The End of a New Beginning

Yuka stared at the rankings, at the gathering area. On the screen, the Villain rankings were shown.

50. Yuka NEW

759,058 Votes

Did the whole world vote? What’s this number? She looked for more information in her profile, and she was dubbed as… ‘Yuka, the traitor’ Among the many popular names was another, ‘Yuka, the backstabber’ Yuka looked through the screen in confusion. What about her gave them this impression? She looked around the area and their eyes were on her, just like yesterday. She looked at the hero rankings to see if anyone from the red team made it because none of them were in the villain list except her. Genesis was the only one in that ranking.

100. Genesis NEW

340,841 Votes

She scoffed, looking to see what nicknames they gave him. “Genesis, the hand-me-down hero.” Yuka burst out laughing, placing a hand on her mouth. His other nickname was, “Genesis, The placeholder.” She closed her eyes, trying to hold it together. Who was coming up with these names? She couldn’t even say she envied him anymore because he had a ridiculous title too. That must have been more embarrassing than being a villain. Misuki looked at the rankings, frowning while eating a burger. “Why are you on the villain list?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Yuka comforted her by stroking her hair. Youngwoo was beside them, on the next chair, as if he were part of the team.. “Why are you following me since yesterday?”

Youngwooo looked at her innocently, drinking a slurpee. “Yuka-onee-chan, since you saved me, you need to take full responsibility.”

“Who said that?” Yuka exclaimed but she had a soft heart for children so she was being more playful about it. She leaned on her chair. “Aren’t you Korean? Why are you calling me onee-chan?”

Ever since they came in here, they have been able to understand each other universally. She wasn’t sure what magic powers they used to make them understand, but she welcomed it. Youngwoo smiled, scratching his head. “Can’t I call you onee-chan?”

Yuka remained still before she resigned. “You can, you cheeky little kid.”

Youngwoo dragged his arm down in a “Yes” motion, having already won Yuka over.

“Anyway, how do you have a slurpee and a burger?” Yuka asked the real question. All she had been getting was bread and soup. Youngwoo blinked at her multiple times. He pointed towards the open food stalls, far away. “My sponsor gave me money so I bought food from the cafeteria.”

“Me too. Mine gave me money, telling me to buy anything I want.” Misuki continued to finish the food she had, licking her fingertips to remove the slight sauce. “Even these clothes.”

Yuka looked at the two kids and they were dressed like they were Victorian male dolls.

“And he also told me to stay with you if I wanted to live,” Youngwoo added. Misuki also pointed at herself, as if to say she too got the same message.

Yuka clicked her tongue but she was secretly glad their sponsors had some sense. I need to see if I can send those kids into powerful guilds and if there’s a way to stop them from joining these rounds.

“Mine is a merman! He looks really cool.” Youngwoo grinned. “What’s yours?”

“I don’t remember what’s mine… A lizard maybe?” Yuka dismissed Azrael. If he is watching her every move then she hoped he heard that.

“Mine is a beautiful Elf lady!” Misuki leaned closer to Yuka’s ears. “She said she is a princess so she had lots of money. She also did magic on me to erase people’s death from my mind.”

Yuka felt a little horrified but she had a feeling it was a coping mechanism because she, too, wished she could erase the deaths of everyone she killed. She had to knock herself out to sleep, so she can’t imagine what it would be like for these kids. Although why are they speaking like these devils are good people… we are in this trouble because of them. Yuka admired their innocence and decided to just let them have as much fun because fear and tears could easily replace these small moments. “Ask her to give you more money. Your Yuka-onee-chan here is starving because of hers.”

Misuki nodded. “I’ll ask her next time!”

While the kids ate, she observed the place. People walked in, and out, but she was targeting specific guilds, and their members that were in the ranking. She caught sight of Manami. She immediately got off her seat and jogged towards him. The two kids noticed her moving and immediately followed like a duckling following it’s mother.

“Manami!” She called out to him, and he turned towards her, cocking a brow. “Who are you?”

“I’m Yuka, your classmate from university.” Yuka politely bowed as he tilted his head, his neatly cut, straight, dark blue hair slid, framing his left side. A beauty mark under his right eye. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“Is that right?” Yuka ran a hand through her hair and tried to think of a way to approach this conversation but instead, blurted out, “I want to join your guild.”

He looked at her and then started to walk away. Yuka followed him. “Is that a yes? That’s great, how do I sign up?”

“It’s a no.” He threw her a glance, wondering why she wasn’t intimidated by his status.The fact that she even stopped him for trivial matters was an insult to him.“I don’t handle these things, go find someone else.”

“No, I want you to help me.” At her bold statement he stopped, his head staggering to look at her. “What rank are you?”

“What?”

“What rank are you?” He didn’t see her before, he was very familiar with almost all the old players. She must be one of the third wave players. It would explain her ignorance and audacity.

“50.”

“50-” He scoffed but then his face fell. “You said 50?”

“Yes.” Yuka opts out that she is 50 in the villain rankings.

From the third wave? That’s a very high rank for someone who just joined two days ago. He looked her up and down. She looks very weak but maybe it’s her ability… must be one of those rare elemental powers. I missed all round one and two from training with K for the Abyss. I need to ask Ian who are good candidates, he was so excited to have new players in. “Then follow me, I’ll show you where you can apply. We don’t accept right away, so a response back might take a while.”

“Can they apply with me?” Yuka pulled Misuki and Youngwoo next to her, smiling brightly. His face twisted. “Are you kidding me? Of course not.”

“Why not?”

“Because they are dead weights,” he simply stated.

“How do you know they are deadweights!” Yuka argued. They kind of were deadweights in round two, but they have… so much potential.

“You are new here, so you probably don’t know, but no guild will accept children. So don’t hold a grudge, because I’m not the only one who thinks like this. I only want you.” Manami informed her. Misuki hugged Yuka’s waist, and Youngwoo pouted, looking at Yuka.

“But why?” She didn’t understand. “These kids have so much potential!”

“Because, one—” He brought a finger up and raised the rest as he made his points.“—Their sponsors aren’t tied to the death contract, meaning if they die, the sponsor doesn’t die, so there is no risk for the sponsor. They also take little magic, so the sponsor has been summoning them because they hoped one of them might turn powerful. They are like the yearly sacrifice ritual they do. Two, children also have magical immaturity, which makes them more fragile and weaker than others. Three, they are easy to kill. Even back on Earth, an adult can easily overpower a child. What makes you think the laws are different here? We are not equal.”

Yuka, Misuki and Youngwoo soaked in all the information.

“You should ditch them before you get too attached. You may not have noticed it yet, but you should notice it now… They are the number one target for everyone here.” His fingers twirled around, gesturing at the arena space. “The moment you are in a round with them, everyone will choose to kill the child over someone like you or me. Do you get it now?”

“But… aren’t you a powerful guild? Can’t you protect them?” Yuka pulled them closer to her, noticing the eyes on her and them now.

“Why would we waste our time doing that? Actually, we also want to get an easy win.” Manami now eyed the children, his smile got wider and Yuka pushed them behind her, glaring at him. He smiled pleasantly. “Do you still want to join our guild?”

“Eat shit.”

Yuka pulled the children away from his sight.

He grinned, watching her back. Someone is still innocent. Let’s see how far she can protect them before she realises she is carrying a burden.

_________________________________________________________________________

The more guilds she tried to join, the more horrifying the answers started to become, as she eyed the two kids with her. It felt like there was a bullseye target on them now. Yuka sat at the table, clutching her hair in frustration. Someone slid into the seat: an incredibly thin man with hollow-like cheeks, dark hair, wearing glasses to hide his blue eyes. He placed his chin on his palms. “How about you join mine?”

“Who are you?”

“Arthur.”

The name rang a bell; she remembered reading it not that long ago. In the Villain ranking, he was No. 19.She didn’t recall which guild it was because she had skimmed through that list.“Which guild?”

“The Golden Sanctuary.”

This name… if he had told her any other name, she probably would have forgotten, but this name actually stayed in her head. No. 3, Allan, was in that guild. One of the top ten of the villain rankings.

“Why do you even want us?” Yuka didn’t accept immediately. He gave her bad vibes just by existing.

“We like to take in lost lambs who have nowhere to go, like you and the children, in our guild. To keep the vulnerable safe. That’s our mission and vision: to let everyone return to Earth.” He dramatically moved his arms around, but Yuka just sighed. Sanctuary… must be a cult. And he was speaking like one. “No, we are not interested.

It seemed like the answer didn’t satisfy him, but instead, he looked at Misuki. “Your name is Misuki Ayate, right?”

Misuki nodded but was interrupted by Yuka. “Leave.”

“You know… I remember hearing a similar name in Round One. If I recall his name, he was Hayato Ayate.” He tapped his cheeks as if he was really thinking it through. Yuka’s eyes widened, and she grabbed him by the collar. Youngwoo’s body shrank, wondering what was going on. “I said leave.”

“You know Hayato Onii-chan?”

“Yes, he is dead.”

“No, he is not dead!” Yuka interjected and wanted to summon a gun, but a warning sign popped above her head. Suddenly, everyone was looking at her and standing up. She stopped her magic usage, and the warning went away.

“Now, don’t get mad. I’ll take my leave now.” He pulled himself out of Yuka’s grip and waved goodbye to Misuki.

“No, no! Come back.” Misuki wanted to reach out to him but Yuka held her, pulling Mitsuki wanted to reach out to him, but Yuka held her, pulling her back. “He said onii-chan is dead!”

“No, it’s not him.” Yuka tried to appease her curiosity.

“He said his name!” Misuki insisted, looking at Yuka, and Yuka looked at that snake. He was walking away, but there was a huge evil glint in his eyes. If I don’t say anything, she will go to him behind my back. That’s probably what he wants, to sow discord between us. She needed to say something to throw her off. “The truth is, Hayato…is dead.”

Misuki's lips quivered and she immediately started to cry, going into a wail. “Who killed Hayato-onii-chan? Do you know?”

Yuka shifted her feet uncomfortably. She couldn’t just say it was her. If I told her it was me who shot him, she would never trust me ever again and probably will wish me dead. I don’t think she will want my protection either… I can’t admit to the truth. Ayate Misuki needed her more than anyone else.

“It was- it was- it was-” What can she say?. If I don’t give her a name, she will probably join that guy’s cult to find out the truth! What should I say, what should I say!

“HIM!” Yuka pointed randomly in any direction. Misuki and Youngwoo followed her finger. “He killed Hayato!”

Yuka followed her own finger. The person she pointed at was a red haired man with Heterochromia eyes. “He… killed Hayato.”

Yuka stared at him… he was a perfect target. He will probably die in the next round. He’s weak and if he doesn’t kill anyone, they will kill him first so nothing will happen. Everything will be fine… I hope so.

Unbeknownst to Yuka, something in Misuki changed…

_________________________________________________________________________

In the city of Rivered, the glow of the moon lights up the cobblestone streets. The chilly air of the night had people snuggle on a warm outwear, as they rushed to return home, to their warm beds.The slight music serenaded a small crowd in the town square, as people rejoiced for the new heroes summoning. Rivers flowed down the stream with a colder, more somber current, its surface glinting like polished steel. The protective barrier, casting long, stark shadows over the city. Not long after, a crack started to form on the shield, signally the end of a new beginning.