With the purpose of staying alive, and with enough willpower to fight for it, I ventured into a new mission.
BEEP
[576 meters north]
As I moved forward, it became more and more obvious just how clear the path I was taking was.
-Maybe they just went to sleep.
I said to myself.
The survivors of the monster's attack had a brutal day. It wasn't surprising that many of them chose to lie down for a while, even if they had to do it on the freezing ground, in front of campfires that could barely produce a few glowing embers.
"I lost everything, everything."
"Come on, don't say that."
"It's true, damn it."
But the others, the ones who stayed awake, wandered without any clear direction, their eyes empty. Some of them looked like they were in a trance.
They were the ones who couldn't accept the loss, swallowed by sadness and despair.
"My building was torn down, along with all my belongings. I've got nothing left."
Even though some of them were only complaining about simple material things, things that could be replaced easily.
Those idiots kept crying over nothing.
"Please, man, you're still alive at least. That's something good, right?"
"What good is being alive? I worked for years to get an apartment in the city and… and now…"
"Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!"
"Hey, don't shout…"
"It must be so easy for you, huh, Bryan? Your building stayed perfectly intact, along with your damn restaurant, and and… and what are you looking at?!"
"...!"
My fault. The drama unfolding in front of me completely pulled me in. Apparently, I stared at those guys longer than I should have.
"Sorry."
I said, then ran.
"Oh, yeah?! Get out of here, or I swear I'll smash your face in, you nosy little brat!"
"Damn it, Carl, calm down already!"
I got away as fast as I could, but even at a distance I could still hear that loud man's whining while his friend held him back from behind.
"No more distractions."
I told myself. I couldn't waste any more time on that kind of nonsense. And I also couldn't forget that I was most likely being watched right now by my "new bosses".
BEEP
[325 meters]
I kept moving. I'd already gone far beyond what you could call "the edge of the refugee camp", where there were no more campfires, people, or tents. In fact, the last time I saw a tent was about seven minutes ago. I think it was one of the ones handing out blankets and coats.
"..."
And now that I think about it, I really should've taken at least one of the two.
"It's so cold."
BEEP
[Estimated temperature: 10 degrees Celsius]
"At this point I'm going to catch a cold."
[Yes, probably]
"....."
[Is something wrong, Mr. Robert?]
"I wanted to ask you… what were the other tests?"
[Tests?]
"The ones my "bosses" planned for me."
[Ah, that]
"Yeah… that."
[The idea was to analyze your behavior in crisis situations]
[That's why they brought you here]
"I see…"
"Wait, what?!"
[That is supposed to happen very soon]
"What do you mean, "that"? Is something else going to happen in this park?"
[Correct. Something important is about to happen around here]
"Important? Don't you mean dangerous?"
[Ah, yes. That's much more accurate than what I said]
"And what's going to happen to the people here? Will there be more deaths?"
[Who knows]
The cube's answer sounded extremely vague to me, but in my current situation I couldn't do anything to help those people who were now resting after what, for them, was almost the end of the world… and honestly, even if I weren't on my way to a mission, I doubt I could do anything useful to prevent someone's death in general.
[Anyway, Dead Star has other employees who will handle that, so focus on your own mission]
"I see."
-So there really are more employees here.
I thought.
[Counting you, there are only two Dead Star employees within an 800-meter radius]
-Oh, right. I forgot this thing can read my mind.
[Please don't call me "thing", Mr. Robert]
"Uh… sure. Sorry."
[No problem]
"Still, if only one person is taking care of a park this big… shouldn't there be more employees around?"
[There were, but a couple of difficulties came up]
[Two of them were murdered during a mission 27 minutes ago]
"Murdered."
That single word echoed inside my head with overwhelming force. The cube could've said they died, but it didn't. It deliberately used the word murdered, and I couldn't help connecting that to the word murderer, which made me uneasy. It made me think what happened to those employees wasn't an accident… though that was just my own thought.
[There was another one too, but he deserted]
"Deserted… you mean he…?"
[He abandoned his post]
"That's not possible… is it?"
[Mission administrators can authorize a withdrawal only if there are benefits in doing so, like with you]
"What about me?"
[You failed half of your missions]
"W-What?!"
[You couldn't seal the fictional ether core, and you also failed to obtain the Ka'li's genetic material. However, you managed to drive the latter out of that dimension. That was considered only a minor achievement by the administrators. That's why they authorized your rescue before you died, and that is also why they are putting you to the test now]
"I understand…"
"But… what if I had done the same…?"
[What do you mean?]
"I mean… like that employee…"
[In that case…]
"No. Don't tell me."
[What?]
[I don't understand, Mr. Robert]
"Uhhh…"
I don't blame the cube. Even I'm getting tangled up in my own words.
"Just tell me, what happened to that employee who abandoned his mission? Did they punish him or something?"
[That employee who fled his mission is already being given a punishment appropriate to his offense]
Like any other job, committing a fault that affects your performance or someone else's deserves punishment. Like a guard who shows up late to his shift, or an office worker who doesn't finish his paperwork on time. But the problem comes when you consider the kind of job and the fault committed. Since this is a secret organization dedicated to killing interdimensional parasites that apparently attack our dimension nonstop, I could only imagine what kind of punishment would fit the offense of abandoning a mission.
[The chosen punishment was death. A slow and painful death]
Just as I thought, that was the most fitting punishment. And the cube's words confirmed another thought I kept buried deep in my mind: my current situation wasn't much different from someone walking on a tightrope.
[Right now, that deserter will be feeling the weight that comes after failing to fulfill his duties]
[I estimate he will die in approximately 20 minutes, at minimum]
"What happens if I fail this mission?"
[This mission was one of several assigned to one of those employees whose fate I already told you about. Since he was a low mid-rank exterminator, it was assumed it would be easy for him. He would finish it and move on to the rest, but after being murdered, he left a couple unfinished. Now one of those has been assigned to you to test your performance and your worth. Complete the mission along with all its side objectives and you will be officially accepted as an exterminator in Dead Star's service. That will allow you to live however you please, as long as you follow your superiors' orders. Fail, and you will be officially dismissed for lacking the performance required for the job. That would also mean your privileges, such as your weapons, me, and basically everything you were given before being fully accepted, would be revoked from you. You would be back at the same point where you started]
I remembered very well the point where it all began, and how I was back then…
"About to die…"
[Correct]
"..."
"Great…"
After a long walk, we had reached the edge of the park. Just a few more steps and we would leave this ruined wasteland and reach a devastated city, filled with the rubble of destroyed buildings.
"Which way?"
[The mission point is across the street, on the fifth floor of the building in front of you]
That building was a magnificent structure over 100 meters tall. Despite the clear damage visible on its outer layer, it was still standing.
-Just a few more steps.
I thought. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Even so, I kept walking with no intention of turning back.
I was about to cross the street when…
"Where do you think you're going?"
A hand grabbed my shoulder, stopping me cold.
"Leaving the park is forbidden."
I turned slowly. I didn't want to make any sudden movement and anger whoever had hold of my shoulder.
When I finally turned around, I saw him clearly. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a sturdy build, wearing light gray armor with green details. Behind him, a long green cape flowed down past his knees.
Without a doubt, this person was a hero.
"..."
The hero stared silently into my eyes through a green mask.
Kof kof
Facing his intimidating presence, I cleared my throat before speaking, and focused on not stuttering or saying anything that might raise suspicion.
"Excuse me, sir. I was going to my apartment to get something important. It's not far from here, and I planned to come back as soon as I could."
I spoke as naturally as possible, hiding all the nervousness I carried inside.
"Sorry, kid. Leaving the park is strictly forbidden. By order of the Defense League, no one is allowed to leave until it's confirmed that the area is safe for civilians."
Damn it. I already knew he'd give me that answer, and even though he was more understanding than I expected, I was still in trouble.
"Please, it's something really important… it's… medicine for my brother."
"My answer is still no. If your brother is seriously ill, go talk to someone at a medical tent and have them speak to me."
The hero kept refusing to let me out, and as he did, he started looking me up and down.
"...!"
"What is this?"
Suddenly, the green-caped hero let go of my shoulder and pointed at my blood-stained shirt. That blood came from the massacre the heirs had orchestrated earlier.
"Uh… that… that… isn't my blood."
"Blood?"
He sounded surprised. Apparently, at first he didn't believe that big stain really was blood.
"I got splashed a little when all that mutant stuff happened at that medical tent."
"Mutants?"
-Wait… is he asking me about the mutants?
The question the hero asked only created more questions in my mind.
-Does this guy seriously have no idea about the whole mess that happened?
-No, that was impossible. The blows those superhumans traded caused shocks almost like an earthquake, and heroes with enhanced senses should've felt them easily.
-So then why…?
"You… you do know a group of heirs came through the camp, right?"
"What?"
Before I could say another word…
[Don't continue]
The cube cut me off.
-What's happening now?
[You've already wasted too much time. You need to leave now]
"Kid."
Again, the hero grabbed my shoulder, preventing me from getting away.
"Tell me exactly… what did you mean when you said "heirs"?"
With the hero and the cube giving me two different orders, I got nervous. So, without thinking about the consequences, I said:
"Why are you so focused on safety now, and nobody did anything when the heirs showed up?"
"..."
"W… what… heirs… here?"
Okay. Looks like I'm not the only one getting nervous.
"...!"
The situation kept getting more and more complicated. The hero, trapped by multiple unknowns—apparently caused by me—without realizing it, started applying a slight force to my shoulder. Well, it would've been slight if I were a superhuman like him.
-He's going to break my damn arm!
[Put your hands behind your back]
-What?!
[Do it]
At the moment, I couldn't think of a better idea than to follow the cube's advice.
"What are you doing?"
The hero looked confused when I hid my hands, but I ignored his reaction.
"...?!"
Suddenly, something appeared in my hands out of nowhere. It was a rectangular object. Its shape reminded me of a brick, only much smaller, and its texture felt like some kind of plastic.
"Hold out your hands."
"Y-yes."
[The ring]
-What are you talking about?
[The device you're holding has a kind of ring at the top. Remove it before you give it to the hero]
-A ring…
I obeyed the cube. It didn't take me long to find it. In fact, thanks to the circular shape attached to the rectangular object, it was pretty easy. The hard part was pulling it out.
-This thing won't come out!!
The bond holding them together was stronger than I expected, so I had to use much more force.
Click.
With a brief but sharp sound, the connection between the brick and the ring snapped. Now that ring was hanging from the index finger of my left hand.
"Huh?"
Looking at it closely, I realized it wasn't a normal ring. It wasn't perfectly circular. In one part it lost its curve and turned into a straight line, like the safety pin on a fire extinguisher.
"What is that?"
The hero asked.
"Well…"
Beep.
[Give him the brick]
-Yeah, yeah, I know!!
"H-here… take this."
I said as I handed the hero that brick-shaped device. He immediately started examining all sides of it, trying to understand it and what it did. But judging by his face, it was obvious he had no idea what the object in his hands actually was.
Beep.
"...?!"
Suddenly, a strange sound came from inside the device.
Instantly, I asked the cube in my mind:
-What was that?
[Run]
"Huh…?"
Beep.
[Run, now!!]
I had never heard the cube that alarmed. It scared me. So my next move was too abrupt, even for me. I started running as fast as I could toward the designated building.
"What the…? Hey, kid!"
Even the hero was shocked by how sudden my action was. He probably didn't expect someone to run from him even when he was right in front of them.
-What now?! You do realize that guy can catch me in less than a second, right?!
Beep.
[Oh no]
Beep.
[I miscalculated]
Beep.
Beep.
BEEEEEEEEEEP.
What happened next was… a spectacle.
The sounds the device was making kept intensifying in volume and frequency. Then a huge light flared behind me, along with an intense heat that burned my back. And then that sound—massive, overwhelming.
BOOOOM!!!