Epilogue – Finale

“…Hey……up.”

“Five more minutes, Rina. It’s Saturday.”

“….? Hey! WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

“Huwha!?”

Alicia screaming directly into my ear woke me right up, tearing me out of whatever dream I’d been having. How did she get in here? I thought I locked the door.

“Ow! Damnit Alicia, thanks for the tinnitus. Gah, my ear’s gonna be throbbing for hours now.”

“I’ve been trying to wake you up for ten minutes now! Where the hell is Cameron? His room's empty, and he’s not answering his phone!”

Ah shit, that’s right. Haaah, this isn’t going to be fun.

“Okay, okay, just calm down Alicia. Just calm down.”

“How can I calm down at a time like this!? How are you so calm!? Cameron’s disappeared! We need t-.”

“Alicia. He didn’t disappear. He left.”

“Wha-? B-but, he didn’t even say goodbye to me. How, how could he do that!?”

She was taking it better than I’d thought she would. Shock was beginning to give way to rage much faster than I’d expected. I figured she’d be okay unless she broke down crying, which didn’t seem likely for the moment. Thankfully I thought I had an idea of how to help her process this faster, though it was pretty extreme in its own right.

“Alicia. Alicia! Calm down for a moment. I’m afraid I’ve got even more bad news.”

***

[Kalia’s POV]

Okay, I just need to knock on the door. Just knock. Deep breath now.

*Knock Knock*

“…Come in.”

Kalia took one more deep breath before opening the door. Inside, she was met with an unexpected occupant: Grant. Even though this was supposed to be Braddock’s room, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, Kalia. So, what can I do for ya?”

“Uh, G-Grant?...where’s Braddock?”

“Something came up that he had to deal with right away. He’s already left town, and this will probably keep him busy for awhile, so he asked me to stay here in case you needed something. I’d like to tell you not to worry about him, but I know better. Just know that he’ll eventually tell you what happened.”

“Aha, I see. So I guess that means this really is the end? That the group’s really done?”

“Mn, seems like it. Everyone’s either dead or left us. We’re the only two left. And I think I’m going to find a nice warm beach to hide away for a time. Let my accumulated stress melt away.”

“I, I see. Well, then I guess this is goodbye.”

“I suppose it is. I suppose it is.”

Grant had been reading a book when she came in, but he sat it down on the table before turning to look at her closely.

“May I ask what your plans are from here? I’m sure knowing that would put Braddock at ease.”

“Oh! Well, uh, I was thinking about maybe joining up with another group. Something about giving up here just doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Mn, I see, I see. And? Do you have someone in mind?”

“…I do actually. And I think I’m gonna go talk to them. Goodbye Grant. I hope your beach is everything you’re looking for.”

“Goodbye Kalia. I hope you find what you’re looking for as well.”

She smiled at him one last time before setting off. She’d decided what to do. Now all that was left was to grab fate by the horns.

***

[Grant’s POV]

The door shut behind Kalia, bringing one chapter of his life to an end. And opened another one.

“So she’s left. She took it far better than I expected her to. Maybe you’ve been right about her all along.”

“I told you she’s made of sterner stuff that you thought. I’m honestly curious about what she can accomplish on her own.”

Braddock emerged from the bathroom he’d ducked into when Kalia knocked. This had all been a part of his plan to set Kalia free from the nonexistent debt she felt towards him. The man had always favored elaborate plans, but this one really took the cake.

“By the way. A beach, really? You hate the beach.”

“I was improvising. I needed an excuse not to go with her, and that was the first reasonable thing that popped into my head. Though I guess she would’ve accepted just about anything really. She was just looking for an excuse to justify her own decision.”

“Which is good. It shows that she won’t let them just drag her around. Those two both have very strong personalities, especially Michael. As she is now, Kalia will easily be able to keep up with them.”

“I still think he’s too much of a time bomb. Haaah, I still don’t understand why she’s going to go to them. How’d you work that out?”

“Easy, they’re the only people she’s had significant contact with, aside from us of course. Plus, they showed that the two of them are extremely talented. Just like her. They’d be the obvious choice.”

“Hrm, I guess so. Let's hope she doesn’t come to regret this.”

“Isn’t that something we all hope? Well come on. We should make sure we’re long gone just in case she comes back. Nothing we said was a lie. We’ve got plenty of work to do.”

***

“Just how screwed are we?”

“It’s…hard to say really. If this is the beginning of a pattern, then we’re very, very screwed. If it’s an isolated incident, then we might have a chance. But we have an even bigger problem than that. I don’t think the two of us can fight on our own. Maybe if we were both much stronger we’d be fine, but there’s going to be massive problems if we don’t fill in the gap Cameron left.”

“Haaah, so it comes down to recruiting. Haaah. Okay, so what’s our options? I’m assuming they’re pretty limited right now.”

“Well, I honestly don’t know. I don’t know most of the mercenaries well enough to try recruiting them, and those I sort of know already have plans. I did run into Serena and Tiffany on the way in, but they’re already joining up with a different group.”

“Hm, what about other groups? There has to be at least one that’s willing to take two more people in.”

“Oh, there definitely is. But I just can’t accept joining an established group. They’d expect us to adapt to them. Plus there’s issues of whether they’ll be as strong as us. I don’t want to deal with leeches. And yes, I know it’s kind of arrogant to say that.”

“Okay. Then what about….? Um, oh! What about Braddock, Grant, and Kalia? We know them, and there shouldn’t be any problems with “leeches", as you put it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that could work. We’ll need to approach them about it, and then maybe we can work something out until we can find some people to work long-term with. Yeah, let’s ge-.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just slow down a little bit. They’re probably in the middle of recuperating right now, so let’s give them until tomorrow, then we ask them. Besides, I’ve got something else for us to discuss.”

The sudden interruption nearly killed my enthusiasm, until Alicia pulled a magic bag out of her pocket. From that, she brought out a green-and-white bow.

Fairy’s Whisper

Rank: C

Effect: Increases Dexterity and Perception.

Description: A bow made from a Galewood Treant and treated with a paste made from a Fairy Core. This treatment makes it a great conduit for Wind and Lightning Magic, and also applies an active silencing effect to any projectile fired by the bow.

Upgrade Requirements: Five Fairy Cores OR One Intermediate Seraph Core

One Kilogram Voltwood OR One Kilogram Ironwood OR One Kilogram Ashwood

One Gem of Storms OR One Gem of Static

“Huh? Where’d you get this?”

“Someone sent this to me, most likely one of the other mercenaries. And I think I know who.”

“Wait, I recognize this! Wha, why would Jansen send you his weapon? That doesn’t make any sense! Unless, it does makes sense. Hm, yeah, it does. So it was him. Jansen killed the Wyvern.”

“Wait, what? How do you figure that?”

“Those black-tinged flames that killed the Warlord were exactly like the ones that killed the Wyvern, and I think that was an arrow that was fired both times. Which means that he probably got a new bow for killing the Wyvern.”

“Huh, alright. But why did he give it to me? Wouldn’t it have been more lucrative to sell it? Or just keep it for a backup.”

“I don’t know. Maybe he thought those Upgrade Requirements were a little extreme. Why are there so many options?”

“Hey, I kinda like it. Makes it feel like I’ve got options for how it can grow. Plus, that silencing effect just begs for me to exploit it. Hehehehe.”

“You’re scaring me a little Alicia. I’m supposed to be the one who makes creepy laughter.”

“Hm, well we can worry about this later once we’ve gotten those items. Right now we need to focus. So, I think we should-.”

*Knock Knock*

“…? Uh, who is it?”

“It’s Kalia. Can I come in?”

Alicia and I looked at each other. Neither of us expected for her to come looking for us.

“Uh, sure. Yeah, come in.”

“Thanks. I just want to-. Oh! Hi Alicia. Um, am I interu-?”

“How many times do we need to tell you!? There’s nothing happening between us! This is just a team meeting, nothing more!”

You know, I’m pretty sure she’s just teasing you by saying that. She may be an airhead, but surely even she’d get it after this long, right? Right?

“Sure, if that’s what you want me to believe. But if this is a team meeting, then where’s Cameron?”

It was a good comeback, but it touched upon a sore spot. And that must’ve showed on our faces, since Kalia almost immediately apologized afterwards.

“Oh! I, I’m so sorry. I-I-I-I didn’t realize. Um, so it happened to you guys too?”

“Huh? “too”? Do you mean that…..?”

“Mn-hm. Braddock and Grant seem to have given up, for now at least. Which means….”

“You…want to work with us? Really!?”

“…Yeah, I do. I can’t just give up yet. I, I just don’t want to sit by as things happen. Maybe this is a mistake, but I feel like I have to make it.”

“Well that’s, that’s great! Do ya hear that Michael? Hehe, didn’t I tell you things would work out?”

It sure is convenient, that’s for sure. Huh, my intuition is telling me there’s something up here, but it could just be my paranoia as well.

“……Yeah, it’s good, but it still doesn’t solve the biggest problem. This isn’t exactly a great formation.”

“”…Hah?””

It would be one thing if Cameron was still around, but we’d have a hard time surviving if we got surrounded. I might be able to get away by myself, but not with Kalia and Alicia.

“Michael, what exactly are you talking about? We could use an explanation in English, please.”

“Haaah, alright, I’ll dumb it down a bit. What we really need is a tank or vanguard, someone who can hold the attention of groups of monsters and survive. Cameron fulfilled that role before, but I can’t do it. Wearing that kind of armor would slow me down too much.”

“So we need someone who can fulfill that role?”

“Yep. I’d say a tank and healer are the essential components of a good RPG party. Without them, you’ll inevitably run into a situation you can’t survive.”

“Okay…….Then I might be able to offer a solution. I know someone who's looking for a party, someone who's just as strong as Braddock. In fact, I think the two of you will get along really well.”

***

The stage was set, the pieces were in place, and the curtain was rising. The play known as World Decay was just getting started. Disaster was approaching, and ambitions were stoked. Whether or not the world would survive what was to come was still in the air.