Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

Cyanide had originally been skeptical about Falcon's abilities, but she had insisted on being the one to fire the shot. She had said she didn't want her father to be murdered by anyone else. Cyanide hadn't believed she could—but because he couldn't tell her he did research of his own, he had to go along with it.

But to his surprise… she was actually able to pull the trigger, and hit her target perfectly.

Afterwards, though, when he found her again, she was sobbing in a corner on the rooftop where she sniped from. And it was then that Cyanide knew—she wasn't the same as Cyanide. Not by a large margin. She still had warm emotions. She still felt sadness, anger, frustration. The mask she put on was just sturdy enough to hide all of that.

Cyanide? He didn't wear a mask. He WAS the mask.

Whether it was subconsciously or consciously, she had cried out her entire past to Cyanide, who had been hiding behind the door at that time. When she was finally finished and the two met to clean up the job process, he refused her skills.

Not because she wasn't good enough. Definitely not that.

But because he didn't want an emotionally-burdened girl to fight on his side. What if the target next time was her mother? Her best friend? Her sibling? Her mask could hide all her feelings. But no matter how sturdy a mask was, it could not protect the heart.

Eventually, she would die from being overburdened with emotion—and Cyanide did not want such an unstable variable in his equation.

*****

"… And that is the story," Cyanide concluded, eyes never once leaving the night sky.

"Unbelievable…" Dianna murmured. "I was very close to becoming just like her, y'know. Killing my own father, that is. But that aside… how long do you plan on eavesdropping, I wonder?"

She turned her head to the tree standing a few meters away, and after several seconds, a figure walked out of its shadow.

"… So, you knew all along that I was here."

"Naturally. If you weren't, Cyanide wouldn't have agreed to tell the story," Dianna said with a smile. She was scarily observant like that.

"… Well, you've heard everything now," Cyanide said, sitting up as calmly as ever. "That is all I know about you, and your past. Think of it as… advanced payment."

Falcon frowned. "… You're not afraid I'm going to just ditch you now that I've learned what I needed to learn?"

"You're not afraid everything I said just now were lies?" Cyanide asked right back, witty as usual. But Falcon's response was as serious as a response could possibly be.

"No. I trust your words, because the person inside me does."

"Oh… how curious," Dianna remarked, folding her arms beneath her bosom. "So you cannot remember any details of your past on your own, but upon hearing about them from others, you can verify their truth? Interesting…"

"So?" Cyanide arched an eyebrow. "Are you going to leave? I won't stop you. You're more of a lone hunter anyway. Trying to tame a wild wolf doesn't do either side any good."

But unsurprisingly, Falcon's response was the exact opposite of that.

"I will stay. If what you said is true, then I owe you my skills. Even though you turned them down back then… it's not too late to pay you now."

At this, Cyanide chuckled as if having expected this, and Dianna gave a wry smile.

"However," Falcon continued, pointing at Cyanide with her finger. "This will be under one condition."

"What?"

"Tell me… my real name."

"… What good will that do? I doubt they changed your real name after wiping your memories," Cyanide said.

"It will prove if you truly know me or not."

"Just a name…?" Dianna sighed. "Sorry, but I'm afraid you underestimate this man's intelligence network. Even if he didn't truly know you, he would still know your name."

Falcon did not respond to that, and instead kept her gaze focused on Cyanide's eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment that felt like eternity, and at last, Cyanide spoke.

"… Ivy. Ivy Greene. That… is your name."

Falcon—or rather, Ivy—narrowed her yellow eyes a bit, then turned away and began heading back down into the chamber. Before she disappeared, though, she left behind one final message:

"I look forward to our cooperation, Cyanide."

As her figure disappeared, Dianna leaned back and stretched her arms, looking up at the sky together with Cyanide.

"Ah… one more competitor, huh?"

"What?"

"No-thing~"

"… Hm."

*****

The next morning, the group woke up as per usual. They ate the same thing they ate last night for breakfast, and the plan today was to do some more experience farming in the forest. There were still plenty of animals left in this rainforest, ready to be converted into EXP.

Just when they were about to leave, however… they heard the rustling of leaves, and from behind them, Kirika slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Mmn… where… am I?"

"The same place you fell unconscious," Ragnar remarked with a grin.

"Happy to see you alive and well," Dianna said with a beaming smile, then added to the side in a jealous tone, "Mostly."

"Oh, guys…" Kirika smiled at Dianna and scratched her hair. "How long was I out for…?"

"Almost a full day," Luna said, folding her arms. "But apparently, that's actually quite short."

"Indeed," the Sentinel of Envy agreed. "You are a better vessel than I initially assumed."

"Vessel… right. So… does that mean you can control me now? How does it work?" Kirika asked, puzzled.

"It's not as straightforward as that," Lust said. "But simply put, she is using your body as a means to exorcise her powers, and you possess the ability to use those powers. You still have full control over your body, but we can decide the amount of power we lend to you as Sentinels, since we know better than you your own limits. Use too much of our power, and you will be overloaded and eventually die."

"I see…" Kirika turned to the direction of the pool. "Well, if I've really been sleeping for nearly a full day… I'd better wash myself a bit. I'll be right back~!"

Watching her go, Dianna couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Cyanide arched an eyebrow at her.

"What's funny?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just… in about a couple of seconds, we'll be able to watch a good show."

And sure enough, a couple of seconds later, a loud scream could be heard from the direction of the pool.

"E-Eek! W-Why do I look completely different?! G-Guys, help! W-Wait, no, not the guys! I mean the girls! Come help me!"