"I have absolute control over everything... and I will not allow anyone who holds similar powers to stand in my way."

One hundred and thirty two.

This was the number that Sylvia had estimated her foes at.

"Perhaps you understood that immediately... given that you chased after me without so much as understanding the situation, that is the only conclusion I can come to. Therefore... I suppose I'll give you an explanation."

The hair of Sylvia seemed to flail from one creature to another, slicing and dicing them as they lunged towards her.

All the while, the overarching voice monologued in the background.

"You slaughtered a great many of my valuable employees in that parking lot... how devastating it was. To lose such a great portion of my workforce like that... it was at that moment that I knew."

With a sinister tone, the voice seemed to fill itself with a joyful dementedness as he laughed to himself.

"You were a threat that I couldn't allow to remain."

However even as this voice spoke, the woman didn't seem to be disturbed in the least.

Not by the arrogance with which it held.

Not by the absolute position which it seemed to hold over her.

And certainly not by the malice which it held.

For such malice... was nothing.

Slice.

Head after head fell as Sylvia's eyes turned cold, focusing with a deadly glare on the task at hand.

Every time a zombie lunged forth at her, she dodged its blows, attacking it precisely without fail - and ensuring to kill it.

For she knew that a single mistake would mean her end.

'I... have been in this situation before.'

'Surrounded by hundreds...'

'This is not a number that I can handle.'

'Or perhaps... it wasn't.'

Slice.

Slice.

Slice.

Her hair became a flurry of blades as it whirled around her, creating a fan of destruction that slaughtered anything which entered its range.

'It wasn't... at that time.'

'And perhaps even now... you are assisting me, One.'

'But that is why I know better than anyone... that even if you want to reduce everything to ashes... there are some things that you still want to protect.'

The woman's body was already soaked in blood, yet the layers continued to cake onto her with each enemy that fell.

"I saw your tremendous and unfathomable power... yes, I witnessed it with my own eyes on the cameras. How devastating it was to witness such a thing. Here I thought that I was the only person in the world who held such power... here I thought that I could finally attain my dream... and yet those dreams were shattered."

The man explained this as Sylvia ducked out of the way of an attack, rolling to the ground as she used her hair to grab ahold of the leg of the zombie which had targeted her.

Flipping it upside down before holding out her hand and using an unseen force to explode the head of a zombie behind her, Sylvia began to pant as she continued to move her hair like limbs, slicing and dicing anything that came in its path.

"But even if someone like you exists.... someone with such an astounding grasp on your ability... such a thing wouldn't matter if you were eliminated. Therefore... I led you to this place."

The voice seemed to snicker, filled with confidence as he explained.

"This place, which I created in order that I may toy with the people who entered my store... threatening their lives and filling their hearts with fear before convincing them to surrender to my absolute power."

Pausing, the man’s tone lowered as he spoke with delight in his voice.

"Yet... it seems that instead I will be using it to ensure my victory."

Without falter, the voice made a final order.

"Go forth, my minions."

And with brutality in his words, they carried throughout the warehouse.

"Rip that woman apart... and with her... the ability that she holds."

At that instant, each and every one of the zombies burst forth.

What had been just a few at a time became a hundred - however this was not the only thing.

At that instant, Sylvia's chaotically attacking hair changed direction.

The attacks which were meant for the creatures turned around, instead aiming in the complete opposite direction.

Straight at Sylvia herself.

"UGH!"

Pierced in a hundred locations by every strand of hair that she controlled, Sylvia spit up blood as her mind was filled with thoughts of confusion.

And then, the zombies closed in on her.

'What... happened?', she thought as stood there - not falling even as blood burst forth from her mouth.

The zombies grabbed her, ripping off her flesh as she stood perfectly still, completely unmoved even in the face of such horrifying hunger.

They tore away at her limbs, eating the flesh right off her bones and ripping it apart with their claws.

Explosions of torment burst forth in every location of her body - yet even so - she smiled.

"Heh."

The woman smiled, her eyes thinning with an expression of sadistic delight.

"I see."

Closing her eyes and nodding once, just barely able to make the motion as the creatures surrounded her, the woman slipped out the next words.

"You're Redirect, aren't you?"

At this statement, the zombies stopped their feasting.

As if they had been ordered to do so, they halted themselves completely - going against their very nature.

Silence filled the warehouse, and then a low voice.

"Yes.... that is correct."

The man laughed, slowly disintegrating into madness as if such a guess was impossible - and he refused to accept it.

"Heh.... heh heh... hahaha... yes... yes, that is correct."

And with chilling words, the man introduced himself.

"I am Redirect."

----

"When that first zombie tore off a piece of my flesh... I knew that something was strange. How could I not have noticed an enemy sneaking up from right behind me - and a zombie at that? Even if I was distracted... it felt unnatural."

Sylvia spoke with confidence, unable to move - for the wounds that laced her body were fatal.

Yet for a brief time, she remained alive and standing, as the creatures who were destined to bring about her end had been temporarily stalled.

"You redirected my attention, didn't you?"

Even as she spit up blood, on the brink of death - Sylvia continued to speak.

The strands of hair which had penetrated her body all throughout had pierced through her very heart, and were currently plugging up the numerous holes which they had formed within it.

To put it simply, if she were not a zombie she would have already died.

However it was the fact that Sylvia was no longer human that kept her able to speak at this moment.

Yet even so, Sylvia knew that the moment she removed these strands from her heart, before she would be able to regenerate, that she would fall dead.

"Hah.... yes, you're right. How.... no, I should say this is expected. From an opponent such as yourself, who pursued me without so much as knowing my intentions... and for someone who survived even that pool of lava which was created without so much as a scratch... yes... this is expected. However... I too have been making observations on you. And I know for certain that something was different about you at that moment."

His confidence unwavering, the man slammed Sylvia with his conclusion.

"You... cannot use such immense power all the time."

With this conclusion, Sylvia was silenced.

For he was correct.

Indeed, the power which had been displayed at that moment, that he had viewed through the security cameras at that time, was nothing more than the power of One.

A power which was far beyond anything Sylvia could handle.

"Even if that is true... that doesn't matter. Because even if I die... I'll still find a way to defeat you after I am gone."

Sylvia made this statement without stuttering, her voice becoming more and more wretched as her insides were ruptured from within.

"Ah... ah... haha!! Do you mean those two others who were with you? Yes... yes, both of them were powerful as well... people who have the power to destroy my vision.... people who cannot exist in my perfect world... yet those two beloved friends of yours... haha... did they not ABANDON you to this fate?"

The man spoke in a mocking tone - one which did not concern Sylvia in the least.

"That's where you're incorrect."

Thinning her eyes which regained a glint of life despite being on the brink of death, the smile on Sylvia's face became wrought with arrogance.

"Those two were no friends of mine. Because if they were... then surely, they would have abandoned me."

With a laugh, Sylvia looked up, glaring straight into the speaker with which the voice was exiting from.

"Because friendship is nothing more than a nice word that is placed upon a relationship which can crumble in an instant."

She spoke in a gruff tone, gargling on her own blood as she said these things.

"However... those two are not friends of mine."

"Eh? Is that so? You were acting so friendly with them, and yet-"

"The first... is a slave."

Cutting off the man mid sentence, Sylvia mocked his very words as she silenced him.

"She is one who will never disobey her Mistress nor her Master... out of fear of REJECTION."

Silence overcame the man as he was unsure what to even say in response to such a thing.

"And the second... is a business partner."

However Sylvia did not care.

"One who... regardless of the situation... is obligated to fulfill their responsibilities. For failure to do so... is not acceptable in this world."

It was at that moment that the man felt something.

A feeling which he had not felt from this woman since witnessing that display of power.

Yet even so - it was far different.

'What... is this?'

As he watched this woman from a security room filled with cameras which showed every angle of this warehouse, the man could do nothing more than shiver as the woman's expression became one of pure evil.

'Why... is she so confident in her victory.... even as she is already as good as dead?'

As the man had these thoughts, the words which the woman spoke pierced his heart, causing him to clench it as if it had truly been squeezed by an unknown force.

"And right now... our job is to destroy everything rotten in this world."

----

"You.... hah.... you scared me for a moment there.... but I won't fall for your bluffs. No.... rather than that... haha... you've been left. Abandoned. But truly... that is an annoyance to myself as well. After all, I planned on ruining the three of you together, but unfortunately I could only lure one of you into my trap. However this is of no matter. If the others do not show themselves, then they will never be able to reach me. And the moment they do... with the assistance of my employees, they will self-destruct."

"You can't do anything without seeing me."

"Eh?"

The man's voice became surprised as the woman made this baseless statement with such confidence.

"You mentioned the cameras. And from this position.... I can see them all around me. Right now you must be sitting within some security room, watching my every motion. When I first entered your maze, you didn't interfere with me at all."

Sylvia explained to the man, not backing down even as she was completely limbless, the bones of her arms bare of flesh.

"If your intention is to kill me, you should have taken every opportunity to slaughter me. Yet you didn't seem to have any control until that moment when you redirected my attention. That was when you arrived at the security room. After this failed attempt, you tried to trap me inside a dead end using the crate, which dropped a container of the undead on me. A good plan. It would trap me with numerous undead and block off my path of escape... however you were truly just testing my power at that point. You wanted to know whether or not I could use such immense power at all times... yet I killed them all inside the crate, in a manner that you could not witness."

As the woman spoke, her tone became more and more smug as her words dug into the man.

"Later on, you redirected my own attacks. However it was because you did this that I shot myself in the feet and fell to the ground - and out of sight of your cameras. At that moment, you lost your ability to redirect any of my attacks, thus I was able to slay those zombies and regenerate."

With a smirk, Sylvia laid bare each and every scenario that the man had created.

"Following this failure, you decided to lead me into a trap with as many opponents as you could possibly muster. If I were to face so many in such an open area where your cameras would not lose sight of me... then you could continue to redirect any of my attacks as you pleased. Essentially... It was a checkmate."

Suddenly, the woman’s words slid past the ears of the man like those of a demon.

"However, what if I were to tell you that your King was already in check in the first place?"

And with a wry smile, her eyes closed as arrogance overtook her.

"In other words... you've just made an illegal move... which has resulted in the slaughter of both pieces."

Then, suddenly opening her eyes, the woman made her final declaration of war upon the man.

"This game will end in a draw."

"Kill her."

The man's voice was now grumbling, filled with irritation as he spat out this order.

And at that instant, the zombies began to move once more.

"You redirected the movements of the undead as well... causing them to follow your orders as they attacked me. To put it simply... they are your slaves as well, aren't they?"

Just before they reached her, the woman spat out these final words, causing the man to shout out in retribution.

"Silence!!! I've heard enough!!! Die, you insolent woman."

The man shouted this out as the zombies continued their gorging on the rotten flesh of the woman, ripping away at whatever was left of her.

"Oh, I will die for now.", she stated as more blood flowed from her mouth. "And soon, you will follow me.“

However with the next statement of the woman, a chill was sent down the spine of the man.

"But death... it is a terrifying place. One in which I am certain that you will not be able to come back from."

At that instant, the strands of hair erupted from the body of the woman, slaughtering numerous zombies around her in an instant as her body fell to the ground - alongside many others.

The woman became cold as the man watched, vigorously scavenging the cameras to confirm that the woman was indeed dead.

'She.... she is dead. Yes... she is dead. Without a doubt, that much is true.... hah... hahaha... What a fool. All that talk, and yet... look at the results.'

A wicked grin overcame the expression of the man as he laughed to himself.

'Regardless of all those things she said... one thing is certain, now that she has lost her very life.'

The man bore his rotten teeth as he smiled, his eyes thinned with pleasure as he looked upon the pile of destruction.

The remaining zombies continued their feast, desecrating the remains of the woman.

'I am the victor.'

Thus, Sylvia died.

For the sixth time.

However as the man thought this, he heard a voice from beyond the door of the secluded room in which he sat.

"Now then... I suppose it's time to finish off this movement. I'll have to thank her for working so hard to provide me with this information. After all... a trade of Kings is not typically allowed. However in this case... I suppose we'll have to create an exception. But even so... I suppose she would be the queen? How fortunate then. After all... we only had to sacrifice our Queen to take out the enemy's only functioning piece. Because even if you are a king... the only thing you control are pawns."

----

[Sylvia]

[In order to understand this next memory that I am going to show you... you will first need to understand some background.]

[I will need to show you a memory that is not my own.]

[Fortunately... I hold the power to reduce.]

[Therefore... I am capable of showing you such a memory.]

[How is such a thing possible?]

[Hehe...]

[Because I am capable of reducing the unknown.]

----

[Memory 1]

A man.

His hair was white as snow, pure of even a single defilement yet spread around him in a chaotic manner as it fell down to the length of his knees.

He wore nothing more than a plain lab coat, and his golden eyes carried a gleam of discovery within them.

For standing before this man was an enormous door.

The ebony structure appeared to be some sort of majestic ruin, of an ancient kind.

It was coated with all forms of runic language and patterns, towering above the man like a beast.

Yet despite its intimidating nature, the man stood forward with a grin.

"Just how many subjects were sacrificed at the traps of these ruins to obtain this code?"

Pressing one brick after another in a distinct pattern, the walls seemed to react to the password which was inputted, opening itself as if welcoming the man with open arms.

Standing behind him were a number of men in black suits.

They stood perfectly still, hands behind their backs as they followed this man without question.

Around these men were others - men and women who wore nothing more than dirty rags and gowns, those who stepped forward not by their own will, but by the fact that they were under the control of this man.

"Regardless... a worthy sacrifice for this."

With a beaming smile, the man motioned with his hand as he stood before the chamber - at which the body guards seemed to push the enslaved ones forth.

"From this point on is unknown. It is your duty now to ensure the safety of the Doctor. Therefore you all are to test to see if there are any traps."

The men and women walked forth slowly, their expressions filled with terror as they faced an unknown situation.

However it was at that moment that one particular man darted forward, before anyone else.

"Hah... hah... haha!!!"

He ran into the chamber, entering the enormous hallway that had opened up before the group.

"Finally!!! Finally!!! I can be rid of this life!!! Rid of everything!!!! All I need is to spring a single trap!!!"

The man rushed around the hallway, seemingly pressing every brick in the wall and stepping on every tile in a frantic manner as many of the other enslaved people watched with horror.

"Hah!! This one!? That one!? Not yet!? What about this one!?"

However, one by one, the man seemed to step on every tile and press every brick without fail.

And as he pressed each one, the expression of the man became darker and darker.

"No.... no.... what... this... this can't be... there are no more? All those others... who lost their lives after typing an incorrect password... and yet..."

"You."

Closing his eyes, the man known as Victor pointed at the man who had sprung forward with such energy.

"You seem to be so eager to die, aren't you?"

Pulling a gun from underneath his laboat, the weapon clicked as the white haired man aimed it with care.

However even in the face of such a weapon, the man who had chaotically sprung forth merely smiled.

"You... have decided to kill me?", he asked with a delighted expression, stilling himself so as to allow himself to be easily shot.

"No."

Aiming the weapon low, a bang was heard as a single shot was fired off.

The screams of a man echoed through the hall as he fell to one knee, his leg having been shot off.

"You will merely be sent to the experimental chamber for more... dangerous experiments."

In that instant, two men in suits rushed forward as they grabbed the flailing man, ignoring his screams as they took him away.

Left to watch, all the other men and women merely witnessed this scene - instilled with further fear as to what would happen to them should they try to escape this world of suffering.

For even death was nothing more than a pipe dream - one which they could never achieve.

Stepping forward into the hall, the man's coat fluttered and his hair seemed to match its motions as he entered with style.

"Now then... let's see if I was correct about these ruins hiding a power that could shift the very balance of this war... and this world."

—-