Chapter 26 - Hope Found In Disaster

Inside a royal theater, a young woman and a young man were performing Romeo and Juliet.

The final act had reached the Capulet tomb.

Romeo hesitated, holding the poison.

"Please! Don't let me do this!"

In the shadows behind the tied-up audience, she leaned forward with her shoulders resting on the table in front of her.

Her clothes screamed cowboy.

She wore an oversized black coat, a heavy, floor-sweeping duster that billowed behind her like a storm cloud.

"Who ordered you to stop?"

The fabric was worn and matte, absorbing the light around her until she was more than a shadow moving through the darkness.

Beneath the heavy hem, she stretched out her feet, scratching the floor with a rhythmic metallic ring from her black cowboy boots.

Romeo's hands trembled around the cup.

Every word that escaped his lips trembled with fear.

"You know this is real poison."

Juliet sat up and grabbed the cup from his hand.

Fear surged through her.

If no one drank the poison, this wouldn't end.

Desperation jolted through her body, sending it into fight-or-flight mode.

"JUST DRINK IT!"

She punched Romeo in the jaw, then instantly gripped his throat.

"One of us is going to… and it WON'T BE ME!"

She rose to her feet and poured the poison into his mouth, forcing it down his throat.

Romeo pushed her back, making her fall onto her bottom.

He clutched his throat, pain twisting across his face.

Falling to his knees, he looked beyond the audience as they watched him call out the killer's name.

"Carolina."

Juliet rose to her feet.

She stared at the audience, pleading for her safety.

"Hero Carolina, please release me as per our agreement."

The sound of cowboy boots came from behind her.

Click-tap.

Click-tap.

She looked behind her and saw Carolina standing there.

Fear crept across her face as she looked at the audience again.

"But aren't you sitting right there?"

She turned back toward the other Carolina as she walked toward her.

"You… promised."

The Carolina on stage placed a Magnum .45 to Juliet's head.

The barrel felt cold.

Juliet stared into it, pleading for her life.

"Aren't you supposed to be a hero?"

The trigger was pulled, blasting a giant hole through her forehead that exited from the back.

K-BOOM!

Blood splattered over the Carolina standing on stage with the weapon in her hand.

Juliet's body folded backward, and her head slammed onto the stage, sending fear through the tied-up audience.

"What an ending!"

The Carolina sitting in the audience rose to her feet, clapping her hands dramatically.

She strutted toward the stage with tears in her eyes.

"How marvelous! Stunning performance from both of you."

She pointed her own Magnum .45 toward the Carolina on stage.

"Let's give them an encore!"

The Carolina on stage holstered her weapon, then gave a bow.

She leaned her head toward the gun.

Carolina pulled the trigger.

The shot shattered the Carolina on stage like glass, fragments bursting outward as a storm of bullets ripped into the tied-up audience.

THUD-CRACK!

Carolina twirled around as she moved back toward the stairs leading to the exit.

Each bullet found its mark.

Some folded backward while still tied to their seats.

Others folded forward with their eyes staring at the theater carpet.

"Now, who will be the next to perform for me?"

The emergency exit opened with a loud gust of wind, forcing itself into the theater.

Carolina grabbed her hat before it flew off her head.

Her hair waved backward.

As the wind settled, Shoichi entered through the emergency exit.

"Nick is acting on his own again, and this time, he brought his friends."

Carolina studied Shoichi's new royal-issued armor.

The matte black steel absorbed light rather than reflected it, giving it a shadow-like presence even in the sun.

He held his helmet in his right hand.

It had a smooth, faceless visor with a single narrow slit for the eyes.

No horns.

Just a cold, unbroken surface.

"What does that have to do with me? The kid always had mommy and daddy issues."

Shoichi sighed, then leaned against the doorframe.

"Just come on already… I know damn well how much he means to you deep down."

Carolina put her hand in her right pocket, then pulled out a cherry bubblegum lollipop.

"He always said he could handle himself, but in the end, I always saved his ass."

She unwrapped the lollipop, crumpled the wrapper in her hand, then tossed it on the ground.

"I'm not his damn sister, you know!"

Shoichi looked annoyed, as if he were talking to one of his siblings.

"Listen, after all the years we've been together, I know damn well you are not going to let him die."

Carolina put the lollipop in her mouth, her right eyebrow rising with confusion.

"Die?"

Shoichi put his hand on his forehead.

"We didn't expect Drago's little brother to bring out a familiar that belongs to Satan."

Carolina tilted her hat down, covering her eyes.

She began to walk up the stairs toward Shoichi.

"That little shit is like my twin now."

Carolina stretched her arms upward as she reached the final step.

She turned around and faced the murder scene she had created.

"You both accepted me, knowing that in my past life, I was a cold-blooded murderer."

Shoichi rolled his eyes, waving his hand toward the exit.

"Yeah. Hey, ah, just clean up the mess after you're done, alright?"

They both walked out toward their carriage.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm already on it."

As the door closed, glass formed from thin air.

Three clones of Carolina shaped themselves from the glass.

They all had the same face, but their expressions were dull, as if there was no soul within them.

They began to grab the dead bodies and drag them toward a giant black box.

"They all performed well, even the audience."

The door closed with a soft, silent sound.

Shoichi and Carolina sat inside the carriage, across from each other.

Shoichi slapped his hand against the window.

"To the slums."

Carolina groaned as those words escaped his lips.

"Why are we going back there? I don't want to have to see Sneaky's face again."

The driver cracked the reins over the horses.

They moved forward down the street, filled with clothing boutiques, old western restaurants, and old-fashioned homes.

"He found the house and threatened to run them over with his beast army."

Carolina pulled the lollipop from her mouth and burst out laughing.

"He really went that far? Why didn't you call me?"

Shoichi looked at Carolina with a stare as if he could see right through her.

"I know you're lying because you are so hell-bent on meeting your murder quota."

Carolina snapped her fingers, prompting a U.I. to show up between them.

Shoichi stared at it with a pleased expression.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier?"

Carolina crossed one leg over the other.

"It just updated after I killed Romeo and Juliet."

The U.I. showed them a picture of Luna, her age, her location, and even what she ate that morning.

"Danger level: Extreme?"

She looked past the screen, meeting Shoichi's stare.

"I've never had this type of danger level before."

Shoichi leaned into the cushion of his seat.

The driver made a turn that led to the slums.

Children ran toward the carriage, calling out to Shoichi.

"Thank you for saving our kingdom, Hero Shoichi!"

Another child shouted something that reached his heart.

"When I grow up, I want to be just like you!"

They broke out into a chant as their carriage passed by.

Shoichi waved them off with a pleasant smile.

"Children are the future, Carolina."

He rested his hand on his lap with his gaze turned to Carolina.

"Nick is our pride and joy. We both know how you get if someone bullies him."

Carolina raised the foot that was crossed over her lap.

She slammed it downward onto the floor of the carriage.

A crack spread out like a web.

"Only I get to bully him."

Shoichi rested his hand against his cheek.

"You know I just got this carriage fixed, right?"

She placed the lollipop back between her teeth.

"I'll pay you back, alright?"

Shoichi's smile faded as the cheers behind them disappeared.

"If we're late…"

Carolina leaned back into her seat, the lollipop shifting between her teeth.

"He'd better still be alive when I get there."

Carolina stared at the U.I. one last time.

Extreme flashed red like a warning sign.

She smirked.

"Good. I was getting bored."

She snapped her fingers one more time, closing the U.I. like an old television screen.

"Seems like this Luna is worth visiting."

Shoichi looked out the window as the carriage passed the checkpoint, entering the slums.

"How long has it been since we entered the slums?"

Carolina looked out the window and saw homeless citizens lying around abandoned houses.

They wore cloaks over their heads to hide the shame of their low status.

"Ever since Sneaky found the Underbelly of the slums, we've never tried to set foot there again."

Shoichi rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"You think Sneaky will be there?"

Carolina grabbed the holstered gun on her hip.

"And if he is, I'll blast a hole in the middle of his forehead!"

Shoichi and Carolina felt an unnatural earthquake.

Carolina held onto her seat.

"What the hell is happening?"

The horses stopped in place.

They neighed with fear as the ground beneath them shook.

Shoichi opened the door and saw Exe and Nick on top of their massive titans.

"Seems like the climax is about to happen."

Shoichi shouted toward the inside of the carriage.

"Do you see what is happening?! Nick is about to die!"

A glass clone of Carolina walked across the roof of a house.

The Carolina inside the carriage stepped out with her Magnum .45 in her hand.

She placed it against the side of her head.

"I'll get there faster than this carriage."

Shoichi took cover on the other side of the carriage as Carolina shot herself in the head.

Her body shattered into glass, sending stray bullets in multiple directions.

The Carolina on the roof began jumping from roof to roof, heading toward the direction of the earthquake.

"I'll be back with Nick."