Just as everyone got off the bus, a gunshot resounded. It was just a buyer who tested out his newly bought gun on some bottles of glass. Just as he fired the gun, it exploded in his hand, harming all his fingers.
"AAAGH!"
"Pfft, what a fool."
"Idiot."
"Hahaha! That’s why you request a test before buying it. That moron must’ve been attracted by the cheap price."
Darius’ comrades commented amusedly, then walked inside a bar to start drinking. As they drank, more ladies walked inside dressed in revealing or mulled leather clothing, making the guys stare at them intently. The girls felt their gazes and smiled provocatively, walking slowly towards them.
"Hey guys~. How are you doing? I think I’ve seen you around here before?"
"Oho~ welcome, welcome. Guys, make some space for the ladies!"
They immediately integrated them and started drinking together, talking nothings or telling stories of the missions they'd been on, trying to impress the ladies. Michael, Jack, and Andrew especially started telling stories about the last quest they’ve been on, together with other guys from Squad 1, glorifying their own combat abilities. They were about 12 in total, while the girls were 4, all of them trying to win them over.
"Now that I think about it, where are your other guys?"
After seeing only two people from Squad 1, Andrew asked confused while drinking some more beer. However, the Squad 1 members' faces were dark as they started explaining,
Mike was found dead inside the infirmary. Those motherfuckers can’t even take care of their patients, I’m telling you."
"W-what the fuck?! Another one’s dead!?"
"Ye… As for Jo, he disappeared Sunday night, and after that, I have no idea what happened with him."
"… Something weird is going on here."
Michael and Andrew especially had dark faces. They stared at one another, and the next moment they downed their beers and excused themselves. Shortly after, two others also got up to leave.
"What’s up with them?"
"Was something in the beer?"
"Hey, let them be. This shit really makes one wish to piss. Rather, excuse me."
Oh, not you too!"
"What? Outside? Isn’t there a bathroom here?"
"I’d want to see you go in there. Excuse me now."
Darius got up, and the others started to get annoyed. But then Darius winked at the others and said calmly,
"How about you guys buy something nice for the ladies? I don’t think I need to be the one telling you how to win points."
"Oh… ooooh! R-right, right! Go, come on. Go on. We got this."
Darius then walked away as well, and his gaze turned sharp. He walked outside the bar and went in the same direction as the others while keeping a safe distance. They were moving behind the bar, and Darius quietly moved beside the wall, slowing his breath and heartbeat so as not to get detected.
"….."
He started hearing some voices, but because they were so far away, he was unable to discern what they were saying.
Focus… Concentrate the mana into hearing even parts, then focus on reconstructing the words and sentences…
Living in a world that used magic to greatly advance biotechnology and bioresearch, Darius learned many ways to control his body and other parts of his brain that a normal human couldn’t even imagine. Something like enchanting his hearing was already a child’s play.
"I don’t….. should contin-…… better ask fo-….. mission." (I don’t think we should continue this. We better ask for a new mission.)
"Fuck! And just who-….. –such a thing?!" (Fuck! And just who would give us such a thing?!)
"Calm down…!.... find out what’s happ-…. –st contact with six…-eady." (Calm down! We must find out what’s happening right now. We’ve lost contact with six comrades already.)
"Tsk! Just what are-…. –ups thinking… I didn’t…. the cult only to… like this. (Tsk! Just what are the higher-ups thinking? I didn’t join the cult only to die like this!"
"We need to res-……. The plan will…. after the lord-….their parts." (We need to resist until we gain further orders. The plan will start after the lords finish with their parts.)
"…. For now let’s return. The others must think of our absence as suspicious by now."
After everyone returned, Darius continued to drink for a bit while remembering the faces of the other two.
So these bastards are spies as well… Good to know.
Although he came from the future, it wasn’t like he was able to tell the total number of spies that infiltrated the Main Army, or the main culprit who commanded them. Truthfully, he didn’t really care about it anymore back then, since the miasma made him completely indiferent of the fact that his brothers were now falling victim to the cult's plans.
.
After night came, they all returned and went to sleep. The next day, everyone was shocked to see how two people died in their sleep. They were the other two who left with Andrew and Michael behind the bar.
"J-just what the fuck…."
Andrew was shaken to the core, while Darius smirked without letting the others know.
Before they returned, Darius came back and secretly introduced some deadly drugs into their drinks. Even experts like themselves were unable to detect the poison because of the beer's strong flavor, aroma, and bubbly texture.
"W-was it those bitches at the bar?"
"Fucking hoes! I knew they're no good!"
"We’ll hunt them down the moment we see them!"
Darius chuckled to himself and left the barraks to wash his face. Later that day, Andrew came to him and asked to play the role of the assister inside the Coliseum.
"I need to grow stronger... Lately, I feel like I could die at any moment…! I don’t know what’s happening, but since that damn mission, everyone’s been dying left and right!"
Seeing him so agitated, Darius smiled and patted his shoulder with friendly eyes.
"I understand what you mean, Andrew. I will be sure to assist you well. However, you must understand that by playing around with weaklings, you will never grow stronger. So you better go for a big shot."
Are you telling me to fight against a mid-ranked monster?"
"You fought with two mid-ranked spiders not long ago. What’s there to fear against just one?"
"I had a shotgun back then, not a gun... Sigh~ fine. But if shit hits the fan, you gotta save me."
"I’m sure you won’t need my assistance."
Darius smiled amused, and a while later, both of them were inside the arena, with Darius outside the cage with a riffle in hand and Andrew inside of it.
"Why did you choose such a faraway room? It’s all the way to the other side of the Coliseum…"
I'm not sure about you, but I do hate crowds. I’d rather not have anyone see you embarrass yourself."
"Hah! I’ll be sure to kill whatever beast you choose for me!"
"Sure thing~."
He smirked amused, and after a bit, from inside the other side of the room, a black wolf with hollow eyes appeared. It was a Shadow Wolf of mid-rank. It was extremely similar to other shadow wolves of the lowest and low-rank. But what was different from the others was its ridiculous speed and ability to melt in shadows.
"Huh? You told me to fight a mid-ranked monster. But what the heck is this? A lowest-rank monster?"
Andrew stared dissatisfiedly at Darius, but before he could talk further, something moved from the corner of his eyes, and two rows of sharp canines appeared right in front of his face, making Andrew quickly retract in a panic.
"Ugh?!"
"Better not underestimate it."
Darius smirked amused, and Andrew understood what he meant, a smirk appearing on his face as well.
"Hah. Now we’re talking."
He prepared for a counter and aimed his gun, shooting more rounds with his gun. The wolf dodged by running in zigzag, then quickly jumped at Andrew.
"Got you-!"
-PING!-
Andrew attracted the wolf to jump at his neck, and when the monster fell for it, he was about to stab it in the head… If only a sudden bullet didn’t push his knife away.
"Wha-!"
For a fraction of a second, the time started moving in slow motion to Andrew. He saw the sharp teeth of the Shadow Wolf reach closer and closer to his neck, then at the plasma knife in his hand that had an obvious bullet mark on it while aiming in the wrong direction. No matter how much he forced it, it was too late to retract his arm and stab again with enough power to penetrate the wolf’s thick hide.
Who…? Who did it…?
He looked to the side, and there he saw Darius with his semiautomatic rifle aimed at him, smoke coming out of the barrel.
You…. Why….?
Darius made eye contact with Andrew, and expecting to see guilt or some type of coldness, Andrew felt like shuddering after seeing a purple glow in his eyes, similar to that of a miasma beast that reached the highest ranks. His gaze was mad yet cold. As if he stared at the one who killed his whole family, making Andrew smile in ridicule, wondering just what did he do to be hated so much by the one he thought of as a friend. He did nothing that would make Darius hate him so much to the point he would set up his death by being eaten by a monster.
Or at least, not yet…
He smiled amused when the wolf finally reached his neck, its teeth easily penetrating the armor and snapping his neck after one swift move.
-BOOM!-
The wolf’s dashing power could reach about 100 km/h. So the impact of the moment when the wolf slammed onto Andrew was actually so strong that the monster completely crushed Andrew’s chest along with the chest plate with that body slam alone, while decapitating him in a second. If not for that costume, Andrew’s body would have been ripped in pieces from the ridiculous impact.
He smiled….
After the brutal death, rather than feeling satisfied, Darius was mad, his face reflecting obvious fury.
He understood that I found him out, but rather than be apologetic, he fucking smiled…. This… bastard…!
-Grrrr….-
The wolf growled as it slowly approached Darius. Seeing how it paid him no attention, the wolf turned into a shadow and went outside the caged arena, right beside Darius.
-Grrr ROAGH-!-
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
It suddenly leaped at Darius from inside the shadow, wishing to take another life, but rather than grab something with its teeth, it felt something else grabbing its neck with incredible speed, then using the ridiculous force of the leap to redirect all that force into the ground.
-BOOM!!!-
Using his almost inhuman reflexes and speed, Darius grabbed the wolf mid-air and spun it to redirect all that force for the wolf to go above him and into the ground, slamming it head-first and cracking the concrete floor outside the cage.
"You fuckers really know how to piss me off."
-Kyuu~!-
The wolf cried pathetically as Darius slammed his boot on its head and then placed the muse of the rifle on its head.
"Drop dead."
-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!-
The first two bullets were enough to crack the wolf’s head and penetrate its brain, but Darius was simply this furious as he completely emptied a magazine of seven bullets into the wolf’s head, splashing dark blood all over the floor.
-click, click, click-
He wanted to continue, but there were no more bullets, so he just sighed annoyed, then went to make the perfect crime.
This seems damaged. So let me help you with that.
With gloved hands, Darius grabbed Andrew’s plasma knife and replaced it with his own, placing it in the corpse’s hand to be sure that there were enough finger prints, while he placed Andrew’s into his sheath, fitting perfectly since all of them had the same model.
Time to make a report.
.
Two days passed since Andrew’s death, and anyone who knew Darius decided to either leave him be or treat him to drinks. Because of that, Darius was able to either finally have some quiet time since he was no longer such a sociable butterfly like before or to get some free beer, everyone thinking that his dark eyes were because of Andrew’s death.
For Darius, it wasn’t that hard to cover for Andrew’s death since people die in the Coliseum almost every week, even with the help of a team. Since the monsters are so much more powerful than humans, a moment of carelessness can bring instant death, just like it happened to Andrew.
Well, things are finally going in my favor. Now… I just need to see how Michael's doing.
After lunch, there was a free period, and Darius went towards the gym, where Michael seemed to try to calm his nerves by pumping iron.
"Fuck!"
He shouted annoyed after barely finishing his last lift with the Z-bar, then fell on a seat, sweat falling down his body as if after a shower. His head was lowered as he seemed deep in thought. Just as Darius was about 4 steps from him, Michael turned and looked at him intently, a hunter’s gaze visible in his eyes.
"I see your senses are no joke, as always."
"Darius, it was you… God, sorry man. I’m just… a bit tense lately…"
"I know… same."
"Just what is going on, man… Brothers die left and right, and we have no idea just what the fuck's going on anymore… Just how are you handling it?"
"What’s new? We were facing death from day one when we woke up inside these barracks. Are you becoming aware of this only now?"
"Is that how you’ve been seeing it all this time?! Damn, dude, you’re a monster. I can barely hold on, and you’re already breathing this tension like it’s nothing."
Michael covered his face with both hands already tired, dark circles being visible underneath his eyes. With a short smile, Darius patted his back for a moment, but then his face turned serious as he whispered something in his ear.
"?!?"
The next moment, Michael turned and looked intently at Darius with a shocked gaze, killing intent visible in his eyes.
"Where…!?"
He whispered with a severe voice, but Darius touched his own lips with a finger, showing Michael to keep quiet.
"Let’s go talk outside. This is not the right place."
"…."
Michael followed Darius quietly outside the gym, all the way behind a deserted deposit.
"Where? Where are those bitches?!"
After making sure nobody was around, Michael grabbed Darius by the shoulders agitated, gritting his teeth and waiting for an answer.
It was about the group of women that met up with them at the bar, everyone misunderstanding them for being the ones who put poison in the two comrades’ drinks back when they went drinking.
Darius gently released himself from Michael’s grasp and started talking in a deep voice.
"Calm down. I said it was just a possibility. I remember before going to Sin City and walking beside a brothel to reach a weapons’ shop I was interested in. There, I happened to see a red-haired woman. I wasn’t sure at first if it was her, but after a while, I finally remembered why I had a feeling like I’ve seen that woman before. She had such a chest; it was a wonder how I forgot her in the first place."
"Tsk, and here I thought you’re the serious type. To think that you remembered a woman by her tits."
"Andrew was remembering them by their asses, so let’s not talk crap now."
"Yeah… Sigh~."
Remembering that he was dead now, Michael sighed dejected, and then frowned again, asking further.
"And are you sure they’re working there?"
"As I said, it’s a possibility."
"… Alright. Let’s go."
"What? Now?"
"Then when?"
"On the weekend? Hey, you know we can’t leave this shithole mid-week. We’ll get shoved right into the detention room the moment we’re caught."
"Look here, Darius. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to stay a second more under the same sky with the fuckers who killed my brothers! You either come with me now or stay out of it-"
"Tonight."
"Huh?"
Darius then came up with a plan, sighing out while his mind was running.
"We sneak out of the barracks at 1 a.m. Grab whatever you can from inside the change room then we meet up at the bus station outside the camp."
"…. There shouldn’t be any buses circulating at that hour. And there are a lot of surveillance cameras. Let’s not forget about those watchdogs in the dark tower."
"Just trust me. Wait for me there."
Michael was confused for a moment, but after seeing how Darius fought the mid-ranked monsters with a knife alone and how he faced his superiors before the mission, Michael was more and more inclined to trust Darius no matter what.
After Darius showcased his leadership, ruthlessness, and superior combat abilities, everyone started looking up to him, no matter if they were older or younger, showing great respect for someone able to rise above the rest and help them resist in front of the tyrannical generals.
"Alright. See you there."
The next day, at 1 in the morning, Michael woke up and after making sure that everyone was deep asleep, he grabbed a bag he had hid beforehand under his bed and sneaked outside. Quickly dressing up with a hoodie and a mask, he grabbed a belt with a gun and knife on it, locked it at his waist then quietly rushed towards the bus station outside the camp.
"Now… I wish Darius isn’t just sleeping and completely forgetting about me now…!"
He looked around nervously and saw nobody. Just as he thought that something was wrong, he started hearing the sound of an electric engine. The fact that he heard it only now when the vehicle was already a few meters away from him, showed just how silent the engine truly was.
"Fuck, you scared me! Those things really are silent. I heard it only now."
Coming on top of an electric motorcycle, Darius was dressed pretty much the same as Michael. The lights were out while the engine was almost completely silent, making it the best vehicle when it came to quick infiltration.
"Get on. I’ll try to make us reach Sin City in half an hour."
"Haha~! Dunno how you made it past all those surveillance cameras and watching guards, but you’re amazing. To actually steal a motorcycle, haha~!"
"It wasn’t a big deal. Nobody really looks through the screen of the surveillance cameras this late at night, so I just shoot them down so nothing can be recorded. As for guards, there are none in the first place."
There was a large black tower in the middle of the camp. They were told before that inside that black tower there are guards who are watching their every move inside the camp 24/7. But in truth, that tower was empty at all times, as it was just a psychological trick to have the soldiers behave. And this theory was tested by Darius numerous times by acting suspiciously and hiding pieces of paper that looked like bags of drugs in the same place for numerous days, making sure that nobody was able to see except for anyone who was inside that tower. He did that for a whole week and not even once was the little secret spot verified or himself questioned.
"R-really? It’s fake?! And here I thought some dude was actually looking at us from above, checking every one of our actions like some God or some shit. Damn. Only if I knew…"
The two continued chatting for a while longer, until Michael started to question the route they took since Darius made a few turns here and there.
"Yo Darius. Are you sure we are on the right track? Or is this some kind of shortcut?"
"Hmm… Yeah, I think this is far enough."
"Huh?"
- SCREECCH!
Darius violently pressed on the brakes and made a sharp turn. The sudden maneuver sent Michael flying off the bike, leaving him completely baffled as he rolled on the ground to relieve the impact.
"Ugh, akh! F-Fucking hell! Darius, what the fuck, man?!"
"Get up, cultist piece of shit. I’m not done with you."
"?!?"
Barely getting up, Michael was wearing a confused and furious expression on his face, wanting Darius to explain himself. But after hearing his comment, his face paled, his whole body freezing in place.
"I won’t even need a weapon, fucker. I’ll kill you with my own fists."
"…. Darius. Since when?"
"Since a while back."
"Were you the one who actually poisoned our brothers’ drinks?"
"Brothers? Maybe your brothers. And yes, of course. Not only them, but also that bastard who was in the infirmary. Dave as well, together with Andrew. Let’s not forget Squad 2? Actually, we could’ve saved them back then without a problem. But I’d rather cut my veins than save a fucking terrorist out of good will. Even if that meant letting an actual brother die for nothing."
"………"
Darius walked closer and closer, while Michael’s face was completely dark. A wild glint was visible in his eyes.
"You… you would kill your best friend for a reason like this."
"And you fuckers would betray the whole of humanity for what? For yourselves?"
"Betray humanity? You fucking moron! Humanity betrayed us lo~ng before we even had a word to say! How are we betraying someone who treated us like tools since the very beginning?!"
"And for that reason, you’re now working for some sick fucks who wish to end the world?"
"Then do what?! Be the slave of some fuckers who are putting humans on a leash so openly? Darius, are you even aware of what you’re fighting for?! The cult wants to find a way to make the human race able to coexist with this miasma that’s starting to cover the whole planet, while those 5 sick lords are just trying to get as much control over the whole population as they can, doing nothing else than raise their own power while people are dying for no reason!"
"The miasma it’s a toxin that no human can or should be able to control, Michael. It corrodes the mind and then turns you into nothing more than a demon. A bloodthirsty monster who has only destruction on its mind. That’s not power; that’s filth."
"And how would you know that?! Did you even try it?!"
"……."
How do I know that? That’s exactly why I caused the world’s end, you moron…
As someone who became the lord of the cult, Darius was more than just aware of how impossible that dream was because the miasma was going against the very DNA of humans. It was a counter-substance to everything in this world. To a point where even scientists said that if this world was truly created by a God, then this miasma must’ve been made by God’s worst enemy, since it simply destroys and corrupts whatever this world has to offer.
"What. Cat got your tongue?"
"I’ve no reason to waste any more of my breath. Now brace yourself. It’s time to end this."
Darius found no more reasons to talk with Michael and simply dashed towards him.
"Fuck!"
Michael took out his knife and slashed forward at Darius, only to have his wrist punched, followed by another punch to his plexus. He blocked it in time, but he was surprised by the force behind that punch since it pushed his whole body back for a few steps. He was known to be the strongest in the group. Even if they used a technique, it was unusual to have someone push him back like that.
"What the fuck is that force?"
He shook his wrist and massaged his forearm, wondering if Darius’ arms were simply human arms or sledgehammers.
"What are you so surprised at?" After all that training, it would be a wonder if we can’t break rocks with our fists only. Or... you're not thinking that I've been sparring with you seriously all that time?"
"So you've been hiding your powers too? "Damn heinous bastard."
Michael placed his knife back in the sheath and raised his fists, a sharp glow in his eyes.
"Go!"
Both of them dashed at one another, a strong pressure making the air vibrate between them. Michael punched forward with the force of a cannon, while Darius dodged the fist by lightly tilting his head to the side. At the same time Michael’s fist came for his head, he went for a strong uppercut, which perfectly landed into Michael’s ribs.
"Guh!"
He gritted his teeth and shot another counter by grabbing Darius and going for a knee at his chest. But the kick was blocked by him, who turned his core while raising his elbow, redirecting the knee to the side. Using this moment, Darius twisted right back for a right hook at his side. Michael was able to intercept it with his arm, but because of that, he had to let go of Darius, giving him the chance to make a back-kick right into his chest, pushing Michael back.
Not giving him any chance to breathe, he quickly rushed back in, but this time Michael dodged his punch and went for an over-the-shoulder judo throw.
"Got you!"
Just as he thought he finally got a step over him, he felt how Darius was simply too light for this to be a throw.
The moment he was about to be thrown, Darius jumped over Michael as he turned his hand to not have his elbow dislocated, landing right in front of Michael. Although he made sure to grab onto him to the point where it risked breaking his elbow, Darius still commented,
"Your grip’s too soft."
With a strong knee, he broke Michael’s nose when he was bent forward and sent him crashing with his back on the ground.
"Guh! Shit!"
Not letting him get up, Darius mounted Michael and stepped on one of his arms.
-CRACK!-
The boot slammed with such power that cracking sounds resounded from Michael’s hand, making him grunt in pain. His other hand was grabbed strongly by Darius’ right, dislocating his wrist, and with his left, he started pummeling.
-POW! PAW! CRACK! PFFFT!-
Rock-shattering fist after fist landed on Michael’s unguarded face. A few he was able to dodge at first by moving his head away, but it was futile since Darius’ fist was much faster than what Michael could ever predict, getting his teeth broken, his nose flattened, his lips nothing but a bloody pulp, his eyes completely swollen as he was bleeding from his eyebrows, and his cheek bones cracked. His face was a bloody mess, while his body was trembling with cold sweat as he felt death coming closer.
"S-sthopf… p-pffeashe…"
"…."
Seeing him in such a sorry state, Darius got up and reached out to his gun, loading it with a cold look in his eyes.
"I gave you a chance to fight for your life, but I guess that’s all a bastard like you can do."
"W-waith, p-pffeashe dontch! PFROTHER!"
-POW!-