COI C240

“ERROR . . . ERROR . . . ERROR . . . ERROR . . . ERROR . . . ERROR . . . ERROR . . . ERROR . . .”

The UI keeps sending the danger to the system. No living soul nor gods ever seen this kind of mana system. Until that day, Lady Hivites’ eyes stared down with threats and unnerving hatred from what she had discovered. One of the citizens who are controlled by her subordinates. She dared to make an experiment out of them. Her silent stare and her beautiful menacing face grew colder as someone is stopping her subordinates to act.

The demon elf, since disguised as an elf and a spy in the Stranding Island and Isekai City. She watches over the city with indiscriminating care, both cruelty and subtle, leads to a realization of failures when certain demons they know have already infiltrated in. Her mistress demands her investigation on the UI system. But she was blocked by the same person who reported to her. Same gaze as her mistress, but her iconic heavenly demonic grin shows no interest of fixing the problem. More like, she wants to offend her effort that the Lady have tried to force these otherworlders out of this world willingly.

“Daemos . . .” Insultingly says so.

A pillar of astronomical light rose up to the clouds, siphoning out what magic Lady Hivites thrown at the heavenly demon. The island blocks the view from the city to see. The citizens who reside inside the island felt the storm where they couldn’t see the pillar of light. The one who could possibly see it was Emerald herself and her visor on. Myrrkei stays inside while she enjoys the view.

“Why is there enormous amount of mana rising up like a volcano!?”

She panickily soars her voice at him, and his response

“A pleasant view”

Leaving his chest feeling the pain as he laughs.

Emerald sees Myrrkei acting less intellectual lately. The forbidden not to be mention about the demons really surprise her. He always speaking so many topics like magic, natural phenomenon, their improvement of this city. She understands why, but this is blatantly obvious that he behaves so differently. Myrrkei sees her expression. His easy-going expression turned serious. He raises his bandages with its little writings on it.

“Such impatience will ruin the anticipation. I know I’m out of place, but this my reason for you. Touch it and you will know”

She was surprised from the sudden tone, he continues

“. . . I have been known to be called the rat. It is a fitting name that I don’t even understand what it means. A name is a name, I care not for those who tried to explain it to me. Yet, you approach me from my few trivia. For that, I never expect to have companions to have such research. Until you joined my true intention. Or maybe time is longing and your people never take it short in this world. That’s when we both face our demons. Friends or Foe”

Myrrkei shows her what she wanted to hear.

Is it regret that his attitude about the situation they are going to find out? She never thinks about it, but the back of her head says otherwise. True, she is both competent and afraid. The yearning of what’s happening to her city, but she stays here for safety. Her partner persists about their studies are the same. Then there was the breakthrough of controlling the UI whereas no one ever dared to do.

“Rho”

She sighs in worries for her partner. Myrrkei is given her a tease of his studies.

“Alright, let me touch it”

Emerald reaches into his hands and touches the piece of bandage. A flash on her head where someone hidden into the void. A woman, a tall woman with red hair and her eyes hidden into the rays of light. A flick of the woman’s fingers to show her a UI panel. An old version, clearly seen as it was never updated for months. Emerald was enthralled by it and tries to get closer. One step forward and she felt Myrrkei’s warnings. The tall woman shows her eyes as the ray of light passes. Gleaming eyes with tremendous anger straight at Emerald’s gaze. She looks down at the old UI where a message written on it. Then she starts to learn in her own head.

The researcher is in big trouble. At the same time keeping track what he sees all around. The realm shines brightly and the dim light disappears. Their UIs were reset and simultaneously couldn’t be able to use them. The last few screams where nowhere to be found. The realm shines brightly and couldn’t see anybody around him. The researcher remains idle and wait for the UI to fully restart. He starts to think that the gadget given to him trigger the UIs. The entity did it by breaking it, but why, and how did it understand what he holds?

He speaks to himself “I’m screwed when that intruder finds me. Come on, think, move, run!? This is not good. My head is losing it. There are so many people here are already left and me standing without a strength to move away as far as I can possibly go”

He checks his tools as more information being gathered. The readings show astronomical hinted as a radar. There he sees the flashing movements of one dot and more dots slowly moving away. One by one, they are being taken away and disappear.

The radar shows the dot appears close to him, but it leaves the moment after a few seconds. He is already been found. That jolt of panic gives him the time to move. On his first step forward, someone pulled him into one of the stores, then quickly inside the storage rooms. A man reaches and looks at him suspiciously and said

“I know you are not on the hitlist, and yet, you just stand around where that pervert is eyeing at you being silly. You are making yourself a target in the near future”

“How will they know, I sense . . .”

“You sense!? The UI is being reset and force to reboot against our will. Wait a minute, are you?”

“Don’t try asking, you are just using that info to bait me”

“Right, thank goodness. No dumbasses. I think we should work together”

The man offered a hand as he reaches out with a magic flowing on his hand. If this is really a reset, it should stop them using their abilities, but why didn’t intruder affect by it?

The researcher raises questions “Why weren’t you lost your powers?”

The man picks out a mana battery “Well, you’re starting to find out”

The mana battery overloads and reveal to be a shrunken head. The man introduces himself

“It’s Col by the way, and I know who you are. You went missing after the Mihayara district and . . .”

He quickly grabs him by immense fiery magma on his hand. Shamanistic powers flow through the researcher’s body. The spirits tease his pain and his fear gradually raising.

Col continues “. . . and should’ve hide like a side kick you are. The woman you are with is not in the city too, I bet”

The researcher remains silent. The readings show exceptional amount of shamanism on him, and the signs of his strength proven to be he is one of those defectors.

The storage room shaken. Col slips his grip and stumbles where the floors fell. The realm is being controlled. The holes on the wall are start to open as the people who managed the realm are leaving one by one. Their UI is coming back and it calls out to entire realm

“Start-up complete!”

Col opens his UI and brings out his spirit to neutralize it. When he’s done, the researcher escapes. He scratches his head as he deliberately holds him tightly. His overconfidence made him forget they’re becoming stronger.

“Yes, boss. People know about it”

The researcher heard him as Col leaves. He hides himself just the right time and uses his magic items. The Enders techs are proving more powerful than the citizens have made. The man who calls him Col shows that he knew what to do with the UI.

“That guy cuts off his UI. He is different from the rest who tries to take control it. The intruder is still out there. And I still want to find out more. My infiltration failed, one of them starts noticing me. The city has too many secrets. We need to get ahead of them before it is too late”

His UI pops out of nowhere. The static is trying to open itself without his control. He picks up his gadget, but he didn’t have it. He remembers an entity tries to break it. The bits and pieces of it were left where the two of them fight over it. He grabs his hair with both of his hands in deep frustration. He needs to go back there, find it, and fix it. It would be useful as he needs to use it as the UI begins to behave strangely again. The researcher looks around where the stuff in storage is all made up from the realms. While is taking a closer look, he sees the shift of the realm changing. It shows sign that the realm he was is transferred to the next one.

This is bad, he is being teleported into another realm. The realm changes into a grids as old school sci-fi from what he sees. The thought of not knowing what realm is makes him believe that this new realm will never let him escape. The researcher uses his recording on his device

“I don’t know when did I make my blog regarding my partner not wanting me to set foot in this city. I am sure though that this is more just on demons. If I am about to be finished in this realm or somewhere else. Please, Emerald. Believe there is life after death. I don’t want my soul in this world”

The broken gadget lies on the floor. Col is searching for him as the spirits are calling him out about an object.

“What’s this?”

“Yes, we call you out for the object. It is not part of two realms”

“Realms . . . Ugh! Stop with that lousy wording and get to the point here”

“Get it, it must have strange powers”

“Powers you say? Let’s see those bastards have other than their rape kits”

He reaches out to the gadget, then the entity appeared right in front of him. Col punches it before it materialized. He then quickly picks up the broken gadget and left.

Hiding into one of the stores. He held the object and sees multiple mana surrounding it. A smile of the spirits going around his surprising grin.

“Having spirits do have some nice perks. Is there more?”

“Can’t find, special objects like that belong to a strong source”

“Again!? with the . . . I get what you’re saying. Though, we need to get a bottom of this. The realm is shifting pretty badly here”

The realm is changing. Two, no, three sources of power trying to get a hold of it. He realized they are being teleported into a different realm. He raises the shrunken head and rubs it with charcoal. Shamanistic crafted charcoal mixes into it and began a ritual.

Col reveals himself suddenly and the spirits are spread out until the charcoal’s ashes spread then disappears. It didn’t reach that far, and the spirits couldn’t able to analyze their surroundings. He scratches the head and the shrunken head spoke out in rage. The humming of its voice signals him. He silenced his own powers as they found out something is not right in this realm. With his own eyes guided by the spirits, there he can sense the runaways are using their UIs in a desperate situation. The UI is calling out to them.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“They managed to escape”

“But they warned us not to use it”

“Are you guys are not taking back your UIs? This is the UI we are not supposed to interact with”

“The realm is gone and we are taken into a different realm. Just take back your UIs and hack it again”

“Then do it fast”

A scream is shouting from the far distance.

“Shit! He is starting. We need to get out of here”

They tried to hack it back to their control, but the UI is resisting. An entity comes out from the screen panel trying to get them.

“It’s that monster again, we need to-”

They suddenly left leaving their UIs behind. The projection opens the entity as more of them able to escape. The static figure is losing its access to their realm as interference keeps going in. The face of disgust is closer in as it finds the source of this disruption.

It finds out a ritual stops it from stopping them. It was short but good enough for them to escape. The UI starts to expand as its realm is opening. It detects many of the hackers and some were able to escape. They still able to hack it after the reset and the new updates. It can’t stand it anymore, all of its work lost from a bunch of criminals. It swoops back into the UIs where any functioning system find them. The system is booting up and it detects the threat trying to hack once more. It wasn’t someone, but an object. It is an archscience tech.

The researcher checks where he dropped. It was gone, the broken pieces easily seen as the realm changes. The grid like appearance and the electronic lines moving in a pattern but was blocked by another realm. The stains prove there was a struggle. Torn clothes are disappearing next to the grid lines. When he steps in between them, the grid sparks up on his UI almost turning it on immediately. He steps back and it suddenly goes off. He sees his tools are reading it and showing errors. An error like this means it can’t read a powerful magic.

Blinding sparks of magic rose up from the building floors. The grid panels being torn and the old structure is falling apart. With nothing else to hide, many were found as they tried to get away from all this chaos. The readings he had is reaching through max storage in his personal device. There is nowhere to gather his research but the source of these two realms interchanging. He sets his eyes on the those two are still here. He watches the others made their escape and with his data uncovered they are targeted by the Enders hitlist. This dangerous piece of evidence made him feared what are the Enders doing to them.

Col confusingly smiles as they meet with the pervert. Who had thought to pretending to be like them nearly joining a very nightmarish time? But it was worth it, they have shown evidence needed for the boss to know. Now with the message from boss’s telepathy, he is free to act. With his curious reunion with a fellow defector, he just approaches to him pointing his finger at his magic circle. The Perb held firm with a special item sealing his captured targets. The magic circle diligently trying to resist the spirits’ curse. But it overwhelmed itself from the other realm trying to take over.

Two closes each other in arms with their new improved powers. None of them speak a word as their clashes are strong and interfered by the presence of the UI. The Perb still has his UI opened, and his feminine form still able to be in stable condition. On Col’s side, he can’t use his mana. Only the spirits at his side are engulfing this new realm both powering and protecting him at the same time. Both entrance of such a strange meeting for the two. Into the realm of harassers and sexual assault offenses. These two have no clue why they meet like this.

The silent broke as both of them calmed down as the realm is breaking.

Col said to him “There is no need for us to fight here. We are leaving this realm”

“Like they would escape with my magic items. Unfortunately, we both can’t ignore what is happening here. So, did you meet the other guy?”

“You keep eyeing on him for a moment each passing chase”

“Of course, I never seen him on my list and personally . . .”

Col braces the Perb again.

The Perb responds “What gives? We are entering an enemy’s realm”

“Shut up . . . You can’t fool me, JPEG”

He punches the Perb with the spirits’ rituals. The entity reveals himself and almost grabs the gadget. Col pushes forward and able to hit the UI interface before it follows the entity. Something inside is trying to get out, and Coll pulls out the Perb before he is fully trapped by it. The pervert keeps his female form.

Col says to him “What’s with this AI can’t even say swear word? Hey, are you alright?”

“I thought I was fucking screwed. How do you know the difference between me and that entity?”

“Every man you talk about will always have your special tone of inuendo”

“Fair”

The entity changes its avatar in each man the Perb captured. Trapped inside with the real Perb’s magic item, almost free when he is trapped in his own UI. The Perb retaliates and stop using his UI. Losing connection to the trapped targets, the entity phased out the avatars of the Perb’s target. Reverting to its other victims with it. The Perb recognized one of them. This entity is taking the appearance of missing account users. To his surprised they accepted it, and made more convincing why the forums act that way. His catches are involved with this difficult to understand conspired rumors.

The UI sends a notification panel in front of them

“Warning . . .”

They ignored it. The realm is dividing into two, trying to control the other. It was almost its control when the Perb got caught thanks to the desperate helped from the targets using their UI. The entity is not trying to be hostile, yet it tries to trap them here. Both Col and the Perb are thinking to fight it. However, Col was warned by his spirits and the Perb’s magic circles are all used up to make an escape route. The rumors of the UI, a demon, is starting to become a reality. Then a voice comes out from the UI.

“How did you people start to learn about my creation? Did my faults make you overpowered starting to see your weakening state later? Was it because your people are starting to control my invention to reach that what you have lost? I am done keeping secrets when the people I have summoned start to learn turning against me. Impressive, and at the same time disappointing”

Col hears it and sends to the boss. The boss hears it and instructs Col what to say

“I see, you still can’t reach us”

The Perb was in shock “You already know this?”

“Something like that, let’s see what this UI . . .!!!”

Their UIs are forced open and set their system ceased. The entity internally enraged by the use of that tone. Their UI systems are being controlled. The sight of their eyes in disbelief when they see the UI is returning to their control, it only just switches on by itself. Col’s sees the gadget he found is protecting them from being controlled. In this close vicinity, they are saved, for now. He said to the Perb

“. . . I made him mad, chuckles*”

“You motherfucker! Let’s get out of here, I am done with these stupid tricks”

The two hits from the back, a powerful spell casts down with true elemental attribute passing through their rune defenses.

The spirits unleashed their curses before their flesh melted from the spell. They turn around and sees there is still one person here. Col found him. With this gadget on hand resisting from the control. They see what happened who is controlled, the researcher is under control. The UI is powering up without limiting his powers. They see how the UI showing its potential. The entity is threatening them

“You two have done so much despicable things outside of the city. Your personal information collected into the interfaces. I will remove you and the city will be glad that you people are gone. With that man over there as an example, you will see what you are truly become before turning against your own city”

The possessed researcher casts his magic at them. The spirits are protected them as the shrunken head is crumbling. Simple small spells release from his hand and dealt a large amount of damage. Their runes able to resist it, but the impact shows that their own armors aren’t strong enough to withstand it. This is the same damage they did when they venture out from the city for the first time. The times they fought their way up and meet different races. Their mana was so powerful as every small cast cause harm to the Horsin locals. The same terror that almost get them through the east coast.

They have tasted the overwhelming spell, one of each cast at a time. Fire, ice, earth, lightning, and one big explosion. The blasts appeared right at their chest, giving them one of each blast. The spirit holds it before it explodes, they dodge it almost obliterated them. The researcher steps back the moment Col moves closer. His UI being nulled the moment it reaches at the certain distance. The entity twitches at its control of the researcher, he can’t able to act accordingly. Comparing to the ones it tried possessing the adventurers at the forest, they were able to perform well because of their own ability. This one is overwhelmed with powers have no knowledge in regards of its abilities.

The researcher’s limits in skills are telling, with such massive powers inside of him. His willpower is trying to stop it. It was not enough, the UI still can’t able to control of him. Col and the Perb starts noticing, this amateurish way of casting his spell is like any beginner as before. The gadget on Col’s hand, and the entity couldn’t do anything but controlling one man. Only to have powers with no mastery at all. This is an opportunity to stop it. This would be enough for them to escape and able to channel their escape routes.

The possessed researcher sees them coming right at him. He uses his spells to get away from them. They chase him down. They see him resisting as they need the mana, and they couldn’t reach him as their mana is draining. The realm starts to bring up the entity’s side. The Perb’s realm is fading away as the magic circles are using up the mana taken from his targets. The spirits are sheltering them with everything it got from the presence of the shrunken head. They chase him from top to bottom, all around, and somewhere in between.

The entity couldn’t afford to lose. These three have dared to figure out the secrets. The troubling people in the internet is cracking the code that it couldn’t anticipate it. It was all thanks to the demons it fears. A few was enough to escape its connection, but one single individual connected with another demon is driving itself mad. Now it reaches to the point of multiple people are controlling the UI, freeing them from their purpose. The marks of his works will be found out whenever any demon finds it, but there is one already know.

The electronical grid is at its full realm. Graphical measures put into the settings causing security defense measure to take them down. The spirits are falling back into the shrunken head where the two is running out of time. The researcher is almost at their reach and one more tilt from him will be able to catch him. The possessed researcher is slowing down. His device warns his memory is almost full. The entity notices his device and controls him to check and see. He broke free as his device automatically opens its runes on his hand, freeing his hand to grab his other hand to cast a spell.

Both Col and the Perb managed to catch him and the gadget surges through the researcher. He finally breaks free with his body fully exhausted himself.

Col calls out to the boss “Go! Go! GO!”

The Perb “Come on magic circles, do your thing”

Both of them channeling their magic. The entity rushes toward them as the spirits are holding to the last moment. The grids with everything it had inside the realm swarm with thousands of volts in one area, stopping them from leaving. As the roaring sparks in one area hits. They disappeared. The entity forces its existence into the realm. Its soul entered the realm leaving its body behind.

Looking around to see, they have escaped. The aura sends powerful message to the UIs as it pulled into a mass scan. Giving in into its wrath, it unleashes a large amount information on screens to everyone who had an UI. Trying to find who have hacked or not updated yet. Then it hears a notification sound, not relating to its UI, but a personal device. It looks down and sees the researcher left behind. Untouched from the attack, it looks down carefully to see his UI. He found critical information about the demon it shouldn’t remember. This man had faced its enemy.

With a plan in mind, it tries to implant a chip on his head to fully into servitude. As it about it to do it. The UI appears out nowhere. It turns on its own. It forgets its forced command is still in place. It personally tries to touch his UI, with one press on the icon, it shows nothing in the present basis. The critical information it finds were all outdated. Then finds who is connecting him. It was her, again. The surge of electricity inside the realm tries to kill him. It overloads itself leaving the researcher into a full crisp.

“Not AGAIN! All of them are into the UI. I can’t let them go. Or else I’ll be trapped in Rune Isles like before. My enemies will definitely find me if I keep it connected. Then all of my effort of summoning them will be worthless”

The entity searches for the soul it killed right in front of it. The researcher should’ve died from the excessive attack. When it clears, the body is gone and the soul is not there either. The realm shuts down from each section of it. One after the other. The realm shuts down bit by bit. Never would it imagined that they are step ahead of it. It breathes heavily on its soul form as it returns back to its original body. Defeated, and it waits for its consequences.

The researcher opens his eyes and found himself back to the island. He tries to pick himself up but tight down by leather straps. To his side, it was Emerald. It is already night as she sleeps soundly. He mumbled to himself and found out his voice is shut. There is someone near the door, a tall woman is waiting for him to wake up. She moving her fingers as if she is knitting threads of dim light lines. Their eyes meet and she shows him his gadget and other tools given by Myrrkei. Her gaze is brilliantly showing red, he can’t see her face, and everything else about her hide in nightly silhouette.

She directly confronts him “There is no reason for me to explain myself. Rather, can you explain what current position are you in right now?”

The strapped leather has the same texture in body casts worn by Myrrkei. From what they have interacted before, he starts to feel restriction of his body and magic. This woman is the one who shackles Myrrkei. There’s no point of talking when you are being mugged. To think, she is the one who helped Myrrkei. In honestly, he can’t understand Horsin world sometimes.

“Take my device too. There is no need to explain. You must be the one who tends Myrrkei’s wounds. I want to say, please let me continue my research again. I won’t be stopping myself what I find today”

She shakes her head and sighs “That’s enough, I am pleased you directly answer what I wanted to hear. May have your phone?”

His device presented to him and gives her his password.

“I hope you know how to use it”

“Believe me, I already know”

She sits to the side of his bed and calls out to Emerald.

Emerald sits up, hypnotized from her control. The two ladies lean to side of his ears and simultaneously said to him “And I thought I have to do it the hard way”

The researcher feels himself being touched on his chest. Emerald is massaging his chest.

“Never would I imagine my hate of that genre comes true”

The tall woman stops and Emerald fell on his chest as the hypnotism had stopped. She then left the room without any understanding what is going on, he was left in this situation as his stomach grumbles.

“What was that all about?”

On the other room, Myrrkei’s body is engraved by her technique. Myrrkei says to her “Sanquin, you are delaying what you are searching for. I can . . .”

“Silence! Your friend is under my control. If you tried to go on ahead without the Lord’s orders, we won’t be able to get my revenge perfectly. What you were messing with is nothing but a tool”

Sanquin carries him out from the house, dragging him on the ground as punishment providing powerful equipment for catching attention to the UI.

With her own UI from her disciple, this is the danger what she expected to be. Emerald is in chained under Sanquin’s care, and her partner becomes a test subject what the old version UI have. The researcher has hated hypnotism content. The accuracy of his responds is identical for the demon knows its followers. She sees his every being mentally, physically, and spiritually. So close to offered their souls the creator of the UI. Reliability soon turns to dependency, dependency leads to addiction, and there is no escape when it attached with the demons’ arms.