"What's wrong, Ari?" Himari asked
Ari's growl gradually faded.
"NOYDALE. THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG." He responded.
"What's a Noydale?" Himari asked.
"THAT'S THE NAME OF THE SADISTIC PLAYER THAT MURDERED SEVERAL THOUSANDS OF NPC'S IN COLD BLOOD," Ari answered.
"Yikes... I shouldn't have asked. That sounds bad. I should have known there would be crazy people like that out there. That reminds me... DD referred to Ari as an NPC. It's amazing how lifelike he is." Himari thought.
"WE MAY NOT BE REAL, BUT ANYONE WHO IS ABLE TO ENJOY COMMITTING SUCH HORRIBLE ACTS IS JUST SICK!" Ari whipped out his cutlasses and clashed them with lightning speed.
It was so fast and loud that it caused Himari to jump and assume a defensive stance by reflex.
"What?! Is there an enemy around?! Are we being attacked?!" She asked as she looked around, assuming that Ari was prepping for a battle with a foe she hadn't seen.
"OH SORRY. FORCE OF HABIT. I TEND TO DO THAT WHEN I GET... PASSIONATE." Ari responded in a calmer tone as he put his cutlasses back.
"That is a very disturbing habit," Himari responded. The look she had, made it obvious that she was once again questioning her decision to join this guild.
"I THINK I ACTUALLY PICKED THAT UP FROM THE BOSS. I GUESS HER QUIRKS HAVE RUBBED UP ON ME." Ari chuckled proudly as he rubbed his chin.
"I don't think that's something you should be proud of," Himari muttered under her breath, looking even more disturbed.
As she blinked, an image flashed in her mind. It was that of her sweaty bis sister Naa in training gear, crossing two wooden swords against each other. She buried her face in her palm, shook her head.
"Of course. I should have known." She sighed.
Back in the Guild Master's office, Jason and Carl looked like they were being pinned to their chairs by the invisible swords that were Abs and Chibilamb's glares.
"I-I swear! We're not red players or cheat players. We're just ordinary guild members!" Jason stuttered.
"Y-yeah! We were actually both former members of different guilds that disbanded." Carl added.
"Well, we have ways to verify what you're saying. So, you better be telling us the truth." Chibilamb firmly communicated.
"I wanted to save this question for later because I thought you might have an ulterior motive and I just wanted to play along. But you don't seem to me like spies. So why did you willingly agree to come back here with me to be interrogated? You're not obliged to, and we're the police or anything." Abs asked.
"You frightened the hell out of us." Carl quickly answered.
Abs sighed in response.
"I politely asked to take you both on. Besides, there's something else you're hiding. Spill it." Abs continued.
Jason took in a deep breath after Carl sighed and gestured at him to speak.
"Edgy Edge guild members abide by strict rules that are supposedly meant to eliminate every ounce of weakness and mold them into the strongest warriors in this game. Well, somewhere along the line, something must have gone wrong. Carl here did state that we both joined from different guilds. The truth is, we both owe Noydale huge sums of money in real life. So, he used us to destroy our own guilds from within before making us join his." Jason stated and paused for a while to make sure Abs and Chibilamb were following.
"Interesting. Go on." Chibilamb urged him on.
"Now, we can't get out of the guild. And he keeps tabs on us in real life as well. It's almost as if he owns us. Apart from the fact that he's a high-ranking cheat player that's impossible to beat, he's also very sadistic. He punishes guild members by torturing them. His absurd rules also extend to members' individual PvP matches. I don't know how he does it, but he has access to each player's individual PvP log files. For each loss in a PvP, we get tortured. Forming an alliance with players from other guilds or solo players is also out of the question. Anyone who did that would be punished by torture. The player they formed an alliance with would also be wiped out, along with their list of friends and their entire guild if they belonged to one."
Abs' eyes slightly widened.
"I see. That explains a lot. This is far worse than what we thought." Chibilamb responded.
"For a long time, Carl and I had been trying to figure out ways to break free from Noydale. Then this whole Hidden Cavern incident happened. Seven Silver Braids challenged us to a PvP and we both opted for an alliance, initially out of fear. But after she asked us to come over, I knew that this was exactly the escape we were looking for." Jason added.
"Your impulsive thirst for combat has once again proven useful." Chibilamb teased Abs as he reclined in his high chair. Abs smirked in response.
"Even though we heard rumors about your guild being a cult, we decided to take our chances because it's the strongest. Especially after finding out that Seven Silver Braids is the current Guild Master." Jason continued.
"Co-Guild Master. And I'm wearing a single braid now." Abs chipped in.
"Of all the things you just heard, this is what you chose to respond to. You really are weird." Chibilamb responded to Abs.
"Says the grown man in a tiny lamb avatar, sitting in a high chair." Abs snapped back.
"As I always say, in my defense, Matthew 18 verse 3." Chibilamb retorted.
"Can't argue with that." Abs threw up her hands.
"And how did you guys manage to communicate and come to this conclusion? We teleported back here, and you both haven't said a thing to each other about this." She asked Jason and Carl.
Jason flung a translucent tab before him.
"We started communicating by Direct messaging the moment we arrived here," Jason answered.
"Smart. Very smart. So then, you think your Guild master would be stupid enough to attack us?" Abs asked.
"I'd rather he didn't. But he also can't risk us exposing him. So, he most likely will." Jason answered.
"That's exactly what we're hoping for," Abs responded.
"He's actually a major puzzle piece we've been searching for," Chibilamb added.