Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

After cleaning up and actually taking showers, Cyanide and Dianna prepared to reluctantly slip on their old clothes since they didn't have a fresh set ready to change into right away, but when they touched their old clothes, they found that they had already been cleaned and dried off in the short time that they spent in the shower.

"… Luna," Cyanide murmured.

"She did this?" Dianna asked, arching an eyebrow curiously. "Hm… she sure works fast."

"…" Cyanide too was somewhat impressed. Now that she's gotten a physical body, she has unlocked many new abilities and powers compared to the limitations of the virtual world she was confined by before. Even cleaning and drying clothes… she was like the perfect maid anyone could ask for, in a sense. She just didn't look the part.

"By the way…" Dianna continued, sliding closer and winking at Cyanide, flicking her beautiful blond hair back. "You're pretty good at pleasuring girls. Have you had experience before?"

"… I have," Cyanide replied calmly. "Your father taught me how."

"Heh… that son of a…" Dianna began, but then ultimately decided to simply smile and refrain from insulting her own father. As much as he was scum for sleeping with other women, even if it was for missionary purposes, he was still her father. Nothing could change that, and even if she continued with that sentence, she would only be insulting her grandparents—who, by the way, she also never met.

"Well, whatever," she said after a while, hopping off the edge of the sink and zipping her jumpsuit back up tight. "That felt good, Cyanide. It won't be the last time, mkay? You'd better take responsibility for your actions~ ♥"

Flashing him a playful wink and a peace sign with her hand, Dianna headed out of the shower room. Cyanide sighed, waiting for his turn to exit so it wouldn't seem suspicious, and stared up at the ceiling.

Was what he did really right?

Sure, it improved Dianna's strength and would make her a more lethal combat power, and she seemed to enjoy doing it with him as well, but… Cyanide still had second doubts about having sex with his teacher's daughter, even if said teacher was dead now. He wondered how Anthrax would react if he saw this. Would he be mad? Sad? Or happy, perhaps?

There was no way to know.

*****

Soon, everyone had gathered back together, with Cyanide being last. When he arrived, Ragnar raised an eyebrow at him.

"Where'd you disappear to?"

"The roof," Cyanide lied in reply, not showing any change in his complexion despite the clear and blatant deception.

"Huh…" Ragnar was skeptical still and folded his arms, but he didn't question it any further. "Anyway, since we're all here now, we're heading out, right?"

Luna gave a nod. "The longer we wait, the more we are giving the Gamemaster an opportunity to fight back. Without a doubt, they already know of Lust's escape, and will be plotting to prevent us from freeing the others."

"Which means… we should be careful, and not walk around swinging that greatsword like its a toy," Kirika said, folding her arms and shooting a glance at Ragnar.

"Hey! I can be careful when I want to, alright?" Ragnar roared, and Kirika gave a laugh.

"Sure, I believe you."

As for Cyanide, he really did believe Ragnar. Without the ability to be careful when necessary, Ragnar would not have survived up until now. Although he seems like a barbarian and brute at first glance, he was a lot more than that. Cyanide was able to recognize that, and so was Luna and Dianna, judging by their silence.

Standing up, Cyanide began heading for the stairs.

"Let's go."

Ragnar, standing up as well and following after him, gave a chuckle.

"Heck yeah… can't wait to clap some mutant ass!"

Little did he know, Cyanide did already clap some mutant ass just a few minutes ago, in the shower…

*****

Having been to the forest once before already, it was easy for Cyanide, Kirika, and Luna to lead the way. Once they entered, Silverfang took over, making sure no other mutant animals hiding in the wild forest dared to step out of line.

However, even though he was here, the forest was still ominously quiet. Before, one could tell the animals were simply hiding. But now…

"… I'm not sensing any auras," Kirika muttered. "This shouldn't be possible…"

"The air in this place… it's dirty," Silverfang growled.

Ragnar frowned. "Dirty? What's that supposed to mean?" He sniffed the air. "I don't smell shit."

"That's the problem," Luna muttered. "A forest like this should be teeming with life—the smell of plants, animals, nature. And yet… we can't smell anything. It's as if all the life in this forest had gone away."

"… Can't smell anything?" Dianna snickered darkly. "That's not fully accurate. Cyanide… you smell it too, right? The smell…"

"… Of death," Cyanide finished, carrying on walking as if nothing was wrong. "In the short time between our last visit here and now, something big happened in this forest."

"… But what could wipe out an entire forest's worth of life in such a short time, without making a big enough impact to alert the forest's surroundings…?" Kirika murmured in thought.

"Cheh… I don't like this," Ragnar muttered, keeping a keen gaze on their surroundings.

Before, the forest was filled with beautiful green trees and rich brown soil. Insects, both crawling and flying, were everywhere, and the sounds of life could be heard despite them all being mutants. Now, however, although the trees' leaves were still green, they were no longer the same bright hue as before.

They were dying.

It was difficult to tell on the surface, but if one looked closely, they could see some leaves were turning purple, just like everything in the Corrupted Zone of the city.

The virus… the sentient virus… it came here, for whatever reason, and further poisoned the already mutant-fied life beings.

"…" Lust was silent the whole way through as they walked, and Cyanide, Luna, and Dianna did not miss this tiny detail.