They had noticed her by now.

  Weapons were pointed her way as Fodder wielding bded weapons swarmed her. Few were mowed down by bullets, their shoulders ripping apart. And yet, they pushed on with zealous fury.

  I thought they wanted me alive? That information mustn’t have reached them yet.

  Red leaped into the air, lodging her bde into another neck. Then, she kicked off from their shoulders, performing a spectacur flip, and disappeared into the canopies. Due to the number of enemies around her, her AGI increased by 25% thanks to [Huntress’ Ssh III].

  AGI: 40

  She was already a blur to them due to their measly 12 AGI.

  But this made her virtually undetectable. Not only that, but the bloody mist allowed her to move in ways that could only be described as precognitive. The bloody mist enhanced her combat instincts by tenfold, allowing her to seamlessly dodge bullets as she ran along the canopies.

  “SHOOT IT DOWN!”

  “NO SURVIVORS!”

  “DO NOT FAIL THE REQUEST OF THE QUEEN! ELIMINATE ALL THAT MOVES AND BREATHES!”

  Getting down was a problem. She’d be vulnerable the moment she dropped.

  “I’ll show you evil doers how a huntress fights. How dare you shoot at Snow… How dare you hurt Rockie! [Dimensional Storage]!”

  She reached into her Dimensional Storage and withdrew a heavy ste of Rock Bug armor and hurled it elsewhere.

  “THERE!” Bullets transitioned to where the heavy thud came from.

  “NO, OVER THERE!”

  Another ste was thrown.

  And another.

  After three, Red plunged from the canopies like a guillotine. She twisted her body, creating a red vortex that cimed five heads. When a red ssh appeared, at least two Fodder were felled in one strike.

  Each attack went for the vitals with uncanny precision. Their highly protective uniforms were useless because of this.

  Though Scarlet Logic Fodder were disciplined to face insurmountable fear, their eyes trembled behind their protective visors. That red glow that hovered like tiny red dots within their gss masks was incomparable to the incandescent orbs that were her eyes.

  Red lunged through a straight line of twelve more Fodder. More had heard the commotion and came to assist, only for nine to lose their heads in a single lunge.

  “What the…!? M-Monster –!”

  “THAT’S RED TO YOU!” She grabbed what she thought was a woman. Or a man. It did not matter to Red.

  What mattered was that they were wearing the uniform of Scarlet Logic. While she could rationalize them killing innocent people perhaps out of necessity, their ambush confirmed that they were not the heroic organization she once believed to be.

  Not only that, but she had overheard that this senseless murder was the request of a higher power – their Queen.

  “An Adventurer of your level… at this pce? Could you be a Hired Arm from an Association –!?”

  Red did not waste any time hearing their useless words. She caved their face in, fusing their vision with their flesh with a single punch.

  “The Golden Middle wears red. She could very well be one of theirs. Could they have caught on?”

  Another had their skull split vertically. With such meager DEF stats they were susceptible to Red’s attacks. They were killed instantaneously, falling one by one like dominoes.

  “Grab the Healer! Code White Protocol!”

  Snow had her own problems. The amount of Scarlet Logic Fodder only continued to grow. Now that they realized she was a Healer, they no longer fired bullets in her direction.

  “Code White…? What Code is that?” Snow muttered, before shouting: “Why is there a Code for Healers!? What’s happened to Scarlet Logic to need a Code against a Healer!?”

  Scarlet Logic utilized Codes to describe the type of mission or task they needed to conduct. Code Red for example was the neutralization of Corrupted. Red knew this already, since she had faced much stronger Scarlet Logic personnel who were summoned to a facility to suppress her.

  Suddenly, no one was focusing on Red anymore.

  In fact, those who had their sights on her turned their attention to Snow.

  “Brrrrr! BRRRRR!”

  “Cursed Steel Bug! Why is there… a fucking bottom feeder aiding a Healer!”

  “Since when were they this strong! My bones… legs… Finish me off… Scarlet Logic… will need to investigate…”

  Rockie was nigh immortal against them. Nothing could pierce through its outer shell. Each swipe of its front legs sent a Fodder flying. If they were lucky, they’d sm against a tree and snap their necks. Those who were unlucky were used as a carpet as it stomped over them, grinding its legs until it inevitably crushed their skulls.

  “Rockie, thank you… Tch. You… Are the Ateliers that desperate for a Healer? Your ranks don’t even need them. So why? If you require a Healer, then –!”

  “Sheltered, aren’t you?” A crazed woman’s voice giggled. “Oh, how wonderful would it be if Inflow Direct would just seeeeeend all their Healers straight into our arms~! We’d have all the CSF in the world. Our Queen would promote us straight from a Fodder to Dawn – nay, a Noon Team!”

  “Our spinal fluid…?”

  “Aren’t you just a ball of sunshine! Don’t worry. You’ll be getting accustomed to it soon –!”

  “BRRRR!”

  Rockie pulverized the woman’s skull.

  Agate. CSF?

  CSF

  < Short for Cerebrospinal Fluid. It is the fluid that exists within the spine and the brain >

  Why the hell would they want that!?

  < Unknown >

  The fight was a one-sided massacre.

  “A Healer and a monster. Of course it would protect her. Even a Rock Bug would fall for a Healer.”

  “Aaaah! An insect no less. You had to resort to a Rock Bug since the eradication of the Anids. Rend that whore’s guts. We’ll do her a favor and remove the abomination before she can birth it.”

  “Tch.” Snow’s lips trembled, her eyes fshing to a shade of red. “Rockie. Destroy them.”

  “Brr!”

  Their ck of fear and strength meant that they had to resort to psychologically tormenting Snow, who could not believe that they were after her as well.

  No. Snow knew they’d try to take her. She wasn’t just looking out for me.

  Red grit her teeth, her emotions Heightening as she took down another thirty Fodder.

  What’s worrying her is why they have a Code for it. Ateliers are supposed to be with the Nexus, right? Aren’t they supposed to be good people!?

  Good

  < A subjective construct of morality. Necessary good may contradict socially acceptable ‘goods’ >

  … There’s no such thing as a construct. What’s good is good. What’s bad is bad. If that’s the case, then you get bastards like this who think they’re good when they’re actually bad!

  Red refused to believe that such a thing existed. Using her pent-up rage, she cleaved the hand of a Fodder.

  “Might as well give this a shot!”

  Using the hand of the Fodder to wield the weapon, she pulled the trigger and immediately felt her mana being drained into the Mana Repeater. It was heavy, bulky and had no sight to assist with target acquisition.

  But this weapon was in the hands of Hatchling Red.

  Mana Repeater

  < EFFECT: Fire a crystal bullet made from your mana. Deal 200 ATT and 200 MAG ATT >

  < COST: 10 MP per bullet >

  The windup took thirty seconds. But after that–

  “SAY HELLO TO MY NEW FRIEND, SCARLET SCUMBAGS!”

  –She took aim, and id down accurate fire like no Fodder had ever seen before. A head popped every second. It didn’t matter how fast they were, or how well they tried to hide. Red’s mana bullets would find them.

  She entered the canopy again and fired at them from above.

  “Rabbits!?”

  “RABBITS!”

  ‘Rabbits’. The term made no sense to Red, and she couldn’t help but ugh at them. They had gone insane, she believed. Who else would call a shooter like her a rabbit?

  “There is a bunny here… We can be awarded with so much more than Noon! Dusk! DUSK–!”

  “They all talk too much.” Red assassinated as many as she could before the hand rotted away.

  Once it did, she grabbed the barrel-end of the weapon and came crashing down on a Fodder.

  She bashed their heads into the ground. Then, she wrapped her hand around the handle, triggering its deyed booby trap. She smashed the teeth of the nearest Fodder, leaving it in their mouth.

  “Mmmph!?”

  “Enjoy it!”

  The spring-locked mechanism activated, and their inner mouth was cerated.

  It did not kill them immediately, and they were left to drown in their own blood.

  Red finished off the st of the Fodders on her side. If it weren’t for Rockie, then there was no way she would have succeeded in defending her.

  Snow clenched her fists.

  “… Does Scarlet Logic think they can get away with trying to kill a Healer? Justica Arms… Inflow Direct… Are you trying to start an Atelier War?”

  “Hah… Ahahahaha! You… Are so… so funny for a Healer. Start? Ahahahaha –!”

  Rockie swiped the jaw off the Fodder’s face.

  They died ughing and gurgling on their own blood whilst staring at Snow with pity.

  “What don’t I know?” She flickered through her diary, desperately searching for crity.

  However, in that one moment of distraction, a Scarlet Logic Fodder lunged at her from behind. There was no scream, roar or battle cry. Had they done so, then Snow would have had a chance to defend herself.

  Red didn’t notice this either. By the time she readied to hurl her bde at the attacker, a small, little wolf leapt from the shadows and bit the arm of the Fodder.

  “Eh…? Three Paw…?”

  “THREE PAW!”

  It changed the trajectory of the attack, causing the Fodder to stab Rockie’s side.

  “Oh fuck…”

  And just like that, Rockie turned towards them and swept their head clean off.

  The st Fodder – for now – had fallen before them. The deafening silence wouldn’t st forever. Red could already sense movement not that far away.

  “Three Paw…” Snow reached down towards the little wolf cub.

  “Ruf~!” It barked lovingly, allowing her to scoop it up with her arms.

  However, her face of delight turned into one of horror.

  “You’re…”

  Her heart dropped.

  “Snow, we gotta move! Rockie! Use carry!”

  “Brrr!”

  “Keep your voices down.” Red warned, moving alongside Rockie as it scooped them onto its back. “Snow, are you able to… Huh? Snow?”

  Tears suddenly began to tumble down her cheeks.

  And then, she presented Three Paw to Red.

  Her heart dropped.

  Brambles wrapped its paws. One of its eyes was repced with a bundle of thorns, and those same thorns grew out from its back to repce patches of missing fur.

  “Three Paw is infected. Our little wolf… I’m so sorry.”

  Indeed.

  Three Paw – like the Huntsman – was afflicted with the same rot that had caused him to Corrupt.

  Among those wounds she noticed that there were scratches on Three Paws body. Some from bded weapons, and others from what looked to be the cws of a feral animal.

  The howls of wolves could be heard alongside the distant chatter behind them.

  Red then realized that Three Paw had been attacked by its own kind, just like them.

  “What the pn now, Red?”

  “It hasn’t changed. We take down the Sweet Thorns, and we get the hell out of here.”

  “Mhm. That’s… all we can really do now. [Minor Healing]. [Cleanse]. Three Paw… please hold on, ok?”

  Three Paw didn’t whimper, nor did it whine like all wolves did when on the brink of death.

  Rather, it simply stared at Snow with a grateful expression. The old Three Paw would have licked or nuzzled against her. But as if knowing that it would injure Snow if it did, the wolf remained inanimate.

  Simply being held by her was more than enough for it.

  Syringe