"What the?" Pierro asked, unable to move.

Stabbing the weapon deeper into his body, Katherine tilted her head slightly.

"I advise you not to move. This attachment unit has a unique property that works by injecting venom into the target's body. The more they move, the more the venom spreads" Katherine said, smiling softly.

Pierro swiped at Katherine, forcing her to have to let go and make some distance. Pierro grit his teeth, before kicking Olivia away.

"Trash..." Pierro said, trying to let go of some anger.

He turned his attention towards Katherine, dashing at her with incredible speeds. Instead of dodging, Katherine stood completely still. Pierro smirked, believing he had won.

"Don't act so cocky-" however he was quickly humbled.

As Katherine had already warned him, his movements had caused the venom to spread to every limb in his body. His body stiffened, causing him to crash into the ground. Katherine smirked a bit - clearly enjoying his suffering - before turning to Oliver.

"Give this to your sister, the other one is for you" Katherine said, throwing two attachments units at Oliver.

He managed to catch the attachment units, however he was surprised that she brought one along for him.

"I- I'm not as useful as Olivia you know..." Oliver said, clenching his fist.

Katherine raised an eyebrow before crossing her arms.

"I don't think so. Besides, this is a disaster class Fester. Any help could turn the tide" Katherine said.

A warm tinge of red crawled up his cheeks. It was rather comforting to be believed in, and he could swear the pain he was feeling was starting to go away.

"Oh you must be feeling the effects of Daedus aren't you?" Katherine retorted, looking over at the small beacon-like device.

An A rank attachment unit from Sieg's collection. Daedus is a wide range healing device that converts and gathers positive descent energy. He didn't know how Katherine convinced Sieg to hand something so valuable over, but nonetheless he was thankful.

"Hey you good?" Oliver asked Olivia who was face first in the dirt.

"Yeh..." she said, her voice a bit muffled.

As the three grouped up, the venom in Pierro's body began to become weaker. This was one of the many advantages that high ranking Festers had that made them such a nuisance. The ability to adapt quickly. After only five minutes, Pierro had become partially immune to the venom. He stood up once again, cracking his neck as if Katherine's attack meant nothing.

"Hmm... I expected him to be paralyzed for longer... It seems my plan has failed..." Katherine said, holding her chin.

Olivia looked at Katherine with a grimace, turning to Oliver to whisper nasty things about her.

"Why did it have to be her?" Olivia said with sigh.

"Hey that's not very nice to say. Katherine came to help us!" Oliver said, defending Katherine.

Olivia looked at him with a bit of disgust, before switching between looking at him and looking at Katherine.

"Did something happen between you two?" Olivia asked, suspicious.

"It's not like that!" Oliver said, slightly embarrassed.

Katherine nodded in agreement.

"Oliver is just grateful that's all... Something that you should learn too, Olivia..." Katherine snickered.

"Why you!" Olivia said, gritting her teeth.

Witnessing the scene unfold, Pierro became enraged once again. This was the second time that he had been completely ignored like he was lesser than them. He couldn't stand it. He grinded his teeth before clenching his fists.

"RUDE MONKEYS!"

Above him a 4 by 4 grid of flaming cards began forming. The cards each had their own symbols that resembled those of poker cards. These symbols showed up for a few seconds before they flipped over towards the backside of the card. The game board on Pierro's chest changed into a slot machine, which Pierro activated by moving his left arm down like a lever. The slot machine spun until it formed the picture of a spade ace.

"Come on... Let's play a fun ga-" but before Pierro could finish his sentence, Olivia came charging at him.

Releasing her attachment unit mid swing, the descent energy expulsions from the release significantly enhanced the attacks potency. Slicing through Pierro, he gasped... Before smiling.

"PENALTY!"

A confused look grew on Olivia's face, however she would soon find out what the penalty meant. An intense shock of electricity flooded her body, causing her to fall to ger knees. Thankfully Olivia healed up nice and quickly thanks to Daedus.

"What the hell was that?" Olivia asked.

"Penalty" Oliver, Katherine and Pierro explained nonchalantly.

"What's with the synchronization?!" Olivia shouted.

Pierro shrugged, then pointed at himself.

"The rules as you can obviously see, is that no violence can occur until a winner is decided... However since you were penalized... That means I won this round" Pierro said, opening up his claw.

He sliced at Olivia sending her flying backwards.

"Why is it always me?!" Olivia said, slowly getting up.

As she began standing up, a cage fell down from the sky trapping her. She banged on the walls, confused as to what just happened.

"Ooh sorry about that. You lost one of your lives. Meaning that player can't join in anymore" Pierro said, laughing sinisterly.

Their faces grew darker, fear settling into their hearts.

"So we've got only two lives left huh?" Oliver said starting to worry.

The cards above Pierro began shuffling, and once they were done, they revealed themselves. They were only visible for five seconds, but that was plenty of time for Oliver and Katherine to memorise their orders. Olivia looked at the two with confusion, still not understanding how Pierro's ability worked. Unfortunately she wouldn't have time to ask questions, as Pierro spun the slot machine on his chest. The card that popped out this time was the jack of spades. Oliver and Katherine looked at each other, giving a knowing nod. They pointed at the second card in the first column, which flipped over to reveal it was the correct choice. As result, they became the winners of that round. The moment they were announced the winners, Katherine dashed towards Pierro, hitting him with a powerful attack. The attack severely damaged Pierro.

"Yes! Now you're going to be stuck in a cage too bastard!" Olivia said, pumping her fist.

They all turned to her with a disappointed look.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Have you not understood the rules of this game yet?" Katherine asked.

"It's not like I know everything!" Olivia yelled.

Katherine sighed before explaining the rules.

"This is a simple memory game. We just need to remember where each card is, then match with the card that appears on his chest. We've got three chances, and if we get it wrong or get penalised, we lose a life. He doesn't lose lives since he's the game master. So the only way we can defeat him, is to kill him before our lives run out... Essentially it's a rigged game" Katherine said.

Olivia nodded, seeming to understand a bit. Pierro laughed before looking at the three.

"You're right, it is rigged. There'd be no way you could feasibly kill me before your lives run out... So you just forfeit. At least that way you would have a slim chance of beating me in a battle" Pierro said mockingly.

As Pierro continued to laugh, Oliver realised something about Pierro. The thought was so absurdly stupid, that Oliver began laughing too. His laughter killed Pierro's mood, causing him to scowl at him.

"What's so funny?" Pierro asked.

"Oh it's nothing. It's just... How about I don't play?" Oliver exclaimed.

"... Huh?" Pierro retorted, his eyes narrowing.

Oliver took a seat on the ground, stretching all his limbs and even yawning to show how much he didn't care about the game.

"You know, if you don't play the game, you'll never escape!" Pierro said, trying to intimidate Oliver.

Oliver shrugged. This response infuriated Pierro.

"WHY WON'T YOU PLAY THE GAME?! I WORKED HARD TO THINK OF IT YOU KNOW?!" Pierro shouted, almost attacking Oliver but stopping himself just before he made contact.

Oliver smugly smiled at him. Oliver had completely figured Pierro out.

"You don't like it when people don't play your games don't you?" Oliver said.

Pierro paused for a moment, before striking Oliver. He slashed Oliver across the chest, however it was quickly healed up thanks to Daedus, and the penalty of breaking the rules. For Pierro's punishment, since he had broken the rules of his games twice, his descent energy was blocked for a few minutes. The cards and cage disappeared, leaving Pierro in a panicked state.

"Nice going Oliver!" Olivia said, playfully punching his shoulder.

"See I told you you'd be useful" Katherine said.

Oliver felt a bit embarrassed by being praised so much, although he couldn't lie, it did feel quite good.

"Well then... What should we do about this guy?" Olivia asked, looking down on Pierro.

The three surrounded him. Pierro attempted to fight back, but they easily blocked his attacks.

"I knew it. Without your descent energy you're as weak as an advanced class Fester...." Oliver said.

"G- get away from me!" Pierro said, attempting to crawl away.

To get a little revenge, Oliver stepped on Pierro's back, digging his heel into it. Pierro seemed to be affected by the pain, as this was his true body, unlike when they fought back in the alleyway. He felt a bit liberated by this, so he turned to the other two for their verdict as to what to do with Pierro. They didn't respond, but the look in their eyes told Oliver they were all on the same page. Oliver lifted up his attachment unit, then plunged downward right where the heart would be. As the attachment unit made contact with Pierro's body... He remembered the words of one of his superiors.

"You know Pierro. You're super strong. But you treat everything like a game. When you learn what death truly feels like. I bet you'll grow super strong..." Were the words Smiley face had told him.

As the tip of the blade plunged into Pierro's body, he finally understood what that meant. The pain and humiliation of death, it was something truly vexing. At that moment, a primal urge to survive overcame Pierro. It was like witnessing a fish that just being caught flailing around in a desperate attempt to break free... However in this case, the fish Oliver had caught was a shark. Oliver was shaken off Pierro's back, however his blade didn't come along with him. It seemed that he stuck it in a bit too deep. No, it wasn't that he stabbed too deep. Pierro had absorbed it into his body.

Fester cannibalisation, the most disgusting way a Fester can gain strength. By consuming the Ulteir, a special organ that produces and stores descent energy, that Fester's own descent energy becomes even more potent. Like how humans drink milk to strengthen bones. Since an attachment unit is essentially an ulteir that's been molded into a weapon, absorbing it or eating it would give the same results as eating another fester. However, most Festers don't use this ability of theirs in defensive applications, due to the punishment of breaking a taboo. Among Fester, cannibalisation is known as the power of the desperate or deranged. As such those who commit this sin, lose their sanity, but most importantly their ego. The sense of self is the only thing that separates a Fester from an animal. So losing it would be like losing your humanity in eyes of a Fester. Truly, a horrible sin.

Pierro's body began convulsing and growing rapidly. It was a truly disgusting sight to behold. Mounds of flesh growing then moulding into limbs that looked completely alien as the last bits of Pierro's mind yelled out in a horrible melody. To explain the feelings Oliver, Olivia and Katherine were experiencing; it was like watching a really bad car crash. You hate it, but you can't take your eyes off of it. As Pierro completed his transformation, so did his mind. He was nothing more than an injured dog that's only instinct was to survive. The next few moments, it was like a blur to the three cadets. One moment Pierro was inhaling air, the next moment a bright light filled the area. A ringing filled their ears. It was so loud. So loud that they didn't even realise that their bodies were no longer usable. Oliver looked to Katherine and Olivia who laid on the ground bleeding. Oliver's body was in a similar condition however that wasn't his concern at that moment. The only thing he could think about was how pathetic he was. All of this was his fault. If he didn't pretend to be a hero... If he wasn't selfish... If he wasn't a coward... None of this would've happened. But just like everything wrong that has happened in his life, his incompetence and cowardice led him to ruin. As he lay bleeding on the ground, for the first time in his life, he accepted his fate.... However fate had other plans in store for him.

The clouds above began to part away, before the sky itself began to shatter. A downpour of bright light showered the beast, it's purpose was to eradicate it from the surface of the earth. Unfortunately, even cleansing light couldn't destroy such a horrible sin. Pierro's body began regenerating almost immediately, though the process seemed to be slowed down a bit. Oliver questioned where the attack came from, but his answers were answered rather quickly.

"Geez I really thought that would've worked. I know he's probably above disaster class by now, but an A+ rank should've ended him..." Sieg said, walking up to the battlefield nonchalantly.

He looked around, noticing the injured kids but most importantly, his destroyed attachment unit. He rushed over to it, picking up the pieces in a panic.

"Daedus?! What did that thing do to you?! I shouldn't have let Katherine borrow you..." Sieg said, lamenting his decision.

Oliver used the last bits of his strength to stand up and warn Sieg.

"Please Mr sieg... Leave with Olivia and Katherine... I don't think even you could beat that thing..." Oliver said, his mind fully consumed by despair.

"Then what about you? I don't think you left yourself out of that sentence by accident...." Sieg retorted.

Oliver looked at the ground, before clenching his fist.

"I'm better off being a distraction... Please... Just take them and leave. I'll just be deadwe-"

"Oliver Rand, did you forget your promise?" Sieg said, interrupting him.

Oliver paused, confused by the statement.

"You promised me that you wanted to change to become a better person. I thought you were progressing quite well doing all that hero work... But you've just returned back to your old self..." Sieg explained.

Oliver lifted his head, before lowering it back down.

"You're right... I'm still the same shitty person I've always been..." Oliver said, falling to his knees.

Sieg paused for a moment before slapping him.

"So you're just going to give up?" Sieg asked.

"Yes..."

In response to that, sieg slapped again, then asked the same question.

"Are you going to give up?"

"Yes"

A slap.

"Are you going to give up?"

"Yes"

A slap.

"Are you going to give up?!"

"Yes I am! I am done being a hero! Not like I was one to begin with... But I really tried acting like a hero. I helped people, killed a lot of Festers, all because I thought it was the right thing to do! Because I thought... that it would make me a better person... but in the end it was all just an act so that I could convince myself that I did my best... Because I couldn't accept the truth that I was just mediocre" Oliver said, clenching his fist tightly till they started turning red.

Sieg looked at the pathetic sight in front of him. Half of him wanted to just slap Oliver again because of how frustrated he was, but he knew that doing something like that would only make Oliver fortify his preconception of himself. However, just telling him he couldn't give up wouldn't work either. So he had to do something unconventional.

"If that was all an act... It was a really convincing one. You even convinced me that you started becoming a better person..." Sieg said, laughing to lift up the mood.

Oliver didn't understand what he meant, thinking that Sieg was mad at him.

"Sorry..." Oliver said, lowering his head even further down.

"Don't misunderstand me Oliver... It was a rather nice lie to be in. And I believe you liked being in that lie too. So even if it was just an act, I think it would be nice to see that Oliver again..."

Oliver looked up to Sieg, a sad yet hopeful look plastered on his face.

"But... What if I mess up big time again?" Oliver asked.

Sieg crouched down, meeting eye level with Oliver.

"Then you get back up. Oliver you seem to not understand the position you're in right now. At this moment, you're the hero of this story. And heroes never back down do they? And even if you can't get back up, I'm sure there'll be a lot of people who'll kick you in the ass till you eventually get up yourself. Because they see you're someone special Oliver. So once again I ask, show me the type of man you want to be" Sieg said, taking out the driver hidden in Oliver's pocket.

"Wait you know about-"

"It seems Olivia and Katherine need tending to... Finish the job up kay?" Sieg said, walking away before Oliver could finish.

Oliver laughed to himself as he began stretching a bit. He checked his driver's descent energy reserve, seeing its still empty. He then began looking at Pierro, whose body was just about to finish healing. Then when an idea popped into Oliver's mind. He turned back to Sieg, asking him if he trusted him. Sieg responded with a thumbs up, giving Oliver enough confidence to ask the next question.

"Can I borrow that attachment unit you used a moment ago?" Oliver asked, reaching his hand out.

Sieg paused for a moment as he began to grimace.

"Hey I thought you said you trusted me?!" Oliver yelled.

"I do... It's just... That attack obviously didn't work just now..." Sieg retorted.

Oliver looked at Sieg with a strange amount of confidence, as he told Sieg to trust him once again. The look Oliver gave him reminded Sieg of an old friend of his.

"Hmm... Fitting..."