As I walked through the aftermath of the destruction wrought by our battle, my eyes fell upon Division's comatose form amidst the rubble. With apprehension, I approached him cautiously, kneeling down beside him. With a sharp slap, I roused him from his unconscious state, his eyes snapping open in response. Despite his defeat, he greeted me with a sense of resignation, acknowledging the outcome of our conflict with grace. "I acknowledge my defeat." he conceded, his voice tinged with a note of respect. "Congratulations. You have emerged victorious in the Perfect Honor Game." With his barely usable hand, he snapped his fingers, and the barrier that had confined us dissipated into nothingness.
Division's strength waned, he imparted a solemn warning that echoed through the air like a harbinger of impending doom. "I must caution you, however." he began, his foreboding. "The Heads surpass the strength of every single Representative combined. We Representatives are typically battle-hungry warriors, but the Heads are not. They will utilize every available resource to bring about your downfall." With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I pressed him for answers, my desperation mounting with each passing moment. "Where is Thana?!" I demanded. "Where is the real HQ of the Criminal Alliance?" To my surprise, Division's smile was resigned as he revealed, "I am aware of its location." Hope surged within me as I eagerly awaited his response. I demanded answers from Division. "Tell me where it is!" My hopes were dashed as quickly as they had arisen, as Division's next words filled me with a sense of foreboding. "You deserve that much, at least." he conceded. "But don't think it will be a simple task. It's located in Las Vegas." His revelation sent a chill down my spine, the enormity of the task ahead looming large in my mind.
And as he continued to speak, his words painted a grim picture of the Alliance's response to our actions. "I informed the Heads of my intentions for this gathering." Division explained, his voice fading as his strength fell off a cliff. "If they don't receive word from me, they'll assume I've been eliminated, and you're on your way to confront them. They'll mobilize every member of the Alliance to encircle Nevada, monitoring every citizen entering and exiting the state." One question lingered in my mind, demanding an answer. "Why would they let you tell me their location or even partake in this game?" I asked, my voice filled with confusion and disbelief.
Division's laughter echoed through the air, a chill ran down my spine, his manic demeanor unlike his previous behavior. It was as if he found amusement in my desperation, as if my plight was nothing more than a source of entertainment for him. His words were stained with power, and he explained my weakness. "The Heads are indeed the most powerful gifted individuals on Earth." he declared, his voice slowly getting weaker. "Technically, I am too. Each of them possesses stats in the thousands, not the low thousands like yours. You stand no chance against them. They are all utterly confident in their ability to dispatch you in an instant, and trust me, they will." I stood up, shivering. How am I supposed to match that?
I shrugged it off, and dashed inside the shack again. As I dashed inside, my heart was pounding with fear, I quickly searched each room, my eyes scanning desperately for any sign of Aroha. With each door I opened, my hope waned, until finally, in the third room, I found her. There she was, bound and bruised, her eyes filled with fear and uncertainty. Without hesitation, I rushed to her side, my fingers deftly working to untie the ropes that bound her. The knots gave way easily under my fingers, and I tore the gag from her mouth, eager to hear her voice once more. "Are you okay?!" I asked, my voice trembling with emotion. "You're safe now, I took them all down." For a moment, she didn't respond, her gaze fixed on the ground as if lost in thought. Then, she met my gaze, her words ringing out clear and unwavering. "I was beaten and kidnapped." she stated simply. "I'm not okay."
Tears welled up in my eyes at her words, a deep sense of regret washing over me like a tsunami. "I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice choked with gasps. "I'm so sorry. Forgive me, please." Her response was unexpected, her words carrying a weight of understanding that struck me to the core. "It's not entirely your fault," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "You had to save the city." I couldn't accept her forgiveness so easily. The guilt gnawed at me, threatening to consume me whole. "No!" I protested, my voice rising with conviction. "I should've found any other way to win. I let you down, and I will always regret doing that to you." I extended my hand to her, she reached out, her fingers intertwining with mine in a gesture of solidarity. I held her hand tightly, "I'm never going to let harm come your way again," I vowed, the words echoing in the stillness of the room as a solemn promise to the woman I loved.
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Aroha sorrowfully appreciated the gesture, "Thanks," she said softly. "But where do we go now?" The question was unanswerable to me for a moment, standing at the top of this mountain. In a second, helicopter blades descended upon us with a deafening roar, I felt relieved. With Aroha by my side, we made our way outside, greeted by the sight of several helicopters landing nearby. Ethan, descending from one of them via fast rope, approached us with a mixture of surprise and admiration in his eyes. "We have this area locked down," he declared, his voice authoritative. "I know I have to trust in you, but I'm surprised you killed five high-level opponents. Forgery, Avarice, Recruitment, Terrorism, and Division. This was all set against you, and you won." I spat out some blood, the strain of the task evident upon my soul. "Yeah." I replied tersely. "Just get us out of here. We need to talk on the helicopter." With a wave of his arm, Ethan signaled for us to board the helicopter, his expression grave yet determined. "Then, let us depart." he declared. "The forensics team and a few officers will investigate, but we will leave." Aroha was attended to by a nurse, her wounds being tended to with gentle care, I took the opportunity to converse with Ethan, the gravity of our situation weighing heavily upon me.
The helicopter ascended and we headed towards another city, Ethan sat opposite me, his gaze intent as he listened to my words. "I know where Thana is." I informed him. "Division told me through his twisted sense of honor." With noticeable speed, Ethan pulled out a notebook and laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he prepared to document the information. "Where?" he asked, his voice steady. I didn't waste a moment in providing the answer. "The Den of Vice. Las Vegas." I replied, my mind already racing with thoughts of the obstacles that lay ahead. "Sadly, we can't head straight there. Every single member of the Alliance is watching who comes in and out of all surrounding states. The Heads are moving, too."
Ethan nodded, absorbing the information as he scribbled down the contents of our conversation. "You're not strong enough to stand a chance as you are," he stated matter-of-factly, his eyes meeting mine with a steely determination. "the Heads are not well-documented, but they are at bare minimum three times as strong as Division was."
The truth of his words hit me like a blow to the chest, a stark reminder of the daunting challenges that awaited us. "Yes," I agreed, my voice tinged with resignation. "I can't train as the con of my infinite growth limit, a quest showing up would be amazing right now." And as if on cue, the familiar notification appeared in my peripheral vision, signaling the arrival of a quest.
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Quest 13: Alliance Abolishing
Beat as many Alliance members as possible.
Requirements:
Beat all enemies that you can find. Thirty day time limit.
Recommendations:
N/A
Rewards:
100 points (per Alliance member)
1 Lvl. 3 Skill Roulette (per 1000 Alliance members)
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As the timing of the quest elicited a laugh from me, Ethan couldn't help but infer its significance. "You just got a quest, didn't you?" he asked, a knowing smile playing at the corners of his lips. I nodded, the excitement coursing through my veins. "Yeah." I replied, a grin spreading across my face. "Beat as many Alliance members as possible. The more I beat, the more points I get to upgrade myself." I lowered my posture, relaxing, "Ready to go hunting?" I asked.