Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

The next morning, Dianna formally introduced herself to everyone, explaining her history with Cyanide and what happened in the abandoned parking garage. Doctor Finch began sobbing at the story since he had a daughter himself and could relate to how Anthrax felt as a father, and Kirika too was moved to tears.

The atmosphere was nice and calm, with everyone enjoying themselves as they chatted and made small talk, until-

BOOM!

The doors to the basement were burst open, and a man stepped through, heavy stone greatsword on his back.

"Good mornin', fellas. Your favorite dark hero of justice has arrived!"

"…"

The crew stared at Ragnar like they were seeing some sort of alien, and Kirika quickly whispered into Dianna's ear, "We don't have any connection with that guy."

"Oi, I heard that!" Ragnar declared, folding his arms in contempt. "Also… a new girl, seriously?"

He eyed Cyanide, and cocked an eyebrow. Cyanide showed no reaction, calmly sipping on his soup. He didn't even seem to be listening to the conversation, nor Ragnar's somewhat dramatic entrance.

"So, since we're allies now," he said, still attempting to making conversation despite the clearly awkward atmosphere now that he'd arrived. "What's the plan moving forward? We're fighting against this… Gamemaster, right? How do we do that?"

"In other words… you proposed we work together, without even knowing that," Luna muttered. "Who even told you about the GM's existence?"

"Oh, that was simple," Ragnar said with a chuckle. "I tried asking the assistant some things, but she told me she was not authorized to do so. That must mean she's being controlled by someone, or something—namely, the Gamemaster."

"Not bad," Cyanide complimented. "But before anything else… form an Oathsworn bond with me."

At this, Ragnar blinked. "What's that?"

"A bond that prevents two people from harming one another, either directly or indirectly," Kirika explained with a sigh. "Cyanide is a very careful person, so he forced me to form one with him as well when we first agreed to a deal in working together."

"So… in other words, I can't spar with him if I form this bond?"

"I'm assuming not, though I've never really tried…" Kirika shrugged as Ragnar gave a snort.

"Hmph. In that case, I refuse."

"… I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice," Luna said coldly, leaning against a wall nearby, arms folded beneath her ample chest. "It's either you form this bond, or we kill you right here, right now."

"…" Ragnar fell silent, contemplating his choices, though there really wasn't much to contemplate.

"But," Luna continued. "If it's just a sparring match you want, that's not impossible either. Light damage and exchanging blows is allowed by the Oathsworn bond, but attacks that will cause life-threatening injuries will be simply omitted."

"Heh," Ragnar chuckled. "You hear that, Cyanide? Just because we're working together now, doesn't mean I don't see you as my rival still. I'll still be challenging you to fights every now and then, so don't let your guard down!"

"I don't think you need to tell him of all people that…" Kirika murmured, facepalming her forehead.

Cyanide, on the other hand, simply took a sip of water, as calm as ever, and stood up from his seat.

"… Suit yourself."

In his head, he was looking forward to these challenges from Ragnar, since he was certain this man would be able to keep him entertained each and every time unlike most opponents he faced. Ragnar Creed was special—he was the first person to make Cyanide look forward to a fight like so, and actually enjoy himself in a duel.

Ragnar too was the same, of course. Whereas before, he only saw Cyanide was a simple nemesis, just another enemy to take out, he now saw him as a legitimate rival. Truth to be told, Ragnar didn't want to even kill Cyanide anymore. He wanted to just keep fighting with him over and over again, and test both his own and Cyanide's limits.

With a smirk, he held out his hand towards Cyanide.

"So. How do we do this Oathsworn thing?"

*****

Minutes later, the process was complete. Cyanide and Ragnar both checked their game system screens and found that each other's names were registered in their Companions tab, under the list of 'Oathsworns'.

Slowly, Ragnar turned to Cyanide, and a smirk rose on his face as an idea formed in his head. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, however, Luna had her entire arsenal of weapons readied and aimed at him, including (but not limited to) a flamethrower, four homing missiles, a laser beam, a minigun, a sawblade, and a sharp metal blade.

"… Don't even think about it," she said coldly. "We have things to do."

"A-Ahem… right," Ragnar agreed solemnly, clearing his throat. Then, turning to Cyanide, he whispered, "Geez, your girlfriend's scary."

At this, Dianna's ears perked up, and from a seat a short distance away, she set down the glass of water she had been about to drink.

"Oh? Is that 'girlfriend' I just heard, Cyanide?" She asked, smiling innocently at him.

"She's not," Cyanide replied truthfully. "But she is right in the fact that we have things to do. If you're so eager to fight… you'll get your chance soon enough."

"… Huh?"

Afterwards, Lust explained the whole deal with Sentinels and whatnot to Ragnar. She claimed that Ragnar's potential could mean he was also a suitable candidate to be a Sentinel's vessel, just like Cyanide. Ragnar didn't particularly care, since he normally didn't like to be possessed by others (the Pyromaniac ability was already more than enough) but after being told this was necessary to fight against the GM, he reluctantly accepted.

"We setting out today, or what?" Ragnar asked once the explanation was over. "I'm ready whenever."

"Yes—yesterday, while Cyanide and the rest were all out salvaging materials, I was able to pick up on a trace of a fellow Sentinel—Vanity. There is a forest to the west of here, originally called the Ancient Forest by the inhabitants of this world. Vanity is being held captive there—I am certain of it."

"A forest to the west of here…" Luna murmured. "Is that…"

"Yes," Silverfang cut in, trotting out of his room. "My lair… that was still near the outer edges of the forest. I know not what lies further inside, but… it will be dangerous."

As Kirika recalled the memories of what happened in that cave and told the story to Lust and Ragnar, Dianna discretely got up from her seat and headed for somewhere alone.. Cyanide, not missing this, also got up and followed after her, with Luna following him in turn.