ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
“Where…what day is it?” The sleeping beauty, who had caused her team great concern, slowly opened her eyes and inquired, "Where are the others?" She attempted to sit up, but a sharp pain in her abdomen forced her back down onto the makeshift bed. She gathered her resolve, saying, "Come on, I need to... we have to collect—"
"Easy, Deli," Chris interjected, his voice soothing. "Everyone is out there, trying to—"
“No! No! You don’t understand, I can’t be the reason for this loss. I can’t be…”
"We won't lose, Deli. Stay calm," Chris urged, gently shaking her. "Hans has allied with the Parvians. They're helping us reach the quota.”
“Those… sell-out proctors won’t allow us —”
"That's why Hans is keeping them occupied while our team and the Parvians hunt in the Inner Ring. I know it's risky—“
"Wait, what?" Delimira cut in. "Hans is doing what?"
"Distracting the proctors,” Chris responded like usual.
"No, no, no." Delimira's words came out in a panicked rush. "He'll end up killing them all. We need to stop him. The proctors... they're part of the Alliance, the elite. The Alliance won't take this lightly.”
“Pfft…” Cherrina chuckled at her remarks, “I know he can go beyond and all, they feigned ignorance and allowed you to get this hurt and they should get punished for it. But Hans won’t go murdering people…No he can’t, he is just a kid like us —”
“You are wrong. It's not about us losing this competition that would enrage him. He rarely gets angry, but they pushed him to surrender. He had to lower his head because of them. Hans won't accept that…”
Chris interjected, “We need to find him then. At this rate, he’ll get himself killed. As you said, they are elites of the Alliance. With enough justification they could do anything to him —”
“No, you idiots. Agh..” Delimira groaned, her face twisted in pain. She asked, "When did he leave?”
“Almost half a day —”
“Shit!” Delimira cursed, “We need to inform our deans. Glory Wars is less of our worries now. A real war might break out. What the hell that idiot…Can’t he just think before he acts?”
SOMEWHERE IN HEAT RIDDANCE
“Just what the fuck is he, haa…haa…” One of the injured Proctors gasped for breath, tears streaming down his face. They had been headed for the checkpoint after a psycho kid from Concordia picked a fight, taking out five of his comrades. They had been on the right path, but the forest was in chaos, constantly shifting. In the midst of the confusion, they had all become separated.
"Where is he? Where is he? Where the hell is he?" the Proctor shouted, scanning desperately in all directions. His rapid breathing and blurred vision were taking a toll on his already exhausted body. It was all because Hans had poisoned them with a potent hallucinogen that he helped develop in Agriland’s research centres.
"You can run, but you can't hide," Hans's voice echoed through the shifting forest, sending shivers down the Proctor's spine. He tried to hide in a crevice, but something slithered out, forcing him to continue running. "Damn it!" He cried out to the source, which was Hans. “Please stop. I'll spill everything, please spare me. I was only following orders—swoosh.” A SeedBullet penetrated the proctor’s throat, literally rendering him speechless.
Hans declared, almost disappointed, "Not interested, and I hate snitches." He appeared right before the bleeding Proctor. "Time for a recharge.” He said, extending his hand towards the man's face, he encased the injured Proctor in a cocoon of SugarDrain, sucking his remaining energy until he became lifeless.
“Hmm.. Let's see where the others are," Hans mumbled, scanning the surroundings. "Oh, would you look at this bastard?” Using a BeanStalk, he catapulted himself, shouting, "You were so close to the checkpoint, but..." He descended rapidly, delivering a powerful blow to the fleeing Proctor. He smacked his head so hard that Proctor’s face kissed the ground like a lovers meeting after a long parting.
“Let's see, VeganBind.” he invoked his restraining spell, constricting the struggling Proctor. "How about an overdose of hallucinogens?" The Proctor's perception twisted into a terrifying nightmare with each passing minute, and soon his racing heart came to a halt. "Ah, he's gone. Tsk… See this is why you shouldn’t mess with me.. han..” Hans kicked the corpse in frustration, concluding, “I should cut down on these fear-inducers; it's getting boring. Time to round up the rest." Hans patted his pendant, activating the wind gem within. "Haa... I've never flown this close to the ground before."
Hans began to levitate and gain speed, lamenting, "One, two, three... six. I managed to take down six, but these bastards are poor bastards. I almost lost everything creating that Hydra, but that money-swallowing serpent only swallowed four, tsk…” He began to whine, “My precious mana stones.” His frustration mounted, and the repercussions of his actions began to sink in. “Now, how should I weasel out of this…think, Hans think… I can’t let them live, that’s for sure.”
After a while, he forced them to regroup, keeping them at a distance from the checkpoint. His slithering vines, thick and lengthy, took on the appearance of the Hydra they had faced earlier, thanks to the potent fear-inducing effect Hans maintained by inflicting minor cuts.
“The basic instinct when scared is not fight but flight— Great Grandfather was right. That’s how everyone is made.” The Proctors forgot they could resist, but when all ten of them gathered, one found his courage and began to make threats. "Do you even know who we work for? Why do we allow the tower and association... it's all the will of Hero King Norwin. He won't let you live in peace. So let us go, and we'll forget everything." The others nodded in agreement, standing behind their fellow Proctor. But then, Hans, a demon in their eyes, appeared, silencing their pleas.
“Norwin, aye… that makes it easier. And here I was thinking, how to weasel out.” Hans muttered to himself, sending shivers down the Proctors' spines. He paused for a moment and then raised his head, sporting an innocent smile on his eerie face. "You know," he began, "I enjoy reading cliched stories, and there's a question one of the protagonists in those tales often asks B-grade villains like you: What is two plus two?"
“Four,” several of the proctors answered instinctively.
“Haa…” Hans sighed, lowering his head, his voice deepening, “See, you already know too much.” He levitated, screaming his lungs out.
~TheVeganCarnage~
And in response to his screams, something appeared right before the Proctors, emitting a chilling cry like a hungry beast. A small black pebble trembled and sprouted several spear-like tentacles, which swiftly grabbed their heads, but as if it was not enough, it started shredding their bodies.
"This thing keeps changing—“ Hans abruptly stopped speaking. "What the heck, is it glaring at me?” He was confused since the crying seed suddenly stopped and it felt like it was staring at him. The stillness continued and it broke when the crying seed dried out. “Fuck! it scared me. Now I'm fully awake…”
The day passed, and with the Proctors gone, there was no one to protect the Association and Mage Tower teams. Recalling them, Hans felt a twitch under his eye. “They're just kids... desperate to win by any means. They might not even know right from wrong. Yeah, Adults were at fault. I should just focus on gathering more hearts and forget about this. Yeah... they were just...FUCK THIS SHIT. THEY HUMILIATED ME. THEY NEED TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.”
Increasing his pace, he began searching for them. "Forget the main event. I'll end this Glory Wars right here and now — swoosh." With heightened speed, he raced toward the nearest checkpoint. Meanwhile, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the Parvian and Concordia hunting teams managed to secure some loot, although the Proctors couldn’t do much, their interference was noticeable. However, with Eugene's leadership, their count reached 88.
"You're quite skilled, Parvian," Cassady remarked, pulling another heart from a second-class shadow cat. "Thanks, princess. You're not so bad either. How far are we from the goal?”
“Only twelve more, but I don’t understand… what is stopping you from taking this bag?” She waved their team’s space pouch filled with their total loot.
“I can’t. I made a promise to your captain. It is profane to break our words. Our promises are sacred and..." he sighed, embarrassed, "Your captain took our space pouch. You know we can't submit another team's pouch, right?”
"So, if that's the case, then why did those guys," she gestured toward the tower and association, "leave ours with us? If they had taken it, we'd have had no chance of competing at all.”
"That's precisely why," Eugene explained, rinsing his hands. "There's nothing worse than clinging to false hope. You could have given your all, with your injured team members, and still not have finished this preliminary, don't you think?"
“Pretty much.” She responded.
"They wanted you to experience despair. I don't know who's employing this tactic, but their mind is twisted." Eugene stood up and added, "Let's find a place to settle down; it's not safe to wander around here at night." And as he found himself a bit isolated from the group, he quietly murmured, "COMMAND CENTRE: Open communications. Connect with Prince Hans." They had established a connection, and it was time for him to report his progress.
***
AnnouncementNEXT : HELL HATH NO FURY AS MINE (3)
ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
“Where…what day is it?” The sleeping beauty, who had caused her team great concern, slowly opened her eyes and inquired, "Where are the others?" She attempted to sit up, but a sharp pain in her abdomen forced her back down onto the makeshift bed. She gathered her resolve, saying, "Come on, I need to... we have to collect—"
"Easy, Deli," Chris interjected, his voice soothing. "Everyone is out there, trying to—"
“No! No! You don’t understand, I can’t be the reason for this loss. I can’t be…”
"We won't lose, Deli. Stay calm," Chris urged, gently shaking her. "Hans has allied with the Parvians. They're helping us reach the quota.”
“Those… sell-out proctors won’t allow us —”
"That's why Hans is keeping them occupied while our team and the Parvians hunt in the Inner Ring. I know it's risky—“
"Wait, what?" Delimira cut in. "Hans is doing what?"
"Distracting the proctors,” Chris responded like usual.
"No, no, no." Delimira's words came out in a panicked rush. "He'll end up killing them all. We need to stop him. The proctors... they're part of the Alliance, the elite. The Alliance won't take this lightly.”
“Pfft…” Cherrina chuckled at her remarks, “I know he can go beyond and all, they feigned ignorance and allowed you to get this hurt and they should get punished for it. But Hans won’t go murdering people…No he can’t, he is just a kid like us —”
“You are wrong. It's not about us losing this competition that would enrage him. He rarely gets angry, but they pushed him to surrender. He had to lower his head because of them. Hans won't accept that…”
Chris interjected, “We need to find him then. At this rate, he’ll get himself killed. As you said, they are elites of the Alliance. With enough justification they could do anything to him —”
“No, you idiots. Agh..” Delimira groaned, her face twisted in pain. She asked, "When did he leave?”
“Almost half a day —”
“Shit!” Delimira cursed, “We need to inform our deans. Glory Wars is less of our worries now. A real war might break out. What the hell that idiot…Can’t he just think before he acts?”
SOMEWHERE IN HEAT RIDDANCE
“Just what the fuck is he, haa…haa…” One of the injured Proctors gasped for breath, tears streaming down his face. They had been headed for the checkpoint after a psycho kid from Concordia picked a fight, taking out five of his comrades. They had been on the right path, but the forest was in chaos, constantly shifting. In the midst of the confusion, they had all become separated.
"Where is he? Where is he? Where the hell is he?" the Proctor shouted, scanning desperately in all directions. His rapid breathing and blurred vision were taking a toll on his already exhausted body. It was all because Hans had poisoned them with a potent hallucinogen that he helped develop in Agriland’s research centres.
"You can run, but you can't hide," Hans's voice echoed through the shifting forest, sending shivers down the Proctor's spine. He tried to hide in a crevice, but something slithered out, forcing him to continue running. "Damn it!" He cried out to the source, which was Hans. “Please stop. I'll spill everything, please spare me. I was only following orders—swoosh.” A SeedBullet penetrated the proctor’s throat, literally rendering him speechless.
Hans declared, almost disappointed, "Not interested, and I hate snitches." He appeared right before the bleeding Proctor. "Time for a recharge.” He said, extending his hand towards the man's face, he encased the injured Proctor in a cocoon of SugarDrain, sucking his remaining energy until he became lifeless.
“Hmm.. Let's see where the others are," Hans mumbled, scanning the surroundings. "Oh, would you look at this bastard?” Using a BeanStalk, he catapulted himself, shouting, "You were so close to the checkpoint, but..." He descended rapidly, delivering a powerful blow to the fleeing Proctor. He smacked his head so hard that Proctor’s face kissed the ground like a lovers meeting after a long parting.
“Let's see, VeganBind.” he invoked his restraining spell, constricting the struggling Proctor. "How about an overdose of hallucinogens?" The Proctor's perception twisted into a terrifying nightmare with each passing minute, and soon his racing heart came to a halt. "Ah, he's gone. Tsk… See this is why you shouldn’t mess with me.. han..” Hans kicked the corpse in frustration, concluding, “I should cut down on these fear-inducers; it's getting boring. Time to round up the rest." Hans patted his pendant, activating the wind gem within. "Haa... I've never flown this close to the ground before."
Hans began to levitate and gain speed, lamenting, "One, two, three... six. I managed to take down six, but these bastards are poor bastards. I almost lost everything creating that Hydra, but that money-swallowing serpent only swallowed four, tsk…” He began to whine, “My precious mana stones.” His frustration mounted, and the repercussions of his actions began to sink in. “Now, how should I weasel out of this…think, Hans think… I can’t let them live, that’s for sure.”
After a while, he forced them to regroup, keeping them at a distance from the checkpoint. His slithering vines, thick and lengthy, took on the appearance of the Hydra they had faced earlier, thanks to the potent fear-inducing effect Hans maintained by inflicting minor cuts.
“The basic instinct when scared is not fight but flight— Great Grandfather was right. That’s how everyone is made.” The Proctors forgot they could resist, but when all ten of them gathered, one found his courage and began to make threats. "Do you even know who we work for? Why do we allow the tower and association... it's all the will of Hero King Norwin. He won't let you live in peace. So let us go, and we'll forget everything." The others nodded in agreement, standing behind their fellow Proctor. But then, Hans, a demon in their eyes, appeared, silencing their pleas.
“Norwin, aye… that makes it easier. And here I was thinking, how to weasel out.” Hans muttered to himself, sending shivers down the Proctors' spines. He paused for a moment and then raised his head, sporting an innocent smile on his eerie face. "You know," he began, "I enjoy reading cliched stories, and there's a question one of the protagonists in those tales often asks B-grade villains like you: What is two plus two?"
“Four,” several of the proctors answered instinctively.
“Haa…” Hans sighed, lowering his head, his voice deepening, “See, you already know too much.” He levitated, screaming his lungs out.
~TheVeganCarnage~
And in response to his screams, something appeared right before the Proctors, emitting a chilling cry like a hungry beast. A small black pebble trembled and sprouted several spear-like tentacles, which swiftly grabbed their heads, but as if it was not enough, it started shredding their bodies.
"This thing keeps changing—“ Hans abruptly stopped speaking. "What the heck, is it glaring at me?” He was confused since the crying seed suddenly stopped and it felt like it was staring at him. The stillness continued and it broke when the crying seed dried out. “Fuck! it scared me. Now I'm fully awake…”
The day passed, and with the Proctors gone, there was no one to protect the Association and Mage Tower teams. Recalling them, Hans felt a twitch under his eye. “They're just kids... desperate to win by any means. They might not even know right from wrong. Yeah, Adults were at fault. I should just focus on gathering more hearts and forget about this. Yeah... they were just...FUCK THIS SHIT. THEY HUMILIATED ME. THEY NEED TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.”
Increasing his pace, he began searching for them. "Forget the main event. I'll end this Glory Wars right here and now — swoosh." With heightened speed, he raced toward the nearest checkpoint. Meanwhile, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the Parvian and Concordia hunting teams managed to secure some loot, although the Proctors couldn’t do much, their interference was noticeable. However, with Eugene's leadership, their count reached 88.
"You're quite skilled, Parvian," Cassady remarked, pulling another heart from a second-class shadow cat. "Thanks, princess. You're not so bad either. How far are we from the goal?”
“Only twelve more, but I don’t understand… what is stopping you from taking this bag?” She waved their team’s space pouch filled with their total loot.
“I can’t. I made a promise to your captain. It is profane to break our words. Our promises are sacred and..." he sighed, embarrassed, "Your captain took our space pouch. You know we can't submit another team's pouch, right?”
"So, if that's the case, then why did those guys," she gestured toward the tower and association, "leave ours with us? If they had taken it, we'd have had no chance of competing at all.”
"That's precisely why," Eugene explained, rinsing his hands. "There's nothing worse than clinging to false hope. You could have given your all, with your injured team members, and still not have finished this preliminary, don't you think?"
“Pretty much.” She responded.
"They wanted you to experience despair. I don't know who's employing this tactic, but their mind is twisted." Eugene stood up and added, "Let's find a place to settle down; it's not safe to wander around here at night." And as he found himself a bit isolated from the group, he quietly murmured, "COMMAND CENTRE: Open communications. Connect with Prince Hans." They had established a connection, and it was time for him to report his progress.
***
AnnouncementNEXT : HELL HATH NO FURY AS MINE (3)
