I had touched down just outside of the city.
Currently, it was late at night.
I was alone on the ground with my support troops still in the air, far off. I told them to stay away in case they were noticed and they obeyed.
At the same time, they began to evacuate the surviving Nexian soldiers and any civilians that made it out.
I turned on my communications watch and found only static... No screams, no words...nothing.
The city ahead of me was still burning, but I couldn't see any people. Most of the flames seemingly already died out...leaving an eerie dark silence in many areas. I cloaked myself in invisibility, then moved quickly into the city and made sure to hide among the debris.
I might've been invisible, but I didn't trust the Black Ooze.
Along the streets, I could see the corpses of slain people being absorbed into the Ooze.
A figure was standing by and watching the ordeal.
He wore a black and purple robe with pieces of dark armor attached to it. He had a hood up to cover his face as well. At his side, I saw a katana in its sheath.
He seemed to be just standing there so I decided to sneak by.
As I did, the figure turned his attention to me and I froze in place.
I couldn't see his face as it was behind a plain, smooth black mask. Even the slits for the eyes were covered by a dark-purple glassy material.
He stared directly at me as I looked on while invisible.
Can this guy...see me?
I slowly waved at him and he turned back around.
Just before I resumed walking, he shot towards my location and slashed the wall in front of me with his sword.
I remained standing in place right next to him.
The figure slowly sheathed his sword and looked in the other direction... Then he turned and walked back to where the corpses were being dumped.
That was a lot closer than it needed to be...
Still...I wasn't convinced that this thing was stronger than I was.
I could tell from a glance that it was probably at least around Kazuma's level or greater.
And that sword...there was something odd about it...
Then I heard Vengeance speak to me.
[That was Willpower. The sword. One of my subordinates.]
Was that really Willpower?
[It was, but the blade is wrong, somehow...like it was reforged and now serves another master.]
Does that mean you want it back?
[Of course, you fool. That blade is incredibly powerful. Honestly, you never should have abandoned the other swords in the first place! Now the enemy has all but four of them!]
You don't have to be rude about it! What the hell were we supposed to do!?
[The swords must be retrieved. They will cause untold destruction like this!]
I quickly and quietly moved away and ducked behind another building.
This city was already lost.
I knew I couldn't do anything to save it now.
Instead, I needed to figure out what was happening in the city. Although...
I would eventually have to kill that thing holding Willpower.
Why does it always end with violence?
* * *
I continued my walk around the area in the city and tried to locate any survivors. I was unsuccessful.
At one point, I noticed another figure walking around in the darkness wearing the exact same uniform as the other one.
This one also appeared to be male, but was slightly shorter.
He had a black shortsword at his side.
As I stood there and examined the sword...Vengeance spoke again.
[Compassion...now you serve a new master... Mizik, you will kill that false wielder at once!]
Like hell I will! I'm on a scouting mission right now. That will have to wait!
[Very well. But I expect you to follow my orders when the time comes. Do not fail me.]
I snuck past the figure carrying Compassion and stopped as I nearly came face to face with a female figure standing on the corner of the street.
She looked over in my direction and simply stared.
[This one holds Intelligence.]
Vengeance spoke once again and I noticed a simplistic black dagger at the woman's side.
Something about this woman was off though...
The first person holding Willpower could apparently sense my presence, but he didn't actually know where I was. The second one didn't detect me at all.
However...
It was as if this woman was looking me dead in the eyes.
I slowly took a step back and moved close to an open doorway.
Her head followed me.
I moved around a bit more, and she seemed to continue looking at me.
Oh shit...! This is a horrible position to be in!
I pulled out Vengeance while still invisible and prepared to be attacked.
The woman seemed to be shaking all of a sudden. She placed her hands on the sides of her hooded and masked face as she continued looking in my direction.
Then she crouched down and looked up at me.
What the hell am I looking at...?
I saw her slowly move one of her hands away from her face.
She slightly tilted her head at me without turning away
I just stared in confusion.
She moved her head quicker... As if she was telling me to move.
I saw something shift out of the corner of my eye into the building and when I glanced back...
I saw the woman beckoning me into the building.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two from earlier approaching from behind.
OH...crap!
I quickly moved into the building. When I looked back at the woman, she was gone.
Instead, I saw through an open window that she hadn't moved an inch and now stood to greet the other two.
I silently breathed a sigh of relief as the two figures walked up to her.
What the hell just happened...?
"Any suspicious activity?" The man holding Willpower said. His voice sounded deep and menacing.
The woman pointed angrily at the two men and made a throat slitting motion
"Why are you acting like that?" The man holding Compassion said.
"Quiet! You know she's insane. Does it surprise you? Now...my question demands an answer..." The man holding Willpower said.
The woman shook her head.
"Just as well...I felt someone's presence while we were dumping the bodies for conversion. I attacked, but I only hit a wall. Are you sure you didn't see anything?" He said.
The woman nodded her head quickly and pulled out her dagger. She pointed it at them menacingly.
"By the Abyss...why are you so damn violent!?" The man holding Compassion said.
Is she...trying to help me...?
"Silence!" The man with Willpower said to the other man. He turned towards the woman. "Report to either of us if you see anything. And I mean that. You don't want to disobey Lord-...our master. Do you?"
She shook her head and slowly sheathed her dagger.
At once, both of them walked away and I chose to wait for a few minutes before I left the building.
However...not even a minute later...
The woman ran into the building and blocked the doorway. She continued to look directly at me.
I still wasn't sure if it was safe to speak, but I chose to take a chance.
"Can you see me?" I whispered.
She nodded.
"Are you...helping me...?"
She nodded.
"Can you speak?"
She nodded and then placed a hand over where her mouth was.
It seemed like she might not be allowed to talk...
If that was the case, it meant that she wouldn't be able to tell me anything. It was honestly terrible... I had so many questions I couldn't ask now...
Still, I wanted to at least try.
I thought to myself for a moment what I should ask...and the entire time, she just kept staring at me.
I decided to contact Isabella.
"Hey, Isabella...I have a bit of a situation here."
"Ah! Mizik! Are you okay? You're not in danger are you!?"
"I'm fine...just a bit shaken up. And I don't know if I would call this danger. But it seems like one of the soldiers of the Black Ooze wants to help me out."
"Mizik, I wouldn't trust them if I were you..."
"She's just standing here and staring at me though. She helped me get away from some of the others."
"Wait...'she'? Eh...nevermind... Don't trust strange women!"
"Fine...I'll be more cautious... Is everything okay on your end?"
"Yes, Carlos is working quickly with my energy so that he can make the Enforcers capable of destroying the Ooze. We haven't heard anything from Iris yet."
"Okay. I'll check in if anything major happens. I love you, Isabella."
"I love you too, Mizik!"
After that, I terminated the communication.
I looked up at the woman and she just continued staring at me.
"Can you tell me your name?" I whispered.
She shook her head fervently.
"Can I ask why?"
She turned and pointed at one of the horrors patrolling the streets. Then tapped her head.
If I was understanding this correctly... She might have been saying that they shared a consciousness. Or that they would simply know if she disobeyed them.
If that was the case, though...how was she able to act normal? And who the hell was this woman anyway?
She stepped closer to me and leaned close to my face.
I could hear her breathing heavily and I backed away a bit.
This is getting a bit weird...
"Umm...do you want something from me...?"
She continued staring at me, then started squirming and fidgeting as she occasionally looked away shyly.
Then she pointed at me and put her hands together with her fingers in the shape of a heart.
This is getting REALLY weird...
"Look...I'm here to stop the Black Ooze from destroying our world. I have to scout this city and report the situation to my superior. I would appreciate it if you didn't stand in my way."
She immediately stood up straight and stepped aside.
I put Vengeance away and slowly left the ruined building.
Some of these buildings were still on fire, but it seemed like the Ooze was slowly but surely putting them out.
I walked down the street and turned to check my surroundings...
Then nearly fell over as the strange woman almost gave me a heart attack...
She was following me very closely.
Why are you following me!?
"Gah...are you just going to follow me around or something...?" I whispered.
She nodded fervently.
This is just...bizarre! Why is something from the Black Ooze so interested in me!? Ugh...whatever...
"Fine...but if possible, I need you to keep the enemy's attention off of us. Can you do that?"
She froze in place for a moment.
She nodded once as she tried to contain herself.
I just sighed and kept going.
Shortly after that...
I reached an intersection. I glanced back at her and she stopped right next to me.
She looked around at her surroundings, then tried to reach out to me...
Her hand immediately went back to her side as she decided not to do anything.
Then I saw a behemoth variant approach us and it bowed to its knee in front of the woman.
She reached a hand out and commanded it to rise. Then she pointed for it to walk in the opposite direction that I was heading in.
She really is trying to help me. I don't know who you are, but thank you.
I gave her a thumbs up and she perked up greatly.
She was literally shaking with happiness.
"...!!!"
Okay...don't let it excite you too much...
The two of us continued walking for about an hour and suddenly, I saw the two from before come back to the woman.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I watched their interaction.
The man holding Willpower saluted and so did the man holding Compassion.
The woman reluctantly saluted as well.
"Anything to report?" The man holding Willpower said.
She shook her head.
"I sense a presence nearby... Do you know anything about that?" He asked.
She tilted her head confusingly then shook it.
"Are you sure? We know that the Chosen Hero is in this world. And that you have an...unhealthy obsession with-"
The woman did something that surprised me.
She unsheathed her dagger and nearly stabbed him in the throat.
He backed away quickly.
"ALRIGHT! FINE, DAMMIT!!! Just report anything you find! Damn psychopath..." He said.
The man holding Compassion backed away as well and the woman pointed her dagger at him.
I guess they don't get along...?
After that, the two of them went their separate ways again. As soon as they were gone, the woman approached me again.
Like she was waiting to be praised...
"Umm...good job...?" I whispered.
She held her hands together and seemed to enjoy my words greatly. She nearly jumped up and down.
How the hell do I end up in these situations...?
"What is it with you and them? You don't get along?" I asked.
She held her hand over her mouth.
"Figures...but I assume you're not going to treat me the same way, right? We'll have a problem if you start threatening me..." I said.
She shook her head fervently and made a heart with her fingers again..
This is so damn weird...
I started walking again and the woman continued following me.
Suddenly after a few minutes, she stopped and turned her face away from me.
I stopped as well and I saw her hand give a slight wave signaling me to move on.
I wanted to thank her...but it seemed like she wanted me to go now.
I walked a bit and looked back. She had crouched down and was poking the ground with her dagger. She looked up at me and hesitantly motioned for me to go.
"Alright. But if we meet again, I hope you'll stay friendly. Thank you...whoever you are," I said.
I gave her a friendly wave before turning away and getting back to work.
My mission here was simple: scout the area for enemy intel, survivors, and anything else that might be useful.
From what I could tell, enemy troops constantly surveyed the city streets. The monsters of the Black Ooze were all over the place and those three people all radiated an aura of great power.
Although that woman seemed harmless enough. Friendly, even. I hoped I would be able to count her as an ally.
I suddenly recalled hearing a distorted voice the other day when checking that area for samples...
It was a female voice that seemed...highly attracted to me.
Great...now even the Black Ooze is after me...?
I let out a quiet sigh and continued my survey.
Finally, I decided to enter another run-down building. Once I was inside, I opened a hatch and went down into the cellar.
This one used to be a bar of some kind...
I stood in the cellar and had a quick look around at that point. I was alone... At the same time, I couldn't see any Ooze.
I stood quietly and tried to communicate with Isabella again.
"Isabella, I want to talk to you."
"Aww, I want to talk to you, too!"
"Eh...I mean...right. Currently I don't seem to be in danger. The robed woman actually helped me get through the city but strangely enough, she really seemed to be part of the Ooze...somehow..."
"By woman...what do you mean?"
"An actual humanoid woman wearing an armored robe with a hood and a black mask. I may have forgotten to mention that Vengeance said she was holding the dagger called Intelligence. There were two men also holding both Willpower and Compassion."
"That's really serious. Did you get a read on their strength?
"I estimate them to be at least on Kazuma's level or greater. Most likely greater, though. The two men seemed ready to kill me on sight, but the woman was friendly."
"Did she say anything?"
"I don't think she was allowed to. She was really careful, but I believe she tried to tell me that the Ooze operates with a shared consciousness. Although, it begs the question of how she was able to act freely..."
"Truly strange, indeed. Well, how do the numbers in the city look?"
"There are a lot of monsters here patrolling the streets. They've also devoured the corpses of the people that once lived here already. I would highly advise against a ground invasion. I'm going to look around just a bit more then head home. Is everything okay on your end?"
"Everything is fine over here. Carlos is still working hard on the project and is making good progress. Please be careful, Mizik."
"I will. I'll be back soon."
"Looking forward to it!"
After that, I quietly made my way out of the cellar and back into the streets.
That's when I saw another one of the figures from before standing there and staring at me.
This one wore a different set of heavier robes. I couldn't tell if it was male or female.
They also wore a different mask. One with a depiction of an eye on it.
Actually...
There was something peculiar about this one.
The mask seemed...familiar.
I thought about it for a moment when I recalled something many years ago on Hakumo.
The man with white hair had someone following him. Someone with a bulky robe and a mask that had an eye on it as told by Hana and Ikoma.
A terrible realization came over me as I thought about who this person could possibly be.
This is the Source's...bodyguard!?
"Identify..." the figure said. It was a woman's voice that lacked any emotion.
I chose to remain silent...but as I looked at this woman...
A feeling of pure horror washed over me.