“Accept my friend request!!” She demands of me, staring at me with her eerie white irises. I hardly have time to catch my breath from her excitement, before the guild behind her begins murmuring in suspicion.
“Is it really Kazesoku?”
“He’s more handsome than I thought he’d be…”
“I don’t think it’s Kasesoku, let’s just kill him!” That sentence alarms me. And it’s the one that gathers the most steam. The key-phrase ‘kill him’ gathers steam, spreading like wildfire among the guild. Suddenly, the murmurs turn into a chant. “KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!”
“BE QUIET!” Phantasia snarls at her guild. Like a bunch of trained dogs, they retreat to the edges of the camp whimpering. “None of you are touching a HAIR on his head! Try it…” she dares them to make an action, exuding a strange black aura from her body, “I need some more EXP anyways.”
But, but,” one of the brave guild members hesitantly steps forward, standing in front of the huddling mass behind him, “What if he’s not Kazesoku?”
“Duh, we’ll kill him,” Phantasia responds casually, turning back to me. As soon as her eyes fall on me, the viscous face and aura she had confronting her guild melts into a maniacal grin, “But he’s Kazesoooku!!! He’s here! Oh he is he is he IS!!” She exclaims, wrapping her arms around me again, “Right?! Why aren’t you accepting my friend request?”
[Username: {PhantomPython} wants to be friends.
Accept? O Deny? X]
The notification stares me down ominously. I really don’t have a choice.
[Username: {Kazesoku} and Username: {PhantomPython} are now friends!]
“YES!! AHAHAHA!!!!” Phantasia screams uproariously, spinning around with me once more, treating me like a doll. I open my settings and look through her information. Phantasia’s stats, Phantasia’s stats…got it!
[Player Profile: {PhantomPython}
Class: Assassin
Titles: Jack the Ripper
Lv. 25
HP: 1450/1450
ST: 750/750
MP: 1500/1500
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 22
Constitution: 2
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Intelligence: 11
Presence: 22]
…No way am I beating her in a battle. She outclasses me in dexterity, and that’s the stat I’m trying to get the highest. How do I get out of this situation? What’s my win-con? I could try a surprise attack, her HP isn’t ridiculous, but that wouldn’t save me from the horde behind her. Level 25? This blows, how am I supposed to counter that?
“Oh! Oh! Kiraki, Claude, go capture the girl,” Phantasia haphazardly orders, still clutching me. Wait, Kiraki? As in, the girl I killed in the colosseum?
“Yes, guild leader,” two voices respond from the bridges, and go after Tankina. I don’t have the time to watch her, I can only hope she escapes them, I need to devote all my brain power to saving myself right now.
“Oh Kazesoku!! I’m so so happy you’re here! Please, please, let us give you some help!” She exclaims, snapping her fingers. She must have sent a message through the game system, because with only that snap her guild abruptly moves and opens the cage. The prisoners inside, all 12 of them, are taken out and brought before me and Phantasia like we’re royalty and they’re preparing a feast for us. “You can kill all of them if you’d like!” Phantasia announces brightly, letting go of me and giggling sweetly.
“A-All of them?” The same male from before steps forward, “But you said we would share-” he’s cut off rather abruptly by a knife protruding from his throat. He dissolves into blue shards, Phantasia standing behind it. When did she move? I couldn’t see it, she’s just too absurdly quick.
“Any other complaints?” She asks with a sickly sweet voice, her face smiling even as her eyes fiercely stare everybody else down. “No? Brilliant! Please Kazesoku,” she skips happily over to me, “Kill them all!”
…It would be an excellent way to gain EXP, wouldn’t it? It could cement my stance as Kazesoku in this guild, I could use that EXP to save more lives than the amount I’d be taking. And most of all…It would save my own ass. They’re all paralyzed, they’re the ones that went and got captured. They were going to die if I didn’t come here to try and save them, so it’s better for that EXP to go to me instead of them. Isn’t it? No. I slowly draw my sword, my eyes closed and taking a deep breath to calm my heart. Justifying it doesn’t make me a better person. I’m about to become a murderer.
“Augh!!” Tankina’s scream forces me to open my eyes. She’s been captured. Tied up, thrown face down in front of me, hardly able to speak due to the paralysis. Still, she grunts, she cries, she makes as much noise as she can.
“Ooo! Good job you two!” I hear them high five Phantasia behind me, “But she’s so loud, isn’t she, Kazesoku?” She whispers, almost seductively, from behind me. Her arms slither their way down my shoulders, hugging me from behind. Her lips, inches from my ear, whisper, “Are you going to kill her first? She’s so loud…Or are you going to save her for last? Let her dread and fear mount as you slaughter her comrades?”
Kill…Tankina? My teeth clench, my grip tightens on my sword. How could I?
“You want me to kill these helpless people? To kill them without even giving them a fair shot?” I ask quietly, trying to act like a haughty overlord. I speak louder, “That is not how murder is done, that’s not where beauty in killing is found!” I announce, breaking away from Phantasia, shoving her away from me. “Bloodshed is beautiful because it is hard fought, a symbol of humanity. And you’re taking that away from them, asking me to slaughter them like they’re fattened pigs. No…” I raise my blade, pointing it at Phantasia. “If I’m going to kill anybody here, it will be you.” Even if this goes poorly for me…I can’t do it. I can’t kill Tankina. Call me a hypocrite for considering killing the other 12, but I won’t kill somebody I promised to protect.
The fire crackles, as though it’s laughing at the development, but nobody else in the camp makes a sound. Even Tankina has ceased her racket. “Kazesoku…” Phantasia whispers, her voice airy. She slowly caresses her body, her hands rising from her hips and ending as she holds her blushing face. Blushing? “Kazesokuuuu~!” She moans my name wantonly, walking towards my blade like a moth attracted to light and only stopping as it presses against her breast. “Oh, OH!!! To be killed by you, to feel your blade against my heart,” she shudders, grabbing my sword and slowly placing it against her neck. “Do you want me to fight you for it? Do you just want to take it? I’ll do whatever you want,” she trembles in excitement, and I realize she’s crazy right as she announces, “I’m obsessed with you.”