Chapter 117 - The Onset of Panic
"The "Time Stop" command has been removed," Bill stated from his monitor. It caused a mix reaction amongst the workers. Rodger held more of a composed response.
"Given that Adam was the factor in keeping it open, he is still dead set on saving E.D.E. Jin did get out more than 10% of the players by himself. Let's focus on damage control and speed up the messaging to players."
"How fast are we going to message them? Individually or more in masses?" one coder asked.
"Lets do groups of 10 gamers at a time. There are still gamers in Cross-roads from where he is at. Pick one out of the remaining towns and go from there. Let's keep this as controlled as possible," the lead programmer mentioned. Hearing everyone give a verb acknowledgement, they went to work. Within a minute, tech monitors were tracking the movements of roughly 10 players or more.
"What should we do about the remaining viruses, the holy thief, and the kid?" Bill asked while focusing on his monitor.
"Keep a tab on their location. We need to make sure that the viruses do not do too much damage and corruption. Given that four have been eliminated, the last three are probably the most powerful. As for the Jin and Rogue...the female player should be no issue. Jin being a Blighter and how unstable he is now...just keep tabs on him."
"Got it."
'Now that you have unleashed your control...what are you planning on doing Adam?' Rodger thought crossing his arms over his chest. Hearing footsteps coming from a far, he turned his head. Turning around to face the individual, it was Bennett.
"Morning Bennett," the lead programmer greeted to be polite.
"Morning...where is Adam?" he asked in an equal polite tone.
"He has not showed up yet...or if he has, he has not checked in here this morning."
"What is the status update on this crisis?"
"Since establishing an exodus program for the gamers that are trapped last evening, 225 players have been logged out successfully," Rodger reported.
"Is that still on going or is there a plan to get more out than the current rate?" Bennett asked looking less on edge.
"Given the success so far, we are trying to increase the rate. For right now, we'll try going up by two times. If that follows through without an issue, we will increase the rate by three times in the later half of the day."
"...that sounds good," the head administrative employee stated. "Given how things are going, what time would you project of getting the remaining players logged out of E.D.E.?"
"..." the lead programmer answered with looking down a little. Deep in thought for a couple of seconds, he looked back up.
"If nothing goes wrong, all should be out tomorrow in the late afternoon. Adding a buffer in case there are issues to resolve, the end of tomorrow."
"Since Adam is not here, I will hold you accountable to that time frame. You have till the end of tomorrow to get everyone out," Bennett stated with neither a pleased or un-pleased face. "There has already been a couple victims that suffered repercussions after being logged out and removing their helmet. I want that percentage rate to not increase. Are we clear?"
"I understand Bennett. I will do what I can," he responded not fazed by the attempt of intimidation.
"..." the head admin stated. Nodding, he turned around and walked away. Once he was out of the work space, Rodger sighed through his nose then turned around.
"Do you think we can get everyone out by the end of tomorrow?" Bill asked when he knew the coast was clear to talk.
"If everything goes fine, we should be able to."
"That is betting that Adam...the viruses...and the kids don't do anything to make it worse."
"...true...that is a huge gamble to take. Thinking those three factors will not interfere and do anything would be a severe error in judgment. All we can do now is continue with damage control and guide as many as we can to the exit," the lead programmer stated.
"...who is that?" Gene asked seeing the new character that came on the screen.
"Must be a main character or something," Alex commented blinking and staring.
"Hmph. With how that person is dressed and how she looks, seriously doubt it," Tiffany remarked with a small snort. "Somebody's horn dog was active when making her I bet."
"..." Samantha was about to say something when footsteps came into the room. Turning their heads to the door frame, it was Derek. He went behind the monitor and unplugged the Bluetooth stick. Seeing the image on the TV go black, he looked at them.
"Hallway. We need to discuss something," he stated with a semi-serious face. Seeing them blink, they moved out of the room. Standing along the adjacent wall, they turned to Mr. Felmort.
"What's up Derek?" Alex asked.
"The patient that just woke up...was the same one that your son grabbed prior to the female one," he replied. "In discussing this with the doctor from when the victims started waking up, Jin has been rescuing them for more than 8 hours straight."
"Geez," Tiffany responded. "That is a bit hardcore."
"Yeah...big brother doesn't play for long stretches like that. He normally only does a few hours at most," Gene added in.
"...given that he and the others are stuck...there was little choice he had to do," Derek continued after nodding. "The other factor involved was that the entirety of game...was frozen since last evening...which means Jin was the only one moving around for a majority of that period of time."
"So then that means...someone is deliberately doing this," Samantha stated and saw him nod.
"As of right now, I am going to go pursue this matter," he stated. "Given that this has affected my daughter since deciding to put that helmet on her...it makes this matter more personal than it already is."
"Alex," Mr. Felmort stated looking at him with a serious face.
"...yeah?"
"If there is any chance that Jin can save my daughter...and bring her back...I will drop our personal matter."
"...!?" Mr. Ainsley said with surprise. It made both women blink in surprise to the point that one stepped forward.
"Why is it that you two hide this? What grudge or hold do you have over each other?" Samantha asked with a stern look on her face. "You two have already damaged my trust and our family. Don't push it to the point where I won't even speak or look at either of you without getting angry."
"..." both men spoke until Derek smirked. However it wasn't one of mocking, it seemed sad.
"Guess it won't matter if she can't come back...roughly two years ago...Ami got into a car accident," he began then looked at her. "She suffered only a few injuries, but went into a coma...though she recovered her injuries...she never woke up from that incident."
"...I...I was the one...that hit her," Mr. Ainsley informed quietly. He didn't look up knowing that the other three were looking at him with shock.
"I worked late that day and went downtown to pick something up...it was in the evening and dark...I rounded a corner when someone came running into the street...I wasn't able to stop in time when she slammed into the front of the car."
"...jesus..." Tiffany whispered.
"...but...but that was an accident," Samantha stated still in surprise. "Ami ran out into the street...you were in a blind spot."
"What was Ami doing out that night anyway?" Ms. Sanders asked trying to get the entire store behind their secret.
"...she...went on an outing with friends...once it was over, there was someone following them outside..." Derek explained though looked agitated. "No one saw his face as he only chased after my daughter...in attempt to escape, she ran into the street where...Alex was at the wrong place and time."
"...if that was the case...why...this huge secrecy?" Mrs. Ainsley asked with a softer tone.
"I blamed Alex initially before it was uncovered what really happened," he answered and did not look apologetic. "In attempts to understand and that Alex did not have intent to hit my daughter, I negotiated with him to settle without a court hearing or police investigation."
"...since then...I agreed to help him and do errands while putting money aside to aid with the medical bills for Ami," Alex mentioned though did not look proud of doing so. "While at the same time, keeping it all a secret from everyone."
"So now you know," Mr. Felmort stated flatly. Turning around, he walked away and got out his mobile. Dialing a number, he began making phone calls. When his image faded into the distance, silence took over the others that stood in the hallway.
"..." Alex spoke feeling tense.
Knowing that the situation was not good, he decided to brave it. Looking up, the other two women were not looking at him. Both were looking down at the ground as if they were deep in thought. More so Samantha than Tiffany, she was upset. Seeing someone approach him, it was his younger son. Seeing him motion him down, he lowered to the ground on one knee.
"...dad...?" Gene spoke in a whisper.
"Yes son?" he spoke back in equal volume.
"...keeping secrets...keeping them is okay...right dad?"
"..." Alex replied not able to speak for a couple of seconds. Collecting himself, he neither nod or shook his head.
"...it depends on what it is Gene...it always depends on what it is."
"...Jin...Selbith..." Han-Ko spoke with a tight smile. Despite the alluring look she gave, her aura was monstrous. So much so that all the AIs and players in the room slowly backed away.
"What just happened?"
"..." Ami responded with a blink. Lowering her gun that was pointing at the player, she turned to face the nightmare demon. The swordsman remained still and just looked back and forth between the three individuals.
"Finally wake up from Adam's spell?"
"...spell?" she asked looking at the male teen. The black veins that were protruding on the sides of his face pulsated. Each time it did so, it made him grit his teeth a little.
"...TiMe...StOp...CoMmAnD... $#% A...d...a...m..." he stated in pauses and static. The way he was speaking and the vibes he was giving made everyone except the demon and gunslinger step back even more.
"...what did that creator do...?" Han-Ko asked curious and calming down a little.
"He contacted me...offered something in exchange for doing things for him," Selbith informed then gave a cruel smirk. "Unfortunately, I am not his mate or whore...so I am not doing his bidding."
"How much time has passed since his spell?"
"Jin would be the one that has the answer to that question. He was not affected from the start of it," she stated looking at him.
Instead of him looking back at them, he was leaning forward with his head slumped down. Muttering something that was not comprehensive, black electricity started generating around him. Arcs were seen flaring from his back toward the ceiling. Ripping pieces of it off, another occurred from his side. Impacting a table, it exploded the fixture. Clenching every muscle, Jin started to shake.
Growling at the floor, the black electricity started growing to be constant. Everyone in the room except for Han-Ko and Selbith ran out. Some jumped through windows or bursting through doors to get outside. Seeing his head move back straight up, a black vein starting from the right side of his head snaked downward. Passing his neck and chest, it seemed to enlarge itself. Looking like a thick power cord with webbing of smaller veins, the amount of strain it was causing could be see in his face.
"By Hell's domain Jin...such anguish!" the nightmare demon stated with enjoyment. The feeling of his agony was transferring to her and the black pearl that she held. The intensity of it already surpassed the amount he emitted in Pandora's Box.
'The next stage for a Blighter?' Ami thought with both anxiety and wonder. Flinching a little, Jin started letting out short shouts. As if he was barking like a dog at a hostile stranger, his voice was getting doubled over and more. The more he continued, there were five other voices overlapping him. All sounded savage and filled with eerie malice.
"...Jin...what are you...trying to do?" she asked out loud. Trying to sound louder than what he was vocalizing, he suddenly materialized in front of the nightmare demon. With an enraged shout and look of madness, he shoved both hands into Han-Ko's chest. Piercing through, she let out a loud moan of pleasure and pain.
"...Darling...you are...so vigor and rough...let me give-" she began before being cut off.
"THE STATE OF ALL SOULS ARE DAMNED$$#$%ENVISION A REALM IN FLUIDITY! AS ONE WORLD!#%THE STATE OF DARKNESS REIGNS OVER THE LAND OF THE MORTALS! THE ANGELS! THE DEMONS! AND THE PURGED!$%#$SUFFERING...WILL BE YOUR SUFFERING...FOR EVER LASTING ETERNITY#$DEATH! WILL BE SUSPENDED IN THE SEAS OF PURGATORY!" five different voices shouted from the Blighter's mouth.
Grabbing her insides, the nightmarish visions invaded his mind threefold. Feeling his mind melting and breaking, Jin concentrated all the black electricity to his fingers. Letting out a scream of pain, arc flashes burst out of the nightmare demon's body rapidly. In a matter of several seconds, Han-Ko emitted both sounds of immense agony and euphoria. Slowly feeling faint and lighter, the last thing she saw was rapidly dancing arcs of black electricity. Closing her eyes, she exploded in a hyper bloodbath.
"...holy...shit..." Bill commented softly from watching the feed he was on. "R-Rodger."
"Hmm?" the lead programmer said looking behind him. Turning around, he went to the tech monitor's station. Without saying anything, he rewind back to when the virus known as Han-Ko came into the tavern. Playing it, both saw its end.
"Anyone caught in that blast?" he asked anxious.
"All other individuals got out of there prior to that blood explosion."
"Send all messages to remaining players in Cross-roads. Get them out there now!" Rodger stated looking at the others. Seeing their heads nod, they frantically messaged to all the gamers in the city. Within several seconds, the overhead map showed the remaining avatars either teleporting or beelining to the previous stage.
'Jin was not kidding about the episodes...I don't want to deal with someone actually dying from shock when they wake up from that kind of attack,' the lead programmer thought crossing his arms over his chest. Nibbling on the inside of his bottom lip, he and his crew watched and waited for what would happen next.
"Almost to Stratnum," Renee stated to herself. Reaching Aero-Island, she saw that color was coming back to the environment. Slowing down a bit to a walk, the people that were outside began moving around as normal. All stopped suddenly and looked around with confusion.
'The "Time Stop" spell wore off...or probably Adam removed it,' she thought walking forward. Observing the townspeople, they seemed to recover the fastest. Going back to their business as usual, it was the gamers that had a hard time. All of them looked a little lost as if they learned about something all the sudden and weren't able to process it fully.
'If that is the case...then the admin people can resume getting players out,' she continued feeling a little relief with the statement.
'But that means that Jin will become unstable again,' she said in her mind.
Rushing through Aero-Island, she headed for the teleporter to her down to the pillars. Reaching them and dropping down to the platforms, she could see the Water Prison entrance in the distance. Going down the large towering rocks with leaps, she headed toward the blue portal that was surrounded by a sea of water. Once on the the floating island, she dashed to the warp gate.
Jumping through, light bended around as she traveled through an illuminated tunnel of colors. Going through it in a few seconds, a bright light opening came. Passing through it, she landed in the large courtyard area of the other warp gates in Cross-Roads. Enabling "Fast Reactions" and dashing toward the center of the city, she was one step closer. Entering and getting into the central courtyard, she felt something dark to her right.
'That's...Jin!?' she thought sliding to a stop.
The disturbing aura that she felt before seemed stronger. Changing direction and rushing toward it, one of the taverns was emitting that intense vibe. The closer she got, she could see sparks of black electricity emitting out of the structure. Suddenly, AIs and players rushed out of the back of it. Continuing to run, the morbid vibe from the building increased sharply.
"...!?" the thief jumped from hearing a sudden scream of agony.
Staring at the tavern with fright, an explosion occurred inside of it. From any opening, blood shot out of it in masses. As if the entire room was flooded with crimson, it was accompanied by a massive chorus of screams. As if thousands of souls were screeching for life, ghosts were shooting out of the tavern like a hailstorm. All of them went straight up into sky before disappearing in the clouds.
'He...he didn't just-!?' Rogue thought then flinched.
Jin hovered through a blown out entrance door and was shaking all over. A look of anguish and rage consumed his face as blood coated and dripped down him. As he hovered away, another individual walked out of the tavern. Drenched in gore, she could tell who it was. Selbith had a sadistic grin on her face with a beheaded female in one hand and the large handgun in the other.
"...!?" the thief reacted with taking a step back. Ami used "Fast Reactions" to get near her. Seeing the gunslinger up close, she looked insane.
"Renee...you missed...the epicenter of cosmic glory," she stated with enthusiasm. Lifting the head up, it showed whose face it belonged to.
"...Jin...killed...H-Han-Ko!?" Renee asked shocked, disturbed, and very concerned.
"The sensation...of both of them suffering...of Han-Ko receiving pleasure at the same time...of everyone running in fear...and feeling the surge of his growing power...it is unreal...almost ungodly," she stated with satisfaction and looked relieved.
"You are seriously sick," she commented with a disgusted face.
"You are just weak," the gunslinger retorted. Tossing the head into the area, she aimed the gun at it and fired. Like popping a balloon, crimson and inners went everywhere.
"H-Hey!" Rogue shouted.
Enabling "Fast Reactions", she avoided getting guts rained on her. Looking back at Ami, she was staring at her with a look of enjoyment. Feeling unnerved and disturbed from seeing that she was just a monster in sheep's clothing, the thief glanced to her left. The unpleasant and eerie aura was slowly heading south. Looking back at the blood drenched female teen, she frowned at her.
"If you can't stand this world no more...why not leave?" Ami suggested and pointed in a southern direction. "There is a portal in Stratnum that will take you back to your world."
"If I am going to leave, I'm taking Jin with me," Renee declared. "I'm not leaving him here with psychos like you."
"Stupid mortal," she responded then snickered. "He can't leave...he is destined to rule over this world from what he had ascended to."
"You are just driving him insane you lunatic!" she barked back with anger. "He's not some murderous deity to satisfy your hellish fantasy!"
"...heh heh heh...ha ha ha..." Selbith chuckled mockingly at her then grinned cruelly at her. "...then go ahead...Renee...try and save Jin...it will be enjoyable to watch your folly attempts."
"You bitch," Rogue growled then vanished.
"...try as you might..." the gunslinger continued her expression. Turning to the direction of where Jin had gone, she saw the thief quickly zip through the buildings after him.
"You will fail...he is mine already," she declared then opened a crimson rift. Walking into it, the portal closed.
"...he...he got rid of Han-Ko..." Adam muttered to himself surprised and impressed. Seeing the active virus count get reduced down to only two, he felt that his end goal was with reach. Getting himself ready to go to HQ, his cell phone rang. Looking at the person ID made him cringe and frown. Pressing the call button, he answered it.
"Adam speaking."
[Morning. Seems that your team has been able to make a dent in recovery] Bennett commented in a neutral tone. [Where are you?]
"Just about to leave my house. Was finishing up with some loose ends."
[I see...since the damage control I had made for the PR statement has changed, it will need to be revised. Once you status with your team, come to my office]
"Okay. Copy that," the lead programmer stated then hanged up.
'Doesn't seem like a complete disaster now,' he thought with some relief. Gathering what he needed before leaving, he left to go to the Gamco HQ building.
'If he can get rid of Selbith and Lamashtu...then everything can be salvaged and put back together.'