Number 7

"I assume everything went well on your end?"

"Without any issues. There were no reawakened, and I don't need to explain to you how easy it is to kill a normal human."

"The same from my end. Truly... they are weak."

Standing side by side after having met up with one another, two business people made their way through the ruined streets once again.

A man and a woman - both carried a fierce determination as they made their way forward.

"It was within my predictions, but I had a feeling that they would send out men who were relatively skilled yet also not of any high value. The former clients were the perfect option to that man, Gerard, as they were people with some level of combat experience who were not his own executives. In other words... they were expendable."

Marcus spoke with confidence in his own calculations, having plotted the entire fight out to this point.

"But that would also mean that the ones who are left are the real threats, right?", Sylvia asked.

"That much is true, but we can assume that those were the strongest normal humans in their possession - which in turn would mean that we can focus all our efforts on those people who have ascended what could be considered human."

"You do mean the Reawakened by that, right? One of the Unnumbered?"

"It's entirely likely that Unnumbered are among them. As a matter of fact, I would argue that it's impossible for that not to be the case. Particularly that man Yakov... I am almost certain that he was a Reawakened person."

"He did seem troublesome, didn't he?"

Placing her finger to her chin, Sylvia seemed to murmur as she thought out loud.

"So he's the greatest threat?"

"In terms of pure combat ability, yes. But even so, depending on the abilities they have available, there may be others even more troublesome. We can't allow any mistakes from this point on."

"But even so... unlike the time with Randov, this is going to be really difficult, isn't it?"

As Sylvia posed this question, Marcus fell into silence.

"That's right."

After a pause he spoke, confirming the worries of the woman.

"With Randov... you sacrificed yourself to gain information. You were willing to die in order to get that information. But he was arrogant. He was someone who was certain of his victory - a person who knew nothing of other ability users.", Marcus noted.

"Which means that if there are multiple ability users among the enemy, then they will understand the diversity of the abilities, and as such they won't fall to such simple tricks.", Sylvia stated, completing the sentence of Marcus.

Indeed, the situation had grown far more dangerous.

Not only had around a week passed since the calamity, which would give any newly born ability users time to learn of their powers, but they would also learn of the powers of others, and as such would be far more wary of potential ability users.

Revealing one's cards would be nothing less than suicide. To understand an opponent's ability would be to predict their possible actions.

In other words - a level of strategy the likes of which had never been seen had entered into this world.

'Of course, given the vast number of ways to use an ability, predicting all the uses would be extremely difficult even if the ability is known... but still, knowing the concept would give an absolute advantage to the party who is aware of it.'

Indeed, this system of reawakened humans had created a war of intelligence.

Keeping one's ability secret was crucial.

Finding out the ability of the opponent was just as crucial.

"If we are unable to determine the nature of their abilities... we will lose. However, in order to do so, I will die as many times as necessary."

With these words, Marcus declared boldly his intention to win at any cost.

"Don't go hogging all the deaths to yourself. After all... we'll fall together, won't we?"

With a smile, Sylvia looked to Marcus, who couldn't help but grin.

"And when we fall... so too will we rise. From the dead."

"Then there's nothing to be afraid of, is there?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. After all... there could be an ability out there which could kill even the MONSTERS inside of us."

----

"Yakov... he's always been sharp. But ever since we awoke in this new world, he's been impenetrable. It must be something to do with his ability."

A black haired woman with an uzi strapped to her side patrolled the perimeter of the hotel, its grand facade behind her as she walked alongside her two partners.

"B-but... do... do you really think that... that he's right? It... I mean.... that girl, could she really have been lying this entire time?"

With a timid voice, the blonde haired girl bore no weapon. Perhaps this was due to her lack of courage, or even her lack of combat ability.

"Yakov wouldn't say something if it wasn't certain."

The final one to speak was a girl who had brown hair split into two ponytails on either side of her - a girl who carried herself with pride as she strutted about with a Luger in hand.

These three girls were Valerie, Celia, and Melissa, respectively - the current executives of the Paradise hotel.

"So then... that girl really was lying? Her subordinates... they weren't dead... and for some reason they plan on attacking us? But for what reason? It... it makes no sense... we've never even met them before, and I thought that the girl had a good relationship with Gerard...", Celia muttered.

"To call their relationship good would be a stretch. It was more of a business relationship than anything else. But I don't see any reason why she would hate Gerard. It is strange.", Valerie responded, doubts clearly evident in her voice.

As they walked around the perimeter, the number of men in black suits posted around this hotel was excessive. Security had been well prepared under the assumption of an external attack.

Some were posted on rooftops, others in windows, and others still on the ground outside doors, or just around the building in general.

There were also likely more men inside the building - some to protect Gerard and others around the main areas.

And dozens of these men were currently following this group of women.

"Even if it doesn't make sense, that doesn't matter. If Gerard is going to be attacked by someone - and especially if that someone is a fellow Street Rat, then... it's our duty to protect him."

As Melissa said this, she seemed to have trouble getting out the last sentence, as if it didn't sit well with her.

"That is the role we've been assigned as executives, yes. While this type of work isn't exactly typical of our roles, this world has become significantly more violent.", Valerie noted. "Though... I suppose the men recruited by that woman would suggest that violence is not the only thing ruling this world."

"A-anyways! We should be... very vigilant then! I mean, we might be attacked at any moment, so-"

"Miss Celia, look out-"

In that instant, a tentacle shot out of the ground - aimed up towards the timid blonde woman who spoke - yet before this tentacle reached her, one of the men jumped forward in order to intercept the attack.

The tentacle shot straight through the torso of the man, wrapping around him with a rain of blood as he groaned in pain.

"UGH!!!!"

Then, squeezing the man, he exploded into a puzzle of flesh with more pieces than one could count.

"How unfortunate. I had intended on taking that one hostage as my first move... but it would appear that such a move underestimated the willingness that these men hold to protect you all."

The three women immediately went on their guard, drawing their weapons as they turned to face a man who had shown himself as he exited from behind the corner of a building.

This man's hand seemed to be a piece of flesh which molded itself back into a human form from what appeared to be the strange tentacle which had dug through the ground in order to perform such an assault.

He carried himself with a smile, slicking back his hair as he waltzed up to the group without so much as a shred of fear - not even holding a weapon in hand.

He was a businessman, and his smile was certainly that of one.

"That has been noted. And as unfortunate as it is, this failure of mine has revealed my presence, and as such has prevented any further opportunity for surprise attacks. However... such things are of no matter."

With a gleam in his eye, the man spread his arms nonchalantly as he laughed - to the great disturbance of the three women present.

"Because I have no need to use something as fleeting as surprise in order to defeat you inferior humans."

Thus - the man showed himself.

As a villain.

This man was none other than Marcus Trevor Coran.

----

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ratatatata!

Bullets.

So many bullets he couldn't even count them.

They entered every pore of his body, degrading him into nothing more than a leaking piece of swiss cheese.

Marcus fell to the ground, his body so torn and ridden with wounds that he was unable to even so much as remain standing - for his legs had been reduced to a point where they could no longer even be called as such.

The pain overtook every semblance of his mind, enough to the point where even screaming in agony would be no salvation.

Thud.

And so, into the mud ridden streets, the man whose skin was already rotten fell face first to the ground.

"Wha.... he just... he just showed himself like that... attacked one of our men... KILLED one of our men... just to... die?"

Celia had retreated backwards, glancing back and forth between the pile of flesh and the chunks of the man who had been slain.

"Isn't that.... isn't that insane? We had so many people... so many soldiers guarding this area... so showing himself and attacking like this... just to die..."

It was ludicrous.

Every man within the vicinity had opened fire upon the invader immediately, as soon as they had realized what had happened in those few moments.

Valerie and Melissa merely watched this encounter with closed mouths, not even daring to make a comment as they looked down upon the corpse in front of them.

"Unfortunately for both of us, I am not yet dead."

Yet suddenly, sending a chill through the spines of the three, the pile of bullet ridden flesh spoke.

"Of course, the pain is enough to kill me. The agony is beyond that which any dead man could be capable of handling. However... I think I've finally realized something."

Holding his bloodied forehead with a destroyed hand, the man slowly stood up as he looked to the three with a pained expression - his bullet wounds slowly closing up.

The metal was still encased in his body, and how the man managed to continue living was something far beyond mere biology.

"More so than death itself... there is far greater terror in being unable to die."

In that instant, the three women realized it.

"You... have an ability as well."

The one who spoke these words was Melissa, who looked to the man with indignation, gritting her teeth as a fire raged in her mind.

"Hahaha... an ability AS WELL, you say. Thank you for the information, girl. However, this regeneration of mine is not a result of any ability. This is merely... the nature of the body I have obtained."

Closing his eyes, the man stepped forward, at which a number of guns were aimed at him once more.

"Don't take another step forward!"

Suddenly, a number of soldiers all gathered in a line, stepping in front of the three women in an orderly manner as they all looked to the man with hatred in their eyes.

"If you do, we'll lay another round of bullets into you until you do stop moving!"

"Until I stop moving... you say. Heh..."

However, covering his mouth with his hand, the man couldn't help but to be amused at this choice of words from the soldier.

"And what if I never stop moving?"

"W-wait just a minute!"

However the air was pierced by the shout of a woman who stood forward, putting herself in front of the soldiers who had gathered.

By her demeanor, she was clearly weak. A person who had no experience in battle, to whom fighting was foreign.

There was a certain naivety in her expression, yet even so she shouted out with enough fervor to stop each man in their tracks before this battle deteriorated into one of complete chaos.

"Before... before we fight any further... can we at least talk to try and figure out what you want?"

"Oh, I am certainly open to talking. That IS my specialty, after all."

Motioning for the girl to step forward, Marcus opened the floor for discussion.

"You... you are one of the men who was with Lady Isabella on that day, right? And she said that you were supposed to be dead, but here you are, alive and well... and on top of that, you're attacking us. To further things, you seem to hold some insane ability that allows you to survive being shot so many times... just what is going on here?"

Suddenly, the timidity in the expression of the blonde woman ceased as she questioned Marcus with confidence.

"Just who are you, and what do you want?", she pressed.

"Such difficult questions... how to answer..."

Closing his eyes, the man seemed to be in deep thought.

However, without opening his eyes, he answered.

"Marcus Coran... that is, at least my name. However as to who I am... that is a different question altogether. One in which I myself am not so certain of. And as for what I want..."

Suddenly, the man opened his eyes with a jeering grin.

"Well, if all of you could die, that would be nice."

"Why!? Why do you want us to die!? There must be some reason, right?"

"What if there were no reason? What if I were merely a crazed killer who took pleasure in seeing people suffer? Would that be all too unbelievable - when such people already existed within your midst?"

The words of the man left the woman in shock.

She merely looked at him, her mouth wide as she was unable to come up with any reaction - for the things he said far exceeded her own expectations of what was rational.

Indeed - a certain creature who was highly irrational had taken a great influence upon this man.

"I have no goal other than to do as I please. And currently, I desire to see everyone here in agony."

"Then... you have no intention to negotiate?"

"None whatsoever. As of right now, you all stand on the side of your leader - Gerard Stirling, who is the enemy of Lady Isabella. Therefore, I must kill you all. However, even if you were to betray your leader and join my side, then I wouldn't be able to trust you since a traitor will never remain loyal to anyone. Therefore, regardless of your actions, you all must die."

The woman was absolutely stunned at the hardheadedness and faulty logic which the businessman spat at her, however as he said this she too hardened her expression.

"I see."

And with darkened eyes, she held forth a hand.

"Kill him."

"Yes, Miss Celia!!!"

And suddenly, with a disturbing level of fervor, the woman walked backwards as if she were a Queen letting her soldiers take to the battlefield.

The men bore their weapons, once more taking aim at the man as they prepared to release another barrage of fire upon him.

However suddenly, the man held out his hands, and as he did so the air itself seemed to shift.

And suddenly, one by one, the men fell to the ground.

"Ugh! Agh! Ugh!!!"

Clenching their chests as they desperately clung to life, the men gasped for air as they began to spit up blood.

"What... what have you done!?!?"

Shouting out as she watched the soldiers fall to the ground around her, Celia could do nothing more than watch in horror as the scene unfolded before her eyes.

"If I were to explain that to you, then I would be putting myself at a disadvantage. However... I will let you know one thing."

Stepping forward as he fixed his tie, the man walked through the pile of writhing men as if he were a demon walking through a battlefield of corpses.

"That was my ability."

----

"How... could you do such a thing?"

She trembled, glancing upon the bodies that surrounded her with horror.

They had struggled and writhed, spitting up blood before their eyes became cold.

And just as this happened, a drizzle of rain fell upon the woman, who could do nothing more than gaze upon the numerous men whose lives had been taken without hesitation.

Gray clouds tainted the skies, which slowly darkened as the businessman stood there - an arrogant grin plastered upon his face.

"Don't you value human lives... at all?"

"No."

These words, meant to invoke some sort of sympathy or hesitation within the man, were met without a single shred of such things.

"The idea that human lives have inherent value... this is a concept that humans themselves created. It's quite selfish, don't you think? Many would argue that all people are born equally - that no human is worth more than another at the time of birth. But if this is true, then that would be to assume that our mere existence has some worth in the first place."

The man continued to walk through the pile of bodies, glaring down at one particular man with disgust.

"Yet it is quite clear that the mere existence of some people is detrimental to the universe itself. Therefore... would it not be true to say that these people hold negative worth?"

"You... you don't know what you're talking about!!"

Celia shouted out in desperation as she denied the claims of the man, yet he didn't cease as he displayed his disturbed viewpoints.

"Am I truly the one who has no idea what I am talking about? Then tell me. Is our worth measured at our birth, or is it measured from our actions and achievements?"

As soon as the man said this, the girl choked up.

She looked up, facing the man, and it was as she did so that she realized it.

This man, who she had thought to be human before, had skin which was rotten.

Why had she not noticed it during their first meeting?

"I... I don't-"

"You don't know? What a boring answer. Well, I suppose that's obvious. When your logic is flawed either way, of course you have no way of knowing. If humans held inherent worth at their birth, it would imply that their actions have no impact on their worth - that we couldn't rank a person's worth by their achievements, but that their mere existence as a human person held worth. Yet this isn't exactly a sound philosophy. After all... would that not mean that a mass murderer holds the same worth as an innocent child?"

Once more the man continued to pace through the bodies, glancing upon each of their faces as if trying to memorize them.

"But on the other hand, if humanity itself holds no inherent worth, then it would imply that only our achievements matter. That the disabled or elderly person is someone who should be cast aside without mercy. This is a concept that humans would have a difficult time accepting, as it seems WRONG."

With a grin, the man closed his eyes as he spoke his conclusion.

"Then... wouldn't the best philosophy be that innocence itself holds worth - and that a human loses worth when they lose such innocence?"

And as he spoke these words, Celia found herself shuddering at the weight with which he spoke them.

Slowly, the rain increased as the man's hair was now dropped from his head, the style in which it had been fashioned having been ruined.

"Yet this too... is something that humans refuse to accept."

"For even if one is innocent, then those innocent humans become the most worthless of all."

"Those who cannot be held accountable for immoral actions, those who are kept ignorant to the darkness of this world, those who naively ignore the reality of things while living in a fantasy far off from all the others."

"No... innocence is not the correct answer."

"For if a child is kept innocent for too long... then that innocence will soon turn to ignorance."

"And such ignorance will quickly turn to arrogance."

----

Celia had no idea what this man was talking about.

It was as if he was in some far off world, speaking of things which she couldn't possibly understand.

Yet she understood one thing very clearly.

"You... you're wrong."

Standing up, the woman who once held a timid expression was now filled with anger.

"You're wrong, business man. Everything you just said about humanity... about our worth... it's all wrong!"

"How so?"

"There's worth in all of it."

With bright eyes, the woman spoke without hesitation, to the grand surprise of her two comrades who watched from behind as she approached the man straight on.

"There's worth in innocence. There's worth in the struggles of those who aren't innocent. There's worth in those people who fail, and those people who don't achieve. There's worth in the people who can't achieve anything. There's worth in the achievements that people have. There's worth in all of that!"

"And what worth is there in something that destroys something else which also holds said worth?"

"That's why we have to work to protect those things that are worth so much!!!"

With tears now in her eyes, the woman shouted out as she rebuked the businessman, who had remained calm throughout the entire discussion.

"You seem to be quite the upright woman. Or at the very least, you pretend to be. What are you doing in a place such as this - working for a man such as Gerard Stirling?", the man pressed.

"Do you think..."

"Wait, Celia. Don't respond to that. He's trying to provoke a rebellious answer out of you."

Speaking up this time was Valerie, who warned Celia with a stern tone, at which the blonde haired woman ceased her response.

"Do you think I wanted to be here - this is the response you were about to give me, correct? Not a single one of you WANT to be in this place. Yet here you are, fighting me. Someone who is prepared to destroy this place, and all the men - and women - who support it."

Looking at Celia with a grin, the man presented her with an option.

"Tell me, girl. Do you intend to stop me from entering?"

And as she was presented with this question, her heart wavered.

There was nothing she cared about for this place - but how could that man have known this?

No, perhaps he didn't know.

Perhaps he was trying to find that out at this very moment, to see if he could get away without a fight.

But it was in that instant that the girl was now presented with a decision.

Did she allow this man to slip past her - and as such set her position in stone as a traitor to the Stirling Family?

If she allowed this man to pass and he was killed by Yakov, then she would without doubt be killed - or worse.

Even Melissa and Valerie might not agree to such a rash betrayal of the organization. If she agreed to allow this man to pass and they decided to fight the man here and now, then Celia's head would be next.

Looking back at them, the girl pleaded with her expression as she asked them 'What should I do?'

However as soon as she witnessed the stern expression present on the two, she understood immediately.

'Now is not the time. And if he cannot even defeat us, then this man is not powerful enough to defeat Yakov.'

As soon as she received this nonverbal response, Celia stood up with pride.

"I'm sorry but... I'm not going to allow you to pass with such a flimsy excuse."

"I see."

Holding out a hand, the man prepared to attack.

However, as he did so, the girl smiled.

"You're prepared to attack me, right?"

And in that instant, the man froze in place.

His eyes went blank as he fell to the ground, his face planting in the mud as the rainfall flooded the ears of the two.

"Unfortunately for you... that happens to be the trigger."

Walking up to the man, the girl smiled, a devious grin drawing itself upon her face as she planted her foot on his head.

"Ahhh... all these soldiers... all these useful men... destroyed. In an instant. You really are a pain, aren't you? And even if we killed you... you wouldn't die, now would you?"

Looking back to the two, the girl's expression had become completely malicious.

"You two may be able to put up a fight... but for this one, it looks like I'm best suited to deal with him."

"That does seem to be the case."

"I guess so."

The other two seemed to nod in agreement, not shocked in the slightest by the sudden change in demeanor of the girl.

And with a sadistic expression in her eyes, Celia glanced down upon the man who had spouted such arrogance without the means to back it up.

"I suppose I'll just have to win this one over with the method that fits me best."

'By forcing him to relate to others.'