Number 7

At the moment I saw that man, I knew immediately.

He was a monster.

I fell backwards, taking a dive off that interchange in the hopes that he would ignore me - assuming I had died in the fall.

However, how could I have ever thought that I could deceive a monster?

The only person I ended up deceiving was myself.

----

With skills that almost resembled an acrobat or a gymnast, Kristina rolled to the ground without a scratch.

Despite the fact that she had fallen from a great height, she didn't appear to be harmed in the least - and instead was more focused than ever as she quickly turned to face a zombie at her side.

'I need you.'

With motions as quick as ever, she gripped the blades at her side as she sliced the head of the creature off before it could even groan in pain - at which she began to butcher the creature with haste.

Blood and guts flew, and the woman sliced and diced with a fierce determination in her expression - one that was driven by terror.

'I need to hurry before he comes this way.'

The woman diced up the body in an unimaginable fashion as the creature was turned into a paste of chunks and blood.

'Now then...'

Then, falling backwards into the paste, the woman lathered herself in it as she took a perfectly still expression.

The blood and guts she laid in would appear as if it was her own, her body having been crushed from the fall at the locations of impact.

'I have to remain perfectly still.'

And with an expression of shock, the woman stopped even her own breathing.

Her pupils dilated, and she began to play dead in a manner which was far too realistic for one to merely chalk it off as acting skill.

'Or that thing will notice me.'

"It's quite unfortunate for you."

However, her facade was interrupted by the landing sound of a man who had jumped off as well, his legs exploding into chunks of flesh on impact as he landed.

The man fell forward to the ground, unable to even stand, yet he still spoke with pride in his tone as his legs regenerated quickly.

"If perhaps I were someone who was unskilled with liars, then I would never have seen through your facade. It's perfect. Your breathing has stopped, your expression is dull - and you truly appear as if you've DIED."

Standing up on his newly grown legs, the businessman dusted himself off as he walked over to the red haired woman, looking down on her with a casual smile.

"However, unfortunately for you... I have more experience with the concept of death than you will ever have in your single life."

Crouching down, the man faced the woman as he investigated her up close - to which she didn't even flinch.

"Therefore... I can say with certainty - that you have not died."

At that instant, the man felt a throbbing pain in his throat as the woman's hand thrusted forward - shoving a knife right into his neck.

"Blergh!"

The man threw up a volley of blood, which joined the pool that the woman laid in, however even so he grabbed the hand which held the knife lodged within his neck.

He did not speak, for his throat at this time was in shambles, however his eyes said everything they needed as he gripped the hand of the woman with an unshakable pressure.

'You cannot kill me.'

This was what the man said with his expression, which bore into the woman.

Then, ripping the knife from the hand of the woman, the man thrust it out of his own throat as he threw it aside.

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?"

With these gargling words from the man, whose throat was in the process of regenerating, the woman could do nothing more than open her mouth in shock, unable to comprehend this statement.

However in that next instant, she smiled.

A deep, horrendous smile, filled with all the bloodlust she could muster as she sat up without any further attempt to hide the fact that she was alive.

"Yes."

Then, grabbing the other knife from her side, the woman prepared herself as she resolved to fight even the monster in front of her.

"I'm enjoying this... greatly."

----

The man before Kristina appeared to be annoyed.

He looked towards her, dark bags underneath his eyes as they filled with a sense of disappointment.

Why did he look so disappointed?

It was not disappointment in how weak she was. Something as barbaric and simple as that couldn't possibly hope to describe the complex expression he held.

"Do you even understand what you're doing?"

"Better than you ever could."

With these words, the woman lunged forward at the man, knife in hand as she sliced and diced with crazed movements that not even a skilled combatist would be able to predict.

She sliced apart the man's clothes, his coat filling with cuts which blood sprayed out of as he dodged - though even while he dodged he didn't appear to avoid major injuries.

He was sliced time and time again by the woman, who didn't cease her attacks as she laid her weapon into him, creating one wound after another.

The man seemed to grit his teeth with each laceration, bearing the wounds as he continued to dodge yet not once did he lash out in anger.

Yet even so - his disappointment increased.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why!? Why what!?", the woman shouted as the man caught her knife - the blade impaled within the palm of his hand.

"Why do you continue living in such a manner? What is your purpose in existing?"

"Huh?"

Grabbing her fist as he once more tightened his grip, the woman pulled back - or attempted to - yet she found herself unable to do so.

For his strength far exceeded that of a human.

"Is there any point in asking such a question?"

The woman looked down, fear evident in her expression as the man felt the quivering vibrations resound through the woman's body while he kept hold of her.

"I just want to..."

"You just want to destroy?"

Crack!

Suddenly, the man squeezed the hand of the woman with immense pressure as she let out a scream of pain.

"AGH!"

Falling to the ground in torment, the woman looked up with tears in her eyes - her fingers having been broken as she shouted.

"L-let go!!"

"And what will you do if I do that? Will you attack me again? Or perhaps you'll run back to the one you serve."

Suddenly, the woman felt a hand around her throat as she was lifted from the ground.

"N-no... wait..."

"Wait? Stop? You tell me to do such things, but if I had asked the same of you moments before as you wounded me with a smile on your face - then you would not have so much as considered such a thing."

Bringing the woman close to his face, the two were merely an inch apart as the man gazed into her eyes without a shred of compassion.

"Am I wrong?"

As she looked into the cold, heartless eyes of the man, a certain memory was evoked within the woman.

One which she had spent her entire life trying to isolate - masking her own personality as she had fallen into a deep obsession which she was never able to overcome.

Yet at this moment, the woman's regressed cowardice exploded as tears fell from her eyes.

"Please... please... stop....", she choked.

"If I were allowed to stop... then perhaps I would have already done so."

Slowly, the hand of the man wrapped around the woman as the flesh became like liquid, enveloping her completely in a red layer.

"However, the thing within me will not accept such a thing."

Then, the man smiled.

And at that moment, the woman felt something - an emotion which the man had not displayed before for even a second.

Compassion.

"However... that doesn't mean I am completely powerless to do as I please."

In that instant, a spike of flesh shot through her head - her vision and memories becoming hazy as everything faded.

"At the very least... I can grant you a quick death... and even he will not have any issue with such a thing."

Dropping the body to the ground, the woman's eyes remained open - a gaping hole in her head from which blood gushed forth.

"Consider this... the final piece of mercy that you have been given. For even if you were someone who took pleasure in the rending of human flesh - that is only because it was who you were raised to become."

Turning around, the man carried a serious expression - neither happy nor saddened as he walked off without looking back.

"I will keep your memory within my heart... Kristina Engel."

----

When he had wrapped the woman with his flesh, he had become one with her mind.

'I've found another way to use redefine, Seven.'

In that single instant, memories flooded the mind of Marcus - and he knew everything there was to know about the woman he had faced as his opponent.

'And as guilty as that woman was... I deem her to be not guilty.'

[So you've become a judge?]

'How else could you interpret such an ability?'

[It isn't polite to peek on people's hearts like that, Marcus. What if she didn't want you to read all her secrets like you just did?]

'What if she didn't want me to kill her? Would you have allowed such a thing?'

[No.]

'Then any further discussion is pointless.'

Marcus could feel himself changing.

His heart was hardening in response to the absurd requests that Seven gave him, and he felt himself lose emotion even as he took a life.

But even so, he retained one bit of his humanity.

'I will not forget who she was... no matter how many times you may try to distract me.'

[Good.]

However the response that Marcus received from his parasite was contrary to his own expectations.

[I don't want you to forget, Marcus.]

The being spoke inside his mind, at which Marcus stopped, though his expression showed no sign of surprise.

[I want you to remember... everything.]

'Then we have something in common.'

And with a slight grin, the man's darkened eyes looked to the sky.

'I want you to remember everything as well.'

----

[Many years before]

The front door to an enormous mansion quietly closed, a red haired child sneaking through it as her eyes shifted around her - trying to ensure that nobody saw her.

This girl was wearing the expensive clothes of a noble, however they had been dirtied with mud and her face was also lathered with the filth.

Sneaking towards the grand stairway, the girl made her way up before a voice called out to her.

"Kristina."

As soon as this male voice spoke up, the girl seemed to halt in shock, fearfully remaining still.

"Y... yes?"

"You were out again with those peasants, were you not?"

From a corner, a nobleman with slicked back hair emerged, crossing his arms with disappointment as his gaze pierced the back of the girl.

"N- no-"

"Lying isn't befitting of an elite. But even more unbefitting is the fact that you associate yourself with peasants - and not even peasants who have worth as retainers, but rather those who wouldn't even have any value as pawns."

With a heavy tone, the man approached the girl as he grabbed her chin, forcing her to turn around and face him.

"B- but... they're my friends... I..."

"We don't befriend those who are below us. We RULE OVER them."

Looking down upon the girl with a grim expression, the man had no intention to yield on his own perspective, instilling his words into the girl.

"You fail to understand just how disturbing people can be. You fail to understand just what will become of those people who live on the streets all their lives. To them, we are nothing more than objects of jealousy - and we must defend ourselves from their barbarian impulses to shake us from our footing. You may not realize it now... but people like that are the very reason people like us exist in the first place."

Wiping the dirt from the face of the girl, the man looked upon her as if she were a precious object - the likes of which should never become dirtied in such a manner.

"We are the sole glimmer of hope for humanity - the only existences who have risen above our base desires with elegance and pride. Were it not for the elites, the world would descend into a mosh pit of madness, where the physically powerful prey on the weak without restraint. It is through the law and order that we establish that such a world has been prevented. Therefore... if you must associate with such people... you must not do it as a friend."

Placing his hand to her chin once more, the man smiled slightly as he spoke with a firm gentleness.

"You must do it as a ruler."

"I... I will rule them then!"

And in response to his words, the girl made her proclamation, twiddling her thumbs nervously as she spoke.

"If that is what it takes for me to associate with them... then I will become... the one who is in control of them."

"Good."

Placing his hand on the head of the girl, the man smiled with an unshakable pride.

"If you are able to control the masses... then you will be able to use them to protect yourself from those who you cannot control."

----

Kristina Engel was raised to be an elite.

As the only daughter of the prestigious Engel family in the Forgestarian Empire, she was someone of high regard - a person who would one day inherit a large estate and rise to the rank of Dutchess.

She was destined to become a ruler over the masses, and as such she would have to understand how to control them.

Her father taught her many lessons in order to achieve this, and from a young age she was trained to throw away her own emotions or any notions of friendship.

People were to be used as pawns. If they could not be used as pawns, then they were instead enemies to be eliminated.

These were the things that were instilled into the mind of the girl, however at the end of the day - she was nothing more than a child.

She could never truly see things the same way her father did. After all, with the innocent mind of a child, the difference between a friend and a pawn became blurry.

What was a pawn?

Someone who would do as she told?

Someone who she could control?

But would a friend not do the same thing?

If she had asked a friend to do something for her, and they refused, could she call that person a friend?

No. She could not.

But the same went for a pawn, didn't it?

If a pawn didn't do as they were asked, then they were no pawn. They were someone independant of control.

'After all... asking for someone to do something just because you're their friend... isn't that the ultimate form of control?'

----

"Hahaha! Stop it! Hey, throw it over here!"

The words which Kristina had spoken to her father on that day - that she would control the peasants - had obtained her the right to return to the streets once again.

"I'm gonna kick it as far as I can, and whoever can get it first wins! Are you guys ready!?"

"YEAH!!!"

Surrounded by children who were clearly living off the streets, a single diamond shined in that mound of coal.

"Alright... I'm going to kick it! Three! Two! One!"

However, Kristina never figured it out.

She never understood what the difference between a friend and a pawn was, so eventually she gave up on such things.

She returned to playing with her friends - or her pawns, whichever word she was told to use - as if everything was back to normal.

"GO!"

Not for a moment did she think of any dark things like using these people to advance herself. Right now, she was doing nothing more than having fun.

However perhaps that too was using them for her own pleasure.

But she did not know - for she was merely a child who was incapable of understanding such things.

The ball flew into the air, soaring down an alleyway as it bounced off a wall and shot down another corner.

"Ehh... that's so far, Nikolas!"

"Go get it, everyone! Whoever does is the winner!"

"What does the winner get!?"

"I know! Kristina will buy them lunch! She's rich, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Ehh? Why do I have to do that? What if I win!?"

The children happily raced down the alleyway as they discussed such conditions with giggles and laughter, casually playing together without a care in the world.

"Then... we'll all pitch in to buy you lunch!"

"But I don't need something like that! I can buy myself lunch anytime I want!"

"EH!? Hmm... this is too hard! We'll think of something later - IF you win!"

With these words, the children all turned the corner, heading into a particular alleyway - however as they turned the corner they all stopped.

"Eh?"

"Where did the ball go?"

"Is it in one of the dumpsters? Let's search for it!"

"Alright!"

Immediately, all of the children began rustling through crates and ravaging through the dumpsters, all of them smiling as they desperately attempted to be the one to find the ball.

Of course - Kristina was no exception.

Despite her expensive clothes and well kept hair, she joined the children in their antics, pretending as if she were one of them as she played along.

'Should I really be playing like I'm one of them?'

But at the end of the day, the teachings of her father continued to pester her.

Her father was always irritated when she lowered herself to the same level as these peasants, saying that it was unbecoming of a noble.

Of course, deep in her heart, Kristina understood that he was right - but even so, things were so boring otherwise.

When she played like this, life was fun. It was enjoyable. She never had to worry about losing any of these friends, since her money would always keep them around. They would always want to play with her if she gave them some charity every once in a while, and they would even treat her like a princess if she asked them to.

Of course, she didn't ask them to do that. She wanted to be just like them.

'Sometimes... I wish that I wasn't born an elite.'

Jumping into a dumpster as well, the girl made sure to dirty herself as she joined in with a smile.

"Don't have all the fun yourselves!", she shouted.

"Haha!"

"I'm going to find it first!"

'But... I am an elite.'

'So when the fun is over... I'll have to control them.'

'We'll grow up and become adults... and these people will serve me.'

'But... maybe I can help them.'

'If I become someone powerful, then maybe I'll be able to raise these people up to become more important than their parents.'

'Father... I will gather my pawns.'

'But I will not abandon them, or throw them away.'

'I will build them to become people... worthy of serving me.'

With these thoughts, the girl had made a decision.

"I found it!"

One of the boys who was searching behind a set of crates held up the ball with a triumphant smile.

"Kristina, you'll buy me lunch, right? I want one of those sausages! The really long ones on a stick!"

"Those? Aren't those really cheap? Are you sure you want something as simple as that?", Kristina asked as she exited from the dumpster she was diving in.

"They may be cheap for you, but I don't have any money at all! I can't even dream of getting one of those!"

With a shrug, the girl nodded.

"Alright. I'll buy you one."

"Yes!"

With these words, the group gathered as they prepared to head to the market district, however as soon as they turned a corner a couple of men were standing there.

"So you were right... there really was a diamond in the filth."

With a delighted smile, the eyes of the men focused on Kristina, at which she felt an unsettling fear.

'What are they looking at?'

'Why are they looking at me like that?'

The other children seemed to have frozen in place, looking up to the men with fear as the men walked in between them, approaching the girl.

"Girl. I'm sorry to interrupt your playtime, but you're going to have to come with us for a bit. This is some official business regarding your family, so I'm sure you'll oblige."

Fear shot through Kristina as the men stood above her, however it was then that she realized something.

"To them, we are nothing more than objects of jealousy - and we must defend ourselves."

The words of her father replayed in her mind, at which the girl stiffened herself as she responded with confidence.

"I have no reason to go with you people."

As soon as she said these words, the mood shifted immediately, and the expressions of the men changed from polite to irritated in that instant.

"I see. So after all, we're going to have to do this the hard way."

At that moment, the man pulled a rope out of his coat as another rushed forward to grab the girl.

"H-hey!! What are you doing!?"

The man grabbed hold of Kristina, lifting her as the other began to bind her with a gag, tying her hands and restraining her kicking feet in the process.

As he did this, all of the remaining children ran.

"Agh!!"

"They're crazy!!"

"Help!!!"

They all darted off, scurrying away as quickly as it happened, at which Kristina shouted out while kicking.

"HEY!!!! Come back here and protect me from these people!!!!"

With this shout, all of the children who were running off stopped in their tracks - frozen stiff as the men managed to get the gag on the girl.

"MMMPH!!!! MMMPH!!!"

The children all gazed back, watching with horror as she was tied up and contained, too terrified to do anything else than watch.

"If you are able to control the masses... then you will be able to use them to protect yourself from those who you cannot control."

As she met eyes with each of the children who didn't move a muscle to help her, Kristina realized something.

She had no control over these people.

'Ah... I figured it out.'

'The difference between a friend and a pawn.'

'With a friend... you can't force them to do anything you want.'

'If the risk is too high, they will abandon you - no matter what promises they may have given you before.'

'But a pawn... a pawn is someone that you have absolute domain over - who will obey any command - no matter how ridiculous.'

Thinning her eyes as she was taken away, the girl wanted to yell and scream, however even that she had given up on.

Her struggling stopped, and the men quickly rushed off, and as the other children left her sight Kristina had one final thought.

'And those people... were nothing more than friends.'