Number 7

'Ah... a child.'

'Why did it have to be a child?'

'Gerard... are you trying to tease me? Is this your cruel joke, even though you understand my nature?'

'If I lay a finger on her... then I'll be killed.'

'But... even so...'

'I want to consume her.'

----

"I'd like to thank you all for going along with me. I do understand that you are merely following the orders of my uncle, and that you all likely have no true desire to avenge my comrades who were so mercilessly slaughtered, but even so, I implore you."

While the girl spoke in an eerily emotionless tone to the five, she bowed her head to them in a manner which didn't quite seem to fit her emotionless nature.

"Please assist me in destroying these people."

As she uttered these words, a shiver was sent down the spines of the five people she spoke to.

Despite the utter lack of emotion in her voice, there was something within her words that seemed so legitimate, so heartfelt, and so distorted that it was enough to shake even murderers and psychopaths.

A pedophile.

A zoophile.

A sadist.

A mutilator.

And a necrophile.

These were the people who surrounded this girl - all demented and unconvicted criminals whose private lives were unknown to anyone.

'Destroying these people... she means the gang that killed her subordinates, right?'

Then, suddenly, the girl flung her head up as a smile drew itself across her face.

It was so unnaturally smug that Albert felt as if his breathing had stopped the moment he witnessed it.

"Let's get going, shall we?"

----

"This excursion is merely a scouting operation. There are three particular locations that we had narrowed the Bloodhound activities to. There is no need for anyone here to put themselves in danger. I only ask one thing of you."

Despite the fact that she was a mere girl, the child with navy blue hair spoke like a leader - fearless even in the presence of suspicious people that she had never met before.

"Obtain whatever information you can."

"So we don't have to fight anyone?"

Albert was the first to speak up, clearly wishing to relieve his own fears.

"I have no intention of forcing those who cannot fight to go into combat. Such a thing would only be wasteful. If you can gain information for me without harming a soul, then I will gain much without having lost a thing."

'This girl... she can plan ahead on this level?'

It was terrifying.

Albert was experienced in politics, and often had to read other people, however he understood that it was no easy task to strategize on such a level, yet this girl seemed to do so with ease.

'I thought that she would be playing games and having fun with friends at this age, but here she is... like a General in a war... plotting and planning to defeat her enemies.'

While Albert had no children nor a wife, he understood at least that this girl was beyond abnormal.

'Is this what being raised in the mafia does to a child?'

It was enough to unsettle him.

'Is this how far we have to go to prove our strength?'

He wanted no part of it.

Alas, he was a member of this world - and thus he had been sucked into the calamity that was the human race.

----

"With that being said, if you wish to fight, then I have no qualms with you doing so. I intend for us to be paired up in groups of two. The location is a shopping mall. There are multiple entrances, so each group will take one. You are not required to actually enter the building, as this may give away your position, but at least do what you can to scout the facility from afar."

"A mall, eh? You capitalists are always attached to your fancy clothes and cars... I suppose even in this world, you can't seem to let go of them."

Ector seemed to chuckle to himself as he made this comment, though Jeremiah didn't seem to take such comments well.

"Hey hey, isn't it obvious that people would flock to where the goods are? You yourself are quite the consumer, even if you don't admit it. You condemn us for everything we do but take advantage of the very luxuries we produce. And what have you produced back in your nation except poverty?"

"Equality.", Ector responded.

"Equality in that you're all equally worthless. The both of you. I'm tired of your voices."

The red haired dutchess now spoke up, annoyance filling her expression as she silenced the two with a slick tongue.

"Will you just be quiet for a moment?"

At the next instant, both men immediately tasted the strange sensation of iron as drops of blood entered their mouths - for wrapping her arms around each of their heads, the woman pressed a dagger into each of their tongues.

"If not... then I may have to simply MAKE you shut up."

"I guess you three shouldn't be paired with one another."

However despite the deadly interaction that occurred, Isabella continued to keep her focus only on the task at hand - ignoring the internal conflict that threatened the group as a whole.

"Very well then. Ector and Jeremiah. You two will be paired together."

"Hah!? Paired with this communist!?"

"You think I want to work with this fool? Girl, do you have any idea-"

"I've made my decision. You two will work together... and your own hatred for the other will become a tool."

With a sly smile, the girl turned around, facing the three with a sinister expression as she made a proposition.

"Whichever one of you five is able to gather the most information on the enemy will be allowed to go free."

At that instant, each of the five halted in their tracks.

Their eyes widened, and their expressions soon filled with suspicion - of one another.

"You should all know well that I have the influence to convince my uncle of such a thing. If it is merely a single person... it should be simple. Therefore, I do hope that you will all try your best... to serve me."

Turning around, the girl stepped forward, her footsteps completely silent as her hair swayed behind her.

Truly - she was a person who understood human motivation well.

"Ah, and I am not just 'that girl'. That's Lady Isabella - to you fools."

----

"I'm not stupid. I understand my uncle quite well. He likes to take advantage of people in every scenario, and he views them to be in two categories - clients and slaves. However the moment this world went to shit, you all dropped from the first category to the second."

The girl had suddenly dropped the professional pretense, to the great shock of those present.

"Because you all were clients before, you must have been important people - people with lots of money and lots of power. And it doesn't take a genius to understand that when someone drops in status to such an extent that they will be dissatisfied with the situation, and wish to escape at all costs. Why then, would none of you have left at this point?"

Looking at the people with a smug grin, the girl spoke as if she understood everything about the five.

"Simply because you can't... because there is only one fate that awaits a runaway slave."

Thinning her eyes, the girl's words crushed Albert as he shrunk back in fear.

"Being made an example of."

With this, the girl's words cut deeply into the five that followed her, some angered by her tone - yet they made no moves to attack or retaliate.

"None of you wish for such a thing. You cannot afford to take such a risk, so you will obey. Yakov is not an enemy that you could ever hope to defeat, and so you will continue to listen to every order that my uncle gives you."

Looking up to the sky above, the girl continued to speak without even paying attention to the people.

"But at the end of the day, you all do not have proper motivation for this particular task. After all, if I merely told you to go and fight, you would not have been willing to put yourselves into any danger. You would have pretended as if you did your best, just scraping by to avoid the wrath of my uncle."

Then, looking back down to them with a smile, the girl's next words shook the hearts of those present.

"Which is why I've given you proper motivation."

Like a puppet master, she pulled on the strings of those more powerful than her - using every advantage to her favor.

She was a mere girl - yes.

Nothing more than a girl.

Weak, powerless, and fragile.

Yet even so, she held a weapon that none could match - influence.

And with this influence, she would wrap these men and women into her schemes.

----

"I suppose... we've been paired together for this..."

Albert walked alongside Dutchess Kristina Engel - also known as the mutilator.

Of course, he had no idea which of the three crimes she was guilty of.

'I know that Mira is the pedophile... but what about this woman? The sadist? Probably not. So she is either the necrophile or the... mutilator.'

For his own safety, Albert hoped that she was the necrophile.

'Of course, even if that were true... she might have the urge to kill me and then do as she pleases with the body...'

Regardless, the situation was bad.

"Just stay out of my way, and I won't kill you. I intend to be the one who gets free of this prison, so if you let me take the credit for everything and don't hold me back then I'll reward you accordingly."

"How exactly would you reward me?"

With a gulp, the man asked this question to the red haired woman who brandished multiple throwing knives - one in each hand, and a few more on her belt.

"By not killing you?", she answered with the raise of one eyebrow - as if such a thing was obvious.

"Oh... well, I would certainly appreciate that.", the man said timidly.

Yes, he was pathetic.

Miserably so.

"Listen up, zoophile. I can already tell what the other two men are going to do. They're likely thinking that this is their big chance. I don't know if they'll work together given how polar they are, but if they do so then I can tell you that they're going to raid the building."

"EH!?"

The group of six had separated into three different pairs at the orders of Isabella.

When they had gotten close enough to the mall, the pairs went their separate ways to circle around and approach it from different directions.

Currently, Albert and Kristina were standing atop an interstate onramp, looking down upon an enormous parking area that fronted the shopping center.

"Shh. You'll give away our position.", Kristina rebuked.

"What do you mean they're going to raid the building?", Albert whispered. "Wouldn't that just give away the fact that someone is going to attack? Rather than being useful to Isabella, wouldn't that instead hinder her?"

"Exactly. But they're soldiers by nature. They're fighters, and they won't shy away from an opportunity like this. They think that if they can take revenge for Isabella's subordinates themselves, they'll be able to easily defeat their rivals. If I had to guess, they will team up with one another until they defeat all of their opponents, and then they will attack each other."

Just by offering such a thing as freedom, Isabella had triggered an explosion.

The five clients who were once potential allies in defeating their captors now became enemies - and with the offer of freedom came the desire to use any means possible to escape.

Giving up on being the one to escape, Albert instead decided that he would do what he could to help his partner in the hopes that he wouldn't suffer her wrath.

"So... what do you plan to do?"

"Simple. I'll wait until they attack. If they die, then that will be that. We'll gather what information we can without revealing ourselves, and that should be enough to defeat Mira - who would be my only remaining enemy at that point."

Mira had paired up with Isabella, though the fact that she would have to protect the girl would almost certainly be a hindrance to her.

She would be bound by the girl's orders, and wouldn't be able to move so freely.

After all, even if she was a terrifying manipulator, she was still just a child - someone who could never hope to have any combat experience.

And if it were discovered that Mira had allowed the girl to die on her watch, death would be a light sentence.

"And if those two somehow manage to defeat... every last one?"

Asking this question, the man kept his eyes on the building below - focusing on the entrance before gazing at each window as he tried to ascertain the situation inside.

"Heh... hehehe... heh..."

However the demented chuckling of the woman next to him was enough to freeze him in his tracks.

"Ah... ah... I REALLY hope that happens..."

Looking up to meet the face of the woman, he witnessed that she was currently wiping some drool from her mouth, knife in hand.

"Because then... I'd go to slaughter them myself."

'Ah.'

At that moment, Albert realized something.

Each of the five people who had been ensnared including himself was here for a reason.

'She's got a screw loose.'

Quivering with fear as he glared at the woman, whose smile was beyond demonic, the man was unable to even respond.

'No... it's more like there aren't any screws holding us together in the first place.'

----

"That girl... she must be testing us."

Jeremiah uttered these words as he walked alongside Ector - a man who he could never get along with.

As a former soldier for the Stronvardian military, this man had a particularly strong sense of patriotism for the ideals that his nation portrayed - most particularly, survival of the fittest.

To say that Stronvardia was a capitalist nation would not exactly be correct.

Stronvardia was a nation where anything would be permitted if you had enough money, power, and connections to allow such a thing.

The existence of the four major groups - the politicians, the bureaucrats, the mafia, and the police were a testimony to this.

These were the people who had allied themselves with the factions of power, allowing themselves to rise above the others.

And as a patriot, Jeremiah had fervent dedication to this system.

It was a system that promoted lies, deceit, and unfair play.

It was imperfect, without doubt.

But even so, this was a system where the elite could stand on top, and anyone skilled enough would inevitably rise up in society. There were no bars preventing one from rising up due to their birth, and this was the greatest form of justice in his mind.

"You noticed it as well then?", Ector responded.

The two no longer seemed to be so actively fighting, instead speaking calmly to one another as they approached their destination.

"That girl wants one thing - to defeat the Bloodhounds. I may not agree with you on other things, but hear me out for a moment. Think about the other groups. The only other person who has any real combat experience beyond this past week is Kristina."

"That's correct.", Ector nodded as the two entered a parking area - one which was filled with a number of zombies.

Each of the men wielded silenced rifles, at which they immediately began firing upon the undead - though remaining cautious not to hit anything in a way that would attract attention.

"Why do you think that she put us together in the same group? I think it's obvious. We're the strongest. If we can manage to overcome our differences and team up, she wants the two of us to take this entire branch out here and now."

"I agree."

As they mowed down the undead, the two men finished clearing out the area as they pressed forward.

"So think about this. The girl said that she would free one of us - the one who made the greatest contribution. But if the two of us were to take out this entire branch on our own, and claim that we worked together and did an equal amount of work in doing so, she wouldn't be able to pinpoint which of us did more than the other.", Jeremiah noted.

Scratching his beard, Ector seemed to smile at the proposition of the man.

"With an achievement that large, allowing two of us to go free isn't too much of a request."

"Don't you think so?"

Stopping in his path, Jeremiah glared Ector directly in the eyes, holding out his hand to him.

"So why don't we team up together?"

As the man did this, Ector glared with suspicion for a moment, however after the moment had passed the orange haired man too held out his hand with a grin.

"Looks like we have a deal."

The two interlocked their hands, gripping one another with an immense amount of strength - both of the two refusing to let go.

"We'll work together to destroy our enemies.", Jeremiah declared.

"We'll join forces to slaughter those bloodhounds... in order to free ourselves from this hotel.", Ector added.

Then, with their words synched - the two spoke in unison, with a single word having changed.

"And we'll fight alongside one another..."

"Like true brothers."

"Like true comrades."

With the shake of their hands, the two stepped forward towards the hotel, grins plastering their faces as they gripped their weapons.

'And then... I will kill you as well.'

----

'Why did she pair up with me?'

Mira couldn't understand the actions of this mafia princess.

Without question, Yakov and Gerard should have informed her of the particularities of the five clients.

She likely knew everything about them, or at least as much as Gerard and Yakov knew.

Why then, would this girl have selected Mira out of all people to be alone with her?

'Is she teasing me?'

"You're probably wondering about it, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Yes, I already know who you are. No… what you are."

The statement of the girl as Mira walked alongside her through an empty apartment building confirmed her suspicions, at which she almost jumped back with wide eyes.

"If you know... then why would you-"

"I have my reasons for everything. But honestly, it's simple. I have an enemy to defeat. And this is the most efficient way to defeat such an enemy. You are the second weakest, are you not?"

"Eh? What does me being the second weakest have to do-"

"I'm also the second weakest in my own camp. Our strengths have been matched."

The two approached the windowsill as they found themselves looking down upon the mall from a nearby high rise apartment building.

They had come up here in order to scout from afar, keeping their presence to a minimum while ensuring that the enemy didn't discover their location.

Or that was what Mira had been told by Isabella.

"Take a look down there. Soon enough, the two hotheads I paired up will attack."

"What do you mean they'll attack!?", Mira shouted as she placed her hands on the windowsill, scanning the area with concern. "Won't that give away our position? Everything we worked for-"

"That was all part of my plan."

Freezing in place, the woman slowly turned her head as she gazed into the eyes of the girl - and as she did so, she saw it.

An abyss.

"What... what do you mean by that? You ordered them to attack? You... you wanted to take over this place without Yakov or his men? What if they fail!?"

"I never ordered them to do such a thing."

However the words of the girl only propelled further confusion in the woman.

"You never ordered them? Then how did you-"

"How did I know? It's simple."

Turning around, the girl's hair draped behind her as she let out a sigh.

"People are all too easy to understand."

"If you knew they were going to attack, why didn't you stop them? Or rather, how do you know they'll actually do so? If you really haven't given the order, then they might not even-"

"I told you, didn't I? This is all part of my plan. We had to fight zombies to get to this position, didn't we?"

"Hm? Well, that's true. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"They will also fight zombies when they enter that mall."

"Huh? That doesn't make any sense. If there were zombies inside the building, then the Bloodhounds would have already taken them out at this point. Surely you understand that much-"

"That would be if the bloodhounds existed."

At that moment, from somewhere under her clothes the girl slid out a knife.

"Mira... everything I've done to this point... leading you here... watching you fight while you protected me from the undead... pretending to be useless in combat... that was all a part of our calculation."

She held the weapon with care, gazing upon Mira with cold eyes that held not a single shred of remorse or regret.

Nor did they hold any form of justice.

Those eyes were filled with an apathy for what she was about to do - as if right or wrong did not exist in her mind.

'Innocence.'

This was the only thought that Mira could have as she witnessed those eyes.

'Not a childlike innocence... no... far from it... but what is innocence? It is nothing more than a lack of knowledge... between good and evil.'

For even an innocent child was capable of evil - if they were completely unaware that what they were doing was wrong in the first place.

"Earlier, you struggled to fight even against the weak creatures that are the undead. I've ascertained from the earlier fight that you have no abilities. Therefore, without question, you are an opponent that even I can defeat."

The words of the girl were mind shattering, yet even as Mira was faced with them she was unable to stop her train of thought.

'She is completely innocent... a distorted innocence covered in bloodshed... one in which even she herself does not realize her sin.'

"Therefore, I will defeat you."

'She is incorruptibly innocent.'

----