Kripli thought that he would pass out. The heat that came from the supercomputer made him sweat and sway with nausea. His chair was drenched and he drank more water in the past half-hour than in the past three months. But he still wasn't done. There were traces on the freenet left, something that a professional could reverse to the message that was sent out.
The blue light reflecting off the gleaming metallic walls harshly contrasted against the red screens of the computer. The spherical shape of the room only broken by the island with the computer in the middle with a bridge to it. It was designed more for design than practical use and it showed. A little part of Kripli's mind couldn’t help but complain about that. If his higher-ups cared about efficiency better and used the space for proper cooling, he would have a much better time fixing the problems they cause.
All this torture just because his boss couldn’t keep it in his pants even though he's married and was stupid enough to get taped. His boss made it clear that no one was to know what happened. He basically threatened his job. Kripli's cheeks would be red from his anger alone if they weren't already.
He blew up another datacenter server core, just because the footage had gone there. The collateral damage was off the charts, but his boss made it awfully clear that he didn’t care how many lives he would burden, the footage had to disappear, even if all the hardware had to go with it. And it was just Kripli's luck that Pro-jack hadn't come online for the last two weeks. Otherwise he could just pass the work on his prodigy and call it a day.
Another mainframe reduced to a burning pile. Hacker he might have been, Kripli hated dirty jobs like this. Whenever he issued the command that turned all the software haywire, his soul hurt a little. But a job is the job.
After three hours of blowing up devices that ever might have contained the specific data, Kripli was finally done. He leaned back on his chair and exhaled through the heat. The smell of burning electronics was still in the air.
"They better pay me a hoard of gold after this!" he grumbled. After cooling down and disconnecting from the freenet, Kripli almost made a huge mistake, he still left the video sample on the computer. He laughed at himself, even with his experience, he still almost failed at his task.
He maneuvered over to the video file, ready to terminate the last piece of evidence of the infidelity. Suddenly his DaemonDrive flared. It wasn't often that demons required his services, they were wont to care more about the mortal world than the cyber one, but most jobs were interesting.
The client was left anonymous, but the sum was huge. Definitely more than he got paid for his hard work normally. But the goal of the job made Kripli uneasy.
"Watch the video." It said.
Whatever little voice that might have been urging him to watch it before was silenced. The sounds in the sphere seemed to be growing in volume and the simple message on the tablet device was etching itself to his brain. All his instincts told him not to take the deal. It was a lot of money, for little work, but he knew the way of Demons. The consequences never showed themselves until it was too late.
But he clicked on the video anyway.
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The Smelter Stadium was filled to the brim with the unruly, waiting for their favorite bloodsport. Cormec, the chief researcher of a distant Fell-tech branch Pharmaco, was chosen as the honored man to sing the clubs motto. Honored for his charity work. It was a way for him to clean money, but the public opinion was a bonus.
As he was walking to the spot where he was supposed to sing, his achievements played out in his mind.
The first man he killed on his seventh birthday. The gang he assembled when he was but eleven, which he sold for a position at Pharmaco in his late teens. His parrot and his puppy, that he dissected, trying to find out what made them tick. When he bought the most beautiful woman in the world and made her his wife. When he…he better forget that.
Cormec kissed his ring, a piece of jewelry passed on by every generation, making its way to its final heir. Cormec had offspring, but he wrote to be buried with his ring. Unable to accept a loss of such treasure even in death.
As he walked to the center of the stadium, he was met with a wave of cheer. He was a big player in the game of Rogue City, and he was treated like one. One could say the world was made for him to live in it, others were there just to make it interesting.
He had vocal cord tech-ups made just for the occasion and his voice was second to angels themselves. At least in his eyes. The crowd did not seem disappointed, but they weren't going crazy about his singing prowess either.
Cormec found the lack of enthusiasm no fault of his own. These people were savages and they savages wont to enjoy just the primal and primitive, and his singing was anything but. Every rise and drop in tone and tempo was ordered and perfect. His dance movements added the touch of flare that the motto needed and his bravado was a shining beacon of excellence. They all might have wanted a brute, with a harsh voice and an angry expression, but he will shove them that grace is the real killer.
"The Man of men, the machine of muscle
Be ready for our impending tussle!
The bloodied knocks, the limbs will be flying
For your entertainment our enemies are dying!
We will kill, we will kill, we will kill
Darkness, death and bone
Let us kill, let us bone
We are here to deliver
More than twenty pieces
Of fresh cut liver!"
As the chief of Pharmaco stopped signing, the Jumbotron turned on and a man appeared, seated behind a table.
"Cormec LeToon has committed the most twisted of acts, and for his glory he recorded himself for all of us to judge. To you Mister Cormec. I can only say that you will burn in hell for what you have done and that no memory of you will be a fond one.
"To the rest. I know none of you understand and won't heed my advice, but I will warn you nonetheless. Do not watch, if you don’t want your life to be forfeit. The footage is so vile, that even demons sicken from the wickedness with-in. You have been warned. That being said. Watch the video." The man in the screen took out a shotgun, swallowed the barrel and shot himself.
Most onlookers were questioning their seat neighbors in shock. Even the players came out of their spaces in confusion. A man has just broadcasted his suicide in front of them, warning them about the honored man's actions. But none averted their gaze from the display.
After a few seconds of static a video started playing. A video where the a certain chief researcher pays a visit to a school institution. Even before the video was halfway done, all that was left of mister Cormec La Bor, was his treasured bloodied ring.