Wow, these plants are just melting away, like the water is eating them alive. Interesting that it’s not actually damaging anything else in the room, Eleen reported from the underground greenhouse up to her son who was waiting above. She then floated back up to the surface once they’d been dissolved entirely.
“So the drugs are all destroyed then?” Drim asked for confirmation upon her return.
“Yup, that should certainly put these dealers out of business.” But his mother had one criticism. “If I were you, though, I’d certainly deduct points for Niloy since she didn’t wait around to confirm with her own eyes that the job was finished. I get that all she needed to do was taint the water supply in the irrigation system, and if she stuck around, she’d have been likely to get caught, but it still leaves a bad taste as a former leader myself.”
◆◆◆
“More terrorism, what is going on with the world these days?” Eleen was sounding more old and crotchety by the moment. “But I guess back then, I was the terror, so no one else had time to fight amongst themselves.” She found her old achievement oddly amusing. “Never doubt the ability of a common enemy to unite everyone.”
I couldn’t agree with you more on that regard, Drim was actually right next to her this time as they watched the madness through a shop window at the evacuated mall. We as the Fiends For Hire were that for a time, very briefly. But once they stopped viewing us as a threat, the humans have gone right back to fighting amongst themselves.
“And yet the Central Peace has barely been doing a thing about incidents like these. Don’t look so surprised. The news is practically shoved in my face when you’re reading it. For an organization that’s supposed to govern the entire world, they’re not very united, are they? It needs something more, another power to hold it all together and force them down a common path.” The mother’s eyes drifted in her son’s direction.
In due time, Drim shot down her implications. These things can’t be rushed, or we’ll just make them worse than they already are. For now, let’s focus on this evaluation.
“And what’s there left to evaluate?” she scoffed. “This is madness even on a Fiend level. It’s just a matter of time before it’s over.”
The two of them watched Feyj as the young teenage boy steadily advanced towards the retreating gunman. He was unarmed and not fighting back at all, just focused on dodging and slowly taking steps forward. Even Fiend reactions shouldn’t allow for complete dodging of an automatic rifle like that, but Feyj was just different.
He knew where all the shots were going to be fired before they were shot, just based on the angle of the muzzle and the twitch of the terrorist’s finger. The boy had also done extensive research on weaponry and firearms. He knew the exact specifications of every gun available on the market, and could tell them all apart with just a glance.
The young boy, who the squad of police at the entrance surely thought to be insane, was making steady progress towards the enemy. He took slow calculated steps, dodging each spray of bullets, only covering quick bursts of distance between each reload. Clearly, the terrorist had been planning to kill an entire mall of civilians, not wasting their cache of ammo to not even hit a single boy.
When Feyj finally caught up to the villain, he wrapped around them like a viper, and disabled their body with quick jabs to their joints and muscles. “It’s clear!” the prepubescent’s voice squeaked over to the police who then swarmed the area, prompting the mother and son to make their exit.
◆◆◆
“What’s happening now?!” the boy’s mother pestered him for the umpteenth time to relay the torturous gambit of the criminal below who’d been weaving in and out of alleyways.
“Ugh,” Drim groaned, getting tired of explaining. “He thinks he’s being chased by a pack of wolves.” Her son was wearing special contacts that allowed him to see Rezin’s Curse even when he wasn’t being affected by it. He then groaned even more. “Come take possession of one of my eyes, so you can see and we can actually focus.”
Eleen did just that, eagerly accepting the invitation. Drim’s description up to that point had been a pathetic interpretation of the nightmare she now bore witness to. The alleyways transformed into a labyrinth of torment. It certainly tiptoed the side of cruel and unusual, but there was little sympathy for this criminal.
He was a landlord who’d been spying on their tenants and used the information he found to blackmail them and price gouge them into poverty. One of the tenants managed to obtain proof of this but wanted a Fiend there as backup for the big confrontation. As expected, the man had bolted when they’d heard the police had been called, so now it was up to Rezin to catch him.
But the Fiend was still pretty frail despite Nachi’s endless training. Well it was more that he just had no confidence in his physical abilities, but he’d grown ever more confident in his Curse as it grew in power. There was no need to chase the criminal if they’d just tire themselves out and become trapped in their own mind.
The mother and son watched the man desperately avoid the wall of fake javelins as they fired behind him, luring him to a specific spot. He then believed he’d stepped on a pressure plate that opened a hatch and lava began pouring on him.
Are those real burns appearing on his body?! Eleen was shocked when patches of his skin started turning red.
Yes and no, Drim had to elaborate. Rezin can only affect someone’s senses and trick their brain. But it’s become so powerful that people's bodies have started reacting and forcing the injuries upon themselves. It’s kind of like that old myth that if you die in your dreams, your brain will actually think that you’re dead and shut down. Well, that may actually be true some day if Rezin keeps getting stronger.
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With the man incapacitated, the Fiend quickly led police to his location while he rolled around in agony.
◆◆◆
So why is one of your employees working at a video rental store? Eleen stared at the person behind the counter with an unsettling smile.
Drim, who was loitering out back, answered, I gave up a long time ago trying to wrap my head around Chorus’ actions. But it is a genuine request—one we’d normally ignore—to provide temporary workers since the store is so understaffed.
Well yeah, I’m surprised any of these stores still exist, Eleen glanced around at the mostly empty store with just a small trickle of customers every few minutes. But no matter where else she looked, her eyes always drifted back to the anomaly behind the counter. They just look so normal right now. It’s unsettling.
That aside, if I had to guess their reasoning for taking the job, it’s probably as market research to see what people are going out of their way to rent, the boy speculated. Since they can’t get any instant feedback from people still stuck using analog technology, they probably need to witness it first hand.
Oh wow, that person was just trying to rent one thing, but Chorus talked them into renting seven more, including one of the Fiends For Hire movies, Eleen reported. Even here, they’re still trying to peddle their propaganda. Oh, you should go and try to rent something and see what they suggest! I’d do it, but y’know.
Hell no, the idea was instantly rejected. Chorus is the master of disguises. They’d see through mine before I even walked through the front door.
◆◆◆
“Do you want me to save you, Gatrim?” Drim asked through the window as he leaned up against the wall, hiding in the shadows to avoid the spotlights.
“No, now get out of here before you make things worse,” aggression spat back through the iron bars.
“Are you sure you’re not in over your head on this request?” The employer had to confirm once more.
“I said, I’ve got this!” Gatrim’s temper only flared that much more. “I don’t need your help. If a mighty Greater always has to swoop in and save the lowly Lesser, how could I grow? How could I surpass you? So leave me be!”
“Fine,” Drim relented. However, he pelted a small device through the bars. “But if you need us, we’re just a call away.”
After having Hand Guy move them to their next location, Drim asked his mother, “How did he look?”
“Frustrated, but determined,” she had to admit. “I don’t think he’s ready to give up just yet.”
“Good.” Drim smirked as he jotted something down in Gatrim’s evaluation.
◆◆◆
Eleen actually felt properly seen for the first time in her unlife. It was exhilarating, and she selfishly wanted more attention even during such a life-threatening moment.
Tize chased after her, or rather the remnant of her existence. They were currently in a burning building, and strangely enough, her presence distorted the smoke and flames. Now the ghost was using that to her advantage to lure the Fiend to the last occupant still needing to be saved.
She’d grabbed his attention entirely by accident, but now he wouldn’t stop following her, a confused but determined look on his face. Maybe he thought Cosmos himself was lending a guiding hand—ironic if that were the case—or perhaps the smoke inhalation was starting to mess with his mind.
The man was as surprised as the cat when the supernatural guide brought them together. He was greeted with nothing but hisses and swipes when he tried to pick up the pitiable creature. Running out of patience and time as the apartment complex came crumbling down around them, Tize had to resort to something else to get the frightened animal to cooperate.
【Synchronization Rate: 69%】 Eleen had never seen a house cat in armor before. A mountain lion, sure, but this was something else entirely. It had gilded and sleek platemail on its limbs and down its spine, continuing down its tail, ending in a spiked ball that turned it into a flail. Coupled with its tiny helmet, the getup was one of the most adorable things the specter had ever seen. If only she could take a picture.
But plenty of others would soon get to witness it since Tize had to do something a little crazy, clearly doubting that he could take a jovial jaunt down the stairs. Eleen chased after them as the cat dashed towards the nearest window. The kitty leapt, breaking through the glass.
Eleen charged ahead through the wall, back outside. She watched the cat land softly on its feet despite the seven story drop. Tize unsynced from the cat once the owners had come to claim it, not wanting to let the animal run off on its own from fear. Though the owners looked a bit terrified themselves.
◆◆◆
“So let me get this straight,” Eleen tried to recount all the events they’d just witnessed while she and her son watched a woman storm across the dark parking lot with a box of her things in hand. “She was the manager and requested that Roque save her business. So Roque took over the business and then fired her?”
That does fall in line to the specifics of the request, Drim had to admit. He then reread it aloud—well, through his transmissive thoughts. I’m the manager at this place, and we’ve been doing terribly compared to every other store. Please come help us turn it around. I want you to really root out the cause, no matter how hard that may be. If there’s a bad seed, I want them gone, so we can finally thrive as a team!
It would seem Roque deemed her as the problem.
“Crazy how oblivious some people can be,” the ghost watched the manager walk right towards them, completely ignoring Drim who was loitering under a streetlight, and she passed through the invisible ghost. This caused the woman to shiver, dropping her box of things, adding to her terrible day. She picked up her belongings in tears, but her look of rage never left her face.
“That man is great at making enemies. I’m amazed that he hasn’t been stabbed by a disgruntled colleague or ex-employee by now.”
I’d say that’s what makes Roque uniquely special, Drim shrugged his lips. Even if he’s actively screwing you over, something about the guy just makes him impossible to truly hate or hold a grudge.