Apoc blinked. "What the fuck?"
The virtual skies and stars he was seeing were now blocked by a red-crimson colored sky, almost seemingly the sky was turned to blood mist.
He got up and looked around. "Where am I? Am I still in YGGDRASIL? Did those devs f**ked around and released the game again?" He said irritatingly, though confused. Although surprised at his new voice, which kinda sounds metallic and deep, he feels quite strong and energetic. He never felt this kind of sensation like this before.
"What the?" He looked up to his hands, he flexed his claws and he could feel the muscles. 'I... Can feel them.'
A breeze of wind hit him to his right, it dumbstruck him. He can feel things, what the game shouldn't be. He then placed his finger/claw onto his wrist, and he widens in eyes in surprise as he felt the pulse.
This is real. Everything is real now. And this surprised him, greatly.
'This has to be a dream... Is it?' He pinched himself so hard that it bled but almost instantly healed. 'NOPE! TOO F**KING REAL TO BE A DREAM!'
He saw a lake, he walked towards and stood on top of it. He is in his game character, his YGGDRASIL character.
And on top of that. This is reality now.
'...Damn I look badass.' He mused.
'Can I still use spells though?' He looked at his hand. He looked around and saw a good spot to test. He pointed his hand towards it, he could remember the spells in his head and selected one.
"{Scorching Beam}" A red, hot laser appeared from his palm and torched the ground, leaving nothing but a burnt-blacken mark on the ground.
"Holy sht! So there is magic!" He exclaimed with joy and awe.
"Oh sht, oh sht, oh sht, oh sht! This is so awesome!" He then made a pose like a hero getting the sword from the rock. "I HAVE THE POWER!" He shouted, and some kind of background music appeared out of nowhere, which you all know bout it anyways.
...
Moments later, he calmed the f**k down. But still in awe about him being in his game character.
"-So where the hell am I anyway?" It took about 2 minutes for him to notice 'what the f**k is going on' again. "This is real now, and I'm not in YGGDRASIL at all." He looked up towards the red sky. "And this is not normal as well..."
"Hmmm." He used {Scan}, and found nothing, other than critters and animals, within a 100 meters radius.
After that, he used {Flight} and flew above the treeline. Everything he felt, smelled, is real. Though the one thing that got him the most is the nature around him. He only saw nature in the videos and pictures on the internet, but not personal since the planet is overpopulated and there is 94% of nature left on earth and they are preserved.
'This... Is real?' He said again like idk 3 times already. '...Damn, I can get used to this.' He smiled.
"HELP!" He heard a childish scream and jerked towards where the source is at, it was below.
And almost the moment he was about to use a spell, he saw a child, with clothes worn out and quite bruised. And the ones who were chasing are figures with horns on them, their skin grey. He numbered two of them and they were wearing punk-styled clothes.
'Demons?' He raised an eyebrow. He analyzed what they were doing, and gotten a pretty clear idea what.
'Bastaaarrrrds!' He thought before casting {Shadow Aura} and {Boost: Speed}, and thus diving towards the ground.
He crashed landed between the girl and the demons, creating a smokescreen as well the moment he crashed. "What the!?" The demon exclaimed in surprise.
All eyes were on the smoke in front of them, the demons were readying themselves while the girl just looked wide-eyed.
He slowly straightens himself as the smoke began to clear, he looked at the Demon's straight right at their eyes, freezing them with instinct fear. "What. Are. You. Doing?" He spoke in a deep, dark voice that could pale in comparison to the Boogieman.
----------------------------------------
Liza was running.
Away from the monsters.
She came from Zone 6, hiding along with the humans who are trying to survive the catastrophe.
She wanted everything to all to go back to a normal life, with the family together in a happy life.
She was playing hide-and-seek with her friends in the woods, and she didn't heed to her and the other people's advice not to stray beyond their wall. Yet she did, and she wandered far away, got lost, and got chased.
And as of now, she is running, running from the monsters they called 'Demans'.
She ran through the forest, in hopes that she would outmaneuver the monsters chasing her. As she ran, her clothes torn up, she's quite bruised up, scared, and terrified.
She tripped, injuring her knee and her ankle. "Argh!" She couldn't run anymore and was doomed.
"Hehehe, it looks like our fun time is over now." She heard a voice coming behind her coming along with a chuckle. She trembled her tears slowly filled up. "Aw, don't be scared now. It will all be over soon." The Deman smiled.
She closed her eyes and prayed that someone will help her. And her wish came 'true'.
And as if as her prayers have been answered, she opened her eyes immediately as she heard a crash, landing between her and the Demans.
She looked away as she coughed from the dust going into her lungs, then she looked to the thing that suddenly crashed. It was another 'Deman', something, or someone.
The figure was quite tall, the person was wearing a red long duster coat, a scary-bird-like mask, and wings that looked like bones but colored black-red.
For a few seconds, she couldn't move a finger, she was terrorized by the heavy pressure coming from the figure. "What. Are. You. Doing?" It spoke to the monsters in front of it.
"W-What the f**k? The f**k are you? And why the hell are you protecting that pile of meat!?" One of the monsters spoke, managed to spoke out from fear.
Around them was but silence, the tall 'person' turned his head towards her, she then crawled backward a little out from fear, afraid and thinking that this 'person' would try to eat her soul.
"Sleep for a little while, child." And almost by his words, she suddenly felt sleepy, she tried to open her eyes and fight the heaviness of her eyes but it was too strong so she gave in.
She hoped that this was all just a nightmare...
'Mommy... Daddy... Save me...' After that, she saw darkness.
----------------------------------------
Apoc used a pinch of [Sleep Powder] from his inventory secretly. He spread the dust onto her face, causing her to be sleepy which works.
She collapsed the moment her eyes closed.
'Now, time to focus on these guys.' He returned face to the Demons in front of him, who seemed to be frozen in fear. He silently checked their levels, and he scoffed them greatly.
Their levels were kinda 19-21, kinda weak. But their strength is increased by a double than a Human. But he found something interesting.
Their race isn't exactly Demon, rather but a Half-Demon. Their looks may be an Imp, but they are Demons. Half or not, they are similar.
"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing?" One spoke. Specifically the one with a tomahawk hairstyle and biker clothes with spikes on the shoulders. Same as the other one but his hair is different. Why am I talking about hairstyles anyways? I'm not interested in them, wtf?
"You cant-t take that, that pile of meat is ours to take!" The tomahawk guy said nervously yet at the same time with boldness.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"H-Hey, I think we should go." Said the other one, who seemed to be nervous. "He doesn't feel normal."
"You scared, Tom?" He looked to the Half-Demon named Tom and then looked back to Apoc with a smug smile on his face. "He's just a Human! What could he possibly do to us?" He proudly walked towards the plague-doctor wearing Player. "Let's make this fool learn his lesson." He cracked his fists.
'This dumbass doesn't know what he's doing.' Apoc smirked behind his mask.
"{Blink}" A short teleportation spell, it has low cool-rate deduction and can be used in the battle against armored-typed mobs to dodge their attacks. While here, it's basically a short way of going through places.
He vanished and appeared behind the Half-Demon, surprising him as well for vanishing out of thin air, but he didn't react fast enough to know that he was simply stabbed by Apoc's hand. Like how Alucard in Hellsing kills his enemies with his hand in a badass way.
The Half-Demon's upper body was completely gone, leaving only the lower torso behind as it falls forward.
'Holy sht... I feel no remorse at all! What the f**k has happened to me?' He slowly looked at his hand which exploded the Half-Demon.
"A-AHHHHHH!" He turned around and saw one of the Half-Demons (Half-Dems or H-D for short) and ran away.
"You're not going anywhere." He pulled out his [UPB], aimed at the H-D's head and pulled the trigger. "BANG!" As the H-D goes down.
"..." He looked at the H-Ds corpses and stared for quite a while.
'I just murdered these guys, yet I feel no remorse or guilt at all... What the f**K has become of me?' He looked at his [UPB]. Not sure what will he do.
'F**k that. I'll think of that later on, gotta have to find a safe place for this kid.' He turned around and went to the unconscious child. Picked her up gently and used an illusion spell as he flew towards the skies.
"Now, where are those Humans at?" He muttered as he looked around with his heighten sight.
"F**k this, I ain't gonna roam around recklessly without knowing what the f**k is this world and all about. {Scan: Humans}" An invisible red pulse emitted from Apoc as it goes in a radius.
About a few moments, he picked up where the Humans are at. His scan tells him that there are few Humans gathered in some places, which he guessed those are settlements, and while the scattered ones are the ones he isn't sure of. Scouts maybe? He isn't sure.
He decided to went onto one of these Human settlements to drop off the kid and possibly get information. He then remembered how the child reacted to him the moment she saw him. Her eyes told him that she was seeing isn't a Human, and that made her know that they are scared of monsters.
'Then I suppose a little illusion would help, won't it?' He thought to himself. He turned his head back, looking at his insect wings. 'Maybe for the wings, I already got a mask to cover my face anyways. But then again, gotta be cautious like Momonga.' He chuckled at his ally's paranoid personality.
'Still not sure if I'm dead, or I'm literally f**king dreaming'
After a few minutes of flying, he is now near a Human Settlement and floated down to the ground, disabling his illusion spells on the way.
So his wings should be 'gone' right now, and his plague-doctor mask donned on. Basically, 'skin' was exposed.
He checked the girl who is still sleeping peacefully in his arms. She seemed to be in peace.
'Heh, quite a girl. Though, I also wonder what happened to her though?' He made a smile.
As he continued walking, he senses and noticed that he is being watched by Humans. They also got weapons with them, but they seemed to be futuristic compared to his.
After a few steps, he stopped. He could hear heavy breathing to those hiding.
'Really, they could at least do better than that. They must be nervous as f**k.' He grinned.
"You're breathing too fast kid, slow down." He raised his voice. He heard a small gasp and a thud. "You might get a heart attack."
"Alright, hands up where we can see'em!" A rough male voice was heard to his right side and glanced at him. The guy was wearing a devil/demon mask, a hoodie, and equipped with some kind of a shotgun, seemed automatic. A scout of the Human settlement as it seems.
The bushes rustled as he saw figures coming out. Pointing their guns at him while surrounding him. Four of them made a half circle - going to his front - around him.
He secretly appraised the weapons their holding. 'Hmmmm, not bad. HCI (High Class Item(s)).' After that, he checked their levels. 'Pshh, level 8 and 10? Fucking hell, so weak.' He resisted the urge to laugh.
"-I said put your hands up!"
Apoc gritted his teeth in anger and irritation. Does the man not see him holding the child with his f**king arms? Is he blind from wearing the f**king mask?
Before he could speak back, the one equipped with some kind of an assault rifle? spoke up. "He's carrying a kid, George!"
They all looked at the kid, sleeping on the strange man's arms.
One of them gasped. "Is that Micheal's kid!?"
'Seems I've gotten the right place then.' He lowered his guard a bit.
"Wai- Holy sht! That's Liza!" One of them momentarily lowered his weapon, then straighten his stance as he pointed it at Apoc's masked face. "What did you do to her!?" He said angrily.
Unfazed by the man's attitude, he spoke. "I saw her being chased by two Demons, managed to save her just in time." He said clearly as he looked to the child's sleeping face. "Don't worry, she's just sleeping."
"'Demon'? Don't you mean 'Deman'?" One of them tilted his head in confusion.
'Deman? What the f**k kind of name is that?' He scoffed inwardly at that name.
"If that's what you call them, and by looking from your reactions-" He looked towards the man who just said relating to the kid. "-I must've gotten to the correct place to where this child's family is at?"
'George' nodded. "Yeah, but you're still coming with us." He lowered his gun, but still pointed it to Apoc in a hip-fire stance. "Just to sure your not here to do something stupid in our place."
"..." Apoc still silent but decided to just roll with it. He can just f**king decimate them just by punching them anyways, he needs to know how strong he is in this world, and who or what is the strongest in this world other than him.
So technically, nothing and no one can kill him... Yet.
As they walked, with guns pointed at him but he couldn't help but noticed that their fingers' arent at the trigger. 'They're trained...'
"...What's your name?" One of them spoke. One wearing a pink demon mask. A girl no doubt.
'Should I tell them my real name or my character's name? Or an alias? F**king hell the paranoia.'
"Heh, like he would eve-"
"Jim. Jim Raynor." He said in a firm voice.
'Please let this work, let this work, let this work, let this work!' He pleaded inwardly.
"Jim Raynor, huh. Quite neat~." He sensed no deception from her voice nor tone. "My name's-"
"Quiet! We will talk when we arrived." He one in front of the group exclaimed in a commanding tone.
"S-Sorry sir!" The girl straightens herself but kept her gun pointed at him.
"None of you have the permission to speak unless told so. In the meantime, we will be heading back to base as we try to find out who is this guy." The leader 'George' turned his head and glanced from through his mask to Apoc. He swore that he could see him glaring at him...
"Yes, sir!" They responded.
"..." If Apoc's mask wasn't on, they would see him in an almost-blank expression.
'Well, at least I don't have to go around and ask who's this kid is anymore.'
...
For a few moments of walking silently, he saw a wall that seemed to be reinforced with metal sheets of scrap and height of about at least 20 meters tall give it take 50. And the gate seemed to be a double door. There are torches lit around the battlement, and some guards on the lookout as well.
He used {Scan} and found at least more than a thousand people are living in the place. And the place seemed big enough for them.
They walked for about a few meters before a commanding voice was spoken on the wall. "Halt! Who goes there?!" A guard with a hockey mask that seemed to be decorated with some fangs and marks around it. He and the few other guards were pointing their weapons at them, possibly for cautious protection, it seems.
"Its Corporal-Hunter George of the 14th Scout Troopers! Requesting Entry!" George shouted back.
'Corporal-Hunter?' He raised a brow at that. 'What the hell kind of rank is that?'
The guard with the hockey mask seemed to signal someone. After that, the doors opened outwards.
"Move." The one with an orange demon mask made a gesture with his gun to move.
Apoc just complied without any resistance, since he's got that kid in his arms and he doesn't want to wake her up. Though he is confident on his [Sleep Powder] effect on the girl, he isn't sure how will it effect in this life for who the hell knows how f**king long.
Anyways, the five of them went in, four of 'scout troopers', as George said, still pointing their guns at Apoc. But quite trained in handling them guns, gotta give them credit.
He noticed a man, wearing a different kind of uniform?-clothes approaching them.
"Stay right there." George said roughly, while Apoc just stopped to where he's at and George approached the man as well. The man's appearance seemed to be young, possibly at least 20 was his best guess. He wore a cap, which probably could take him somewhere different in their ranks.
And even when he is quite far away from them, he could hear what they are conversing with. He has heightened senses after all. "Hey, George." The man said. And from how he spoke to George, it seemed these two know each other for a good time? Possibly.
"Who- Wait is that Liza?!" The man widens his eyes in shock, as he saw a sleeping figure being carried by a black-coated person with a strange-bird-like-mask. "Is she alright?" He asked.
"Hey, Jaz. And yeah, that's Liza." George was talking to the now-known figure named Jaz. He sighed before taking a shoulder glance to Apoc. "He said he found her in the woods, being chased by Demans as he said. He also said that his name is Jim Raynor."
"Jim Raynor..." Jaz seemed to be remembering his thoughts if he could remember such a name but shook his head as a no. "And how did he take them out? Did you ask him?"
"No." He shook his head. "I didn't have the time since the area was too dangerous to talk around. But we can interrogate him soon enough, just to be sure."
'And when I can just kill all of you easily with just a f**king punch, yeah try f**king piss me off more dipsht.' He frowned at George.
"Should we report this to the General?" Jaz said quietly, but not enough for him to be heard. "He might be the Crimson-Knight." He slightly cocked his head towards Apoc. Who seemed to be looking around as he listens through the conversation from afar.
And after that, he couldn't hear any more like the person wearing the pink-colored demon, or Deman, a mask just suddenly appeared from behind him.
"Are you the "Crimson-Knight"?!" She asked loudly.
'Crimson-Knight?'
"No, I am not. And please refrain yourself from speaking loudly, there is someone sleeping." She looked at Liza, who seemed to be shifting around Jim's (Apoc) arms and almost seemed to be at the edge of waking.
"Oh! Sorry!" She whisper-yelled. "My bad!" She also covered her mouth as well. Even though she is wearing a mask.
Raynor just chuckled lightly. "Is there something you want...?"
"Oh right! I haven't told you my name yet. My name's Jazmine, nice to meet ya!" He could feel a smile coming off behind her mask.
"Nice to meet you then." He felt Liza shifting around his arms again. "But, let's talk later. The child seems to be in need of peaceful sleep." He said calmly.
"Oh, Liza? I can take her to her parents!" She offered.
'Oh thank god! My arms seemed to be f**king stiff right now! Take her now please!'
"Thank you for that." He slowly lends Liza to Jazmine's arms as she carefully carried her, trying her best not to wake her up.
"I'll bring her to her parents now. Take care!" She whisper-yelled at him before walking to where he seems to be heading to the child's home.
And after that, George came back, along with Jaz walking beside him. "Your name's Raynor right?" Jaz asked again.
"Yes." Apoc nodded.
"...Follow me." He walked, as Apoc followed him, as well being escorted by several armed guards.
'If your thinking about trying to kill me, then you're in a bad f**king position for that...' He grinned.