"Ugh!"
The sound of water dripping from his soaked clothes echoed in the dark room.
The man, drenched and disoriented, stared at the face of the girl in front of him, realizing he was tightly bound to a chair.
"What do you want?"
"What's your name?" the girl asked, her gaze cold and unflinching.
He sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Let me give you some bad news. In the Fall Eagle organization, they call me the King of Endurance!"
A sharp slap landed on his face, leaving his cheek swollen.
"...Liubert. Liubert Robbeti. Thirty-six years old. I'm part of the information-processing team," he muttered.
"Do you know why you're here?" she asked, jotting something down in her small notebook.
"Because I'm a gangster, right?"
"No."
"Then because I'm in Fall Eagle? Let me guess—this is about your family's death, isn't it?"
"Congratulations, you guessed wrong. I don't even know what my parents looked like."
He studied her face closely, his expression shifting as realization dawned.
"Y-you're the secretary from Dark Days! Damn it, are you people pretending to be heroes now?"
She scratched her golden hair, then placed a cup of coffee on the table.
"If you still don't understand, I'll explain," she said.
"Explain what? Don't tell me it's because of our drug dealings! HAHAHAHA!"
He laughed arrogantly, dismissing her and her organization like they were nothing but a joke.
"Actually, that's only part of it. If you answer honestly, we'll pretend none of this happened. Otherwise, you'll regret it."
"Regret? Pfft, don't make me laugh. Your group is a circus to us. What kind of mafia acts like heroes? It's hilarious!"
"Not dealing in drugs, contraband, slaves—blah blah. How do you even make money? Don't tell me you sell those weapons your people make?"
"The weapon you're using was made by us a few years ago. To us, it was one of the worst versions. But apparently, it's top quality for people like you," she said, her voice sharp.
He fell silent.
She leaned closer, her eyes piercing.
"I'll ask one last time—answer truthfully or regret it. Choose."
"You'll never make me talk! Fall Eagle would never abandon me. I'm too important to them!"
"Then you've chosen regret."
She picked up a pair of scissors, the metallic snip-snip sound drawing his attention.
"What, you're going to cut off my hand or something? That's weak," he taunted.
"Who said I was cutting your hand? I'm cutting something else."
Something else?
In a split second, she snipped his pants, leaving them to fall and reveal his Hello Kitty underwear.
"...Hey, hey, I was just joking! Let's talk this out!" he stammered, his arrogance melting into fear.
"No."
She smiled sweetly, while he broke into a cold sweat, tears threatening to spill.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
***
"OKAY, I'LL TALK!! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!!"
"Good, then..."
She glared at him, her piercing eyes locking him in place.
"Who came up with the formula for that drug? Even our alchemists can't figure out how it's made."
"It was Vulac!"
"Everything you know about him."
"I don't know much, but his name is Vulac Wahtul Whine. Our Boss met him at the black market. He's insanely smart and loves cooking drugs in his van!"
"He's also a bad boy—loves 'breaking' the girls at the brothels!"
"That sounds sketchy as hell. Are you sure about this?" she raised an eyebrow, staring him down.
"I swear! It's super accurate! 100% legit!"
"Well, if that's all you've got..."
She raised the scissors again, ready to cut.
"AGH! AHHH! WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING THIS? I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING!"
"I already asked my questions. Letting you go now means you might come after us later, so I might as well snip something important."
"CALM DOWN! I HAVE SO MUCH MORE INFORMATION! I WORK IN INFORMATION PROCESSING, REMEMBER?! PLEASE!!"
"Well, if you say so..."
Click!
He gripped the bars of his cell, glaring at the knights guarding him.
"WHO SAID YOU COULD THROW ME IN PRISON?!?!"
***
"You actually threw him in prison?"
I asked my secretary as she cheerfully brewed her coffee.
"Yeah. I can always sneak in and question him whenever I want."
"I know, but since he's a gangster, his sentence in prison will probably be the death penalty."
"It's fine. If he dies, then so be it."
"Are you kidding me?"
I sighed and glanced at the schedule for my upcoming exams.
It seemed I had two more left. The written test was the easiest part.
Apparently, the next test was... magic.
"Ugh, the thing I'm worst at."
I raised my hand, trying to summon fire magic.
A tiny flame, barely larger than a candle, flickered to life on my palm—at the cost of a tenth of my mana.
Yet, somehow, I was considered the strongest fire user in the Dark Days organization, though the real reason for that title was my Magic Gear.
Honestly, there was probably someone on the combat team who could summon a bigger flame without any gear. Fire was supposed to be the most basic element for a mage to control.
"I just hope I can pass tomorrow..."
I sighed again, scratching my head as I stared at the pitiful candlelight dancing in my hand.
***
"What? Come over to your place?"
A boy packing his books into his bag glanced at his blond-haired friend. Judging by their uniforms, they were clearly middle school students.
"Yeah! I just downloaded a new game—it's super fun!"
"What kind of game?"
"I think it's... a fighting game."
Fighting game? What even is that?
"Never heard of it."
"Just come over and try it; you'll see."
"Ugh, fine. Are we going now?"
"No, let's grab some food first. Did you bring money?"
"Of course I did."
The two left the school and headed to a rather old food stall.
"Vietnamese bánh mì here!"
The lady handed them two sandwiches. The boys' mouths watered at the sight of the grilled meat, cucumber, and other fillings.
They ate as they walked, finally arriving at the blond-haired boy's house.
"Hello, auntie, uncle, and... sister?" the boy greeted his friend's family.
"Oh, hello, dear!"
"Hi there!"
"..."
The two headed straight to the room, where the blond boy powered up his computer.
When the game booted up, he clicked on a title with a heart icon.
"...That's the fighting game?"
The screen transitioned into a flowery, feminine intro with numerous handsome men before the game's title appeared.
"..."
He turned to his blond-haired friend with a suspicious look.
"Are you gay?"
"Shut up! You haven't even seen the gameplay yet."
The blond-haired boy entered the CPU battle mode and clicked to proceed. Suddenly, the girly, pink visuals and chiseled-jaw men disappeared, replaced by fiery chains that shattered the screen. The character selection menu appeared, showcasing a variety of fighters. The graphics leaned toward anime-inspired 2.5D.
"So... this is a fighting game?"
"Yeah! Cool, right?"
"Cool, but how do you even play it?"
"Watch and learn."
The blond-haired boy selected a purple-haired character with a large scar across one eye, wielding a rapier.
[Éclair!]
[Difficulty: ●●●●○ (Hard)]
[Style: Mix-up, Trickster, super fast]
He chose the CPU opponent—a character with flames on his forehead. Afterward, he picked a support character.
Among the available supports, most were princess-like girls in fancy dresses.
Wait, princesses?
"Is this game based on fairy tales?"
"Yeah. See this gray-haired girl? That's Cinderella. And this one's the Little Match Girl. And blah blah, I'm too lazy to explain them all."
"Who are you picking?"
"Cinderella. Her support skills are great."
The screen transitioned to the loading screen with their names displayed:
Éclair vs. Willhart
Then, the intro animation played. Éclair teleported into view amidst lightning bolts, glaring at Willhart, who was getting his coat removed by his subordinates.
Death is inevitable, but what matters is how they meet it.
Éclair slashed the air, pointed his rapier at Willhart, and said, "Boss, I'm not holding back."
Willhart ignited the flames on his forehead and hands. "Yeah, give it all you've got."
The camera zoomed out to reveal both fighters in their battle stances.
Ready? Fight!
"AH! I THINK I'VE SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE!" the boy shouted, pointing at the screen.
"Huh?"
"I remember seeing a game like this on YouTube! It was called City Warrior! I was impressed at the time, but the characters were slow and the graphics were kinda bad!"
"Are you dissing that game?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"Then watch this. It's insanely fast."
Electronic music with a funky edge began playing—it was Éclair's theme.
[I AM HATRED!
I AM WRATH!
I AM LIGHTNING!
ALL TO FIND YOU AND TAKE YOUR LIFE!]
Wow, that's edgy.
Watching his friend control Éclair, he couldn't help but get drawn into the game. The pace was rapid, the characters were distinct and dynamic, and everything about it screamed polished. There was nothing to complain about.
At one point, Éclair summoned Cinderella for support. She threw her glass slipper onto the battlefield, and when Willhart stepped on it, his foot got stuck, giving Éclair the perfect opportunity to strike.
Minutes later, the battle ended with Éclair sheathing his weapon and coldly glaring at his fallen opponent.
"Boss, you're as weak as I expected."
[Éclair WIN!]
The blond-haired boy relaxed and turned to his friend.
"Your turn."
"But I don't know how to play."
"Then why'd I invite you here? Just go into practice or tutorial mode."
"Fine..."
He grabbed the keyboard and, guided by his friend, entered the tutorial mode.
While scrolling through the character selection, one fighter caught his eye from the beginning.
[Irina!]
A red-haired woman with golden eyes, dressed in a feminine suit.
[Difficulty: ●●●●● (Very Hard)]
[Style: Stance. Strong offense in rabbit form, high defense in turtle form.]
"W-what?! She's that hard?!"
"What, afraid to try?"
"It's just..."
He looked at Irina, who stood elegantly, balancing on one leg while holding a red spear.
"Whatever, it's just the tutorial. What's there to lose?"
Start!