"Uck-!" Blood spilled from Legolas' mouth as he stumbled backward, falling on his back.
"Die!!" Viper Fang jumped into the air with a Kunai in each hand and one in his mouth.
He lifted both into the air, plunging them towards Legolas, however, the elf rolled to the side, missing the fatal blows.
"Damn you!" Viper Fang launched the kunai towards Legolas, but he ducked under them and tackled the fraud to the ground.
"Ha! Haaa-yah! Eeyaah!" Legolas lifted one arm into the air, punching Viper Fang in the face.
One punch after another would diminish his health while blood flew into the air.
The ground was smeared in red and Legolas' face was covered in the fresh-hot blood.
"You. Fucking. Bastard! Die! Die, die!!!" Legolas was enraged, his fist wouldn't stop beating on his opponent. His eyes were fueled with anger, and his body was empowered by adrenaline.
"Guyaaah!" Viper Fang opened his jaw, catching Legolas' fist in his mouth.
"G-Gaaaah!" The elf screamed once his fist was being pierced by the fangs.
Poison was injected into Legolas' body, causing him to lose his vision.
He could no longer see… everything was… blurry.
"W…What's happening to me?" Legolas tried to rub his eyes but nothing changed.
Viper Fang punched the elf off his body, sending them onto their side, "Heh heh heh, you made the biggessssssst mistake of your life, elf!"
"…I…I can't see! I can't see anything!" Legolas tried crawling forward but was pinned to the ground once Viper stepped on his back.
"My fangssssss are laced with venom—even C-tier Debuff magic is child'ssss play to its effects!" Viper Fang kicked Legolas over, stomping on his stomach, "Ever since I created my character, I gave him the appearance of a reptile for a reason… and you proceeded to attack the head of a snake, are you mad? Keheheh!!"
"The venom… it's… slowly draining my life points." Even while blind, he could still see his health and mana bar, "Shit… I have to escape… while I can!"
"Escape!? Heh heh heh, what the hell makes you think I'll let you escape?!" Viper Fang grasped Legolas' hair, tugging his head backward, "First you summoned the Grim-fucking-Reaper, and now you're talking about escaping?! The nerve…!" Viper pulled the Kunai from his mouth, gripping it tightly with his other hand, "I'll slice your throat and watch you bleed!"
"…Alice, Jacob?!! Can you hear me?!?!" Legolas screamed at the top of his lungs, but no one came, "I came here to save you!"
"Save them? Heh… mission failed, I'll make you suffer!!!" Viper Fang struck the Kunai at his neck, but was suddenly pushed to the side, "Tsk?!" He stumbled into the wall, realizing it was Pocchi… who was running away? "Pocchi, what the hell are you doing?! Where is everyone else?"
"I'm escaping while I have the chance, and I advise you to bring your ugly ass with me."
"Watch it, Mohawk-punk, explain what's going on!"
"Isabella… she's been killed."
"What?!" Viper Fang was baffled, glancing at the ground in shock, "Isabella… dead? How did something like this happen?!"
"A lot we don't know is going on—but the guys concluded that ever since we got trapped inside the game, mobs and NPCs have obtained their own souls and moral thinking. They act on their own will, rather than following the coding of the game… and that's how Isabella was caught off guard. During our last attack, we were gonna kill that goddamn thing…" Pocchi gritted his teeth, looking away in regret, "But… it switched bodies with Isabella, and she was the one who died in its place. So now, she's gone. Isabella is no longer with us anymore."
Viper Fang felt his heart skip a beat… as the Kunai in his hand slowly fell, clanking against the ground.
"…Damnit all!" The feline man ran frantically down the corridor, making his way back to the cafeteria.
He left without any more questions, wanting to save his friends while he had the chance.
"…Can't see… I'm slowly dying… what's going on?" Legolas was on his hands and knees, crying, "I'm… I'm gonna lose everything I sacrificed my life for! Alice… Jacob!"
KSSHK!
The sound of glass broke, as Legolas was covered in multi-colored liquid.
"....." The elf went silent as his vision slowly returned with his body healing itself, "…What happened?" He could see his hands and the tears that splattered against them.
A small healing potion and cleansing potion were used on him.
"Your friends are upstairs, first door to the right. Hurry while you can, and you might just save them."
"..." Legolas slowly looked up, facing Pocchi who towered over him, "You…"
Legolas stood up, landing a direct blow against Pocchi's cheek.
The Mohawk-punk stumbled back, nearly falling over, but he was too resilient for something like that.
Pocchi wiped away the blood from his lip, spitting a tooth out, "Hmf, I guess I deserve that, huh?"
"After what all you bastards put us through… Do you think I'm just gonna let you get away with it?! After what you did to Jacob and Alice… and after what you done to me?!! Do you think I'll let this slide? No way in fucking hell!!"
"Right right… I fucking get it. We are pieces of shit… I'm a piece of shit!" Pocchi lifted his arms into the air, "Hell, most of the players in this goddamn game are pieces of shit!" He sighed, dropping his arms down, "But… I realized how scary it is."
"….?" Legolas lifted his brow in question.
"It's scary… looking death right in the fucking face." Pocchi clenched his fists, nervously smiling, "Can you believe that shit? Death. It's fucking real man… the incarnation of it, in physical form. Man… what a world we live in… crazy right?"
"What do you mean?" Asked Legolas.
"I mean what I mean. Simple as that. That mob isn't some fucking mindless coding that acts like it's supposed to, but instead… it's alive! It's fucking real! It has its own thinking, its own desires! It has its own morality. It's death! Real-life death!!"
"….Are you saying that the mobs in the game started acting on their own will?"
"Yeah… that's exactly what I'm saying." Pocchi turned around, walking down the hallway again, "And that's why I'm leaving."
"So… you're abandoning your friends because you're scared? Is that it?" Legolas said, facing the Mohawk-punk.
"…Yeah…" Pocchi glanced down, "That's it. I'm running away—I'm done with this shitty life, and I'm also done with risking my own life."
"You need to pay for your sins." Legolas approached Pocchi from behind, "After all that you've done, don't think that life is gonna treat you fairly. You can continue to run, but I'm certain that even the gods in this world will enact karma upon you, and you'll regret everything up till now."
"Hmpf. Right." Pocchi continued walking down the corridor, "…If that's how my life will be, then so be it. I would rather live in poverty and suffering than deal with death itself."
"...…" Legolas watched Pocchi run down the hallway after their talk, leaving the Guild Base for good.
KABOOM!
The sounds of magical explosions ignited within the cafeteria, shaking the entire Guild.
"I have no time to be sitting around… I have to find my friends!" Legolas took off, running the opposite way of Pocchi.
"Bertram, no!!!" Honora yelled, watching her friend being launched away by the flames of hell.
Bertram crashed into the wall, screaming his lungs out.
The flames incinerated his flesh, down to his bones.
"Huaaaaaaa!!!" His body spasmed in pain until the flames subsided, causing him to fall flat on his face, dropping his halberd.
Honora ran towards Bertram, trying to touch his body… but it was far too hot, "Stay with us… don't go!" Honora was on her knees, hesitating to touch him.
"How pitiful. Bertram, was it? He was a strong fighter, however… he was no match for me- what?!" The fraud Isabella was cut off, watching as the dark-skinned man rose from the ground once more, picking up his halberd, "But how?! Your soul was supposed to be deconstructed!!"
"Bertram, are you okay?" Honora grasped his arm, wincing in pain from the heat.
"…I'm fine…." Bertram's armor was melted away with third-degree burns all over his body, "Honora… I'm sure you know this by now… but we stand no chance."
"….Yes… I know." Honora closed her eyes, whimpering, "But… even if that is the case, we can't just give up!"
"I'm… only alive from my intrinsic ability, I'll die in a few minutes or so."
"W-What?" Honora looked up at Bertram, tears forming in her eyes, "…You can't die… not you too!"
Bertram's intrinsic ability as a barbarian class, known as "Devotement", allows him to fight with one HP left. It's an all-or-nothing ability, but it would come in handy for the situation they were in.
The barbarian gripped his halberd with both hands, smiling at the Grim Reaper, "We've been a team forever. We completed raids together, and even destroyed guilds for loot and GP(Guild Power), not to mention… we loved one another. The only thing I regret is how I treated people outside our guild—but it's not our fault, considering all of this was probably Belial's plan from the beginning."
"Belial's… plan?" Asked Honora.
"Yeah. This bastard knew exactly what would happen—he knew that a Grim Reaper would show up, and he knew that we would die trying to face off against it. All of this is some joke for the likes of that asshole."
"But… how?" Said Honora, "How did he know this? Where are you getting this information from?"
"He told Isabella."
"Huh?"
"He told her what would happen from the very beginning, and he said that it's up to her to change all of this… but… he left out key details, which brought the downfall on all of us. He never told us how to stop any of this… he just waited for it to come, so he could escape."
"Why didn't you tell us this Bertram?" Asked the crying Honora, "Why keep this…" she sniffled, "Hidden?"
"I believed I could change the future on my own with Isabella… that's why… I placed the burden of this fight on my shoulders. It's why I wanted to stay here and keep fighting for her!"
"But… you can't! You'll die!" Honora gripped his arm, digging her face into his bicep, "I can't let you dieee!!" She cried as her voice saddened the barbarian greatly.
"I'm sorry my friends. I'm sorry for not telling you, and believing that I could save us on my own accord. My ego brought the downfall on most of us, just so I could look cool if I defied fate! But… if you all survive, then find Belial, and avenge me and Isabella. That bastard waited for our demise. He enjoyed me and Isabella's frightened expression, taking pleasure in our fear of the unknown. A monster like him must be killed." Bertram stepped forward, "Do not worry, Isabella, I'll use everything I got, and destroy your body, so this spirit can be sent back to the underworld!"
"How impudent." Muttered the Grim Reaper.
"Get ready!!" Shouted Bertram.