Kaito was silently watching everything unfold from behind.
“. . .”
Quroe turns around and teleports near Kasumi.
“. . .I apologize that you have to see that, Kaito-san.”
“I. . . don’t mind it, Quroe-san.”
“Is that so? But your face says that you were shocked.”
“. . .I apologize for lying.”
“It’s fine. This is just who I really am. A serial killer who can’t hold himself back whenever there is an opportunity to take someone’s life.”
“. . .”
Kaito couldn’t say anything in response, and they both fell silent for a long time.
.
.
.
In one of the nearby buildings near the empty open space, Lucas was standing atop the roof, hiding his presence inside an invisible purple cube that could only be perceived by him. He chose a building opposite where Quroe faces since the beginning.
Lucas is holding the mini purple cube in his right hand, allowing the Game Master to witness everything that just unfolds.
“He is. . . a lot scarier in person than the rumors I’ve heard.”
Inside the mini purple cube, the Game Master is sitting down in a curled-up position.
“. . .”
His body is trembling and shaking greatly. He hasn’t quite gotten over his fear of Hana and her demonic/angelic form, and now he has just witnessed something that is even more terrifying than her.
“All of my. . . officers were killed so easily. . . There are thousands of them. . . and yet they all died within minutes. . . You’re telling me. . . that he has nothing to do. . . with the Ten Commandments of God. . .? What even is that guy anymore. . .?” said the Game Master with a shaken voice.
“I saw him earlier, before I entered your infinite maze from far away in the sky. I immediately went into your maze as soon as I saw him, before he somehow detects me, since I have no idea what his Faith power is supposed to be. All I know is that whatever his Faith power is, it seems to have been designed to take human life as effortlessly as he demonstrated.”
Lucas looks towards the mini purple cube in his hand.
“Aren’t you glad that you are with me instead of being amongst your ‘officers’ down there now?”
“. . .”
The Game Master did not respond.
“I am not as ruthless as that guy. I’ll bring you to our HQ. We will hold a meeting to discuss your punishment. You hear me?”
“Then, what’s the point of showing me this?”
“It is to show my mercy to you. I could’ve easily let you to your death, remember! You may not have directly killed someone, but you were the mastermind and the reason behind all of these people’s deaths. You will pay for them! Got it? I have let that serial killer judge handle all of your officers, because I was also gathering intel regarding his Faith power. He may become a serious threat in the future if he goes down the wrong path. The Ten Commandments of God have overlooked his crimes for now. We investigated several victims of his murders, and they all turned out to be either corrupt scumbags, murderers, thieves, or anyone from the Underworld. We see him as a free help to clean out the Underworld and get rid of problematic people from the world.”
“. . .What will happen to my woman?”
“That woman of yours? I know where you hid her, but relax. If you comply with our demands without any resistance, I will beg all of my peers to keep her out of this whole problem.”
The Game Master smiles to himself, hearing Lucas’s answer.
“Then I shall not resist anymore. Take me to your HQ. I accept any punishment.”
“. . .Before we go, can you answer me one question?”
“Sure, but isn’t it better to start questioning me in your HQ?”
“Nah, this is a personal question.”
“I see. Go ahead!”
“What was your reason for forcing people to play this killing game of yours?”
“. . .Revenge against society.”
“Really, dude?”
“Yes. . . Really, dude.”
“*SIGH* Let me guess, you were either bullied, fired from your job, your co-workers were awful people, or someone terrorized someone close to you?”
“Not quite. An entire neighbourhood burned my entire family alive simply because they found out that I was a Believer. And then my woman, Claire, and her family were also burned alive because they found out how close my family was to hers. She was a Believer too, but they didn’t know that, and they still burned her family because of our closeness.”
“. . .I apologize for my insensitive comment.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Were those people inside your infinite maze?”
“Nah, I already killed them a long time ago as soon as I found out what happened.”
“What were you doing during the incident?”
“I was at my job. Me and Claire opened a circus. We used our Faith powers to perform tricks and whatnot. We had a few regulars, but our names were not big. As soon as I went home that night, I immediately forced all of them to play a killing game as well. I did not lift a single finger, and they all killed each other on their own. The last guy who survived the entire killing game ended up killing himself because I did not let him out, even though I promised all of them I would.”
“. . .”
Lucas did not respond.
“Afterwards, I committed myself to getting stronger so that I can trap more and more people inside my killing game. I realized that what happened to my and Claire’s families was because of their hatred towards Believers. Then I found out that this is almost a common theme throughout the whole world. I also learned the fact that God doesn’t exist and doesn’t foresee everything. Otherwise, why would a God not take care of this world?? There’s so much chaos and suffering in this world.”
“No. God does exist. He is taking a step back from this world because of a decision we as humanity chose.”
“W-What??”
“Back during the early times of creation, when Adam and Eve, the first human beings God created, still walked the earth, everything in the world was flawless. There was no evil, no corruption, no harm, no danger, no hunger, no poverty, no destruction, no pain, no adultery, and most importantly, there was no such thing as death.”
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“. . .What are you saying? No death?”
“But then we as humans chose to break God’s laws by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. And then Sin entered the world. And so did chaos, sufferings, pain, poverty, destruction, and so was death.”
“. . .”
“Sufferings, evil, chaos, and such were never part of God’s creation. We told Him to take a step back when we chose to break His law. What you see right now is the result of our choice back then.”
“. . .Why are you attributing Adam and Eve’s fault as if they’re ours?”
“Just look at the state of the world right now! Adam and Eve may have been the ones who did it back then, but people nowadays don’t even choose God at all in all of their lives. But when something bad happens, somehow they blame God for it.”
“. . .I don’t know what to make of this information.”
“Alright, enough talking. I’m taking you to HQ right away.”
“. . .Do as you see, please.”
Lucas vanishes from his spot along with the invisible purple cube he was in.
.
.
.
“. . .”
Hana slowly opens her eyes.
“Uuurrgghh. . .”
The first thing she sees is the beautiful starry night sky above.
“So pretty. . .”
She slowly gets up and sits up.
“Where am I?”
Hana looks to her right and left. She sees that she is sitting on the grass up on a lonely hill. The city where the killing game just took place was far away in the distance in front of her. The lights of the city were illuminating the night looked so whimsical and magical to her.
“I see. I’m finally outside.”
Hana smiles to herself as her eyes look endearing, resting her chin against her knees, looking towards the city.
“How did all of those horrible things happen in that beautiful city? It’s such a huge contrast.”
“HANA!!”
*!*
Kaito suddenly shouts. He walks up, approaching her from the foot of the hill. When he reaches her, he immediately sits down close, next to her.
“Are you okay? Do you feel anything wrong with your body? Is there any wound under your clothes?”
“Kaito-senpai. . .”
*HUGS*
*!*
Hana immediately launches her face towards Kaito’s chest.
“KAITO-SENPAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!! I MISS YOU SO MUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
*THUD*
“OUCH!!”
Kaito falls on his back to the grass, and Hana lies on top of him.
“KAITO-SENPAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!! HUWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”
Hana starts crying in his chest.
*Smooch*
“I miss you too, Hana.” said Kaito as he smiled and kissed Hana on the top of her head.
Hana’s face went red the moment she was kissed.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH KAITO-SENPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!! HUWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”
*pats pats*
Kaito pats Hana’s head repeatedly.
“Yes, yes. I love you too, Hana.”
“HUUUWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”
Hana continues to hug and cry on Kaito’s chest for a few minutes. Kaito closes his eyes as he embraces Hana in his hands and smiles to himself.
After a few seconds, Hana lets go of her hug and sits up next to Kaito. Kaito also sits up and sits next to her.
“Hana. It must’ve been rough inside that maze.”
“. . .It really was Kaito-senpai.”
“I’ve already extracted your memories, but there seem to be gaps between your memories. Did you. . .”
Hana’s face turned to a slight frown.
“I did, Kaito-senpai. . .”
“. . .I see.”
They both fell silent for a few seconds, and then their silence was broken by a single drop of tears. Kaito looks towards Hana and sees that she sheds tears.
“Kaito-senpai. . . *sobs sobs* I hurt Kasumi-san. . . and Luna-san. . .”
Hana speaks with a shaken voice in her sorrow.
“*sobs sobs* I never had any friends, Kaito-senpai. *sobs sobs* But I hurt both Kasumi-san and Luna-san because I lost control *sobs sobs*. That was my only chance to make friends, and I botched it. *sobs sobs*.”
Kaito hugs Hana from the side.
“They won’t hate you, though. Trust me!”
“*sobs sobs* Really?”
“Yup! I guarantee! Moreover, there are more Judges than just Quroe-san! They all have their own Supports as well, so those are like 10 other potential friends you can make! Isn’t that awesome?”
“*sobs sobs* I guess you’re right, Kaito-senpai.”
Hana smiles a little bit despite the tears.
“(Good, she’s smiling now!)”
After a while, Hana wipes her tears and stops crying. She suddenly stands up.
“What’s wrong, Hana?”
“Kaito-senpai! I’ve decided that I want to get stronger without ever being reliant on whatever is inside me. And if possible, I want to get rid of whatever this is from my body. Please, assist me on both ends, Kaito-senpai!”
Kaito stands up next to Hana and holds her right hand with his left.
“Of course! I will be with you every step of the way!” said Kaito with a smile to Hana.
Hana smiles back at Kaito.
“Alright, then! Let’s have dinner! You’re hungry, right?” asks Kaito.
*!!*
“Now that you say it, I do!”
“Okie! What do you wanna eat?”
“Whatever you choose, I’ll eat it, Kaito-senpai!”
“Ahahahaha! Alright then!”
.
.
.
“Urgh. . .”
*!*
“Quroe-san! Kasumi-chan has woken up!”
Kasumi slowly gets up and sits up. She’s still half asleep, and her eyes are still half closed.
“Luna-chan. . .”
“Kasumi!”
Quroe runs towards Kasumi in a hurry. Both Luna and Quroe are sitting in chairs next to her.
“Master. . .Quroe. . .”
Kasumi looks at her surroundings and realizes that she’s inside a small room that belongs to some kind of warehouse. She’s sitting on a bed this whole time. Everything inside this warehouse looks rundown, dirty, and abandoned.
“Luna-chan. . . Master Quroe. . . Where are we?”
“We’re currently inside the hideout of some local thugs in the city.” said Quroe.
“Yeah! They all looked at Quroe-san’s face, and they all started running for some reason.”
“Is that so?”
“Do you feel anything, Kasumi?”
“I’m fine, Master Quroe. I just feel exhausted from how long I have been fighting.”
Quroe looks at the stump of her left forearm, tied by a very deep red cloth.
“Let’s meet up with the First Judge.”
*!!!*
“EEHHH??? HIM AGAIN? WASN’T THAT THE GUY WHO BEAT YOU TO A PULP, QUROE-SAN?” shouts Luna in surprise.
“Yeah, he was.” said Quroe confidently.
“Eh? Quroe-san, I meant that as a joke. You can scold me if you want. . .”
“It was merely a fact that I lost to him. Why would I make any excuses?”
“I apologize for being insensitive, Quroe-san.” said Luna as she bowed her head towards him.
“. . .”
Quroe was taken aback by Luna’s apology. This time it felt sincere than reactionary, like most of the time.
“I see. You’ve grown too in such a short time, huh?”
“Huh?”
Luna lifted her head and was confused by Quroe’s comment.
“Kasumi. Does that still hurt?” said Quroe, referring to Kasumi’s left hand.
“A little bit, but I‘m getting used to it. So don’t worry about me too much, Master Quroe!”
“I see. We’ll beg the First Judge to let his girlfriend, the Queen of Time to heal that wound.”
“Is that possible?”
“Yeah! His girlfriend is the 4th Strongest Believer in the world after all! I’ve seen how powerful she is.”
“EEEEHHH?! HE’S DATING THE 4TH STRONGEST BELIEVER IN THE WORLD?” said Kasumi, shocked.
“Ah! Excuse me, you two, I had to use the bathroom!”
Luna quickly left in a hurry for the toilet.
“. . .”
Neither Kasumi nor Quroe said anything for a few seconds.
“Kasumi. I’ve seen what you’ve been through inside that awful killing game. Good job surviving that!”
*!*
“I-I see. . . But how did you know that, Master Quroe?”
Quroe summons the Sword of Purification in his right hand, shows it to Kasumi, and discards it immediately after.
“I see. . .”
“(EEEHH??? DOES THAT MEAN HE KNOWS THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT HIM THE WHOLE TIME?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!)”
“From now on, you are not allowed to address me as Master Quroe anymore.”
“. . .”
“HEH?”
Kasumi took a second to respond to what Quroe said.
“B-BUT WHY MASTER QUROE?”
“*Sigh* I've seen both of your memories. And I agree with Luna. I wanna be called something friendlier rather than you purposefully building a wall between us. I don’t like that.”
“E-EH? T-Then how should I address you?”
“Anything is fine as long as you don’t treat me like I’m some kinda old master waiting out my old days to finally leave this world.”
“UUrrrrmmmhhhh. . . I’ll think of it, Master Quroe. I mean. . .Quroe. . .san.”
“The San honorific is also prohibited.”
“That’s just for temporary Quroe-san! At least until I think of one!”
Luna was listening the whole time. She never actually went to the bathroom and was just listening from outside the door. She smiles to herself like an idiot.
“Alright, let’s save it for now. Let’s have dinner! All three of us!”
*!*
“Dinner? Is it nighttime already? How long did I pass out?”
“I didn’t pay attention. I was worried about you the whole time.”
*!!!!*
Kasumi’s face turned red hearing what he said.
“Are you okay to stand and walk? Or should I carry you on my back?”
“EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH???”
Kasumi’s face turned even redder at hearing his suggestion.
“I-i-i-i-it’s fine, Quroe-san! I’m fine!”
Kasumi gets out of bed and stands up. Quroe instinctively stands up and helps her stand up by holding her back and her shoulder.
“I-I’m fine, Quroe. . .san.”
“*Sigh* Alright, alright.”
They both walk out of the room and find Luna outside.
“So, you really were eavesdropping on us?”
*!!!*
“L-LET’S GO EAT QUROE-SAN!! KASUMI-CHAN!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
“She really wishes to be let go of her crime. . .” said Kasumi.
“K-KASUMI-CHAN!! EAVESDROPPING WASN’T A CRIME!!”
“Oh, so you admit it!” said Quroe.
“AAAAAHH!!! I AM VERY HUNGRY!! LET’S GO OUT OF THIS PLACE!! REMEMBER THIS PLACE IS USED BY THUGS!! WHO KNOWS HOW FILTHY AND DIRTY IT IS INSIDE HERE!!”
“Eh? Good point? And to think I was lying on their bed. . .” said Kasumi as she made a very disgusted expression.
“Don’t worry about it. I cleaned it before I put you there.” said Quroe.
“Is that so?” said Kasumi, smiling so suddenly.
“(This woman is so in love and now she’s not even trying to hide her feelings. . .)” said Luna inside her head, looking at Kasumi with a strange gaze.
They continued talking to each other as they kept walking away from the thug hideout.
After a while, Kasumi suddenly came up with what she wants to call Quroe.
“Quroe-san!”
“Hm?”
“Is. . . Quroe-kun, alright?”
Quroe was taken aback for a split second, but his face didn’t show it.
“That’s alright!”
“Well then, Quroe-kun! Please take care of me from now on!”
“As if I haven’t already done that!”
“(Why are they talking like they just became a couple?)” said Luna with an annoyed face.
