Arthur walked near the patch of earth and set up another explosive. Not knowing what was happening on the other side and whether or not they would be able to stall the ants in time, he assumed one of the highest risks in today’s battle. If things went south, the others had a path of retreat – the same couldn’t be said about him.

-This is the last one. Let’s go.

-Alright – patting the dust off his hands, he stood straight and walked off.

“Hmm?”

-Arthur?

-Shh. I saw something.

-Ants? - the man whispered.

-I don’t know – he replied in a hushed tone.

The two crouched under the back of a fallen building and paid attention to their surroundings, an oil lamp hanging by the man’s hand. Against normal ants, light was in their favor and as such, they didn’t think to dampen the fire.

A noise echoed from the direction they had just been at. Arthur’s companion took a peek and flashed the light.

-How is it?

-Doesn’t look like one of them.

It had no similarity to the ants, as their spiky hairs would produce an unpleasant melody as they sliced through the air, a sound that crept through their skins. They were not as impatient and quick-footed, it seemed like a wild animal but there was nothing like that in the area. Thus, the conclusion was that it was a human, and the way it moved towards the light with paced steps served to bolster this belief.

The man stood up and signaled for the person at the other end to come by, relief apparent on his face. Whether they were here to break the bad news or bring a notice of victory, he just wanted to flee whichever direction and not have to worry about this madness.

-Over here – he waved his hand.

Feeling something strange going on, Arthur motioned for him to stand down as his feet led him somewhere further away.

-What? I don’t understand what you’re saying - the man flashed the light on Arthur who hastily hid on another block. Creasing his brows, the man turned his back in time to see a ribcage torn and held like a trophy by black scaly hands.

-Sssssk.

He fell with blissfully ignorant eyes. The recently torn off torso was crushed into paste, gushing a mixture of blood and meat pulp as the sounds of bones cracking and puncturing the flesh rang by. Arthur’s skin was taut as adrenaline pumped through his body, the sound of the tendons and ligaments tearing off was a torture he could’ve never imagined to presence before. He was in a trance, unable to close his eyes or look away to this nightmare.

The creature dived its long nails into the abdomen and plucked the organs, squashing everything into a cubical shape – turned a bloody pumpkin as the broken limbs joined the mix. The man’s head rolled past his remains along with the lamp, glass broken and oil spilled, burning for a few seconds. The monster crushed both the head and the fire with two powerful steps, scratching the sole of his feet and cleansing the shattered brains.

Arthur heard it walk towards him and he covered his mouth with both of his hands, eyes wide open even while knowing there was nothing to see in that darkness. It walked fast and, in a few seconds, reached his location. Deathly still he stood, in hopes that it didn’t notice him; however, unlike the ants, the creature could see everything. It did not spare a single glance at Arthur and punched his chest through the wall.

Arthur flew a short distance, his heart momentarily stopping from the strike. Not giving him any chance to run away, the monster crashed against the wall and destroyed it. It knelt and grabbed his throat in a swift motion to crush it, leaving behind three deep scars before being pulled out.

-Ssk!

Arthur held his bleeding throat and crawled away, he had no time to make sense of the blurry haze that was the two shadows dancing in front of him. Metal clings and blood spurts, low growls mixed amongst hoarse inhuman screams. They battled all around, sometimes reaching past Arthur’s location, but whenever it came close to that, something would steer them farther away. At one point, the monster was pressed against the wall and dragged around the compound, the walls started to collapse one by one, bringing down the entire building.

Arthur took his hand off his throat and protected his head in advance, preparing to get all his limbs crushed under the frames, but all he felt was the dust and small debris sullying his hair and scratching his arms as the catastrophe ensued.

Some seconds passed by and all he could hear was a presence above him clearing away the rubble and opening a path. Once there was enough space to move around, it lighted a matchstick and set fire to a lamp.

From his position, Arthur identified a fairly clean face with some white fur hanging around its neck and going all the way down to his feet in what looked like an incredibly exaggerated coat. The person offered him a hand, which had not a speck of dust, and shone a smile illuminated by the fire.

-Are you alright? - a young, male voice.

-Cough* Cough* - Arthur tried to speak, but his throat suffered irreparable damage. He could only nod slowly.

-Oh, you got some back there. We need to get you to the med care asap. Do you know where is the Research Station?

Again, he nodded.

-Great. Lead the way!

Pulling Arthur’s arm, the youngster supported him while following the directions, at the same time careful around the trapped areas.

-Oh, by the way, I didn’t tell you my name, did I? I would like you to introduce yourself, too, but that will have to wait, right? My name is Inoue Akagane, pleased to meet you!

***

Natalya woke up hours after falling unconscious, immediately scanning the surroundings for any enemy. Her injuries should’ve scabbed and healed by then, but her system was in an all-time low from insomnia, hunger, and thirst. Making great effort to move, she searched for the water bottle under her belt, but there was only her naked skin. She completely forgot about the earlier transformation; all her belongings were now impossible to reach.

-Sssk.

Natalya’s eyes turned into slits upon hearing that odd hissing. This time she had the strength to punch her fist into the ground and feel the adrenaline rushing through her body. She heard it at quite a distance, but there was no intention of backing down or hiding.

-Sssssssk.

Tracking the source, she stood up and bolted towards the direction of the noise, catching the sight of two humanoid lizards. Like her previously, they were covered with dark scales sharper than iron blades, sporting aquiline noses undissociated from long and sharp-edged jaws. Their white eyes were protected by a series of smaller scales that imitated eyebrows, and small protrusions similar to horns rose in straight lines from their corners to the tails.

Natalya rushed the first monster and aimed for its weak spot, the throat, crushing it in an instant. The other one looked to attack her with its tail, she jumped up with the dead body and used it as protection against the oncoming slash of its claws. Sharp and sturdy, they ripped apart strips of flesh from both the dead body and Natalya.

Ignoring the pain, she threw the body towards it and started with a drop-down heel kick followed by a step on its head, jumping far from its reach. A good part of the impact was absorbed by the body, and the scales created rows of indentations on her skin.

The monster rushed her before she could touch the ground, tackling and squeezing her torso.

Snap.

As a bone cracked under the pressure, Natalya’s eyes grew eerier as she tore off one of the horns adorning its head and continuously stabbed against the exposed side of its throat. The monster was forced to alleviate the strength on his arms to create some distance, bowing its head to dodge the strike and rushing forwards to impale Natalya with the small, tiny horns. Throwing the makeshift weapon to the side, she went for a choke while enveloping it with her legs.

Three distinct pikes grinding against her stomach, Natalya kept at it for half a minute with the beast pushing forward and trying all sorts of tricks to overpower her; she would have none of it. Reaching the end of its life, it did not try to run away, instead exerting all of its strength to crack one extra rib.

Snap.

-Haaah – exhausted, she pushed the lizard away and passed her hands through her torso.

“Shit...”

Before an unwanted guest appeared, she stuck her hands into the thing’s throat and opened it from inside out, digging into his raw flesh and vermillion blood.

Food and water. Still alive.

***

Waking up, Milen found herself leaning against a cool, flat surface. It’s been a few years since she had a good sleep, and finding it in such a precarious situation had her thinking about how good it would be if she left this goddamned place – but thinking too deeply would only leave her with sadness and pain, she’d rather forget herself in this rare moment of comfort.

-Feeling good?

-Hmm – she mumbled, but soon after that peaceful moment was broken and she felt her scalp go numb.

-Great, that’s what I wanted to hear! – Seven remarked as Milen, with her back sprawled on his chest, pressed him against the couch and magnifying the pain he was feeling. It was to such a degree that he had no qualms about talking, because that little bit less or little bit more of pain would make absolutely no difference.

Suddenly alert, she pushed herself from the couch, cheeks blushing, but that warm and jovial intercourse didn’t last long as she noticed all the black tattoos covering the whole of Seven’s body. It struck a chord, she could barely whisper words of apology – a single “I am sorry” would not be enough, not even an entire life worth of them. Milen closed her eyes and waited for Seven’s lash out, rather she was eager for him to curse her with all sorts of names and blasphemies – at least that way she would feel better.

-Hahahaha! Don’t pity me. I did what I did. Knowing... The consequences!

-But... This is...

-It doesn’t... Matter! Hahahaha! - as the words formed in his mouth, he couldn’t stop laughing at his predicament.

Milen stepped back, horrified. She couldn’t understand how someone could bear such pain. Even the level of pain she felt was enough to make her pass out, and it was nowhere close to the one that would plague him forever.

-Hey, Ai! I want to know, was I right back then, about my chances of survival?

Milen frowned.

-You can hear Ai?

-A joke not funny, my friend! But I’ll still laugh. Hahahahaha!

-No, I’m being serious here. Can you talk with her?

Blinking a few times and waving off his annoyance, Seven replied as irritation filled him.

-Ai can speak with everyone through thought, voice or text via the Human System. Maybe because you’re not a player, you can’t hear her.

Passing by to check on the two at the Occult Research Lab, a person from Kyel’s group heard the conversation and joined in.

-Actually, we cannot speak with Ai mentally. We can talk to her through the Human System alright, but the output comes from the crystal. Is that what you meant?

Seven’s pain receded, giving way to a breath of reason amidst the rain of insanity that consumed him. If he still had his crystal with him, he would be compelled to believe that he’s been speaking via the Human System, but he didn’t even bother checking on it and freely spoke with Ai as if it was only natural.

“This whole time, I’ve been the only one capable of speaking to Ai directly?”