Her voice is trembling like a child fearing a scolding from her parents. Snow clings to my arm, her voice ragged with desperation. “………Commander……please save Rose and Grimm…!” 6 “You really are a half-assed villain, you know that? Buckling to your conscience at the very end. No wonder you’re still a lackey despite being with Kisaragi from the beginning.” “Oh, shut up! I know all that! I’m weak willed and a pushover and whatever the hell else you have to call me. Just have them send the goddamn anti-materiel rifle already!” Back to Tillis’s chambers and on to the balcony. As night begins to fall, I start kicking at the balcony’s railing. “C-Commander! Aren’t we going to the gate? What are you planning to do from here…?” I vent a bit of my frustration at Snow, who’s been following me like a newly hatched duckling. “Use your head! We don’t have time to head back to the gate. So we’re attacking from here! …And how much longer are you gonna cling to my arm?! It’s not like I’m gonna run off as soon as you let go!” “Oh…!” Snow lets go of my arm and watches me continue destroying the balcony. “Sir Six! I have no idea what you plan to do, but do as you please! You’re perhaps the most stunning man in the kingdom right now!” For whatever reason, Tillis decides to cheer me on while I ravage her balcony. Just as my line of sight clears up, Alice yells in my direction. “…Hey, what’s going on here? We’re short on points! I made sure to leave a little over two hundred points, but now we don’t have enough for the rifle. What the hell did you use your points for?!” Oh, shit… “Um, well……you know how there’s nothing to do here? Well, last night, I sort of……” “You spent those points, didn’t you?! On what? Porn?! You wasted those points the night before an invasion?! YOU IDIOT!” I’d really like a hole to crawl into right about now. “I had no choice…! It was the middle of the night! And there’s no convenience stores or anything around here!” “Wh-what is it? Is there a problem?” Snow asks. Alice lets out a weirdly human-sounding sigh. “I was just thinking that this idiot’s nothing but comic relief even at the very end. I guess we’ve got no other option. Hey, Six.” “Yeah?” Alice points her finger to the stairs. “Go downstairs and punch that useless king in the face.” “On it!” “No, don’t!” “Why?! What did Father ever do to you?! Snow! Stop them!” The two of them scramble to get in my way. “Let go, will you? I’m not doing this because I want to! It’s an emergency.” Snow lets go. “…Do you just need to hit someone?” she asks, gazing intently at my face. “Hmm? Well, it doesn’t have to be hitting. Just something they don’t like.” “…Understood.” Snow closes her eyes. “Hit me.” “…………What?!” What the hell is she saying? “J-just hit me! ……I don’t quite get it, but you need to do this right now, right? Then hit me! Or…well…if it has to be something I don’t like…y-you could fondle my boobs or do anything else your heart desires!” Snow’s face goes beet red at her statement, and everyone else just goes absolutely quiet. “U-um, wait… Y-you can’t just suddenly offer……” Alice interrupts my awkward babbling. “Do it, Six, we’re running out of time. If you don’t want to hit her, just grope her or kiss her or whatever!” “B-but wait… I can’t…” Alice pushes me forward toward Snow. Snow’s face remains flushed, and her eyes are tightly shut. I place my hands on her shoulders, and she reacts with a slight tremble. Tillis swallows a breath, looking over at us intently and blushing. “…I-is he going to…?! Is he going to kiss her?!” Tillis covers her face, as though her modesty and decorum won’t let her watch the rest of this spectacle, but it’s clear she’s still watching from between her fingers. What the hell is going on? Here we are in the middle of a life-or-death struggle…and now this! “Do it, Six! Aggressively! Kiss her and shove your tongue down her throat! Hurry up, you wimp! Do it!” Alice is starting to get on my nerves. Well, so is my heart, with all that rapid beating. What should I be doing? Goddammit, why is Tillis looking over at us?! You’re a princess, aren’t you? You shouldn’t be watching this sort of thing, you perverted little brat! As for you, Snow, why are you just standing there? And why are we taking so long to do this? It’s not like we’re middle school students. It’s just a kiss! Are we sure I’m actually going to get points given the circumstances? I mean, this is starting to look awfully like we’re both consenting adults! Goddammit, gaaaaaah, what am I supposed to do; if I kiss her, I won’t get the points, and if I start groping her breasts, she’ll let out a little coo like “Mm…,” and goddaaaaaaaaammmit, what am I supposed to dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?! “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!” Something snaps inside my head, and in that moment, I reach forward and pull down… …Snow’s panties. Yes, in an instant, my hands disappear beneath Snow’s skirt, grab hold of her panties, and drag them down to her ankles. Every person on that balcony, plus Alice, who technically isn’t human, freezes in place, staring at me, mouths agape. I don’t think I’ll forget the look on their faces for as long as I live. <Evil Points acquired.> 7 “Get off me, dammit! Obnoxious gnat! Hey, Heine! Peel this bug off me, will you? I can’t shake her off!” Gadalkand lets out a frustrated roar. Rose is clinging to his arm with all four limbs and biting into his shoulder. The giant stone demon tries to shake her off, repeatedly slamming her into the ground. “Oh, stop whining and hold on a minute! I’ll be done here in a second. Hey, dark-god cultist! Your curses require a sacrifice, right? I noticed those rings of yours are disappearing each time you cast a curse! Looks like you’re running on empty. You’re no match for us. Hurry up and bring Six to…” Heine stretches her hand out toward me, as if preparing to cast a spell. She’s interrupted mid-sentence when something annihilates a golem’s torso, blasting Heine off its shoulder and onto the ground. Everyone in the area goes stiff, caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events. A faint crack rings through the air and reaches us a heartbeat later. “Wha…wha-wha-wha-wha……?” Knocked onto her butt by the first blast, Heine stares in openmouthed shock when a second golem’s torso explodes in a rain of fragments. “The hell is this?! Heine! What the hell is going on…?! And you, get off me!” Gadalkand peels Rose off his arm while directing his question at Heine. “I—I—I don’t…I don’t know…what just…what……” Another golem is reduced to a shattered hulk, followed by the same sound a few seconds later. It must be coming from afar. The attacks are probably coming from so far away that the sound isn’t keeping up with the attack itself. Like thunder after a flash of lightning. “Whatever it is, we can’t just stand here. You lot! Get in the air! Once you’re up there, fly as fast as you can!” Gadalkand issues the orders, beating his wings and rising into the air himself. Heine, too, calls down her griffin circling above and hurriedly hops on its back. Just as they lift into the air, another golem shatters, followed a few heartbeats later by the sound. “Gadalkand! The castle! They’re hitting us from on top of the castle!” “…What?! How the hell are they attacking us from that distance?!” Gadalkand curses loudly as a fifth golem breaks into fragments. His tirade is cut short as he stares mutely at the golem’s destruction. “…Gadalkand, your warriors can fly and can hold their own against anyone. Gather the strongest ones you’ve got! We’ll go assault the castle and take out the bastard attacking us from there!” “…You boys, with me! We’ll hit the castle directly and take ’em out!” Heine and Gadalkand circle once overhead, then fly off toward the castle. The sixth golem is blasted into fragments, leaving one more. “…There they go.” “…Yes, indeed. I’m sure the commander can do something about them.” I flash a reassuring smile at Rose. “…Really? You really think the boss’ll take care of this instead of running away?” “………P-probably?” As the final golem is shot down, the soldiers around us let out a cheer. “Wow… The boss did all this, right? This probably sounds weird coming from a Chimera, but I wonder what the heck he’s made of.” “Yes, he really is a mysterious man… But more importantly…” I look around at the large group of demons encircling us. The golems and the two pillars of the Elite Four are gone, but we are still vastly outnumbered. The enemy slowly closes the distance between them and the soldiers standing guard. In response, Rose lets out an intimidating snarl. “Krrrrssshaaaaaaaw!” The demons stop briefly in their tracks but then continue to close the gap… “Ee-hee-hee-hee…” I smile my most predatory smile, wheeling myself forward and bringing my chair to a stop in front of the assembled demons. “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! In this world, all living things eventually die…but I? I have overcome death a thousandfold. I am the Archbishop of the Great Lord Zenarith! Know my name, for it is Grimm Grimoire! Those among you who seek death, step forward! Allow me to demonstrate the true power of my dark blessings!” At my sudden monologue, Rose’s eyes go wide in surprise. “Wh-what’s going on?! And what’s with that monologue?!” “I rarely have anything to do at night, so I’ve been practicing for a time like this.” “Cheater! I—I…I wish I had something cool to say, instead of the silly things my dying grandpa made me promise I’d say…! Um, let’s see… Hear me! My name is Rose! …Um…uh…” As Rose continues her stilted attempt at an improvised monologue, I turn back toward the demons, showing off the last few remaining sacrificial items with a flourish. “Brace yourselves! You shall now taste the true power of the God of Undeath and Disaster!” “What she said!” 8 “Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Power! Absolute power! The Demon Army is nothing next to my power!” With each crack of my rifle, the golems far below shatter. Well, okay, it’s actually too dark to see if my shots hit anything. “Focus. Stop laughing and relax. You’re making it hard to aim,” Alice chides me. I exhale and relax while she adjusts the rifle barrel to compensate. “Good. Fire.” Another shot rings out. Another golem goes down. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be able to hit anything that far away in this sort of darkness. Which is why I’m leaving the aiming to Alice. As a high-performance android, she’s equipped with night vision. So I can just focus on pulling the trigger. “…I-incredible… Um, may I ask why you didn’t just use this from the start? I imagine this would have made the fights up to this point much easier.” Tillis tilts her head in curiosity. “I’m the type of guy who doesn’t really like spending reward tokens on OP weapons and buff accessories in video games.” “That’s why you can’t take advantage of opportunities and end up stuck as an errand boy for the Supreme Leaders. All right, fire.” Another bang. The powerful recoil from the anti-materiel rifle ripples through my body. “…Every shot makes the spot where you punched me hurt even more,” I grumble. “Shut up. Drop dead.” Snow clutches her knees to her chest, sulking a short distance away. “……You’re the one who said I could do whatever I wanted.” “Shut up. Drop dead.” “………All right, fire.” Another bang rings out, shattering the last golem. “All right, that should even up the odds a little.” “Shut up! Kill yourself!” “There’s still the two members of the Elite Four to take care of, but I don’t see the— Wait, are they the ones flying around over there? It’d be one thing if I could aim and fire, but we can’t hit them if I’m stuck aiming for you.” “But we can’t have you firing this rifle. The recoil would rattle you to pieces.” “Shut up. Drop dead.” Alice suddenly pipes up as she watches the Elite Four members from the balcony. “…Hey …Hey! They’re coming straight for us! Everyone get inside, now!” Heine, mounted atop her griffin, and Gadalkand with his band of demons are gliding through the air toward us. I shoulder the rifle, then go over to Snow, still sulking in the corner. I grab her by the hand and pull her into the room. “Oh, come on, get over it already! All I did was pull down your panties! It’s not like I got a good look afterward!” “Shut up. Drop dead.” With the great crash of shattering glass, the griffin and the demons charge into the chamber! “There you are, Six! You’re dead! There’s never been anyone dumb enough to mess with me as many times as you have! You were behind all those explosions earlier, weren’t you?! And then you went and blew up my precious sorcerer stone!” Heine snarls in rage as the ten or so demons who charged into the room let out a bloodcurdling scream. “Ohhh, I thought you looked familiar. You’re the pathetic bastard who was cradling that dead lady and bawling! Did you bury the body properly? Or did you keep it around as a plaything? Either way, it looks like you’re the bastard who took out my golems, huh? I’m about to make you wish you were dead. If you’d like, I’ll even let you slit your throat with your own knife. I’m merciful like that. Now then, you’ve got two seconds to die, so hurry up and get dying! One! Tw—” As Gadalkand begins his hyper-clichéd countdown, I unshoulder the rifle, take aim at him…and fire. Gadalkand apparently sensed the danger and jumped out of the way as soon as I aimed the barrel at him. The shot takes out the demon behind him instead. The bullet goes straight through its head, punching a hole in the wall behind it. The sight of one of their own being reduced to pebbles silences the screeching band of demons. Behind me to the right, Alice loads her shotgun and takes aim, while to the left, Snow brandishes her sword. Standing a few feet behind us, Tillis calmly stares down the demons. “Is everything all right?” a soldier calls from the door. He probably heard the sound of demon bits hitting the floor from below. Snow shouts a reply. “The demons are here! Go and defend His Majesty!” Gadalkand listens to the exchange with a casual air, whistling tunelessly as if trying to taunt us. “…Well, damn, that’s some weapon you’ve got there. I gotta admit, you gave me a scare when you pointed that thing at me. What the hell is it?” I slip another round into the chamber of the single-shot rifle, keeping my eyes locked on Gadalkand. “…Oh, this? It’s a neat little toy known as an anti-materiel rifle. It’s designed to take out hardened targets like you from the safety of a balcony… Oh, that reminds me. Remember that woman you were talking about earlier? She’s still alive. You just met her earlier. And you actually taunted me, convinced that you’d killed her! Ha, what a moron! Are you sure you’re not just some third-rate demon that fell ass-backward into power?” My words wipe the smirk off Gadalkand’s face. “…You wanna die that badly, asshole? I’ll—” “‘—gladly grant that wish for you.’ Seriously? Does that pea brain of yours only have room for tired clichés? You want your head squished like you did to Grimm? No? Then take that horde of yours slumming around out there and get lost!” I lightly wave the barrel of the rifle toward him. Gadalkand assumes a fighting stance. “…All right, listen up, boys. It looks like that weapon can only manage one shot at a time. He’s a sitting duck after each shot. Otherwise, he’d have blown us all to bits by now. Close the gap and jump him all at once. Don’t stop even if he blasts the guy next to you. You’ll get him.” Dammit! This one’s not as stupid as he looks. “Six, I’ll take care of the underlings. Do something about Heine and Gadalkand.” “Not calling me commander anymore? That was quick. How long are you going to hold the underwear thing against me? Anyway, fall back. I’ll show you your commander’s real abilities. Hey, Alice! Get me the R-Buzzsaw!” “…I beg your pardon? You’re gonna take them on by yourself?! You idiot! You are already…” As Alice launches into her explanation, the demons begin moving. “Six! I can at least deal with the grunts! I can help!” Snow won’t back down, choosing instead to stand by my side. Sigh. This woman. I thought she’d gotten over that stubborn streak, but nope, she’s still the same, even at a time like this. The demons tighten the circle around Snow and me. Behind them, Heine begins gathering flames in her hand. It looks like the griffin’s a little too big to fit into the room, so it’s waiting out in the balcony. “Alice, hurry up! Please, I need that thing ASAP!” At my desperate urging, Alice sets down her shotgun and scribbles onto a sheet of memo paper. “Fine, but you’re on your own now!” As if prompted by Alice’s remark, the demons pounce all at once. I turn my rifle barrel toward Gadalkand, but unlike the other demons, he jumps to the side. I turn the rifle toward the nearest demon and pull the trigger, taking it down. As if taking advantage of that moment, another just barely streaks past me. Sparks fly as a demon’s claw grazes the torso of my power armor. I kick one of the pouncing demons, using the momentum to jump back and dodging a second fireball thrown my way. As I land, an enemy grabs the rifle barrel. Two more rush me from the side. “Six! Duck!” As soon as I do, something grazes the top of my head. Looking up, I see the two demons howling as they rear back with sword slashes across their faces. “Wh-what were you planning to do if I didn’t duck?” I try to contain the panic in my voice as Alice shouts at me. “It’s here, Six! Grab it!” The space in front of me hums and ripples with blue-and-white electricity. When the static storm fizzles out, a familiar weapon is waiting for me. I let go of the rifle, which still has a demon clutching at the barrel, and grab the weapon in front of me with both hands. I flip the switch and slash at the demon holding my rifle. The demon tries to block the slash with the rifle… The sound of a rapidly vibrating blade cutting through hardened metal rings through the air. The demon and the rifle both fall to the ground, cleaved clean in half. “…H-hey! Wh-what the hell is that…? …Where did it come from…?” Gadalkand mutters in shock; the demons around me, catching sight of their companion being hacked in half, halt their advance and back away. “This? This is a piece of cutting equipment called the Anti-Armored-Vehicle Omnidirectional Vibrating Blade Bad Sword, Type R. I’ve taken to calling it the R-Buzzsaw, for short. See, where I come from, Bad Sword and Buzzsaw sound pretty similar. It’s perfect because they’re both handy tools for slicing up weaklings like you,” I answer Gadalkand, lifting the all-purpose chain saw with both hands and getting ready for battle. I don’t really understand the mechanics, but an internal engine rapidly vibrates the blade, allowing it to slice through armored objects from tanks on down. It’s definitely my favorite weapon out of the entire Kisaragi arsenal. I take the R-Buzzsaw’s external power connector and plug it into my power armor. That lets me add the power armor’s output to the blade. It won’t last more than a minute, but this move’s allowed me to take out countless numbers of Heroes. Now I can’t lose. “Release Restraints!” With that command, an announcement echoes in my head. <Releasing power armor safety restraints. Proceed?> “Six, isn’t that the ability you used against the golem? The one that paralyzed you? Are you sure you want to use that with this many demons and two of the Elite Four surrounding us…?” Snow shouts in surprise. “Proceed.” The announcer continues in response to my answer. <With restraints disengaged, the power armor will require a three-minute cooldown period for every one minute of activity. Continue?> “Alice! Stop him! Isn’t that supposed to be your job?!” Snow is still yelling. “Yes, continue.” The announcer begins counting down at the command. <Releasing safety restraints. To cancel, please issue cancellation order at any point during the countdown. Ten…nine…> Everyone in the room is frozen in place. The air is thick with tension. “Siiiiiiiiiiix!!” Sensing her opportunity, Heine tries to lob a fireball at me, but Alice thrusts her shotgun at her and diverts the blast. <Six…five…> I glance over at Alice as the countdown nears the end. “GO GET ’EM!!” My partner throws me a thumbs-up, evidently forgetting she’s an android and grinning from ear to ear. <Restraints released. > “I’m Combat Agent Six of the Kisaragi Corporation! This world doesn’t need two evil organizations! I’m gonna end you here and now!” “Bring it on, human! I’ll rip you apart and feed you to the ogres!” Having grown tired of waiting, Gadalkand rushes forward while swinging his club. I jump forward to attack, pushing my body to the limit. “Snow! Stay back! I’m going to take these bastards out with my Finisher!” The club and the R-Buzzsaw meet mid-swing. “?!” My R-Buzzsaw slices easily through Gadalkand’s club, right down the middle, and I continue the downward swing without missing a beat. “H-hey, wait!” Letting the momentum carry my blade in an arc, I slash again at Gadalkand. He utters a frantic plea and tries to shield himself with his arm. Both his remark and his right arm are cut off by my attack. “H-hey, Six! What the hell is a Finisher?! P-pay attention to your surroundings!” Snow stammers in a panic. “G-Gadalkand?! Hey, you! Stay back! Get away from him! Hurr!!” I use the momentum of my swing to spin in place, planting my heels in a point. Using them as a fulcrum, I become an unstoppable whirlwind of death. As I spin, my blade lashes out at everything near me. “Ah……ahhhhh!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Heine lets out a high-pitched scream as she watches her companions get drawn into the whirling blade and chopped into fine paste. I’m spinning too quickly to actually keep track of who is getting caught up in the attack. “Wai— Six!…… S-stop………! Y-you’re going to kill me, too……!” Things that move, things in black. “Eeeeep!” I can’t tell who’s screaming what. I’m just mincing everything that catches my eye with my whirling sword. The cooldown process begins, and I finally stop moving. Around me lie the scattered pieces of what’s left of Gadalkand and his lackeys. “Ahhh… Wh-wha-wha-wha……what-wha-wha-wha…?” Heine sits cowering in the corner of the room, backing away in terror, her legs refusing to let her stand. “…Sniff…” Behind me, Tillis plops to the ground and starts to sob. “Good work!” Alice chirps. She had taken cover by the wall sooner than everyone else. “………” Nearby, I see Snow assuming a turtle pose. She’s covering her head with her arms, and she’s curled up into a ball. Noticing the silence that has fallen over the room, Snow peers out cautiously from her crouch, and I catch her tear-filled eyes. “…Y-you…y-y-you…you, you! Six, what were you…? I thought I was going to…! I really thought I was going to die! Look at this massacre! One wrong step and I would have joined them on the ground in several pieces!” “I did say I was gonna use my Finisher.” “…Next time, give me ten seconds’ advance notice…” Snow still looks on the verge of tears, sniffling loudly as she stands and wipes at her nose with her sleeve. She then looks over at the shell-shocked Heine. “…Now then, what do we do about her? Are you going to splatter her across the walls with that weapon of yours?” “Eeep!” Snow probably meant that as a joke, but Heine takes it seriously. She goes deathly pale and begins to tear up. It’d be a while before I could use that move anyway. My armor’s still on cooldown. Evidently, Heine’s in no state to think that deeply about the circumstances. “Well, I suppose there’s no reason to let her live…” Alice looms over Heine, meaninglessly pumping her shotgun and chambering a new shell with a loud ga-chunk. “A-ah…ahhh…!” A thought comes to mind as I watch Heine cowering, teary-eyed, in the corner of the room. “Now, Heine…” “Y-yesh?!” As I call over to her, she answers in a frightened falsetto. “…I’m willing to overlook your role in all this…” The silence lingers in the room. “…Hic… Sniffle… Waaaaaah…!” For some reason, Heine suddenly bursts into tears. “H-hey! Why are you crying?” “…S-Sir Six… Sh-she might be a demon, b-but…please…! Such a punishment is…!” “…W-well, I do feel bad for her, but we don’t have a lot of options. Heine of the Flames, I’m sorry. All you can do now is, well…make your peace…” “Okay, you two, let’s have a little chat. All I said was that I’d be willing to overlook things…” I guess my pervy day-to-day behavior caused them to fear the worst for Heine. “So, Six, does that mean you’re just going to let her go?” “Of course not.” At my immediate answer to Alice’s question, Heine’s face shifts from abject horror to crippling despair. “It’s not gonna be that bad; don’t worry so much! I haven’t even done anything, but now I feel like an asshole! At least wait until I’ve done something before you react so negatively!” “…Th-then…wh-what do you want me to do…?” Heine asks haltingly. “How about a truce? A month should be fine. Those are my terms. If you accept, I’ll let you and your underlings go home.” With that, I flash her my best roguish smile. 9 “…Was it okay to let them go with just a truce?” Snow seems dubious as we watch Heine hop on her griffin and lead the massive horde of demons away from the city. “If they actually wait a month, it’ll be plenty. I’ve got a plan… Still, we actually got through it. Oh, from now on, remember I’m Mr. Six to you lot. Make sure you thank me once a day. I mean, that’s the least you can do, given my contributions, right? Especially you, Snow. You promised I could do anything I want to you, right? You know what happens next, don’t you? Go get in the bath and make yourself all nice and squeaky clean for me.” “…Say, I should go down and thank all the soldiers on behalf of the kingdom!” “Hey, Six, when your suit cools down, we need to talk about something. I’ll be waiting downstairs.” Tillis and Alice, hearing my words, make their way out of the royal chambers. “…This is fine. I’m not lonely. It’s not like I wanted them to stay or anything. I’m used to this. Snow is plenty,” I mutter to myself as the room becomes emptier. “…Um, Six. I mean, C-Commander… I know this is going to sound awfully convenient for me, but I need to ask a favor of you…” Snow says this without her usual confidence, kicking at the floor, then bending down to pick something up. “…Well… It’s just that, as a knight, I’d like to continue riding a unicorn… I’m sure you’re well aware of the criteria for being able to ride one… I know I’m being selfish…” She cradles the object she picked up in her arms and approaches me as I remain immobilized. Is that…? Oh Lord, it’s Gadalkand’s head. “…I’m sorry, Commander. Don’t feel pressured one way or the other. This is just a request…” “What are you doing? Why’d you pick that thing up? Put it down! Don’t come any closer!” Snow knits her brow, frowning apologetically. “C-could we…well…wait a while longer before we sleep together…?” “Stop! What are you doing?! It’s not good to play with corpses, even if it’s an enemy! Stop! You’re too close! It’s creepy! Really, really creepy! Gadalkand’s head is freaking me out! I get it, I get it, I understand! We’re even! No need to worry about the promise! J-just stop! I don’t wanna kiss Gadalkand!” Hearing those words, Snow finally tosses Gadalkand’s head aside. I growl in irritation and vent my frustration at her. “Unbelievable! I figured it’d be something like this! You’re just like Astaroth! All women are the same! They use you when they need you; then when it comes time to return the favor, they cry and change the subject! Idiot! Moron! Ever since the day we met, I haven’t liked you one bit! Just leave and join the—” Something soft presses against my lips, cutting off my fiery rant. Snow’s quieted me with her own lips. Even if I wasn’t still on cooldown, I’d be too shocked to move. Snow pulls away with a blush on her cheeks. “Forgive me… This is all I can do for now…” My brain still hasn’t finished processing the sudden event, and I remain silent. “I—I don’t dislike that y-you like me… And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered by your desire to bed me… But I just don’t understand this whole love and hate thing. Even so…” Snow’s white skin flushes pink. “I don’t hate you as much as when I first met you. I’m still very inexperienced, but…I’d like to take the time to think through my feelings for you…” She looks at me with a soft, gentle smile. …………? “Wait, what the hell are you talking about? Why are you making it sound like I’m in love with you or something? Creepy!” ……… “…Huh?” “No ‘huh’ about it. How did you get it in your head that I loved you? I don’t remember ever saying anything to that effect.” Snow tries to process my words and looks at me in confusion, as though she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. “…B-but I thought you wanted to s-sleep with me…” “Well, yeah. Your face and body are definitely my type, so I just wanted a quick fling. No strings attached. Yikes, don’t make me say this out loud. I thought it was obvious. As for dating you? Give me a break; I’d never want to go out with someone like you. I mean, you’re quick to draw your sword and attack me, your ambition outweighs everything else, and you’re cheap as hell. What exactly is there to like about you? And really, you think you can get away with just a kiss…?” As the words come flying out of my mouth, I note a sudden change in Snow’s demeanor and clam up. “Haaaa……aaaaa……aaahhh……” Snow has gone from blushing like a bride to taking deep breaths while holding back tears. She looks like she’s trying really hard to contain something. It reminds me of how a toddler pauses before going into a full-blown crying fit. Snow’s hand trembles, and her armor rattles slightly as she reaches for her sword. “…Calm down, Snow. Let’s talk this over like grown-ups. Look, I can’t move right now. If you lose control and attack me, I’m going to die.” “Haaaa……aaaaa……aaahhh……” Snow appears to understand what I’m saying, doing her best to hold back the emotions that threaten to overwhelm her. Her body shakes as she fights to hold it all in. Unfortunately, for all her efforts, her hand slowly grasps at the hilt of her blade… “Hold it in just a little longer, Snow. I’m sorry; I was being way too harsh. But you know, if you kill me after making me go through all this effort, it’ll completely ruin the taste of victory. You can contain this; I know you can! Just take deep breaths and count out prime numbers.” “O-one…three…f-five…s-s-s-seven…” <Cooldown complete. Power armor reinitialized.> I take off in a mad dash toward the stairs. Snow gives chase, screaming and crying at the same time. “Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” Snow’s war cry sounds like a giant tantrum. I urge my legs to run faster as the berserker chases me through the castle. “Release Restraints! RELEASE RESTRAINTS!!” I let out a hoarse cry as I flee. “All right, I guess we’re done here.” It’s gotten quite late. Just before midnight, by the look of it. With the Demon Army gone, there’s no reason for us to stay here.
Chapter 10
28 min read