here cause it's near the heart!"
"Y-Yes!"
Using Goro's blood that was around them, Ephraim marked seven points on Goro's torso and gave Misaki several long syringe needles that he instructed her to stick into his body.
"I-It's done, sir!"
"Mm…
With one flick of his wrist, a large amount of blood came out of five needles and formed into a swirling ball before re-entering through the two other needles.
"W-Why is it going back, Vice Chief?"
"It's not the best way, but with this, we can at least save Goro… This might be a Subspace and our bodies here are Astral reproductions but dying here is still dying out there."
After all of his blood was placed back into his circulatory system, Goro's body stopped spasming randomly and fell flat back to the floor.
"His heart is beating weakly for now, but it will stabilize later. For now, supply him with Astra energy so he won't fall into a coma back outside later."
"Y-yes, Vice Chief!"
"Now… to help out in there."
At the forefront of the battle area, Ephraim saw his fellow S.S.S Psychics being outnumbered but never overwhelmed.
"
Mana, as he has always known, possessed a great deal of offensive prowess as none of the players even got to step near her, nor was she hit by any of their attacks.
"
"C-Crap!"
"M-My armor!"
Meanwhile, Hotaru continued to pierce the enemy lines while throwing around condensed orbs of highly unstable supersonic sound waves. With her running speed as a former 100-meter dash athlete, no one was able to catch up to her or grab her.
"UWARGH-!"
"KRAH-!"
"Get outta the way if you don't want to get slashed!"
"We ain't playing here! Get off!"
With their armor or weapons shattered by Hotaru's attacks, Kanna and Jun made quick work out of those who continued to resist. The blades sunk deep into their enemies' bodies and with the same swords, parried or blocked the counter-attacks of said opponents.
"URGH-! UWAAAAAARGH-!!!"
"Nope! Not now, buddy!"
"guahhh!"
Meanwhile, their rearmost member singled out those who didn't die instantly and began to struggle against something that seems to want to come out of their bodies. After finding those enemies, Koji trapped them inside large water orbs where they drowned and began to be compressed into small marble-sized pebbles before they turn into full-fledged Malignances.
"M-Master! These guys are insane! Everyone's getting zeroed without even getting to resist!"
"…Give the order then."
"Kh! Everyone! We are permitting you to use our Stat-up items!"
"Finally!"
"About damn time!"
Suddenly, small glass bottles or metal cans appeared from their hands, and they began to either drink it or pour it over their heads. As soon as it was done, a soft purplish glow covered them, and they all confidently charged towards Mana and the others.
"RAAAAHHH!!!"
"Kh! What the heck-!?"
"These guys got lighter on their feet but heavier on their blows!"
"
"Your fire's getting cold, milady!"
"Tch!"
Instead of pushing forward, their advance was blunted, and Mana and the others began to step back as the enemies swarmed around and began to either pelt them with ranged attacks or attempt to crush them with melee attacks.
"""
"""
One by one, the enemies intensified their Psychic attacks and before long, strung up enough coordination to overwhelm even Mana's ability to protect herself and her subordinates.
"Khh!"
"M-Mana-chan!"
"Stay out of this, Hotaru! Protect the others, not me!"
"B-But-"
"This is an order! Form a shock barrier to protect the others! I can handle my own self!"
"Roger!"
With their offensive push stopped, Mana decided to defend first as the others recuperated their strength and the person that she is waiting to finish patching up Goro comes around.
"It's time."
"-!!!"
"
As if the very space in front of her where she placed a thick wall of flames was distorted, a tall man appeared with an imposing air around him.
"This is… that guy?"
"Damn… that game is really making insane monsters out of them."
It was the same case for the others after they consumed the contents of the glass bottles and metal cans. Their body bulged up unnaturally and the glow of Astra energy within their bodies multiplied considerably.
"You bunch of abnormal mobs sure zeroed a lot of my guildmates… but forget about that, what pisses me off is that you forced us to use our items. Do you know how much effort it takes to secure enough money to buy that stuff?"
"Huh? Why the hell should I care about your problems."
"Why, you wench-!"
*KIYAK-!*
"-!!!"
"Heh… I could've done the same thing, but you really had to steal my thunder don't you, Rai-kun?"
"Oh, shut it… Both of us can do it, but you'd be too flashy in it unlike me."
In an instant, Ephraim crossed the huge distance between where he just revived Goro at and the battle area where Mana was almost hit by their enemy's attack. He sent forth a barrier of blood that made the guild master and number one Ranked player to cancel his attack and back away.
"Now that you've decided to fight, any idea about how to beat these guys back?"
"Nope! I thought you already have an idea after you fought them first!"
"Well silly me, aren't I?! Not so sharp to think that far ahead when we're outnumbered over eleven to one!"
"You sure are, Chief Fujikawa! You're complaining when not only you but the others already have a handicap in strength?!"
Even in the presence of a great deal of enemies, Ephraim and Mana began to bicker… something that annoyed their enemies and shocked their subordinates.
"Chief Mana and Vice-Chief Rai…"
"They're really horsing around like that right now…?"
"T-they really are amazing, aren't they…"
With exasperated tones and expressions, their subordinates began to either sigh or giggle about what their superiors are doing.
"These pests!"
"You darned mobs! You think you can just screw with each other and forget about us?"
"You sure have some spine, don't you!?"
Meanwhile, their opponents didn't take lightly about the fact that they are being ignored. All of them focused their attacks on the two and even spent some high-level Items to maximize their damage.
"Keh! These guys sure don't take lightly about being ignored, huh?"
"They sure don't… Hey, Mana!"
"What?"
"Goro-kun risked it all to extract that info for us and yet, he was replied with an arrow to the heart… If Yurippe hears this and how even one of these clowns got away, we won't be hearing the end of it."
"Heh! Yeah, yeah… Yurippe sure gets scary when one of us gets hurt. More so if we don't get to punch back."
While cracking her knuckles. Mana spoke out about their boss and how they fear her wrath.
"Well then… In that case, let's go all out."
"Sure thing. Let's not leave a trace of them in this place."
"Rai? Khh!"
"V-Vice Chief!?"
"What is he doing?!"
Without any warnings for his comrades, Ephraim covered himself in a thick mist of blood and once it dissipated, his previously neon blue irises that shows that he is actively using his Psychic powers became bright crimson red.
"W-Whoa! This guy is-!"
"This guy's Astra point level skyrocketed!"
"I-It's over nine-!"
(T/N: That last part wasn't in the original manuscript, but after I added it, Author Rai agreed. It's a jolly good reference.)
"It's been a long while since I got to use this… over a year already, wasn't it?"
After he sensed Ephraim's Astra energy nature, one of the players fell down on his feet while shaking terribly.
"N-No… It can't be-!"
"What are you mumbling about!?"
"T-T-This mob… N-No! This guy! He's an enemy beyond legendary difficulty!"
"B-Beyond Legendary!?"
Hearing his claim, everyone else stood in both terror and awe in front of this person that they are now doomed to fight against.
"The Grim Reaper of Old Tokyo… The Demon of Sunogahara-cho!"
"Khh!"
"Don't you dare leave the dungeon now! Stand your ground!"
"I-It's over! It's all over for us!!!"
"Somebody shut his trap!"
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE…!"
"Time to meet your maker!"
"BLOOD TYRANT!!!"
Gathering the attention and fear of both friend and foe, Ephraim lunged forward with a familiar crimson spear on hand… ready to spell the doom of the Owari guild once and for all.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Horrifying…
Simply yet utterly terrifying…
I changed because I lost those that I dearly loved… but him…
"Rai-kun…"
He changed because of something that he saw and learned…
Something that he has never told anyone else since then…
"Chief… No, Mana-chan…"
"…Yes?"
"Ephraim… just who is he really?"
"…"
I wish I can have the opportunity to ask you that question too one day, Ephraim… because whenever I am reminded of the difference in our strengths and how you acquired yours from a near-death experience unlike mine that simply manifested one day…
It scares me.
"Mana-chan?"
"I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan…"
"Huh?"
"I… don't know the answer to that either…"
It utterly horrifies me how someone like you can endure this kind of carnage that even I was being crushed with constantly until that bitter day.
Perhaps, I will never know the answer to that.
"Chief… everyone… look at that…"
"Vice Chief… in just a matter of moments…"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
I hate it… this power and how it corrupts my reason to kill…
"I WANT MORE…!"
"E-EEEEEKKKK!!!"
"Where do you think you're going, buddy!?"
"IYAAAAAA!!!"
"Everyone! Here's the battle that all of you seem to be chasing after! A once-in-a-lifetime experience! A bloodbath of incomprehensible proportions!"
Supposedly, I should be in total control of this form of mine… but as I soon learned, I cannot simply be a suitable Vessel of Law without knowing first how to tame my unfettered desire of combat and carnage. I need to reel it in and make it follow me.
"Kh! Listen to me… damn it…!"
"H-He's letting up!"
"Zero him then! Stop him while he's recovering his strength!"
However, in such a situation where there is nothing for me to hold on to pivot control back to my sane self, the part of myself that thirst for combat wins over again and again.
"You meddlesome animals! GET OUTTA MY WAY!!!"
"URYAGH-!"
"GYAAAK-!"
I swung my spear around, killing off all eight of those that rushed to take a stab on me. Although it did save my life, I still didn't like how I didn't get back any control of my own self.
In any case, I wrestled for control of my body from my rampaging self and finally got it when there was no one else left alive in the enemies except for this guy who is supposedly their guild master.
"You… Haah… Haah… Monster…!"
"I know… I'm quite the headache, aren't I!?"
I lunged forward and he dodged accordingly before blasting me off with distorted space and following through with making the space behind me to curl up like a black hole.
"Not a chance!"
"Tch!"
I threw a blood spike on his open hand that pierced it enough for him to cancel his spell.
"Time to end this!"
"I will not let you!
He surrounded himself with distorted spaces that would immediately devour any attacks I would send and eat me up if I got close enough… I was already charging towards him when he casted it and it would've been a sure death sentence…
"
But unlike him, I have trustworthy allies who can save my life.
"W-What the-!?"
"Not so cocky now, aren't we!?"
"Why, you Scalper pest!!!"
"Give 'im a good thrashing, Vice Chief! Ack-!"
"Goro!"
After the distorted space around him was dissipated by Goro's timely casting of his ability before falling unconscious again, my spear went straight for his stomach.
*TIYAK-!*
"GHHH-!!!"
"RAAAAAAA!!!"
I poured more strength into my spear after he caught it by the blade with his hands. With brute force alone, he managed to keep it from stabbing into his abdomen.
"
"Not a chance!
"DRAT-!"
He attempted to break my weapon by running a high frequency pressure wave through it, but Hotaru detected it and countered the attempt before it materialized.
"YOU DAMNED MOBS! How dare you… how dare you stain the reputation of PsyWorld's greatest player!!!!!"
"Just die, you egoist bastard!!!"
"GRYAAAAAA!!!"
"
After stabbing into his body, my spear made immediate contact with his blood and in an instant, his last heartbeat also brought his own death as every inch of his body that was pumped by his heart exploded out.
"Urk-!"
"V-Vice Chief!"
"Rai-kun!"
After being sure that he was dead, I immediately disabled my Vessel Form and was instantly flooded by the repercussions of both overusing it and not being able to control it until the last moments.
"M-Misaki! Treat him!"
"H-He's getting cold! I think it's Auto Aspir syndrome!"
"Give us some space!"
While Misaki was relieving the inhuman amount of pain that I am experiencing, Mana circulated flames around me in order to stop the onset of Auto Aspir syndrome that is forming in my body.
"This won't do… We gotta go back to the real world now and have both Goro and the Vice Chief get proper Psychic medical care."
"W-Wait…"
"V-Vice Chief!"
"Just hold on for us! We're breaking the Subspace now!"
"I-I said… Wait…"
"Sir?"
"What's wrong, Rai-kun?"
"Kh… The laboratory and factory down there…"
"-!"
In fearing for my and Goro's safety, Mana and the others forgot why we were here in the first place.
"Leave it to us then! We'll clean it up!"
"Hotaru?"
"Mm. Kanna, Jun and I would destroy the Replicator pods and any records in the laboratory. We'll raze this place to the ground."
"Leave it all to us, Vice Chief."
"Mm. We will do this without fail."
"No…"
"S-Sir?"
Leaving the three of them here when we just destroyed what is probably the strongest faction in the Miyazono corporation's so-called "game" is tantamount to leaving them for dead.
"Mana… join them. If things get hairy… you're the only one that I can trust to protect them."
"Rai…"
"And… this is… for your sake too."
These were the words that I spoke before I finally lost consciousness from physical and psychical exhaustion.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Mm! Leave them to us, Chief!"
"Alright. Be careful while leaving the Subspace, Misaki and Koji."
After reminding them to stay safe while escaping from the Subspace, the two hoisted Goro and Rai on their backs and left the cavern, leaving me with the three others who volunteered to destroy the entire place.
"Haah… Let's not leave a single piece of equipment usable here! Let's do this!"
"Yes, Chief!"
As we scattered towards the places where there are cloning and experimentation equipment of the Miyazonos, I remembered how Ephraim told me to stay with them instead of joining Misaki and Koji who is leaving the place.
"This is… for your sake too…"
I repeated those words that bothered me greatly… why did Ephraim said it like that?
Just… what did he see back then that changed him so much like this?
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Back in the real world, Misaki and Koji handed Ephraim and Goro to the S.S.S Agents who hurriedly brought them to the Sumeragi estate in Kabuki-cho.
"Emergency, emergency!"
"Clear the corridor!"
Strapped on stretchers and having pale skin, the two were hurriedly brought to the clinic of Imamura Akari who immediately sunk the two inside a tub of Astra energy-rich water.
"That would stop the Auto Aspir syndrome, but they would be unconscious for a long while since their bodies were impacted by the injuries and exhaustion they sustained in a subspace."
"W-Will they be alright, Akari-sensei?"
"Don't worry about that, Koji. They will be alright… they're stubborn lads. Nothing can kill them."
"I know… but still, Vice Chief pushing himself like this again is something that's been bothering everyone."
"…"
"It feels like… he can't even trust us with protecting our own selves."
As the two of them stared at the unconscious Ephraim, deep inside his head wasn't the dark void of unconsciousness but instead, an active conversation with someone that has co-existed in his body.
"I gave you that power and authority, believing that you would have full control of it soon and just in time for the build-up for the increasingly evident beginning of total war between everyone."
"…"
"So tell me, Ephraim… why can you still not control that monster that does nothing but rampage around ceaselessly?"
"Law… you should understand that-"
"SILENCE!"
"-!"
"You are being devoured by the troubles that are yet to come! You are looking too far ahead to see the problems you have in the present!"
"And what do you think would happen to me after I saw all of that!? Did that enter you mind as well?!"
"…"
Inner turmoil.
For Ephraim, who has begun to fear for the future, and Law, who insists to stubbornly change the present, how they will use their shared powers has become something that none of them can ever come to terms with together.
"My bloodline… everyone of my ancestors lived just to fulfill the promise Lady Cecilia gave you back then… I do not question that… nor do I regret having to carry it on now upon my own shoulders."
"…"
"So please… just like before, bear with me the burden of chaining this monster and let me use your power in order to change the terrible future ahead of us."
"…"
"Please, Law…"
A request from a Vessel to its Spirit… one that pleaded for help in the face of indomitable odds.
"I don't want to condemn everyone to that kind of death… and end up destroying the world with my own hands."
Or perhaps, a wish to not be given and hold such a cruel responsibility.