Miko and Momo was currently in a car that was driving through the gloomy black city in the game. The driver was none other than the player who controlled the city, The City Don, Jack Matters aka Tia.

“…….Why?”

Momo asked after a while of driving in silence.

“Why, what?”

Jack asked while he leant back in his seat, and drove the car with one hand on the steering wheel.

“Why are you a middle age gangster?!”

Momo shouted.

“Oh, that. I felt like it was my calling.”

“To be a man?”

“To be a gangster.”

Tia replied.

“I mean, I can literally do what I want here with no one pestering me about laws and whatnot.”

She said.

“While doing my own thing, I somehow ended up taking over the city and became its don. Looks like I’m a natural.”

By the way, her voice was husky like a middle aged man.

“You said that you use your afternoons to play this, but isn’t this too unbelievable? Just how much of a natural are you?”

Momo asked.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. People like that end up being pig feed here.”

Tia said with a laugh.

“Hm?”

She looked in her rear mirror and frowned.

“Even though I’m the don here, not everyone is willing to accept it.”

The moment she said that, a bike ride up beside the car. On it were two persons, the rider and a passenger who was carrying a bazooka, which they aimed at the car.

“City Don, die!”

The passenger shouted.

*Bam!*

However, before he could fire, he and the rider had their upper bodies separated from their lower bodies.

“Huh?”

The two had a look of surprise on their face. The bike continued forward, leaving their upper bodies behind, which bounced on the ground.

“City Don, I’ve gotten rid of the vermin that dared to point a weapon at you!”

Miko said, with his body mostly outside the car and sitting on the backseat window, while holding his giant broadsword.

He saluted Tia like he was a soldier reporting to his superior.

“Good work, Logan. I knew I could count on you.”

Tia said, while calmly driving the vehicle.

“………”

Momo on the other hand was surprised by how fast Miko adapted to the situation and even lowered himself to be Tia’s subordinate.

“Why are you her lackey?”

Momo asked him.

“Because I came here to get used to killing with weapons. In a gang the ones who kill the most are the foot soldiers, not the boss. So I became a foot soldier to train my skills. Also, I don't really consider myself as the leader type."

Miko responded.

“When I was learning the basics of swordsmanship from Kirika, she told that everyone who uses a weapon, whether it be a physical body or a literal weapon, will be presented with two paths.”

He said.

“The path of the hero and the path of the murderer.”

Miko looked at his broadsword while sitting hanging out of the car.

“Even though she believes that what they do is fundamentally the same, they’re completely different because of the way it affect the world.”

He saw a player being surrounded and slowly killed by other players.

“The path of the hero is the path you walk and slay those who threaten the public order. You literally cut away the chaos and preserved the order. This path leads to many lives being saved at the cost of some “foul” ones.”

The car drove past the pitiful player with Miko completely ignoring him.

“I can’t walk this path, because I am no hero. In fact, I loathe those self-righteous people.”

He said.

“I do not wish to, nor will I ever go around slaying people for the sake of keeping the order.”

He then saw some thugs who were walking on the side of the road with a scrawl on their faces.

Miko smiled and gripped his sword. The men saw the car coming and immediately saw a devilish smile on Miko’s and immediately started to run on reflex.

“If I have to kill i prefer to do it only for my own benefit, not for the sake of others.”

He swung his sword and cut the slowest one in half.

“I will never be seen in the eye of the public as a true hero, so why bother?”

He cut down the other one that was now closest to the back.

“Besides, its better to be free to cut down whoever I want without caring how I am perceived.”

He cut another.

“Whether it be a hero.”

He cut another.

“Whether it be a villain.”

He cut another.

“I want to be free to do what I want, and being able to cut down whoever I want without being dragged down by a worthless title.”

He cut down the last one.

“I just want to be free.”

He then pulled himself back into the car and sat down.

“For that, I must choose the path that’s the freest.”

“And that’s the path of the murderer?”

Momo asked.

Miko nodded.

“While your logic is twisted I can see where you’re coming from.”

Momo said.

“I agree with Miko’s decision though.”

Tia said.

“Freedom is more essential than duty when fighting a war. A soldier will fight harder if he’s fighting of his own will than being forced by duty.”

She said.

“Besides, I’m literally chaos itself. Do you think my Proxy can become a hero?”

Tia said with a laugh.

“Becoming my subordinate is the right choice. I’ll grant you what you seek, a bloody battle where you can sharpen your skills and your soul.”

She said.

“While I control this city, the map for this game is incredibly vast. On a grand scale, me controlling this city is nothing impressive. There are those who control countries, and even empires.”

She smiled.

“We will aim for that. We’ll try to conquer this world of gangsters.”

“Oh? That doesn’t sound too bad. Even if we fail, I’ll still get the experience I want.”

Miko said.

“Hey, who said that we’re failing?”

Tia frowned with her middle age face.

“We’re going to the top!”

*Bam!*

Suddenly the car that they were in exploded.

“……….”

The next thing they knew, the three of them were awake inside the capsules.

“What the hell?!”

Tia’s angry voice echoed through the entire Arcade.

“We got killed?”

Miko was surprised, because he didn’t see it coming at all.

“Death can come in an instant.”

He suddenly muttered with a serious face, as if he suddenly understood something.

“If this wasn’t a game and I was attacked with no way to react, it would’ve been all over for me.”

He said.

He then nodded.

“Although it was only a digital death, its was great learning experience.”

His eyes suddenly looked sharper.

Everything in life could serve as some source of inspiration and enlightenment. Miko was just now enlightened after experiencing a realistic death. In a battlefield those that let their guards down, were fools asking to be killed. If they were on their guard, they wouldn’t have died of unknown causes.

To others this might seem like common sense, but to Miko this was an important eye opener.

“I still have a long way to go.”

He said with an enthusiastic smile.

*Thump**Thump**Thump*

At that moment, he could hear something knocking on his capsule.

“Miko, get out!”

It was Tia.

“We’re going back in, but we first need to leave the capsules and readjust ourselves before we’re eligible to use the Dream Scape again!”

She shouted from the outside.

“I see. So we can’t instantly jump back in after losing.”

Miko nodded to show that he understood. He opened the capsule and was immediately dragged out by Tia.

“Come, let’s sit over here and wait. After the capsules become vacant again, we’ll go back in.”

She said as she pulled him by the hand and brought him a corner where Momo was sitting like a child who was at the principal’s office, waiting on their parents to come get them. Behind him, new players entered the capsules and started playing.

“You seemed pissed.”

Miko said.

“Of course, I’m pissed! I’m an area leader, if I’m killed my territory will be lost and freed from my control!”

Tia shouted.

“I was killed and lost my city, and I don’t even know who did it! Of course, I’m fuming!”

She started gritting her teeth.

“I don’t know who did it, but when I get back I’m killing them 10 times over!”

Meanwhile in the game.

The car that Miko and the girls were riding in, was left burning on the street with a lot of people surrounding it.

“This is the City Don’s Car!”

“Someone killed him! Someone actually killed that badass!”

Everyone surrounding it was completely shocked. Tia had made that much of a reputation for herself. No one expected her to be suddenly killed.

About 500m away from where Miko and the girls had been killed. There was someone standing on a tall building looking through a scope.

“Yep, they’re dead alright.”

The person said.

The scope that they were looking through, was attached to a cannon which they picked up like it was a toy and placed it on their shoulder. This person was dressed in full brown leather, had a bandana tied around their nose and mouth and wore googles and a helmet. It was impossible to see their facial features.

“Hello, yeah. It’s done.”

The person started speaking with someone in the game through a voice call.

“Yeah, you’re free to take the city whenever you wish. Just remember to send the payment to the account.”

They said.

“Yeah. Call me again if you have any more people you want to get rid of.”

With that they ended the call and turned their back to the direction of Tia’s burning car. On the back of the leather jacket they wore, a name could been seen written in orange.

ACE