Chapter 12: Episode 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Nasuverse or any other franchise that can be found in this fanfiction.

Words Count: 5023

Here's my usual spiel:

You can read up to 10 Episodes in advanced plus my other fic: Ars Goetia– Antichrist here.

p a tr e on . com (/) LiamThePoor

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We strolled towards the waiting monster. "You distract it, I'll find ways to break its defense. Remember, its regenerative powers are probably boosted by Regul's, so don't push too hard. Retreat if you must, don't get too cocky, we don't know what this… Fusion has mutated their abilities into. Oh-And use as many cocktails as you have, the sooner we wear him down, the quicker he will be able to kill him, understood?" Sven nodded, face grim as he glared at the creature. As for me, I couldn't muster up any other emotion, I just felt an incredibly deep-seated exhaustion that seeped into my bones. Hopefully, my incoming Level Up would handle that or I might just drop.

Another thing I found out on this trip was farming enemies didn't increase my Exp count, that or the whole thing was being calculated to add to my rewards. Probably one more hot-fix thanks to my loving senpais. At this point, I was fairly sure whoever created this Game either wanted me to suffer, as much as humanly possible, or thought it would make for a more authentic and thrilling experience. I couldn't decide which of the two was worse, the fact that some unknown entity had that big a vendetta against me, or the fact that more nerfs might be put out at his whims and fancies. Or, it could be a her, Gods knew I had made plenty of enemies of the opposite sex due to my complete disregard for political correctness.

As we stood before the monstrosity, I fixed my grip on the Black Keys. They were looking worse for wear, as were my palms, which had now spotted several calluses and skin tears. Sven's form was swiftly encased in familiar Magical Energy, but even his was flickering, seeming more faded than the last time I saw it. The exhaustion was getting to us, a battle of attrition would not be in our favor, we needed to finish this fast... I thought, but didn't voice it out loud. No reason to give the creature a boost in confidence in this situation. Sven looked like he realized that too as he crouched in a pouncing position. "Well, do you want to fight or not?"

The question broke the monster out of its daze as it howled with unfathomable hatred. "I WiLL kILL YoU!" Then it charged at me, faster than I remembered it ever being in our previous battle. My eyes widened, caught completely off-guard by its massive increase in speed as I ducked hurriedly, weaving under its meaty arm as its claws dug into the concrete wall and nearly tore the whole thing down. I slid across the floor in a desperate attempt at keeping distance, but in seconds, it was on me, its fist slamming into my blades, which I had instinctively brought up to block its attack. The Black Keys screeched, bent, then shattered, the fragments cutting into cheeks as I fired Finn Shots at its head.

Sven hadn't been idle either, trying his best to attack the Apostle within the monster's torso and failing. It just shrugged off his blows and slapped him like he was an annoying flies. "Shit…" As though it could sense our disbelief, the monster howled with laughter. "WHaT's wRoNg HERoes? AM I tOO StrOng For YoU?" I didn't bother replying, grimacing slightly as I saw the fractures forming in my forearms with [Structural Gasp]. Did the fusion multiply their powers somehow? It must have, Adversary didn't have anywhere close the levels of strength and speed it was displaying. "LEt Me teLL You A SeCRET, EvEn the GReastEst HeROES in HisToRy StumBLe, FaLL AnD someTimes…"

It paused, its toothy maws twisted into a haunting, sinister grin. "SomEtimes, tHey Don'T GeT UP!" Instead of me, the monster attacked Sven who was sneaking up on it, clutching him in its hand like he was a mere doll-sized figurine, then squeezed. What followed was the ungodly screams of Sven as his Magical Casing cracked and dissipated, his eyes bulged in agonizing pain as it slowly increased the pressure on his body. Then came his bones, even dozens of feet away, I could hear the audible pops as his shoulders were dislocated and his ribs shattered under the strain. "Sven!"

I flung the remains of my Keys at the monster's head. It took the attack head-on, almost seeming to dismiss the gashes that it had caused to its face, even laughing as I jumped onto its back, elbowing its head from above. Unlike before, its bone crown did not break under the constant impacts… My elbow did as I kept going, trying my best ignore the pain that brought tears to my eyes. Seeing how ineffective my strikes were, I pulled out the second last molotov I still had and crushed it against its face. The bursting fire left my clothes singed and my hand burnt, but it served its purpose as the monster tossed Sven's limp form away.

Its hand reached back to grab me, while the other wiped the fire off its face. What in the actual fuck was this? Taking advantage of my smaller stature, I slipped down from the slimy, cancerous tumor, taking a literal pound of its flesh with me. The skin of my palms, though already reinforced to the brim, sizzled as the acidic, diseased substance got onto them. At this point, it wasn't a matter of whether I was infected with its amalgamation of viral infections or not, but whether the Game could save me from it. Unfortunately, I could already the tars working as my hands turned red with pulsing, lacerating blisters. I threw my last molotov at the wall, shoving my hands in the fire.

The pain was excruciating, but if I wanted to stave off the infection, I had to do it. By the time I was done, the skin on my hands had been all but burnt off and the monster was back on my trail again. I fired Finn Shots at him to keep him away, even resorting to using [Ansuz] in a last ditch effort to buy myself more time. There was a reason I preferred carving the rune and activating it later than actually using the Skill, it was far more efficient Mana-wise, and even if I had failed, the resulting detonation would only harm my foes and not me, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

It was all luck that the Skill didn't fail on me, the stream of reddish white lightning putting the monster on its knees as it huffed out iron-melting mists. We shot glares at each other, though it was rather hard to see its from my perspective, given its face seemed set on the same angry expression even while laughing. Our moment was interrupted by another molotov landing on its back, not Sven's, Takashi's… Huh? The cowardly monk managed to man up after all. I gave him a grateful nod, one he returned. Then I shouted. "Get Sven out of here, Takashi! He needs medical attention, I'll be fine!" The monk looked hesitant at that, but a scowl from me sent him scampering away.

"Try to survive, Mr. Leo! I'll come back to help!"

He threw Sven over his shoulders and took off. With both of them out of the way, only the monster and I were left now. To be fair, it tried to give chase despite its flaming back, but I managed to increase my Mana output. This again forced it to its knees as the multitudes of tumors on its body popped in a gruesome display. "D– Haahaa– Don't even think about it, you piece of shit." It slammed its fists angrily on the floor, throwing up dirt, fragmented concrete and what I was sure was fecal matters, though that seemed to hurt it more than it hurt me, so I didn't really mind it that much. "You're right, ya' know? Heroes do stumble and fall–" I paused to catch my breath. "– But I ain't no Hero…"

With that said, I casted a second [Ansuz], this one letting out explosive balls of fire that landed squarely on its chest. The roars of the monster were like music to my ears as it burned and crackled with lightning. Even after the noises stopped and the path leading to the surface was filled with smoke, I didn't let up. I had watched Zombieland, alright? I knew to double-tap the sonuvabitch. I did in fact double-tap after his first phase, on both Regul and Adversary actually. How the two survived to merge into this was beyond me. I glanced at my HP and MP, they weren't looking good, but I had learnt my lesson, I wasn't stopping until I had gotten that damned Quest Completion notification.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as I felt my Mana emptied. I caught a glimpse of the monster behind the curtain of smokes and ashes. It looked hurt, but if the twitches were anything to go by, it definitely wasn't dead yet. I'd have to retreat further in the tunnels, running past it was too risky and I had no idea if sunlight could still kill it after the merger. Just to be certain, I activated [Observe], and sure enough… "You think you can play dead on me again?" I laughed tauntingly, my voice felt raw and pained, like the sounds of a broken 1900's radio. "Catch me if you can, you hunched over, sorry sack of shit!"

[Game Ver.a3.2]

Name: Regul Black

Title: Amalgamation

Age: 34

Race: Apostle

HP: Fatally Wounded

[—] [—] [—]

It didn't reply, so I kept hurling insults at it. "Your father should have shot you on the bed." Still nothing. "Your mother should have gotten kicked in the stomach while pregnant with you." I could detect the twitches intensifying now. "Your entire family will end with you– You disgusting ball of diseased flesh…" That did the job, as the monster dug its claws into the walls to pull itself up right. Its legs seemed broken, maintaining this form must have consumed a lot of its Mana, if it couldn't even heal from a wound so simple, that or the damages had accumulated enough to wear it down. I didn't know which was true, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The more injured it was, the better my chances of survival would be.

I darted deeper into the tunnels, weaving past twists and turns to confuse the monster. It didn't work out as intended, but it did serve to slow it down somewhat. "GEt BaCK hERe YoU BRAt!" It was on all fours, still gradually gaining on me. My only advantage was my smaller stature, which helped me avoid the occasional swings aimed at my back. But, I knew I couldn't keep this up for long. My lungs were burning up, my heart beating at a rapid pace that made it feel like it could burst at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, the monster seemed aware of this as well as it increased its speed, arms slamming on the concrete to propel it onwards.

"Shit…" I barely managed to let out a curse as its plummeted at me, arms raised. That attack would have probably reduced me to a meat paste, I was forced to dodge by digging my fingers into the ground, letting it fly past, but the impact had twisted my fingers in the opposite direction. I bit down a scream, running as the monster struggled to get to its feet. Was there anything I could use? I doubted I could hide from it, given its enhanced senses, but surely there were weapons I could use in these tunnels, right? I wasn't picky, even a broken wrench or hammer would do at this point. I needed weapons if I were to kill it, I couldn't very well do the whole thing by hands, could I?

My train of thoughts was interrupted by a concrete slab crashing into my lower-back.

HP: 5%

HP: 4%

HP: 3%

I cried, feeling my spine crack at the sudden force, sending me tumbling forwards and leaving my legs paralyzed. Ahh, I was going to die, wasn't I? Well, it was a fun experience at least. I gazed up at the approaching monster. I wasn't scared, Death was an old friend of mine. While I did feel regretful that this life would end here like this, I had done my best and that's what counted, right? As my vision blurred, a formless humanoid seemed to loom over me, its hands caressing my cheeks, whispering sweet nothing in my ears as the life began to leave my body. The being was so familiar… In fact, it felt like I had known it for my entire lives. With my last bits of clarity, I used [Observe] on the being to make sure I wasn't imagining things.

[Game Ver.a3.2]

Name: Π̶̶̴̡̭̟̯̦̣͕̜͕͓̬͑̒ͪͤ̅͑̒͜͡͞͝ͅͅ҉̷͘͢͢͞͠͡Ω̝͓̫̣̥̤̜̪̂̌̍̄̈̽͒̀̿ͯ͆̚̚͢͝͏T͍̯̙̞̼̰̬͈͓͈̙͕̬͖̤̮̰͖̥̓ͣ̍ͧͬ̓ͬ̏͐̄͒͂̓͏̴̀̕H̸͔͎͚̤̻͚̺͎̩͈̮̤̜̪̙͚̫̍̾͜͟I̱̩̙̗̜̣̞̤̞̹̱̎ͭ͊̈̓͋̈ͤ̂̂ͥ̽ͫ̂̈́ͨͨͩͬͅ҉҉̡̛͜͝͏̛̀̀͡Π̜͆͑̈́ͯ̀̈́҉͜͏̕͟͟͠͞G̡̢̠̲̮̦̻̭̹͓̝̟̜͙̙̤͍̱͉̿͌̔̓͢͠Π̷̡̛̟͎̩̝̩̭̯̥ͮ͆̇̒̎ͯ̓ͯͯ͗̒̍̀̚̚͘͟͟͜͞͞͡͝Σ̵̢̧̙͙͙̘͍̞̻͈̘͖͚͚̺͔́͘ͅS͖ͥ͛̈́̈́͂̇̎̔̏ͩ̈́̕͘ͅ͏̸̵̛͜͠͡͞͏͞͡Ş̷̶͎͖̭̟͇̱͙͓̲̪̹̜͕̓̀ͩ̌ͤͯ̑̏͂̒̓̚͟͝͞͏̕

Title: T̸̷̨̧̛̛͐͐ͣ̀́͡҉́H̸̷̡̧̡̬̯̎̍͛͐̋̀̕͘͜͝҉͟Σ̸̵̛͈̪͕̬̘̳͖̹̰̖͕̝̹͉͕̾ͧͮ̍ͩ̓ͤ̄͊ ̵̷̧̫̱͙͍ͧ̍̒͌̽͛͑҉̴͢͞∇͎͕̳̬̖͙̜͓̪̫̣͕͍̺͕̹̪͓̫ͩ͐̐ͥ̎̇ͩ̔̅̓ͨ̋̐ͩ͏̶̸̧͏̧̀Ω̳̼͓̥̪͎̝͔̩̗̤͇̪̻̥̥̟̤̂̒ͪͦͬ͟͠͞͡͏̴̧̨́҉̀̕͟͜͠͞͞͝Į̵̷̷̧̪̙̜̓͆́D̷͚̥͓͙̬̤̰͒̓̔͑͋ͯ̇̏ͮ́̚͟ ̸͖̲̖̻̖͓̙̳̘̽̇̽̒̓́̓̀̓́͘͟͏̸̧̧̡͟͝͠͏̵β̸̙͎̻̪̤̠̘̉ͩͩͦ͗̍̽ͤ̏̈́̅͂͑̔̐̚͟͏͏̷̵̡̛̛̀̀̀̕͢͟Σ̨̛̘̘͚̜̩̼͙̯̫̟̼͉̺̹͙̼̣͎̻ͫ̍ͨͧ̓̿̉ͧ̚͘͟͡Ţ̲͈͉͖̜̪̺ͫͩ̌̐͐͛́ͫ̂̅͗̐͑̈ͥ͒̓̇͗͜͏̴̶̷̸̡̨́͟͜͜͢͝͠͝͡Ш̴̱̠̼̭͇͙̘̼̦̠͉ͫ̎̽̈́́ͭ̑̑̎ͮ̌͑͢͝Σ͇͖̼̤̖͔̜͓̰̦͙͇̝͙ͣ̆̄̚Σ̢̝̯͎̞̗͈̬̬̤̰̞̯̤̮ͫͬ͌͑ͫͨ̏ͣͤ̈́̍ͣ̄͘͏̶̵͡͏́̀̕͢͢͝Π̶̵̪͎͓̓͒̒ͭͩ͗̈́̈́ͥͯ̒̀̚͢͜҉̸̢̛͘ ̷̨̢̛̛̺̟̭̂ͭͬ̐̀́̕͠͝͝ͅU̜̦̙̺͉̜̹͔͚̮̣͖̻͇͈̺͌ͭ̎̀͘͢ͅΠ̸́́Ī̴̵̢̡͇̗̱̤̹͓͈̜̗̺̙̣̳̤̗͔̂͐̆̀͘̕∇̶̵̡̧͚͈̪͕͚̺̻̝̞̜̻̖͕͓͟͜͜͜͠Σ͈̜͙̹̥̓͘҉͏̶̨́͏͘͏͢҉̧̕͘͟͡R̛͍̙̝̰̺̬̖̯̖̹̠̞̝̘̪̤̍ͫͮͭ̓̀͐̋ͨͦ͛ͦ̑͌͂̿̈́͌͋҉̷̵̶̸̷̧̨̨͟͟͞S̞̹̹̞͎͉͋̀ͦ̓̕͘͜͜͠͏̶̵̧̛̛́̀̀͘̕͜͞͠Σ̸̸͇̥̪̗̟̻̼̩̬͔̠̌͗̆͝͝͡͞S͓͇̻͎͉̤͙̉͑̊̒ͫͤͥͧ͋ͤ̆̈̚͘͏̴͜͢҉̨̧̛͝

Age: Ų̵̴̢̡̦̻̯̟̘̼͙̥͌̓̋̎ͣ̀̀̕͞͡͝͝͝͠͠͝͡Π̛̲̥̰͕̘͕͚̝̞̄ͬ̈͛̇̀͛̓͂͛̍ͥͨ̂̈́̋͊̐͢҉̀͞҉̷̡̀̀́͢͠C̷̵̵̶̨̡͎̼̭̦̝͇͚̜̼̠͕̓͌́̀͊ͣ̓͂͆̓͆̀͘͝͡҉̴̢̢́͝͝͏͏ῼ̰̫̻̠̝̺͓̳̠̰͚̗̻̲ͬ̏̿͆ͦ̅ͩ͊͐̂ͥ̀͂ͤͩ̒͋̀̇͟͠͏̵̶̷̡̢̧̨̀͘͢͟͟͜͞͞͝Ȕ̵̦̘͈̯̣͕̝̦̥͓̦̣͓̍ͫ̍̿҉̵̧͠Π̴̢̬̣͓͕͈̰̣ͦ̂̋ͮͤ̈̌̋ͣͬ͘͘ͅ҉̴̷̵̨̛͜͜͟͜͝T̵̸̷̸̢̧ͥ͊͊͛̐͌͑̑ͫ̓͌͗ͨ́̀͘̕̕͜͜͟͡͡͞͝Δ̨͉̝̰͖̉ͣͫ̾́͊͂͘β̧̧̹̖̯̟̍̂̌ͦ̋̈̾͌̒́ͬ҉̧͞L̷̹̤̞̪̭̩̝̰̥͔̟̲̮̹ͨͯͤͬͣͩ͊͠Σ̜͉͕̖̮̘͈͈̮̜̪͉̂ͫ̒̋̆̏̑ͮ͠͏͏̴̵̸̢̡̡̧́͘͢͜͢͜͠

Race: Ļ̷̴̡͓̦̣̝̣̤̮̫̀̆ͩͪ̑͗̎ͣͩͥ̃ͪͫ̅̄̉ͣ̚̚͜͠͏̨̀͏̸̸̵̢̢́͘͠͠I̷̶̴̧͚̖͙̲̘̻̱̻̭͎̊ͭ͒͑̂͋͗ͬ̃̊ͣͨ͑ͭ̀̀̀͟҉∇̢̻͖̦̞̞̣̝̠͕̜͓̞̠͇̬̗͕͙̿̾͞͞͏̸̸̴̸̢̢̢̕͟I̵̸̛͔͕͙͍̟͊̈́̅ͣ̕͜͞ͅΠ̷̢̨̧̡̨̛̮̠̟̞̜̗̩̠͍͛̂̊ͤͯ͛̉̿̃̈́ͩ̈͑ͨ̚͘͘̕̕̕͘͟͜͢͢͠͞G̢͚̞̬̝̱͚̣̬̠̖͚̋͊ͫ̊̍̏̄͆̀͐̊̓̏͐͛͋͋͋́̕͜͜ ̸̴̸͈̪̗̻̦͓̗̜̞̞̳̦̼̤̖͚̟͎̂͊̓̉ͩ͐ͣ̓͋̍͂͗ͨ͒̒ͫC̷̨̢̺̳͎̘̗͈̦̓̔̿ͥ͟͡ͅ҉̷̵̸̨̨̛͞҉͝͝Ω̷̝͚̺̹̲̹̘̬̼͙̤̥̰͙͇̦ͮ̍ͩͦͣ̽ͤ͌ͮͫ̾͗́̾ͦ̀̀͘͟͏̴̷͘͟Π̷̵̦̘̖͓̟͖̯̪̲̺͉̻̳̆ͦ̔ͧͭ̑ͨͨ̎̾̔̑̀͏̴̸C̶̷̢̧̢̛̼̻̞̩̬̼̭͒ͦ̂̐̑͋̑ͥͨ͐̊͐͊͆̃ͮͭ̑̊̀̕͟͞͝͞͡ͅΣ̧̛̫͍̞̜̜̜͙͘͘͡ͅP̴̨̛̝̲̳͉̥͕̞̥̣̟͕̤̗̼͍͍̩ͯ̽̈́̕ͅ҉̢̡̕͠͝T̴̴̷̡̛̛̛͕̻̹̦̩̜̪͖̣̆̈ͭͥ͑̐̓͑ͣ̂ͬ̏ͨ̉̀̚͜͢͡

[—] [—] [—]

"Ah, It's– It's you…" The being put a hand to my mouth, gesturing for me to stop, to conserve my waning energy. I smiled at the gentleness as darkness seeped in. 'I felt so tired.' My eyes closed, perhaps for the last time. My hands curled, as though wanting to grab something that's not there. My heart slowed, as my organs started to shut down. 'This is it then.' This was how I died. I couldn't say it was the way I wanted, but it was more honorable and heroic than the last at least. Hopefully, if I ever got transmigrated again, it wouldn't be in a Universe where every Tom, Dick and Harry was a potential fucking life-hazard.

You are reading story Fate: Dead Man’s Lament at novel35.com

…

Regul stood victoriously over the Enforcer who had just breathed his last. Its maws wide open in a twisted smile as it picked up the corpse and brought it to its mouth. It was hungry and wounded, this would be just the thing it needed to get its strength back. But before that could happen, the corpse's eyes snapped open. What greeted it weren't the terrified green eyes from before, but an Abyss of Nothingness that seemed to stretch on forever. It wasn't even black, just an emptiness that could never be filled. The corpse smirked, fingers held in in the shape of a gun, pointed directly between its forehead. "BANG." Regul managed to dodge most of the Magical Orb that was released, but the attack still took nearly half its head off.

It shouted in rage, clawed hands clutching its dripping brain-matters as it dropped the corpse and staggered back. "YOU!"

The formerly dead Enforcer got up, body shifting in a disturbingly clunky manner. His once broken legs seeming to lengthen and pop back in place, almost like a toy figurine. "I CAN'T BE HERE FOR TOO LONG, BUT I ASSURE YOU, I'LL PAY YOU BACK TENFOLDS WHAT YOU DID TO HIM." Regul glared at the inhuman thing currently taking control of the body, for that couldn't possibly be the fleeing Enforcer. It grumbled, irritated that its meal had been snatched away. "WhAT aRe YoU?" The thing did not answer, opting to look at its hands curiously. "Hmmm? MY APOLOGY, IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I GET TO PLAY IN A MORTAL VESSEL, YOU COULD SAY IT HAS BEEN Ғ̨̬Ω͂̅͟Rͬ̏ͅΣ̲̠̂ͦ∇̈Σ̥ͧͮ͘R̗ͭ͗ EVEN… NOW, WHAT WAS IT YOU WANTED TO ASK AGAIN?

AH RIGHT… WHAT AM I? TO BE HONEST, I'M NOT QUITE SURE. I HAVE, AND WILL ALWAYS BE. I'M EVERYWHERE, YET NOWHERE AND I SEE ALL THAT HAS, IS OR WILL BE. I. AM. Π̰̒ͧͤ͘͞Ώ̕̕Ţ̩͙̙ͅH̨ͩI̹̥͖̲̔͒̓ͭ͢͞Π̧̧̦̈́̓͒́͝G͚̫̜̑ͤͧͪ͏̢͞."

It chuckled, pleased that its introduction had gotten a response from Regul– A reluctant wince as the monster felt the ambient powers bent. "THOUGH I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM HARDLY MATTERS TO YOU. YOU'RE TOO FAR GONE TO EVEN FEEL FEAR AT THIS POINT. THE REAL QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK IS: WHY AM I HERE? AND TO ANSWER THAT…" It paused dramatically as a swirling mass of Mana gathered at its fingertips. The ball then shot at Regul, going clean through his stomach. "I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION."

With a snap of its finger, Regul was instantly set ablaze. It died so fast it couldn't even comprehend what happened even as it body turned to ashes and crumbled. "WHAT A BORE— MORTALS, SO FRAGILE, SO BREAKABLE. I HAVE HALF THE MIND TO RESURRECT YOU JUST TO KILL YOU AGAIN, BUT…" Π͓͎̲̪̠̄̎Ω̭͕̻̻ͭT̳̝̗̄ͦ̇H̪̥͚̔̊I̠̪̭̲ͮ̏ͤ҉̢͏Π͖͖̱͕̞̀̕G̻͇̳͖ͯ͗ͨ̃ peered at his mortal vessel, watching the cracks that had formed during the short possession and shrugged. "THIS REALLY IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU, HUH?" Suddenly, Leo's body dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The something that spilled from the hair-thin fissures were pulled in by an invisible force, receding back as all traces of what had occurred here were instantly obliterated.

S͇̳̲̈́͆ͫͭ͒ͫ̇͂͗͒̊̂̕Σ̵̸̴̢̧̜̩̯̻̺͔͔͉̘̤̗̦͔͕̃̆̃ͣͩ̍ͨͨ͂ͮ̀͟͟͡͡͞͞Σ̢͔͕̤̝̗̺̻͓̿̈́̈̀͊͆̓̓͑ͬ̅͢͢͡ ̴̶̷̨̨̨̨̛͎̖̭͉̲͈͖̙̪̖̮̠̼̟ͤͨ̀͘͠͠͏̨͘͏͢Ψ̵̴̡̛̤͇̥̺̲̠̭̪ͪ̇ͥ͐͌̀͘͘͝͡ῼ̶̴̶̵̷̢̡̖̼̫͔̼̱̏̃ͪ̿̎͗ͥͨ̉̑ͫ͐̀̅ͤ̕͢͜Ų̵̿̂́̾͗̅ͣ̐̏͗ͫͭ͗ͧ҉̵̸̸̸̢̕͜͢͠͡͞͝ ̴̢̢̡̢͈̹̣̗̠͇̥͉͚̗̹̬̥̟̃ͬ͒͌̐͂̂͌́̾̃ͯ̎̍ͫ͑ͨ̄̚̕͘͝ͅL̤̠ͬ̾̿̓̄̈̂͂̓ͧ̃͐̊̑ͪ̂͆̔Δ̢̨̜̻̫̰̬̫͇͉̹̬̜̞͎̘̩́҉̸̢͢͢҉̶́T̷̛̺̫̺̟̪̳͙͖̜̙͎͒̇ͅ͏̸Σ̨̢̋ͥ͆̓ͮ͞͡҉̵̧̨̕̕̕͟͝͞͞͞Ŗ̨̛̛̲̰̗͇͉̪ͮ̓̆̿ͤ͘͘͟͡͠͡,̵̵̵̛̹̗̝͙͖̈́́͜͝ ̯͕̲̫͉̝̗̱͎̞̯ͣ͌͗ͩ̿̃́ͯ̆ͬ̌̊ͬ̔̔͢͡ͅ҉͞҉̢́͘͠M̩̾̊͒͗̌ͯ̾̐̑̏͌̇̿̍͌́ͦ̈́҉̷̶҉̷̸́̕͝Ψ̷̨̝̤̥̗̖̰̫͙̦͉̼̜̬̑̌̆ͤͥͤ̋̀̕͜ ̶̷̵̶̨̧̡̨͖̭͕̳͍̘͍̰̙̺̙͚͂͆ͦ͋́͛ͥ̀͗ͮ̀̃̎̒̆̾ͣͭ́̀̕͘͢͜͢͢͞͝͝Ғ̶̢̧̨̗͎̗͉̖̙͖̻̦̲͇̦̝͇̽͋̃͝҉̴͏̵̀͟͟R̷̴̸̴̵̴̢̧̧̰̰̲̂ͬ͌ͣ̑̇ͨ̈́͊̎ͨ̔̎͜͜͢͡I̸̧̢̙̪̠̼̖̦ͦ̏̄̈́ͪͣ̐ͪ͛̊̐͘͜͟ͅͅ҉̡̡̢́͘̕̕͠Σ̤̣͚̙͕̠͓̝͇̝̹̙̫͓͔̤̈͗̇̉ͤ̂̎̽̔͋ͩ͑̽̚҉̶̴̴̡͢͢͞Π̠̥̠͕̜̜͍̖̩̟͍̬̮͓̝̳ͦ̋̓̚D̷̷̨̛̲̩̭̖̩̝̯̫̝̣̜̳͖̼͖̼̗͎̬͋ͦ̅́͞͝

…

After having brought Sven to the nearest private hospital– The same one used by the local Yakuzas where people didn't ask questions as long as you paid them. Hah! And they said his snooping around was a waste of time. Takashi hurried back to the Hokyoji Temple.

As he recalled, there should still be several caches of molotov cocktails in the two sorcerers' rooms. Takashi was many things, a peeper perhaps, a coward some might say, but he certainly wasn't delusional enough to think he could handle the thing they were fighting without some sort of weapons. Seeking assistance was out of the picture, seeing as the threat of total annihilation hung over the City like a looming presence. Though to be fair, even had he looked for the polices, he would have been laughed out of the station… And that's not to mention, outside of the few minimal exceptions, the cops in Kyoto were comprised of corrupted officers who likely couldn't tell the butt of a gun from the nozzle.

It was all up to him to save the City now. Contrary to the other monks' belief, Takashi wasn't dumb. Was he reckless and unnecessarily nosy? Sure, but he wasn't dumb in the slightest. Several dozens of kidnappings within months, horribly mutated monsters living beneath the abandoned sewer tunnels, and now the presences of two powerful sorcerers in Kyoto? Yeah, something definitely wasn't right. These two were likely sent here to subdue the sewage creatures. If they both fell, Kyoto would be at the monsters' mercy, and Takashi couldn't let that happen. He liked Kyoto the way it was just fine, the bustling streets, the whispers and laughter that would light up the place with life, it made him feel more… Included in this sea of people.

Less lonely.

Takashi found the caches hidden at the back of Leo's wardrobe, stacked neatly in a small pile. That's it, this was what he needed. He swiftly snatched as much as he could inconspicuously carry, which was a lot, since his Kasaya was a size or two too big for him. The other monks said the clothes were made baggy like that, but he didn't believe it. He had found one too many patch-ups to buy the lies. It made sense, given the shabby state of disarray Hokyoji Temple had been in in recent years, partly due to a lack of donations from the local populace and partly thanks to the policies made by the former mayor.

They probably didn't have the money for new uniforms and just let the younger monks wear hand-me-downs. Which, in all fairness, was fine in Takashi's humble opinions. Though he did wish for a few outfits that didn't look like they were falling apart at the seams, having clothes that protected him from the weather and food on the table were all an orphaned monk like him could ever ask for. "This– This should do, right?" With molotov cocktails hidden on every nook and cranny of his Kasaya, Takashi hurriedly took off to the tunnel. By the time he got there, all that was left were several burnt spots, no sign of the sorcerer or the horrible creature in sight.

He would have to track them both down, a job made easy due to the multitudes of craters that decorated the ground. Needless to say he followed them and was eventually led to a dark, damp tunnel located next to a dead-end. There, he saw the sorcerer's still form next to a… Burning black sludge? That's a weird thing to find. As for the sorcerer, he didn't look too beat up. In fact, he looked as healthy as could be. Takashi crossed his arms, contemplating his life choices. He had just trudged through a literal sea of excrements, all kinds of filth while carrying over twelve pounds of liquid explosive to save the sorcerer, and he was fine this entire time.

"On the bright side, he's alive I guess?" Now, to somehow get both himself, the explosives and the sleeping sorcerer up to the surface… "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

…

I woke up in to a… Familiar ceiling. What? What did you expect? It's a ceiling, it's not like they engraved poetry on the thing. Well, the ceiling looked familiar, much like the hospital I had woken up to after the explosion. But this time, it was a clinic instead, a very sketchy one I might add. This was the second time I got up in a medical institution in the last three days. Seriously, this whole 'waking up' thing had got to stop at some point, right? Well, at least I was alive, which was odd since I could have sworn I felt my heart stop. Even odder that Takashi admitted he had nothing to do with my survival, the monk just found me asleep next to the charred corpse of Regul(?).

I survived though, and that's all that mattered. Still, I could distinctively remember someone holding me in my 'last moments', but every time I tried to think about it, a piercing headache hit me. Did my savior not want to announce their identity? Ah, not that the knowledge would have been important anyways. On a side note, Sven was alive. He was in coma, got all his ribs completely shattered, his lungs pierced by the bones pointed inwards, but his Magecraft, coupled with some vague, unexplained surgeries done by the doctors were enough to save his life. Last I checked, he was still coughing up blood in his sleep, so the doctors jammed a steel straw in his neck to help him breath– Ghastly stuff.

Of course, the moment I was conscious, I pulled up the Quest to check if Regul was really dead. Thankfully, he was. I could rest easy knowing the Apostle got what he deserved.

My mood was ruined though, when I noticed something weird about the Quest Completion notification. Apparently, having someone do the deed for me was bad, because I got shafted by the deduction. My two promised new Skills were now one, my Title along with its effects lost, even my Exp received a significant decrease in the total amount. Why did it matter who killed the Boss? As long as it's gone, it should be fine, right? Evidently not, as the Game took away my hard-earned rewards. Okay, who designed this Game? I was this close to demanding a refund. It sucked so much balls. "Urgggh… Whatever, just give me my shit."

[Quest Completion: An Enforcer's Rite of Passage]

Well, you almost died, which is about as embarrassing as actually dying. Frankly, you could have finished this far sooner and without risks, had you just murdered the Boss and checked carefully, but people make dumb mistakes when they're angry, so fine. Unfortunately, your Rewards will have to be deducted for that terrible performance. Try to do better next time!

Objective: Survive (Complete), Last Hit the First Boss (Failed)

Rewards: Exp, Skill: [Petal Burst], Clock Tower's Scholarship

'Oh, fuck off Game. I'm trying best here, alright? Who could have predicted the Apostle would try that DBZ fusion bullshit?!' Luckily, the Game didn't answer. I was sure whatever it had to say would be so irritating, it would have given me a stroke. I levelled up a grand total of… Drum roll please! Twice! Yeah, I knew it was pathetic. Months in this Universe and I had only got to Level 8. If I hadn't done those Quests back with Rin, I'd probably be at Level 6 or 7, which was not ideal. It's not my fault though! This Game had been nerfed so much it might as well not exist! I meant, I couldn't gain Exp through farming monsters, I didn't have the trademark abilities associated with the Gamer, all I had were Quests!

Wait… Speaking of the Game, I still had Unspent Points, didn't I? Would it have helped in that last fight? I thought back and realized it could have. Hindsight 20/20? To be honest, I had totally forgotten about my Points, I just kept it at the back of mind, since I wanted to break the limits of Unranked without touching those, but I should have used them, shouldn't I? If I had, my rewards might not have been deducted. Hell, I might have been able to kick Regul's ass! Aaaarggh, I fucked up. I was actually dumb for real. I clutched my head as regrets started flooding in. "My Skills, my Title..." Okay, that's enough feeling pity for myself, if I continued I might bawl.

"Jus– Just let me see the description of the Skill."

[Skill Gained: Petal Burst(Semi-Active) – Rookie Lv: 1/25]

Petal Burst– An ability that belongs to a certain silver-eyed huntress. At its current Level, it simply grants a 15% increase in speed at one direction with the added visual effects and nothing more, but at higher Level, it can accomplish a lot of things that might even be considered discount Magic by those of the Mage's Association and the Clock Tower. Whether it could ever reach that point is entirely up to you to decide. Though do be careful, lest you get stuck in a wall. It's not pretty as many previous Gamers can attest.

This Skill… Where had I seen it before? Was it on an anime? A manga maybe? Regardless, this fitted in well with my kit. [Sword God Style] had many techniques, but its deadliness mainly lied with the [Longsword Of Silence] and its superior counter-parts, which this Skill could empower even further. I– I wasn't happy that I fucked up so badly on my first ever life-endangering Quest. In fact, were this another life, I'd have given up on Apostle Hunting altogether, but I didn't want to regret anymore. If I were to do this second chance right, I'd have to fight beings far more dangerous than Regul-'I'm Invincible'-Black, and this Skill would help tremendously.

Speaking about [Sword God Style], same with my other Skills, I still hadn't managed to increase its Level at all. I meant, was I doing something? I followed the instruction to the T, I used the appropriate amount of force and speed behind the strikes, but the higher Levels kept eluding me. Like, sometimes I truly wished I had the same single-minded determination and confidence shounen-protagonists had. Would have made my life so much easier, but that just wasn't in me. Not for a lack of trying, mind you. I was simply a pessimist by nature. Life had taught me to never expect anything and that's how I had lived my life before.

Gods, I desired to change, yet my mind kept circling back to 'what-ifs'. What if I had noticed the bombs sooner, what if instead of clowning around, I had decided to interrogate every member of our team? What if I had made sure Regul had departed from life, rather than assuming it was over? Just so many questions, so many regrets, none could altered or fulfilled. I clenched down on my fists 'till they bled red. It seemed I was correct, the Level Up did cure me of all diseases. Something was going well for me at least. Between my own mind playing its usual tricks, plus all these worries and concerns for the future, I just couldn't deal with being infected by a super-virus at the moment.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

"Who is it?" Jesus H. Christ. Couldn't a man wallow in self-pity and depression for a bit? I was actually kind of getting into it there! "I- It's me, Takashi. I'm here to bring you food and tell you Mr. Sven is awake. He's still out of it, but you should be able to communicate with him now. T- That's all, if you don't mind, I'll leave the porridge at the door…" He paused, then added hesitantly. "Also, please find a way to pay back the doctors soon, their guards are getting a tad too physical for me." Right, Takashi brought us to a Yakuza-clinic. Quite smart of him to do so, I didn't even know that was an option. Hopefully this meant no one would ask where we got the wounds from, that would be awkward.

I quickly finished my meal, shoving the tasteless slime down my throat. With Sven still half unconscious, I wouldn't be able to pay our bills back with my funds alone, given the ridiculous amount they charged us. Although to be fair, they did perform like thirteen different surgeries on Sven, so maybe not? I could try to hypnotize the clinic staffs, sure, but they did fix us up. I didn't want to be ungrateful. This left me with the last option, to call the Clock Tower and ask for our payment which should be quite hefty. Urrgggh, I thought my money trouble had ended with my last life… Apparently not.

Worst case scenario, if that didn't work, I'd have to nag the priest for money, which wasn't ideal since I was certain those money belonged to Rin. "Haaaa. So much problems, so little solutions."

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