I understood what was going on.
The Aylanists were here and they had somehow managed to infiltrate the city walls. How? I could not figure it out, with four gates at each quarter of the city, they couldn’t have gotten in through a conventional manner.
Did they climb? Those huge overarching walls, maybe they could have. This being was a freak of nature after all. But that didn’t seem plausible with guards situated everywhere. They would have been spotted.
I need more information.
“You want to take me don’t you?” I concluded.
“You know too much.”
My mind went black. For how long I did not tell, but as if I teleported, I opened my eyes. “Avante, time,” I asked in my mind. My head felt weak.
I hadn’t been knocked unconscious, they had put me to sleep because the response I got from Avante was, “2:01”PM.
Fuck.
That means Nora and the others would have noticed my disappearance. No fuck that who cared if they did. Where the fuck was I?
I opened my eyes, looked around and my surroundings were dark, with only one dim lit light coming from the hand of another. Standing before me, holding up a candle to his burnt face.
I remembered him. He was not a nobody, and with a face like that, it was easy enough to strike someone with anguish.
Burnt on one side, fine on the other with bloody lines breaking through both halves. One eye with no pupils and the other with brown. Sirius.
I felt cold metal, wrapped around my wrists when I tried to move, only realising my feet and hands had been chained to the floor.
I couldn't identify the location. For whatever it seemed like, I was in a cave. Sirius showed me a smile, a nasty one at that.
The flame of the candle flickered in his eye. “Right, we can do this the hard way… or the hard way. I like both.”
The man licked his lips. We were alone in this cave looking dungeon. I was fucked. Completely screwed. They were going to kill me. No they were going to torture me.
I looked for my gun, but it wasn’t there and of course they took it. They had seen it in action. But what about my hidden pockets? I wondered, did they thoroughly check me, or just took what seemed to be known danger. For the only thing they really knew was the gun.
My jacket did not feel heavy. They may have taken everything.
“Where! Where are we?!” I exclaimed with dread. This sort of danger seemed far greater than anything I had experienced in this world that even dread was an understatement. I had seen horrors like that thing. But over here, it wasn’t so much the fear of the person.
It was the fear of the process.
This man was going to torture me.
I had to get information. Something. Something.
The man put the candle close to his face and bent low. He pointed at the ground.
“We’re underground.”
Underground? Under the city? Under where? Hold on. Wait. Is that how they got-
With my thoughts dashing across, I felt a jolt strike me like lightning, springing from my leg. I looked down at it, and there Sirius' hand held tightly onto the grip of a blade. I watched the blood ooze out as he shot me with a smile.
Sadistic. The man enjoyed watching me in pain.
Just one. Just one stick. Please.
“So tell me. Who are you?” Sirius asked.
“I don’t KNOW! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SAY!”
“Who sent you?” The man said, turning his back to me, leaving the dagger in my leg. He reached for something in the far corner, although it was too dark for me to make it out. He still held the candle in his left hand and made his way over to me.
No. No, no, no.
An axe. Huge. Scary.
I’m scared.
I’m scared.
What could I even do here? This was worse than death.
Worse. Far worse. No.
Please. Please be one stick left.
“Why are you not in the commandments?”
“I DON’T KNOW I DON'T KNOW!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! PLEASE ANSW-“
I watched my blood splatter out on his face in front of me, as he swung down with his axe, chopping my right leg off cleanly. It was so painful, even adrenaline couldn’t save me here.
I didn’t want to go out like this.
No.
I don’t even want to live.
This man.
He was going to hurt me. Keep me alive.
Hurt me. Smile while doing it.
No. No. No.
“Please! Please! Anything but the candle! ANYTHING BUT FIRE!”
“Oh, don’t worry, you will taste hell after I take out your other LEG!” He swung down again, taking it off brutally as I screamed with my echoes running through the cave.
How long till I die of blood loss? How long would I have to endure this? I’ve got one. Just one.
“No problem. You answering doesn’t change anything. I’m just going to watch you. Die slowly.”
He knelt down, coming closer to my face. Holding the candle up as he kept grinning from ear to ear.
“NO! NO! NOT THE FIRE! PLEASE! DON’T PLEASE!” I screeched.
I felt weak. My face, my eyes couldn’t even function. My thighs twitched with ripped ends just as my eyelids do the same. But I looked him back in the eyes.
And just as he did so, he tipped over the candle from his hand, and just as he did so, with all the muscles I could contract on my face. With all my working power.
I smiled.
I wasn’t going to die a dog's death.
I was going to go out in a blaze and end this pain.
The fire ran through my body in incredible speed, igniting the one final dynamite stick I had hidden deep in my jacket. Before I could even feel the pain of death.
I died.
Part Two
There’s impending danger. And they are after me. No, they may be after everyone. But I was the main priority here.
I woke up, standing before Nora. “Avante, time.”
“11:52 sir.”
It did seem that right now, the checkpoints remained as checkpoints, and so while the hypothesis of checkpoints grew stronger, I wondered why it suddenly changed. For before, it seemed randomised, and more linked to events or locations. But now, here I was at an exact point in time.
“Today, we were at the centre of District one and four. We typically do these in the middle of two districts. Tomorrow shall be between E8 and SE7.”
The same exact line.
“I have one more question. Who is the reaper in charge of this city?”
“Hm. His name is Zetsu Tellaris. Why?”
“Oh no, I was just curious as to who was guarding this city. Okay Nora, thanks for telling me in advance this time. I’ll be off.”
This time however, I would do things differently. Going outside right now, would be signing myself to a death sentence. I went to my room, and pulled out a sheet of paper from the end of a book, deciding to actually map out my thoughts. I mapped out all my known variables.
“Okay… we have Aylanists, possibly operating even now underground. That man will be at the tavern at 1:10, so I have enough preparation time.” I spoke to myself as I drew a map of all the events.
“In this city, there seems to be a Reaper, and if I put my assumptions together, that may have been the man who killed me in my previous loop. Okay, his location was around WBD15 if I remembered correctly, where that man had killed me. Which isn’t too far from the location… of the tavern. Okay. Fine. The man seemed to have put me to sleep, possibly not through violence or else that would have aroused suspicion. Then maybe he had something that could put me to sleep. Mmm. Yes. That sounds a lot more plausible. If I were knocked out for an hour, that would have meant brain damage for me and it didn’t seem like I had brain damage.”
I looked at the ceiling, tapping the pen on my chin.
“But him finding me wasn’t coincidental, no. This man followed me. He said found you. How long had he been watching me? It couldn’t have been for long, he would have had many other opportunities to get in on me. Okay. I can’t just tell Zidane or Nora about this incoming attack, they would be suspicious of me for knowing… And their target seems to be Nora.”
I thought for a moment.
“I got it.”
I scrunched up the paper and headed out to seek Laura to give me a cloak to wear just like before. And another one.
I went to the kitchen, picked up some tools, and set everything in motion.
“Nora, how long will you remain in your room?”
I was back in the princesses room again. “Axure… you again.”
She had changed into softer clothes, a dress nonetheless, still patterned with gold and royal crests, but casual. “I shall be getting some sleep. Possibly for a few hours. I had stayed up last night preparing so I should catch up.”
Great.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
I left, leapt out of the mansion and made my way to the outer district. I had time. Time to prepare. And enough knowledge of every single piece on the board.
I was going to do it this time. This time, I was going to be in control.
“Avante, time.”
“1:00PM sir.”
I could see it. I could see the city in my hands, The city at my feet. I was high . Higher than anyone could see as I looked down upon the tavern.
I was watching. Watching closely. For the man would reveal himself soon.
I sat atop a tin roof of a building, not too far from the scene, close enough for me to hear the conversations, but high enough for me to go unnoticed. And high enough for me to see Nora’s mansion in the distance.
The air felt fresh. The air felt free. I was immersed in the danger coming close. I was immersed in it because I was the one holding the chains.
“Avante, time.”
“1:10PM.”
And there it was. Time never lied.
I saw my man in a blue robe, hooded and lined with gold walking near the tavern and just behind him… a man hooded in brown, following just behind. He was here. He was following my plant.
I had no time to waste. It could all go horribly wrong if I had wasted time. I took aim, staring down the iron sight holding my hand steady. The distance wasn’t far, it was close enough. Close enough for me to take my shot. I wasn’t a sharpshooter by any means, but I had gotten used to the handling of the gun.
And from this distance, I was close enough to hit my target.
The man in the blue robe walked through the street, with the man cloaked in brown following behind. They were still in my sight. And to my right, the blonde beauty had entered the stage. Laura. She came just on time.
I pulled the trigger.
The sound was there.
The burst of the gun was there.
It made my hand feel heavier. It wasn’t the perfect product. But it worked.
For the gunshot had been silenced to a noise where only I could hear. No explosion, no rattling noise to alert everyone of my existence. Just a silent shot.
For my parting gift with Lorenzo, was that of a suppressor.
The bullet zipped through the air, piercing a man in the leg as he dropped to the floor with blood splattering out as he screamed in agony.
“AAAAAGHHHHH!” The man held his leg in his own blood as he crawled around pathetically. It hurt. It hurt.
It hurt me.
Fuck. Fuck. Should I have done that?
I watched the scene below me play out like theatre.
I just shot an innocent man.
The man in the blue robe suddenly jumped back before the man slithering around in a pool of blood with shock as he raised his hands up into the air. “What do you want from me!?” The man exclaimed as he screamed in agony.
He was a nobody. He was innocent. He was innocent. He was innocent.
But I needed him. Yes. There was no other choice.
I was sorry from the bottom of my heart as I closed my eyes for a second. Temporary is was worth it. Worth it.
Laura, standing before the scene, suddenly sprung into action as she ran for the man in the blue robe, attempting to pin him down as he ran away. Everything was perfect. The stage was perfect. It was all going so well.
But what was this feeling, eating away at my heart?
I pushed it aside.
For the stage had been orchestrated by none other than me alone. I deliberately wore my blue robe around the whole district, not knowing when someone had begun to follow me. But that was fine, all I needed to know was that someone had begun following me around one o clock. If they had been following me from even earlier, then even better. My whole life was all about preparation. Preparation for my grand stage, and this was just another act.
I hadn’t just been walking around the district for nothing. I was memorising the map. I memorised the poorest areas, where the homeless slept, where the businesses were run, where the local gangs operated.
And a homeless man was my best bet for they would do nearly anything for money. I found him in a dirty alleyway.
I offered him good money and for such a simple request, to just walk around with my robe, all I needed him to do was lure out the devil himself. The Aylanist leader. And it worked. I needed Laura at the scene, more of as a plan B, for if no one had acted out on what had just happened here, then I hoped Laura would do so.
My gun was quiet now. I could take shots without alerting anyone of my presence. So if I took a shot at somebody from this roof, no one would point fingers at me, but instead would point at the homeless man walking around suspiciously in a dark robe.
But this wasn’t to just lure out the Aylanist leader, no.
This truly was all done to lure out none other than Zetsu Tellaris.
For this man, whatever district he remained close to, it seemed that when crime happened, someone would scream. Unlike other districts, where murder seemed casual, wherever Zetsu resided, citizens seemed to be bound by him. It gave me an idea. I remembered it vividly, for when I had been accused of killing the man who recognised my gun, a woman had screamed as if attempting to alert the authorities.
And who better than a Reaper. It made sense. For wherever a Reaper resided, residents were compelled to snake out criminals, for I got the notion that if they didn’t and were caught, they would be attached to the crime itself. Laura, was just a woman placed here in case that didn’t happen.
And she performed it well.
Perfectly in fact.
For now the homeless man was pinned down, while the man bleeding out from his leg was screaming in agony. This plan was all at the expense of an innocent man’s leg.
It felt wrong.
It felt wrong. But there was no other choice. I had to do this. If I didn’t, then many more would die. Yes. Nora, Zidane, Laura, the maids, the guards. They would all die. So yes. It was necessary.
No one understood guns well enough to point fingers at that possibility that he had been shot. So the only option was for the man named Zetsu Tellaris to descend from wherever he stood.
And like a lightning bolt, the man drove himself into the floor, breaking the ground below him as smoke cascaded around. He stood tall, holding onto the three bladed scythe as he looked down at the homeless man pinned down.
I searched. I looked around. Where was the man in the brown robe? Did he leave? No. I saw him, slowly backing away from the scene. It seemed that the Aylanist leader also feared the power of the Reapers.
Now I had my villain and hero on the stage. Perfect.
Laura slowly got up, releasing the man as she stepped back nervously, looking at Zetsu’s stern face. “I think this man is responsible-” Laura’s accusation was cut short.
Hold on.
Oi.
Oi.
No. Wait.
What?
Oi. Oi.
This wasn't supposed to happen. Oi.
No. No.
The homeless man was dead.
And by dead, he didn’t just collapse, no. Zetsu Tellaris killed him in broad daylight.
“Huh?”
I was thrown back. Thrown into a hole of…
I don't know.
I didn’t know what to feel.
I was frozen.
Nor did I have time to think about it. Because they were on the move.
“Justice has been served,” those words boldly came out from Zetsu’s mouth as he stood there, holding the bloodied scythe on his shoulder, staring down at the corpse.
“You, woman. Get this man some help,” he said, directing his eyes as the man held his leg in anguish, gritting his teeth trying to not let his voice escape before the towering Reaper. Just his presence alone made a hole reap itself in my stomach. My eyes darted around the stage, looking for the Aylanist leader.
Gone.
Gone.
No. I saw it.
For a moment. For a split second. The afterimage of a man dashing atop the roofs, darting out into the distance. And my eyes rolled downwards.
He was headed to the…
Mansion.
I held my breath. I gulped.
I didn’t even know how much time had passed. The swirling emotions in my stomach hurled up the liquids in my body as my hairs stood on end.
Work.
Work.
Work.
WORK!
The explosion rattled from within the mansion with smoke billowing out into the air as all the heads of the streets turned toward the booming sound of the chaos. The wall of the mansion burst out of Nora’s room as I watched from a distance.
Nora…
I looked down at Zetsu, staring into the distance, looking down toward the explosion…
But nothing happened.
He just stood there.
Not frozen in surprise, not thrown back by shock. Nothing. He just looked at the scene with a look that showed no emotion.
“Ain’t that the princesses mansion? Nora… ah that bitch had it coming.”
WHAT? WHAT?! FUCKING WHAT?!
“I don’t like these royals anyway. Teh, failed princess. That’s what happens when you are a disbeliever.”
WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?!
AFTER ALL THAT? YOU KILL SOMEONE INSTANTLY BECAUSE OF YOUR FUCKED UP JUSTICE AND YOU WONT HELP THE PRINCESS IN DANGER!
WHY?! FUCKING WHY?!
I did it perfectly. EVERYTHING was perfect. I engineered a fake crime, I placed a dynamite, threaded by strings and oils, to ignite the moment someone stepped into Nora’s room. I did it all. I knew Nora was the target. I knew that if Zetsu didn’t get him here, the man would go straight for Nora’s room. I did it all. I did it all so the man Zetsu could go straight to the mansion and slay the Aylanist leader.
AND YET YOU STAND THERE! DOING NOTHING! YOU FUCKING STAND THERE! DOING NOTHING!
I dropped down from the roof, and went into a full sprint, dashing through all the twisted corners of the wretched city as I descended down into the mansion. I needed to remain calm. Rumena and Zidane were down there. They would be of use.
They could fight off the assailant. They had to be good enough. For we had fought them before, and the results made them retreat. They could do it.
Please. I beg. Get rid of them.
For if you don’t kill them, their next target is me.
Please.
Zidane.
Rumena.
Nora.
Kill him.
I ran and ran and ran. Feeling the muscles in my legs tighten, the breaths in my lungs grow heavier as my mouth dried up. I came to the front gate. How long had it taken me to get here? I did not even know how long I was running for. All I knew was that I had to get here and confirm.
Confirm that Zidane had killed him.
Confirm that Rumena had killed him.
I couldn’t go through that again.
I couldn’t be tortured like that again. No.
Never.
Not again.
Please.
Kill him.
Zidane.
Please.
Guards at the front.
Butchered.
I ran inside.
Maids.
Dead.
I slowed down my running. My legs broke down on me. I didn’t even know how to walk anymore. I placed one foot in front of the other, slowly going up the stairs.
Blood.
Everywhere.
I felt something kick my feet. It felt spongy. It felt human. It felt like flesh.
I looked down. A long roll of intestines flowing out of the man's body. Zidane.
Dead.
My insides couldn’t take the gory sight anymore as I hurled out my acids, choking on my own spit.
“Who else is there?!” I heard a shout from Nora’s room.
Nora was alive.
I widened my eyes in realisation when I dropped all my sickness and ran toward her room. There, in the corner of the dark room, a woman remained in her soft dress with blood sickling out of her head. A look of distress in her eyes and a look of.
Hate.
“Who are you? Why do you keep coming back?” Nora said in a low, grunting tone.
The man stood there, holding nothing. Not even a sword. Had he done all this with his bare hands?
Just how much strength did this man hide from us back at the carriage? How much had this man kept inside? How truly strong was this man?
“Who am I? I am merely a lowly servant of the Queen. Bloodshot at your service,” he said with the same old smile he had always shown. The conversation had stopped when both their faces turned toward me, panting at the doorway.
“Again,” Bloodshot muttered, with his smile erased.
Before I could react, he lunged toward me with his hand taking the form of a blade.
And then it happened. The moment that plunged my shattered mind into a deeper form of distress.
A sudden burst of blood splattered onto my weak face, jumping into my open eyes. Nora’s black hair scratched my face as her body covered me whole. With her back facing me, my trembling head looked down to see my sorry state. I was okay. I was alive. Inches away from dying.
And yet.
WWWHHHHHYYYYYY??!!!
Nora’s fragile body, held lifeless before me, was impaled right through to her back by Bloodshot’s hand. And with no mercy, she was flung to the side of the room. Was she alive? Dead? Breathing?
“You. You need to go,” Bloodshot’s dark tone drilled into my ears.
A squelching noise rang from my stomach, reminding me of the very day I had met this man. He impaled me with his bare hand, glaring at me with a wide smile. I slowly reached for his arm, but they failed on me as they fell to my sides. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked to the corner of the room, looking for Nora’s spoiled body.
Nora.
Nora? Nora? Come back. Come back.
You’re… You’re not dead…
Are you?
Come back. Come ba-
Pangs of pain electrocuted my body when I felt my guts ripped out, with Bloodshot pulling his hand back out. I dropped to the floor, holding onto my open belly, facing the direction of Nora’s lifeless body. Her eyes, still open, with eyelids that didn’t even have enough time to shut. Those purple pearls that resided in her white eyes, had gone dull and colourless. Her usual expressionless, dead face looked even more dead.
Nora… save me.
And with those last few thoughts.
I died.