And then, there was blood.
Covered in blood and guts, a man gleefully laughed all to himself. A woman, undoubtedly, he had torn into two. As he heard her wonderful, amazing screams of pain and agony and death and—
"Riley Woods, the Enemy of the World, has defeated and killed Frank Russo."
Suddenly coming to a halt, the blood-soaked man looked up into the air. With wide eyes, his gaze was momentarily flooded with confusion, trying to understand the depths of those words. And, upon reaching the monument that was the conclusion,
"W-what…?!"
Fear. Undoubtedly, it was fear which overcame him.
…
Sitting in a coffee shop, a man hid behind his phone, sneaking glances at his next victims. However, his stalking was brought to a halt upon those frightening words.
"Hk," he instinctively let out.
Having been a Servant for over a year, he knew Frank Russo greatly. Not personally, but in his conversations with Ghira about the other Servants, he had heard many praises sung for the man.
"...What do you mean he got Frank? How is that even possible—the kid's just a suicidal mess, right? How did he beat Frank? That's not…"
Frank Russo was unmistakably the strongest. Proclaimed as such and with the ability to prove it, the killers who had a fear of guns from experience getting shot all knew to fear him greatly. For him to be defeated and killed, not just by anyone, but an explicit enemy of the Servant—it was an absurdity.
Yet, even if absurd, it had managed to become reality.
Suddenly biting his nails and tapping his feet on the ground, the Servant felt intense fear coursing through him. If Frank was killed, then he didn't stand a chance.
"Fuck, I, I…"
"Fear not. I have a plan, after all."
His calm voice appearing in the man's head, the Forgotten King quelled his fears.
…
The ambulances had arrived, and Riley hurriedly tried to help get the injured inside. Of course, once the first responders actually stopped to look at him, he was bombarded with questions, to which he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.
Ah, crud, I'm getting scared…
With so many eyes on him, he began to sweat profusely, causing him to simply shake his head. He took off running, going over and high-fiving some people who thanked him for his work before leaping into the air.
Using two of [Hanging], he wrapped the rope around his ankles and stood as if standing on air, though he was actually just levitating. He faced downwards towards the people of the amusement park, waving them all goodbye.
"See ya!"
Then, without another word, he crossed his arms and flew off into the air. Once he was certain no one could tell, he began to laugh. Laughing, chuckling, giggling until he shed tears, Riley covered his smile with his hand, almost wheezing.
I just took off standing, trying to look so cool… I hope I didn't look like an idiot.
Flying off, he went towards a safe area in the town, finding his position. He asked a stranger for a phone-call, and they were kind enough to oblige. He called his parents, let them know his location, and—
"RILEY!?!!? WHERE ARE YOU!?!"
"Ah…"
Right. I forgot. Yep, I probably should have expected this.
Their son had vanished off into the night one day—and hadn't returned in quite some time.
"Easy, um, I'm fine, mom. I'm in… oh, wow. California? Since when did I come all the way down here? Yeesh, yeesh. Aaanyways, um, I'll be back by tonight. Love you mom, can you make spaghetti and invite Nina over? I really wanna talk to her. See ya!"
Hanging up, he used Google Maps to figure out the general direction he needed to head, gratefully handed the phone back over, and waved the man goodbye. Then, he took off into the air and flew all the way home.
…
Upon opening the door, it was a wonderful world.
Or, well, some wonderful faces. —No, even that was a bit of an exaggeration.
In truth, it was a lot of yelling. A mix of sadness and anger was hurled at the teenager, forcing him to avert his eyes. Indeed, having gone missing and then proclaiming he was in an entirely different state, had worried his family and friend a great amount.
Yet, he resigned himself to it, taking the metaphorical punches to the face.
"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!?" His mother shouted tears in her eyes, and Riley awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Um… I got drunk."
It technically wasn't a lie. He had indeed gone drinking despite being underage, and promptly got shot in the streets before finally being taken all the way to a Californian amusement park.
"YOU WHAT?!"
Riley braced himself for a long night.
…
"..."
The silence was ear-splitting.
Once his parents calmed down some, they still had to attend to their daily lives in the morning. While keeping him home and watching over him was probably the right thing, Nina had built up enough trust with them to watch over him as they went to school.
He dropped off Joey, who was still sobbing due to incredibly complicated emotions, which even adults struggle with, having been thrust upon him. Riley waved Joey off, and drove with Nina to school, as she'd stayed the night.
"So, um…" Riley muttered, trying to start a conversation. This was new to Nina, who typically had that role for herself, so she eyed him suspiciously. "Like… yeah, sorry."
"Okay, but what the heck was that?" Nina asked, frustrated and crossing her arms.
"...That doesn't narrow it down a whole lot."
Last he'd seen her, he had a mental breakdown after seeing his classmates die in front of him. So, suffice to say, the current situation was tangled up and messy.
"Just… ugh! You… you were at the school, I—I, I shot him, you stabbed him repeatedly, you-you were covered in blood, and then you ran out… You went missing, Kara was found dead, and now you're here, acting like nothing happened, it just—ugh! It's so… so… ghk."
His expression dropping, Riley looked at her with wide eyes. "Huh? Kara… Kara's dead?"
"What do you think? She succeeded. I… I, your family… we all thought they just hadn't found your body yet. She died at sea."
He had no reason to believe she was not dead. In their very last interaction, he had essentially confirmed to her that her worries were real, and gave credence to suicide as an answer. And, as a result, she made her decision.
Sitting at a red light, Riley looked down, clearing the saliva building up in his throat.
"I… I see. Is there… a funeral?"
"No. The government handled it, and she was buried at a cemetery not too far from here."
Someone important to him had died, and he was not there for her when she needed it most. A horrible, throbbing pain began to crush his heart, rendering him short of breath.
"I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I swear, I am… I am so, so, so… sorry."
He begged for forgiveness. While Kara's choice was still her own, there was an undeniable factor in her actions, that being Riley himself.
She had not died as revenge, against Riley. She had died because she wanted to die. Yet, Riley failed in his duty as a human being, to support and care for his fellow man.
He had failed her, he had not done enough to help.
Nina remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
…
"Oh, he's back."
As always, there were murmurs surrounding Riley.
"But this time Kara's not with him. That piece of shit talked her into actually doing it."
This time, Riley could not call those words a lie.
As he walked down the hallway, he then felt an arm sling around his neck. "Hey. Look, we have ourselves a murderer!"
Laughing, a group of people laughed at him, the arm tightening as a boy glared at him with unmasked rage. "You think it's fun to infect people with your edgy sadness, huh? Huh?"
Letting go and shoving Riley, who was unnaturally firm, the boy clenched his fists. Riley turned towards him, looking up with trembling lips and a narrowed gaze, his glossy eyes obscured by his hair.
"I… I'm sorry. I swear, I really swear, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, if I could go back, if I could… I would tell her to hang in. I'd tell her to keep fighting, I'd tell her that everything would be okay, I'd remind her, I'd promise her, I'd guarantee her, that… that it's not so bad. Not as bad as she thinks."
Sniffling, Riley wiped his eyes, to which the group's angry smiles vanished.
He had repeated it to himself. Again and again, he thought about what he would do if he could go back. If he could repeat everything, he played that scenario over and over again in his head.
Yet, no matter how much he wished, he could not go back.
They looked down on him, their faces confused and burdened. His overwhelming sorrow was unexpected to them. It concerned them, yet it also sparked wrath in their hearts.
"So, I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry, not just to her, but…" His voice broke. "But to all of you. To those who died, to everyone who was in pain, to the families of everyone… I, I… I'm so, I… Forgive, please, please forgive me."
He earnestly wept. Not obscuring his blatant regret, his deep wishes, Riley laid his emotions bare. And yet,
"You… fucker."
Grabbing him by the collar and pulling him forwards, the boy wound his fist back and punched Riley in the nose. It was a painful blow, even to himself, which caused him further anger.
"You think you can just shed tears? You think that's enough to be forgiven? Even though you were the one who made her attempt in the first place? That's… you, Riley, you're so fucking sick it pisses me off."
Joining in, a girl-friend of Kara's shouted, her fists balled up. "Your fake crocodile tears won't fool us!! You're only crying because you want to be forgiven, isn't that right!?"
"N-no," Riley weakly muttered, looking up at her before immediately being punched once more.
"You're a fucking fake!" The boy shouted, grabbing Riley's shoulder and punching him once more, pinning him to the wall. "You're not actually sorry, you just want to be forgiven. You're sick, you're fucking sick, y'know that? If you had just died the first time around, Kara would still be here. You're the worst. Everything you do—you fake. You're not even human."
His shaking knees did not have the strength to stand. He was vastly stronger than all of these people, yet they had still managed to make him feel weak and helpless.
Riley covered his head, trying not to see anyone or anything. He did not want to see their faces, he did not want to see their anger. Their anger, which was justified in its existence but not to its extremity, was simply too terrifying to bear.
"That… that's enough."
Stepping in, Nina grabbed the boy's shoulder and tugged on him to let go. As he turned towards her, his eyes widened momentarily, letting go of Riley and stepping back.
Nina, popular for her kindness, and now celebrated as a hero of sorts, who had killed the school threat, was someone the boy deeply respected, and did not want to hurt. He looked down at her, his gaze that of confusion.
"What? Nina, that can't be… you're defending this fucking guy? He killed Kara, you know. If it wasn't for him, she'd still be here," the boy reminded her. Yet, even if he spoke what he believed to be the truth, Nina simply could not bear it.
"That's… still. I know Riley. Yet, even if I know him, I don't know everything. I… Just, please. Leave him alone for now, it'll—"
"—I killed her."
Declaring it so, Riley looked up, leaning against the wall for support. The small crowd's heads quickly turned towards him, shocked by his confession.
"I… I killed her. It was my fault. I drove her to despair, I did not believe I could ever be happy, so I told her that I didn't believe there were any other options. And… and, in the end, she followed my belief. My horrible, stupid, just… my beliefs."
"You… bastard…" the boy whispered softly under his breath, hardly able to contain his anger.
"I hurt… a lot of people. I have. I've hurt so many that it's hard to count. I've hurt my friends, my family, I've hurt everyone I've ever loved. I've hurt people who've never known me, I've done so many terrible things, I've just… I've ruined lives, I've brought grief to many, and I… I am not a good person. Truly, I am not a good person."
Keeping a firm grip on his shirt, Riley held his chest with such intensity his knuckles turned white.
"So… If you want to hate me, then that's fine. I won't tell you to stop, I won't ask for anyone to intervene, I won't hate you. Because, I understand why. And… I hate it more than anything. If I could change everything, I would. But, I don't think I can. So… so please, forgive me. If you have it in you, please forgive me. I promise, I won't… I'll do my very best to help—"
A slap. That sound rang through the air, and Riley's chin turned some.
"Shut the fuck up. Genuinely, just shut the fuck up."
"..."
The boy turned his head, putting his hands into his pocket and took a step away. "Kill yourself. At least follow through on the pact you two made, you sick fuck."
With one person's exit, the small crowd followed in tail, leaving just Riley and Nina in the hallway. His head turned downwards, Riley was utterly silent.
"Riley, don't listen—" Nina tried to plead, yet Riley softly raised his hand.
"...I know. Nina… Thank you. You've done enough. It means more than you can know. Um… I'll see you at lunch, hopefully. G-goodbye, for now. Just for now."
Riley gently smiled at her, doing the best as he could. Turning, he slowly walked away, leaving Nina alone, as her friends shuffled over to her and took her to walk around the school.
As he continued down the hallways, Riley kept his hands in his pockets, the dark thoughts returning to him.
Yet, even as he once again contemplated his death, he shook his head with weak resolve.
I can't. I still have to fight against the hopelessness of the world. I still… I have to help others. Even if I understand their words, I can't follow through with them. I still have to keep fighting.
Then, there was a voice.
"Due to Riley Woods having been able to kill Frank Russo, there shall be a new event. One month. In one month, war shall break out. Every Servant will face Riley Woods at the same time. Get as strong as possible within that month, so that the Enemy of the World will be slain."