At last, Taro was starting to get his strength back. He was finally eating food and drinking water. The pink in his cheeks had come back, and vitality overall was returning to his form. For the first time in god knows how long, the boy finally looked… alive.
Megami had been making sure to check on Taro at least once a day. While his physical health was rapidly improving, his mental health still had a long way to go. The good news was they were making some progress. Taro was beginning to open up to Megami, and had regained some of his old spunk. He was nowhere near where he had been before, but things were headed in a good direction.
So it was hard to describe Megami's feelings when she saw Taro's bed was empty again. The sheets were torn up and the blanket was tossed on the ground, causing Megami to crease her brow.
"Mr. Yamada?" she called.
She heard a scream from the balcony. She raced out there, holding out her fists. And what she saw caused her to stop completely.
Taro was being pinned down to the ground by none other than Kuroko Kamenaga. A sword was pointed at his throat, about to dig into the flesh. Blood poured down Taro's forehead. He was panting heavily.
"Kamenaga-san!" Megami boomed. "What is the meaning of this?"
Kuroko's face shadowed over. She raised the sword above Taro's head.
"Do not," Megami told her, voice icy. "If you attempt to kill him, then you have officially betrayed me, Kamanega."
"'Officially…'" Kuroko uttered with distaste. "Of course. Nothing is official until you see it, Megami."
"Kamenaga, I don't understand," Megami spoke, tone still icy. "Why are you doing this?"
Kuroko didn't respond. She focused back on Taro.
"You are my most trusted advisor, Kamenaga," Megami said, walking over to her. "I would rather not take action against you."
Kuroko didn't say anything.
"You're my friend, Kuroko," Megami said, her voice quiet. "I don't want to fight you."
"'Friend'?" Kuroko tch-ed. "Don't play games with me, Megami. You have no friends. And you are no friend of mine, either. You took everything from me." She pointed her sword at Megami, trembling. "I've always been in second place, you know. My parents prefer my brother over me. Compared to him, I'm just a hindrance, the second child. When I joined the Hero Association, I couldn't reach S Class. So I tried to get to the top of A Class, but instead I got stuck at second place again, and I couldn't get past Sweet Mask. The only time I won something was when I became Student Council President. Finally, I was in first place." Her weapon trembled. "And then you came along."
"Kuroko..." Megami breathed.
"You took the one thing I'd won away from me," Kuroko spat. "I was humiliated. I was back in second place again. But…" She gritted her teeth. "I'm sick of being second rate. I'm going to be number one again. And that starts…" Her eyes flashed behind her glasses, "... with taking you down, one step at a time."
Megami scowled, crossing her arms. "But how did you know Taro was here? I kept the information about him completely confidential. You should have no reason to attack him."
Kuroko continued pointing her weapon at Megami. Then Megami realised.
"I see..." Megami breathed out. "Of course, the Yandere girl wanted him to die, which means…" She glared at Kuroko. "You are working with her."
Kuroko jumped towards Megami, swinging her sword. Megami slid out of the way, reaching for her own weapon.
"I can't believe you, Kamenaga," Megami hissed. "You have truly sunken too low for redemption if you agreed to work with her."
"We have similar goals," Kuroko retorted, lunging towards Megami. "She was going to help me take you down."
"How desperate for revenge are you?" Megami asked, parrying Kuroko's sword with her staff. "I initially believed you were one of the smartest students at Akademi. Your better judgement should've led you away from that girl."
"Don't you dare criticise me," Kuroko yelled, holding up her shield. "You think you're perfect, but in reality, you're just a little girl sitting on a mountain of lies!"
"You're being childish," Megami argued, clashing with Kuroko's shield. "Even if I'm 'sitting on a mountain of lies', at least I know better than to agree to work with that creature."
Kuroko growled, holding her shield in front of her face. It protected her from another blow, but made her stumble. Her glasses nearly fell off her face. Her arms trembled.
"You know you cannot win against me, Kuroko," Megami told her. "Surrender now, and the punishment will be less severe."
"In your dreams," Kuroko spat. She whipped around, her sword pointed at Taro instead. He whimpered, tears falling from his eyes.
"I order you to stop!" Megami boomed.
Kuroko raced towards Taro, lightning fast. Her sword cut through the air-
And then clattered to the side. Megami had arrived just in time, knocking the weapon from Kuroko's hand. She stood above Kuroko, pointing her staff at her. Kuroko fell to her knees. She whimpered, letting out a cold, dry laugh. Her throat croaked with pain.
"Fine, you win, Saikou," she spat. "Just kill me and get it over with."
Megami lowered her weapon. "I will not kill you so pathetically, Kamena-"
"KILL ME!" Kuroko screamed, tears forming in her eyes. Her voice cracked. "I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO LIVE FOR! SO DO IT! KILL ME NOW!"
Megami, despite the shocking behaviour, kept her calm. "I refuse."
"Fine." Kuroko hissed. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a smoke-bomb. She slammed the bomb onto the balcony, causing smoke to rise. For a few moments, nothing could be seen. Only Taro's horrid coughs could be heard. And when the smoke lowered, Kuroko was gone.
Megami clenched her staff, face shadowed over for a moment.
"M… Megami?" Taro asked, peering up at her.
"I understand you better now, Mr. Yamada," Megami said, voice calm. "I understand what it feels like to be betrayed."
Taro whimpered. "Megami, I'm sorry…"
"That is why it's better to work by yourself," Megami told Taro. "For then, betrayals will never hurt you."
Taro's lip quivered, and then he nodded in understanding.
"I believe it's time I told you something, Mr. Yamada," Megami spoke, returning her gaze to him. "It's time we spoke about a prophecy."
Ayano was losing control. The power of the prophecy was overtaking her, controlling her thoughts, her mind, her body. The urge to kill was harder to resist. She had almost slaughtered a group of civilians by mistake. Whenever she walked around, her posture was slumped, and her body twitched. Her eyes were constantly glowing red, and her strings were always floating around. She could no longer put them away.
But she couldn't bring herself to care much anymore.
Of course, Saitama had noticed her unusual nature. She had been inside his new apartment, curled up in a ball. Strings had surrounded her, like an army of tiny red snakes.
"Everything okay, Yan-chan?" Saitama had asked, scanning her over.
She just nodded, and quickly excused herself from his apartment. She knew she wasn't ready to face him quite yet.
She ran all the way home, avoiding people as much as she could. She needed to regain control. Today was a big day. It was the day of the jail bombing.
Once she got to her bedroom, she stood there, figure slumped. She panted heavily. Her bed had been sliced in half; another misuse of her knife. Her vision was flickering, black, red, and grey. She slumped forward, moving to her pinboard with images of heroes.
She tore down the images, ripping the pieces of paper up. She fell to her knees, a wicked laugh escaping her lips. She rolled all over the floor, unable to stop laughing. She ripped the posters on her wall, and spilled blood on her floor. Strings were wrapping around her entire body, trapping her in a red cocoon.
"L̢̽OŚ̗͈͓̿̂͢͡I͖͆N̡̩̆̀G̞͆ ̼̼̼̘̌̈͞͠C͉̬̬̈̀̏O̟̒Ṇ̘̦̃̀̿͋̕͜͟T̠͙̓͗Ṟ̊OL̢͈̮͋̒̕ Ä̗̮̜̎͠L̀͢R̜̙̜͗̈̊EA̡͎̽͌̋ͅD̜̥̃͋Y̘̤̯̰͚̽̑̑͛̚.̤̏͗͢.͈̩͕͈̟̌̓̍̈́̽.̡̿.̣̃ ̪̰͒͗W̭̥̲͐͐̓͘͟E͍̝̩̓͑̉L̤͐̕͟L̗̑,̙̮̠̉̓͊ ͖̩͋̒I͓̅T͔̜̫̤̒͋̄͐͆ͅ ̥̈͜͝W̟̩̹͌͋́͟͞AṢ͖̬̈́̔͒ ͖̩͕̯͉̄̔͂̑͑BO̢̺̟̼̿͋̐̓Ủ̘͓͖̖̆̅̾̾͜N̰͒D̦̓ ͇͐T̮͖̾͒O̟͝ H̨̘̓̾A͉͋͊͜P̨͔̣͐̈̚P̣̙̈͌Ȩ͔̻̎͛̀N͔͇̒͛ ̧͕̉̇E̹̖͊́V̗͕͊͝Ě͙̖̙͂̌Ṉ̯̜̔͐͌T̙̺̫̀̅͡U̻̾Ȧ͔͎͕̀͗̍͟LL̳̮͋̂͛͢Y͇͎̎͞.̻͠ ̖̬̝͍̇͒̂͗̋͟"
Ayano stood up. She was no longer in her room; instead, she had been transported to an empty, vast space that seemed to go on forever. In front of her was the glitching black and white schoolgirl. The Fun Girl.
"It's you again," Ayano spoke. "Who are you?"
"̦̪͒͞Ỉ͎͍͝ ̨̪̹̱̐̅͒̚H͎̙̀̎A̛̭̝͉͉̾̈͘V̛̭Ȩ̼͗͐ ͚͍͇̞̇͐̏̚Ã̯̲̊̇͢͜͡ P͖̖̪͒͌̽L̢̯̜̒̔͠A̠̟͋̽C̡̥̮̭̒̅̋͗͜͞Ȩ͓͆́ ̨̙͖̫̀̃̅͌Į̞̜̣̂͆̃͝N̳͕̿̚ ̘̉Ť͕͔̠͐͗̃͜Ḫ̫̹͚̀͂̏̍̑͟Ị͛S̛͖͈̉ W̯̣̠̃̈͂Ọ̇͡ͅŔ͔L̡̪̯͗̓̂̒ͅD̛̛̮͉̬̣̆͌ the Fun Girl said. .̙͙̭͖̔̓̃́͋ͅ ̛̬W͖̮͓̏̎̑E̗͓̓̃L̨͔̪̀̒͛L,͔͕̌̉̽͜ ̫̜̬̫͆̽̚̕Ḭ̡͕͙͐͛̃́̃͢ ̹̖͕͐̃̓WA̢̔Ŝ͉̘͠ ̬̻̜͍͎͑̈́̉̚͡S̡̛̘͋̐͜Ū̼PP̯͎̆́O̦̓S̗̆ED̛͍̳̲̬̋̑̂ ̨̳͙̩̮̑̉̉͒̕T̳̺̯̺̊͐̓͝Ò̧͎͖̩̰̽̂̅̏.̡͙̝̳̍͑͋̽ ͖̳̭̾̃̐M̻͐Y̯̯͚̬̘͒̓̓̽̇ ͕͎̈̑U͉̱̫̹̫͋̈̈̎̚N̠͙̑̓Ỉ̻̞͇̆̋V̰̭̺͆̍̿E̛̱Ṟ͎͈̟̋̍̀̊̽͟S̤̳͑̊E̪̞͂͊ ̖͕̘͊̅͒I͈̔S̖͓̺̙̟̎̀͆̕͘ ͎͗Ï̟̊͢DȆ͎N̬͊Ţ̧̧̲̾̐̿̕İ͕͙̄̈͟Ċ̣̣̿͐͜Á̬L͚̯̈̀ ̭̖̋͞T͖̗͖̥́̎͒͞Ȍ̖̣̟̑͂ ̭̒T̼͓̤͐̓̆H̡̹͚͍̋̉̓̚Į̰̠̎̍̓S̨̧̤͕̃͒̓̏ ̺̱͐͑̆͜O̬̝͛́Ņ̞̼̞̐͑̚͝E̛̖͇͈̮̯̅͌̀͆.̢̠̂̾..̱͝Ŵ̢̧̯̦̟̈͑̈́̚Į̬̲̆̅̀T̹̲̯̄̾̊̒͜H̖̪̪̓̐̃̕͟ Ȍ̮̻̮̌͞Ǹ͈̣͕͙̀͘͝É̯͋͜ ͇̜̂̍Ḑ̰̗̗̀̅̆̂̈́͢IFF̢̲́̾́ͅE̞͉̾̀͋ͅR͔̣̹̞͔̐͋̐́̑EN͍̱̜̂͂̀Ċ̼̱͇̻̖̿̔̍́E͎͇̼͇̅̃̋̀.̨̘̟̦̫̀̓͂̂͘ ̩̜̞̯͂͆͆̾I̮̚N̡̨̾̐ ̝̮̑̽Ṭ͋H̖̥̓̊͛͟IŚ̤̮̘̎́ ̞̪̘̬́̌̐̈́UŃ̝̭̯́̇IV̦̅ER̖̐S͇͔͋̉E̬͕̞̭̾͗́̍,̥̌͆ͅ Ḿ̨̟̮̝̙͗̒̒͊Y ͎͉̰͈̼̎̃͊͂͘F̳͊À̛̟̤͎̦̊̿T̡͒́͜H̟͡Ĕ̼̠͇̇̇R̛̝ ̖͡I̜̜̓̽NVE̢̳͐̃N͍̘͎͍̽̿̊͒͒͢T̫͕͐̾E̩̮͕̋̅͐D̰̒ ̩̹̖̇̾̍͜͠M͍̳̀̾A̠͠Ň̢̲̺̞̆́̚Y ̢̛̙̿̀ͅȚ͉͈̇́̊H̨͎́̉I̪̓N̨̬̂͠G͖̊S͎̚ ͈̾Ẵ̘͔Ľ͈Ơ̳͛͟N͉̣̅̀G͓͍͉͙̀̀͐͠S̡͚̖͖̑̊̉̕I͍͈̦̊̅͞D̬́E̜̻͈͋́̚ ̛͙͔͇̆̓TH̪̝̙̝̝͛̂̇̍͝Ą̫̪͗̈͠͠ͅT̡̽ D̘̼̥̰̜̈̍̂̿̕R̙̳͈͛̍̕.̣̟̲̫̍̆̽̍ ̮̤̪͛̃͡G̢̀EŅ͚̺̩͓̇͗̽̃̚Ú͙̜̀Ṡ̬̙̻̥̮̀̌̕͝.̡͕̭͌̈̕ ̞͕́̄I͕̣̟̒̀̅Ṉ͈̏̄ ̡͙̹̜͌͂̍͑M̲̥͂͠Y̨̯͎̭̅͆͘͝ ͖͎̘̑̅̽U̟̭̎̌̃͜N͉͙͖̔̐͡Į̍V͓͎͈̞́̓͆̌ERSE̘̖̻̔́͠,̜̩̣́̀̆ T̹̫͇̰̮̓̾̌̾͠H̪̣̹̳̥̓͐̀̔͗È̡̨̬͋̎̿͟Y̳͊͊͢ ̧͈̉͗H̻̰̎͡AD̨̧̆͂ ̠͇̘͊͘͝J̦̖̮̍͐̋U̪̅S͙̾T̪̫̐͘ ͎͎̖͈̻̇͂̔͊́OŅ̖̃̉͠ͅE͇͇̘̐́̚ ̗͕̃́̽͟M̭͉̦̠͐̾̂̌̚͟Ő͍͙͖̙̆̒͆Ŗ̺̰̜͆̾̈́̀E͈͌ ̢̬̳͖͈̊͆̀̑͡I̲̞̼̙̿͂̋͗̓͢NVE͎̟̝̔̅̌N͈͖͛͛T̢̺̝̈́̇͒͢͡Ī̢͓͉͋̀͗͜Ỏ̤̞̺͙̩̽̇̀̒Ǹ̪̙̚.̜̦̘͇̝͒̓̀͛̽
͍͇̀̚T̤͉͔̼̘̓̈́̀͂͡Ḣ̩͢͝Ë̞́Í̺̜̠͛͗R̮̈́ ̫̇Ṁ̪̠̤͕̂̒́Ā̺͕͐̇ͅC̬̜̪̆̉̚H̢̝̭̮̘̀̇̎̐͡Ị̱͍̀̅̑Ǹ̛̠̭̠̈Ë͓̰͞ ͔͗̄̾͢͢Ẅ͈A̳̯̻̺͍̽̿̉͆̍S͆̏͢ͅ G̯͛Ȏ̖IN͖̿̐͟G̫̰̏͠ ͉̠͂́T͖̦́̑́͜O ̞̖͐̾C̨̺̋̚H̛͈͙̣̆̚͟͠A͕͈̅̀̚ͅN̜͔̅̆Ġ̦E̻͉̾̇ ̢̞̻͓̍̏͝͞E͔̹͉̺͍̔́̎̌̾V̰̒E̡̿͜͡R̙̘̫̳̀̇͌̍Ỹ̛̗̫̬̫̃͡T̙̠̗̂̎͛H̗͋I̧̢̥͚̒̽̐͛N̛͈̳̊͡ͅǴ͔̯͒.͎̪͒̿͝ͅ I̝̣̬̞̦͐͐͆̌͊Ṯ̥̻͐̀͗ ̬̝̄̄̚͢D͇̤͉̯͆͋̋̊I͔͎̔͠D̳̑.̩̬̩͊̓́͝ͅ ͎̞̋̓J͙̣̤͊̐͝U̩̮̓́͡ͅS̘̯̅̓T͓͒́̀͜ͅ ̭̓N̡͕̺͌͊̏̍͟O͓͔̣͈͕͐̐͂͘͠T̖͍͑̿ T̺͚̣̪͍̊̀̓͝͞Ḩ̻̱̀̎̕E̪̔ ̛͎͙͕̳͖̃͋̃̚Ẁ̘̩͈̄̚Ā̬Y̅͟ T̼͡H̻͍̲̄̎̈́E͚͊̇͢Ẏ̧̦̑ ̜̙̹̩̼͌͗̀͆̾Ẁ̨̨̬͖̩̓̉̕͘A̟̝̹̻͗̎̿͞N̟̕T̂͟Ȅ̲̞̫̻͐͘͠D̛̬̪̘̩̔̐̂.̨̛͐ͅ ̧͌TH̡͒͝ͅE͕͇̓͋ ̟͡I̝̙͔̮͑̈́̕N̯̐͗ͅV̟͡È̺͍̺̕͝͝ͅŞ͖͔̙͂̋͂̅T̮̞̥̽̓͊O̻̥͉̮͂̈́̎R̦̦̈́̀Ş͙̰̠̄͆̅̀ ̡̳̰̠̂̐̔̚W͚̍̕͟A̦͘N̨̙͐͛T̠̈́E̠̒D ̳̻̤̻̽̔̊̕Ţ̈́H̢̿Ḙ͒M̝̬̖̩̾͂̉͛ ̙̪̓̾͘ͅT͔̟̰̽͂͘O̲͎͙̠̓̊̿́ ͕̘̌̔P̞̝̝̞̈́͌̚͝RO̥̜͌̄V̢̿̉͢Ę͓͘̚ T̢͚͆͂H̠̜͔͉̹͑̓̂͑̓A͓̯̐́T̨͖̻͖̞̄̊͆̑̕ I̪̜̲͙͑͑̚͠T̤͕̭̒̈́͒͢ ̫͓̤̽̈̕͜͡W̪̥̻̌̔̐͐͢A̝̘̗̒͋̌Ş̬͓̔͡͞ S̨͓̊͋̄ͅÄ̧͎͇́̈́̚F̼͑E̘̔.̜̉ ̛̱T̩̲͖̳̅͋̆̅̓͢O̱͗ ͉̤͔̈́͊̆̍ͅD̜̳̖͌̀̕E̹̯͙̥̋̔͒́Ṃ̂O̲̥̒́N̬̯̯͋̎͞S̙̭̬̅̈́̚͟͞T̆͟Ř̨Ạ̢̧̏̎̎T̟̯̱̅̀͋E̡͙̓̈ ͖̻̓̓HÌ̢̝̥̂̍S̩̻͊̋ Č̭͉͝O̳̮̍̾Ǹ͖̻̰̳͙͂̾̀͊FI̛̝̹̹͊͆̌͜D͒͜Ę̮̓̎N̛̮͚͍̘͎̋́͛͡CE, ̢̧̛̛̛̗̗̝͋͋M̩̱̞̑̄̔Y͖͕̎̀ F̛̦͓̼̻́̐͆͘͢A̤͓͋̚T̥͖̾̒̒͟H͕͓̃́́͜E̓͜R̲̯͌̅̓ͅ ̬̇Ó̰͉̙̹̿̌̚F̙̎F͔͛Ẻ̬͔̯̃̓̀ͅRȨ̮̺̈̀̚Ḑ͉̓͗ T̰͡O̮̲͛͌ ̬̓P̖̦̱͂͌̆UT̻͘ ̑͜H̡̐̄͟I̝̟̾͞S̥͓̗͉̃̍̂̂ ̰̆͆͜OW͇͚̊̚N̡̰̞͒̈́ DA͖̔Ŭ̯G̨͈̞͙̽͌̃͑H̠̦͒͡Ț̣̄̕E̯̬̖̯̍̐̍̑R̩̓ I̱̐N̥͉̰̖̥͂͂͂̔͠S̙͋̔͢I͔̻͌͠D̢͓̥̭̑̈̃̾E̤̯̞͊̓̿͆ͅ.͚̜̐́ ̲̀Ť̤H̙͙̯͕̝̔͊̈́̔̄E ̡̞̭́̌͊M̻̱͔͛́̒A̡͍̱͋̃̏̔͜C͖̦̿̔H͓͘I̧̯͙̍̓͘N̳͖̒̽̉͢E̋̇͢ͅ ̙̈W̱͐A̦̠͌̔S̤͓̄͠ ̯̪̫͉̽̋̉͝T̬͆̕͟ES͉͆̿͟T̨͕̔͝E͍͋D͍̙̯̀̓̀ ̧̧͇̐̓̀͘͜ON̻͖͆͡ ̙͑M̗͋Ā͕̠̦̓̆N̨̘̊͝Ỳ̤ ̰̄̇͟AÑ̢̤̼̺̔̚͘I̙͖̐͘M͈͔̋̕A̳͖̱̠͙̒̉́̌̈L̡̠͙̇͌̕S̛̩͚͉̖͑̿̀.̹̤̱͔͖͋̈́̀͒͛.̛̪̺̕.̨̈́ Ḃ̧̛̛̞̰̙͠Ů̹̹̤̼̈́̑T ̳̪̾́I̖͡T͈͞ ̹̪̉̅HAD ̛̺͉̣̜̖͗̓̈͞N̖̹͛̕EV̛̪͇̱̖͗̎̀͟͠Ë̖́R̨̨̬̹͐̑̌͠ ̖̰̩̓̎͂̕͟B̦̯͉̙͌̌͡͝É̳E̛̫̻̥̹̔̒̓Ñ̢̆͟ ̢̭̬̗͋̋̌͝T̛̲̜̣̙̆̈̽E͚̼̻͕͂͋́͠S̢̻͒͌Ţ̫͎͕͆̽̀͡Ẻ͇̞͔̋͒D̳̖̰̍͋̕ ̜̦͛͠Ó̻̱͛Ṋ̙͔̉̂̎͟͡ ̗͊Ã͕̑͜ ̭̮̜̼̪͌͊͐̋͂H̻̹̅́́͜Ṵ̢̡͈͚̋̄̚̚͡M̲̿A̛̭̰̹͓̰̿̄͛͠N̼͓̝̏̃̆̄͢͠ͅ.̜̳̾͋"͉̺̰͗̚̚ ̡̼͉͐͒̕
She glitched.̡̭̐͝ ̜̗̍̂"̛̯̼̥͕̒̑͂̄͟B̝͘E̲̥͚̜̔͛̽̿͢͡I̧͌N̢͇̼̋̊͘G̳̹͈͋̾́̃͢ ̹͂S̲̖̭̯̈́̚͠͠H͙̤͋͝A̡̬̼̳̲̔̈̈́̒͞T̜̫͍̂͘͡TE̹̲͋͡R͇̪̪̂͂̅Ȩ̝̺͉̔̾́͒̚͢D̜̰̠̹̎̄̂̓ ̢̺͖́͒̏Ȁ̞͔͐̾͜C̞̽Ṝ̟͈̽̈́O̲͞S͔̻̩̠̈͗̄̎S̨̞̳̩̿̽̂͆ Ṱ̽I̮̖͝͞M͎̈Ẽ̹ ̠̠̺͕̂̀̾̚Á̻̤̿Ǹ͉̞̕D͎̀͝ͅ ̝̥̃͗SP̞̉Ą̭̿͑C͍̻̣̜̽̆̈̕Ě̪͔̃ ̟͎͝͝WA̼̞͔͒͑̋͂͟Ș̠̥͐̐̃ Ṇ̼̮̍̇͐O̹̼̐̚T̖̋ ̟̆T͖͛H̡̙̖̾̊͐E ̃͢W̥̮̤̾̇͞Ọ̩͉̠̎̈̈͡Ŕ̜̲̟͛́S͌͟T̗̽ ̞̣̂̍P̖̪͒̍Á͉Ř͉T̨̛̫̰̐̈́.̛̬͍̗̈́̀͘͟ T͓̠̿̕H͛ͅE ̣̜̦̬̯̔͆̇̌̔WO̬͍͕̎̊̾R̖̞͊̚S̝̞̝͛̀̾͟͠T̙̊ ̘̈́PA̳̥̙̙̓͆͋͡͡ͅR̗̜̠̄̑̾͘͜T̍͢ ̢͈̾̚W̫͘Ằ͔̯̰̃S͕̺͔̪̈́̔̀͑ BẸ̾I̦̦̺͐̈̃N̢̬̰̭̋͛̋͝G̱̹̳̮̯̉̓̓̈͘ ̖̋F͈̤̪͔̽̀͊̃Ȏ̱R̟͔̣͗̐͊̕͜G̩̓Ȏ̲͖̐T͖́T̞͉́̕È̬̬͋Ṉ̉̕ͅ.̧̡͈̋̂̈ ̠̼͠͝I̢̬̹̔̈͆͑́͟͜N ̖̮̑̕T̫͚̍̌́̚̚͢͟ͅH̱̗̠̊͑͛I̥̺͗̓Ṡ̩͍͗ ̹̇U̙̕N̡̨͈̝͋̍͂̂I̡͓̰̅̐͝V̘͑̍͟È̞͓͈͈͆͘͘R̮̤̩͚̲͌̂̄͘̕S̩̯͡͞E͎͠,͇̖̩̼́́̅͘ ̡̛͖͕̜̍̾͡M̛͉͓̲̂́͝ͅŸ͓͉̹̜́̓͗̋ ̨̹͙̱̀̓͒̒F̝̀A̢̞̗̙̹̅͐̀̊̿TH̠̠̫͙̀̓͛̕E̗̼̋̃R͕͓̥̤͛̃̃̔ ̡̭̼́͆́̕ͅO̭̪͚͊͆̾͒͟Ń̮̪͡LY̧̙̞̰̼͌̾̐̌͂ ̝̊H̲͍̱̾͢͝͠͠Ā̗̺̭̙͐̋̕̕͢Ḑ͚̖̝͓͋̔̐͑͘ ̱͉̦̏́͘Ǫ͖̩̻͖̂̂̊̏͡N͔̠̤̓̌̐Ę̮̋̄ ̥̑DĄ̣͗̀͢͡U̮̻͈̾́͊G̳̘̓͠H͎̟̯̗̽̾̕͝Ṫ̠Ẹ̿Ŗ̮̂͗.͔̰̭̑̋͘ ̃͟S̡̛͔͘HE'L̬͙̓̃L̯̟̍̿ ̠̇N̢̛̜̬͔̾̂͡Ȩ̛͈̙̰͚̓̔̎̉V̙̋̇ͅE̛̯͉̠͉̔̌̀̃͜R̖̹̐̀ ̨̜́͞KN̟̦̏̓O̧̭̮͈̔̋͌͝W̰̚ ̜̊S͉̖̭̋̒̀H̫̒E̛͉ ̧͈̟̯͆̅̇͘H̨̖̬̣̑͐̉̉Ȃ̛͎̒͟ͅD ̹͎̟̰̜̊͆̔̆͞A ͚̫̪̰̓̎͛̒͟͝S̟͖͆͡IS̱͖̆̇T̫̠͙̔̄͆E̹̣̼͉͆͐͆͊R͉̱̘͙͆͌̑̾͘͢.͔͕̈̐ ̬͂I̧͓̪̲͋́̔͝ C̛͍͓̮̀̿A̖̞̽̀͗ͅN̥̞̿̚ ̧̢̙͋̄́S̹͓̩̽͑͋̏͟E͉̥͒͞Ê̺͖̬̮͑͐͛̔͜ ̜͒Ẹ̛̠̜̊͒͑͟V̥͖̮̄̈́͝Ȩ͚͍̄̄͠R̢͛Y̝͓̟͑̔̀T̮̩̉̽Ḫ̐Ĭ̢̩̱̽̚Ǹ̢̜̻͋̕G.̣͓̐̂ ̨̦̝͔̲̉̄́̎͝H̠̪̆̀E̩͈̲͌͒̀Ą͈̠͙͐͑̚̕R̼͋ ͉̭͓̆̎͘̚͟E̯͝V͎͓̇͂É͉̩́R̘͔̋̇YT̛̳̝͚͐́̉͟H̢͖̋̈I͇͎̪̥̒̂̀̒N̨̡̲͕͛̄̏͡G̞̰̟̱̈̚̕̚.̩̠̮͊̍̈̚ͅ ̡̛͔͚̦̃̓̃B͟͞Ú̢T̝̃ ͎̜̄̾NỎ̗̯̀ ̩͉̞̺̹̆̄̔̃̃O̖͆N̺̞̚͡E̢͍̭̎́̾͜͞ ̳̦̪͕̏́̃͌W̢̭̪͊̋̋I͈͞L͖͚̏̎L̝̉ ̬̙̣̻̀͒̌͡EV̰͡Ě͓R ̣̞̺́̆̅K͓͗Ṉ͆Ǫ̣̫̥͓̇̈́́̚͘W̡̱̯͗̒͛ ̊ͅTH̤̪̑̇̚͜͜͠AT̛̳͙͞ ̙̮̦͑̋͝I͙͚̎̚ ͌͜͜͠E̫͐X̜̰͂̕I̳̬̬̮̽́͋͊S͇̜̠̘̄̓̽̐̈ͅT̮̗̿͝E̡̳̓͘͜͠Ď̛̯̫.̥̆"̫̀͗͟
"I don't understand," Ayano said.
"'̝̣̈́̎Ï̡̟͎͗͜͡͞N̨̩̰̰͆̈́̈̆V̺̄Ȇ̬̞͚̥̋̅͞N̦̓̍ͅT̪̰̥͗̉̏͟͞Ọ̡̨̤͌̉̍̍R.͕͎͌̆'̭̦͍̭̑́͛̄ ͍̓Ḧ̡̛̝̪͕̀̎A̢̯͒́.̭̱͂̓ ̧̱̟̳̇̄̚͝D̙̒O͕̣̓̐N̫̒'̧̱͈̏̏͌͢͡Ț̡̯̈́̒ ̳̗̞͇͕̌͗̀̋̂M̫̏A̪͝K̬̳͔̉̐̽E̻͎͚̔͐̕ ̞͉̌͌M͢͠Ë̪̖͓́̓͗ ̺̼͛̔L̳̠̐̈́A̝̣͛͐Ū̳̺͡G͇̘͙̩̖̅̃̂̾̕H͉͡.̛̱͖͗ ̬̃D̙͕̅̚̕͜R͇͈̻̒̾͆ ̢̘͊̇G̳̝̬͍̔̎͡͡Ę͎͎̠̓̆̂̉N̜̹̳͘͘̚U̩͗S̢̧͇̦͒̑̈͡ ̧͈̞͔̮̿̂̿͐͡W̧͈̰͈̜̅͑̆̿͊A̼͋Ş̛͚̗̈͐ ͉̅T̹̮̝̅͂͡Ḫ̠̰̗̑̔̕͡Ę̣͔͕͛̆̅͡ ̡̺̩͒̒̑Ḭ̮̳͕̃̽̇̕͢͡N͕͈͙͚̾̓̊͐͝ͅV̢̺̙̇͌͞EN͈͉͇̓̅̂̚͟T͉̦͋̓Õ̡̞̝͂́R̲͙͎̃̃̈́.̭̐ ͈͚̀̒͛͟M̕͜Y̖͋ ̢̬̼̩̒͋͠͞F̠̗̜͋̒͡A̙̳͋̕T̛͖͍̝̖͑̓͂Ȟ͖͙̆E̬̣̺̪͑̿͆̚R̢̝͆̋ ̟̙̄̉̕ͅN͙̏̚͜͝ͅÈ̡̜̩̐͘V̠̠͕̹͌̔̇́̀͜E͎̞͌̔R ͈̪͓́̐̒Į̧̣͓̃̿͛̅̂ͅNVĔ̼̭̇Ň̜T̄͟E̳̦̿͡D͇̱̂͘ ͙̦̠͊͋͒A ̨͈̩̓̉͞S̙̔Į̹̃̕NĠ̖͖̯̻͛͘͘L̼̄E̦͕̠͐͆̄ ̘̙̬̃̇̓TH̡́I͖͖̋̿Ń͙͇̩̾̚G͆͟.̥̼̙̻͇̄́̀̂́.̼̱͐̾. ̳̳͖̑̕̕A̒͟S͔̤̦̘̬̅̔̃̿̉I̦͑̑ͅD̜͚̳̪͐̽̄͞Ė̬̲̠͑̕ ̛̫̯͈̤́͌͘͢͠F̩̼̆͒͌ͅṘ̥̺̳̱͛́͝O̺̟̠̱̽̈͋̍͢͠M͚̹̲̒͐͐ ͇̺́̈́W̡̝͙͕͈͛̔̀̉̄AY͖̝̾̔͂ͅS͖̲̞̍̿͠ ̛͔̠̓T̺͚͌̿Ǒ̫̰͛ ̡̣̰͙͊̓̉̀M̛̳̱̫̘̆̈͘A͕͚̾͆͘ͅK̮̽͡ͅE̠͞ ̛̻̣̦͒̚H̢͍̾͐I̱̞̋̊͠ͅS ̨͔̿͠D̦̩̹͗̒̐A̯͇̾́U͖̚G͍̗͛̇H̤͕̀̔T̨̫̼̣͂́̎͒Ē͙̤̙̆͗R̃ͅS̡̧̝͎̀̊̔͠ ̮̻̞̈̄͋͜͠Ḣ̺A̯͉̘̹̾͆̑́T͎̈́Ȅ̠͇̘̌͌ ͈͍̉̈́̈͜T̛͉̱̝̈̀̓͟H̫͕̰̑͗̈̐͟E̕͟Ï̬̣͡R̞̭̜̍́͝ ̺̖͓̒͆͂̓͢L̦̟̇̆İ̛͎̲̣̑̇͢V̛̳̹̖̂̽E̝̮̙̘̤͆̓̿̀̿S͔̈.͔͆ I͉̐ ̪̤͆̇͘͢R̦͎̹̜̽̎͐͝E̤͔̦̺͌͊̈̿B̬̘̘̅̔̿E͇̼̪̿̔̂́͜L̝̍L̠̱̼͔̈́̏̌̽E̗͞D̦̜̦̗̍̅͊͂͝ͅ ̥̩̓̓A̜̕G̪͓̰̳̈́̑̌̚A̺̳̩̎̐̀Ï͉͕͚̳͛̔͗N̨̨̜͇̋͌̎̈̾͜S͕͆T̻̣̒̐͘͘͟ͅ ͔̮͗̽H̰̟̏̏Ì͚̳̞̌̿M͖͒ ̼̼̟̓͊͂BY̳̘̎̚͟͠ ̬͙͗͗B̭̔̆͜E̦̜̝͌̽̏Ç̤͉̰̈́̋̇͠Ǫ͡MI̭̜͗͛N̰͇̎͊G̖̹͔͗̒͘ ͇̀T̘͚̓͠H̺͠E̛̹̱̻̜̔̆̾ W̥͈̋̈́̔͟OR̛̖̘͝L̙̠̰̯̏̏̅̒D̥̠̈́̀͗͢'̫̯̯̽͛̊͌ͅS̩̳̠̍͒́̉̈͜͢ ̨͓͇̦́̎̈̆F̧̯͙̼͚͌͒̾͗͡Ǐ̢̝̇̐ͅṚ̹̽̐́͘ͅͅŜ̹̼͈̱͎͋̉̽̇T̢̺̗̄̀̍ ̀͟Ḫ̰͉͛͂̀́ͅÈ̖͇͖͈̈̆̄Ȓ̢̨̡̮͎͗̎̈͞Ǫ̰̫̓̑̀͆͜.͍̐ ̺̭͎̳͚͛̓̍͊̾MY̪̘̩̾͌̄ ̹͛H̻́͆͢Ẻ͎R̭̩̹͗̍̉͂͢O͖̜͉̭͆̄͠͠ ̘̙̖̺̖̀̀̆͘͡Ṋ͑A̝͉̣̐̓̚M̢̳̯̏̽͞E̛̳ ̛͎̽͜WA̤̳̽͑͠ͅS̡̍ ͉͠'̡̛͚̌G͕͛O͚̘̪̤͑̿͡͡DḊ̺̻̝̜̿̈͝E̺̿Ś̨͎̮̑̒̂ͅS͈̣̃̌'͖̣͓̰͋̃̎͝. ͇̤̐̋Y̼͇̲̞̓́̾͆̐ͅES͒͢, ͔̱̹̉́̔I̯͋ ̧̑W̫̒̕͢A͎̲̟̎̄͛S̨͈̻̃̋̂ T̺̈H̟͈̏̉É͙̭͈̲̎̒̿ O̮̘͗̆Ȓ̞̼̿͘͟Í̦̮̰̈́́͛̆͢͢G͍̖͕̰̏̀̓̀͢͠Î̢͔̌̕͟Ǹ̲͖̱̈̀̽͢A̭̮͗̆L͉͂ ̡̬̘͇͐̈̏̕͠ͅG͕̬͔̏̒͋O̲̔D̳̰̏͘D̨̛̹̭̀͡Ȩ́S̥̀S̜̱̼̝̊̉́̕͝ͅ.͖̉ ̥̼̜́̈́͆͜͝Į̇ ͉̳̔̄K̘͡Ṉ̗̱͗͊̈́E̯̩̪̺̓̇͞͞Ẁ͟ ̛̖͉̣͌̀͢͞Ē̡̥͊̈́ͅV̖̦̮͋͒͐Ȩ͚͑̈́R̢̯͘͝Y̬̙̐͆T̬̰́̓Ȟ̫̫͖̩͋͊̅I̞̝̿̍N̗͈̩͒̔͝G̖̟̱̞̉̐͋͘.͖͕̋̽ ̪̅A̦͑N͖͚͔̘͊͆̄͘D̪͆ ̗͖͍̻̯̈́̈̃̚HE̻͓͖̋̀̿ ̞͓̙̳͆̒̽̊Ḱ͍̗̱̓̌N͉͉̫̋̃͗̃̂͜͢E̟̽W̛͓̜͊ ̡̧̣͉͋̐̈͆I̧͐ ͇͍̇̿K̖̈Ǹ̹E̟̍W̛̞̟̱̫͗͆̄̎͜ ̞̖̈́Ȇ̳̩͖̻̏̏͡V̘̈E̡̠͎̲̻͆̈̒̌̂R̭͛́͢Y̧͉̙̽̀̒T̹̣̂͡H̖̜̮̓͛̒I̭̐N̳̦̼͇͈̎̀͌͐͘G̢̱̪͈̽̀̿͘. ̩̺̚͘"
"̮̫̿́͊ͅAȘ́ ̢̞̻̯́̔͗͡Á̳ ̣̓H̰̝̥̊̏͐͠ͅĘ̡̭̩̋̿̚͡R̹̯̾̓O̤̠̝̾͌͑,͔͍̇̓ ͓̀Ï̺̱͒ HA̧̤̔͋D̗̐ ̧̙̝̍̃̎TO ̜̙̽̅E̫̟͋̋̑͜X̪͈̐̔P̞̙̘̅̅͘O̯̪̽̔S̼̄E ͖̔H̱͔̊̋IM.̤͛͘͜ Ť̜H̼̝͉̃̆͘E̯͇̺͂̽̚ ̱̠̱̿̇̂DÂ̙͚͋Y͎͍̏̑ ̲̘̻̽̇̐I̖̋ ̛̘͕̣̆͠D̟̚E̬̭̩͊̔͞Ć̡̑ͅI̩͔̊͂D̡̧̦͚͂͆̂̿Ē̩̥̾D ̤̥̈́̌T̡̊Ǫ͛̌̊͢͟ ̛̞̙͍͐͘Ẹ̙̤͗̚͝XP̱̏Ô̳͇͗S̳͑͂͘͜ͅÊ̲ ̻̣̟̠̗̋̐̆̓͆H̞̮̿͒I̥̺̾͒̾̀̾͢͟͟M̲͝ ͔̪̗͔̀̀̄̈͒͢W̛̛̟̙̻̅A͇̪͈̅̀̃͟͡S̜͚͈̹̾̒̌͐̑͜ ̲͇̖͚͈̀̊́͛̽Ţ͍̎̃̍͌͜͟H̬̯̜͎͋̓̌̒E̼̰͒́̑͜ ̙͋D͍̕A͈̅Y̺̕ ̢̭̰̣̓̋͡͠I ̯͇̄̈͗͟B̹͇̩̞̋̿̊͂Ê͓̌͢C̡͗A͔͐̊͢M̰͙̳͒͛̓Ẽ̠̝̓ ͇̟͖̖̀̆́̓̉͢TḦ̡̢̩̏͆E̲̫̲͉̽̐́́ ̜̑O̯̣̮̣͒̿̐̄B̮͕͔͔̐̋̓̎̈́͟S̖̆T̩̚A̭͓͉͖̎̇̉̚C͙̳̜̹̓̓̂͛LȨ͓͖͊̇̈.̻̌ ͙̦̾̐Ḩ̮̺̓͐͞Ę̻̺̻͓̊͊̇̄̑ ͓̤̟̙͑͐̄͠D̲͉͇̭̈́́̀͘Ȩ̺̍͝Ṡ̺̥̻͂̓T̡̗̀̓̍̕͢͜R̢͙̼̎̀́O̢͉̹̘͂̓̒̈́̽͢Ẏ̮͊͜S͉͚̫̀̿̚ ̭͚̖͖͌̎̇̂͟͝EV̩͞Ȩ͉̩̈́̎̈Ṛ̲͖́̿̓Y̡͈͎̜̆̎͒͡ ̮̱̯̍̃̿O͎̟̠͂͑̉̚͜B̢͐Š̞͎̓TĄ̃C͍̐L̢͍͆͗Ȇ͚͕̝̀̅ ̙̬̝͂͛̐͛͟I̧̭̒̋͝ͅN͖̟̳̉͌̆͘͜ Ȟ̦̟̥͓́̐̈́I͘͢S̗̋ ̯̟̓̌P̺̬͇̠̊͌́̔͘͟Ä̻͈͛T̤͞Ḥ̩͙͐̈̎,̪͈̪͛͋̔̈͜ ͔̻̉͠N̥͒O̙̙̔͗ ͚͍̟̿̈̍͋͞ͅͅM̠͋A͔̿͆͜T͉̖̟̀̃̋T̥̞̪̔̇̇E̡̎̍͢͜͡R͕̽ T̨̮̺̐̅͂H̤̮͂͝E̫͚̽͗ C̢̜̳̽͛̽Ǫ̫̫̟͂̌̆̎̕͢S̻̈T̢̜̲͐̊͗͟͠.̧̡̛̟͈͕̔̒̐͠ ̳̀H̖̰͚̘̪̿̓̆̏̚E͘͢ ̰̫̐̄C͚̣̗̤͑̾͆̓Ȁ̹͍̄M̼͍̀͐͆͜E̡̝̻͉͆̒̀́ ͕̠̄̐Ủ̧P̤̉ ̬̋̏͢W͉̬͋̎̚͜Ḯ̲T̪͓̬̐̊̂H ̀ͅA̫̓ ̥̺͚̔̈͌R̠̮̣̱̘̉͋͗͊̚Ẹ͖̺͔́͆̌̔A̗̠̰̋̈́̾L͇͋L̗͖̼̽́̋͢͝Y͕̟͇̋̑͊̚͜,̪̰̒͝ Ŕ̞E̢͍̽̊EEE̞͕̫̼̭͒̈́͛̓̊Ḙ̪̐̏Ȁ̧̪̥̺̌̌̎̃ͅL͎̱̰͓̿̅̌̋L̙̮̅̈́Y̹̘̖̏̈̅ ͔͂C̦͉̳̬͐̅̉͌L̞̬̥͂̒̐E̗͐V̰̥̞̄́͊ER̰̥̟̉̋̽͘͜ ̡̱̞̙̌́̉͡IḌ̠̤͈͒̓͛̎Ë̫̼̘͛̾À̖̥͠ ̨̟͚̓̃͝Ţ̲͙̣̊͐͐̂O̤̳̔̐ G͐͜Ę̝͎̭̘̓̽͊͗̑T̮̫͂̓ ̺̮̈̇R̛͓Ì̭͓̮̻̃̾͊D͙̽͢͞ ͓͇̿͊O͇̎F̨̥̘̉͆͋ ̭͙̇͂M̭͝Ę͇̼͎͈̉̌̑͋̚.̛̯̏͜ ̖̃Į̯̲̓̇̔͗͜T̩̤̐͂ ̺̹̽̐W͖̩͐̃Ő̼̳̉RK̹̩̅̈́E̘̓D̨̡͙̓̋͆̾ͅ.̨̯̑̾͟͞ N̙͓̉͝Ọ̀W͙̩͒̕͢͜͠͡,̲̤̺͎̌̉̃͘ ͖̻͑̈͗͢O̡̟̭̿̎͝NLŸ͖̭̕ ͇͔͉̒̃͞O̜̖̺̹̜͋̅͑͆͡N̝̠̎́E̥̙̼͚͋́͝͠ ̲̳̈́̽C̝̤̩͊̎͋A̹̱̫̍̉͌Ṉ̕ ̺̠͕̪̂̉̃̄Ḧ̭́E̟̕A̻͎͐̓R̬̈ ̣͚̓͊̎ͅṀ̩͎̀Ḙ͓͋͝,̛̰̝̳̑̀̏͊͟ͅ ̧̧̳̉̐͊A̳̗͙̞̋̈́̓͊N̯̦̞̑̓̚D̞̞͔͉̑̽̍̾ ̟̭̻̍́̓Ţ̹̥̃͗͗WÓ̠ ̫̩͕͆̇̌͢͞Ơ̘͇̺̑͑T̥̃͜͝H̪̠̤͓̍̂̿͞E̢̪͎̿̽̀́͜Ŕ̫̝͆͟͡S̡̺̙͍͊̾́́ ̙͈̳͓̀̀̿̍R̙̈E̢̖̊͡M̞̹̞̎̇͡E͙͐͌͜Ḿ̦̻̥͛̾B͕͋E̢̜̖̖͓̓̒̋͝͝R̫̙̗͒͊͒.͎̻̇͂͐ͅ.̬̦̼̬͂̄̀͆.̮̔ ̥͔̭̊̈́͗I̭͊ G̘̀U̧̢̚͞E̢̥̥̜̜͂͌͛̎̇S̪͓̔͂Ṡ̨̫̒ ͎̱̜̉̔́Ȋ̺͖͉̖͖̓̑̽̕T̛̥͎̙̜͗̾̇̊͟ ̥̮͌̾͑͟͝ͅM̭̐U̱͇͗́̈́͟ST̩͡ ̼̍H̥͐A̲̖͌̏VE ̪̒T̳̠͐̾̑̏͜ͅO͚͓̦̤͊̔̄̑ ̥̣͗̑D̛̰̤͕͓͈͂̐̈̌Ȯ͖̪͕̫́̒̀̓ͅ ̫̌WI̲͎̣̹̓̍̔̈́T̡̲̱̍̇̕H̢̦̞̤̯̆̓͑͆͐ ̫̹͎̲̝̈́̐̌̑͆B̧̨͈̦͒̾̊̚É̡̮̝̩̿̏̌Ï̠NG͙̝͒̈͘͢ ̙͘T͂͢Ẇ͎͔̱̂́Į̘̝̠̄͘͞͡N̡͇̓̂S̙͛.̖̣̤̞͇͆͆͛̚͞ ͎͕̦̓͐̚A̗͡N̨̿D̫̯̰͗̌̎ ̡̱̂̾SU̺͉̐̆B̳̘̻̉̇̉J͚̘͕̇̆̄E̢̛͚͑C̨͊T̟͔̀͑ ͉͗̋͜66̗̞͛̽ ̟̼͍̖̽͒͊̚W̫̹̒̀̚͟Ȧ͙S͙̥̀̊̚͟ ̱͒M̨̾Y̡̩̓͊ ̼̙̙̈́̓͋O͚̳̜̍͋̄N̡̧̦̺͌̑̃͒͟͞L͕͡Y̱̙͑̕ R̞̕Ḙ̾AL̖̮̈̀ ̈͢F̨̙͉̍́̓R̛̺I͉̺̾̀̊͜E̠̪͗̈͐͜N̤̓D̡̛̤͒.̥̟͕̈̍̚ ̘̲̾̄I̢͍͛͛͒͢ ̻̜̫̍̇̌S̢̱͓̣͖̆̇͐̄̒UPṔ̢̭̫͔̀͛̚O͓̮̖̖͂̍́̎Ş̐͜͡Ḛ̓ H̞͒E ̫͕̯̱̉͒͗͠Ẅ̻́O̝͙̤͌̋͌͑͜U̧̳̦̣̐̇̏͝L͖̓Ď͔Ň̜'̻͎̠̄̄̚T̠̓̚͜ ̧̪̬̩̹͌̒͂͐̈́F̨̫̘͈̤̏̃̇͐̽O͖̕R͓̦̥͗̏̅Ġ̳̭̫̰̌̈́͝E̬̗͐̌T͉̬̮͉͒̏̈͝ ̢̬̳̪̆̏̇̓ME͕͘ ̺̑Ș͔̐̃̀͢Ȏ͙̜͚͕̗̐̀̇̍ E͕̳̯̹̓̀͗̓͢͝AS̤͓̾̃̉͢I̪̥̮̽̐̽L̞̦̊̂Y͎͙̍̇,͉̼̘̓̏͌ ̟̫̾̀N̨̝̖̩̉̊̽͛Ȇ̞Į͙͕̱̄̎̐͂T͖͡Ḩ̥̭̙͗̾́͗ER̨̜̦̳̞̎̿͊̔̚ ̖̙̠̦͐͐̂͊D͇͎̓͘R̺͑̑͟. ̬̿G͖̉E̼̞͈͆̎͆N̢͉͂͆Ǘ̩̺͉̰̀̋͡S͈̒̄ͅ.͉͎͊͌ ̠̥͈͎̉̀̍͌
"NǑ̭̦͇͊̄N̲̼̎̒Ẻ͎̱̞̈́͘ ͓̮̊͆O̗̐F̝̳̒͋ T̘̔HÊ͔̠̦̭͙̇̍͞͡Ḿ̜͓͡ ̥̠̱͎̌͂̾̀W̓͟I̩̅L̺̈́Ĺ̝̻̝̱̺̿́̚͝ ̨̲͘͞E̪̫̓̔V̬̲̎͝É͖̤̱͇̉͑́R̠̪͖̀͑̽ ̭͐B̞͂̉͢Ē̜ A̯̫̤̼͒̾͛͝B͕̙̋̾L̯̘͒͞E͖̟̫̍̄̈́ ̙͠T̪͎̞̼̓͑͋̕O ̻̙̲͆̓͗̏ͅB͖͙̽̈́R͈̻̬̄̆̃I̮̲̓̚N̛͍͎͇͐̋G ̼͇͐͗͠ͅṂ̡͙̝͈̀̓̇̓͠E̢͚͔̓̊̽ ̛̠͙̘̱̈̇͐͘͢B̧͓͈͚͚̃̈́̂̕̕À̞͔̆C̯̹̝̐͋̋K͚̗̼͛̃̅.̨̓ ̗̙͆̉IN ͕̹̟́́̈́̔͜HẺ͙R̛̤ ̨̝͔̤̿͆̋̔T̘͌I͍̟̮͔̹͗̽̄̃͡M̢͔̳͌̑̓EĹ̗̦̽̈͟I͎̩͍͂̓̾̒͟N̟̪̉͆E͕̒,͎̊ T̘͕͍͖͍̊̍̄̏̅Ĥ̦̟̪̝͒͘͠E̘͍͇̍̅͂ ̬̽̔͢T̡̈E̮͓̺̦͂̾̋̏C̗̯̿͘H̯̒N̡͘O̖͈͑͛LÕ̭G̯̝̟͒̅̚Y̑͟ ̧͒W̢̝͍̳̽̑͠͝A͈̼̠͌̽͒S̰̽ ̧̥̖͎̑́̔̏͊͜N̘̬̍̆E̼̘̒͝V̩̀Ě̡͍̼̮̌́͠R͍̈́ ̛̻̼̍I̞͝N̡̬̗͑̀̿̽͟͞ͅVḘ̙̹̓̂̌͘͜N̥͍̻͖̂͋͞͝Ṫ̩̱̥̳͚̏́͐̚Ę͚͆̇D͖̺̓̃.̫͈̄͌ ̨̼͘͡I'̪̠͕̄̑̍̉̈́͟ͅV̳̜̏͑̕͢Ȩ̛̬̓ Ţ̰̥̹̏̍͐͂͢͝R̯̍I̛̳͔͈̹͛͂͗Ȅ̹D̨̬̜̹̭̾́̿̚͠ ̨̣̝̫̅͛̾̐T̢̲̩̓̇̂Ǒ͓̫̅ ̢̟̈͛S͇̜͈̯̱͑͂̍̕͞T͉͊OP͎̣̪̙̀͗̒̕ ͙̋H͔̕E̥͐Ř̠̄͢ ̥̖͚͐̀̑S͇̪͈̍̀͒O͓̼͙̯͚͐́̊͊̓ ̹̅M̥̓A͔̹̟̤̐͑͆͡N̋͜Ÿ̦͓́ ̘̤̱͂̍̚T̩̆Į̺͙͖͙̊͊̈͘͞Ḿ̨̝̦̫̈́̇̋Ę̡͓̾̕͠Ś̲͈̓,̥̹̐̓ ͎̩̫̀͊́̕ͅB̰͖̤̟̩͐̆̂͆̍U̟̲̐͠T̨̫̥̒̀̓ ̧̛̲̘̀̀S͔̪̲͈̞̎̆͛̋͂H̦̑E̞̖͚͋̐́ ̠̼̯͛̎͛W̡̜͊̉Õ̜̳̮̇̊N̜̑'͇̙̘̹̑̒͐̌̕͟Ṯ̮̺̽̇͠ ̬̦̑͠LIṢ̜̀̌Ṱ̞̹͋̄̿Ë̦N̘͆.̩̀͘ͅ ͖͈͎̰̈́̒͋͌I̹̟̜̽̍̀T̥͊ ̡̭̠̠̋̊̊̒͘͟H̢̜̳̎͘̚Ȃ͔S͈͊ ̢̖̹̌̀̾̌ͅC̼̹̻͂͌̈Ò̻͇͕̌́͒͜N̖̩̒̚͜͡S̞̣̝̽͘͡UM̡̟͖̍̓͡E͓͉͒͝Ḑ̞͇͎̩̏̅͌̒͠ ̯̯̑̀͟͡HẸ̢͖͙̊̂̅͠R̮̽.̞̗̻͖̇͆̓͘ ̼͘S̯͖̀́H͓̫̺͕̑̂͑̍Ĕ̫̠̏'͚̂L͙̳̥̒̅͞L͉̭͍̪̓̉̀͘̕͜ ̯̇W̪̽A̰͈͊̓ST̤͔̹̀̊̎Ë̟̲̺͑̌̌͢ ̝̯͕̈́̈́̓HE̝̘̜̱͒̿̀́̈́͟R̢̖̱͆͂̄ ̪́É̳̥̩̯͇́͗͘͘N̨̳̓͗T̼͈̻̈̈́͊I̢̗̠͕̜͊̄̎͠͞R̩̣͐͐͜͠Ê͇̺̜̫̄̽͞ ̰̣̃̆L̳̻͊͆̅͜I̧̡̱̫͎̅̓͛̾̚F̡̛̯̂E͉͠ ̙̣͉̓̾̚L͕̚O̢͎̲̰̽̌̄̀͘͢O͙͠K̤͍͖̅̒͞Í̢͉̗̰̏̋̀̚͜N̢̤̹̲̒͒̽̍Ḡ̦͚̪͍̩͗̅̈͡ ̖̤̒́F̋ͅÖ͍͇͚̻́̾̔͐̽͟R̢͓̣̣̈́̽̋̐ ̤͓̤̔͢͡͞͠A͉̝̹̍̐̆ ̻̬̆̕S̰̦͓͂͛͋Ỏ̢̻̭̦͇̓̎̋̒L̞̋Ų̞͍͌̍̒̓͟͝ͅT̖̗̻̍̅̉I̦̓O̫̊Ṅ̢ Ṱ̮̪̑̎̽̕͢H̒͢Á̯̩͚̐̑T̠͍̲͗́̍ ̨̤̺̃́͞Ẅ̧̱̥̋̚̕͢Î͖͉͕̗̃͌͂L͙͖͍͔̓̾̅̓̃͜L̞͡ ̜͚͛̋Ṉ̞͇̙̀̏̀̍̈ͅE̫̖̫̬̎̄̀̕͜͝V͈͖̪̖͒͑̈̋Ě̤̖̝́̚Ŗ̡̅͘ ̡̌E̛͎̝̙͆̋Ẋ͓̩̜̜͗̉̂I̢̫̙͈͋͌̓͘S͈̼̻̗̺̾̊͂̒̚T͔̦̰̤̐̍͐͞.̱̥̫̂̍́ ͈̳̜̹̥̀̀͊̒̚S͕͎͚̳͋̃͋̕Ű͕B͓̫͛̾J͍̣͓̇͂̓E̞͖̺̔́̊C͚̲̺̓̔̈͢͝T̗̱̋͒ ͙͎̎̃6̛̩͍̼͍͌̽̎6̤͙̼̪͆̐̌͊ ̫̈S̳̼̏̀T̯̣̥̲̎́̇͝Ḯ̠L̦̲͋͝Ĺ̨̛̰̊ͅ ̧̯̗̓̄͆C̹͌Ḁ̽̆͜N̡͎̑̐'̟̺̺̄̀͆͜͞T̤̙̟̤̽̿̈͝ ̭̞̌͗̆͢͟͝G̛̼̰̺̊̉E͉̖̊͌T̯̄ ̺͙͉̜̩̌̂͗̈́̐Õ̦̩̕V̇͟Ę̃R̺̦͋̇ ͚̗̈͞M̜͍͔̪͙̏͋͗͊͘E̪̭͍̺̋̌́͞.̖̱̗̆͡͠ ̬͑MY͖̫̽͒ ̧̪̫̻̀͋͛͡S̤̼̊͠I̙̤̥̒̇̚S̨̧͍̤̉͗̾̎T̡̥̺̮͛̉̾̆EṞ͌ ̧̋É͎̰̣̣́͑͞V͖̠͖̖̉̀̇͌E̮͂N̨̩̽̅̕ͅ ̟̮̖̃̽̕L̛͜Ȩ̓F͍̰̓̚T͍̬̃̕ ̱̾HE͓̿Ŗ̫̒̓ ̢̲͇̝̑́̾̒S̢͔̍͠Ỏ̮̺͝N ͈̹͉͗̾͌A̼̫̜͕͌͆̉͘Ṅ͓D͓̥̙̐͊́͌͢ ͚̑H͙͌E͔͈̘̎͊̏R͖͘ ̢̞̗̥̓͒͘͡P̨͝Á͔̝̣̱̉̌̇R͉͚͆̆̕͢T̛̝̥̙̝̽̀̿Ṉ̻̃̏Ẻ͙̭̌̾̈͟ͅR ̨̣̠̮̅̏͗̏̚ͅB̡͊E̲͊H̟̏Î͉̂͢N̨̟̒̒D̥̗̘͗͞͠ ͚̝͇̊̍͘T̳̺͂̈́O̧̡͍̟̔̌͗̽ ͈̌L͉̐OO̪̐K̦͞ ͉͑F̨̃O͖̺̒̈́͐͢Ŗ̛́͢ ̢̈́Ṁ̡̯̣̠͖̊͗̐̚Ę͎̬̫͛͋͗͡." ̳́
"Subject 66?" Ayano asked. "A sister?"
""̒͜Ȳ̜͖̽́͢Ŏ͍Ȗ̫͎̜̎͝'̧̟̖̣̃̃͆̓D̯͕̩̟̣́̆͆̍͘ ̲͋KN̟͒Ó͚̹̅͌͜W̨̜̟̠̔͂̓̕ ̲̥̳̃̾͂H͎̪̆̎Ị͐M͔̀ B̨̨̼̣̪̊̓̽̂̃E̫̿Ţ͙̗͌͊̍T̡̞̟̱͓͋̌̊̓̕Ē̤Ṙ̰͇̺̼͑̔͞ ͙͓̗͊̓͘A͇̍Ŝ̜̙̱̿͝ '̭̜̹̝͓̈́̿̽͘͞Z̀ͅŐ̧̟͢͡͠M͍̔B̙̗͚͗̿̊̌̏͢͢I̽̅͢͟E͖̳̜͓͑͂̈͋̚ͅM͉͇̿̕A̢̤̍͆N̘̣̟͓̓̀̏͠'̧͓̿̚," the Fun Girl explained. "̪͙͖̺̈̽͗͂Ạ̙̳̼̈̍̀̚S͈͍̓͠ ̧̹̔̌F̗͛Ò̘͉͘R̙͒ ̭̀͢͡M͚͌Y͈̝͙̼̆͗̑̃͡ͅ ̝͌SIS̤͌T̨͞Ę͍͕̗͖̓͆͛̽͠R̛̪̣̮̋̐.̛̞͕̫̄̐.͔̄.̨͋ ̜̓S͕̈́Ḧ͙̻͚̼͊̆̓̊ͅȨ̭̻̙͉̓̀̆̄͠'̨̱̒͒͜͡Ś͔̲̻͓͗̎̍ ̘͈̬̺̍̔̇͘T̨̙̘̈́̆͝H̢͙̣̟͖͌̄̽͛͛Ȩ̢̹̾̈́̀ ͔̯͐͠Ơ̢̥̟̠̑̎͋NĒ̡̱̐ ̛͖͔̉̏ͅA̡̽N͖̫̠̜̔́̒̀D̮̗͍̒̽̌ ̛̜͉̈̋̋͜͜Ő̻̝̕Ǹ͇̲̞̃̒L̯͊Y͖̻̗̽̏̏ T͇̲͎̣̓͐̑̚R͎̫̱̉̿̐Ą̡̖̑͗̎V̯̍E̙͘L̫̤͔̇̏͗͜͝L͉͑Ë̼͔͓̞͋͑͠R͖̈,̞̞̥̔͒͊̍̕͟ͅ ͍̮̈́̄̈́̔͟͟T̝̻̣̓͌͘͜͡H̲͖̳͕͂̍͛̂Ẻ̛̳̮̳̫̆͒ ̺̦̅̌Ǵ̘̭͕͗̔̒͢Ŗ͔̽̍E̩̽A̙̙̰͆̄̊̈́͜TẼ̫̙͝S̪̅T̠̩͛̋͘͜ ̛̼̺͕͉̟̏͊̀͒Ḩ̻̼͛̑͠E̹͔͎̿̌͞R̤̥̿͊O̢͞ ̪̞̅͠T͍́͛͜O̜̦̩̤̎̉̚͡ Ȇ̲̯͍̄̐VË̟̤́́R̫̥͂̓ ̠̿É̠͓̥̝̉̀͡X͈͚͕̽̒̈́Ī̡͉̯̏͝Ș͒T̬͍͋́͟͝.̫͂ ̜̽S̹̳̞̎̽̾H͈͕͓̯̬̓̒͋͞͝E̥̦̓͠ ̛̱̮̞̑͡B̘͡É̥̹͌̚̚͜͜C̨͝Á̮͉̜͛̈́͂̊͟ͅM̭͉̀́E̼̲̩̭̎̒́̈́ ̡̲̻͔́̔̌̐Å̼͔͓͂̓ ̲̣͐̐͜͞͡ͅHE̞̞̠̒̾͡Ŕ̼̦͘Ò̱̪̾ ̘̚F̯̬̏̓Ȍ̳͍̩̯̈́͗̽Ŕ̨͈̄ ̯̝̅͌M̨͊Ě̖,̫̺͆̌ ̢̡̾̓̓͟Ỹ̥̼͝OŬ͚̹̖̒̅ ̠̺̼̤̮́̽̽̐̒K̳̄N̥̆Ǒ̺̙̿Ẅ̲.̨̰̾͒ ̯̭̌̓S̞̠̊͠H̺̮͉̊͌͡Ē͕͎̥̂͠ ̧̬̫̊̚͡Ẃ̨̰̏Ä̩̮́̕N̡̤̭̄̈͘T̈́͜Ȇ͔̣̞͎̭̀́̈̕D͈̬́͡ ̢̖̥̖̇̂̕͡TO ̨̟̥̲͒̑̐͊'̬̹̋͂̐̏͢ͅSẠ͇͓̰̈̄͂͛V̤͡É̮͔͐'̲̘̪̝͒͋͌͠ ͍͝Ṃ̡̟͌̓̕E̺̘̰͓͑̊̌̎. ͉͎̣̑̐͠B̡͎͈̲̼̍͋̈́́̑U͓͋T̫̙̐̿ T̖͇̻̳̟̉̆͊̐̚H̛̗̝͈̠͑̽́̏͟A̺͊T̨̤̳͊̇͡'̜̑S̳̃ ̫͔̗̐̂̂I̢͇̜̰̊͊͋̃̒ͅM̙͉̎͛P̧̞̝̪̓̐̚͠O̟̖͂̿S̝͚̤͇̔͊̃͠Ṩ̮̟́̽͟͝İ̖͖̥͑̚B̭͐̏ͅĹ͚E̪̠͑͗.̹̤́͝"͉̮̓̆ ̙̳̳̑̽̕
Ayano had never paid much attention to Traveller. Of course, she had heard all the rumours, but she hadn't really been invested in her story. At least, not until now. Now she knew why Traveller had disappeared. She was looking for her sister. A sister she would never find. A sister who shared the same hero name as Megami Saikou, yet no longer existed.
"Why are you telling me this?" Ayano asked.
"̢͓́́B̺̓̎ͅƠ͎R̟͙̙̟̳̓̽͑͘͞Ë̳̙̓D̗̲̹̩̬̄̇̓͋͞O̝͙̣͚͋́̎͞M,̢̞̫͕̌̑̓͌ ̮̰̉͑͟͝H̻̲̘͆̾̚Ó͢Ṉ̫̑̌E͉̬̅͠S̨̢̗̼͗̐̍̕T̘̙͈͐̽͘Ḽ̢͇͋̓̈Y̘̭̿͠,̖̖̗̣͊̑͐͝"̤̈͗͜ the Fun Girl shrugged.̨͡ ̛͈̬̲̂͗̏ͅ"̛͖͓̠̳̎̃͘HÈ͇̩͕̙͛́͂Y̘͓̲̩̾͌͌͋,̭̈́ ͈̣̞͗͋͒Ÿ̤Ō͍̱̩̈́̄̚͜U͔͛'̰͕̀̒̓͢Ȑ̩̯̙̉͘E ̡̯̱̜̊̍̄͊G̩̩̣̰̈́͆̀̒Ǒ̢̖̟̱̈̌͠I̤̬̰͌͡͠N̖̪̈́̈́G̢̦̖̿̑̌̌͟ ͖͉̯̗̦̉͂̄͆̕T͖̣̩̣̆͆͒͝Ȍ̡͓͔͕̓̂͑ ̭̰͍̅̑͊K̝̦̔͡Ḯ͖̞̈L̮͝L̥̈́ ͎͙̥̂̄͡EV̛͖E͖͒Ŗ̛̜̽Ỳ̦̩̏O̠͊N̟̭̉͡Ẻ͔̣͇͇̲̋̎͆̆,̠̰̝̬̒͛̈͐ R̬̠͛̕Ĭ͚̤͎̆͘G͓̹̟̍̿͆̾̆͟͢HT?̰͇͓́̃̑̕͢ ͓͎͔̍̀̐̀͢Ǵ͍̻͋Ȯ̟̖͉̋̿Ď̘͈͚̥̞̓̾͑̚ ̪̞̾͞S͙̼̤͑̊̐AI̢̨̪̱̔͗̋͋D͈̘̯͗͑̃ ̯̰̯͈͆͑̆͐T̼͇̉̋̋ͅH͍̖̝̒̐͋A̘̦̦̙͐͌̈́̄T̛͉͈̥͎̗͊͆̈͡,̻̾ ͚̖̒̈́A̼̮̬̜͒͐̍̇N͇̈́Ÿ̼̯͓̆͐W͔̞̲̏̑̆̊ͅÄ͙͕͋Y.͚͖͒̿ ͙͈̞̫́͒̀͡M͉̠͚̟̄̓̀͠I͙̗̽̓G̞͡H͕͇͎̣̑͒̄͆Ț̠̤̺̝̐̄͌̈́͘ ̤̣̋̓Ã̱S ̟̹̠̄͛̚̚ͅW͈̚͟͠E͍̟̿͊L̤̳̭͋̇͝L̮̱̮̅͌͗ ͙͓́͒͢͡M̨̡̛̘͕͑̍̚A̗̍K̜͚̱̩̑̀͐̿E̹͊̾͟ ̩̙̳͋̈̄T͇̥͇͕̊̏̔̕͞ͅH͇͓͞͡Į͛S̛̟͚̫͒́ ̝͓̐̎T̥̺̈́̕Í̫͕͖̏̄M̥̘͋̾̕͢E̡͖̼̿̏̑͜͠L̠̜͇̮͊͊͊́̕͢I̖̝̚͞Ǹ̜Ę̛̮̺̠̣͋̇̀̀ ̨̯̱̓͊̓E̤̫̋͛N͇̤͘̕TE͎̱͍̓͠͝R̥̞̩͓̓̎̚͠T̮̭̮͎̈́̊͊̀A̠̤͗͂͋͟Ǐ̖̬̫̈̄N̥̺̲̲̈̎͐̚I̧̘͛̆̓͟N̪̤͈̖͕̄̐͒͂͋G͇̰̓̈́͜͝ ͇̹̜̟̼̄͌͛̿̃F̨̫̆̓O̦̠̤̘͑́̾̚Ŕ̢̧̩̤̠͛̏͌̐ ̼̗͖̒̈́̒M̹̳͔͛͘̕Y̞̻̱͂̅͘̚͟͝ͅS̢̧̬͉͗̐̈́͘E̲͌L͓̼̓͌F̪̱̞̎̋̍.̘͓̬̙̀̈́͆̀͢͞"̧̡̅̿͋͟
"Kill everyone…" Ayano repeated. "I only want to kill the strongest."
"̱͋̈́͜W̲͓̜̒̿̅͋ͅH̪̜̲̞̃̇̓̐Ã̧̝̋T͓̪̜̞̘͗̈́͂͛̕ ̭̭̃̈Î̡͍̖̾͑͗͢F̡̧̯̝̬̐̀̋̑͋ ͙̓E͓͈͍̍̑̆VȆ̫͔͑R͖̞̻̘̂̅̎́͘͢YO̮̓N̗̻̋̈̽͟È͙̮̽ ̡̰͈͒͌̈͛ͅI̛̘̙̚S ̜̪̲́̄͞T̫̟̗͌̎̉͒͟HẺ̢̹̯̝͒̋̈́ ̧͇̋͋S̞̙͓͖̔̔͐̔Ţ̘̖̹̾̏̇̀R̛͓͢͠Ô̹̮̮̙̒̈́͐N͉͞Ǵ͎̥͂E̗̻͕̞͂͌̈͊S͉̭̐̏T̫̮͙͑̂͡?"̧̣̈̊̾͢ the Fun Girl asked.
Ayano's world began to flash white and black.
"̢̑W͔̤̔̏H̨̡̠͍̽̂̈́͝OŌ͍̯̄P̳̑S,͎͍̾̃ ͓͍̩̗̀͋̽͘Ĺ͉͕͖̥̗̎̚̚̕Ȍ̢̩̙͎̓̚͘O̝̺̖̟͗̑͌́K̲̝̘͖͞͝͞͠S͓̙̆͑ ̜̖̱͈̓̇̒͊Ļ̨̛̼̟̐̚͠Į̭̳͑̀́K̢̹̭̫̏̃̿̽͘͜Ę̹̽́͐ͅ ̝̇I̛̤̗̓̌ͅT̤͌'S̹̤̽̌̕͜ ͖̪̰̒͊̒T̩͕͆͛̐͜I̧̢̛͚̬͂́̈́M̤̀E̜̳̮̓͑̌ ͚͔͛͊F̫̟̙͐̈́̀̉̎͢͟O̢̖̟̻͌͊͝͞Ŕ̘̜̣̓͘ ̭̘͆̐̓͢Ỷ̥̺̩́̅̔͟O̩̺̓̓Ư̲̠͗ ͔̹̞̟̀̔͑̅Ţ̜̽͌O̼̳̱̠̻͗̈́̋̏̽ ̨͓̈͂G̼͖̹͚̈́̈́͛̍O͓̜̎̿̚ͅ,̢̤̦̉̊͠"͕̝̲͒̀̈́ the Fun Girl chuckled. ̡̜̗͕͔͊̋̾͋̃"̛͈̦̙̙̽̃͑̊͜S̤̦̯̯͊̀͌̋E̡̡͙̺̎͋̀͟͝͞E ̪͚̽̇͌͜Y̡͙̪̓̍̕A̻̽ ̡̝̤͒͐̃͢͝Ĺ̨̞̱͇̋͂̚Ä̠̰̯̉̊̃͟T͓̖̮̼͎̆̂͆͆̔Ḙ̛̦̮̀̒Ȑ͓̠̄,̫̦̝̖͊̆̍̄ ̝͍͇̓͊̐S̙̄I̧̘̘̪͛̀̇̇L͓̉̽͢L̲̘͑͑Y̤̫̘̋͘͠ ̣̼̓̽͢͡L̗͕̐͑Ḭ̺͎͒̊̀T̝̺̫͂̄͋͜͞T̨̜̠́͐̕L̠͈̠͎͆̎̽͝Ẻ̙̭͚̐̅ ̡͆Y̯͛A͇͞N̺̋D̰͛E͎̮̫̍̊̕R̻̙͖̐̄̾E̝̝̙̰̍͌̊̑.̭͋"
Ayano's eyes flashed open. She was lying on the ground in her room. A sword was pointed at her throat. And the person pointing the sword was none other than Speed O' Sound Sonic.
"Finally found you," he wore his childish, sadistic grin. "You're the one who killed Amai Odayaka. You're going to pay for that."
Ayano stared at him, blankly. The name 'Amai Odayaka' didn't even ring any bells.
I do not have time for this, she thought. I have to get to the jail. This must end quickly.
She shoved him back. He jumped into the air, landing on her bookshelf.
"Think you can defeat me quickly?" Sonic chuckled. "No, hero. I'm going to make this slow and painful for you."
Ayano glanced at Sonic. He was a threat, to a degree, she supposed. She grabbed her trusty knife, staring up at him.
"'Hero', tch," Sonic shook his head. "Honestly, most 'heroes' aren't much better than you. You're not protecting anyone. You're just lying."
His words were meaningless nonsense. All words were meaningless nonsense. All that mattered was the kill.
Ayano trudged towards him, body twitching. He zoomed away, appearing behind her.
"New fighting style?" he taunted. "You look like-"
Ayano spun around, suddenly grabbing his outstretched arms. They gazed at each other. Sonic realised her eyes were lifeless. Not even a shred of passion for the kill.
Holy shit, Sonic's eyes went wide. Her grip is like iron… she's going to snap my-
He kicked her in the stomach, zooming towards the windowsill. Sweat dripped down his face.
What the Hell is this… he thought, panting heavily as he landed on the windowsill. She's… she's not the same as when I first fought her… He narrowed his eyes. She's a threat to the entirety of humanity. But I'm not scared of her. I'll be the one to take her down. Not just for Amai anymore, but for my own sanity.
"Take this!" he roared, turning back. "Exploding Shuriken Ferocious Barrage!"
He sent out a barrage of exploding shrukiens in every direction. The shurikens went flying in every direction, completely destroying Ayano's room. The bookshelf fell to pieces, the walls collapsed, and her bed was cut in half. The roof crumbled, caving in on top of Ayano. Smoke and dust rose into the air. Any normal person would've been killed by the impact. Even a hero would've been somewhat injured.
But Sonic wasn't a fool. He knew a roof would not be enough to stop Ayano.
I have got her off-guard, he thought. It's time to act now!
He zoomed towards the rubble, his sword in arm. "Full Frontal Attack!"
He found her body in the rubble, stabbing his sword through her with all his might. He slashed his sword in different angles. He threw multiple kunai at her. He was not going to stop until she was dead and gone. He attacked again and again, until her corpse was barely even recognizable as a human body. After what seemed like hours of slashing, he finally slowed down, gripping his bloody sword.
"No one defeats me," Sonic breathed. He smirked to himself. "I did it, Amai."
Ayano realised she was dead. She saw the figure ahead of her once again. Its body glitched, before she heard the words.
HEARTBROKEN
"Finish him," the figure told her.
Ayano returned to the real world, her body healing, putting itself back together. Her strings glitched, and her body twitched inhumanly. She walked towards Sonic.
"Impossible…" Sonic breathed, taking a step back. He shook his head. "No, I can kill you again. I can kill you as many times as I have to!"
Red strings wrapped around his arm. His vision flashed black and white. He clutched his throbbing head, tears burning behind his eyes.
"Even talking like we are now could be punishable," a young Flashy Flash said, appearing in front of him. "There is no mercy in this village. Only fighting."
Then it was Amai, smiling sweetly. "Oh, Sonic… do you really think you can fight her forever? You're going to die eventually."
Her face melted; her body turned to a thick, lumpy goop, like wax. "Then you can come join me in Hell."
"ENOUGH!" Sonic shouted, ripping the strings away. The knife dug into his abdomen, tearing up his chest like Ayano was cutting through paper. He roared, tears burning behind his eyes. Blood pooled out of his mouth, spilling out into the floor.
With a last surge of his strength, he shoved her away again. Clutching his bloody chest, he made a getaway out the window. He hated running away from a battle, but he refused to die.
I have to get stronger… he thought, zooming away. His legs were starting to burn. I have to…
He collapsed nearby a pile of trees, blood staining the grass. He had no idea where he was, but he had to get to a hospital.
"Someone…" he croaked, reaching out a weak hand. "Please… help…"
His vision was going dark. Then a figure appeared above him.
"Flashy Flash…" he whispered. Then everything went black.
There were quite a few moments where King really hated his status as an S Class hero. Well, not quite a few. It was more like 'pretty much every moment'.
King, of course, was no supernatural being at all. He was simply a normal guy with extraordinary luck. Somehow, whenever a huge, dragon-level monster was attacking, King was there. Almost always unintentionally. And somehow, he always winded up getting all the credit for defeating it. The only thing he was genuinely good at were video games.
More often than not, King felt guilty, especially towards his friend Saitama. Saitama was the complete opposite of King: he had god-like strength, but was looked down upon by the public, and given a low rank by the Hero Association. He was the one that had defeated all the aforementioned dragon-level threats, not King. Also, he was terrible at video games.
King had to admit, while the respect from the public made him feel special, it was also… incredibly annoying. He couldn't go out in public as himself without fans swarming him everywhere he went. Even worse, monsters showed up to try and 'defeat' him, only to be scared off by his obnoxiously loud heartbeat. King had to thank his lucky stars for that, at least.
Truthfully, King's greatest fear was that one day, his luck would run out. One day, a monster would see through the lies, and King would be helpless to stop it.
For some reason, King had a feeling that today was that day. Sure, the day started normally enough. He woke up, got out his console to play some Doki Doki Sisters-
RING RING!
King picked up his phone, bringing it to his ear. "Hello?"
"King, we have an assignment for you," said an Association worker.
King gulped. He knew his day was not going to go well.
There were plenty of other places King would've preferred to be, but there he was, walking through a creepy, empty forest.
Apparently, according to the Hero Association, an extremely dangerous monster was running around. The Hero Association had placed scanners inside the forest, and they had detected something big.
King held in his breath, leaning against an old tree. His heart was beating louder than before. His King Engine, some people called it.
How am I supposed to find this monster?! He thought.
He took a step forward. Then he lept right back when he heard a caw in the distance.
Forget this, he thought. I'm going home! I'll just tell the Hero Association I couldn't find the monster.
He turned around, looking left and right at the clumps of trees.
Oh great… he trembled. Where's the exit to this place?
Then he heard… footsteps?
Oh no no no-
He peered over his shoulder, sweat forming on his brow. He breathed out in relief.
"Yan-chan," he greeted the hero, regaining his dignified posture.
Yan-chan's expression was… hard to decipher. She didn't seem to be expressing any kind of emotion.
"Are you looking for the monster?" King asked, keeping his voice calm. "It has already been defeated."
I hope that convinced her… King thought, keeping a blank slate. I hope the monster doesn't show up now… please don't let the monster show up now…
Ayano still didn't say anything. King coughed awkwardly.
"I am going now," King told her. "I recommend you leave as well."
He turned and walked away. He heard footsteps again. He glanced over his shoulder, noticing Ayano was following him. Her expression was still devoid of any emotion.
"Do you need something?" King asked, raising a brow.
What's with her expression? he thought. God, she's making me uncomfortable…
It was not like King had much of an opinion on Ayano. All he really knew was that she was one of Saitama's so-called disciples, she was an S Class hero, and she was part of Goddess' group. She seemed like a nice girl, albeit quiet and introverted. More easy-going compared to Genos, anyway. But right now? She was just acting creepy. King did not like it.
"Um…" King was running out of things to say. "Are you-"
And then her knife was at his throat. King's breathing stopped.
"ACK!" he shrieked, giving her a good shove backwards. She continued to stare at him. And so he took off, panting heavily. His heart had never beaten so loudly.
Oh God, she's coming for me, he thought. Why is she coming for me?! Augh, focus! Run faster run faster run-
He tripped over a stick, landing flat on his face. He furiously spat out pieces of dirt and some insects, forcing himself up. He gulped in more air. And she was there, right behind him, knife ready. She looked even less human than before.
This is the end, King whimpered, covering his face. My luck's finally run out. I'm about to-
"MR. KING!"
King looked up. Four heroes had appeared out of nowhere: Bushidrill, Iaian, Strawberry Thief, and Okamaitachi. The disciples of Atomic Samurai. They were standing there with pride, weapons in arm.
"Do not waste your strength, comrade!" Iaian told King, raising his sword. "We can handle this monster!"
The other three disciples nodded.
King had never felt so relieved in his life, but naturally he didn't show it.
"Very well," he said, calm again. "I will leave you to it."
He left the four to battle, breathing in and out.
Now, just to get out of here… he thought.
