'What am I?' Ryua questions, looking at her trembling hands. 'I'm not human... I'm not human...' Her arms begin to tremble more and more. 'I'm not human...' She grips her head as she starts hyperventilating. "E-Everything I've done is a lie... They... t-they turned us into monsters. I-I was never... I was never a human to begin with." She grits her teeth, slamming her fist into the ground over and over again. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! What the fuck am I!?" Her voice breaks, sounding more unstable with each word. "I-I'm a fucking dumbass..."
"Holy shit, you're all emotionally unstable," Nero exhales, scratching the back of her head. Her dark green eyes start to glow as she scans the area. "This is fucked. When you're all together, your mana corrodes the environment." She unsheathes her sword, a long green-blue jade blade that gleams with a captivating sheen, its surface intricately etched with ancient runes that seem to pulse with life. "Hahahahahaha!" She laughs, covering her face with one hand. "Oi oi oi, are you telling me those cuckoo scientists didn't even teach you how to circulate mana? You're all letting it do whatever the fuck it wants in your body?" She points her sword at Ryua. "That's some crazy shit. You're all truly monsters, no, you're even worse. Even a monster would blow up if they let this much mana run rampant in their bodies."
BOOM!
Nero takes a step, creating a shockwave that shatters the ground as she disappears, reappearing with her sword held at the perfect angle. BOOM!
"Back off!" Nio grits his teeth as his sword clashes against hers, sending ripples of mana across the area.
"Ooh, you're interesting," Nero murmurs with a calm look before smirking. "Why aren't you crying and breaking down like those idiots?" She asks, taking a step back with curiosity.
Nio clenches his fist. "I don't know exactly what's going on," he mumbles before looking back to see Palam digging her fingers into her scalp, Zoey continuing to vomit, and Nia, Rio, and Suki hyperventilating. Ryua isn't moving, simply kneeling and staring at the ground. They all sob, creating a river of tears. Nio grits his teeth, turning back to Nero. "Why should I cry?" he asks with a serious gaze.
"Pfffhahahahaha!" Nero laughs, rubbing her eyes. "Why?" Swoosh! She disappears, appearing behind him in an instant. "Everything you've known is a lie," she whispers.
BOOM!
Deflecting her strike, Nio lifts his sword. The earth around them starts moving rapidly, like water, blasting through the air fluidly, chasing Nero as she jumps, cuts, and dodges. "It doesn't matter," Nio mumbles.
"It doesn't matter?" Nero smirks wickedly. "Hmhmhmhmhm!" Slicing the earth chasing her in half with her jade sword, leaving a green hue on whatever she slices, she jumps high into the air. "Your power comes from a jar. You've been terrorizing innocent civilians under a terrorist organization. Everyone you know only sees you as a failed experiment. They turned you all into monsters, and you say it doesn't matter?" Raising her hand, her teeth show through the smirk. "Devour." A wolf-shaped black flame shoots out of her hand, the size of the camp, descending at full speed.
Nio stops and takes a deep breath. "No," raising his hand, he glares at her. "So what if we've been lied to!? AM I SUPPOSED TO CRY ABOUT SOMETHING I HAD NO CONTROL OVER!?" Waving his hand, the air around starts circulating at high speed, lifting the dust into a huge dust tornado that sucks the flame in and blasts it away. "Sure, it fucking hurts! It hurts that we were nothing more than test subjects. It hurts that everything we've worked for and known is probably a lie... But so what?" He clenches his sword.
"So what? Hmhmmhmhmhm," Nero stops and laughs uncontrollably, looking at Nio with a smirk. She raises her sword, pointing it at him. "You're different. You're not like them." She points at the others on the floor. "Maybe they didn't fuck you up as much as those unstable fucks behind you. Those monsters that would cause mass genocide with no second thoughts. How about this: I'll kill them off, and I'll take you back to P.O.B headquarters for some examinations. They might be able to fix you."
Nio glares at her and turns to the others, to Ryua, who's been nose-bleeding for who knows how long. "Why would P.O.B. get involved with us? I know very little of you people, but I know your group doesn't usually make a scene."
"Ahh..." Nero scratches the back of her head. "You're mistaken. I wasn't supposed to get involved, but one of those terrorists offered me a solution I've been looking for, for the last ten years."
"A solution?"
Nero nods. "That's right. I'm so fucking tired of it. I can't stand it anymore." She points at herself. "See how fucking perfect I am?" She grits her teeth and spits. "I look like a fucking slut, right?" She exhales, annoyed. "Well, I don't 'look' like this! I'm not supposed to look like this." She walks closer, dragging her sword on the ground. "When I was younger, once upon a time, I was a player, a handsome strong fella who looked down on and used women for pleasure." She stops and rolls her eyes with a heavy sigh. "But I may or may not have accidentally messed with a witch, who may or may not be the queen witch of whatever they call their leader. And she fucking cursed me!" She grips onto her top. "Not only did she turn me into this slut-looking thing, but every fucking time, no matter what type of clothes I put on, no matter if it's an artifact, it just fucking morphs into a slutty look!"
Taking a deep breath, Nero calms down. "Yeah, I hate this. I want to be a man again, so I took the bait, and I'm here to kill the monsters. So do you want to die or not?"
"You're not going to kill them... I won't let you," Nio mumbles under his breath, glaring at Nero.
"Oi oi, come on kid, I'm giving you a chance to live." She points at the others with her sword. "Look at them, they're all pathetic and unstable. Why care about them? They're just sitting there like a bunch of useless fucks while you risk your life fighting me."
With a smile, Nio raises his sword, his bright green eyes glowing under the sun. "You're wrong," he says, turning and smiling as the ground starts to tremble and move. "If anything, they're more human. Why don't I cry? Maybe I'm just incapable. But that's fine, like I said, I don't care about the past. But I know they do," he smirks, digging his feet into the ground.
BOOM!
His sword clashes with Nero's, leaving ripples of energy that look like water. "They can cry all they want," Nio grunts, gritting his teeth. "They're hurt; isn't that what you call humanity?"
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!
BOOM!BOOM!
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!
BOOM!
Their swords clash at a rapid speed, sending shockwaves through the air. Each strike reverberates like thunder, the air crackling with raw energy. Nero counters all his slashes with a calm gaze. "Hmm... do you feel obligated to do this as second in command?" She asks, pushing him back.
"Second in command?" Nio takes a deep breath. "Listen here, you sick bastard." He lifts his finger, and massive earth spears shoot out. Nero twists and turns, dodging the attacks with grace. "They can inject us and fuck with our bodies with all the shit they want! But there's one thing they can't change... ARE YOU ALL LISTENING!?" He takes a deep breath. "LISTEN TO ME, YOU IDIOTS!"
Zoey gasps, breathing heavily with her mouth open. She grabs onto Nia's arm with trembling hands, stopping her from digging her fingers any further into her scalp. Nio glares at Nero. "THE ONE THING THEY CAN NEVER CHANGE IS OUR CONNECTION TO EACH OTHER! WE'VE DONE IT ALL TOGETHER! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE NEARLY DIED PROTECTING EACH OTHER!? HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SCOLDED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR A STUPID MISTAKE!?"
Nio's sword gets longer and sharper, the silver blade slowly mixing with a silver-red glow. "Listen..." His sword pulses rhythmically. The area falls silent as Nio calms his nerves. "I've always been here to care for you all. I've always stopped you before you did anything stupid... Suki, when you tried eating people, who taught you to control yourself? Zoey, when we found out you were addicted to torturing people, who broke that habit? Nia, Rio, Palam, when you couldn't control your urge to fight, who taught you to behave? And Ryua, hahaha... you've made so many messes I had to help you clean up. You're all confused and afraid..." He smiles, tears welling in his eyes. "B-But I'm here, okay? S-So please stop hurting yourselves and ask me for advice, j-just like when we were kids... please?"
"Pffffhahahahahaha!" Nero's laughter rings out through the quiet forest. "I've been holding back since you're pretty interesting, but I'm starting to get bored." She wipes her tears of laughter.
"S-She's right, you're being real corny," Zoey mumbles with a light laugh, wiping her eyes and standing up. She looks down at her hands. "I... I'm sorry, Nio. I'm the oldest, and I'm acting like a child." She clenches her arm. "I-It won't happen again." Her purple hair starts floating upwards as crimson lightning crackles around her, her green-blue eyes blending with the red-crimson lightning.
Nero looks at Zoey with a smile. "I read about you," she mumbles, pointing her sword at her. "You have a very, very scary ability. You don't even need magic circles or incantations; your attribute bypasses that." She widens her eyes as Zoey's lightning continues to grow and expand around her.
"If you're scared, you'd better leave," Zoey mumbles, lifting her finger. Her lightning flies in all directions, twisting and turning. The crimson lightning connects in the air, shaping itself into thousands of swords that fly at Nero at insane speeds.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Nero dodges and blocks the lightning rain. "You know, if you all trained and learned how to properly use your mana, you might be able to hurt me—just maybe," she exhales and swings her sword calmly. "Disperse," she mumbles, and all the lightning fades away in an instant.
Swoosh!
"Die," Nero whispers, appearing behind Zoey, her sword an inch away from her throat.
"Sorry to keep you waiting..." Nia mumbles under her breath, yanking Nero by the hair and throwing her across the camp. She trembles, looking down at her hands. "I-I killed so many innocent people... I-I'm a m-monster," she cries with a stuffy voice.
Zoey smiles and hugs her. "I-It's not your fault, w-we didn't know, we were just following orders."
"B-But we did!" Nia grits her teeth, gently pushing Zoey away. She grips her scalp. "W-We heard them cry so many times, s-saying they didn't do anything. W-We heard them begging for mercy when t-they committed no crimes." Her breaths get heavier, and her eyes continue to water. "I-I killed them... I-I killed families... i-innocent kids and adults, and I didn't feel a thing!" She digs her fingers deeper, and blood drips down her forehead.
Nio looks around before walking to her and grabbing her arms. "I know... we killed them. All of us did. We followed orders without questioning our actions. We can't change the past; we can't atone for our sins," he says with a pained smile. "So we have to be better. We all accept what's happened and move forward." He turns to see Ryua sitting there, and his smile disappears. "She hasn't moved one bit... that's not like her."
"She..." Nia wipes her nose, turning to Ryua. She trembles. "Ryua isn't human. The papers we found said her past was faked and she... she was born out of an egg. T-They think her parents are monsters..." Nia struggles to say, sobbing harder.