2 week passed.
And I still couldn't find that skinny bastard.
I was practically parkouring across rooftops at this point jumping buildings so much I might as well have unlocked the entire District map if this world ran on game logic.
"Unbelievable," I groaned mid-leap. "I lose one scrawny guy and suddenly he's the fucking protagonist."
I landed on another roof and paused, hands on my knees.
"…Also," I muttered, glancing back over the District, "there was that gigantic explosion half a week ago near my District."
I frowned.
"Hope everything's fine back home."
I straightened up and kept moving
BOOM.
A massive explosion erupted in the southern part of the District, close to the Great Lake. A shockwave rippled through the air.
I stopped mid-step.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
I sighed deeply, already turning in that direction.
"Another explosion. Guess that's my cue."
When I arrived, the smell hit me first.
Blood.
So much blood.
I stood on the edge of a collapsed building, staring down at the streets below. Bodies were scattered everywhere like discarded mannequins.
"…What the hell happened here?"
I jumped down, boots splashing slightly in pooled blood.
Then I noticed something.
Purple clothes.
Chains.
Bulky frames.
"…The Middle?" I muttered.
My eye twitched.
"Who the hell killed my targets?"
I pinched my nose. The stench was absolutely foul thick, metallic, suffocating.
CLANG.
Metal struck metal somewhere nearby.
My head snapped toward the sound.
"Oh no you don't," I hissed. "Don't you dare wipe them all out."
I bolted.
The sound led me into a ruined intersection.
There, standing amidst the carnage, was a man dressed in black.
A slick, pitch-black sword was embedded in another man's chest.
The corpse slid off the blade and collapsed lifelessly onto the street.
I froze.
Something about him.
"…Roland?"
The name slipped out before I could stop myself.
The man stiffened.
Slowly, he turned toward me.
His face was obscured some kind of black mask distorted my vision, like static crawling over his features.
But his voice.
"Dante?"
Yeah.
That was him.
"…What's going on, Roland?" I asked carefully, glancing at the bodies around him.
"Why does it look like you speedran a Middle purge?"
He didn't answer.
Roland pulled his blade free with a sharp motion.
The corpse hit the ground.
Then.
He lunged.
"What the?!"
I barely raised Rebellion in time.
CLANG!
The impact rattled my arms as I skidded back.
"Roland, what the hell are you doing?!" I yelled.
He didn't respond.
Just attacked again.
Harder.
'He's strong…' I thought, teeth clenched. 'Didn't he say he was Grade 1?'
Then I noticed his gloves.
Black.
Strange.
Wrong.
My blood went cold.
"…No way."
My eyes widened.
The gloves the way his weapons shifted
The Black Silence.
Nannie's words echoed in my head.
If you ever meet a Color Fixer....run.
"Fuck," I muttered.
I tightened my grip on Rebellion.
Whether Roland was the Black Silence or not didn't matter anymore.
Underestimating him would get me killed.
Roland moved again.
His sword shifted metal warping mid-motion transforming into a massive greatsword that came crashing down in a wide arc.
I raised Rebellion with both hands.
BOOM!
The impact nearly buckled my knees.
I twisted at the last second, sliding his blade off mine, sparks spraying everywhere.
Using the momentum, I lifted Rebellion high and slammed it down toward him.
Roland stepped back just in time.
'Shit…'
My breathing grew heavier.
'This is bad.'
Every one of his attacks felt like getting hit by a freight train.
'Too heavy… too fast… TOO FUCKING HEAVY.'
My arms burned.
My legs trembled.
"This might be it…" I muttered under my breath.
Then
A voice.
Soft.
Warm.
Will it be?
It brushed against my ear like a whisper.
I flinched.
"What…?"
No time to think.
Roland was already moving again.
I set my stance and raised Rebellion.
Either
I die here
Or I die trying.