Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

"So... L-7, did you buy the milk?", A-1 asked, looking at the man wearing a very flashy red tuxedo.

He combed his golden hair back, revealing a pair of sapphire eyes. He merely smirked.

"Of course, I have, though for some reason I was being watched by the Mu Action Squad. Not that they can follow me.", he replied.

"Right, so Team 6 was hit and currently missing, likely killed or trapped in a library of infinite books.", A-1 sighed, taking a big swing of the milk jug in his hand, "Mu's milk is always good, but it rots too fast for my liking."

"Spider milk...", L-7 shuddered, "I don't know why you even like it."

"It's all in the subtle hint of sweetness from spider venom, it's very good, try it if you want.", he handed over the jug to L-7.

"Nah, I'll stick to wine.", L-7 shrugged, returning to his lounging.

Then going into their room, a gloomy woman wearing a cloak made of plant and animal skill, all green.

"Sups, D-2.", A-1 waved his hand.

"Gimme that...", she took his jug of milk and drank half of it. Then she falls flat on the floor with a groan.

"Uhh, are you okay?", L-7 asked.

"Nooo... I hate it here... no natural tree... no native animal... all artificial.", she grumbled.

"That's a Druid for ya.", L-7 laughed.

"Shut up, L-7... fuck you...", her face is still planted on the floor.

"Fuck you too, D-2.", he laughed.

"Anyway... we can't trust the animals here. There is something wrong with them, they have... sapience.", D-2 quivered, shaken by the prospect.

"Sapience?", L-7 asked, tilting his head.

"I will not fucking have this conversation again, L-7... I explained to you the difference between sapience and sentience like... seven times.", she growled in frustration.

"And I ignored every one of them.", he smugged, leaning back on his chair.

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you too."

A-1 can only sigh, "But can you still handle the Philosopher Stone, right?"

"Of course I can. L-7 just need to break open the container and I'll take it away."

"Oh, and Lily will be joining us.", he casually mentioned.

The two looked at A-1, who was covered in shadow, with looks of shock and awe. Lily was their superior, and someone very, very dangerous.

Also, D-2 is still lying on the floor.

"As you all know.", he stares specifically at L-7, "You know shits are going down when a big shot is coming."

 

=0=0=

 

Rita was lost, so he decided to sneak outside without the approval of Jack. He can just pull up a map from his phone, but he decides to let fate lead him on.

He was a boy who was said to be cursed, to be plagued by bad luck. But those traumas of his, it was just a distant past.

The past may influence the present, but the present can cast aside the past and reach for the future. That was what Jack taught him. And he kept the lesson more than the person who taught him it.

Now, he is wandering around Novah, but he keeps his area down to only the Tourist Zone. And the first place he came across was an alleyway where two people in gas masks were talking.

They both turned to him, staring awkwardly. Rita is inclined to call them Red and Blue due to the outfit they wore.

"Um... am I interrupting something?", he asked while taking a step back.

"Err... could you please scram somewhere else?", Red shooed him with a hand movement.

—clink

"..."

"..."

"..."

A badge somehow dropped out from the protective gear of Blue. The zipper just so happens to break for some reason. Rita stares, looking at the badge of a red eight-pointed star.

"Akashic Insurgency, huh.", the white X marks on his red eyes glowed. His emotions ran cold, now only the drive to take down his targets.

"Shit!", Red ran to get the badge— only to slip on a bottle and smashed his face into a bunch of sharp glass.

"Are you... okay?", Rita asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I'm... fine—"

A pot of plant fell onto his head, knocking him out cold. Rita turned his gaze to Blue.

"Fuck, I'm out of here!", he ran deeper into the alleyway.

Rita just looks at the running man, waiting for Murphy's Law to catch up to him... though looking at the distance, he finds it troublesome to get Blue back to Red.

He stepped next to Red, then slammed his foot down onto the back of the man. It just so happens to crack the man's lumbar, damaging the spinal cord.

Through a mixture of bad luck and deliberate harm, Red is paralyzed from the waist down. Now that has been done, Rita turned to Blue—

"Oh damn."

Blue was knocked out and halfway going into a trash bin.

This is his power, Malsumis, the God of Chaos and Destruction, who can alter causality or in a more scientific term, meta manipulation.

With the threats being dealt with, Rita took out his phone from his jeans. Seeing some specs of grime on the screen, he used his black shirt to get it off. He called Jack.

"Jack, Rita here... I caught two Akashic Insurgency agents—", Rita dodged to the side, letting an ambusher slip by and fall flat on the floor, "—And I am being attacked..."

[Shit! Hey, Lew! Send some people to my boy immediately, he caught some Akashic Insurgency! Rita, where the fuck are you?!"

Rita took a step back, looking at the building to his right side, then to his left.

"An alleyway between Aurora Candy and Ciel Chemical.", Rita said, casually dodging the hooded woman who just got up, "Should I call Charlotte?"

[She's too far away, but call her anyway. Do what you must do, over and out!]

With a sigh, Rita grabbed the arm of the hooded woman and dislocated her shoulder joint with a twist. Then he grabbed her throat and slammed her to the ground.

"Sorry, today is just not your day.", he apologized.

He stomped on her stomach, making her gasp in pain.

"Y-You shouldn't treat a woman like that!", she screamed, her voice was a little too sweet and cute to be an assassin.

"My punches are rated E for Everyone, sorry.", and he kicked her across the face, knocking her out cold.

Lucky for him, there was no commotion since there were not a lot of people around at this time of year. And especially not the Tourist Zone.

"I don't like violence, but I am still capable of it.", he said to no one. He sat upon the woman to keep her in place.

Soon, a team of five Mu Action Squad agents came to him. He handed them the Akashic Insurgency personnel, wearing the mask given by Jack. However, after searching the bodies of the three...

"This girl is unrelated...", Zeta-04 said, "But we'll still bring her into custody. Anyway, have a nice day."

"Vigilante, huh...", he whispered.

Rita nodded and waved the MAS off before returning to his walk. However, he is bored, and even a bit stressed since tomorrow is the big day.

So, he took out his earphones and began playing a song, recommended by Charlotte on her streams. He watches Charlotte's streams.

Rita quite enjoys her egotistical nature, it really is a fresh change compared to most people. Some might hate her for it, in fact, Charlotte was canceled on Twitter many times but she kept streaming.

He admires Charlotte in a way since she only cares for herself. And as long as she gets what she wants, she can be a very good conversational partner.

Speaking of Charlotte, Rita saw Charlotte and approached her first.

"Corday.", he called her.

"Hello, Rita.", she smiled.

He likes her smile, there is no filter behind it, she might be the only person in the world who does not hide her true self. Since she really hated the fact that she had to be nice, something she was not.

"You look a little... rough?", he pointed out.

Charlotte's hair is in disarray, her bangs have fallen off and cover her forehead and a bit of her azure eyes. Not to mention, her white shirt is stained with patches of green and brown as if she is rolling on the ground.

"Just got back from the gym, I'm feeling a bit better now.", she looked down at her outfit, "But yeah, I think I need a shower."

"You really need one.", he agreed.

They headed back to the hotel together. Rita noticed that Charlotte did not talk that much, only answering when she was asked. She may be egotistical, but she is also very reserved.

"Did you encounter anything fun?", Charlotte asked, tilting her head.

"Caught some Akashic Insurgency grunts. Ah, by the way, what happened to the people you discovered?"

"Oh, I sent them to a death game. One of the Akashic Records, Hope, has the ability to set up a nearly impossible game with its Anima Pactum. I sent them to the Akashic Library, where they have to find their personal book in an infinite library.", she casually said with a shrug.

"So... they are stuck there for an eternity?", Rita was interested.

"No, they find their book or die of old age. The books are placed randomly too, so the possibility of them getting their book is close to nothing.", she giggles like a child, "Even if they escape, they won't remember any of the books he learned about, heha..."

"That's just cruel.", Rita sighed, this is Charlotte after all.

"Yup, my own brand of cruelty, humanity's cruelty. I gave them a light they will never reach. It is just ugly, yet beautiful at the same time.", she smiled brightly, innocent like an untainted child.

But that was not true at all. Charlotte is a blank canvas, every person she met left something on that canvas... and currently, it is stained with the crimson color of Seria Sarco, The Witch.

 

=0=0=

 

"You know, doing this cult shits can be fun sometimes.", Seria smiles.

Across from her is a woman tied down to a chair, a bag covered over her head.

"I think I might let you go since you are causing trouble for those royal fuckers. But then against, you are a fucking Brit. I hate British people more than you will ever understand."

A demon appeared behind the woman, taking off the bag. She was terrified, fearful of the woman in front of her... she recognized Seria as Abigail Sillarco, the General of Defense of the U.S.A. And the hatred for the British of the Sentinel of the West is something well-known by almost the entire world.

"So, lovely lass, if you want to get away without losing anything important, anyone you held dear... I need you to be a good girl and start talking.", her crimson eyes glowed, and a wicked evil smile spread across her face.

The woman meekly nodded.

"That's right~ I need you to spill everything you know about Lilith, The Mother of Demons."