The silence on the roof was deafening.
I looked at Seraphina. Her face was pale. She was staring at the airship with a look of dawning horror.
"He's not supposed to be here," she whispered. "Protocol 9 says Guilds cannot interfere with educational instances. He's breaking the Terms of Service."
"He owns the Terms of Service," I said bitterly. "Or hadn't you noticed? Ouroboros funds the Admin Council."
I let go of her wrist.
"Here's the situation, Inspector," I said, ticking points off on my fingers. "Viper is here for me. But he saw you enter the school. He knows an Admin Proxy is on site. Do you think he's going to let you file a report?"
Seraphina went rigid. She was smart. She did the math instantly.
"He... he can't leave witnesses," she realized. "If I report his intrusion, his Guild loses its license. He has to kill me."
"Bingo." I turned to face the airship. "He's Level 50. You're... whatever level you are, but you're debuffed and glitching. I'm Level 15. Separately, we are loot drops."
I looked back at her. The rain plastered her hair to her face, making her look less like a goddess and more like a terrified girl.
"But together?" I shrugged. "We might be an exploit."
Seraphina looked at me. Really looked at me. She saw the blood on my face, the dark hunger in my eyes, and the sheer, insane audacity of my proposal.
"You're a monster," she said softly.
"I'm a survivor," I corrected. "And right now, I'm your only tank."
A red laser dot appeared on my chest. Then another on hers. Then a dozen more, dancing across the wet gravel of the roof. Snipers from the airship.
[QUEST ALERT: SURVIVE THE PURGE.]18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KSHFLXtmf
[DIFFICULTY: HELL.]
I extended my hand toward her. Not to eat her, but to shake.
"Alliance?" I asked. "Just until we kill the snake?"
Seraphina looked at the laser dot on her chest. She looked at the golden airship descending like a hammer of god. She looked at my hand.
She took a deep breath, and her silver eyes hardened. The data streams stabilized. She wasn't the Investigator anymore. She was a player who just realized the game was rigged.
She grabbed my hand. Her grip was strong.
"If you try to eat my soul," she warned, "I will reboot your brain manually."
I grinned, and for the first time since I respawned, it wasn't a fake smile. It was the grin of a Warlord getting ready to raid.
"Deal."
I turned back to the edge of the roof. Below us, the elevator doors blasted open. Armored soldiers poured out, weapons raised.
"Get ready to glitch, Seraphina," I said, summoning the stolen energy to my fists. "Class is in session."
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.