Ainsley's inner thoughts: 'It's only been a few minutes since he left. Unless he took a hidden passageway, then there was no way that he'd reach the ground floor yet.'
His gaze was filled with determination as he swiftly went down the stairs.
***
"Is it safe to be around..?"
"Are you kidding? Just take a look at that thing. It's a hazard that's practically screaming that we should avoid it at all costs."
"Why hasn't it exploded yet?"
"I'm not sure if anyone else saw but I think I remember seeing something crashing down from out of the sky."
"What do you think happened to it then?"
The remaining group of people that decided to stick around the rooftop, as if it was a good idea, were discussing among themselves as they exchanged a few whispers.
Their incessant whispers grew louder and louder each time another person came up with a theory to counter the other's.
"This could all be staged."
"Nonsense. Unless the Grand Duke was a person of dark humor then there's no way that he would plan such a thing."
"Now that you mention it, where is the Grand Duke..?"
"Yeah... That's quite suspicious if the host of the party left before his guests could fully evacuate."
"Did he plan to kill us in one fell swoop!?"
"Each and every single one of you sound like you've lost all your common sense. Naturally speaking, what normal person would decide to stay behind after witnessing such a sight?"
"You do realize that you're in that same category, right?"
... After a short moment of silence the two women began to throw hands as they 'argued' with one another by pulling each other's hair and etc. The rest of the bystanders were making their bets on who would win and who would lose. Perhaps it is not only the nature of gamblers but also rich people in general that like to start bets on a whim...
***
"Let... go..!"
"You... first..!"
I was peeking through a small peephole from inside the aircraft, or what I call back in my original world, a blimp, as I watched secretly on the sidelines of what was unfolding outside. My mind was piling up with thoughts as my eyes grew heavy and tired.
'When will they leave... It'll be too awkward if they see me completely naked and casually walk out, and they'd definitely start bombarding me with questions of their own...'
I began to conjure up some plans or ideas to get them to hurry their feet and go away, but I was no longer required to as a robotic voice chimed in out of the blue. It came from the far side of the room, but it still caught everyone's attention as it spoke at a moderate volume.
[Good Evening guests. In order for us to ensure your safety, we would like to help you evacuate the area as it is currently hazardous to be around. Please follow the guide robot as they will lead you to a much secure destination.]
I poked out another peephole with my finger and saw that a tiny robot was standing in front of the rooftop's entrance door. It was accompanied by another robot which was significantly taller than the one in front of it and it spoke to the remaining people who were standing idly as they stared at the robots with a blank expression.
[I will be your guide. Please form a line and carefully follow my directions.]
At this, everyone but myself hurriedly strode their way to the guide robot and diligently formed a line. Seeing this reminded me of my days in school each time the teacher yelled the living daylights out of us to properly form a straight line. Ah, how nostalgic. Then again, it was quite the headache-inducing memory. I wonder how their vocal cords stayed intact despite screaming almost every day...
The long line of people left soon after and I was finally alone... Is what I had thought at least.
My right eye was still peeking through the peephole, and I saw that the tiny robot wasn't leaving anytime sooner. My thoughts were puzzled as I inwardly complained.
'What are you waiting around for? Don't you have more important matters to attend to? Like, I don't know, maybe serving your master??'
Sadly for me it could not hear my inner ramblings as it began to approach the blimp I was currently stuck in. My complexion turned pale as I slowly started to panic. My ability to think straight was taken away as I was drowning myself with the anxiety of getting caught.
'What should I do!? Should I kick it and make a run for it?? No, it's metal, you fool! What makes you think that kicking it won't give you foot pain? But it's way smaller than me...'
Before my inner dialogue could finish their one-sided arguments, the tiny robot had already made its way up close to the blimp I was in. My heart was beginning to beat wildly as I nervously concealed my presence inside the blimp. Well, that is if I had a heart to begin with.
The [Punisher]'s body was never given any sort of vital organs or cores that allowed them to live, but at the same time forced them to be dependent on them.
I found it quite convenient that the only thing I needed to rely on was my soul that was trapped inside the main character's body. Unless there was some kind of celestial being that was capable of destroying my soul, then I would be able to live comfortably with a worry in life even until the end of time.
This of course, also meant that my new body, no, my new vessel, had no heat temperature whatsoever. Which is why the following words from the robot made me raise my eyebrows in confusion.
[Abnormal heat temperature detected.]
'Abnormal heat temperature'..? Perhaps it referred to the fact that my body was extremely cold to the point that it couldn't properly calculate what I was. My thoughts were immediately changed as I saw that there was smoke rising from underneath me. My feet quickly stepped out of the way and only then did I realize that the entirety of the blimp's insides were swirling with smoke.
Flick
The sound of fire flickering was followed by another each time one flick occurred. The docile flickers turned into aggressive sparks and then,
BOOM!!!
The blimp had finally exploded and knocked me several meters away in the process. My body was positioned with my bottom up as I hit a wall against my back. Once again, since my body was not given the ability to feel or sense anything at all, my face was deadpan as ever as I puffed out the smoke that got into my mouth. Then my body fell face forward down to the floor and I inwardly sighed.
'You know, not feeling any pain is great and all, but it would be even better if you gave me a warning sign whenever something bad is about to happen.'
It didn't take long for me until I easily recovered myself and my hands patted the dirt off of my face and body.
My gaze glanced towards the blimp that was now set in flames, and I noticed that the tiny robot was also knocked back in the process. I hurriedly approached its side and inspected its current condition. The body was almost completely destroyed as a few parts and circuits were hanging messily all over the place. Its right eye was fine, but its left was cracked as a single shard piece was missing.
The robot's voice box was thankfully in good condition as it spoke to me.
[Unidentifiable target. Cannot distinguish between human or object.]
It was probably surprised after scanning my body. After all, I did look like a normal human being on the outside, but if someone were to take my heat temperature they would pronounce me as a walking corpse.
I carried the pitiful robot in my arms and carefully positioned it in a way that would not worsen its partially damaged body. My eyes quickly changed from worried to bewildered as I imagined what my current pose would look like to otehr people.
'I look like a parent holding their first born child...'
I felt slightly embarrassed as I continued to maintain the position I held the robot with. Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps were swiftly approaching the rooftop I was on and I quickly hid in a corner nearby. I forced myself to place down the robot just in case there was an unexpected development that would occur and trouble the already beaten up robot.
After a couple of minutes went by, footsteps arrived on the rooftop and a man's stressed out voice could be heard whining throughout the entire area.
"Argh, goddamnit!!"
The owner of this voice was none other than Lumiere Welle, the Grand Duke himself.
He ruffled his hair that already seemed to be messy enough due to running around wherever he went. His gaze looked as if it was on the verge of sinking into insanity as he intensely bit his thumb.
Lumiere: "If only that man wasn't here... If only..."
He threw a tantrum as he carelessly tossed and flipped over the tables surrounding him. His mouth was wide as he was ready to scream, but he held it in because he had shortly remembered that he was on an open rooftop where just about anyone could hear him if he shouted loud enough.
Lumiere's inner thoughts: 'Deep breaths, deep breaths... haa... that's it.'
He had calmed himself down in his head; meanwhile I, who was secretly watching hidden in the shadows, thought that he had insane mood swings.
'That guy must be having one hell of a night.'
He spoke to the walkie-talkie in his vest pocket with visible frustration in his tone.
Lumiere: "Number 079. Order the fire extinguishing robots over to the rooftop. Remember to press the red button this time."
"But... wasn't the lead assistant robot in charge of that area?"
Lumiere sighed deeply and he responded with sarcasm in his voice.
Lumiere: "Oh well go figures you genius! Why else did you think I'd call for you? That heap of junk is nowhere to be found."
"But sir... The tracker on the GPS marks that it's exactly near the vicinity."
Lumiere: "What are you stalling for?! Just do as I say and order the robots to get here!"
A high pitched 'Sorry!' could be heard from the other side of the walkie-talkie and pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyebrows wrinkled as he angrily muttered to himself.
A wave of relief washed over me as I thought that I wasn't going to be found out. Yet again the universe wanted me to suffer as the robot that was hidden alongside me started to blast a noisy alarm out of nowhere. My hands panicked as I covered its speaker box to shut up, but it was already too late.
Any person with a good sense of hearing or a sense of hearing in general would hear that ugly alarm tune. That of course, includes Lumiere. Lumiere's expression dimmed as he slowly walked towards the direction where the alarm came from.
He took his final step as he was about to take a peek around the corner, then suddenly the walkie-talkie chimed in with good news.
"Sir the robots are now on their way."
Lumiere flinched as he was interrupted. He replied to the person with an 'Okay' and shrugged off what he and heard earlier.
"Must've been my imagination..."
Hearing his footsteps grow more and more faint as they soon disappeared, allowed me to relax a little. My knees were midway about to stand as I faced to my left.
My vision was immediately met with the sight of a grim looking face staring wide-eyed at me. And the fact that the area we were in was dark and poorly lit made their face to come off with an unsettling vibe.
The split second I saw, this my brain reflexively told my hand to punch it with all my might. Apparently I had punched the man's face so hard to the point that they were sent flying a couple of meters back. Either I used too much brute force or the man's body was already weak to begin with.
I unconsciously covered my mouth with both of my hands as I was left speechless. Red liquid was beginning to pour from out of his nose and my pupils shrunk at the sight of blood.