The sound of something being dragged could be heard through the entirety of the hallway. It was Ryu, unconscious, being dragged by what seemed to be Eve by the end of his shirt.
Ryu's eyes slowly fluttered, and for a brief moment, he opened his eyes, although it seemed like he was in a haze. His breathing was unnatural, and he looked like he'll fall unconscious any moment now.
Although he could barely make them out, Ryu could barely see figures, monsters different from Eve, looking at him from a distance. Most of them were plant monsters, although some looked like spiders as well.
"W-What...?" He managed to utter, before feeling something dripping to his shirt. He clumsily looked down, to see that there were spots of blood on his white shirt, and there was still more coming from his face. With all of his strength, he managed to touch his nose.
Sure enough, he was having a nosebleed. A horrible one as well.
"What the... h-hell?" That was the only thing he could manage to utter out, before his fatigue took over him, and once again, he fell unconscious.
Where was he being dragged to, and what happened? He had many questions he wanted to ask, but the fatigue didn't let him, and slowly, these memories seemed like a dream and were washed away from his mind.
---
Ugh...
No... stop it Ms. Laurence... I don't feel like solving the factorial of X... I hate that shit... No, I don't wanna be a doctor, I wanna be a boxer... No, Eve, I won't mate with you, shut up...
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Mmm, shut your ass...
"WAKE UP!"
Wah?! What the hell?!
I immediately woke up with a shout, and immediately examined my surroundings. Fuck, that was a dream? Shit, it was horrible! It was a massive freak show of a bunch of things that even I didn't know what was going on.
Wait...
Where am I?
This wasn't my room, and there surely wasn't anything like this in that building, infested with monsters.
This looked like a small, wooden hut. There was a good deal of furniture, stuff that can't be in that building, and I didn't have it, as well. The sun was shining brightly through the window.
It's odd, this place didn't feel real. Like I was in a dream, but this felt way too real.
Ignoring the threat of this unnatural and unknown place. There was another problem here. Just a few feet away from me, sat a woman on a chair, calmly drinking tea. Although I couldn't see her entire body, since most of it was covered by a black robe of some sort, but from those that were visible, she seemed like a monster, mostly due to her light blue skin. Everything else looked 'human'. Her elegant, white hair reached her shoulders, and she had red irises. Although, what creeped me out the most was her expression. It was completely lifeless like she was a doll.
After sipping her tea, she let out a calm sigh, although her expression remained the same.
Fuck, she's creepy.
...Can she hear my thoughts or something? She suddenly frowned and gave me an icy look.
"How rude." She said in an annoyed tone, her voice cold, but at the same time soothing, "Thee not knoweth calling a lady creepy is horrible fig?"
Ah, she can read my mind.
Great.
Also, her way of speaking is going to be a bit annoying.
"Thee faileth not to amuseth me. Doth thee has't nay shame? Not only didst thee calleth me creepy, but thee've did insult mine own way of speech as well. What is wrong with the way i speaketh?"
All of it!
Can't you like, speak normally?
"Defineth 'n'rmal'"
The way I'm speaking- or, thinking, right now? Why are you speaking like you're in the 17th century? While I could still understand you, it's still a bit troublesome with the pronunciation. Of course, if you want to stay like that, It's not a big problem.
"Hmm..." She brought her hand to her chin, and let out a hum.
Hey, it's not that big of a deal, I can still understand you, at leas-
"How about now? Is this fine?"
Oh, so you CAN speak like normal!
"Of course, albeit I'm not used to this way of talking. It's weird and uncomfortable."
Rich coming from you- Ah, forget it. That's not important! Who the hell are you- no, first, where the hell am I?!
"Take it easy," she said reassuringly, continuing to sip her tea, "Ah~ Thou art in a dream. Do not worry, nothing horrible will happen to you."
It seems she still can't completely change her speaking, but it's still way better.
Back to the matter at hand, this is a dream? This feels way too real to be just a dream.
"Hm, thou aren't wrong. To be specific, this is a place created by your consciousness, and by mineth power, too. It's a dimension between dimensions, and right now, the 'thee' that is speaking to me right now is thy soul."
Woah, woah, wait. A dimension?
"Yes. Although it was made by your consciousness, this place is as real as any other dimension, and can be accessed by other demons of kind."
I'm sorry? This is a bit confusing, you're telling me all of this is made by me, which is shocking by itself, but you said 'demons' could access it? What the hell are demons? Succubus' and stuff?
The girl frowned slightly, before letting out a sigh.
"Correct, do not fret, however. As demons cannot enter this realm unless of my own permission, or yours. Not that it affects much, of course, as I'm still here if anything happens. But, ugh, it seems you humans still do not know of our true nature."
...?
"We aren't 'monsters', as everyone else calls it. We are 'demons', ones born in the underworld."
Huh? Wait, so-
"Yes, it is what you're thinking. Every 'monster' you have seen? A demon. Of course, not in the traditional sense of you humans. We aren't some reddish, hideous creatures just wanting to torture the damned souls for all eternity. Of course, there are some who want to do that, but only a few species like to do that."
That doesn't make any sense. That means my-
"Yes, your 'game' knowledge is incorrect."
I felt a cold hand grasping my heart. She knows about the game? Did she get it by reading my mind or-
"No. We- or, to be precise, my mistress brought you here."
Stop interrupting my thoughts!
Ah, whatever. Your mistress? Who the hell is that, and, why am I here?
"She's the all-mighty Emperor of Demons. Even the Demon King has nothing on her. However, as for the reason thee is here, I'm not really sure either. Besides, she's currently in an injured state and is rehabilitating. In fact, this was the first time she has woken up in forever, and it was just so she can tell me about thee situation, and a command for me to support thee."
That doesn't really help me much.
"It is simply all I know."
Ah, forget it. I'm sure I'll know the reason one day, but what matters right now, is who are you?
She simply shrugged, "I'm a servant of the highest caliber for the Mistress. But, that's about it."
I was kind of asking for your name.
"Oh... My name, hm..."
...? Am I seeing things, or is she having trouble telling me her name? Is it some super secret name that I have no authority to know about, or what?
"Hng..."
Wait.
Don't tell me.
I can feel a grin forming on my face.
You don't have a name?
"Shut up! I, the highest servant of the Mistress, of course, have a name!"
This was the first time her lifeless expression changed. She gave me her best, icy disapproving look.
Clearly, she's angry.
And so, I waited. Let's just give her a chance, ey?
...
...
...
Okay, god damn it, it has been 10 minutes now. Just admit you don't have a name and be done with it. I have other questions to ask!
"No! I do have a name!"
Girl, for the last 10 minutes you were just staring at the ground with your hand at your chin, all of that with a lifeless expression.
"No! I know it!"
Okay? Then tell me.
"It's..." She gulped, "It's... Code Zero."
...
"..."
...
"Um..."
Really? Code Zero?
"...Yes."
... Look, since you're apparently here to help me, I'll do you a favor and not laugh at that name. Matter of fact, since this is obviously not a real name, how about I help you come up with a name?
"My name is perfectly fine as it is, thank you."
I shrugged.
Suit yourself, Code Zero.
She shifted slightly in her chair, increasing her grip on the cup of tea. She clearly didn't want to be here, talking to the likes of me. No doubt if it wasn't an order from that Mistress, she would've killed me.
"...Why is thee explaining all of this? Thee is acting like this is a movie."
Huh?
"Thee keep explaining thy surroundings, my expressions, my looks, everything. Why?"
Not sure what you're talking about. Are you sure your mind-reading technique isn't broken or something?
She closed her eyes, a vein appearing on her forehead.
"There it is again!"
Whatever.
Anyways, what happened to me? Last time I remember, I fell unconscious because of that monster- demon- no, 'Ivy's attack.
"Indeed, you've fallen unconscious, which is why you're here. Your 'friend' dragged you to somewhere safe, and defended you."
Friend- Oh, Eve! She really did that? To be honest, I kind of expected her to just ride me or something when I'm asleep.
"Oh, she wanted to do that," she chuckled, and for some reason, it felt creepy. "She really did. But, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately in thy case, she decided against it, thinking thee weren't in the shape for that."
Aw.
How adora-
"Although, she did kiss thee when she brought thee back to a safe place."
Oh, well-
"A lot."
...
Ehm, that reminds me, you are here to help me, no? How will you help me? I appreciate the history thing about monsters being demons and stuff, but is that it.
"Hmph, no, that isn't all. My purpose here was to awaken thy latent potential and answer any questions you might have. Although, it seems the former is not needed anymore."
Eh? Latent potential? Not needed?
She just gave me a small smile in response and pointed at her forehead.
Suddenly, a floating mirror appeared in front of me. Honestly, at this point, these kinds of things don't surprise me that much anymore.
I touched my forehead and looked in the mirror.
...!
"It seems thy fight with that 'Ivy' unlocked thy latent potential, and of course, thy third eye. Latent potential always existed within thee, from the moment thee entered our world, but it was simply not unlocked. Why does thee think Eve kissing thee is more than enough for her to replenish her energy? Any other person would've fallen unconscious right there."
What the hell...
What the hell is this?!
There was a symbol, of a golden eye, on my forehead! The hell is this shit?!