“. . .”
*Ctak ctak ctak ctak*
Inside one of the houses in South Australia, there is a 24-year-old man who’s typing on his keyboard without a specific purpose.
“I’m bored. . . Is this what life is all about?”
This man was bullied during high school, and he quit because of the trauma and pain, but he never told his parents the reason. He quit without saying anything, and that made his parents furious.
He’s been spending his lifetime inside his room on the second floor, playing video games, watching porns, or scrolling through social media endlessly. He has never tried to look for a job because of the trauma that he has never dealt with.
*Sigh*
“Guess it’s time to watch porn again.”
*BRAK*
His father suddenly barges into his room by slamming the door open.
“HIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!”
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW YOU USELESS PIECE OF SHIT!!”
His father holds a police baton in his right hand.
*WHAM*
He hits the wooden shelves nearby to scare his son.
“GET OUT!! NOOOOOOOWWWW!!!”
“Nooo. . .”
The son quickly retreats to his bed, covering himself with a blanket. His body is shaking and trembling in fear.
*WHAM*
The father whips the surface of the bed sheet with the baton.
“GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM!! I AM NOT GONNA REPEAT IT THIS TIME!!”
The son still shivers inside his blanket, not moving even an inch.
“YOU ASK FOR THIS!! DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU LATER!!”
His son’s resistance made the father’s anger skyrocket. He lifts his baton high into the air, and he swings it at the son’s head with all of his might.
*GRAB*
*GRAB*
“Now, now! There’s no need to be excessively violent to your own son!”
“Was that really the way to talk someone out of their fear, sir?”
*!!!!*
There were two women inside the room with the father and the son. The two women grabbed the father’s baton at the same time to stop him from hitting his son. They both stand next to each other in complete shock.
They slowly turn their heads and look towards each other.
“W-Who are you?” said both of them at the same time.
“W-WHO ARE YOU TWO??” the father screams in response.
They both pulled the baton out of the father’s grip.
*!*
“What is your intention?”
“I could ask you the same thing!”
These two are Kasumi and Hana. They reached this place first before the Judges they’re appointed to. They stare at each other in caution.
“Eeeehhh?? Who is that, Quroe-san?”
“Huh? Outsider?”
Suddenly, Luna and Quroe appeared from the door to this room. They step into the room, joining the others.
“Woman! State your business! Who are you?”
“I should be the one asking that to all of you! What are you all doing here?”
*ZRRGGG*
“Whew! The window’s unlocked!!”
Suddenly, the window to this bedroom slides open, and someone else also barges in.
“Huh? Why are there so many people here?”
It was Kaito. He has joined in on the confusion.
“Huh? Now, who is this guy?”
“Eh?”
“Huh? Another one?”
“Quroe-san, I am so confused, right now!”
“For the first time ever, I agree with you. You’re not alone there.”
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING IN MY HOUSE?” the father screams in frustration.
“Kasumi. Knock that guy out!”
“Yes, Master!”
Kasumi quickly closes in towards the father to knock him out, but Hana reflexively catches both of Kasumi’s hands and interferes.
*!!*
Kasumi stares intensely at Hana.
“What are you trying to do?”
Hana stares intensely back at Kasumi.
“Once again, I should be the one saying that!!”
Kaito and Quroe appeared next to them. Kaito grabs Hana’s hand, while Quroe grabs Hana’s hand.
“Let’s stop it, Hana-chan! No need to fight in this cramped place.”
“Drop it, Kasumi. It’s alright!”
“. . .”
Both Kasumi and Hana walk away from each other.
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“Are you perhaps—”
“Is it possible that you are—”
“--A Judge?” said both Kaito and Quroe at the same time.
*!!!!*
Kasumi, Luna, and Hana were all surprised.
“A fellow Judge?”
“Eh?!”
“Huh?”
“So, you’re the Judge whose presence I felt.” said Quroe.
“Yeah! This is a first for me! I’ve never felt the presence of another Judge! I was a bit nervous.” said Kaito.
“Don’t be! We’re all the same human being.”
“Ahahaha! Good point!”
“I’d like to have a conversation with you, but there is something urgent that must come first!”
“Agreed!”
*!?*
“Kasumi, knock the old man out!”
“Hana-chan, knock the son out!”
“Yes, Master!”
“Right, Kaito-senpai!”
Kasumi approaches the father while Hana approaches the son. They both lift their arms up.
*BAM*
*BAM*
And they knock both of them out with one hit at the same time.
Kaito and Quroe proceed to stab the Sword on the son’s and the father’s chests. And then they stab themselves to receive their memories.
The son became lazy because of his untreated trauma, while the father became insanely frustrated with his son without ever trying to properly talk to him first. The father is a cop, and he’s insanely protective of his family’s reputation amongst the neighbors. He was extremely furious when he heard some talks and rumors from the neighbors about his son. He even went as far as wanting to beat his son senseless to teach him a lesson. The son is extremely afraid of his father. He never even recovered from the bullying he received at school; now he has to face the wrath of his own father, who, instead of supporting him, wants to hit him with a police baton.
“. . .What is this shitty situation?” said Quroe.
“*Sigh* A family member who chooses violence and over-the-top strict parenting instead of talking to his son. . .” said Kaito.
“What should we do, Master?”
“The same thing as usual!”
“Pray for them, Kaito-senpai!”
“But, of course!”
Both Kaito and Quroe proceed to pray together and give blessings to the unconscious father and son.
.
.
.
At a nearby fast food restaurant, 20 minutes later. . .
*Munch munch*
“Mhhhh! I haven’t eaten burgers and fries in a long time!” said Kaito.
“Kaito-senpai, be careful of the amount of fat content you consume. It will affect your health.”
“Hana-chan, I literally just said it’s been a long time since I ate this type of food. . .”
*Munch munch*
“Mmmhh!! I LOVE BURGER!!” shouts Luna.
“Luna-dono, please don’t eat too much of it! Didn’t we just have lunch earlier?” said Kasumi.
“EEEHHH?? THAT DIDN’T COUNT!! I WAS IN A HURRY!!! I DIDN’T GET TO ENJOY IT!! I WANT TO ENJOY IT PROPERLY THIS TIME!!”
“Luna-dono, your health is at risk! At least for someone who’s still growing up.”
“Kasumi-san, I never realized you are this type of person. . .”
“I apologize. . . I used to be a butler slash maid, after all.”
“Oh! I forgot about that!”
“Pipe it down, you two!” said Quroe.
Kaito, Hana, Quroe, Luna, and Kasumi are all sitting down at one table, eating and having a conversation with each other.
“How amazing it is that we met each other like this, Quroe-san!” said Kaito.
“Pleasure to meet you too! I never imagined meeting another Judge this soon myself.”
“Huh? Your wording sounds like you met another already?!”
“Yeah, I do! Though it was a very terrible experience. . .”
“Huh? What does that mean?” asked Hana.
“. . .”
“Quroe-san had a fight with the First Judge.” said Luna.
. . . . .
“HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH???”
Both Kaito and Hana couldn’t contain their surprise and screamed their lungs out, that everyone inside the restaurant was startled. They immediately apologized to everyone and the staff for disturbing everyone’s lunch.
“That startles me so much! Thanks to you two, I dropped my precious French fries. . .” said Luna with tears in her eyes.
“Luna-dono. . .”
“We apologize!” said Kaito and Hana in harmony as they bowed their head towards Luna.
“Forget about the fries already!” said Quroe.
“So then, what happened between you and the First Judge?” asked Kaito.
“On that note, isn’t the First Judge the leader of the Judges?” said Hana.
“Correct! He and I had different values, so we ended up attacking each other.”
“Is that alright, Quroe-san? Aren’t Judges supposed to be united to be able to face the sin of the entire world?”
“Sin of the entire world?” said Quroe.
“Eh? What is that?” asked Luna.
“Where did you hear about that?” asked Quroe.
“Well, it’s more like a conclusion that we arrived at when we align our duty with the Scriptures.”
“Scriptures? Interesting. May I know the name of this Scripture?”
“It’s the Holy Bible.”
*!*
“That? I see. . . I’ll take a look at it sometimes.”
“So, then, have you met any other Judges than the First?” asked Kaito.
“. . .Now that I think about it, I did. That brat from the mansion, what was her name again. . .”
Quroe stops to think to himself.
“I think she was the Sixth Judge! Her name was Mari something. I forgot her family name. I wasn’t really paying attention when I was talking to her.”
“The Sixth Judge is a female? Wow!!” said Hana.
“By the way, which number are you, Quroe-san?”
“Seventh. And you?”
“Third! I am the Judge of Sloth!”
“I see. I am the Judge of Wrath. So, that girlfriend of yours is your Support, then?”
“Yes, I am!” said Hana with a happy tone.
“What about these two, Quroe-san? Which one is your Support?”
“. . .None. I don’t have a Support.”
. . . . .
“EEEEEE----!!!”
Kaito and Hana were shocked once again, but this time, Kasumi closed their mouth with her hands.
“Let’s not annoy the other guests again, you two?!”
Both of them nod, agreeing with her action.
“Good job, Kasumi-san!” said Luna.
Kasumi lifts her hand from their mouth and goes back to sit.
“So then, who are these two? Why were they with you even during Judgment?”
“. . .”
“(Is it wise to ask for his advice?)”
“Can we talk just the two of us, Kaito-san?”
*!*
“Huh? Sure, I don’t mind!”
“Oh, that’s right! Quroe-san hasn’t been talking to a man for a while, so I was afraid that he was gonna turn into a woman! Please, enjoy your boys' talk as long as possible, Quroe-san!!” said Luna.
“L-LUNA-DONO?!”
Kasumi was panicking, knowing how insulting Luna’s tone was.
*!*
“I APOLOGIZE, QUROE-SAMA!!!”
Luna suddenly bows her head towards Quroe once she sees that he is staring at her with a murderous glare.
“Ahahahahaha! So, that is the dynamic between your group! I get it now!” said Kaito, feeling amused.
“Don’t call it dynamic. . .” said Quroe.
“PFFTT!!!” Hana holds back her laughter.
“Alright, let’s finish our food fast, everyone! We can’t stay here all day! Our daily Judge duty isn’t over yet!”
Kaito instructed everyone to finish the food as soon as possible.
.
.
.
10 minutes later. . .
They all went to a nearby clothing shop. Kasumi, Hana, and Luna went inside already, hoping to bond further to get to know each other. Kaito and Quroe are outside, sitting on a public bench available everywhere in the area. The city is quite busy currently, and there are a lot of passersby in the streets.
“So, what’s up, Quroe-san?”
“I’ve been thinking about choosing my own Support soon.”
“Wow! Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah, but at the same time, I don’t have the heart to ask someone else to bear these burdens of the Judges. Especially someone you care about. Isn’t that irresponsible?”
“Eh? You think so? In my opinion, it’s more like you’re too arrogant or think too highly of yourself if you think you can bear the burdens of the Judges alone. Isn’t that why God made sure to create the role of a Support for us Judges?”
“That’s a. . .good point, actually. Maybe I am being arrogant. Maybe I do think highly of myself. I just couldn’t comprehend how to suddenly ask someone to bear this burden together. . .”
“Aaaahh!! I see your point now! But if they care about you, isn’t it better to bear the burden together?”
“Can I ask why that is?”
“Well, in my case, she is my girlfriend. Facing the storm together would make our relationships and our love stronger as well! A relationship that doesn’t grow is just a waste of time, but the only way to grow is to learn new things that come from facing challenges. I am serious about my girlfriend, so that’s why I chose her, and I don’t wanna waste both of our time! I wanna love her better than I am now! It’s kinda a two-birds-with-one-stone thingy!”
“I see.”
“So, is it right to assume you have a thing with that Kasumi woman?” said Kaito with an annoying face, trying to tease Quroe.
“I guess you can say that. That’s why I want to consider this seriously.”
“(Eeehh? Why is he answering so seriously? My joke didn’t land because of that!)”
“I also think that you’re thinking too much about this!” said Kaito.
*?!*
“How so?”
“You’re worrying too much about things that aren’t supposed to be your problem. Our burden as Judges came from the One True God! Whatever it is that you worry about, give it all to Him! Let your worries go! Don’t hold on to it! We have a God who wants to take care of our problems!!” said Kaito as he smiled at Quroe.
“. . . .”
*Sigh*
Quroe lets out a sigh of relief.
“Is that so?” said Quroe as he closed his eyes and smiled to himself.
“(Dear Lord, the One True God, I think I made my choice. I’m gonna tell her sooner or later, but please prepare me for when the time comes! Amen.)”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
“KKKYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
“WHAT IS THAT??”
*!!!!*
All of a sudden, the clothing store in front of them was swallowed up by darkness in its entirety, and a lot of people nearby started panicking.
“W-WHAT?” said Kaito, panicking.
“The others are still inside!!” said Quroe.
Upon further inspection, the clothing store wasn’t the only store swallowed by darkness. Everything next to it also got caught in it.
“Tch!”
Quroe’s whole body was engulfed by his red aura, and he flew quickly upwards to the sky.
“W-WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?”
Kaito summoned his summon being and hopped on its back, and it flew up high to where Quroe is.
“What is going on all of a sudden?”
Quroe and Kaito saw that a portion of the entire city they’re in is suddenly covered by a really large pitch black dome that appeared out of nowhere without a warning.
