Okami's Point of View
Slight recap. After fighting the players, Wolf and the others went toward the house to rest. They rounded up all the soldiers outside the tent and monitored them for the ti being.
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"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Red," I mumbled, while slowly getting up from my make-shift bed. There's no way you could hide that painful killing intention oozing from your body."
The shadow near Ryoshi stepped backwards as soon as I caught its shape. After a few seconds, a girl's figure erged from the darkness, revealing her crimson dress and a dagger clipped in her hands.
"...."
Red stared into my eyes while aiming her blade at Ryoshi's chest. She was one step closer to her girl, but I caught her in the act. It was up to her if Red wanted to stop this madness or continue our fight.
But regardless of her decisions, I would always win this battle. I already set up a trap before she could even do that. And if Red planned on attacking Ryoshi, she would harm, instead, harm herself.
"That's just your afterimage, am I right? You're already in front of , waiting to plunge this knife into this murder," Red muttered, while staring into my eyes.
I deactivated my [wolf walk] and appeared myself before Red. She had guessed my motives right through like an old book she read twice. A smirk erged from my face as my concealnt wore off within a few seconds.
"You're an NPC, yet you sound like a real person," I remarked, while pushing her ard hand away from my sleeping friend.
"You're the number one player, yet you're stupid," replied Red.
We locked eyes for a few monts before averting our gaze. After exchanging insults with each other, Red stood up and trundled towards the exit. Fortunately for Ryoshi, he had not woken up from the noise.
"You can't kill him... Not without my permission," I said, without taking my gaze off from Red.
Red stopped walking towards the door and clenched her hands. She finally turned around and t my eyes for the second ti. But Red's eyes narrowed down, with her mouth gritting in pain. Her heart pounded blaring tunes, telling that this occurrence was not the end of our clash.
"I will continue this as long as I have the energy to do so. And there's nothing you can do to stop , Okami."
Red called by my na, which sent shivers down my spine. This girl may have plotted sothing to use my na against . But the only thing Red would place in danger was my sister, Himari. If those governnt agencies found out my na, they would storm my house and take Himari for an interrogation. Since I was still playing this Code, my body would remain unconscious until I completed this ga.
And that was what I explained to Red.
"If you tell my na to the world, the governnt would look for my sister. They would hunt her down and take her to prison," I said."
"Why?" Red asked.
"Before this death ga started, I was a player killer…. It's soone who kills people out of fun while stealing their loot. Himari and I are not that rich back on Earth... The world we live in is unfair to us, so I had to stain my hands with blood. And then, I quitted playing this ga when I finally paid off my death. But when the death ga started, I returned to this world to save Ryoshi…. I know that if I kill people inside this ga, they could die in real life. Fenrir was a player killer sought by millions and players. And now, the governnt wants dead, considering the stakes we have in this ga," I narrated, while swiping my hand upward.
I revealed my system to her and showed her my main account profile. Since Fenrir's account was always available for everyone to see, my character always beca the trending person in the search box. And when the ga started, Fenrir took the spotlight.
"Everyone expected a mad man running wild in this world. But I can't... Himari was the one who changed to beco a good man. And now that my best friend got trapped inside this ga, I finally knew the weight of our lives. That's why I want to stop this madness. Since I'm the number one player, I have this overwhelming responsibility to complete this ga, not the governnt. They wanted to kill every NPCs inside the Code, while I wanted to protect all of you."
"What's in it for you when you protect us? Why would you do this? What's your end goal?" Red bombarded with questions.
I answered all of them in a sentence. "Himari...my sister. I don't want to disappoint her. If I had this power to change things, I would use it to protect Himari. Every ti I see you, you remind of myself."
As soon as Red heard my words, she dashed behind and pointed her blade near my throat. She planned on slitting my neck like all the enemies she killed before eting .
"You're not like . I saw your life. You still have your sister, while mine's dead! This ga killed her! Players who should protect the city abandoned us! And the one that wanted to save Clentine hit her with an arrow. Now, tell , how are we the sa when we have nothing similar?"
"We have a sister that we love…. A sister we want to protect…. and soone that we can trust, unlike anyone in this world. That's my answer."
Red concluded our conversation and went straight ahead towards the outside. Her room was around upstairs. But after what had happened, that girl refused to return to her bed. With those mories haunting Red's brain, even I would refuse to sleep alone with my thoughts.
"I just hope Match would fill that hole in Red's heart," I mumbled to myself, and returned to my bed.
That was what I intended to do if it were not for soone stalking our talk.
"I'm surprised that Red did not notice you there. Co on, show yourself. You're completely obvious, you know?" I suggested, while scratching my head.
I found it dragged for to say it. So I waited for that warrior girl to show up and reveal herself to .
"As I had expected from Wolf! For a minute, I thought you never noticed . Yet, here you are, telling my concealnt was nothing but rubbish."
Snow White erged from the shadows, mimicking the moves Red did earlier. However, unlike Red, Snow White had her presence hidden like a black panther in the forest, lurking at her prey. If only I were a novice adventurer, I would have died before I could even react to Snow White's presence.
"How much have you listened?" I went straight to the point and asked.
Snow White showed a playful smile before answering my question. She was not like this when I first t her. But now that I thought about it, I knew nothing about this warrior besides being a dwarf. Since I had no intentions of learning every detail about this world, that ignorance finally ca biting my back.
"Everything. And like you've said before, I know your na. And now, I know that this world is not the world we know of. There is soone out there…. or multiple creatures controlling our lives. You're one of them, but technically not a part of those elite figures."
Snow White caught up fast when she first heard the conversation. If I placed my shoes in her position, I would have doubted everything. But Snow White had a different brain among those NPCs.
I thought she was a worthless blacksmith who could fight. But Snow White proved wrong.
"So, what's your plan? Are you going to kill too, like the rest of the soldiers? Or are you willing to place your bets on and follow my lead?"
"Honestly, after hearing that conversation, I found all those details dubious. Now that I saw your eyes, that information all ca together like a puzzle piece."
Snow White walked closer to and whispered in my ear. "Of course, I will follow you, Wolf. Among the players, if that's what you call them, we faced, you're the one who has a head. Tomorrow, we would interview all the soldiers and set them free. Like you've said, we just need their information. We don't have to kill them for no proper reason."
I gave Snow White a nod.
"And tomorrow, I would also introduce to you the boat you would all board towards Wonderland. If Red hears about the requirents to ride that bad boy, she would not feel happy about it."
Before we ended our conversation, I ca to her and asked Snow White. "Now that's all out of the way. Do you want to join my force? We have the dark elves waiting inside the forest."
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