Weiss, Arc 2: Into the Game
Chapter 6: Already Seen
…
The Swordsman hovered his hand over the hint of his katana with bated breath. His heart pounded like deafening war drums. The source of his fear stood before him, that monster that ruined him. Once again, the two stood in a dark tunnel as their stage.
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and hit the cold, dank floor.
Brain Unglaus eyed Shalltear Bloodfallen with dread, every ounce of his being was focused on the Vampire. His mind flares up into a fight or flight mode, although in this case, it was just flight.
He never expected their confrontation to be this soon.
"Unglaus-sama, what's happening over there?"
As soon as softer footsteps began to ebb louder, Brain's heart skipped a bit.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! RUN!"
"Unglaus?"
"I SAID RUN!"
Brain prayed in silence, gambling on the boy's common sense. Hence, it soothes his heart when there was another pause of silence before hesitant footsteps could be heard again at a quicker tempo before they faded out completely.
"He is a good kid." Brain thought a brief respite before he turned his attention back to Shalltear.
…
Time slowed down as he paused again to think, taking in the said time to process his situation.
…
"She looked…different from before." was all that Brain thought.
Shalltear Bloodfallen sports the same hair, blood-red eyes, and face, but this time a completely different garment. It wasn't the fine threads she once wore back in the cavern tunnel but a soot-covered peasant dress with a silver collar. Her doll-like face was blemished with bruises and her hair was dishevelled. A state that the Shalltear, he knew would never allow herself to be in.
Also… was her chest flatter than usual?!
That dazed Elf next to her also raised questions, whose eyes may be opened but was unmoving and as still as a statue. Who was she to Shalltear? A victim, perhaps? No. If that were the case, then Shalltear Bloodfallen wouldn't treat her with such gentleness.
The Vampire pointed her weapon, a weird one-handed tubular device with a cylinder built into it.
It was then that Brain met his foe's eyes with his own, and those ruby orbs gave the swordsman a horrifying epiphany. The fear was mutual.
She too was panting, worn out and slightly reclined. All arrogance was lost from her eyes, replaced with anxiety and paranoia. As if this proud being feared the human with a flimsy katana as a weapon.
All of these felt surreal.
"Why…why are you here? What are you doing in the royal capital?"
Brain mustered enough courage to ask his question.
Shalltear Bloodfallen did not answer, just giving him a face of loss. He was not willing to give up, not yet at least.
"I ask again, what are you doing here?"
"...why do you even ask?"
"This is the second time we crossed paths. From the start, I`ve been unable to forget your beautiful face, the face I am looking at right now."
Shalltear, in response, gave him a disgusted look.
"Ew."
A blunt answer enough to knock some shock into Brain's brain.
"I…I did not mean it like that!"
Shalltear replied in an exasperated tone, and she turned back slightly to look over her shoulder, then she turned back to Brain and took a moment to study her opponent, her weapon still aimed her weapon at Brain with a stern look on her face.
"Just stay out of my way, and no one gets hurt. I just want to go home."
Brain didn't move a step.
He thought harder again if there was any hubris in her tone, he might have thought this was Shalltear not remembering him as a form of condescension. Such bluntness proved otherwise, it was like as if the Vampire was possessed by a different being entirely, wearing her skin to mock Brain.
Such thoughts irritated the Swordsman as irrationality began to take control.
"I don't have time for this, this is your last chance to step out of my way, or I will have to put you down."
"I don't think that will be possible Shalltear Bloodfallen, I have to confirm something so that my life wouldn't become a farce. Even if it costs my life."
"Shalltear who…!?"
The Vampire clutches her head in pain at the mention of her name. Seeing this Brain immediately snapped into a sword-drawing stance. Using a thumb, he flicked the handguard of his katana to a semi-drawn state.
"That…name why it sounds so familiar but I have no memory of it! My head HURTS at that name…"
Brain steps back slightly, still keeping up his stance. Now the terror in his heart slowly ebbs back as a clearer picture started to paint itself for him.
Shalltear snapped back to her senses; she looked at the Elf. Just like Brain, she also began to grasp the reality of her situation, she was in a hurry as the other vigilantes will be here soon. Giving the Swordsman a look of great intensity, her index finger started to curl away from the trigger guard of her weapon and crept closer to the trigger.
The time for words was over as the tunnel fell back into silence. Only the sound of dripping water can be heard.
The two exchanged eye contact, both were wary of each other and both know the reason why they feared the other side. Yet both wondered why the other side feared them.
"Why does he fear me?" she thought.
"Why does she fear me?" he thought.
They didn't have the luxury to think or talk anymore, leaving to parlay were with lead and steel.
…
The Vampire fired the first shot. A loud flash of flame and smoke erupted from the barrel as lead missiles flew straight for him.
…
[Field]
With that, the Swordsman arched his back and drew his blade like it was second nature. At a speed that the naked eye can't catch, the bullet made a spark once it touched the katana's edge and it got sliced into two, and the lead pieces hit the stone walls behind him.
…
Brain let out a gasp of air after that performance.
Seeing this, a shocked Shalltear paused for a while, and this time she fired another two shots. With a few quick swipes, the same thing happened. Not willing to be the textbook definition of insanity, the vampire lowered her gun and looked at Brain with horror. Telling more with her eyes than her mouth.
In the swordsman's end, Brain was confused. It was just like before, except now the roles were switched. If this was the old him, Brain would have celebrated and gloated. Right now, it was just sheer awkwardness and more confusion consuming him.
Looking at the now fearful and desperate Shalltear now became, Brain can tell, something was seriously wrong.
Then to add to the Swordman's shock, the Vampire faced up, sticking the end of her weapon at her collar and pressing the rim of the barrel to the flesh of her neck, she pulled the trigger. A loud crack resound across the tunnel, and a side of her cheek was glazed and burnt as a ribbon of darkish blood flew up and landed on the floor in a dark red line.
Such a desperate move was inconceivable to the Shalltear Brain knew. Someone who would scar her beautiful face as a move to get out of a bind.
The projectile shredded the enchanted metal off her neck and she grasped hungrily for air. Then she turned her attention back to Brain, who stepped back slightly once more.
Shalltear dropped her weapon and reached her hand out, a visage of a dark metallic lance started to materialise out of thin air… until it dissipated back into nothingness.
She tried to reach out her hand to summon her lance, but the same happened again, the only thing the Vampire conjured was more distress on her face.
Then the Vampire cursed silently under her breath, she tried to summon her lance for the third time. Only this time instead of summoning a lance, a circle of a purple spiral. A portal was presented before the three. A great fortune for Shalltear as she relearnt the ability [Gate] at this trying time. Unfortunately, in a moment of panic, Shalltear pointed her palm at Brain by accident.
Thus, the portal propped up right behind the Swordsman, who stood in between Shalltear and her Elven partner's salvation.
Shalltear and Brain looked each other in the eyes, Brain's grey versus Shalltear's ruby red. The Vampire tossed her weapon aside, bared her fangs and lunged forward with her sharp claws.
Slice
The Katana made an arc of light, and Shalltear was sent reeling back. She cried in pain as her palm had a nasty gash on it, bleeding profusely.
Brain was so stunned that he have to take a step back, he turned back to examine his bloodied blade. As if he was entranced by it. He should have celebrated conquering Shalltear Bloodfallen, but something in him told him that this victory was hollow.
Bang!
Bang!
The last shots from the cylinder were fired. Due to his training and purge of his former pride, Brain didn't falter in his defense. In his peripheral, time slowed down as his sharp eyes caught the lead bullet, and with a sharper edge, he swung his blade with deadly accuracy.
The two bullets got sliced, but it was then he also saw the four bullet halves collide with each other as they ricochet, and two of the four dug into his wrists in supernatural ballistics. His katana flew out of his hands, skidding to hit the wall in sonorous clangs.
He admitted to himself, despite everything, the stunt caught him off guard. It was because there was no malice and bloodlust in that move. Brain trailed his eyes to the culprit, who was not Shalltear. But the Elf snapped out of her trance.
She was holding onto Shalltear's smoking shooter with teary eyes, after those shots, her hands began to shake. As if she was mortified by her actions.
Taking advantage of this, The Vampire rammed herself into Brain, grappled him by the waist and threw him aside with her supernatural strength. The Swordsman's back hit the cobblestone walls with a crunch. A speck of human blood splatted onto her cheek. Immediately she used her shirt to wipe away the blood frantically. Not willing to commit the same tragic mistake as before.
Her knife ears perked up; she can hear the hurried tapping of footsteps, which was subtly getting louder.
She turned to look at the portal, then at the swordsman, then at the Elf. She held the Elven girl by her hand and dive into the portal.
The last thing she saw was the visage of a polished black shoe.
Once the purple portal consumed the two, it shrank in an eye blink and disappeared into nothingness.
As if on cue, some loose bricks started to collapse on their own, revealing a man-size entrance. Out exited a man with a green cloak. Like Shalltear and the Elf, he was also covered in soot and bruises, his cloak severely charred. He was missing a hand which had its stump wrapped in clothes as makeshift bandages.
Brain immediately rolled to the side and pick up his katana and pointed its tip at the newcomer. In an anti-climatic display, the man just fell to the ground in horror. His injured bloated burnt lips made slurring intelligible sounds.
"Well, I see things were resolved here. Succulent-san, it's nice to see you again."
Sebas Tian entered the scene with his gloved hand folded behind his back. The Butler strode in with an inhuman grace as he surveyed the surrounding with his cold eyes. Before turning those frightening sights onto the now pathetic one-handed Succulent.
Another figure entered the scene less gracefully, panting as he composed himself.
"I…I managed to bring help Unglaus-sama."
Climb then looked up, and met eyes with Succulent, those eyes widened.
Even without speaking from his slack-jawed mouth, Brain can already hear Climb's questions.
However, the Swordsman chose to remain silent that day.
Unless it was someone like Gazef, he was not ready to share his shame with Climb and Sebas.
This encounter with Shalltear only leaves more questions than answers to Brain. The first encounter taught Brain humility, that lesson had been concluded, but this encounter's lesson had only begun for the Swordsman.
…
…
…
a Few moments earlier…
…
Stefan Havish finally bled to death from the hole in his naked chest. Sebas Tian walked over the corrupt official's corpse without a care in the world. His eyes scanned the corridors for more prey to slay, however, everything was barren now.
It seems the leaders had fled.
Perhaps he should regroup with the others. He may have a better chance of finding Succulent.
The murderous Butler's ears perked up. He heard soft breathing emanating from the corner of the corridor. With a swipe of his hand, still in a knife form, he performed chiburi on his gloved hand. The blood on his glove was now sparkly clean without a speck of red.
He strolled calmly to his target, his knife hand still hidden thinly behind his back.
Passing by the corpses of dead thugs he butchered, whose blood has yet to dry.
The Butler can hear someone breaking into a sprint. Sebas would have chased after his prey, he was confident that he could catch up before they can even notice. However, based on where the sound was coming from, Sebas didn't even need to run.
He remembered those corridors, they either lead to a dead end or towards where Brain and Climb were stationed.
With the arrogance of a cat that stalked its doomed rat, he chose to take his merry time. This mission was half-hobby, half-duty in the end of the day.
Sebas wrinkled his nose slightly, there was smoke and a weird unexplainable stench in the air. He turned to the corner of his eye.
A room was blocked by a wall of rubble, and the corridor adjacent to it was also caved in. Yet something about this room piqued Seba's curiosity, so he peaked through a small gap in the debris.
There was a burning bed, table and pieces of glass littered all over. There were also some manacles and chains laid sprawled across the floor. On the burning table, were some of the remaining alchemy sets.
This where the suspicious glassware that was smuggled into the brothel…
Hence Sebas pulled back his punch and straightened into a martial stance, and drove his fist into the debris. In a supernatural performance that defied physics, the debris exploded into a cloud of dust and powder. Now with his way unobstructed, he casually entered the room to inspect it further.
For an average human, the smell of this place would be unbearable and even might kill them from suffocation or toxication.
Sebas was no human.
He casually knelt and picked up something peculiar from the floor. A metal tray with a huge hole at its centre. Holding up the tray with a hole like a looking glass, something caught his eye within it.
Peering through the hole, he saw a corpse of an armless effeminate man dressed in what used to be a fancy suit, now torn and burnt. A fallen burning chandelier lay on the man's legs, and the fire was slowly starting to creep up onto his waist.
The man's face was forever fixed in a state of horror. However, his cause of death was written on his face… literally. Three holes, one on his forehead, two crushed his nose and cheekbones.
Given the positioning of this room, he doesn't mind spending a few minutes examining it as if his target wants to escape, they have to pass by this room, in other words: him.
The Butler's bloodstained soles snuffed out a small flame he stepped on, he also crushed a few shards of glass as he examined the crime scene. A mystery was brewing before him, and it perked his curiosity.
Slowly digging into the thumb-sized holes that caused this man's death, he dug out balls of molten lead and examined them carefully.
He looked at the dead body before him; such threads mean this man was in a high position, a boss perhaps? This was murder, but a very sloppy one. What could lead to a circumstance like this?
Then he frowned when saw a manhole with a few U-bars as ladders at the corner of his eye. He descended into the manhole or was about to.
Unfortunately for his prey, He heard a short scurrying sound a few rooms across him.
More chains and manacles dangled on the walls, while empty human cages were all over this part of the brothel. Softly tapping on cold floors with his blood-stained soles, his footsteps move along the rhythm. The hand behind his back kept its knife form, eager to kill.
The short scurry can be heard again, this time it was just on his right. Same tempo, and the same person. Sebas stopped and paused, and mechanically, he turned to the source.
The Butler stalked towards his prey, he raised his hand, ready to strike. Half of his face was veiled by a grim shadow while the other was illuminated with a menacing fire.
When he had gotten close enough he stopped.
Before him, was a naked woman who looked at him with fear, hiding behind a fort of crates. She was hyperventilating and cowering before him, covering herself with her arms. She suffered a few burns on her skin, her fingers were all broken, and bruises and scars covered her all over. She wore a metal band with a broken chain.
Her eyes were wet with fear and exhaustion. Dirty and disheveled hair covered parts of her face.
Sebas` face relaxed at the sight. There was no obvious malice or bloodlust, just a primal instinct of self-preservation. Despite being more defiant than Tuare, a slave girl he rescued from this same gang that kickstarted the hostility between him and them, there were enough similarities that soften his steel heart.
She spoke nothing, the look in her eyes tells Sebas more than what words can convey. She must be a fresh arrival who has been through hell, as well as witnessing my killings. And the weird stirring in his heart when he first met Tuare as half-corpse returned.
After all, saving someone in trouble is common sense.
"I am not one of those men," Sebas said in a calm, soothing voice as he offered a hand to this woman.
The Slave gave him a hesitant look before reaching out for his gloved hand.
Sebas held onto the Woman's hand, then his face harden, and his eyes became cold once more. This terrified the Woman.
The Butler with a strong grip moved the slave behind his back and faced whatever was on the other end of the corridor.
A shadow was approaching then from the other end of the corridor, and Sebas' hand formed into that of a knife.
It turns out it was just Climb, who looked at Sebas in between pants.
"B…Brain needs help," he said.
…
…
…
Now…
…
The sun was dimming and the sky was turning orange. It felt refreshing to leave that suffocating underground hell of smoke, ruin and blood.
Succulent was tied up while the Slave Woman was given some spare clothes that Climb found in the storage room of the brothel. Sebas pressed a finger on the Woman's forehead, and some of her wounds began to fade. Her finger also started to gently turn and returned to normal.
Other people were locked up who were rescued and given similar treatment.
"Thanks…" the now ex-Slave whimpered.
"Do you need anything else?"
"I…I have a home nearby."
Climb nods in understanding before getting up and leaving the ex Slave alone.
"So Cocco died? Like that?! That was an… horrible way to go."
"It felt it was well deserved,"
Sebas replied to Brain coldly. The Swordsman nod in silent agreement. Climb gave Brain a concerned glance.
"Unglaus-sama are you doing alright?"
The Swordsman seemed to have lost a lot of energy after leaving that encounter with Succulent. Something happened earlier down the tunnel. Brain became more conflicted and troubled, a frown was stuck onto his brow.
"N-no… it's nothing, I am just tired. We all did well down there. It was a pleasure to work with you two."
Sebas raised an eyebrow, he can tell Brain was telling a half-truth, and his emotions were genuine. However, Brain was hiding something. A lot of questions arose in his head, the lead balls, the alchemical sets, and now the Swordsman's keeping secrets.
A creeping malice made Sebas sharpen his eyes, genuine, hungering anger emanating as he turned to its source.
It was that slave girl, but it was not directed at him, Climb, or Brain.
The Chains and Manacles had already been hacked open; now they rattled in the sweaty palms of an ex-slave. Succulent found the wrapping on his neck. The Six Arm tried to call for help, but it only came up in soundless chokes. The Girl dragged him onto the ground, the chains on his neck only strangled harder.
Sebas noticed it, but he turned a blind eye. Sharing some sentiments with the woman, even respecting her for it.
When Climb turned around and noticed, he tried to reach out and stop her, but it was too late. Succulent's eyes rolled over as his hand felt limp. The girl got up, spit on the Six Arm's corpse, refused to elaborate, turned around, and walked away. Going back to seek shelter with the others who were locked up like her.
Leaving the three with nothing better to say, not that Sebas have any disapprovals.
"S-So…what do you two plan to do next?"
"Well, I intend to hurry to the nearest guard post, explain the situation, and come back with some men. I hope you two gentlemen can hold the fort here until then. For all we know, Eight Fingers might send reinforcements."
"Well…I don't mind, I am already on this boat. I just need something strong to drink and clear my head after all this."
"It is fine with me as well. However, could I trouble you not to mention me? I came to this country to do business, and to be honest, I do not wish to continue interfering in the underworld of a foreign nation."
"It's alright if anyone… asks. Just say uh Stronoff vouch for me."
Reading the room, Sebas nodded and excused himself silently. After all, this isn't really his business.
…
…
…
The Slave girl with white hair walked the corridors back to the room full of chains and cages.
The fire has been put out by the Old man's weird jujitsu or whatever the hell he did.
She crossed the door behind her and sighed. Kneeling, she search through the pile of tattered clothes. Cursing under her breath as those clothes were burnt and may not be ideal to wear.
So she picked up the salvageable items instead.
Her pair of glasses, a wallet that had all her coins stolen and her semi-automatic Hi-Power pistol.
Tucking it in her pants and wearing a blanket as an improvised cloak to hide the gun, she went back to the crowd. Who thankfully didn't ask too many questions. Thankfully the blonde kid and the Samurai guy were also more or less the same.
At least the horror movie Butler was gone.
The city guards arrived, the crowd got scattered and the "Slave" girl got away with it.
Heisenberg got away with it.
With that thought, she took a long way back home through the unpaved roads of the Re-Estize Capital.
Once outside the vicinity completely, she stood taller and prouder, as she got to live as Weiss for another day.
…
…
…
The portal opened and spat Sally and Eferdora out of it. The two dived head-first into a puddle of thick mud water. Smearing their body in brown. The whole place was filled with miasma that smelt of stagnating water, mud, and unexplainable stink.
Then when the Vampire saw the iron bars that obstructed their route, and the fact that the duo was in another tunnel. It didn't take a genius to know the mud sludge wasn't only made out of simple soil. As insulting as it was, at least they were not in another cell.
Offering a hand to her friend, the two thread their way through the rancid sewage that reached them on their knees. Using her recovered strength, it became refreshingly easy to pull apart the grate and re-enter civilization.
Sally reactivated her human pigment to hide her vampirism. However, the two can't hide their stench, as everyone who came close to them immediately looked away and went to the other side. Not that the duo cared, they were too emotionally drained to give a shit. Given they had already been through shit and were literally covered in them.
The two unceremoniously made their way home.
Once they reached their little residence near the gate, they entered through the front door they were greeted with the sight of a ransacked house. It will not be a surprise that the Slavers took this as an opportunity to loot, but the two were too done to even care.
They didn't wait to wash themselves off with a bucket and didn't spare the cheap [Prestidigitation] scrolls to clean themselves off. Eferdora spent more time washing her hands and face again and again.
Each time looking back at herself with bloodshot eyes that can't stop leaking.
Seeing this Sally pulled her back and looked her in the eyes, Eferdora said nothing, she glared at nothingness before slowly rearing her eyes to meet her partner's. Before she fell onto her chest and cried out loud. In response, Sally patted her back slowly to comfort her.
All those horrors from her past before she met her, and the ones that just happened all thanks to slavery began to crush her. Succulent, the chains and now a deafening boom that she can't forget.
Why, why must they suffer so much?! What's the point of all this?!
Then the clicking of the doorlock caught Shally's attention.
Weiss walked into the door, she gave her partners a look. She shared the same exhaustion as the two.
Yet, she seemed more unaffected, she headed to the kitchen counter, opened the top drawer and produced a bottle of wine. She poured herself a drink and relaxed on the couch without saying anything. Sipping her drink casually, waiting for darkness to take over the city.
Something about this display irked something within the Vampire. She walked slowly to the woman with heavy stomps.
"Welcome back… Ms Weiss."
"Hmm?"
Now Sally can't hold back her anger, after what she had been through all Weiss can give her was a simple "hmm?!" As if nothing had happened?!
Before the Vampire can unleash a volley of accusations against her, Weiss silenced her with two simple words.
"I won."
Weiss took another sip of her drink before turning her blazing blue eyes back at Sally.
"Succulent is dead, Cocco Doll is dead, apart from some loose ends, the whole Slave Division is gone. We got away with it."
She stood up and stared down at Sally; despite their incomparable physique, something about Weiss truly frightened her.
"Before you say what I think you are going to say. I know it's a shame what happened to all three of us, especially Eferdora. But you also need to admit, I am the most responsible out of all of us three. The enslavers that torment us can no longer chase us because they are DEAD because of ME! True justice was served."
Sally took a step back as Weiss took a step forward.
"Also let's not forget, and let me remind you again. The whole reason why Cocco got to us is because of your carelessness. So don't you dare blame it on me!"
Weiss turned around and messaged her forehead in frustration. As if she was talking down to a child. She heaved her shoulders and clicked her tongue.
"You know, when I slipped out of that shithole, I overheard a small exchange between this Blue Haired Samurai guy, a homicidal Butler geezer and some blond kid with a sword, the vigilantes. I heard something about hauling Succulent to the Guard post so that he can be jailed. We are in the most bent place in this world, and those fools are pretending as if no one will bail him or jailbreak him, or simply don't care."
She turned and face Eferdora, whose eyes were still filled with stray tears.
"If it wasn't for me, Succulent will still be drawing breath and plotting how to stab us while we are not looking,"
Weiss said with a horrifying realisation, it was impossible to tell if she was even genuine here.
"Instead, let's be practical about this, we need to start hiring muscles, build some sort of network and improve production infrastructure. SO, we can make money to protect ourselves. Money is power, money is legacy and money is security!"
"What?" Sally asked.
"Look, I am just trying to be realistic here, trying to learn from our experience."
The Vampire shook her head and glared at the Career criminal. Then she walked passed Weiss without saying anything.
"Sally? Where do you think you are going?"
The shorter girl headed to the basement and pried open a secret compartment in a hollowed wall with her bare hands that revealed a chest, their Group chest. And she started putting gold into a sachet.
"HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH OUR MONEY!?"
"I am taking mine and Eferdora's share, and we are leaving. Ms Weiss, we are done here. Fuck you and fuck this city!"
"Please think rationally about this. Despite everything, we are doing pretty fine both financially and in security. We just need more time and faith. It was because that we are together right now, we were able to evade everything! The law, the debt, a samurai, a fucking murderous butler, two fucking Ninjas and two of the most insufferable and strongest Adventurers of this nation!"
Weiss quickly gripped Sally on the wrist.
"The last thing we need right now is trust issues. Listen…"
Weiss soften her tone, a huge contrast from the tone earlier.
"I know how upset you are, you both are… about this whole thing. Rightfully so, Cocco Doll just like the first Doll we faced is an absolute degenerate. I am just as upset you both are…"
Weiss sneaked a glance at Eferdora, seeing this, an enraged Sally swung her hand to shake off Weiss, the force was so great it almost dislocated her shoulder.
"DON'T YOU LOOK AT HER LIKE THAT!"
"Jesus, what?! You think I am lying? All three of us were violated back there. It tears me up inside. This is a fucked up world, people will come for us regardless, but I will not just lie down and run away. What happened happened, but this is not the way to go."
The Criminal tapped a finger on Sally's gold sack.
"-And that, is pretty light. You wouldn't even last a week outside."
It was then the Vampire's physically cold-blooded head cooled down metaphorically. She looked at the Group chest again and realised she already scratched the bottom.
"Where…is the rest of it, Weiss?!"
Sally's hand began to sharpen into claws. Weiss merely tilt her head and stared down at her soon-to-be ex-partner. The career criminal wasn't fazed.
"There wasn't any left, while we may be leagues above the average Re-Etize slum dweller, we don't have enough to carry out whatever you are planning even if you take the group chest for yourself. Remember, killing me will only deprive you of your only way out. Also, don't forget about Hilma's debt, she will fuck with our life the moment this week's due wasn't met."
"You…you."
"All I ever did, was for the best of all three of us ULTIMATELY, so the both of you can grow a spine. So please stay, and work with me and we will fill that chest. Until we earn enough, we can forget about Hilma and live our own lives as we pleased."
Sally looked grunted in frustration, a cat caught her tongue. Then a hand rested on her shoulder, it was Eferdora.
"I will go with whatever you say Sally-san. Just please don't fight anymore. "
Weiss gave the Elven interloper widened eyes, as she had stabbed her in the back. The Vampire gave the Criminal a determined look and said.
"Maybe , I will just have to work out something else. Maybe all this is the first wrong I shall right."
"No no no you are not, BECAUSE IF YOU LEAVE YOU WILL GET FUCKED!"
The Vampire took two sacks of gold, one for her, one for Eferdora. She then headed away to pack their spare clothes. Since they don't own much, it didn't take too long for her to finish packing, alongside the provisions for the journey.
That was, with Eferdora's help.
"Come on now, not you too!?"
Weiss cried
"I am sorry, IamsorryIamsorryIamsorr-"
This time it was for Sally to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and the Elf stopped apologising. The Vampire pulled her friend away from Weiss while carrying their luggage. The two exited the doors of this residence without any intentions of coming back.
Weiss, now alone, took in a moment to process the silence before strolling back into her bedroom.
She locked the door, closed the curtains and lit up her lamp.
First, she removed the mattress from her bed, followed by the wooden board of the frame, revealing a metal lockbox. Using a key she kept in her wallet, she opened the box, and it was filled to the brim with gold pieces that were unknown to her now ex-partners.
Weiss said nothing, she merely stared into it blankly. Her empty face reflected on every alluring shining surface of each coin.
Then, the face on the coins twisted into a dark hateful one. Hundreds of hooded glare stared back into Weiss.
Disgusted and enraged, she let out a roar and threw the box of coins across her room, spilling the floor of this dim room with gold as she towers above them.
The Chemist turned her attention back to the golden ring on her hand and sighed.
"At least Skyler and Junior weren't around to see me like this."
Weiss, a former husband, sat down on a chair exhausted. Her soles rested on a floor scattered with gold as she reminisced about her past and feelings of a dreadful deja vu started to boil within her.
Part of her relives her regret, part of her yearns to reach normalcy, yet part of her plans for her next move.
She just can't help herself, she needs more money, and she wants more money.
…
…
Arc 2 ended: Into the Game
Next Arc: A Narco's Rise
…
Special thanks to Fleece Johnson/Kaco Kamen for proofreading
…
Shalltear's current influences
Weiss - 10
Eferdora - 15
Nazarick - 0
Each Person/Organization represented something important to the Vampire in the future.
…
Author's note: It's been such a Journey, I have to genuinely say, I have so much fun writing and finishing this arc. Now that I set the stage, I can finally do some world building at last.
That said, I am both eager and scared to write for the next Arc, as this is where the story reached a turning point where things may be controversial.
Also, help a homie out and leave a review, I will have a great time reading them!
Till then, adios!