Topher ran.

There was basically nothing he could do at this point; also, he would likely never be able to get cigarettes again, but that was a deeply secondary concern at the moment. He'd nearly been killed twice over at Oguro's, and both Oguro and his secretary were definitely dead, even though he hadn't seen their bodies; there was no way that what he'd heard hadn't been the most gruesome kind of death. That meant that the only people he could turn to at all now were King Vicon and Sugimoto, and Cailu's death had very neatly made them more likely to turn on him than help him. This town was now officially more trouble than it was worth -- the only problem was that he had nowhere else to go.

But, if nothing else, the horrific events of the last hour had done him the favor of removing all his other options; now the only thing left to was gather up the kids, collect his few meager possessions, and get the hell out of here. There has to be somewhere else we can go, right? Surely this isn't the only town in this whole shitty magic world.

He headed for Makoto's loft first; it was closer, and she would be the easiest to convince, since she was already half out the door for adventures beyond the town's borders anyway. As he turned the corner into the vacant lot which bordered the loft, he was relieved to see that she was home; there was definitely someone upstairs in the loft. He stumped up the stairs and flung open the door. "Alright, kid, pack your shit, we've got to --"

"Kyaaa!" Makoto shrieked, throwing herself backwards from where she'd been sitting, mere inches from Hotaka; her cheeks were on fire with a bright blush. Slowly, understanding penetrated Topher's mind. Whoops. Well, at least they still both had their clothes on.

He sighed, turning to face Hotaka, who was giving Topher a death glare so powerful he wondered if it had appeared in the young man's Skill list. "Sorry. I know my timing sucks. But we have to get out of town, right now. Cailu and Oguro are dead, and we don't know if we're next."

To his credit, Hotaka merely sighed and began to gather his things; Topher could see he'd come over with some notes that had been swiftly forgotten during the course of events. "The interruption would have been unwelcome regardless of how long you waited, Bailey-sensei. But there is nothing to be done." In a few moments, he had everything gathered up; he turned to face Topher, his face serious as always. "Makoto-chan will take longer to gather her possessions. Do we know who killed Leafwind-san and Oguro-san?"

Topher shook his head. "Haruko and I found Cailu dead in the dungeon; someone had taken his illusion amulet, too. So whoever it was could be posing as anyone right now; we have to be twice as careful. Oguro was killed by someone named Jyact while I was waiting for him upstairs in his office; I didn't see what actually happened, but it didn't sound pretty." He grimaced. "I barely survived the building burning down while I was in it, to boot."

"I see." Hotaka adjusted his glasses. "Well, Makoto-chan has had some progress of her own; I will let her tell you the specifics, but the summary is that she was able to increase her Strength to Rank D, and did in fact unlock the Monk class. Thus far she does not appear to have gained any Skills from it, but it does at least confirm a few of our theories."

Topher nodded, not really paying too much attention; he was busy watching Makoto pile what few things she owned into her old school backpack, her face still on fire with embarrassment. "Uh huh. So it sounds like Classes might need a combination of stats and Skills to unlock. Was she able to select the Monk Class from a list or something, or did her Status just update on its own?"

"The latter, Bailey-sensei. I suspect it means that we are only able to upgrade our Class, rather than choose amongst many options; Makoto-chan may at some point promote to a higher-level form of Monk, such as Master Monk, but I find it unlikely that she would be able to shift to a different Class entirely." Hotaka looked glum.

"Worse things have happened. Like to Cailu and Oguro. Which, in case I haven't gotten it across, means we are in incredible danger and need to get out of here."

Hotaka nodded. "You have made that clear, Bailey-sensei. But where will we go?"

"I don't know, kid," Topher retorted exasperatedly, "but anywhere's better than here. If they found Cailu and Oguro, they can definitely find us. The only reason we're probably not already dead is because we're harmless, but that won't last forever."

The young man sighed, but did not argue. "As you say. What is our next step, then?"

Topher ran his hand across his face, sighing. "Well, step one was to get Makoto -- and you, I guess -- and go back to the inn to get Haruko, Noboru, and the rest of our stuff. After that, anywhere's better than here; we can buy camping supplies and rough it outside of town if we have to, or find out if there are roads to other places."

"That may be dangerous, Bailey-sensei," Hotaka observed severely. "Leaving the castle town risks encountering the Demon King's armies, does it not?"

"Maybe," Topher hedged, "but if they were that close to this place, they'd be attacking already. Sugimoto and Ichirou -- well, Cailu really I guess -- made it sound like all that stuff was really far away, beyond all sorts of weird places like Dragon Valley or Fire Mountain or whatever. And even if we just go camp outside of town, that's still better than here, at least until the heat dies down."

"Okay, I still think this is super dumb, but I'm ready to go or whatever." Makoto had bundled a few additional possessions into a blanket and was standing near the door, glaring at them. "But if we're really going to be camping out in the gross woods filled with bugs, we're getting tents and sleeping bags. I am absolutely not sleeping on the ground!"

"Peace, Makoto-chan," said Hotaka absently. "I am sure Bailey-sensei will allow us to make the proper preparations."

"Kid, I'll buy you a frickin' pony if you want, just as long as we go now." Topher hustled the two of them out of the loft, then cast an eye over the mess they were leaving behind; he hated all of their early preparations going to waste this way, but decided it was better to leave underequipped than to leave too late. They had plenty of gold left; it shouldn't be too hard to buy whatever was missing. Shutting the door behind him, he went down to the base of the stairs and shepherded Makoto and Hotaka back to the inn, his head on a swivel the entire way; Topher had never actually been mugged or assaulted, either in this world or on Earth, but he preferred to keep it that way.

When they arrived back at the inn, everything seemed normal; Topher knocked on Haruko's door. "Hey, it's me."

"Bailey-sensei?" Haruko's voice seemed high-pitched and quavery. "How do I know it's you?"

Oh, shit. That's right, the password. "Good job, Haruko. It's me: 'Apple', remember?"

The door flew open, and Haruko shakily let them in. "Oh my gosh, I was so scared!" She hugged Makoto, who looked very confused but didn't object. "Bailey-sensei, what are we going to do?"

Topher grimaced. "Well, I tried to go to Oguro for help, but someone got to him first; he's dead, too." He decided to leave out the specifics for now. "I don't know if it was the same person who killed Cailu, but I don't think we should stick around to find out. We're going to leave the city; Makoto's already packed up, and we should all pack too."

Haruko's eyes filled with tears. "R-really? We have to leave?"

"I know it's sudden." Topher tried his best to remain calm and be patient, even though he was screaming at them all to hurry up inside his head. "But we can't stay here, and leaving the city will give us time to think and make better plans. We might be safer in another town, if there are any."

Haruko looked down at the floor. "I just... I... oh, gosh..."

"Kid, we don't have the luxury of angst right now," Topher snapped. "You need to pack, okay?"

Makoto glared at Topher. "She just got her friends back, Bailey-sensei! This is hard for her! Omigosh, you're such a jerk!"

"Makoto-chan." Hotaka put his hand gently on Makoto's shoulder; Topher could visibly see her melt slightly. He wanted to throw up. "Bailey-sensei is trying to protect us. It is better for Haruko-chan -- and all of us, as well -- to be alive and sad than in danger. We must do what is necessary."

The girls, visibly distressed, nodded anyway; Topher breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank God for Hotaka. Jesus, I would be so screwed without this kid. He nodded. "I know it's hard. But Hotaka is telling it like it is; I just want to get you kids out of danger."

"What about Noboru-kun?" asked Haruko quietly. "Is he already packed?"

Topher grimaced. "We haven't seen him yet. I was hoping he'd be here in the inn."

"I will check our shared lodgings, Bailey-sensei; I also must pack my essentials." Hotaka patted Makoto one more time -- Topher could see he was reluctant to leave her, but understood the necessity -- and turned to Topher. "Bailey-sensei, we must acquire supplies suitable for study in the wild, as well; my recent studies in Physics have found some promising possibilities for your Unique Skill. I suggest we discuss it further once everyone is safe." Topher nodded, and Hotaka went out into the hall.

"I'd better go pack too." Topher hurried back to his own suite, throwing what he thought might be needed into a blanket; he hadn't kept any of the backpacks they hadn't sold to Oguro. He dithered longer than he should have -- he hated to lose the amenities of the inn, humble as they were -- but eventually realized it didn't help if he packed so much crap he couldn't carry it. Frustrated, he threw his clothes, his cooking supplies, and the remaining rice onto the blanket, then gathered it up into a big Santa Claus sack. It'll do until we can get a cart or something.

Throwing the pack over his shoulder, Topher went out into the hall, then knocked on the door to Hotaka and Noboru's shared lodgings. "Kid, you ready yet? I hope you aren't trying to bring every book..." His voice trailed off as the door opened slightly under his knock. Shit. Oh, shit.

Topher opened the door.

Hotaka was lying facedown in the middle of the room, just like Cailu had been; blood was pooling under him, still wet.

No. Jesus, no.

Dropping everything with a crash, Topher ran to the young man and turned him over; he was still alive, but only barely. His wound was exactly the same as Cailu's; Topher's hands shook like leaves. "No. Hotaka, stay with me. No."

Hotaka's eyes were closed; he murmured something, but Topher couldn't make it out. "What's that? Hey! Hey, come on!" But it was too late; even as he held the boy in his lap, he exhaled slightly, then stopped breathing. Topher felt his heart stop beating through his back.

This is a dream. This has got to be a dream. I'm dreaming, trauma from finding Cailu...

Topher Bailey had never seen anyone die before, not even a pet.

Jesus Christ. Hotaka. He looked around the room, numbly; everything was destroyed. Hotaka must have walked in on whoever had killed him searching the room; he hadn't even had time to start packing, and all his books and papers were visibly gone. Topher saw clumps of ash all around the room, even though there were no signs of fire; maybe the same thing that happened to that centaur.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Topher Bailey had never lost anyone close to him.

He's just a kid.

He might have sat there, dumbfounded and in shock, for a very long time; but abruptly a shrill scream cut the air, and shocked him back to himself. Oh, Jesus! The girls!

He didn't scramble to his feet, despite everything; crazily, he didn't want Hotaka to get hurt when he fell to the floor. He gently lowered the young man's head to the boards, then hobbled to his feet, cursing at his creaky knees and popping ankles as he left his things where they'd fallen; he didn't have time. He dashed down the hall to Haruko's room and slammed into the door, nearly killing himself when he crashed right through it; it had been slightly open, just as Hotaka's door had been.

The scene within was a holocaust.

Haruko was on her back, five or six feet from the door; her hands clutched a huge, bloody wound on her stomach, in the same place Cailu and Hotaka had been stabbed. The rear of the room was in flames; it looked like a lantern had been knocked over onto the bed, and smoke was already starting to fill the room.

Near the blaze, Makoto whirled about furiously with a hunched, robed figure; she was fighting brilliantly, lashing punishing kicks and vicious punches as quickly as lightning. But her opponent had a long, curved yellow knife which gave him the advantage of reach, and even her best blows were only landing glancing hits as she struggled to keep from getting slashed by the other man's blade. As Topher's gaze fell upon the figure, his form began to writhe and blur; Disrupt Illusion, Topher realized as he staggered forward a half-step. He's got Cailu's amulet. He stumbled, caught between conflicting impulses; he wanted to go help Makoto, but he was feeble and weak and useless... he wanted to help Haruko, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't know any healing spells, didn't know any first aid...

"Bailey-sensei!" Makoto screamed out. "It's --!"

The figure uttered a single, harsh word, and a pulse of enervating energy washed over Topher; he felt every ounce of strength he had sucked out of his bones, and he flopped limply to the floor even as he saw Makoto do the same. What? What happened? He couldn't even speak; just struggling for breath was a tremendous exertion.

"I'm impressed. I didn't think I'd have to use that." The figure, its form still blurring and fuzzed, wiped its face with the back of its hand; its voice was weird and distorted. "You woulda made a good Monk." Then, dropping to one knee, the figure raised the knife high and plunged it into Makoto's stomach.

"No!!" Topher screamed; but Makoto merely grunted. Her lip curled, and her hands twitched; for an insane moment, Topher thought she might reach up and strangle the other man despite the vicious blow. But immediately, the figure ripped out the knife cruelly; a sharp, bright red spray of blood erupted from the wound, and Makoto's mouth opened in a silent scream. The figure, his form starting to solidify, plunged his free hand directly into the wound; Topher wanted to vomit. The jagged edges. Oh my God. He killed Cailu and Hotaka too. Makoto's body stiffened, and one of her hands caught the man's wrist; then, after a moment, she just sighed, and her head fell back onto the floor. Topher could see that she was dead.

JESUS. MAKOTO. HARUKO. CHRIST.

The figure withdrew his hand, dripping and red, and struggled to his feet; his face was almost visible. "It is difficult to get the blood off. Did you know that, Christopher? Blood dries quickly, even when its owner is dead, and creates a dark stain highly resistant to removal. I think it's very fitting; when you take a life, you should be forced to bear the mark." As the last of the illusion from Cailu's amulet faded, the man stepped forward into the light.

"Oh my God." Even devitalized and hoarse, Topher could not contain his shock. "Jesus. Jesus. How could you do something like this?"

"I doubt you'll understand, Christopher. But fortunately, your understanding is not required." Noboru looked down at him, hefting the knife; Topher's mind continued reeling. Christopher? What happened to Bailey-sensei? "In fact, it is better if you remain ignorant; there is always the chance another of my classmates has some form of Speak With Dead Unique Skill, or another similar sort of divination. I still don't know as much as I would like about how this world works, but I suspect I know a great deal more than you at this point."

Topher's mouth worked, wordlessly, like a landed fish. Why? What? Why? Eventually, he managed to croak out, "How... could you... do it? They were... your friends, Noboru." He spat the last word viciously, his chest heaving with the effort.

Noboru knelt, cleaning the knife on Makoto's clothing. "Would it surprise you to know that they were not? Only Hotaka-kun was my friend in our former world. The others bullied me, of course; everyone did."

Topher choked on his confusion. "You... can't expect me... to believe... Haruko bullied you. Not that it... changes anything... you piece... of shit." His vision was starting to turn red, but his limbs still wouldn't move; he felt like he'd been nailed to the floorboards by pure exhaustion.

"Bullied me? Of course not. Haruko was too weak to bully anyone." Noboru stood up, drawing closer to Topher. "But she did turn me down when I asked her out, once. Not a sin deserving of death, I'll grant you; but that is not why they had to be killed." He drew nearer; Topher could see Noboru's fat face, streaked with sweat and blood and ashes. He still couldn't believe all this was happening. It felt like a nightmare; surely any moment he would wake up.

"Why... then?" Topher gasped for breath; the air was getting smoky and hot. "Why?!"

"It is complicated, Christopher. But I can impart at least a little comprehension." Noboru shifted his free hand, showing what he had pulled from Makoto's stomach. Pinched between his bloody fingers was a small gem, polychromatic and luminous, about the size of a sequin. "It was yet small; she was still Level 1. Cailu did not have one." He leaned forwards. "Do you understand yet?"

Dumbly, Topher just stared. "What? I don't..."

Crystallized mana. Usually where the stomach should be. In a flash, he understood. "Magic... Stone...?"

"Quite so." To Topher's horror, Noboru raised the stone to his mouth, then dry-swallowed it like a Tylenol; he grimaced. "The taste varies greatly. Hotaka's was extremely salty, but Haruko's was very sweet." He wiped his mouth, leaving another fresh streak of blood across his face. "Do you understand, Christopher?"

Topher did. His mind was on fire.

We're the monsters.

"We are not natural to this world. I was educated in this by someone else; but I will not insult you by attempting to lay the blame for my actions at their feet. I have been preparing for this for quite some time." Noboru slowly began to walk towards Topher; he probably only had a few moments left. Jesus. This is really happening.

Topher struggled to speak; the muscles of his diaphragm burned with agony. "When... why...?"

Noboru knelt down next to Topher. "I had other Cantor songs appear in my Skill list almost immediately; however, I managed to conceal them simply by not reporting them to you when you checked our Statuses. If my Chant of Vigor skill had not automatically affected Makoto when I first used it, I doubt you would ever have known I had special abilities at all." He hefted the knife; at this close range, Topher could see that it was made of bright yellow, legal-ruled wood. Of course. He can destroy the evidence after he's killed us all with his Destroy Paper Skill. "Many of them were surprisingly useful to me; Cantata of Silence let me move about undetected when necessary, and as you can currently attest, Paralyzing Word is quite formidable. I suspect it consumes a great deal of my MP, however; I can only use it sparingly." He raised the knife high over Topher's stomach.

"Jesus... you were... going to kill us all... even then?"

Noboru paused. "Kill you? Don't be ridiculous, Christopher. I was merely being prudent; I had no way of knowing whether we would be allies or enemies. But there was no reason to trust you any further than was necessary -- all I had to do was report what other people who had seen my Status in the Speculus of Distinction could corroborate, and keep the rest to myself. After all, who knows what sort of odd situations may arise in the future?" His voice shook a little. "For example, having to kill your best friend."

Jesus. Jesus, Noboru. Topher wanted to weep; he wanted to rage. "Is someone... making you... do this?"

"No, Christopher. I am responsible for my own actions; let us simply say I have my reasons. I feel as though I've said enough." Noboru's hand quivered slightly on the dagger, but his grip remained strong. "I am sorry; but not overly so. You were a selfish, useless, and lazy excuse for a guardian; ignorant and incurious. You never even asked the name of this place, did you? Not the name of this city, or of this nation, or of this world." He sighed. "But I imagine you were less monstrous than many would have been in your place." He gave Topher a grim nod. "Goodbye, Bailey-sensei." Topher drew in a last breath, his ribcage creaking.

The knife plunged down; Topher's mind blared with panic, and he coughed out "Zom Voq!"

Instantly, a globelike shield of staticky gray force enveloped him; Noboru's knife bounced off, and the heavyset young man reeled back, overbalancing and falling onto his back as he flailed against the blood-slicked floorboards. Topher felt the strength return to his limbs; either the spell had warded him against further effects of Noboru's Paralyzing Word, or he'd disrupted the other man's concentration.

He wanted to sieze the moment, but he had no weapon, and he was old and weak; he pondered trying to strangle the little bastard, but knew that would just get him slashed and stabbed. Instead, he went for the knife itself; but Noboru recovered too quickly and jerked it away, and Topher had to stagger backwards to avoid being cut. Noboru was fat, but he wasn't weak; he got to his feet quickly, and belatedly Topher remembered that the boy had Rank D Strength and Constitution. He looked at Topher coolly. "That's a surprise. Have you also been hiding your Status?"

Keep him talking. Topher circled him, trying not to cough in the smoke; the rear part of the room was burning quite fiercely now, and he'd have to finish this quickly. Have to bluff. Don't even know if I could cast that again. He pointed his fingers in what he hoped was an intimidating manner at Noboru. "Nothing that fancy. Hotaka thought I might have MP; guess he was right."

"Fortunate for you, Bailey-sensei." The fat boy swung his dagger experimentally. "But if you don't have any offensive spells, all you've done is prolong the inevitable."

Story of my life, thought Topher sourly. They circled each other a bit more. "You can stop, kid. This doesn't have to end like this."

Noboru paused. In a dead voice, he said, "Are you stupid, Christopher?"

Topher winced. Well, shit.

"I have murdered my best friend, and two people who assuredly did not deserve to be cruelly slaughtered; do you think," Noboru was snarling now, "that I would have done so if it was not necessary?!" Teeth clenched, he hurled himself forward at Topher; Topher didn't chance a second Mage Shield casting and instead caught Noboru's wrist, but he could instantly feel he'd made a mistake. The boy was much stronger than he appeared, and the knife began to rapidly inch closer even as Topher strained mightily to repel it. "I don't want to do this!" Noboru screamed into his face. "I have to!" Backlit by the roaring flames behind him from the burning rear of the room, he looked demonic; the tears streaming down his cheeks made the effect even more ghastly. Topher's heart quailed within him; behind Noboru, a charred fragment of the ceiling fell to the ground, wreathed in fire.

Jesus. This is so fucked up.

Topher let go of Noboru's wrist with one hand; immediately, the knife shot down, burying itself in the flesh of Topher's upper chest, but it was a shallow wound that only glanced off his ribcage. He pressed the palm of his free hand against Noboru's chest and looked into the young man's eyes. "I'm sorry, kid."

I really am.

With all his strength, Topher pulled the burning fragment of debris behind Noboru into his hand with his Attract Object Skill. Obediently, the flaming chunk of wood shot forward and struck Noboru in the back.

Instantly, Noboru's bloodstained beige robe caught fire; the young man staggered, looked over his shoulder in confusion, and then turned back to face Topher. He opened his mouth, starting to say something.

Then the pain registered, and he screamed.

Topher kicked him away with every ounce of his remaining stamina; it wasn't much, but it was enough. Noboru fell backwards, flailing, as the flames crept up and over his clothing; he tried to tear his robe away, but it tangled in his hands and got caught on the knife. He writhed, falling to the ground, as Topher fell onto his own ass and crab-walked backwards; the flames were already too close, too hot.

Incredibly, Noboru managed to roll onto his stomach, then struggle up onto all fours; the fire was consuming him now, shriveling his skin and blackening his face as it blazed up over his back where his robe was melting onto his flesh. The stench was sickening. He looked up, into Topher's eyes, and screamed again; there might have been more words in it, but if so, Topher couldn't tell what they were.

Then he collapsed.

----------------------------------------

The next few moments were a blur to Topher; he remembered lying there paralyzed, panting, as the flames continued to consume the room, but eventually he recovered enough to stare around himself, disbelieving. His lungs were seared and smoky, and he was coughing almost constantly now. He needed to get out of here, but he had nowhere to go.

Then he saw Haruko.

She was still alive; her chest rose and fell shallowly, but the bleeding seemed to have slowed to a trickle. Stunned, Topher scrambled over to her on his hands and knees; her eyes met his, scared and confused. "Is... he..."

"He's gone. Don't move; don't try to talk." Topher cast about for something to staunch her wound, but most of the cloth in the room was on fire. He took off his hoodie and wadded it up, pressing it into her stomach. "Not supposed to move you, but... we gotta go."

Haruko groaned as he lifted her up, but did not complain; he carried her like a feather-light teenage bride over the threshold and down the stairs, out into the late afternoon. People were milling around, trying to determine the source of the smoke; he couldn't understand why nobody was helping him. Got to get her to a hospital. A healer. Something. He staggered about uncertainly, not even sure what direction he should be hurrying in.

"Bailey-sensei." Haruko's face was pale, but she was smiling; a little blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, which Topher knew was a very bad sign. "May I... ask you... a question?"

"Huh? What?" Topher was only half-listening; he was staggering from street to street, alley to alley, past the open-mouthed stares of strangers and townspeople.

"Do you think... that when we die here... we get to go home?"

Topher stopped. He looked down; Haruko was smiling up at him. She touched his face, gently, with her fingertips. "Kinda... want to see... my Dad... again."

Topher's mouth quivered. "Haruko. Jesus, no."

She blinked; her lips parted slightly, as if she was going to say something else. Then her hand fell away, and her eyes went glassy; a quiet exhalation slipped from between her open lips. There was a long, painful silence.

Topher wept.

----------------------------------------

END OF VOLUME 1