Currently, they all stood in a large room. A spacious and in no way too small of a room for all of them.

A metallic table faced towards the door. A young girl laid on the table while covered with a cloth used as a blanket and sleeping peacefully.

Just a few feet away from the side of the table, a girl in a red dress did a ballet spin while emitting a strange and visible red aura. Currently, she still continued to spin around without halt.

The door, emitting some strange red glow, suddenly began opening and closing on its own.

Except for the noisy door, the entire room became silent due to the tense atmosphere.

Standing in a line from left to right while facing the red girl: the fat man called The Boss, Dean who just woke up, Ivan, Tyrone, The two masked men whose names John didn't know yet, Muhammad, and finally John himself.

The door just a meter behind them still kept opening and closing, as if warning them not to come near.

The room contained enough space for all of them to line up side by side and still be able to fit in three times more people. Yet, they all felt like the place is cramming them inside like a bunch of sardines.

The red girl kept spinning.

"We will be playing a small game~" announced the red girl, still spinning.

The door behind the line of people kept opening and closing automatically with an interval depending on the complete spins the red girl made.

The red girl floated upwards and increased the speed of her spinning mid-air, also reducing the intervals between the opening and closing of the door.

John braced himself.

He felt scared, just like everyone else near him.

Something will happen anytime soon.

He did not know what it will be, but he believed that something will happen.

The red girl stopped spinning and dropped to floor like a ballerina who just landed from a spin jump. The door closed and stopped moving completely. As a result, the room became completely silent.

"A~nd the roulette has stopped! I choose you!" said the red girl as she pointed at her front direction.

Right in front of the the direction she faced stood a man, the man who woke up from the gunshots earlier, Dean Hardy.

Dean, still not understanding the situation, did not move at all. The others beside him, the Boss and the masked people, already moved to another side of the room the instant the red girl stopped spinning.

The red girl slowly walked towards Dean who lazily stood on the same spot with a confused and indifferent look.

"Hey! Are you dumb!? Get away from her!" shouted John towards Dean. The red girl did not seem to mind John's shouts.

Only after John's shout did Dean realize that the grinning red girl moving towards him looked creepy and dangerous. Really dangerous. Dangerous enough that everyone else present tried to away from her.

Panicking all of a sudden, Dean sprinted towards the door behind him.

After the door stopped moving earlier, no one cared enough to notice that something seemed strange about it, perhaps due to the current circumstances.

As Dean opened the door, a red mist rapidly filled the door's gap and then it instantly solidified, clogging the doorway fully.

He tried to punch the red solidified mist as hard as he could, but to no avail, it did not get destroyed.

"H-hey! You! Use your gun to--"

Dean immediately ordered one of the Masked men who held a gun.

"Too laa~te!"

A girl suddenly interrupted and spoke from behind Dean. He turned around only to see the red girl.

"Aa...aaah! Get away from me!"

Not knowing why he feared the red girl, Dean shouted as he attempted to move away.

But...

A crunching sound entered everyone's ears.

The red girl gripped and crushed both of Dean's hands using her own, despite looking like not having enough strength to do it.

"Aaaah!"

Dean screamed in pain and agony as he crouched to the ground.

"...Too noisy~" said the red girl as she held both sides of Dean's head using both of her hands.

"Shoot that girl! We have to save him!"

Ivan who merely observed the situation up til now ordered the team quickly in an attempt to try and save Dean's life. They did not have the time to care whether Dean will also get hit or not.

Once again, rapid gunshot sounds filled the entire room.

And yet, the red girl did not even flinch and just turned her face away from the direction of where the gunshots came from. Some bullets even managed to hit the solidified mist blocking the door but it did not even get scratched. Even the red girl's clothes were undamaged. Some bullets also managed to ricochet and hit some parts of Dean's body.

The next moment...

Everyone heard a loud splatter. It sounded just like someone squishing a bubbly sponge.

It looked just like she flattened a big rubber ball using her hands. Not even an ounce of effort displayed on the red girl as she did it.

The gunshots stopped. Continuing to fire any further would be pointless.

The room became silent again. This time, a strong scent of fresh blood permeated in the air.

As the red girl relaxed her hands, Dean's remains sagged and fell to the floor like a marionette with its threads severed.

Another scene that John could not forget just got carved into his mind.

The red girl flicked her hands, removing some of the blood off of it in the process.

After that, she flew and did a ballet spin again as she said,

"Just so you know, trying to escape is useless, okay~? Ahahahaha! Spin, spin~"

This is hopeless... We're all going to die in here...

John could not help but think about bad thoughts as he stood in shock the entire time.

He looked towards Ivan and his team's direction.

They were all busy gathering at one spot, ignoring the red girl.

He did not know when they began doing it, but the 5 masked men were already whispering to themselves. John could not hear them.

The red girl she stopped spinning and dropped down again. Everyone turned their attention to her.

"Time for round two~!" gleefully announced the red girl as she pointed towards her front again.

In front of her lay the table with a soundly sleeping but limbless young girl on it.

Oh no! She's gonna go for the girl!

John immediately tried to come up with scenarios inside his mind about how to save the sleeping girl.

However, contrary to John's expectations, the red girl did not move.

"Oh? That bitch, huh? Can't touch her yet. She's going to be my main dish later...mumble mumble," said the red girl to herself while giving a cold look. A moment later, she flew up and started spinning again as she continued saying, "All right! This time, it's round two! For real!"

She didn't have to say 'mumble' out loud... No, wait-- Shit! If the other girl is exempted... Son of a bitch! We're next!

John began panicking on his own like how he usually does.

He looked towards Ivan and his team once again only to find out that they resumed whispering to each other, still not caring about the red girl. John also spotted the Boss cowering in the corner, but he decided to ignore him for now.

"Hey, Ivan! This isn't the time to be chatting, isn't it!? Hurry and do something! You have guns, use it!" angrily shouted John while facing the men talking to themselves. This caught their attention so they beckoned for John to come closer.

He approached them.

"Hmm, what's this? You guys have a plan? Okay, I don't mind. I'll give you a chance to fight back since it won't be fun otherwise. I'll give you a slow count of ten seconds, alright? One~" carelessly said the red girl as she kept spinning mid-air.

"John, you have to do as we say. Rest assured, we know what we're doing since we have some information about that girl," said Ivan while pointing at the spinning red girl.

"Did I hear that right? You guys might be interesting after all... Two~"

"But--"

"No questions, John."

Ivan quickly cut off John's words before he could complete a sentence.

John closed his mouth and nodded in response.

"...Three~"

"Alright, everyone gather up. This is what we're going to do..." ordered Ivan as he beckoned for everyone to come near him.

"What about that man over there?"

John pointed towards the cowering fat man, the Boss, in the corner.

"...Four~"

"Forget about him. He's not our responsibility," coldly replied Ivan while giving the Boss a look of disdain.

"But why are you including me?" asked John while pointing at himself with his thumb.

"...Because you're just an innocent civilian. Don't ask anymore."

"...Five~"

"Alright, here's the plan--"

"I have another ques--"

"Shut up, John."

"..."

"...Six~"

"Ugh, we lost so much time. Tyrone and Lee, R-3. Me and Muhammad, R-5. John, since you can't fight, you stay close to Satou."

"...Seven~"

"Who the hell is Satou!? Come on, you and Muham-something are the only ones I can recognize behind your masks!" yelled John while looking around in an attempt to find Satou.

"...Eight~!"

"That guy over there is Satou," said Ivan as he pointed at the masked person just beside John, he then continued with, "Alright everyone! Get into your positions! Countermeasure R-3 and R-5 will be used!"

"What you just said doesn't make sense to me, but, whatever!" complained John as he went towards the person called Satou.

Everyone else also got into their positions as ordered by Ivan.

"...Niiine~!!!"

"Men! Prepare! This is the target, codename: Red Rampage!" shouted Ivan as he aimed his gun at the red girl.

Ivan and the four men who had guns aimed it at the red girl whom they called "Red Rampage".

I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die! Don't wanna! I just wanna go home!

John prayed in his heart for his own safety, him alone.

"...Ten!!! Time to start! Round two is you!" announced Red Rampage as she stopped spinning and dropped down.

She then pointed in front of her.

The next moment, her new target became known to everyone. She pointed at John.

No! She picked me! I'm dead! Dead, dead, dead! Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for everything! My sisters, I forgive you for rea--

John started panicking more than he ever did before. However, someone suddenly interrupted his thoughts,

"John! You baka*! She's coming for you so don't just stand there! Get away!" shouted the man named Satou right at John's ears. (*TLnote: Baka means Idiot/Stupid)

"But how can I get away!? We're all trapped here!" retorted John as he started moving away fast from the grinning Red Rampage coming for him, leaving Satou behind.

"Don't worry! She's actually very slow. Just stay alive. We have a plan," said Satou as he convinced John who started having doubts.

That doesn't make me feel any safer! Also, how do these guys know so much about this girl in the first place!? Actually, wait, she really is taking her time. And her creepy smile too...

While still running, John tried to imagine what would happen to him if he gets caught. This made him shudder in terror.

"John, Move faster! Men, don't shoot yet!"

Ivan gave out orders as usual while observing the entire situation inside the room.

John obeyed Ivan and increased his pace. Since he could not run in a straight line, he just circled around the room.

Red Rampage showed a face of enjoyment as she slowly chased John around while following his own trail.

Dammit! I can't shake off the feeling that something is going to happen... And is she really that slow? I actually think she's just pretending.

John made himself worry needlessly as he focused on running away from the slowly chasing Red Rampage.

<><><><><><><><>

Alright, we've successfully turned John into bait, but... We still need some more time...

Ivan thought to himself as he observed the behavior of Red Rampage.

"Muhammad, are you done analyzing yet? We can't execute R-5 without knowing our target's capability," asked Ivan towards the person beside him without removing his eyes from Red Rampage.

"...It should be done in... Alright, it's done. We're ready to execute R-5."

After hearing his comrade's reply, Ivan gave a silent nod before saying,

"Okay. We will begin on my signal. Let's hope Lee and Tyrone finished preparing as well. We can't have an innocent civilian die in front of us."

They are now ready to execute the thing they called "counter measure R-5".

Ivan observed the situation one last time.

John still kept running around. Everyone distanced themselves from Red Rampage even though they were not her targets yet. Meanwhile, Red Rampage continued to chase John slowly without harming anyone else she passes by, like the cowering Boss for example.

Hmm... It looks like Tyrone and Lee are ready too. Satou is... Ready. Alright, this is it.

After thinking that, Ivan took one last look at each of his comrades. After he finished checking if everything went accordingly, he then shouted,

"Men! Commence operation! Target is Red Rampage! Team 1 is R-5 and Team 2 is R-3! Satou, protect John at all costs!"

The five muscular masked men readied their guns as they slowly spread out.

Gunshots rang out afterwards.

<><><><><><><><>

John focused on running.

He did not care about anything else. He just kept running around the room. If he stopped, he will die. Stopping will mean certain death.

All of a sudden, a loud voice entered his ears. It belonged to Ivan.

Due to focusing too much on running, he did not understand what Ivan said, but a moment later he heard loud gunshots.

The guns produced loud and rapidly repeating sound of gunshots.

"-aa! Ow! Ow! Stop! That hurts!"

John heard a girls voice coming from just behind him.

He got curious, but he did not stop running, determined to not let a moment of carelessness get the better of him.

"John, you can stop running now. Get behind me."

...Who said that? My ears were still ringing from the gunshots... Gotta keep moving... It's probably from that way.

Even though John could not recognize the owner of the voice, he still followed it willingly.

When he faced towards the direction of the voice, he found Ivan. After feeling a slight relief, John finally noticed another person, Muhammad, who stood just two feet away from Ivan.

John immediately ran towards Ivan's back, not letting the slow walking Red Rampage have a chance to catch up to him.

He looked behind him just as he reached Ivan, expecting Red Rampage to still be walking towards him.

To his surprise, the girl called Red Rampage no longer chased him. While standing still on one spot, she covered her eyes with her hands.

John did not understand what happened.

"Rrrgh! You pieces of shits really did it! To go for my eyes like that... Looks like you know quite a lot about me."

The angry girl, Red Rampage, removed her hands from her undamaged eyes and looked towards Ivan as she said those words.

"Yes. We've been monitoring you recently, Red Rampage. And that's all you need to know," replied Ivan while cautiously keeping his eyes on the girl.

Two people crept behind Red Rampage, although, she did not seem to notice them yet.

"Dammit! No more fun and games now! Guys with guns will die first! I also won't forgive you for giving me such a lame name!" angrily shouted Red Rampage while tearing up her hair.

"Ivan! Stop making Red Rampage angry! It will only make things worse!" scolded John towards Ivan as he distanced himself from Ivan, believing that being close to the man right now will only risk his life.

"Rrrrgh! Shut up! Don't call me thaaaat!" shouted Red Rampage as she dashed towards John to everyone's surprise.

Oh shit! I just dug my own grave! W-wait, where's Ivan!? Did I just move away from him earlier!? Shit! Move, my legs! Mooove!

While cursing inside his mind, John could only stand still in fear as Red Rampage dashed towards him. His tired legs already showed signs of giving up on him. John regretted the fact that he did not go out and exercise his body more.

All of a sudden...

"John! Look out!"

Someone pushed John away in the brink of time, saving him from Red Rampage's clutches.

The person who pushed John away in turn became Red Rampage's hostage.

"Muh- Muhammad!? Damn! Ivan, let's help him!" said John with pleading eyes after realizing that his carelessness caused Muhammad's capture.

"I'm on it!" quickly replied Ivan as he aimed his gun at Red Rampage. Specifically, he aimed it towards her eyes.

"Oh~? I wouldn't do that if I were you!" said Red Rampage as she casually waved around Muhammad like a lightweight toy while holding him by the neck.

"U-ughhooaaahh~"

Muhammad moaned in pain after being moved around like a doll. Although, for some reason, he blushed every time he lets out a strange sounding moan.

Damn! Even Ivan couldn't just shoot her... Is there something-- Oh, wait... Those guys, are they...

As he thought that, John noticed the two male figures creeping from behind Red Rampage. Based on the girl's lack of reaction, she probably did not notice the two behind her yet.

"Those two, three, Ivan is four... Wait, where's Satou?" asked John to no one in particular after counting the masked men inside the room, including the two behind Red Rampage. Luckily, the girl paid no heed to the reason why John looked behind her.

"I'm here. Gomen, gomen*, I was too far away from you earlier." (*TLnote: Gomen means sorry)

John jerked a bit and looked behind in shock as he heard Satou's voice from the back. Red Rampage chuckled a bit after seeing this scene.

"Hehehe~ Are you guys doing a comedy act or wha-- Ow! Dammit, my eyes again! Stop doing this! It only irritates me!" screamed Red Rampage as she let go of Muhammad in an attempt to rub and cover her eyes.

Just now, Ivan did not shoot with his gun. So how did Red Rampage's eyes get damaged?

After John realized this fact, he noticed that the two people behind Red Rampage held knives. It looked like they just finished slashing something with it. Of course, the two slowly backed away from Red Rampage as she thrashed around while rubbing her eyes.

The recently freed Muhammad quickly went towards Ivan.

"Err... I'm sorry about earlier," quickly apologized John while looking on the floor as he walked towards Muhammad.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault, John. Now, let's attack while she still can't see!" said Muhammad in an attempt to reassure John. Then, he quickly dashed towards Red Rampage.

Ivan and the others, excluding John, quickly followed up on Muhammad.

In no time, they surrounded Red Rampage who still kept rubbing her eyes.

"Aaarghh! My eyes hurt so bad! You guys will pay for this!" angrily roared Red Rampaged as she furiously rubbed her irritated eyes. For some unexplainable reason, it looked unsettling.

"Men! Hold her in place now! This is our only chance!" quickly shouted Ivan in response to Red Rampage's shouts.

Four of the masked men quickly held Red Rampage's four limbs in place using their bare hands, not even concerned about her display of inhuman strength from earlier.

"Wh-what!? Stop holding me! Hnng! W-why won't you guys budge!? This is technically rape, I tell you! Rape!" said Red Rampage as she struggled to get free.

"We haven't been monitoring you for nothing, Red Rampage. Also, this isn't qualified as rape so stop making excuses and just accept your punishment," coldly replied Ivan to the struggling Red Rampage as he pointed his gun at her forehead.

Oh no! They're about to kill her! I... I can't watc-- No, I have to stop this!

As John thought that, he quickly went over to Ivan and grabbed his gun.

"Stop! Ivan! Stop!"

"What are you doing!? Let go of my gun or else--!"

"Ahahahahaaa!"

A loud laugh interrupted Ivan's retort.

Red Rampage, still being held in place by the four muscular men, laughed like a maniac. This made it obvious that the interruption came from her.

"You guys certainly are fun to watch! Did you actually believe that I become weak if my eyes get hurt? Get a clue!" said Red Rampage without moving an inch while still being held by the men.

Everyone could not move in shock, including the four men trying to hold Red Rampage in place.

"Everyone, get away!" quickly shouted Ivan in an attempt to snap everyone out of their freezing state. The four men suddenly let go of Red Rampage and distanced themselves from her.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Everyone made sure to keep their distance from the girl.

"Ahahaha! 'Oh no~ I get weak if my eyes are damaged!' Did you actually believe me when I said that on a camera? Complete with subtitles using pen and paper? Looks like your 'Monitoring' actually backfired! Ahahahaha!" said Red Rampage while holding her stomach in laughter.

"Hahahh! If you hadn't given me such a lame nick name, I would've spared you. Alright~, time to end the game, for real this time!" she continued while showing an eerie grin on her face.

Red Rampage then walked towards the limbless young girl sleeping soundly on the bed.

"As thanks for making me laugh, I'll show you a scene that you won't forget! Enjoy the view, okay?" said Red Rampage as she slowly reached for the limbless young girl's head.

Everyone could not move.

The hopes that they all placed on Red Rampage's supposed weakness turned out to be an illusion.

This made her many times more scarier.

A strong enemy with no weaknesses.

Red Rampage casually picked up the limbless girl by her head. This caused the cloth covering her to fall off, revealing her in her birthday suit, minus the limbs of course.

Just like with Muhammad, it looked like she just carried a doll with one hand.

"Urgh..."

The limbless girl moaned as she felt the pain of her head being gripped by Red Rampage's hand like a ball.

"Hee~y! Wake up! Wakey, wakey! Slap, slap, slap!" said Red Rampage as she slapped the cheeks of the sleeping limbless girl.

This caused the sleeping girl to fully wake up.

"Urgh... Ow... Everything hurts... R-redgie...?"

Instead of fear, a confused look appeared on the limbless young girl's face.

"Oh my~! I'm so sorry that I woke you up, you bitch!" said Red Rampage as she held up the limbless young girl higher.

"Ow... What's happening...? I think I just had a bad dream... Wait, why can't I feel my limbs...?" said the limbless young girl, seemingly out of focus while listlessly staring onto an empty space.

"Alright, everyone! See this bitch? She's awake now! You're about to see some shit~!" cheerfully announced Red Rampage while pointing at the limbless girl with her free hand.

None of the people inside the room thought that they could do anything about it. They all despaired at the thought of hopelessness. That they would die anyway so what difference would it make? That kind of thought appeared inside their minds.

Logically, everyone did not think that they could help the poor girl.

Everyone but one.

This... This! This is inhumane! How could she do that!? Didn't that girl know Red Rampage's name!? If they know each other, then why is she trying to kill that girl!? I... I can't stand this! If we're all gonna die here anyway, then I'm going to die trying!

While thinking that, John looked around and saw everyone else's faces devoid of any hope.

Seeing this, John angrily dashed towards Red Rampage with a clenched fist.

"John! No! We need to have a plan!"

"Abunai*!" (*TLnote: Abunai means danger)

"Yo! Don't!"

"Oh my! Stop!"

"Don't, kid!"

The five men shouted for John to stop, yet he did not listen to them.

"Oh? What's this? ...John, was it? Wanna die first?" arrogantly said Red Rampage while swinging around the limbless young girl in one hand.

"Aaaaaahhhh!" shouted John as he raised his fist while he ran.

He planned to punch Red Rampage.

But before he accomplished that...

Oh shit! I should've just used a gun! It's too late now! My fist is about to touch her and it's gonna do nothing! Then, its going to go snap, snap and crack, crack!

He realized his mistake too late.

When his fist landed on her cheek, Red Rampage did not even budge an inch. However, at this moment, not a single person in the room noticed the tiny white spark that appeared for just a split-second when John's fist and Red Rampage's skin came into contact with each other.

"*yaaawn~* Too noisy. You really didn't need to shout when trying to pun-- Ahh! Uhhnnng!"

Red Rampage, although supposedly unaffected by the punch, suddenly let go of the naked limbless girl and then placed her hands onto her own chest, acting as if her chest started to hurt.

W-what just happened? Is she just pretending to be hurt again? Anyway, I've got to safely get that poor girl away from her!

Although dumbfounded at first, John quickly recovered his senses and went over to the naked limbless girl, hesitating and blushing before carrying her to safety with his arms.

The girl weighted lighter than she looks, which did not surprise John. For obvious reasons, of course.

Either way, he started moving towards Ivan while carrying the girl.

"...Wait. Please..."

A girl's voice suddenly called John from behind. His heart sank deep in regret for showing his back to the enemy.

Oh shit! She was just pretending earlier! Dammit! Gotta run fa--

The girl from behind did not let John finish his thoughts upon suddenly shouting,

"--Wait! Please! I beg you! Uu- Uuuuu!"

The girl's voice sounded just like that of someone about to cry. No, the voice suddenly started crying without warning.

John turned around. What he saw surprised him and made his eyes open wide. Everyone else in the room also gave the same reactions as John.

He did not see a standing "Red Rampage" holding her chest in pain. Instead, he saw a teary-eyed normal looking black haired girl wearing a school uniform full of holes. Or at least that's how the girl appeared in John's eyes due to his distance. Upon closer inspection, the "new" girl looked like a crying homeless person with tattered clothes who's nose became filled with snot from suddenly crying.

Also, after feeling some movement, John reflexively looked at the girl in his arms.

The limbless girl in John arms showed signs of slowly waking up, but her nude state, coupled with her slowly waving black hair, placed a worry on his mind. To divert his attention, he immediately looked back at the other girl, the one wearing a tattered school uniform.

"Just... Who are you?"

John could only ask that.

At this moment, the naked girl in John's arms appeared to have fully regained her senses. She then stared at the girl wearing a shredded uniform in bewilderment, but she did not say a word.

"*sob*...It's still me. I'm the one from earlier, but the me from earlier is... Not me at the same time... Uu- Gah! it's so hard to explain!" shouted the crying girl wearing a school destroyed uniform as she pounded and kneeled on the floor, she then continued saying, "Listen... John, was it? I don't know what you just did, but thank you for giving me this chance."

The girl slowly stood up and took a deep breath while holding her chest. Then, she said,

"Please... Ki- Ahh. I'm scared. But,"

She trailed off for a bit, which made the others worry, but she continued after noticing the worry looks of everyone else in the room,

"Ki-... Kil-... Please kill me!! ...Ah, I said it."

Then, the girl collapsed on her knees with tears flowing from her lifeless eyes, staring on the floor and spacing out while wondering if she really said her earlier words. And, after realizing and accepting the reality that she really did say it, she began shaking and holding her head while repeatedly muttering "I don't wanna die" in a low volume.

"W-wait, wait! What are you saying to me all of a sudden!? What the hell are you talking about!? I can't just--"

"No! Do it! I was fully aware of everything during those times that 'she' did it! So, please! Hurry up! I can feel her coming back!" interrupted the school uniform girl as she cried shortly afterwards and resumed muttering the words "I don't wanna die" again and again, this time, with sobbing in between.

John's feelings became conflicted. As he heard the school uniform girl's sobs, he looked at Ivan in hopes of getting some form of help or advice.

To John's surprise, he saw Ivan already walking towards the crying girl, gun in hand. A small handgun.

John gently placed the naked young girl on the floor and covered her with a nearby blanket. After that, he immediately moved in front of Ivan in an attempt to block his path.

"Don't get in my way," said Ivan as he coldly looked at John in the eyes.

"No. One death today is too much already."

John stood still, not letting Ivan go any further.

"She already killed lots of people before. If you let her live now, you will be held responsible for the deaths of the victims in the future!" angrily said Ivan while looking towards the corpse of the only dead person in the room. John followed his gaze.

"..."

John could not retort.

But...

"...So what? I still can't let someone die right in front of me," said John as he spread his arms in front of Ivan. He strongly opposed against killing the girl.

If one knows their current circumstances, this scene would make anyone cringe hard at the mere sight of it. Specifically, at the sight of John and his cliche good guy act.

"You did nothing when that man died earlier."

Ivan pointed towards a bloody mess on the floor near the door.

"I can't refute that... Even so..."

But John kept getting in Ivan's way.

He looked at Ivan and the four masked men behind him. He also saw the fat man, the Boss, still cowering in the corner.

Suddenly...

"--Ughk!"

John made an embarrassing sound as he fell to the floor after losing consciousness due to a sudden sharp pain from somewhere on his body.

Someone struck him from behind.

John could not remember what happened afterwards.

<><><><><><><><>

Some time later...

"John, wake up."

A male voice caused John to wake up.

When John opened his eyes, he saw Ivan. John also noticed that he could see the ceiling just behind Ivan. He realized that his body is laying face-up on the floor.

"...Ivan? What happened? I couldn't remember..." asked John as he attempted to stand up from the floor.

"I'll tell you the details later, John. Right now, since everything is fine, we're gonna do some thorough probing on this criminal. Understood, Johnny boy?" said Ivan with a flamboyant tone towards the end while giving a wink. This sight gave John goose bumps for some unknown reason.

"...What criminal?" asked John while looking around.

"This guy."

After Ivan moved to the side, John saw an unconscious fat naked man tied up on the bed. Four other men surrounded him on all sides.

"....."

John left his mouth hanging and became speechless.

"Go wait outside, John," ordered Ivan as he pointed at the door with his thumb. For some reason, he winked at the end of his sentence just like earlier.

"Okay."

Since the situation with Red Rampage appear to be resolved, John did not question them any further in an attempt to avoid hearing something he did not want to hear. He then went towards the door without hesitation.

On the way, he noticed a figure beside the door.

A cloaked girl sat on the floor beside the door. No, it would be more appropriate to say 'placed on the floor'. Her missing limbs became more noticeable due to the relaxed atmosphere, however, underneath her cloak, John saw that first aid and bandages were already applied on her wounds.

Meanwhile, on the side opposite from the girl, there lay a suspiciously clean and dust-free man-sized area on the floor. The area where a man once died. Suspiciously clean indeed.

"You..."

Before John could say his next words, he suddenly remembered about the events from earlier.

"...."

The young girl just kept staring at him with a smile. However, this scene made John feel a slight unease due the presence of the unnaturally clean area just a few feet away from the said girl.

Oh, right. On that area... Near that door... There should be...

As John thought that, he attempted to ask the girl a question,

"What happened to--"

"Thanks, John... Did I get your name right?"

The girl interrupted John before he could finish asking about the missing dead body.

"Ah... Err, yeah. Wait... Damn, I forgot my question. But, never mind that. Let's go outside and wait. They're probably going to do something nasty to that guy over there."

Since John forgot about what he wanted to say, he just invited her to go outside the room and wait with him for a while.

"That guy... Okay."

The girl showed a hint of fear in her eyes, but only for a moment before she gave John a nod.

John exited the room after hearing the reply.

"Um... John."

"..Ah! Right, sorry. Anyway, you seem completely calm for someone who's gone through... that."

After apologizing, John quickly picked the girl up and relocated themselves outside.

He found a spot and sat there. He placed the limbless girl next to him.

So... This is kind of awkward. I should start up a conversation. What should we--

While John thought that, someone suddenly spoke loudly from inside the room.

"W-wait! What are you guys going to do!?" said a male voice from inside the room.

"Nonono~ Wrong question. You should ask 'Who' are we going to do. And the answer would be... You!" said five different voices in unison from inside the room.

"Nooooo!!! D-don't touch me there! S-stoooop!"

After hearing the screams from inside, the girl gave John a cold and silent stare.

Wow. This could not get any more awkward. And now, this girl is staring at me like that! She probably thinks that I'm friends with those scary guys!

John silently stared back at the girl as he slowly turned pale from hearing the male screams coming from the room.

"Stoooooop!"

"......"

"......"

"Aahh! NoOOooOOO!!!"

"......"

"......"

"NyoooooooOOooOOOooommmFFF! Mffffphh!!!"

"......"

"......"

John and the girl only stared at each other with blank faces as they listened to the screams coming from a single voice inside the room.

Because of the awkward atmosphere, John decided to crack a joke.

"Hey, looks like that guy... is fucked!" said John with a smile while expecting for a reaction from the girl.

"John, I don't understand why someone is screaming inside. I want to check," demanded the girl as she completely ignored what John just said.

Thanks for ignoring my joke. I think I'm gonna jump off this building... Wait, what did she say!?"

"Huh...? Ah! No-no-no-no-no! I 'REEEALLY' think that you should not open that door right now!" said John as he held up the girl to face her in an attempt to convince her from being curious, then he continued with, "They're probably doing torture and all sorts of gay shit like that behind that door."

"No! I wanna know! If you wont let me see, then I'm gonna scream and tell them that you touched me in weird places! Although... I don't really mind if you do..."

The last part did not seem to reach John's ears but he focused on the remaining parts, the words, tone, and threatening attitude that reminded him of his sisters the most. This sparked some anger inside John's heart.

He decided to wordlessly carry the girl and then approached the door for both of them to see the events inside.

The door knob turned with a clicking sound.

Accompanied by a not-so-loud creaking noise, John slowly opened the door.

John and the girl, both in front of the door, witnessed something that they wish they never saw.

There lay a crying fat naked man with all of his wrists tied up on the bed while having a ball gag strapped to his mouth.

Meanwhile, John also saw five naked muscular men 'feasting' on the helpless fat man.

Upon closer inspection, John realized that the buff men's appearance differed from each other. To be precise, they did not come from the same race. Specifically: Caucasian, Black, Middle Eastern, and two Asians.

This could also be called a sausage fest. An inter-racial sausage fest. Or in John's very own words from earlier, "All sorts of gay shit."

To the girl, she already went through enough hardships for today to not let this kind of scene affect her. In fact, she enjoyed seeing the fat man on the bed undergoing it while crying.

To the full-on male John however, it gave him a quite devastating effect. No matter how much he heard from the others about how people should normally accept this kind of behaviour, none of those word matter to the current John who found himself fully exposed to such a scene, and at such a close range that even he could notice the previous scent of blood in the room being overwritten by the scent of something else unexplainable.

I shouldn't have looked. I shouldn't have looked. I shouldn't have lookedI shouldn't have lookedIshouldn'thavelooked!

John felt his heart stop for a bit. Although, he only imagined it. Probably.

Despite seeing death in action today, this scene gave a bigger impact to John than any other.

And thus, John passed out on the spot.

"Wah-! Ow! Careful! You're still carrying me! ...Ah, he's out cold."

<><><><><><><><>

"..No...Ivan...yet..He's...-king up."

"Shushh, he's waking up."

John opened his eyes as he woke up from the disturbing noises. He realized that he is currently on a bed right now.

His head hurt.

Explosions, gunshots, and screams. He could only remember those things when he tried to recall his latest memory.

He sat up and looked around.

From what he could see, he is inside the room of a tall building that looked like it belonged to an expensive hotel. Looking through the slightly far window, he saw the night sky. This made him reflexively look at the digital clock above the window and then he saw the date and time.

May 7, 2032. Friday. 11:03 PM.

It's already late and he did not go home yet. This will be a problem.

But he also saw another problem.

Five brawny men stood just a few feet away from him. All of them stared at his face.

One of them, a man of Middle Eastern descent, approached to his side with a glass of milk in hand.

As he gave the glass of milk to John, he then said, "Umm... Drink this. Until your matter is settled, we can't let you go around freely yet so we'll be 'taking care' of you for now."

However, the Middle East man "accidentally" stumbled and "unintentionally" touched "John's place" in the process.

This made John remember what made him faint. Memories, bad ones, flowed into John's brain.

After staring at the glass of milk in his hand for a while, John finally calmed down and accepted his current situation.

He looked around for a bit and realized that this room differed from what he remembered. He confirmed that this is a different room.

He closed his eyes and tried to recall what made him faint. This time, in detail.

If they were women, I could just laugh it off as a joke and then let them do what whatever they wanted. But this is an entirely different story! They are men! Five! Brawny! Men! I'll be crushed!

While thinking that, John also made sure to not let his emotions slip out from his actions.

John saw no other choice but to obey the Middle East man.

While drinking the milk, John thought deeply of what he should do next.

Halfway into finishing the milk, John felt something strange and stopped drinking entirely.

The Middle East man's hand felt chilly. Yes, John felt the hand.

The man did not remove his hand from "that place" yet.

John looked at the Middle East man beside him. The man breathed roughly despite not sweating up or having signs of doing a recent heavy work.

Please get your hands away from me...

John thought to himself, unable to speak it out in front of the muscular man.

Then, John remembered that he still did not see his body nor did he check it for injuries yet.

Even though he did not feel any pain, he still needed to check just to be sure.

Although it cannot be avoided, he made a mistake by doing so.

At first, he checked his naked upper body for injuries. He confirmed that someone gave him first aid on the part of his body where he got punched and sent flying away earlier.

Next, he checked his lower body. He only saw his underwear. His other lower clothes could not be found anywhere.

Lot of scenes of what could have possibly happened during the time he became unconscious came to his mind.

And then, he lost consciousness again, spilling the remaining milk all over his upper body.

A soft but low-pitched sounding "Oh my..." came from the Middle East man's mouth.

Those were the last words he heard before completely losing consciousness for the rest of the day.