So, the situation seems pretty dire, huh? From what I understand, the old man probably entered the house and is now fighting Meil in the foyer. But with all that thumping and crashing, you'd assume it'd be two skilled fighters duking it out down there! Is this old man actually giving Meil a hard time? Well, if that's the case, I doubt I'll be of much use, but I'm sure help is always appreciated in these situations!
"I'm so gonna be late for class..." I groaned as I made my way through the halls, "But to think we'd get attacked by a grandpa assassin, just what is his deal?"
At first I thought it was just a pervert who was stalking me through the window this morning, but turns out his goals might be a lot more sinister. Well, since I don't have to worry about him jumping out from behind the corner anymore, I don't have to tiptoe to the weapons closet. Better hurry!
"Dad! Get your ass over here!" Lem's voice could be heard from downstairs, "I could really use some assistance!"
"Eh? Lem's down there?" I stopped, "But then, where's Meil...? N-Never mind! Whoever's fighting down there is staking their life on protecting me regardless, so I better return the favor! Hang in there, Lem!"
The situation's changed a bit, but not by much. There are just so many mysteries surrounding this old man that I don't know how to even make sense of it anymore. He seems to be a strong fighter, but he looked like the wind could knock him off his feet at any moment when I saw him. There's no way a rough yet reliable guy like Lem couldn't outdo him in a fight. Ohhh, Meil—Where are you...?
"Wah!" I opened the weapons cabinet only to have all the various killing tools spill out onto the floor, "Ow~, my foot! Dammit, of all the days to not carry slippers...! Well, it's just a slight cut. But what do I do now?"
Knives, swords, crossbows and grenades of every kind were splayed out on the floor under me. There was such an abundance of options that I found myself getting overwhelmed. I need to think about this carefully, since I'm not a fighter. A sword would probably be the easiest to use, but it'd require me to get close, and since I can still hear Lem's shouting, I'll assume that old man will probably easily deal with me. A grenade is a no go too, since I don't want to ruin our house, or Gods forbid catch Lem in the crossfire. I guess a ranged weapon like a crossbow is the best option...
"Hmph!" I tried loading the arrow to no avail, "Phah! Hoo, oof...! Nah, not a chance. These things require a ton of freaking strength to prime!"
But what now? There's also a regular bow here, but I've never taken archery classes. In other words, chances are I'll miss, and then I don't know what to do! Maybe a bow for ranged and a knife for melee? But no, there's a chance he might turn it against me. Granted, this man seems like he means plenty of harm to us, but without weapons he'll likely bruise us at best. If I bring weapons into the mix and he happens to take them for himself, then...
"Oh? This is convenient." I saw the AFP fall out from the cabinet last, "Yeah, easy to fire off, easy to reload—That's a gun for ya'! I've never fired one off before, but I feel like it's rather beginner friendly! Nice!"
Yeah, even if I miss, I'll just readjust my aim and shoot again! I can tell Lem to run back the moment I get there, and apart from a few bullet holes, the house will be spotless! Yeah, that's perfect—When they said a gun is the solution to everything, I didn't think they were this right!
"Lem!!! I'm coming!" I huffed and puffed to the foyer before stopping at the staircase, "W-What the...!?"
Before me stood the sight of nightmares. Just a few steps beneath me, the once luxurious yet empty White marble expanse was ruined beyond recognition. The place was a total wreck, all the vases were shattered across the floor, practically making it impossible to walk on without getting your feet impaled. Still, it was on this very battlefield that the old man and Lem fought, but when I looked around to count the heads, only the old man stood there menacingly, slowly moving his unamused head to face me.
"Hmph, not bad for a modern day teen." The old bastard muttered, "He must not come from riches to be this adept at fighting. Heh, almost shaved off my beard too, shiet."
"L-Lem...?" I looked around, preemptively pointing the gun shakily at him, "Where is Lem?"
"Ah, that's not good, girlie." He still didn't seem amused, "I get you're scared for your little boyfriend here, but that's no reason to pull a gun on me. They say a weapon tarnishes a lady's beauty."
"Where is he!?" I shouted.
Just then, I heard a faint whisper right under me. The voice was coarse, badly hurt and in pain. It felt like the person it comes from was about to draw his last breath at any moment. Slowly craning my head down in disbelief, I saw him. Lem was there, practically engraved in the staircase dividing the first and second floors of the house. The old man, he had this much destructive power to send Lem flying into the stairs...?
"Nel...ly..." Lem warned, "R-Run..."
"Lem!" I shouted, "No! I need to save you! I-I've got a gun right here, see!? I can shoot him and get you medical help-!"
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"Nel..." He once again muttered as he lost consciousness, "You'll... die..."
"Lem? Lem!?" I tried to step towards him, but the old bastard mirrored my moves, "Grr...! What the hell did you do to him!? If he dies, I'll shoot your carcass 'til it's nothing but dust, old man!"
"Calm down. He attacked fir-" The old man spoke before I pulled the trigger.
The gun recoiled so much it almost knocked the gun from my hands. Thankfully I held it with both hands, but to think shooting it off carried that much power... The bullet, quite literally in the blink of an Eye, traveled from the gun's barrel to the old man's head, and killed him on the spot. He fell so fast I couldn't even register it... my first ever kill.
"Oh my Gods...!" I dropped the gun before immediately running down to check on Lem, "Lem! Lem, wake up!"
"Ngh..."
"Oh thank Heavens, you're still alive!"
Alive, but not well. He's in critical condition after that beating he took. I can't even begin to imagine the situation he's been through, but I'm glad he's at the very least breathing for now. Right, I should hurry and run to his father, Lee. I think I heard Lem trying to call him over for help, but I guess we all know how that turned out. Still, he can run to get some doctors to quickly patch him up. Geez, if dad was here, he would've Healed him like that!
"Nel...?" Lem barely opened his Eye before shoving me away, "Grah! You fucking bastard!!!"
"Lem, what the...!?" I followed his gaze before dropping my jaw, "Gods, no..."
"Shiet, I hate romantic goodbyes." The old man cracked his neck, the bleeding bullet hole still present in the very middle of his forehead, "You know, they always try to make it emotional at the very end as a cheap way to end the love story. The male dies in the female's arms after saving her, they might exchange a kiss or two and then he just dies! Like hello? No one cares!"
"What... Ptu!" Lem spit in his direction, "...the fuck are you talking about?"
"H-How...?" I slowly climbed back up the stairs, "How are you alive...!?"
"Nel!" Lem exerted all his strength to shout this, "Run the fuck away from him! He can't die, the bastard! Go find Meil, he'll know what to d-!"
"Shut it!" The old man kicked him unconscious, "Man, my ears are sore from all that yelling. Kids these days don't understand that us senior citizens are really frail."
"Lem!" I finally got back up on my feet to run up to the second floor, "I-I'll save you, just gotta find Meil! Don't die, Lem!"
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Shit, shit...! Where do I even run to? I'm on the second floor! I can't jump outside, because I'll break my legs! The gun, the gun is...! Oh no, I left it when I shot it off and forgot to pick it back up! Crap, he's gonna get me, I'm scared!
"The notebook." I recalled, "The Brown notebook! If I make it in time to my room and take it out, it'll tell me what to do! The notebook only tells the future, albeit revealing a bit of the past thanks to that too, but the future is what I need! If I somehow survive this, it'll tell me how to do it! Granted, if I don't it'll just say my story ends here, but I already knew that, dammit!
"Eep! I see him, he's right behind me!" I looked back to see the old man slowly make his way towards me, "No, not like this... Please!"
My stamina was letting me down, and before long I couldn't even run anymore. Just then, I had planted my wounded foot from earlier wrong, and I had been sent toppling to the ground. He was there, fast approaching. Right now we were evenly matched in terms of speed.
"B-But still...!" I clutched the handle to my door, closing it behind me and locking it, "I had a head start, so I made it!"
Now, the book! It's on the far side of the room, where my bookshelf is. I'm still on the ground, mind you, since I can't bring myself to stand on two legs anymore. I have no other choice but to pull myself along until then.
"Just a little... more...!" I barely grabbed onto it, "There! I did it, I reached the Brown notebook! Come on, come on, gimme a clue! How do I survive...?!"
"Ah, thank you for bringing that to me." A frail hand grabbed my wrist, popping the notebook closed as it did, "It seems you're already aware that you have something... special of mine."
"Y-You..." I looked up with wide open Eyes at the overly-bearded old man, "How did you...?"
"A couple million Universe Cycles will teach you many things." He smiled, hitting me on the nape before I could even register it, "Now, sleep tight. I got some more uses out of you yet..."
Ah, my Eyes are closing. I'm dying? No, I don't think so. He probably just knocked me out. Still, in these last moments before falling unconscious I have to wonder where I went wrong? Lem died so I could escape, or at least I think he did, and yet I still got caught. What's this old man gonna do to me? He said he still has a use for me, which scares me more than death. Lem, please wake up. Wake up and kill this guy right here and now. Please, I'm begging you. And the other one, the one that was supposed to protect me, but failed to show up in the first place in this one time it actually mattered. The one I thought I could always count on... Meil, where are you?