No one had expected the outcome of the fight to be this devastating. First responders quickly arrived on-scene to help to the best of their abilities. Firefighters and police officers tried to put out countless fires around the block, and save the injured.
They located numerous bodies, either burnt and missing limbs from the initial explosion or had been crushed under parts of the destroyed buildings that they were in. Paramedics had also tried their hardest to save the injured ones as well.
"NOO!!! PLEASE WILLIAM! WAKE UP!" The cries of an injured woman as she tried to rouse her dead partner could be heard. Officers made their way to the hotel yard where they saw the incinerated bodies of Malcolm and the squad. However, they heard something strange, pain-filled groans.
"What...How the hell?" A police officer asked with a look of confusion.
* * *
The party had now reached back to the warehouse, their original location.
"Guys...you don't know how proud I am to see you working as a team!" The developer said with a tear-filled voice as they left the car. They made their way inside the warehouse.
"Ugh...we're back to this uncomfortable place," Ada said in a depressed tone. "Don't we get a reward for defeating those guys...can't it be a comfortable place to stay?"
"Nah, it would be too easy for you guys to get so much help so no rewards for now."
"Tsk, cheap bastard." Ada insulted the developer.
"Sigh, good thing I came prepared," Nathan stated before walking around the warehouse. Everyone was looking at him with curiosity written on their faces. Nathan then materialized multiple beds in the warehouse, with tables and other furniture. Everyone was left in awe with the sudden appearance of the household articles.
"How the hell did you do that!?" Zack asked.
"I'm pretty tired. We should get some rest," Nathan said, avoiding Zack's question. Ada had an annoyed expression but quickly changed to a happy one.
"I'm so glad we can get some rest, at least!" Ada said as she jumped into a bed. "Hey, Olivia...give me my book. I wanna do some writing."
"...Okay." Olivia obeyed by taking out a book. It had multiple lockets on the side. Nathan looked with suspicion but decided to leave that alone. He chose a bed of his own and lay in it.
"I'm going to sleep."
At the same time, the NPC entered the warehouse with a female. They were wearing a white nurse's uniform with a similar red mask to the NPC but without the glow.
"Oh, by the way, I figured you guys would get injured while completing missions, so meet my new NPC...The doctor!" The developer said enthusiastically as he appeared on the TV.
"Oh nice, my broken ribs were pretty uncomfortable," Jack said.
* * *
John and Harvey had arrived at a hospital. It was extremely hectic as numerous medical practitioners were passing through with heavily injured patients on stretchers. They could hear the screams and cries of the injured and their relatives in different rooms of the hospital. The sergeant and lieutenant could only walk through with a look of shame and anger.
They met up with an officer in the waiting area. The officer immediately jumped up in alertness to their presence.
"O-Oh, you guys are here." The officer said.
"...Explain to us what the hell happened." John bluntly stated with a cold demeanor.
"U-Um, well...the super soldiers and squad of policemen failed, as you are probably aware. The explosion that occurred...was caused by our equipment."
"What...!?" Harvey asked as anger surfaced on his face.
"B-But the explosion yield was far stronger than what we'd use...it was around one kiloton, something must have been wrong--"
"SHUT UP WITH YOUR EXCUSES!" John shouted, attracting the attention of others.
"S-sorry boss..."
"I heard that Rachel survived?" Harvey asked.
"O-Oh yeah, follow me!" The officer said before leading them to her room. When they entered and saw her, they immediately looked repulsed by the state at which she was in.
"T-The doctors said that she had sustained numerous injuries and broken bones, even a severely damaged eye, all before the explosion even happened. Her injuries worsened, having accumulated 3rd degree burns on at least 80% of her entire body. It's a miracle that she's even alive for this long."
"I see." Lieutenant Harvey said. "So that means she's now useless."
"H-Huh?" The officer asked, visibly puzzled at Harvey's response.
"What the hell are we going to do now to shut up the media..." John sighed. "This is going to spread like wildfire.
Just as John said, not even an hour had passed before this disaster became just as trending as 'The Debut.' Images of the horrid sight had surfaced in the media, and the reactions of every one were just as bad, if not worse than before.
"You guys remember the public statement earlier today where the military and police said that they were 'taking this very seriously' and that 'this won't happen again'?" A comment on social media said in reaction to the disaster. The comment and numerous others just like that have gained immense agreement globally.
Instead of simply questioning the ability of law enforcement, they were now the target of everyone's hatred over social media. Countless posts could be found of a degrading nature towards law enforcement on how these people would not have lost their lives if they had just done their job right.
Harvey and John were sitting around a table with other military officers. Silence filled the room as everyone could understand the tension. After all, numerous people have died, and everyone's pointing fingers at them.
"This degradation of our reputation is truly unacceptable!" Harvey affirmed, breaking the silence.
"But what are we going to do?" A military official inquired. "No matter what we say, the media won't listen to anything."
Silence filled the room once again.
"...We should do it," John uttered.
"Do what?" Harvey asked.
"Jack and Charles are already considered S-Class criminals but since they were supposedly dealt with in the past, they had been removed from the list."
"Don't tell me..." Harvey said with suspicious eyes.
"Yeah, not only will Jack and Charles be re-added to the list, but that bastard Nathan and the rest of his group will be placed on the S Class criminal list as well."
"That's a risky thing to do." A military official added.
"It's the only thing we can do now."
For the third time, silence filled the room, but this time it was due to everyone agreeing with this suggestion.
"After our preparations, we'll kill them this time...for sure."
* * *
Nathan had woken up past midnight. He noticed that only Jack was up. He was watching a violent action movie but muted it due to everyone sleeping.
"Oh, hello, mate. You woke up pretty early." Jack said.
"Yeah, but aren't you going to get some sleep too?"
"Yeah, I was gonna go get some sleep after this movie, cause I am feeling pretty knackered."
"Oh, alright...I think I'm gonna go for a walk, 'cause I don't think I'll fall asleep this easy anymore."
When I shut my eyes...the bad memories just flood in...
"Sure."
Nathan left the bed and made his way out of the warehouse.
Looks like we can open it from the inside without needing that guy's fingerprints.
He took his phone out and stared at it. He then began to remember Lilith.
This may be the only time I can reach you...I doubt you would want to see me again...but I just want to explain.
Steeling his resolve, he dialed her number.
"...Hello?" Lilith asked as she answered the phone call.
"H-Hey...Lilith, can we meet up?"