"What's he doing? Why isn't he doing anything?"
"Why is he just standing there? Are… you sure?"
"He looks kinda weak."
They studied Adam's face again, disbelief etched across their features. How could someone so young-looking, with features so gentle they bordered on pretty, have racked up the body count they'd witnessed?
But something in his stillness made their throats go dry, made them swallow hard despite themselves.
Adam's beauty only made the disconnect more jarring. Some who'd seen him fight firsthand still couldn't reconcile the contradiction standing before them.
"Step aside, pretty boy." Another man pushed forward, pressing a dented baseball bat against Adam's chest. Dried blood flaked off it with the contact. "You've already pissed off plenty of people by attacking your own."
"No," Adam shook his head, glancing back at the Blue creeps. "There are children there."
"And so fucking what!?" The veteran creep bellowed, jerking his chin toward Samantha. "Tell me, how many of them tried to kill that little girl you've been protecting this whole time!? Don't be fucking naive! You've been in this Game before! They surrendered, sure—but what happens to them if they lose!? They'll be burned alive! Killing them now would be mercy!"
That was the problem. These people assumed this wasn't Adam's first Game—but even if it wasn't—
Why would they want to hurt children? All of us were forced to play the same fucked up game, and we all know what's at stake—but the children don't. They're innocent, just like I was.
Do you get it now, Adam? Dr. Aniston, the other doctors, these people, all these… humans are the same. You're not one of them. Let them die.
The thought rose, but Adam pushed it aside, focusing on the threat before him rather than the ghosts behind.
"Please," he said, voice low but carrying. "They've already surrendered. There's really no need for this."
"I don't fucking care." The man raised his bat, knuckles white around the grip. "It's fine if you're feeling guilty, or if you want to play nice guy. You do you—but this is life and death, and I choose life. Yeah, they're children, I get it. Just a few hours ago I was holding my son's hand, and you know what happened? I found him. I found my baby boy... with his head twisted backward. Got any idea what that does to a person?"
Adam had no answer. He glanced toward Paik and said, "He's already destroying the crystal. Killing these people would be—"
"The right thing to do!" The man screamed, spittle flying into Adam's face. "Now get the fuck out of my way! The only way you're stopping me—stopping us—from killing them is by killing us first. Your own teammates."
They locked eyes, neither blinking, neither backing down. Before the standoff could escalate further, Grace rushed between them with Samantha in tow.
"That's enough! Please!" She forced herself between the two men, pushing the aggressor backward. "We're... supposed to be on the same side! Stop this!"
"Tell that to him!" The man jabbed his weapon toward Adam's face. "He's the one confused about where he should stand!"
"Just…" Grace couldn't really say anything anymore. Where was even the right place to sit in this moral dilemma? She wanted to protect the children, but she also didn't want the team to break because of this.
Why were they even being asked to choose something like this?
She wanted to find the right words to say, but nothing was coming out of her mouth. But unexpectedly, she soon heard several more footsteps moving forward—not to aggress or to harm, but to build a wall between the two groups.
It was silly. Several people have probably already done this before, and they knew it wasn't going to change anything—but still, they wanted to do it.
At least, to show humanity in a place where it shouldn't exist.
The people who wanted to kill the Blue creeps who surrendered looked at each other, confused as to why the others would even do something like this.
They've already reached this far, and probably killed dozens of people—and yet right now, they were trying to protect them. And for what?
For just a couple of children?
"What a bunch of stupid, naive, hypocrites," the man snarled, "So be it, we're probably better off without people who don't know what it takes to get things done."
"Stop," Grace pleaded as the man stepped forward, "It's enough, please. Let's set a good example for our children. If not wanting to kill innocent kids makes us a bunch of stupid, naive, insufferable hypocrites. Then, so be it."
"I don't have a—"
And before the man could finish his words, Grace's entire body shook as something warm splashed onto her face. She blinked a couple of times before wiping the familiar red off her cheeks.
She then looked forward, only to see the man's head very slowly tilt to the side, and then just continue to tilt without the rest of its body.
The small thud the head made as it fell to the ground made everyone confused.
But soon, the man's body followed suit. It wasn't only him, the others who were behind him all fell one by one, some at the same time. And just like the man in front, their heads started to roll on the ground.
"Kukh…!"
Another sound caught everyone's attention, a croak. Not from a frog, but from a throat.
Paik.
Very slowly, they looked toward the Blue crystal. There stood Paik, their Hero, arms jerking uselessly, a thin red blade piercing his throat like a needle through cloth.
And then, with a silent swoosh, they watched as his head also rolled on the ground. And when his body followed, they finally saw the unfamiliar figure beheading everyone.
No, she wasn't actually unfamiliar—a lot of people recognized her.
[Sylvie, the Duelist of Rose.]
The only S-tier Hero of France, and one of the only one hundred S-tier Heroes alive in the world.