[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" says your actions were reckless but comndable.]
"...Well, that is new."
There was no mockery in it, no hidden insult waiting to jump out. It was blunt, but it did not feel hostile.
I kept reading, a little more focused now.
[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" acknowledges your courage in facing two Apostles alone.]
[She says most incarnations would have fled.]
"At least soone has working eyes."
[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" advises you to value your life more.]
[She says dying recklessly serves no justice.]
I let out a small huff, half-amused.
"Yeah... alright, fair."
It did not feel like an insult. It felt like a warning that actually ant sothing.
[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" says she will continue to observe your journey.]
A faint smile ford on my face as I read that.
"Do that,"
After that, I filtered the chat to show only the [System] ssages, because I was honestly done dealing with constellations with god complexes. Which wasn’t wrong considering they were literal gods!
Anyways, the screen in front of cleared up instantly, and this ti only a few ssages remained, looking sexy and beautiful like a paycheck received at the end of the month.
[You have defeated the ’First Apostle’.]
[2,500 coins have been awarded.]
[You have defeated the ’Second Apostle’.]
[2,500 coins have been awarded.]
I stared at the numbers for a mont, and a slow grin spread across my face as the exhaustion in my body felt just a little more worth it.
"Now this is what I am talking about..."
I leaned back slightly, letting out a breath as I thought about it properly. I had fought two Apostles in one night, survived by a margin so thin it could be mistaken for luck, and sohow walked out of it richer.
"People risk their lives for less," I muttered, clearly satisfied.
Still, the thought lingered as I looked at the numbers again, and my expression slowly shifted into sothing more skeptical.
"Only 2,500 each though..."
That was it?
That was the grand reward for almost getting turned into a tragic backstory? I tilted my head slightly, genuinely considering if I deserved more.
"Hmm... actually..."
A small nod followed.
"They might have overpaid."
Because if I was being honest with myself, that fight had not exactly been clean or impressive. I had panicked, improvised, nearly died several tis, and at one point I was pretty sure I accepted my fate before sohow un-accepting it.
"Yeah, no... I would not pay full price either," I added with a quiet chuckle.
But the light mood did not last. Not even a little.
The next ssages appeared, and the mont my eyes landed on them, the humour drained out of like soone had flipped a switch.
[The Madness in Washington D.C. is increasing at an alarming rate!]
My smile faded.
"...Okay."
That was not great.
[The accumulated Madness has reached over fifty per cent.]
My brows furrowed as I straightened a little, the fatigue in my body montarily forgotten.
"...That is worse."
Then the final ssage appeared.
[Ti left for the descent of King in Yellow: 24 hours]
For a second, my brain simply refused to process it.
"What in the holy grandma of heaven double rolling across the road fuck?"
I leaned forward, staring at the screen like it had personally betrayed after all the effort I had just put in.
"Wait... no, that has to be wrong."
I read it again. Slowly this ti.
Twenty-four hours.
"How?"
The question slipped out quietly, but my mind was already racing ahead, trying to piece together sothing that made even a little sense.
The Four Apostles were supposed to spread madness. That was their entire role in this scenario. Each one pushed people closer to breaking in their own twisted way.
Hiding worked like a paranoid nightmare, making people feel watched, unsafe, constantly on edge like sothing was breathing down their neck. Laughing was even worse, turning people into puppets who laughed until they died, like it was so kind of sick joke.
And I had killed two of them.
Two.
"In one night," I added under my breath, because that part deserved emphasis.
So logically, the rate of madness should have dropped. It should have slowed down, maybe even bought more ti before whatever nightmare was supposed to descend actually showed up.
Instead...
It went from one week...
To one day.
"That is not just wrong. That is an insult to my efforts."
I leaned back, running a hand through my hair as the pieces refused to fit together, no matter how I arranged them.
"Did I miss sothing? Did I accidentally unlock a bad ending speedrun?"
Because the more I thought about it, the worse it sounded. What if killing them did not reduce the madness?
What if it released it?
What if everything they had been building up just got dumped all at once the mont they died? But that was stupid...
Nothing like that happened in [WOMD]. Not even once. I went still.
But there was no system ssage saying otherwise. No correction - no "just kidding."
Just a clean, cruel tir staring back at .
"I put my life on the line for this. I nearly died, fought like an idiot, and instead of stopping anything... I made it faster?"
A hollow laugh escaped , though there was nothing funny about it anymore.
"And where the hell is the so-called protagonist of this world?"
I scrolled through the ssages again, slower this ti, just to be sure I had not missed anything important.
Nothing.
No announcent and no confirmation.
No heroic achievent popping up on the screen.
"She could have at least taken down one," I muttered, irritation building with every passing second. "I am not asking her to carry the whole thing. Just... do sothing."
The silence in the store felt heavier now, pressing down on as the reality of the situation settled in properly.
Twenty-four hours.
That was all the ti left before sothing called the King in Yellow decided to descend.
This was bad.
Just then, a child-like voice entered my ears.
"I found them, big bro!"
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