Number 7

Sheldon Stirling.

The third brother of the Stirling family, and the leader of the 3rd branch of the street rats.

This blonde haired man led his own group with a focus on kidnapping, trafficking, hostages, and all other sorts of child related crimes.

And with the two monsters he had built, his group expanded.

The woman whose child had been ripped from her became demented to the point where she lost any desire to even meet her child, her only wish for other mothers to experience the same suffering which she had gone through.

Day in and day out, she dedicated herself to her work as she ripped more and more children from their families.

Some of these children were used as hostages and returned to wealthy families at a heavy price. Others were sold as cheap labor to an assortment of clients who were interested in such things.

And for the ones who were promising, they were added to the ranks of Isabella's group.

Under the orders of Sheldon, Isabella and the children around her were subject to intense beating and training.

Day in and day out, they were denied even basic human rights.

Food. Water. Shelter. Clothing. These things were provided in scarcity, and as rewards for those who were successful.

These things, which should have been basic necessities, were anything but.

The punishment for failure was a gruesome beating which showed no mercy even for those who had not eaten for days or weeks.

Thus, these children were molded - with Isabella at their head.

Sheldon Stirling created a pair of monsters who cared not about the existence of one another.

And through these monsters, the third branch of the street rats rose in power.

A branch which was once just a shadow of the 1st and 2nd branches, led by his brothers, whose names Sheldon had used in order to gain connections and influence in the first place, grew into a powerhouse of both physical and financial might.

With the takeover of the Hammerhead group and many other groups that fell to the demented might of the child army, bit by bit the 3rd branch gained more and more members.

Yet these members were nothing compared to the children whom they feared.

Soldiers who had been raised from birth to fight, like Spartans being thrown to the battlefield as children.

These children were given a choice - fight or die.

And so they fought.

They thought up ways to defeat those who were more powerful than them.

They deceived, using their childish appearances in order to lower their enemies' guards.

They used weapons, tricks, and all sorts of methods.

But even more so than that, they trained.

They trained themselves to the point where they became swift in movements, physically capable to the point where even these small children would not lose to grown men in fights.

For failure was unacceptable.

Thus, a hierarchy was born.

Even though they lived in squalor, brutally abused and forced to obey the orders of their 'brother', the gangsters who were incorporated into the street rats were still subordinate to these children.

For even though these men were allowed to indulge in whatever pleasures they wished, and even as they were freely allowed to go around - using people for money and personal gain with violence as their backing, these men were held on a leash.

For Sheldon had a set of guard dogs.

Caged like animals, yet loyal and obedient in every way.

And if these guard dogs were unleashed... then the entire world would have suffered.

----

"Hello."

With this single word, the blue haired girl smiled as she looked around her.

It was a smile that pierced into the hearts of all the men present - as if they were facing the wretched smile of a demon who played with their lives from the gameboard of this world - throwing them aside like pieces without concern.

"She's.... here...."

"No... no no no...."

Wrapped up in the hair of the woman who had emerged from the depths of this facility, each of the men present were left helpless as they slowly came to a grim realization.

"And just when I thought... we were rid of those little devils....", one man murmured under his breath, shaken to the core.

An aura of fright overwhelmed the room as all eyes were directed towards the girl who stood in the center.

"The demoness herself survived."

----

[Marcus.]

[Sylvia.]

As the voice of Seven echoed in the minds of Marcus and Sylvia, the young girl approached the thugs, walking around calmly as she assessed the situation.

"We appear to be far outnumbered. However... our enemies are restrained. As of right now we have the overwhelming advantage. Yet even so..."

The girl stepped forth without restraint, throwing her knife at a target as she ran towards him with incredible speed, ripping the embedded weapon from the man without a moment wasted.

"I won't underestimate my enemies. No matter how WEAK they are."

[As you may know... this world is beyond sickening. Your human concept of evil is overwhelmingly present. It has overtaken the minds of virtually all the people of this world... and the reason for that is simple.]

With a strange tone that suggested resignation, Seven spoke to the two with a firm resolve.

[No matter how powerful you are... no matter how good your intentions are... no matter what you do... people will always tend towards evil. Because in the short run... and sometimes even in the long run... evil benefits people.]

Having taken a sudden serious tone, Marcus was astounded at the fact that the creature within him could sound so strangely sincere.

[Friendships break if two people become too reliant on one another. The weight of expectation becomes too much to handle, and the thing that you humans refer to as friendship shows its true weakness once tested. Relationships are no different, yet these are far more volatile due to the immense amount of emotion which is placed into them in the first place. Explosive divorces are not uncommon.]

As he explained, Seven’s tone became more and more filled with disgust with every word he spoke.

[Those who begin businesses with good intentions will soon find themselves either overwhelmed by the evil around them or they will find themselves giving in to such evil. And as their power increases... so does their wickedness. If you wish to protect anything... if you wish to become anything... then you must become EVIL. Therefore... if you cannot become evil... then you will lose. And lose. And lose. And lose. And lose. Until eventually... you die.]

The words of Seven shot into Marcus and Sylvia, however the two kept their straight expressions even as they were mentally assaulted by a statement which they could not see as anything but the truth.

Not a moment of their lives had they been able to stand up to what they considered to be wrong without resorting to such tactics.

If one was mature and quietly accepted the demented structure, they would become nothing more than cogs in the machine as they slowly came to the side of the ones in power - the ones who held such distorted ways of thinking.

If they rejected it and went against it, they would be outcast - left powerless and without any way to object.

Marcus and Sylvia knew these two things better than anyone.

And that was why both of the two smiled as they heard these statements.

"You're right, Seven.", Marcus said with a chuckle as he watched the girl step forth once more - rushing at the defenseless men whose screams began to fill the room.

"AGH!!!"

"Why are you killing us, Isabella!?!?"

Slice.

"What did we do to you!?!?"

"Where is the boss!?!?"

Slice.

Heads flew one after another as the girl danced in the rain of blood, coldly moving from one restrained target to the next.

"If you wish to be able to face evil in this world... there are only two options.", Marcus stated.

Slice.

Slice.

"The boss is dead. And I am merely following his final order.", the girl said without hesitation as she stood before the man who had just been screaming - only to hold forth the knife as she plunged it into his chest. "I will listen to those two, for they are my new masters. And they have ordered me... to kill everyone here."

Rushing through the room in a snakelike pattern, the girl took an efficient method as she slaughtered one man after another with ease.

"The first... is to fight the evil of this world... by becoming even more evil.", Marcus commented as he watched the girl slice open the stomach of a man, whose intestines laid themselves across the floor. "And the second... is to lay down as a martyr and die."

With a chuckle, the man closed his eyes - opening them widely as insanity filled his expression.

"And we've been denied the right to die."

"Hahaha..."

Gripping her threads that weaved around the room, the woman tightened them as the grip on the struggling men was enforced to the point where they were unable to even attempt to escape.

"That is correct, Marcus. But you know... if it means killing these people... I don't even feel like a villain."

Looking up to the ceiling, Sylvia thinned her eyes as a wicked smile overtook her.

"I just feel like a rotten hero."

[I'm going to give you a piece of information. Consider this to be... an advance.], Seven commented.

It was then that the girl took the fleshy knife in her hands, and in that instant it began to mold itself.

[Marcus... you seem to be slowly figuring this out... but each of the seven of us... we have an ability.]

The weapon molded itself as the girl continued to rush from one person to another, eventually taking the form of a boomerang.

[I don't mean the same type of ability as the ones which we have gained from resistances, or even our strength and speed or ability to regenerate due to the immense experimentation of that man. And I am not even referring to my ability to allow diseases to inhabit within me, thus creating a virus which could destroy this entire world. This ability... is different. This ability... is unique... in that there is no scientific reasoning as for why we have these abilities in particular. They are anomalies in this world.]

Reacting immediately to the weapon's change in form as if she had expected it, the girl threw the boomerang in a straight line as it sliced off six heads before turning around only to carve through another three people on its return.

[That man had a method to turn us into monsters far beyond something which mere experimentation could ever establish... However, we found out about the truth behind our situation after years of being fed lies about our inferiority to the humans. And I rebelled. Yet even so... he continued those experiments... all for the sake of obtaining his true goal. A method of granting even the weak and frail humans powers beyond scientific comprehension. One might call it magic... but for that man... there was a certain term he always used as he described it.]

With a chuckle, the voice of Number Seven deepened as Marcus and Sylvia watched the continued slaughter.

[A reawakening.]

Then, as the girl flew around the room - the boomerang soon took the form of a scythe, which she swung around with ease, chopping off heads as if she were reaping stacks of wheat from the fields.

[My ability... is to redefine the very properties of anything which I incorporate my flesh with. In any way I want. And that girl... seems to have adjusted herself to my ability without even realizing it. She truly... is a monster.]

As Seven said this, the weapon within the girl's hands shifted from a scythe to a whip which she used to swing about, then changing once more to a flail which she flung around as more and more heads were smashed to pieces.

The screams of the men soon became quieter and quieter as less people remained alive in the room.

And then, with just a few men left, the girl spoke.

"I won't underestimate you. Because if I underestimate anyone..."

Coming to the last group, the weapon in the hands of the girl extended into multiple paths, like an icicle growing off of a single stem.

Stabbing itself into the hearts of the four men remaining at different points, the girl smiled gently as she looked them in the eyes as their screams died down.

"Then I might accidentally show mercy on them."

However, it was at that moment that from the corner of the room, a figure appeared behind the girl.

A person who even the mass murderer that slaughtered dozens in mere moments did not sense.

Someone who had hidden their presence so well that Sylvia had not restrained her - for she did not even know of the existence of such a person within this room.

However, in that instant, Marcus and Sylvia watched as the woman appeared out of nowhere behind the child, gripping the girl’s neck in that instant.

'Wha!?'

'A person!?'

Marcus and Sylvia were stunned, unable to react in that moment as they were forced to watch something which completely overthrew their plans.

However, even as Marcus and Sylvia sat in shock, the girl spoke without emotion - not even turning her head to look at the one who was gripping her.

"It would seem that I made a mistake. However... that should not matter. Masters. Should I kill this woman too? After all... she is one of them."

The girl made this statement as she grabbed the hands of her attacker, flipping the person and throwing them across the room without hesitation.

A crashing sound was heard, and Marcus and Sylvia looked over to witness it.

In that corner was a woman.

Everything about her shouted that she was rich - a sophisticated woman who lived a life of luxury.

[Show me that you are evil enough, Marcus and Sylvia.]

And in that single instant, memories flew into the minds of the two.

Memories which were not their own.

Memories of a woman who was demented - and a girl who was sold off to be raised by a mafia organization.

Memories of the corruption of a family, and the sad ending state which had visualized before them.

Yet following these memories were nothing more than the sinister voice of that demented experiment.

That monster who plagued the mind of Marcus, forcing him to do that which he despised with every aspect of his being.

[Order the girl to kill her own mother.]

----

"No."

Baseless confidence.

Marcus had experienced this baseless confidence before, and yet now - for whatever reason - he experienced it again.

Was he going mad?

Was he losing his mind?

"I'm not going to order her to kill her mother."

Marcus found himself standing before yet another man.

A man whose body was wrapped in scars, who merely stared at him in this strange void that surrounded them.

Had time stopped?

No, perhaps not.

Rather - his own thoughts were being accelerated.

[Why not?]

"It's simple."

Then, with a smile, Marcus turned his back on the man.

A smile so wretched, so horrid, that even the devil himself would shake in fear.

"That's up to her to decide."

Slicking back his hair, Marcus disappeared into the mist as he returned to reality from this fictitious place in his mind.

"And I have no intention of being the one to lead her down such a path."

With these words from the businessman, a grin formed on the face of the scar covered man.

"You said to become a villain. But isn't part of being a villain... doing exactly what I want?"

The man disappeared, and left alone in this place was just the feeble one, the whites of whose eyes were blackened as if they were made from tar.

[Very well, Marcus.]

[It's about time you began to take your own path... one free of my disturbances.]

----

Marcus' vision cleared.

Reality once more set place in his heart as he looked around him to see the body filled room.

It was hot enough to sweat due to the immense number of people who were inside the room - though the vast majority of them were dead.

"Girl."

Without faltering for a moment, Marcus directed his gaze to the girl who looked to him with eagerness as she gripped the weapon in her hand which had now reverted to the state of a knife.

"I will not order you to kill that woman."

With this statement, Sylvia looked at Marcus with shock, however she did not allow this surprise to show on her face.

'What is he- is he going against Seven?', she thought. 'If he does that he'll just die... again... right? Or even worse... Seven will kill more people.'

The girl nodded, immediately sheathing the knife into her gown as she stood up and turned her back to the woman, returning to Marcus without complaint.

Yet all the while, the woman had slowly gathered her bearings as she hobbled to her feet.

"Heh.... hahaha... you idiots.... I don't know who you are... why you're here... or what the hell has happened to this world... but I know one thing."

Then, in that instant, the woman who carried an elegance about her before thrusted herself forward with an immense bloodlust.

"This girl is the only one who stands a chance against me... and you've just locked away your trump card."

Lightning.

If Sylvia could describe how quickly the woman moved, this is what she would have compared it to.

She was there and gone in an instant, so quick that even her rotten eyes had great difficulty catching up.

However it was at that moment that Sylvia forced herself forward.

'No... I'm not going to let this.... happen.'

And in that instant, Sylvia found herself right where she wanted.

'I'm not going to let my pawn die a meaningless death.'

"Trump card?"

A knife was currently stuck in the palm of the corrupted hand of Sylvia as she faced her opponent - blocking a path between the blade and the neck of the girl.

"You thought this girl was our trump card?"

The woman who had thrust forward in the attack became bewildered at how someone had moved fast enough to stop her, however this bewilderment soon became terror as the zombified woman's expression wrinkled with sadistic delight.

"Hahaha... if only she was our trump card. After all... a trump card is something that you never want to resort to, right?"

Gripping her hand so that she could rip the knife right out of the clutches of her opponent, Sylvia brought her face close enough to the woman so that the two could feel one another's breathing.

"But the more dangerous it is to use a trump card.... the stronger it would have to be... right?"

Turning around as she disarmed the woman with ease, Sylvia slowly walked off without qualms, taking her place by Marcus' side once more.

"Hah... you... you don't know what you're talking about... do you think you know anything? What are you even doing here? Zombies and monsters... the undead who act like the living... the world has rotted away... and yet you seem to think that you're exempt from that?"

The woman stopped, standing herself up straight with a smile even as she was disarmed so easily.

"So you've ordered the girl to take out a group of criminals and conmen. Bravo. You've succeeded in the same thing that the boss did. What now? What are your goals? What are you even here for? Just to kill us all and leave as if nothing happened? Ah... but that can't be right. After all... why would you use the girl for that reason?"

Rattling off her questions without a moment for pause, the woman soon gained confidence as she spoke.

"Well? Ah... and one more thing. The girl... hahaha... I suppose that would be my daughter? I didn't ever want to meet her... but I suppose in this situation I have no choice. Why didn't you order her to kill me? If your goal was to eliminate us... then you would at least do that much... no?"

Stepping forth without fear, the woman looked to Marcus without a hint of backing down.

"What are you trying to achieve, monsters?"

Casually, Isabella made her way behind Marcus, standing on guard yet not making a single movement.

Her eyes remained emotionless, as if she carried not a single thought in her broken mind.

"Wouldn't you like to know, woman.", Marcus whispered.

Then, with a slight chuckle, the man closed his eyes as he spoke.

"It is true that I said that I would not order her to kill you."

Then, opening his eyes, Marcus stood back as he opened the path between the two.

"However... I will also not order her to NOT kill you."

At that moment, the woman's eyes widened in realization.

"Ah... I see. So that's how it is."

With a sinister smile, the woman looked down on the child as if she were nothing more than a mere toy.

"I do not know how you obtained control over this child... but there is one and only one thing I know about her."

Rushing forth, the woman was not concerned in the least with being disarmed.

In an instant, she reached into the pocket of her dress as she whipped out another set of knives - three in each hand as she wielded them like fans of cards.

"She was designed to listen to orders. Because from the moment I gave birth to her... she lost the thing known as love. And by losing that love... she gained something greater."

Pulling her arms back in attacking motion, the woman prepared to throw her knives.

"Absolute obedience."

Then, licking her lips, the woman made her final statement.

"But when one is designed to obey... the worst possible thing you could do is to not give them orders. After all... they shut down."

Then, letting the knives fly - they all shot forth right at the head of the girl.

"Incorrect."

However, those knives were stopped.

By a shield.

A shield formed of flesh, which had erupted from the knife which the girl held in her hand as it reshaped itself as the girl pleased.

The knives clattered to the ground, and the girl faced the woman directly without moving.

"It is true that I was designed to obey. However in order to truly obey the one I serve... I also was forced to think for myself. And if I were to die..."

At that moment, the woman looked down to see the girl right below her.

"Then that would inconvenience them the most. After all... there is nothing more devastating than the loss of valuable assets. Therefore I must strive to make myself as valuable as possible for their sake... yet I must also strive not to allow myself to be BROKEN. That... is my purpose."