Bright City is home to the Judice District, which is located next to the Kerole District. Within the Judice District, it is the slums of Bright City, riddled with crime and poverty. Yet, two powerful figures of Terrestria had made an unexpected trip to the Judice District, not telling a single soul. Tai Hutchins and Bob Everenes, their aura shakes all the passersby, leaving a clear path for their destination. "Bob, this place better be worth all the travel. Standing near all these low ranks is going to make me puke."
The Judice District wasn't a wealthy place, nor a place with power. Society cast out its outcasts and placed them in the Judice District, ignoring them. The only reason it exists in the first place is to separate them from the normal citizens of Bright City. This type of separation was common on the continent of Azurath, in which Bright City was located.
"Hold your hoses, Tai; maybe this place ought to soothe your nerves!" Bob reveals the destination, showcasing a grand building. Its exterior stands out from the rest of the surrounding buildings, clearly outshining it in design. To top it off, lights cover the building, shining in all directions. Tai stutters, seeing the structure that clearly doesn't belong in the Judice District. "W-What is this, Bob?"
Bob gave a proud smile, nodding to himself. "Hmph, yeah, I know. Remember how I told you about my project that I spent millions on? Well, I spent it on this building!" Tai was stunned but also curious about why Bob would put millions into this. It had to be something special if it was very costly at millions. "Come inside, let me show you..." Bob said, going to the door.
As they entered, it was something that Tai did not expect. Luxurious gold and marble adorned the interior, and the furniture was so expensive that even politicians couldn't afford it. The most outrageous thing of all, every worker was a demihuman in a maid outfit. Cat girls, bunny girls, elven girls, orc girls, dragon girls, etc. So many types of species that Tai could not fathom.
"Don't tell me you've been splurging on Terrestria's funds on crap like this..." the anger marks etched on his forehead.
"W-Well..." Bob stuttered, avoiding eye contact with Tai.
Reaching his breaking point, Tai held out his hand and made a mass of shadows in his hand. Beginning to infuse Aura within his shadows, he could contort the mass's shape and expand it throughout the building. "I'm getting rid of all of this." Tai said. In response, Bob went on his knees to beg Tai. "Please spare this place!"
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"So... you call THIS place your hideout?" Tai said, tapping his finger on the table. A woman of the angel species came over and placed a cup of orange juice in front of Bob before leaving. "Yeah, and nobody would expect us to have meetings here, am I right?"
Looking around, it seemed that Bob did have a point. The place was something you'd never expect to have any sort of meeting with members of Terrestria, especially high-ranking members like them. "Well, yeah, I suppose." Tai sipped his drink from the straw, taking the surrounding scenery. Locking in, Bob's demeanor changed.
"Now, back to business. We need to talk about Leon's crazy plan."
"Indeed... his plan to release THAT thing."
"I can't believe the boss permitted Leon to send him out. Why do you think he would just do it so carefree?"
Tai thought for a moment, coming up with a conclusion. "Do you think the boss is scheming something right now?"
"What do you mean by that?" said Bob with intrigue.
"Well, there's no reason the boss would let that freak loose so willingly, as the only person who can even deal with that freak is the boss himself! Knowing that the boss has the Book of Guidance, it probably told him to go along with this decision."
Bob drank his cup of orange juice in one gulp. He pondered about the book. "The Book of Guidance. You ask it anything, and it'll guide you to the correct choices. Do you think that the boss managed to become so powerful because of this book?"
"I mean, it's an ancient artifact. Of course, he would've gotten to the top with it. Not to mention, the boss's magic is insanely powerful. In his eyes, we're just mere pawns."
Bob sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Well, that'll probably change soon."
Tai, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, could not hold himself back. "Oh? Why do you say that?"
Bob smirked, leaning in towards Tai. "I know something we can do to become stronger than the boss..."
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Chad dozed off, waiting for Niantha to wake up again. His mind wanders off into a deep slumber, and the view of Niantha contorted into an old memory. Her body flickers into a corpse in a waste field, coming in and out like an unstable light. The corpse was of a young girl with short, black hair, riddled with bullet holes in her military uniform. Her body lay limp, with blood gushing out of the damage inflicted on her head. Unsure of how to respond, he gazed in wonder as the vision kept coming up. Falling deeper in awe, the tension of the images built up in his head until his breaking point. Vomit splurged out of his throat, splattering itself onto the floor tiles. The noise woke Cece up from her nap, her ears jolting up in surprise. "Don't put vomit on me!" Cece squealed, rushing a far distance away from Chad.
Wiping his mouth, he apologized to Cece. "Sorry for scaring you like that; I just felt kind of sick..." Trying her best to step over the vomit, she attempts to search for some medicine for Chad in a cabinet. "Here, if you're feeling under the weather, I can search for something that you can use!"
"Don't even bother; I'm fine." Chad replied, sitting up from Niantha's bed. "I'm going to clean this up; after that, we need to search for Kotori and the others." He said, grabbing some paper towels and walking over to the vomit.
"Hmmm... are you sure that it was a good choice to let Niantha get her mana first? It took us quite a bit to unlock it, and Kotori had sent out a distress call earlier today."
"It'll be fine; Kotori wouldn't die that easily! She has my blessings, after all!"
"Chad, your blessings aren't miracles..."
"Actually, they are."
Amidst their small bickering, Niantha awoke. Groaning, she sat up, looking at both Cece and Chad. "How long was I asleep for?" she questioned, groggily shaking her eyes. Chad, pulling out his phone, read the time. "For about an hour." he said, turning it off. He leaned over Niantha, giving her a hard stare. "Anyway, now that you have mana, do you feel any magic powers emerging?" Chad queried, intently staring at Niantha. "President, give me some time; I just woke up." Niantha expressed, closing her eyes. Trying to grasp some hint of magic, she concentrated hard, but it came to no avail. Feeling nothing, she lets out a sigh before adjusting her glasses. "It seems futile." Her face was sorrowful, as if her hopes had been crushed. Slapping her on the back, Niantha lets out a small yelp. "Don't let it bother ya', I doubt the people who shut off your mana vessels would do it because they hated you. There must be some reason." Chad gave a thumbs up, saying, "Just keep trying, and eventually you'll get some sort of magic!"
Chad had always been charismatic and quite the positive guy—sometimes a moron— sometimes a genius. Though, this time, his words felt truly genuine. "Okay, if that's what you wish, President, I'll do it." Chad smiled, hearing her words. "Good, now let me teach you how to use Aura like a pro!" She readjusted her glasses once more, attentive to his words. "Okay, President, I'm listening." Niantha had finally reached this point of growth, and she had to thank Chad for it. When Chad first displayed his prowess in knowledge, she had a feeling in the back of her mind that Chad could help solve her issues. Even if it seemed impossible, Chad somehow made it possible. "Well, we're running short on time, so I've pre-written all of this stuff on a piece of paper for you!" Chad said, giving Niantha a piece of paper. Chad wrote like a toddler, and the unnecessary doodles of the instructions didn't make it any easier to decipher. "President, this writing is quite... sloppy." Niantha squinted her eyes and adjusted her glasses, trying to read it.
Chad looked at the paper once more, confused by her words. "It seems fine to me." he said, handing back the paper. This was going to be another challenge that she had to face. Understanding Chad's handwriting. A challenge like this was no different from the intense advanced placement classes that she had dealt with in her time at school. She would just have to study the paper like she did with her exams. "I understand, President, you must've given me this as a test." Her face was determined, as if she was ready to overcome an intense obstacle. Chad began walking to the exit, clueless about what she had meant. "Ummm, if you say so."
"Hold on, I'm going to have to call off the mission for now." Cece said, looking at her phone with panic painted all over her face.
"Why not?" Chad questioned, pausing at the nursery office doors.
"Because of a situation... the city is under total lockdown. This is classified information, so I can't tell you in full detail, but you mustn't leave this school!"
"Are you telling me this thing is more important than Kotori potentially dying?!"
"Yes, this thing is way more concerning!" Cece said, darting out of the room.
"I'll come back when the lockdown is over; just stay here for now!" Cece yelled as her voice distanced away.
Right after the coast was clear, Chad ensued to try to find the After-School Study Club. "Come on, let's go find your friends." he said, grabbing Niantha by the hand.
As Chad dragged her along, they heard alarms coming from inside the school and reverberating through the downtown streets. "President, maybe we should listen to Cece's orders. It sounded like some serious police business." Niantha expressed with a worried expression. Chad scoffed in response, saying, "Nah, it'll be fine. She's a detective, anyway; it's probably some lame crime scene she's scurryin' off to!"
Students left their classes, and many questions arose as to the sudden city lockdown. They piled up against the school windows and exited, trying to get a good glimpse of the outside. Police cars blitz down the roads—too many to even count. The sight did not complement the words that Chad had stated earlier. On the contrary, it worsened Niantha's worries. "President, this doesn't seem good." Before she could get a response, Chad held her hand and forcibly dragged her down the hallway.
"Niantha, let's take the emergency exits; pretty sure nobody is guarding those areas!"
"Wait, President, this situation is quite serious. Looking at it!"
Ignoring her cries, he brought them both through the emergency exits, setting off the alarms at the school. "I'll apologize to the principal later; we're trying to save our buddies!" Chad said, lifting Niantha in a bridal carry. "President, this is the second time you've picked me up like this." Niantha said, squinting at Chad in a face of discomfort. Ignoring her once again, Chad ran off into the outskirts of the school before jumping over the tall wall surrounding it. "While you were asleep, Cece gave me the location of Kotori's distress signals. Apparently, she sent them out at some bar." Chad told Niantha, running down the city streets. "But why would Kotori be at a bar?" Niantha asked, picturing Kotori drinking a bunch of booze and getting quite drunk. "Well, now thinking about it, it does seem like she's the type of person to do that."
"Probably some detective business." Chad replied.
"Kotori is a detective?" Kotori being a detective was not something that she expected. She didn't act or have any sense of being a detective at all. Answering Niantha's question, Chad states, "Well, yeah, and she's pretty good at her job, too. Though sometimes she takes a direct approach to her methods..." He recalled the time Kotori busted into a drug house and beat the living crap out of every single person there. Chad had to stop her before she killed them because of how vicious her acts were. "Y'know, maybe Kotori isn't good at her work."
In the span of their conversation, Niantha had noted something unusual as well. She had noticed the city streets were completely barren, only gunshots and sirens heard echoing in the distance. The lockdown in Kerole District has gotten so strict that it could make an entire city feel like a ghost town. "Okay, we're at the bar!" Chad said, gently planting Niantha down. "President, I have a bad feeling about this..." Niantha was shivering all over because she felt like a thousand eyes were staring at her. Chad smacked her on the back, making Niantha let out a small scream. "Stop being a wuss. We'll be fine if I'm here!" Chad stated, giving a thumbs up. Niantha, though clearly annoyed by Chad's behavior, couldn't speak again because of an unexpected encounter.
It was a police officer, walking rigidly towards the both of them. His movements were slow and mechanical, as if he were being forced to move. His body had deep wounds and blood guzzling out of them. "President... that man doesn't seem to be okay." Niantha expressed. The police officer crept forward more and more until coming to a standstill in front of them. His feet tapped on the asphalt floor, continuously increasing its pace with each tap. A grin contorted on his face as he had a horrid attempt of laughter come from his esophagus. The blood gargled with every laugh, molding his laughs into maniacal groans. He danced, his face not changing expression in the slightest. A bizarre sight it was, unnerved Niantha to the core by watching the police officer. She tried to get Chad's input on this situation, but glancing over at Chad, his face was pale.
His eyes were wide open as if he saw thousands of corpses on the streets; all of that condensed into one sighting of an odd individual who stood right in front of them. "President, are you okay?" Niantha questioned as the police officer still pranced around, flailing his arms everywhere in absolute joy. As the blood splattered everywhere from his actions, Chad only stood to watch as the police officer painted the streets red. "Niantha, we need to run." Chad cautioned her, still horrified.
Quickly grabbing Niantha, he tried to dash down the city streets, street lights flickering as they went past them. Confused about the situation, she looked back, seeing the mysterious people multiply. All acting in the same bizarre manner as before. "President, please just tell me what's going on?"
Finally revealing the truth, he speaks boldly, "What you witnessed was a zombie. A man whose soul is owned by a despicable man, someone worse than the devil himself." Gripping onto her hand tighter, he never looked back. "If we get killed and our souls taken by that thing, we'll suffer a fate worse than hell!"
As the zombies of police officers and citizens multiplied around them, they soon came to realize that the zombies had surrounded them. Chad had come to understand the situation now. Someone had planned everything. His encounter with the After-School Study Club, and constant attacks in his area, all for baiting him to this place with one of his greatest enemies. It was as if they knew that these situations puzzle into this one very moment. "People said that man disappeared years ago. I don't understand how he's showing up now just to target me!"
It was a scenario that he had wished would never happen again. Going up against an opponent made him feel true despair.
"That man is someone I could not defeat in my past. He is known as The Jolly Man."
Zombies emerged from alleyways, buildings, streets, and rooftops. They were positioned everywhere, to the point of no escape. Their gleeful expressions danced around as their wounds intensified. Their smiles never faded, as if stitched onto their faces, even though with every step they took, tears streamed down their faces. Coming through the clutter was a tall man, almost double the size of Chad. He wore a worn-down jacket and tattered pants. His face had eyes that contained no pupils and his flesh had rotted, turning into a weird greyish color.
He spoke with a grin that lingered on his face, his mouth remaining completely still with every word. His voice was deep, monotonous, and raspy, like his vocal box was a radio. "IN THE END, MAN CAN NEVER ACHIEVE TRUE FREEDOM. BOUND BY THE THREADS OF FATE, THEY WERE ALWAYS CONSTRAINED. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, OR WHAT YOU WISH FOR, YOU'LL NEVER BE FREE. I AM FREE. FREE TO THINK, FREE TO DO."