For a second, I thought I wouldn’t make it. But once I was near Akai, I managed to fire my sniper within close range and hit his blade before it could even reach the old man’s nape. Akai didn’t let go of his katana. But the force coming from my shot was enough to disturb his footing as I pulled the old man to safety.My body moved as nimble as a jaguar, and even faster than my bullets. Thanks to Vulcan’s additional improvements on my clothes, when I use my suit in full force, I could outspeed almost everyone with it. However, the down side was pretty harsh. Every time I pushed myself beyond what my clothes were capable of, my body was the one who suffered the most. Even though my outfit was meant for me, these perks the old man made were too much for a human to handle.“Are you alright? Did that blade reach you?” I asked the old man.The aged bloke shook his head. His eyes were wide as the plains we had seen before, bewildered after my swift movement as I evaded Akai’s attack. After
Will’s perspective __________________ Maybe we were wrong about Aoi. The media might have framed this young man to cover of up something. It didn’t make sense that the media and the Crimson Guild wanted to target Aoi just because he was existing. There must be something more about this. It was just a hunch, and I might be wrong. But I knew that I couldn’t shy away from my guts. It was my conscience speaking. And taking down someone who was willing to protect others before himself was something a murderer or a culrpit would do. Even though Aoi could be making up a front, Elena, the daughter of the prime minister with a prowess of observing people’s status and desires, knew something was off. I told that possibility to my teammates, telling them that Aoi could be someone innocent compared to what the media had described him. My allies thought the same and believed my words without doubting Aoi or me. Icarus, who was the most heated guy in the party, reluctantly nodded his head. But a
Back to Aoi’s Perspective________________I didn’t know if I still had the chance to defeat Akai and the rest of the Crimson Guild. Will and the others were by no means weak. But if they came after me with their numbers, I knew I could be easily defeated even after taking out some of them from the fight. But there was one way for me to ensure victory, and that was…“Am I ready to kill these people?” I wanted to kill Akai. I wanted to take him out from this world and reduce the weed besides the summonings of these portals. If I let this madman lose, Akai could kill more people with his twisted mind. He can't be left alive. And the only one who could stand against him was… meBut I had no idea if I was ready to kill someone with my own hands. I had never done this before. And as much as possible I never wanted to take someone’s life, besides Akai… Well, even if I was talking about Akai, if there was a way to punish him with the law, I would prefer that. But we were inside the portal.
I was like a fly. No matter how hard Icarus swung his sword or even Oscar tried stabbing me with his dagger, they caught nothing but air. The thick cloud occluded everyone’s vision, except for me. Although Akai still refused to move, I’d bet every Yen I had that he would still miss his shots regardless if he tried.I commanded Oculus to generate the same smoke spreading across the plain. Even though the little machine didn’t have any abilities that could create dark clouds, Oculus mimicked my spell and finally had the skill to make such gas. After everything they had, the Crimson Guild couldn’t fan the smog away. So I still had the upper hand.I would also like to add that the smoke wasn’t harmless to our body. Although, naturally, this smog could destroy our lungs the longer we inhale it. But it was the other way around. This fume wasn’t toxic nor gave therapeutic effects. It just sealed any vision from any living beings affected from the radius. But there were still more ways than
‘What a fucking polite little bastard,’ I whispered to myself, as I came out with a question.Akai cleared his throat and narrated everything he fucking wanted to tell me. “Let me just elucidate my purpose for this. One, I don’t know how long those tranquilisers last. But if my… adventurers wakes up, we will run you down like a fucking truck crashing against a bicycle.”“Cool. That’s totally reasonable,” I answered.“Second, I still have something important news to tell you. The one you’ve heard about Vulcan is just the tip of the iceberg. If you know what the Crimson Guild’s missions are, maybe you’ll see us in a different light.”“Haha… You’re pushing your luck, asshole.”“Third, you seem like you’re not the type of guy who would kill me that easily… even after hearing what had happened to Vulcan. If I were in your shoes, I would’ve already killed the murderer. But since you’re still acting like a childish hero, it became too easy for me to push you in the corner…”“You see, Aoi, Hu
“Now that you’ve had your turn, it’s my shot now. Aoi, why are you trying so hard to save these people when you only care about your sister’s life? It’s not like you’re doing this for charity, for fame, money, power, or to someone, like a partner. Hell, you don’t even look like a person who has a superhero complex like other people… Why?”“I’ve lost my parents before from a portal… and my best friend inside my school. Monsters had killed them… Those monsters inside those portals killed them. Technically, someone killed my parents with a gun and afterward killed the monster who was chasing us. But that doesn’t matter. Anyway, when I had the chance to protect Midori and received my powers, I was too scared… I… My body froze, too afraid to use the gun. Before I knew it, Midori was down on the ground, and I kept running and running and running… I kept blaming myself for it. It lessened right now, but it’s still haunting me even now. It is until I realise that… I… Maybe saving others from
“Now that has gotten out of the way, it’s time for my last question. Aoi, what are you going to do now after learning what I did to your parents? I offer you a position in the Crimson Guild, similar to what Will has. With much authority, you could save anyone who I choose to save. It would be a waste to not have you around. Besides that, you will receive every benefit that we have, including what you want, be it money or power. And since you’d get your hands on your precious dough, you would have enough money to take care of Hina’s parents and give your sister a life she wishes for…. Including you. What do you say, boy? Are you in or are you out?”It was a stupid question. Joining the Crimson Guild was a no-brainer! After all the hard work I did a few months back was equivalent to working for them within two weeks of eliminating those portals and introducing myself to the world. But even though Akai wasn’t the one who killed my parents or Vulcan, I wouldn’t enter his guild. Not in a
“I know!” Will answered. “Akai, I have seen you struggle to protect people. If there’s anyaway we could stop this, that must be our optimal solution! The Crimson Guild is in dire need of a helping hand! And I believe Aoi is worth it to become a high-calibre adventurer on our side! Our fight belongs to the portal, not one another! It’s not worth it!” “I know. And I’m doing this for everyone, not just for myself! These people need a reason to believe in our guild! The Crimson Guild! So if I take back what I have already claimed Aoi to be, these people would question our guild’s image. And if those people knew that portals could kill them regardless if they’re inside or outside, they would panic. Hence, the destruction of our organisation! The destruction of the Crimson Guild. The destruction of hope! And I will never let that happen! I’d rather have him killed with my own hands than let the guild crumble!” Akai explained. “Don’t you understand, Will? Aoi is a nuisance for us! I know he