A rotten smell fills the air. Pendant stands among the crowd, her grin growing wider and wider.
I know she won't do anything — making herself an enemy of the guild that controls this city wouldn't be smart... or so I think.
"The player killer has arrived!" Pendant yells to the crowd.
Gasps ripple through the air, though they sound oddly robotic.
Behind her, a large screen flickers to life, displaying a fight. The footage glitches and shifts, much like the memory Reyna showed me.
The memory has no sound, just like the fight with Sho. The screen itself is massive, projecting the battle across the entire center of the capital.
"Is this what G2 allows?" Pendant continues, her voice sharp. "Is this what a top guild accepts?"
She raises her hand, and the fight comes into focus — clearer, sharper.
"No longer will you have to live in fear," she declares. "No longer will killers walk free without justice!"
—-------------------------------------------------
Arden's Perspective:
"------------------," I sneer, smirking. "--------------------------------------?"
She grabs at the ring, clawing at her finger, but it's no use. It's already tied to her mana. Too late now.
"-----–," I taunt, her name twisting in my mouth like a curse.
But she doesn't break. She kneels, fingers dragging through the dirt as she scribbles out a rune.
My smile falters.
"---—"
She whispers something — too soft to catch — but I know what I heard.
"--------_—--."
Then it appears — a beast of shadows, massive and unnatural. The air feels colder just being near it.
The others barely have time to scream before Grim tears through them. Flesh shreds, bones crack — blood soaks the ground faster than I can process.
"-----!" My voice cracks as I stumble back. "-------—!"
Grim's glowing eyes snap toward me.
"--... –, –, -!"
I turn to run — too slow. Claws sink into my leg, dragging me down. Pain ignites every nerve as its jaws clamp down. Something rips across my face — my right eye burns like fire, vision turning red and black.
I twist, barely able to move — and that's when I see her.
Eli stands there. She's still as stone. Her face twisted into something inhuman. Her eyes glow with a sickly light. Dark veins creep up her face. They pulsed like worms just beneath her skin.
She doesn't speak. Doesn't blink. Just watches — like she's enjoying it. Like she wants this.
---- teeth sink deeper, and my scream dies in my throat.
—-------
I stood frozen. I watch the screen as the chaos unfolds in silence. The battle repeats over and over. The sounds, the cries, the screams—they're all silent. They're all distant. None could hear the blood spilling. The bones cracking. I can only watch.
The screen is drenched in blood.Then it repeats. A grim canvas of death. The capital holds its breath in eerie stillness. The crowd stirs.None of them can comprehend what's really happening, what's really being said. The magic, the violence, the whispers—it's all beyond them.
But I remember. I remember every word, every breath that passed between us in those last moments. They were silent, but they're burned into my mind.
No one else will ever know, but I do. And I'll carry those words with me.
Pendant stands tall, her voice booming over the crowd as she delivers her speech.
"This is the top guild, and now these people can finally be brought to justice," she says with a smug grin, eyes sweeping across the crowd. "We're not just any guild. We have access to new magic, new power. You'll have the ability to upload your memories to this crystal, ensuring that no one ever forgets what's happened here. If you die your memories will be uploaded to secure vaults we have hidden"
The words feel rehearsed, like she's played this moment out in her mind a hundred times. But the crowd? They're eating it up.
"Look at you all, so eager to follow orders without even questioning why. This guild, this so-called justice that you preach—it's nothing more than a mask to hide the truth. The truth that those who hold power in this tower will always stay in control. We, the Slayers Guild, we will bring the truth to light. And with the power of Anti Magic, we will rid this world of the filth that taints it—players like Eli, like anyone who dares to challenge us. We're the new order. We're the ones who will make sure no one goes unchecked, no one goes unpunished. You all want to be free of fear? Well, here's your chance. Join us, accept the runes, and you'll be part of the future. A future where justice isn't just a word, but a weapon."
Anti Magic ?
I clench my fists, fighting to stay calm as she goes on, twisting the truth like a dagger. The crowd murmurs, a buzz of unease rippling through them. One voice rises, tentative, asking,
"What if it breaks?"
Pendant doesn't hesitate, turning her steely gaze toward the person. "Then I shall challenge any of you to break one," she snaps, a cold promise lacing her words.
There's something sinister in her expression.
She moves through the crowd. Every step is purposeful. She draws her weapon—a rapier and holds it towards me. She doesn't use it. She just holds it. A threatening reminder of the power she claims to have.
"Buy one of our runes today," she announces with an exaggerated flourish, "and everything you see will be recorded. Evil players, and guilds that allow such behavior, will finally be brought to justice."
A murmur rises from the crowd, the temptation of control pulling them in. "One rune," she continues, "costs the price of a single bronze. Cheap, isn't it? Accessible to any player. Everyone can be a part of this revolution."
I am standing off to the side.
"Don't trust her. It's a trap." But my words fall on deaf ears. The crowd is already pushing forward, eager to get their hands on the runes, ignoring Eli's warning.
They want to believe. They want to be part of something bigger, something that promises justice. And Pendant—she knows that.
She's coiling around them. She's like a serpent, ready to strike when the time is right.
I can't stay here. This isn't just about magic anymore. It's about control.
I start to slip away, unnoticed, retreating into the shadows as Pendant's voice echoes through the streets.
"Are we going to allow her to go free?" she shouts to the crowd, her eyes wild with the thrill of power. The cheers that follow make my skin crawl.
Pendant's victory is almost complete. But I know one thing: I won't let it stand. Not this time.
A voice echoes in my head, a malicious whisper. "Hate," it says. "I've always hated you. I've always hated G2, and this is just one small part of the plan to break you all."
I feel the weight of those words, but I push them aside. "Fuck you," I think, as the feeling fades away. But the anger remains, boiling under my skin.
A violent confrontation is about to erupt. I try to teleport back to floor 1. Back home.
"Anti_Magic."
Yet nothing happens. My magic flickers and dies.
"Anti Magic." Pendant laughs, a cruel edge to her voice.
"A magic I invented," she says, reveling in her triumph. "A magic to counteract powerhouses like Sho."
"Once more, I ask you," she says, her voice commanding, "Are we really going to let her go free?"
The crowd around us stirs, weapons drawn, ready for the attack. The air thickens with tension as the first sparks of violence break through—the sound of weapons drawn, the small flicker of blood spilling.
But then, another voice cuts through the crowd.
"Hate." It's the same voice in my head. "I've always hated you. I've always hated G2..." It repeats over and over. The words twisting like a knife.
The crowd chants, shouting "No!" and "No!"
The tension builds as they begin to clash, drawn weapons flashing. Some still hesitate, but others—more and more—push forward, eyes cold and focused on me. They don't see me as a person anymore. They just see me as the enemy.
A singular voice calls out, urging them not to, but it's drowned out by the cries of the crowd.
"Kill her!" some yell. "Player killer!" Others chant.
Like a badge of death I had equipped. A mark I could never remove."
I turn to Pendant, my gaze hard. She stands there, smiling, as though everything has already been decided.
My reputation is already shattered. My every move, twisted and used against me.
"I'll kill you," I shout, my voice resolute.
But her smile only grows wider, more confident, as if she's already won.
She thinks she has.