A Drop-Out's Guide to Saving the World
By: AnnoUn
As I looked at the woman standing in front of us.. seeing her smile and how she sadistically licked her lips, I started to remember... the time when I had seen her before
It was back home 5 years ago, at the time Mom and Dad were away on their overtime jobs, I had the whole house for myself the time was 8 PM I sat on the living room couch after playing games all day,
Turning on the TV I switched channel after channel before I landed on the News, It was a live execution of a Russian Woman named is "Natasha Merr"
"A live execution? Hmm" -I said
Normally Executions aren't aired on TV, but she's a different case, upon hearing about Natasha's kill count my body hair stood up.
She had murdered over 300 men 50 women, and 20 children, all of her victims' throats had been cleanly cut to the point their heads had almost been decapitated earning her the nickname "Throat Stealer", she was the most notorious serial killer in Russia
"How could the cops let her kill so many people?!, Like honestly.." I said shocked at how many people she had killed
As I waited for her execution to start I got curious and searched her up on Noogle (Goggle) Natasha was an expert in disguising herself, by day she was a normal Accountant some of her collogue commented on her being nice, and kind
but by night she would hunt men on dark alleys luring them with her flirtatious personality and alluring good looks, after she had her prey dancing on the palm of her hands she would slice their throats open leaving their bodies where she had snuff out their life, her fast reflexes and agile body made the cops job on catching her a living nightmare
She was caught after she had made the mistake of showing her face to a high-end security camera from a nearby bank she was seen grinning like the face you make after eating your favorite food, with blood on her cheek, it didn't take the cops long before she was apprehended
As I kept scrolling on Noogle I saw her footage during the cop's interrogation, the cops asked why she killed so many people and what was her reason.
"Hmmm".... she giggled before answering
"I have no reason officer~~... I simply see it as a hobby of mine~, the thought of another person's blood gushing out of they're body makes me so happy~~.." She liked her lips while grinning sadistically her cheeks red
Shortly after she was sentenced to death by method of lethal injection and is now being filmed live
"Well I guess the government wanted to make an example of her?... in any case it's a good thing she'd been caught.. she's too dangerous to be left roaming the streets"
I turned my phone off and watched as the execution of Natasha Merr began.
The camera showed a room, with at least a hundred people inside probably all or at least half of her victims' families sitting on metal chairs.
In front of them is a big glass panel, on the other side lies Natasha herself strapped on a metal bed with 2 machines on her side connected to the machines are multiple transparent tubes injected into her arms
3 security guards standing behind Natasha, 2 nurses handling the poison that will be injected into her, and a single priest holding a bible
The priest then stood in front of Natasha and asked if she had any last words
In response, Natasha grinned sadistically while glaring at the priest
"Not even your precious God can take me... even if I die there will be someone out there that will take my place," she said
I sat there bewildered at how she could still say such things while her death was moments away "Geez she's nuts alright"
the priest remained quiet before proceeding to her main execution
"Natasha Merr, you have been trialed, convicted, and sentenced to death, May your passing bring closure to all of the victims' families and may you find peace in the hereafter"
I watched As the priest finished speaking, and the nurses started to turn the machines beside Natasha on releasing the poison that would soon find itself inside Natasha's body
But Suddenly
everyone in the execution room started to panic as all the lights started to blink on and off, and the screens monitoring Natasha's pulse burst scattering shattered glass everywhere
"What the fuck is goin' on?!"
I said while watching the event on the TV'
Natasha looked surprised as she looked around at what was happening, All the lights then turned off the people panicked the room pitched black, it lasted for a couple of minutes before the lights turned back on but as it did Natasha was nowhere to be found
"What the?! What is this!?" I exclaimed
The guards then checked the bed where Natasha was strapped too, it didn't look like someone tampered with the restraints, all of the leather straps were still tightly closed, and no one could ever leave the room as it was tightly shut, and could only be opened by the cops stationed outside
Police also checked the security cameras inside the execution chamber and the cameras outside the building, but it only showed the footage of Natasha lying on the bed and the priest speaking before getting cut off entirely, the entire police department and the ones that are investigating the matter was left confused,
Natasha had disappeared into thin air
The news of Natasha's disappearance had left the entire internet perplexed, some Sretidors (Redditors) even speculated that the entire event was staged and was just a skit, all of Natasha's execution footage was then taken down for reasons I am not aware of...
After some time everyone including me, forgot about the incident like it never happened, although some people still brought it up but nobody paid any attention to them
But now Lester stood in front of the very same convicted serial killer wielding the rule of Speed,
Lester's legs shake from fear as he looks at Natasha standing in front of them the notorious serial killer who finds pleasure in killing people grinning sadistically as she looks at us
"D..D-Dammit!.. It really is her!.. W-what am I gonna do now!.. S.. She's gonna cut my throat open! Fuck fuck!." Lester thought to himself his breathing was fast and his heart beating like a drum
"Hey! Pull yourself together.."
Moss shouted at Lester snapping him back to the current situation
Lester looked at Moss sweat dripped from his face, and his eyes still had fear in them
"M.. Moss.."
"Stop spacing out and get your head in the game.."
Moss said while keeping eye contact with Natasha her tone was a bit irritated,
Suddenly, Ralph grabbed a huge spiked club hidden beneath the bar table and charged toward Natasha
"W-Wait! Old man Ralph!" Kate exclaimed as she looked at Ralph charge towards Natasha
"D-dammit!.. didn't he see what Natasha did to this place? he'll be turned to minced meat!.."
Lester thought to himself still had no idea how he could help
"Screw you lady!.. I'll grind you up and feed you to the rats!"
Ralph called out as he swung his huge spiked club towards Natasha, but it was all in vain as Natasha jumped and stepped on Ralph's weapon
"This is my first time fighting to the death with a giant~ be a dear and go easy on me~"
Natasha said before jumping again and kicking Ralph in the face
Lester and Kate watched on the sidelines, while Moss helped Ralph by firing out a barrage of Attack spells, but before it even reached Natasha she sliced it to oblivion with a quick swing, while parrying Ralph's heavy strikes
"D-Dammit!.. I-I can't just stand here!... B-but what do I even do??!, I'll just get in their way!"
Lester thought to himself as he watched Moss and Ralph's ongoing fight with Natasha, his mind was filled with self-doubt unsure of what to do, in his mind he's still a weakling that'll only weigh other's down
Natasha laughed as she sliced Moss's spell to nothingness and parried Ralph's strikes
"My my!~ this sure is fun!~ but I'm getting bored of your fighting style old man~~"
With a quick swing Natasha sliced through Ralph's club and severed his hand blood gushed everywhere as Ralph screamed in pain
"Old man Ralph!.. h-how dare you lay your hands on him you filthy bitch.."
Kate shouted before speeding towards Natasha her dagger out aiming towards Natasha
"K-Kate W-wait!.."
Lester shouted but it was already too late Kate had already taken off
Natasha grinned seeing Kate charging at her
"Ohh?~ so you're coming to play too little kitty?"
Natasha parried Kate's strike, sparks flies out as their blades collide
While Kate kept Natasha busy Moss hurried towards Ralph and began to use her healing magic
"She's toying with us... she can easily cut all of us in half but instead of doing that she's playing sword with Kate... My spells are useless if she can just cut through them... I'll just be wasting Mana if I keep on attacking her... Is this.. how powerful Rule Bearers are?"
Moss expected this fight to be difficult but this was on another level, she's never been faced with an enemy like Natasha before, in all her 12 years of training with her master, she'd fought countless monsters before but Natasha's strength was first for her
As Moss healed Ralph's injuries Kate was sent flying before hitting the remaining wall of the cabin knocking her out, without wasting any more time Natasha sprinted towards Moss, her speed too fast for Moss to react
"It's rude to ignore someone you know~... It's your turn to play little mage~"
Moss's eyes widened as she turned around and saw Natasha's weapon swinging toward her aiming for her neck
"S-She's too fast!"
Moss muttered to herself unable to react in time to least dodge her strikes
Suddenly In the nick of time, Lester Parried Natasha's strike using the old sword the kind receptionist from the guild had given him.
Moss's eyes widened not expecting Lester to back her up
Natasha grinned and jumped back, Lester stood in front of Moss his legs shaking, he had mustered all his courage to protect Moss, he's a coward but he's not just gonna stand there and watch as his companion get killed
"HOLY SHIT!, I-I ACTUALLY PARRIED HER ATTACK!"
Lester grinned as he shakily raised his sword at Natasha
Natasha looked at Lester and Moss before licking her lips
"I see.."
Natasha said
"so the mage possesses an artifact that can grant Immunity to getting cut... while the boy is a Rule Bearer whose ability makes him resistant to getting cut or sliced.. "
Lester Looked at Moss his eyes puzzled
"What are you-"
Lester didn't finish talking as the terrain behind them was cut in half, all of the trees 20 meters behind them started to fall
Lester grinned nervously as sweat dripped from his face hearing all the trees behind them fall, while his arms started to shake as well,
"S-she used the same invisible attack.. she must have cast it when Lester parried her blade, that artifact is no joke... My ring protected me from Natasha's attack, but Lester... How did he survive??"
Natasha liked her lips while looking sadistically at Lester
"Tell ya what Kid~... if you come with me.. then.. I'll spare your friends' lives... you belong with us anyway.. you're a Rule Bearer after all"
Lester grinned nervously he looked at Natasha with a puzzled expression
"W-what are you even on about... R-Rule Bearer? me??"
"Rule Bearers... My master mentioned them a few times.. but can Lester really be a Rule Bearer?"
"That's right~ in a nutshell Rule Bearers are people who manipulate the rules themselves.." Natasha said before pointing at Lester
"I'll give you two choices, come with me and I'll spare you and your friends, but if you refuse all of you will die..~ pick wisely..~"
Lester grinned nervously,
"D-dammit.. w-what do I do now!... s-should I just go w-with her!? ... there could be a chance that she's after me?... I-if she's telling the truth and I am a Rule Bearer or whatever.. then.."
Suddenly Moss stood up and held Lester's arms, before whispering into his ears
"Listen... I have a plan..."
Natasha licked her lips as she glared at Moss and Lester
"Hmm?~ are you weighing down your options?~.. "
Lester grinned nervously.. as Moss finished explaining her plan
"Understood.."
Lester said before dashing towards Natasha
"I see!~ So you've chosen death?~ as you wish..~"
Natasha and Lester's blades collided sparks flew out as Natasha's fast strikes were parried by Lester's unrefined sword skills, honed by hours of playing sword using a stick back home
As Lester fought Natasha with everything he had, Moss on the other hand had just finished her spell, Suddenly Natasha glowed purple and became slower
"Lester! Do it now!!!" Moss shouted as she pointed her staff toward Natasha
"With a slowing spell weighing her down, Lester can create an opening for me!.."
Lester with all his strength struck Natasha's blades upwards causing her entire body to be wide open
Natasha's eyes widened for a moment as her whole body was vulnerable
Moss's staff glowed brightly before realizing a powerful beam of light
"Light Magic: Heavens Judgement!"
As the beam of light approached Natasha, she only grinned at their effort, before Moss's attack hit Natasha disappeared causing the ray of light to hit a nearby hill resulting in a huge explosion
"How did she-" Before Moss could finish her sentence a dagger was sent flying with extreme speed and seemingly came from nowhere, piecing Moss's shoulder and pinning her to a nearby wooden pillar, her blood drips from her wound staining her white dress under inside her open black robe
"W-what.. b-but my artifact allows me complete Immunity to getting sliced.. that also goes for getting stabbed.. is this dagger.. another Artifact!?" - Moss thought to herself, while her face twitch a little from getting her shoulder pierced
"Moss! D-dammit!.. It didn't work!!"
Lester exclaimed before rushing towards Moss his legs started shaking seeing her blood, Moss tried pulling the dagger out but it wouldn't come off
"D-dammit!.. W-what do I do NOW!.."
Natasha then reappeared standing in front of Moss and Lester, she now had a cracked-like marking on her forehead and just below her right eye, Natasha licked her lips as she looked at Moss and Lester
"I commend you for your effort.. but a mere slowing spell won't slow the Rule Bearer of Speed down.."
Lester stood in front of Moss raising his sword towards Natasha protecting Moss
"W..W-what the fuck!.. she's faster now?! And she has those cracked-looking markings as well!, Dammit!..."
"L-lester.. Get out of here.. you'll just die here with me.."
Moss said, her tone aloof, as she sat there her shoulder pinned to the wall.
For a moment Lester looked back at Moss, before looking back to Natasha, he shook his head as he got to an attacking stand
"N-No way in hell I'm leaving you here!..."
Lester said his tone a bit shaky, he said that but Deep inside Lester wanted to run away from the very beginning of the fight but something inside his mind beckoned for him to stay and help the others
"Y-you Idiot... you'll j-just get yourself k-killed... If you stay yo-you'll be fighting her alone... This dagger inside my shoulder won't allow me to use healing Magic... A-and I can't cast any spells either.."
Lester nervously grinned widely as Natasha charged forward her blinding speed made her almost invisible
"If that's the case!... I'll just have to hold out as long as I can!.. I-if I do that!.. Then you'll have enough time to come up with something!... I-I believe in you! Mos!.. You're strong after all..."
Moss looked at Lester with a surprised expression
"Lester, you idiot. I need to think of something, and fast! Come on, Moss, think!"
Natasha laughed as she slowly cleaved Lester's body her blinding speed was too much for Lester
"How amusing!~ truly!~ no matter how resistant you are to getting cut~! If you haven't Resonated with your Rule you are nothing more than a mere insect!"
Lester stood there swinging his sword from different directions in hopes of hitting Natasha, he looked like someone who was swatting a fly but couldn't quite catch it
"I...I hate this... I feel so helpless.. getting protected by someone who has no knowledge on magic or combat.. and yet he's still here protecting me... risking his life..."
Moss muttered to herself while watching Lester get slowly cleaved away by Natasha's strikes, Moss held out her hand and tried to cast a support spell but to no avail
bit by bit, his injuries started getting severe, and Lester fell on his knees dropping his sword
"D-dammit.. I-I can't go on I give up... My body's not going to hold on much longer... I..I'm gonna die."
Natasha stopped for a moment she licked her lips before speaking
"It's been fun~ the two of you had truly been good playmates~ it's honestly a shame that I'll be going back to our hideout without a new Rule Bearer but now I think it's time to wrap things up~"
Natasha dashed towards Lester her blade aiming for his throat, her movement blindingly fast and smooth
"Lester!"
Moss shouted while trying desperately to remove the dagger piercing her shoulder, all the movement caused her to bleed even more
At that moment, Lester's life flashed before his very eyes, his thoughts lingered on what would happen to Moss If he died at the hands of Natasha, and the regrets of his past actions back home, but as his mind was filled with the regretful decisions he doesn't want to remember, Lester also started remembering what his father said to him long ago after he had just dropped out of school
Lester and his father sat under a huge Sakura tree, the warmth of the sun was just right, and the pink petals was being carried by the gust of wind before falling on the ground,
Lester's Father spoke while looking up at the Sakura tree
"Listen to me Lester... as long as your able to fight.. keep on fighting.. never give up... you never truly fail until the moment you give up.."
Lester's father looked at Lester before smiling
"Your a good kid son.. I know you can do anything.. as long as you hold onto the reason that you keeps you going, If you keep it close .. You'll be unstoppable"
At that moment Lester understood what his father was trying to say, back home Lester had nobody other than himself and his parents,
but now in an unfamiliar world, he met someone who didn't abandon him immediately even after seeing how weak he was, a person even though she only met Lester recently, trusted him to take the lead in getting something important stolen from them back, although the reasons were small to Lester it was significant because it marked the first time someone other than his parents believed in his potential rather than his current state.
This change in Lester caused all of the necessary conditions to be met, allowing him to Resonate with his Rule
When Natasha's blade meets Lester's throat, it doesn't harm him. Natasha's eyes widened as she was bombarded with a series of invisible slicing attacks causing her to receive deep cuts all over her body
Natasha jumped back licking her lips as her blood dripped from her forehead
"Ohh my Resonating with your Rule in the middle of our playtime~... It seems our little dance will get even more fun~"
Lester slowly stood up; his wounds started smoking and slowly began to heal, and black markings started appearing all over his face and arms. Lester Grinned widely but it wasn't his usual scared grin it was the smile of a person whose mind is full of violence, and his eyes darted at Natasha full of bloodshed
"T-those markings... It's similar to master's markings!.. but.. there's something wrong with him.. that smile.. what's going on"
Moss stared at Lester noticing the change in him before he dashed toward Natasha
"..."
Lester's movements were that of a wild animal, his breathing was erratic and his eyes darted at Natasha filled with bloodshed, he swung his arms followed by an invisible slashing attack it missed Natasha but it chopped the trees behind her.
Natasha's smile widened as she saw the destructive power of Lester's ability, despite her intense speed her blades were doing zero damage to Leser, Resonating with his rule allowed him to gain complete Immunity to getting slashed or stabbed
"How Impressive!~ It seems like my strikes are proving to be ineffective~" Using Natasha's speed she made her way towards Moss swiftly taking the dagger piercing her shoulder resulting in Moss gaining her ability to use magic back, Natasha smiled as she threw the knife at Lester with force piercing Lester's chest
"But with that... your immunity doesn't matter"
[ Artifact: Rule Breakers Dagger ]
Moss held her wounded shoulder slowly healing it with her Healing Magic, her eyes wide as she watched Lester get pierced with the Artifact, But before she could even utter a word she was surprised to see Lester still grinning widely the dagger in his chest wasn't even bothering him
"W-whats wrong with him... he doesn't even look like he's in pain... Lester.. he's not in control.. dammit.. what's happening!..."
Moss thought to herself, while Lester pulled the dagger out the wound in his chest healed almost instantly
"How thoroughly annoying," Lester said his tone cold with a hint of irritation to them
Natasha looked scared for a moment, that attack would have killed Lester immediately she thought
"I-impossible... how could you survive that attack.. "
Natasha said her usual playful tone was gone
Lester glared at Natasha before saying "This is where you die..." Lester's tone was cold and merciless, It's clear that the one speaking wasn't Lester.
Lester then dashed towards Natasha his speed catching her off guard he grabbed her leg and slammed her on the ground the impact was so powerful it caused her to cough blood, he then threw her mid-air his arm held out preparing to slice her in half
but before he could do so Lester's body gave out, and the markings on his face began disappearing, blood dripped from his nose and his eyes began to look weak, Natasha landed safely on the ground, and she smiled seeing Lester's weakened state
"How fortunate of me... You've Overclocked~ "
Moss hurried toward Lester as he fell to the ground his eyes nearly closed while blood still dripped from his nose, she cradled his head on her lap while starting to use healing magic
"Lester!, Hey!"
"It's no use~ He used his ability too much~ a dumb move since his body was still adjusting to the shift of power inside of him~ in any case he's not waking up for a few weeks at best.."
Natasha held her blade the markings on her face gone as well and she slowly made her way toward Moss and Lester, her movements were now slower
"Overused his ability?! dammit!.."
Moss noticed Natasha slowly coming toward them she fired multiple fireballs followed by a light-based attack magic but was immediately neutralized by Natasha's blades
"This is not good... I'm out of mana... I won't be able to cast any more spells.."
Moss mumbled to herself as she looked at Natasha defiantly
"Don't worry~ I'll make sure your death is excruciatingly painful~"
But before Natasha could reach Moss & Lester red spikes made from what looked like blood formed from the ground halting Natasha's advance and causing her to create distance between them
"Spikes made from blood? what kind of spell is this?" Moss said to herself
Suddenly a short-looking girl with short peach-colored hair appeared she was wearing a long white cloak, with a white rose on her right chest, black-rimmed eyeglasses, and wielding a long red blade made from the same material as the spikes that formed
She swung her blade towards Natasha
Natasha grinned widely recognizing the girl
"I see~ so the goodie tooshoes have arrived! ready to ruin my fun!~"
The girl remained quiet and kept her assault on Natasha before a guy with yellow hair wearing the same attire approached Moss and Lester from behind,
The guy with yellow hair checked Lester's pulse
"Don't worry he'll be fine.. It seems he just Overclocked" The guy said while smiling at Moss
Moss looked at him suspiciously, unsure of their motives
"W-who are you people?!, and what do you want with us?"
Moss asked while covering Lester with her arms
"My name is Yin me and the girl fighting that sadistic fucker over there is Mira we're both Rule Bearer like Lester... Don't worry we're your allies..." - (Yin: Rule Bearer of ▬▬)
"Allies huh?... I'm not gullible enough to just trust them... but as it stands...if they are lying about being our ally... I won't be able to protect Lester and myself... Our fight with Natasha completely exhausted my Mana reserves... I didn't even have enough mana to heal my shoulder..." Moss thought she bit her lower lip still holding Lester close to her...
As Mira and Natasha's fight continues Natasha's movements are now slower, and her strikes are now weaker than before, she can barely keep up with Mira's relentless attacks she realizes she has reached her limit, her earlier fights with everyone had taken a toll on her body
Natasha jumped away landing on a large tree branch
"Before long I will disembowel everyone present here... And The Black Garden will come back..."
Natasha said before she jumped from tree to tree retreating away
"Should I go after her?" - (Mira: Rule Bearer Of ▬▬ ) - Mira asked while looking at Yin, her tone is aloof like Moss
"No... We need to take Lester back... he overclocked"
Moss sighed in relief as she saw Natasha retreat into the forest, she slowly stood up keeping Lester behind her while holding her staff she glared at Yin and Mira her expression stoic
"I'm not letting them take Lester anywhere until confident enough to trust them... Lester may be an Idiot but he protected me even though he didn't have to, it's only right to return the favor..."
as the full moon shined above everyone Moss stood in front of Lester holding her wooden staff determined to protect her injured companion from the two newcomers Yin and Mira who are both Rule Bearers their abilities still unknown
✔--End of Chapter 4--✔
⭐--Character Spotlight--⭐
Yin
Age: Older than Mira
Height: Taller than Mira Lmao~
Weight: Lighter than Mira Of course
Favorite Food: Dimsum!!!!
Occupation: Unknown
Background: Unknown
Ability: Rule Bearer of ▬▬
Mira
Age: younger than Yin
Height: 😑
Weight: [Confidential]
Favorite Food: Japanese Beef Bowls...
Occupation: Unknown
Background: Unknown
Ability: Rule Bearer of ▬▬
--Disclosed Artifacts--
Rule Breakers Dagger
User: Natasha Merr (Former) None (Current)
An artifact in the shape of a small purple dagger Imbued with the Rule of "Negation" this weapon can "Negate" both magic and the rules nullifying the abilities of Rule Bearers and magic caster
--Others--
Resonate: The moment when A Rule Bearer awakened their ability
Overclocking/Overclocked: A term given to Rule Bearers who have used their abilities too much, Overclocked Rule Bearers will be in a state of sleep for at least a week or until their bodies have recovered
The Black Garden: *Unknown*