The orange-cursor player lay on the ground, his eyes fixed on Silver’s sword, pointed directly at his throat.
—HEY! Help me, damn it! —he shouted at his companions.
But neither of them moved.
Both were green-cursor players, just like Silver. If they attacked, their cursors would immediately turn orange and they would lose the right to enter cities. And they knew it. They also knew something worse: attacking him would be useless. They were ordinary players. They had no chance against the absolute tank of the front lines.
—We have to run —said the one with the green mask, his voice tense.
—We’re going to abandon him? —the other asked, incredulous.
—We have no choice. They’ll send him to prison, and he’ll probably rat us out. But if we move to another floor, to small villages… they’ll never find us.
The two of them discussed the plan quickly. They would charge at Akari, who was blocking the way. Once she panicked and instinctively covered herself, they would slip past her without touching her so they would not become criminals, then run at full speed toward the town portal. Silver would not risk letting the orange player go just to chase after them.
The two masked players ran straight at Akari.
—Traitors! Come back! —their abandoned companion shouted after them in desperation.
Silver hesitated for an instant before moving. But then he remembered the conversation from that morning. Akari had told him to trust her. To keep his eyes on the one who was truly dangerous.
So he focused again on the fallen opponent and pinned him in place with his sword.
The masked players activated a sword skill. Akari remained motionless in the middle of the path, without reacting. When they reached her, they released the technique, and their blades passed within inches of her body.
Then something happened they never could have imagined.
Akari raised her arms in an exaggerated motion, causing her cloak to spread wide with the sudden movement.
Both players’ weapons brushed against the fabric.
The system message paralyzed them for an instant.
A fatal instant.
Akari appeared between them with Blurred Step and drove a dagger into the side of each one.
Both of them saw the yellow lightning icon appear on their HP bars.
Paralysis.
—It was… a… trap… —the player with the yellow mask managed to murmur before collapsing.
Akari looked down at them.
Her smile froze them.
There was not a trace left of the sweetness she had shown only minutes earlier. It was a twisted grin, full of sadism. Her lavender eyes, mixed with a madness barely held in check, were the most terrifying thing they had ever seen in their lives.
It took her only a few seconds to breathe deeply and recover her composure, but it was enough for both of them to understand that their fate was sealed.
—They can’t run anymore —Akari said to Silver casually.
Silver nodded.
The orange player in front of him was trembling.
—Please… don’t kill me. I promise I’ll change.
Akari kept smiling.
—Do you really think we’re going to believe you? A murderer doesn’t change.
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—What?! I’m not a murderer! I’m just a thief! —he shouted desperately.
—A player who dies because he was wounded and left behind in the wild still counts as murder —Akari replied, her gaze accusatory.
The player tried to push himself up.
—Don’t let him get up! —she shouted.
Silver brought his sword down in a brutal strike against the man’s leg. His HP dropped almost into the red, leaving a digital scar across his knee.
—Shut up, you crazy bitch! —the player howled.
The response was immediate.
A violent blow with the Aegis slammed him back to the ground.
—Don’t you dare speak to her like that —Silver said, with a coldness that froze the blood.
The orange player broke into shrill sobs, begging through tears.
Akari spoke then, her voice solemn.
—Silver… it is time to deliver justice.
Silver tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, wavering.
—Please… don’t kill me… —the man sobbed, looking him in the eyes.
Silver’s stomach churned. An old memory pierced through him: the first floor, the first player he had ever seen die, torn apart by the boars.
—Silver! Do it! —Akari shouted—. Give justice to that murderer’s victims!
The echo of her voice rang between the rocky walls.
Silver began the motion of a sword skill, but there was doubt in his eyes.
—I’m begging you… don’t kill me…
There was no arrogance left on his face. Only pure terror.
The sword vibrated in Silver’s hand, signaling that the skill was ready.
But he did not move.
As if invisible chains were binding his body.
—SILVER! —Akari shouted, louder this time—. Bring justice to this world!
Then she fell silent for an instant.
She let the words sink in.
—Do it for Yuiha.
Something broke inside Silver.
He released the skill.
The blade cut cleanly through the orange player’s neck. His eyes, still full of disbelief and fear, remained fixed on the void as his head fell to the ground beside his body.
A second later, the remains exploded into fragments of light.
System messages flooded Silver’s interface.
Silver remained motionless, not reacting. He gripped the weapon tightly, staring into nothingness.
—I did it for you… —he whispered into the air.
The Aegis, the Tempered Plate, and the Strides began to glow.
But not with light.
With darkness.
A black, chaotic radiance wrapped around the pieces. The shield was the first to crack: fine fractures, almost invisible, spread across it until it burst into fragments of black light. The other pieces followed the same fate.
Silver watched in silence as the equipment that had been his greatest pride disintegrated.
He did not regret it.
He told himself, with a new and dangerous conviction, that if that was the price for giving Yuiha justice, he would pay it without hesitation.
That conviction settled into his chest, silencing the words she had planted in his heart during the time they had spent together.
The fragments of black light began to spin, forming a vortex. Slowly, they took shape.
When the darkness faded, what remained was a gigantic sword of pure obsidian, with a blood-red edge and a bright, unnatural crimson hilt.
Silver took it.
He did not examine it.
He put it straight into his inventory.
—Even the system wants me to deliver justice… —he told himself.
* * * * *
Akari watched the exact moment Silver decapitated the orange player.
She let herself be carried away.
She ignored everything that came after. She did not see the transformation of the equipment. She did not see the corruption.
She bit her lower lip and hugged herself tightly, trying to endure the waves of heat moving through her body.
—You did it… —she whispered, looking at Silver.
She closed her eyes and pressed her thighs together. The sensation of watching another player kill because she had asked him to was even more stimulating than doing it herself. She had to struggle to contain the trembling.
When she managed to recover some composure, she turned toward the other two players, whose paralysis was about to end.
She drew her rapier.
With a smile as wide as it was macabre, she executed the one with the green mask with six precise strikes to the head.
—Let me live —begged the one with the yellow mask.
Akari tilted her head. Her innocent expression contrasted with the deranged gleam in her eyes.
—I’m sorry… but I already decided that today you die by my hands.
Star Barrage.
Eight swift, precise thrusts ended his life before he could beg again.
Akari took a deep breath. She made a conscious effort to regain her composure, though her gaze still betrayed her.
She walked up behind Silver and wrapped her arms around him.
—I’m proud of you. And Yuiha is too.
Silver did not react.