Chapter 14 – The Real Puppet Master

“Oi Yurei, you’re losing to a bunch of girls.”

Kazama stared in bewilderment as a man stood within an open portal floating in the air. Yurei turned around and laughed it off, obviously not taking the situation seriously.

“Oh come now Fuma, give me some credit for the long fight. Ka-hahaha!”

The man in the portal half frowned back at him, then turned his attention to Kazama. “I see you have defeated Yurei, but then again, I shouldn’t be all to surprised. The mistress told us that you were pretty tough, but all this guy was here fro was to stall you.”

Kazama pointed a katana at the man and asked a question. “What do you mean stall me?”

“We needed to stall you and keep your eyes off of our true mission tonight. We made it look like we stole PC’s around here, but in truth we only spread false rumors. Simple misdirection.” He smirked as he spoke, causing Kazama to glare at him in anger. “While you fought Yurei, we were able to kidnap players ranging from newbies all the way to the top four guilds.”

“Why are you even kidnapping players? Does this have to do with the code, are you giving it to them?”

He flashed a wide toothy grin at Kazama’s question, relishing the thought of being able to tell her. “That is a matter that only the kidnapped PC’s will have to choose. Many are already choosing the code, and letting it remold their bodies.”

“And…the others who don’t choose?”

“They will either die or become like the one standing next to you.” He was pointing to Yuko and referencing to the time when she was a mindless death knight, hell bent on killing Kazama.  Yurei stood up and spread his arms out, as if he was happy to have lost his battle with the women. “Did I do well? I kept to my promise and made sure she lived through it all! I don’t care about losing, not now when we have more followers!”

“Yes Yurei, you did well. The mistress and the twelve are very pleased with you, so pleased that the mistress herself wishes to speak with you now.”

Kazama turned her head to the right slightly and noticed another portal open. From what Kazama could see, a woman in tight fitting black armor strode out of the portal with the grace of a queen. The woman’s face was obscured from the nose up by a simple white mask, and her lips wore a deep crimson red lipstick. The lips curled into a smile as she walked towards Yurei with open arms. Putting her sickly white arms on his shoulder, she spoke to him a chilling voice. “You have come so far Yurei and you have done exactly as I instructed you to do! Because of you, our plans have begun to accelerate and proliferate. Please remove you mask so that I can see and touch the face of such a steadfast childlike yourself.”

The woman talked to Yurei like a mother talking to her child, acting proud for what he did. Yurei hurriedly began to fumble with his mask, nervous to take it off. When he did, Kazama for the first time saw his face and remarked at how similar it was to her own when she lived outside of the game. He had light brown hair and deep yellow eyes, and smiled in happiness when the mistress beheld him. The woman placed a hand on his cheek and spoke to him, in a more chilling voice then before.

“It is such a pleasant sight to see such an excited young man. But it pains me to no end knowing this is the last time we speak and touch like this.”

“M-mistress?”

The mistress wore her same smile as her hand glided down his cheek and towards his throat. Clenching it, the woman began to sneer at Yurei as she chocked him. “You are too much of a bother to have living Yurei, now that she has her wits again. Now I must revoke your code.”

Yurei spluttered as she held him by the throat, slowly tightening her grip. “W-what?! B-but why……”

“Because I feel that I have begun to lose you to her again, and I would hate to see that. So that moment does not happen, I shall take your code and your life.”

Her other free hand rested over his chest and began to glow as it slowly melted into it. Yurei grunted in pain as her hand swished back and forth for something. Finding what she wanted, she pulled her hand out of his chest, holding onto what looked like a blue crystal. Yurei slumped as the woman clenched his throat tighter, smiling in pleasure. Kazama could do nothing and was glued where she stood, but Yuko went into action and yelled at the woman.

“What are you doing to him? You’re the one who made him like this, why are you taking his life now?!”

The woman tilted her head towards Yuko and spoke in a hushed tone. “Why are you worried about him, do you not want to see his life end? After the pain her caused you before and after he received the code?”

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“He may have changed who he was because of that damn code, but that doesn’t mean he should die like this! As much as I hate what he turned into, I don’t want to see the creep die like this!”

Yuko hefted her long sword and began to run towards the women who in turn smiled.

“So you wish to trade your life to protect his? How amusing….”

xXx

Shehsiro felt a hand poke his chest as he began to regain consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes when he saw a form standing above him. Freaking out, he jumped from where he lay. “Ah! Who are you?!”

The form that stood over Sheshiro was that of a young seventeen year old girl with snow white hair and icy blue eyes. She wore the simple tight fitting armor of a paladin and had a soft smile on her lips. “Hey, you okay Sheshiro?”

Sheshiro nodded his head quickly and tried to stand, falling as he did. The girl reacted quickly and put a hand on his arm to help steady him, while her other hand touched his. As she helped and touched him, Sheshiro redden in the face, pushing it off, he spoke in a cheerful tone. “S-so this is what you really look like? Y-you look good…I mean, nice to meet you!”

“It is nice to meet you too Sheshiro,” The girls said as she giggled, “And my name is Hina, and this really is my true body. Sorry about before, not fully being here and all….”

“Yeah, about that, how come you have a body now?”

“Well, it’s really rather complicated and,” She pointed up above, “I think we can talk about it later. Right now we better get moving before someone gets hurt.”

She ran off towards the stairs and all Sheshiro could do was sigh loudly as he ran after. “Ugh, up the stairs we go!”

xXx

The woman released her grip on Yurei and he fell to the ground with a loud thud. She smiled greatly as Yuko ran towards her, blade held high over her head. The woman raised on hand at Yuko and laughed. “To think that this is what saved you Yurei, I still am amazed at you. You were touched by my code, yet you could never kill her yourself. And so now I must do it myself finally.”

Yuko was about to bring her blade down when a sharp point emanated from the woman’s hand. A sharp spear like weapon pierced Yuko’s chest suddenly, causing her HP to drain quickly. Kazama shouted in her horror as she watched the person she helped save begin to die. The woman with a flick of her wrist, pulled the spear out and Yuko fell to the ground next to Yurei. The spear weapon de-materialized into the palm of the woman’s hand as she looked down on Yuko, who had her head near Yurei’s. From where Kazama stood, it almost looked as if Yuko was speaking into Yurei’s ear, but it was too hard to tell. The woman spoke to Yuko harshly as Kazama began to sprint her.

“Such foolishness to think that you could defeat me. Unlike Yurei, I know how to take care of unwanted eye sores. And now,” She kicked a foot towards Yuko’s body, “You get to die in his place.”

The woman’s foot connected with Yuko’s body, which instantly shattered into the familiar shards of pixels. The pixels of death. Kazama had come to a halt, realizing that she had seen her first PC death in the game of NOW. She stared at the woman wide mouthed, unable to summon the words she felt in her chest. The woman looked towards Kazama with the same smile and spoke in her chilling tone. “Well that child was rather bothersome. I have no idea what Yurei ever saw in her, even when I told him to kill her a long time ago.”

Kazama finally found her words and shouted at the woman in anger. “Bothersome?! That girl was a human being just like you, and you…you murdered her!”

“Spare me your childish outrage child. Be happy, she knows no suffering in this world anymore.”

“No suffering? Are you blind?!” Kazama was rushing towards the woman in anger, pissed off at the woman’s sense of morality. “Now everyone who ever loved her will never see her again! No one will ever see her speak again, but you can just stand by with that attitude?! How dare you!”

Kazama was swinging her blades when the woman put her hand up once again, but this time to set up a magical barrier. She laughed as Kazama’s blades struck the barrier. “How dare!? Haha, you’re such a naïve Kazama, but I’m sure in the future you will come to understand me. But until that day,” She began to float back into her portal, still smiling, “I will see you later Kazama. Don’t worry, you will hear from is soon.” The portal promptly snapped shut as she disappeared in it. The man, Fuma, was slowly vanishing as he spoke a few parting words to Yurei.

“I wish you luck in your new life Yurei. Lest just say this was for the best?”

And with that, he was gone. Kazama slumped to her knees as Sheshiro and Hina emerged from the stairway. They rushed to her side and Sheshiro shouted first.

“What happened here?! Where’s Yuko?”

Kazama looked at him with tears in her eyes, crying for the first time in the game.

“S-she's….”

“She's dead.” The three turned their heads to look at Yurei, who was wobbling as he tried to stand. He looked at them and his eyes had changed from their previous yellow into a deep amber. Kazama felt a burst of anger burn in her body and she ran towards him. She grabbed him by the chest and pushed him into the wall, snarling at him. “You’re the one who should have died, not her! You’re the creep who put her under your control, but you end up living?!”

“Kazama, stop.” The voice of Hina softly spoke to Kazama in the hopes to calm her anger. Kazama looked at her with wet eyes, not knowing who she was. “Who the hell are you now?!”

“This is Hina, she saved me, and,” Sheshiro was looking at Kazama with a serious look, a little different from how he normally acted. “She knows about this code crap. I’m sure she could help…….”

“Yes,” Hina started as she approached Kazama slowly. She put a hand on Kazama’s arm and spoke in her angelic voice. “I know the pain you feel in your heart is great, but please calm yourself. I know what you feel, but you need to control those feelings. You must let your anger before you hurt the life that Yuko saved. Do it for her.”

Kazama tightened her grip and looked at Hina with anger burning in her eyes. “But why did she die? Why save this creep?”

Yurei began to speak up in response to her question, in a very sullen tone. He had seem to have fully changed from the person her was before, presumably from when the code was taken. It almost seemed as he had returned to the person he was before he was granted that code. He closed his eyes as he spoke, ashamed as he told her why Yuko bothered to save his life.

“Because…….we were…..lovers….”

End Chapter 14