It felt like an eternity of walking. Each step the fear of death nestled deeper into Oliver's heart. The pain he was experiencing was excruciating; but he deserved it. Someone who tried to play hero and was humiliated- no, punished for it, this punishment was exactly what he deserved. The only thing missing from this punishment was the judgment of death. Stepping forward one more time, he reached the location. He looked up at the abandoned warehouse, the rotting signboard that was supposed tell the world it's purpose, was now just a dirty nuisance. If he remembered correctly, this warehouse was used to store various meats that would be sent out to butchers or grocery stores. He found the place a bit on the nose, but considering the person who invited him, he shouldn't have expected any less.
He reached his hand out to grab the rusty door handle, but he couldn't grab it. His hand only hovered above the handle, trembling. He didn't know if that man would kill him the moment he entered, or talk about his ideals before killing him, but one thing was for sure. He was going to die. Even the most guilty man would run away from death if it looked him dead in the eye. However guilt wasn't the only thing pushing him.
"Geez, are you scared? You came all this way, yet you're chickening out at the last second? You're even more pathetic than I thought...." that woman said, her presence almost made Oliver sick.
The amount of pressure from everything that had happened, coupled with his unstable mental state, all led to a split second decision that Oliver did not have time to regret. He pushed down the door handle, barging into the warehouse. The warehouse shook a bit; but that was to be expected since the place was practically falling apart already. What he was more worried about, was if the sound had grabbed the attention of a certain deranged man.... And unfortunately for Oliver, it seemed that was exactly the case.
The lights above turned on, revealing Pierro standing beside a bound and unconscious Olivia. The sight of his sister in such a horrible state, Oliver couldn't help but get angry.
"Let go of her! I came like you said, so let her go!" Oliver shouted.
Pierro looked at Oliver for a split second before smiling.
"No~" he said, his smile becoming wider.
Shock began to take over Oliver's mind. No actually, it wasn't a shock. He actually expected this to happen. No, what he felt was the humiliation for being so naive. He truly believed a deranged monster such as Pierro would actually follow up on his words. That was what shocked Oliver. He fell to his knees, losing any will to live. Seeing the bottomless emptiness in Oliver's eyes, it filled Pierro's heart with giddy. He dropped down to Oliver's level, his gaze still looking down on him.
"Wow you actually believed me? Maybe I should've asked you to kill all your friends too. But I doubt you have any.... I mean who'd be friends with you?" Pierro said, smirking.
Suddenly, Pierro fell to the ground after a kick to the head. As his body fell, it revealed the culprit behind the attack. It was Olivia.
"Only I get to say that to him, bastard," Olivia said, dusting herself off.
Oliver looked up at her, a look of confusion and relief plastered across his face.
"You really think I would just stand around and do nothing?" Olivia asked, her eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.
"Well you were bound and unconscious! What did you expect I would think?!" Oliver said, still shook.
"I was obviously pretending to be unconscious! And for being bound... That guy really doesn't know how to tie ropes. I broke out of it in two seconds..." Olivia said, sighing as if disappointed by Pierro's incompetence.
Oliver looked down before chuckling. The depressed look on his face turned into a joyous one, the fear fleeting from his body. The look of happiness on his face was infectious. Olivia smiled as well before reaching her hand out.
"Come on, let's get out of here before the bastard wakes up" Olivia said, helping him up.
The two began walking to the exit, making some small talk as they went. Once reaching the door, Olivia pulled down on it, only for it to poof into smoke. The door was now replaced with a brick wall with the words "got you!" Written on it.
"Shit... I think we got our hopes up" Olivia said, turning to Oliver.
Suddenly a voice began speaking to them. It wasn't exactly speaking, more like etching it's voice into their minds. Safe to say, it was a painful experience. Although they did understand why the door disappeared.
"This area has now become a game. Please find the real exit."
As the pain slowly went away, the two began hearing the sound of laughter in the distance.
"You really thought that you could escape that easily? Do you think I'm that incompetent to leave your ropes lose? Did you really think I wouldn't make this a fun experience for me?!" Pierro said, slowly walking towards them.
"..."
"Honestly yeah" the two said.
Pierro grinded his teeth before taking a deep breath.
"Well... I don't really care. Right now. You're in my domain. Meaning that I can control anything in here.... So run rabbits... Run" Pierro said, his wide smile illuminated by the moonlight.
Without any other choice, the two decided to play Pierro's game. They began running as fast as they could, trying to search every inch of the warehouse for an exit. Their panicked state made the job much harder than it should be, and the fact that they were being chased by Pierro wasn't helping either. Each time they tried to trace their steps, it seemed that the layout of the warehouse had completely changed. Walls that weren't there before, obstacles appearing to block their way, it was as if the warehouse was alive. The more and more they searched for they coveted exit, the more insane they felt. Corner after corner, up and down the stairs, every hidden nook and cranny, however no matter where they looked, they found nothing. The two started to sink deeper and deeper ingyo despair, but they had to push forward. If they didn't, they would surely die... Wouldn't they?
This is when Oliver sensed something was off. From what that voice said, all they had to do was search for the exit; with the only penalty being death at the hands of Pierro. However all this time, Pierro hadn't even tried hurting them. He wasn't chasing them around the warehouse, nor was he setting up traps to catch them. No; he was walking as if he was taking a regular night time stroll. No sense of urgency, not even a bit of killing intent. Something was off.
Oliver stopped abruptly before turning to Olivia.
"Sis... Don't you feel something weird is going on?" Oliver asked.
Olivia stopped as well, nodding in agreement.
"I don't really know the guy that well... But from what I've seen, he's the type to tear his prey limb for limb before killing them. A simple 'find the exit' game isn't really what I expected. Unless..." Olivia said, noticing all of Oliver's wounds have been healed.
She looked at Oliver who gave her a knowing look.
"Glad we're on the same page..." Olivia said.
The two began running again, this time splitting up. Pierro noticed this, and decided to comment on their plan.
"You really think splitting up would do anything? The exit requires two people to open it at the same time. Even if one of you found it. You'd somehow have to let the other person know without alerting me. And that's only if the other person survives to hear it..." Pierro said.
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In response to this mockery, Oliver came up from behind Pierro, punching him in the back. This startled Pierro but as he guessed, it didn't hurt him. It only annoyed him.
"Hey... No hurting staff members!" Pierro said, his fist formed into a ball.
Before he could hit Oliver, Olivia jumped down from above and hit him hard with a steel pipe. Pierro was stunned for a few seconds but quickly recovered.
"Phew, thank goodness I explained the win condition of the game. Otherwise I'd probably be knocked out for about.... 2 minutes?" Pierro said, mockingly.
Pierro attempted to punch the two of them, but they both dodged out of the way.
"Tsk... You're like monkeys..." Pierro retorted.
He stood tall before laughing to himself.
"I don't really know why you two are doing this? The aim is to find the exit. Not kill a boss... You're doing extra side quests for no reason..." Pierro said.
"Yeah not really... We know exactly why you're taking your sweet time..." Olivia said.
Pierro's eyes darkened as he heard this.
"Oh?"
Oliver smirked before pointing at the moon.
"It's because you can't hurt us can you. That's forbidden in this 'game' isn't it?" Oliver said.
Pierro grit his teeth before attempting to lunge at them. The two stood still, letting his attack connect. The moment his attack reached them, a loud voice rung out.
[PENALTY: ATTACKING PLAYERS IS NOT ALLOWED]
Pierro was immediately shocked with what seemed to be electricity, causing him intense pain. He fell on his knees, as it was his first time experiencing pain.
"You monkeys! How did you find it out?!" Pierro yelled.
Oliver and Olivia shrugged before looking down on him.
"Simple really. It took us quite a while to realise since we were so antsy... But the moment you entered us into this game. Our wounds were all healed" Olivia explained.
"At first I thought it was due to my healing factor. But considering that, even on my way here, my wounds were healing slowly... There was only one other option as to why I healed so fast. This place..." Oliver continued.
"Is underneath a contract isn't it?"
A contract. A special way to abuse the balancing system. Oliver and Olivia had learned about it during their training, but to enter one was a bit weird. A contract is essentially the act of putting special conditions onto things by using descent energy. In this case, Pierro had created and contracted space. A contracted space is one that is born out of either an 'innate technique', or from the expulsion of dense descent energy throughout the surrounding area. The latter one requires enough descent energy to power an entire country, so most contracted spaces are created by the former method. However the cons of using it, is that the user isn't able to decide the rulings of the contracted space. Like in the case of Pierro's contracted space, he was given an enclosed barrier that had only one exit. However, to balance it out, he was given the rulings to be unable to hurt the 'players' and that their wounds would be healed upon creating it.
"You planned to make us lose our minds, then when we couldn't fight back, you would then turn off the contracted space to kill us didn't you? Hmph... Expected of a low life..." Olivia said, crossing her arms.
"Your plan wasn't the only thing we uncovered. You see... Contracted spaces aren't an ability that humans can normally use. The use of an innate technique to create it, and the need for an enormous amount of descent energy to preserve it, is what prevents the widespread use of it. Otherwise F.A.T.E would create contracted spaces all over Eile... However, Festers don't have this restriction do they?" Oliver said, smirking.
Pierro looked down before laughing manically. His laughter rung across the warehouse, the sound bouncing off the thin aluminum walls.
"Yup! You're right! I'm a Fester! Took you long enough to realise!" Pierro said, grabbing his chest.
He opened his chest up, revealing a squishy flesh mound that resembled a video game controller?
"I took over this man's body in order to blend in with humans! Oh don't worry he wasn't alive when I did it. I made sure of it!" Pierro said, laughing maniacally.
It seems being found out had caused Pierro to lose his mind, which Oliver had kind of expected.
"Fine then! Since you guys are so smart! Let's play another game.... The first one of you to die... gets to be my vessel next!" Pierro said, turning off his contracted space.
The scene around them shatters like glass, insinuating that they've been brought out of the space. Pierro grabbed his face before smiling widely.
"Let's play! We'll have so much fun!!!"
Pierro's body began transforming into that off a demonic looking puppet with various different games sprinkled across his body. Checkered body parts, a shoulder piece that seemed to be the head of a knight piece, a pixelated looking arm, the works. From what Olivia and Oliver had assed from his appearance, it was clear that they were going against the Game Fester.... One of few registered Disaster class Festers.
Pierro raised his right hand up, conjuring up three cards made out of fire. He pointed at the two before snapping.
"Burn"
The cards were sent flying towards the two, and upon impact, exploded into a fiery mess. The explosion sent Oliver and Olivia flying backwards, separating the two. Oliver crashed into wall, however strangely, the explosion and impact didn't really hurt. It was more like being lighter toasted then falling backwards. He suspected that his unnaturally changing body had something to do with it. As his mind began catching up to the situation, he noticed that the entire warehouse was set ablaze. Standing up from the rubble, he frantically searched for Olivia.
"Shit shit... Please tell me she's okay... Please tell she's..." Oliver said, panic in his voice.
Fortunately for him, Olivia was a stubborn woman. Emerging from the flames, Olivia walked out completely unscaved.
"Huh?!" Oliver and Pierro exclaimed.
Olivia raised her eyebrows before smirking.
"Did you really think that would put me down?" Olivia said, smugly.
"W- wait how?" Oliver asked, still a bit shaken up.
Olivia sighed at her brother's incompetence, even face palming to really drive home the point.
"You idiot. I used descent energy to protect myself" Olivia said, as if it was a given fact.
Oliver was taken aback by this discovery.
".... Why the hell didn't you tell me you could use descent energy?! That information would have been extremely helpful ten minutes ago!" Oliver exclaimed.
Olivia rubbed the back of her neck, explaining that she forgot to tell him. The young man stared at her with a look of disgust on his face. A truly appalled expression wrought with betrayal.
“I'm gonna hit you so hard you little-”
Two then began arguing, making Pierro question his reason for even being there.
"You two... How dare you forget about me!?!!" Pierro yelled, summoning living chess pieces.
The two turned to Pierro before looking back at each other with a knowing smirk. Pierro saw this, finding their confidence not only insulting… but infuriating.
"Don't underestimate me... YOU MONKEYS!!" He yelled as he ordered his pieces to attack.
In response to this, Olivia easily destroyed them all one by one. It was a rather gruesome sight as Olivia was forced to tear and rip instead of using a weapon like usual. Seeing how quickly Olivia dismantled his army as if they were nothing but insects, it enraged Pierro beyond belief.
"Worthless monkey... Fine, I was going to let you two play a game for your lives, but you made me mad..." Pierro said, his voice becoming lower.
His body began to convulse, the sight reminding Oliver of his fight with the treasure Fester. He called out to Olivia for her to run away, but it was far too late. Pierro's body exploded, releasing descent energy in one huge burst. The explosion destroyed the warehouse and a few buildings surrounding it, leaving nothing but ash and rubble.
Even with the special conditions of Oliver's body, and Olivia using descent energy to protect herself, the explosion was too great for them. They could barely stand after the attack. Their bodies were broken, and any excess movement would just cause them even more pain. On the other hand.... Pierro felt like he could fight a million battles. He emerged from the dust, his body had completely changed from earlier. The once scattered game elements have merged on his chest, acting like a symbol of sorts. His new appearance resembled that of a lanky and ferocious looking marionette with long animalistic claws, and a smile that reached his ears. Seeing the two on their last legs, it was too funny. Pierro dropped to the floor and began laughing hysterically. He held his face and kicked legs as he laughed on the floor. He couldn't help it. Seeing such pathetic faces from people who were so confident a moment ago. It was delicious.
"This is what you get! If you just played my game, this wouldn't have happened! You stupid, stupid, monkeys!" Pierro laughed, his mocking voice echoing in the desolate rubble.
The two felt completely hopeless at that moment, Olivia especially. However Oliver... He had one way out. He reached for his transformation device, but as his fingers grazed the device…. He hesitated.
"Huh? You're trying to use that power? Even after cursing it? How pathetic" that woman said.
"N- no I'm not using it... If I did Olivia would know I'm the crow... T- then my life would be over! Yeah, exactly! I can't be helped! And this guy is way too strong! I doubt I could beat him... Yeah... I'm not doing anything wrong..." Oliver thought to himself.
Oliver pulled his hand away from his pocket, convincing himself that it wouldn't even help in the first place. Pierro had noticed the conflict in Oliver's eyes, making him laugh even more.
"You know what? You two are so funny! I'm not even mad anymore! Tell you what? How bout I kill you two fast and painless? My treat...." Pierro said, standing up.
He turned his arm into a sharp blade as he began making his way towards the two. He walked up to Olivia first, as he knew that killing her would send Oliver into an even deeper abyss of despair.
"Show it to me Oliver Rand, the face of someone who has lost everything!" Pierro said, raising his arm high up in the air.
Oliver looked at the scene with wide eyes. He tried to move, but his body was in too much pain. Any movement he tried to make hurt more than any pain he had experienced before this. It was pure torture.
Oliver collapsed on the ground, unable to do anything to stop the clown. As Pierro sliced downwards, Oliver closed his eyes. His heart couldn't take it. He couldn't watch his sister get killed.
A wet stabbing sound rang in Oliver's ears... His heart shrunk... But then again… Didn't Pierro slice Olivia?
Opening his eyes, he saw a comforting sight. Katherine's hair was illuminated in the moonlight as she stabbed Pierro from behind. He didn't know if it was because of his unstable mental state,or if it was because of the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins.... However, Katherine truly looked like an angel.