Depraved Hero's Path

"Thanks." Marianne said with a nod before walking past Zarath.

"Right." The latter muttered. 'I only did it because Master told me to assist her…'

A couple of steps away,

"Should we do something about that?" Katherine muttered.

Léa could only shrug.

"You piece of shit." Petra cursed under her breath. She was holding Gin, the former White King, by the collar.

"Don't be mad. I just-"

"You just what?!" She shouted suddenly. "You're the one who said that this could be an opportunity for us! That we wouldn't have to live the way we've been living anymore! That we would be the kings after this Apocalypse! Was all bullshit? Why did you turn into a pussy now, huh?!"

"It's not bullshit. This is still an oppotunity for all of you. You will all-"

"And you're going to die because you were too much of a pussy to let us fight."

Gin's eyes narrowed.

There was no arguing with Petra. In any case, his fate was sealed.

"Fuck you." She cursed, shoving him away with enough force to make him fall down on his ass.

Clap- Clap-

"Now, now." Rifna approached while clapping her hands. "Let's do this in a civilized way, alright?" She smiled.

Gulp-

Petra clenched her teeth.

Marianne looked away, acting bored with the situation. Truth is, she didn't want to see.

Katherine and Léa didn't either want to see it either, but they didn't look away.

Zarath didn't really have any issues with it.

'So we get to see him die.' She thought to herself. 'Wonder how she's going to kill him…'

Rifna stretched her arm forward and prepared to snap her fingers.

'That Spatial Magic of hers?' Zarath's eyes momentarily widened. 'Is she going to make him explode? Or implode? Or crush him into-'

Rifna snapped her fingers, and the losing side disappeared.

"Giving us our Rewards in front of them would have been in bad taste." Elijah sighed.

"That's right." Rifna snapped her fingers again.

"You're separating us too?"

One by one, Marianne, Katherine, Zarath, and Léa were teleported away.

From some reason, even Chief and the Corrupted Harpies were taken away.

Only Rifna and Elijah remained in the vault.

"If I didn't know better-"

"You don't know better." She interrupted, crossing her arms. "How did you find my Game? The King's Game?"

Elijah thought for a moment.

"What would have happened if the Time Limit had run out?"

"What do you think?" Rifna asked with an excited smile.

"Hm…" Elijah crossed his arms, his right hand resting on his chin. "You'd assume that running out of time would lead to a draw, however…"

"However?"

"However, there doesn't seem to be an advantage to being the White side. There's no First Move advantage here. Is White's advantage that White wins if the Time Limit runs out?"

"Hahaa, maybe♪" Rifna chuckled. "What about your Enslaved Monsters? What made you think that they could enter?"

"Well, there was no rule against leaving the vault. I registered them as my Knights and Bishop from the start. Plus, this is war, isn't it?"

"So?" Rifna tilted her head, her tail swaying from right to left.

"Kings have split their armies to fight on different fronts, or to pincer the enemy's army. I would even go as far as to say that bringing outsiders would have worked anyways, had I enrolled them in or not."

"Outsiders? What makes you think that?"

"Nothing wrong with a King bringing a foreign Army to help. An Army that belongs to an Ally. Had they the means to contact people outside, I think you would have let them."

"Yes, I would have♪"

Elijah stared for a moment.

"Had they asked you for help, you would have helped them."

Rifna's eyebrow rose at his words.

The smile she previously bore disappeared.

Rifna stepped closer.

"What makes you think that?" She asked, her tone cold and harsh.

Elijah knew how seriously Rifna took the Undying Archives Of Old's Games. How seriously she took their rules, and their fairness.

What he had just suggested seemed to highly offend her.

However, Elijah's thought process was sound.

"Well, it's not like you would have done it for free. In the first place,"

Whose guard dog?

The Apocalypse's.

Can I make you my guard dog?

For the right price.

"Kings have employed Mercenaries. I do doubt their ability to provide you with the right price though."

Rifna stepped even closer until she stood right in front of Elijah.

"I like the way you think." She muttered.

***

"Why am I here?" Marianne asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you bring me to the restroom?" Marianne turned in Rifna's direction.

"Well-"

"You…?" She frowned momentarily before realizing. "You're a clone?"

Rifna's eyelids rose ever so slightly.

"You noticed."

"Yes." Marianne muttered, a hand on her chin. "It's like… You got diluted."

"Hahahaha!" Rifna laughed. "That's a funny way of looking at it! But I'm not a clone. I simply split myself."

"Hm… So you're with everyone at once."

"That's right." Rifna nodded. "Since I need to keep an eye on every corner of the Undying Archives of Old no matter how many Participants are in at once, I kind of have to be everywhere, all at once, all the time."

"Okay…" Marianne looked around for a bit. "So? Why the restroom?"

"Why the restroom, you ask?" Rifna sighed. "Are you really going to make me say it?"

"...?"

Rifna sighed again.

"I just thought that this is where you would want to be." She answered while scratching her head.

"I don't get it." Marianne lied. "Why would I-"

"Call for me when you're ready to re-join the others. I have ears everywhere." Rifna was about to snap her fingers, but didn't. "Well, the only thing that will reach me from this area is my name, so… Make yourself at home."

"In a restroom? I really don't get what you're-"

Snap-

"Aaand she's gone." Marianne sighed.

She remained still for a bit, unmoving.

Her gaze went from the wall to the restroom mirrors… Then back to the wall.

The trembling that she had previously managed to calm down returned.

Her breathing quickly grew unstable.

"Fuck." She cursed and walked over to the restroom mirrors and the closest sink, and started washing her face.

The more water she splashed on her face, the heavier her thoughts became.

I will slash every single one of you in the throat-

Marianne clenched her teeth as she stared at her trembling hand.

"I was bluffing." She muttered. "I was bluffing… And they bought it."

Gulp.

"They bought it…"

I'm not mad enough to kill them-

I will slash every single one of you in the throat-

"I would never do something like that. I'm…" She pressed her lips together, eyes squinting shot as her clenched fists rested on the countertop. "I don't like this. I don't like…" Tears started running down Marianne's face as she remembered how it felt to cut those people in the knees, how it felt to stab the Goblins, how it felt to crush Skeleton skulls, and how it felt to struggle against one's desire to kill. "I don't like… Who I'm becoming."

A painced cry echoed throughout the restroom as Marianne let herself lean against the sink.

"I don't…"

I'm not mad enough to kill them-

I will slash every single one of you in the throat-

"Want to become that person!"

Marianne's hands massaged her face as she took a deep breath in trying to calm herself.

"I need to…" She wiped her tears and washed her face again. "I need… To see dad."

***

"Hey, hey, Succubus."

"Why did you bring me here?" Zarath asked with a frown. "Separating us makes no sense."

"Is that so?" Rifna's smile was cold as ice. "I just thought you would like to get to know this world's culture, you know?"

"Hm…?" Zarath directed her gaze towards the statue closest to her. "Greek God of Blacksmiths, Fire… Blah blah… Hephaestus. Cool. Can you send me back now?"

"Hmmmm, nahh."

"What do you mean nah? Send me back to Master."

"He's busy, lil bro."

"Ha? What do you mean busy?"

Rifna turned away and started walking-

"What do you mean busy??" Zarath shouted as she arrived by Rifna's side.

***

On the other side of the Undying Archives of Old.

Rifna had snapped her fingers, taking Elijah to the highest floor of the museum.

To the last moment, the tension was such that Elijah didn't know whether she would attack him or not.

It was risqué but, in the end, his girls had perfectly dealt with Rifna's Games. And so had he.

Rifna, seemingly angered by his mentioning the fact, had closed the distance and shoved him against the wall.

To the last moment, it wasn't clear whether she would punch him… Or kiss him.

Rifna did the latter.

Seconds later, he shoved her against the opposite wall, kissed her, and pulled down on her suit jacket, while she pulled down on his cloak.

"Is this another Game?" Elijah chuckled as she got him against the wall again.

"I'm just trying to keep the fun going♪" Rifna smiled, her hands undoing his belt as she kissed him.

***

"What is it?"

"N-Nothing."

"Seriously, what is it?"

"Nothing, I said!" Rifna shouted.

"Hm…" Katherine scratched her head. "Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"L-Like what?"

"Like you're hiding something! You're barely looking at me!"

After a couple of silent seconds, Rifna gulped and turned in Katherine's direction.

"I'm really, really, really sorry!" She shouted with a bow.

"...?"