- 4 HOURS AND 47 MINUTES REMAIN -

"They're starting, right!?" Iggy says as everybody else sprints to the stonehouse.

"Yeah, they should drop the first person into the pit soon." Zikh says.

"How come we people searchers are not told about this?" Royal asks impatiently.

"Because it's not you're directive, duh!" Werbo replies.

"I swear, that stupid Cider doesn't know what to do when panicked..." Lorde troubledly complains.

"Where's this lava pit, anyway?" Pickle questions the angels.

"Right behind what used to be the Garden of Eden; the backyard." Lorde answers.

As they arrive at the premises, two general angels; their hands replaced with wings, come in their way.

"Halt! All seven of you! Please do not cause a disturbance, a ceremony is being held."

"Tell Cider that they have arrived." Lorde desperately commands the two.

"...Who?" One of the general angels queries.

"The Follower and his ally, They're here."

"Follower..." They both snap in realization.

"Did you hear me? I said go!"

One of the general angels rushes to the Garden of Eden.

"F~ Follow Me, Angel Lorde and Angel Royal." The other general angel says.

"Stop! Two angels demand the stoppage of the ceremony!"

"And who are they supposed to be?" Cider asks.

Out of breath, one of the general angels replies.

"They are with The Follower, ma'am."

Iggy, Louie and the angels come face-to-face with Cider and the angels that were lining up.

A sense of relief flows through every angel's veins. Cider's mind calms down, her anxieties reassured.

She takes a deep breath.

From the pedestal, Cider signs the angels assigned to bring down the praying mantis.

"Stop! The Follower has arrived. We don't need to do that anymore."

Iggy and Pickle had arrived on time.

Looking at the hundreds of sleeping bodies, around him, Iggy begins to walk slowly in a straight line, comprehending everything he has seen.

As he paces himself, the angels, one by one, give Iggy and Pickle a salutation.

There are some faces in there that he had recognized...

The cappuccino woman...

The tourists he had seen walk out of the train station...

And the old man from the night market...

"He's from another world..." Iggy thinks to himself...

He makes his way to the giant lava pit and peeks blow.

...And looks at the body that was lowered halfway.

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"That mantis bitch..."

He walks forward, facing everyone.

"Everyone. You all don't have to do this anymore. We're sent here by The Industry to help you and we're not leaving this place without the lava pit gone~"

A GIGANTIC RUMBLE FROM THE FIRE PIT MAKES IGGY LOOK BACK.

He rushes his way back into the cliff, In his view, an empty bloodstained slab of stone, and a powerful eel, devouring the praying mantis into pieces.

Her bloodstained dress, her skin red, her guts begin to show.

An extremely frightened Iggy etches the gruesome scene in his mind. Nauseated by the gore, his abdomen begins spasming as he turns away from the lava pit.

"Iggy!" Louie screams from afar.

He can't help but kneel from the horror as he begins vomiting Pickle out in front of a hundred bodies. Louie rushes to Iggy's aid.

"Iggy..." A very concerned Pickle looks at him.

He keeps vomiting, tears in his eyes, sweating from fear as his pupils look for anything, anywhere just to distract him from what he had seen.

...

A dinner table.

Bread, a few fruits, and some non-alcoholic wine are on the table. A blacked-out Iggy stares in the distance, while Pickle, who's in a water filter, and Louie, look at him with concerned looks on their faces. Lorde and Royal are waiting outside the dining area.

They cannot eat in peace. Their plates are empty, and their faces are blank.

"It is a great honor to welcome The Industry for their aid in the moment of crisis." Cider looks at an airy dinner table.

There is no response.

"I am delighted to see your faces to fight back~"

Louie slams the table.

"Shut up." He denounces. "Do you even think they're in a state good enough to fight?"

"...I assume you~"

"No, they're not."

"I had clients before and I have seen everything a human child cannot handle."

He takes the golden changelog from his giant pocket and slides it towards Cider.

"Change the rules. He's not going to able to fight for you today."

Cider pauses as she procrastinates.

She takes a golden quill out of her pocket and writes on the golden page of Update 170...

"For this update only, everyone who is awake during the update maintenance will be able to wake up from sleep."

- THE TIMER HAS BEEN TERMINATED. -

Cider, in contempt, looks back at Louie.

"This changelog has been modified to allow dream creatures and ancient beings into heaven..."

She pauses for a while as she looks Louie directly in the eyes.

"A mystery I know you've been trying to solve, Doctor Logic Larry~"

"It's Louie Logic Cop now."

"...Very well. If the truth is what gives you your peace of mind, then so be it. I know you're probably hurting for over twelve years over her loss, Logic."

She drinks a glass of wine.

"So let's both draw our cards later and share our own sides to the story."

Cider finishes eating.

"Lorde. Bring the boy and Follower into their room."

"On it, ma'am." Lorde responds as she walks towards Iggy and Pickle.

"Iggy? Iggy, Let's go." She calmly tells Iggy, guiding his blacked-out mind as they both walk away.

Pickle is left hanging at the table with Louie and Cider.

"How about you, Follower? Where would you like to go?" Cider politely asks.

"I wanna go with Iggy. He needs me right now." Pickle replies.

"...If you wanted to, you should've told Lorde seconds ago. Never mind. I'll carry you there."

Cider stands up and picks Pickle up.

"Lola, please clean up the table. We'll talk later, Logic."

She makes her way outside to the stonehouse Iggy is going to be staying in.

INSIDE THE STONEHOUSE

Iggy is sitting down on a bed, looking down at the floor.

Royal grunts and calmly complains. "He told us on his way here everything about him. He's seen his people killed, he's seen himself wounded, he almost got crushed by a collapsing museum, and BRAVELY fought back Massacre, just for him to break down from guts and blood? What inconsistency in attitude is this~"

"Royal, if a child saw someone get crushed into pieces, their blood spilling fucking everywhere with their own two eyes, I don't think they could be able to handle that. Even me."

"Lorde, we've known this guy for just a few hours but I can see his determination to help, but he can't help anyone if there's not even an ounce of blood he can tolerate~"

"Even if he got wounded, almost crushed, and even challenged some demigod-ass like demon, for him to break down like this over blood BASICALLY means he has his reasons."

"The Industry called him to this war. Whatever that reason was, he needs to learn how to get used to it."

"Then why!? He's a child, he's not ready for~"

"Will you guys quiet down, both of you!?" Pickle angrily complains as he and Cider enter the room.

"The directive is to escort him here, not to fight over what he should do." Cider rebuts.

"...Sorry." The two angels reply. "We'll be outside if you need us."

Lorde and Royal silently make their way outside.

Cider puts Pickle on the coffee table.

"Take care of your friend, Follower." Cider says, closing the room's doors.

NIGHTTIME...

Iggy is fast asleep. Pickle, fully filtered, cannot help but succumb to his thoughts.

"Iggy... Did I make the right decision...?"

Their experiences within the past week flashback inside Pickle's head.

"Are you... really ready for this?" He contemplates to himself.

"You know, I wish I could hug you... You're still a child, after all."

Meanwhile, outside, a waiting Louie rests against the wall of the stonehouse.

Cider passes by, her eyelights open.

"Woman, as promised. It's time to draw our cards." Louie says, interrupting her walk.

"...Very well, Let me think of a time." Cider says as she checks her watch.

"Ah, right."

"I'll see you at 10."