Broker

Side-Story: Side Quests 2

He stood in the midst of the trees and flexed his fingers, his eyes rolling up into his head. He rolled his neck, shifting once on his feet as he tasted the mana in the air. The words bounced around in his head. He let out a shaky breath. Why did it bother him so much? Was it because they came from someone he couldn’t help but respect? There was a weight of truth to the words, it was like it was impossible for them to be a lie or something. The thought sent a chill up his spine and he grit his teeth.

Humanity is resilient.

He opened his eyes and they lit up with a blue glow as he took a few more shaky breaths.

Humans don’t need gods.

He clenched his fists, “It’s not enough. I need to be more.” He thought, “She just doesn’t get it, she doesn’t understand what a god is. What I could be to everyone,” His lip curled, “Before the end.”

He held out his hand and with a flex of his item cheat a golden sword appeared. It glowed brightly with an off-yellow light as he swung it about. “A sword?” He scoffed and shoved it into the ground, leaving it there for a moment as he stalked back and forth and called up the crown he used to add to the illusion of his made-up power. “A crown?” He clenched it in his fist and tossed it over to hang off of the hilt of the sword. “A few item cheats, immunity, anonymity,” He spat, “Maxing out my stats,” He rumbled, “But are they really the max?”

He held out his hands and activated the cheat, feeling strength rush through his body. He exhaled and mist boiled from his lips. His defenses, his self-regeneration, his health, his physical power. He glowered at his hands, “Are they really enough?” He flexed his fingers and examined his hands, “What if I…” He spat on the ground. “...but I’m perfect!” He declared, “This power is perfect! It’s supposed to be! Isn’t it?” He ran his fingers through his hair, “I haven’t doubted myself until I heard her voice…” 

Ishtar.

He spun on his heel and stopped, “Odysseus had to struggle, humans are resilient after all,” He reasoned, “He worked hard to reach the end of his story,” He muttered and looked over at the crown. He stared at it for a long time, thoughts bouncing around in his head as they tried to settle into something cohesive. He bore his teeth and tilted his head forward, his fists clenching tighter, blood dripping from them. He savored the pain for a moment, he let it give him focus, clarity, he took a deep breath. “I need to struggle too, don’t I? To be the hero of the story. Yeah, that’s right,” He murmured, “Yeah…”

He opened his palm and stared as the wounds began to close, his lip curling in disgust as blood dripped off of it and onto the ground. “Humans don’t need gods, mm? We’ll see about that. I admire you, Miss Chernovna, but you’re wrong there. I’ll make humanity need me and then…” His scowl broke into a wide smile as he threw his head back with a giggle, “...and then. I’ll end the story forever,” He said, “So I’ll get stronger, I’ll work hard. I’ll ‘train’ myself. I’ll increase my caps, I’ll find new cheats, and…”

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He let his head fall to the left and his shoulders went a little slack as he stared into the trees around him, “Since my first two planned Heralds turned out to be idiots, I’ll have to replace them,” He said numbly as the rest of his body turned to follow his gaze, “If I can’t count on an existing character to serve my purposes, maybe I should make them myself? Yeah, I’ll customize my party. That’ll work…”

He waved his hand and dismissed the sword and crown as he stalked into the trees, Ollie. Your power is useful to me. But if you think you can hide things from me, you’re wrong. My eyes alone might not be able to see through your little act, but your profile speaks volumes. You’re still loyal to Miss Chernovna over me. Those notes didn’t tell me anything useful. Not really. He thought darkly as he moved through the trees, only the blue glow of his eyes visible to anyone else in the dark.

I need to keep an eye on him, figure out what his real weakness is, and pull on it. I can’t let him slip out of my grip, so I’ll have to take a carrot and stick approach. I’ll break him if I have to. He growled only to stop as he sensed something nearby. He turned his head slowly and peered through the trees. There, hiding next to a large tree, he spotted a young woman crouched down with her hands clutched around one side of her head. She was on a phone. He narrowed his eyes and silently slipped through the brush, getting closer. What’s this, what’s this, what is this?

He willed his guide to appear, a profile next to it.

Jessica. The ice weapon thing. I remember her. Right, right. I never bothered to read her profile because she seemed so bor- oh? He stopped in his walk, Oh now this is juicy. He chuckled and his smile spread wider. He slipped into the brush and made his way forward, watching as she continued to murmur something on her little phone. An ASTA Phone? She’d get caught if it was a normal phone, I suppose. Useful. He thought as she glanced around and put the phone away. She got to her feet and the next instant he had her by the throat, her body pressed up against the tree. He jammed his fingers against her abdomen like claws.

“Move and die,” He hissed, looking up at her with amusement on his face.

She choked, her eyes going wide as she looked down at him, “Ma-”

“Shhh, quiet, I need to grab something real quick,” He snickered and activated his item cheat, this time targeting a particular item rather than just making one. The next moment she let out a cry of pain and seized up, twitching in his grip as something bloody appeared in his hand. He laughed and crushed it in his palm before pressing his palm against her waist again. Another cheat and her body relaxed, her eyes rolling to the side. He let go of her and she fell to the ground at his feet. “Wakey wakey little traitor,” He crowed, “Come on now! Time to wake,” He reared his foot back, “Up!” He kicked her in the ribs. She let out a croaking groan and coughed, her eyes going wide as she looked up at him and then pat down at her waist.

He crouched, “I took the bomb out,” He snickered, “Did you know it was there?” He asked.

She stared at him, horrified, “N-no,” She stammered.

“Looks like Liberty doesn’t trust you,” He hissed.

Her eyes went wider, “I d-don’t.”

“Don’t lie to me!” He snarled and grabbed her by the face, “I know,” He laughed, “Oh it feels good saying that. Eat shit Ishtar,” He cackled and tilted his head before pulling her close with his strength, he looked her in the eyes, “Here is what’s going to happen. You are going to keep acting as you have been. Keep reporting back. All normal. But you’re going to tell me everything you know, everything you see, and everything you hear from home. You work for me now, little mole,” He whispered with a condescending tone, “Do a good job for me and I’ll make you into someone important in the future,” He was nose to nose with her now, “Fail?” He looked her in the eyes, “And I can make things hurt you didn’t even know could hurt.”

Yes, I’ve been so caught up in this little act, playing the trainee hero, I forgot what my goal was. What I should be doing. I’m so glad the side quests came up. He thought as a new one appeared, Jessica, the Herald, huh? Okay. Sounds fun! He chuckled as all the strength left her arms and eyes. 

There was a rustling in the trees behind him as he got to his feet and let go of her. He didn’t turn his body back, just glanced over his shoulder. And there he is. Looks like he noticed a change in my threads or something. He must be able to turn it on without touching people. Sneaky little shit. He broke into a wide grin as Ollie peered through the leaves.

“M-marc?” Ollie called, “That you over there?”

Otis sneered behind his shoulder as he gestured sneakily for Jessica to get on her feet and make herself presentable. He turned his back to her, “It’s me, Ollie! Glad you swung by, though I’m curious how you found me!” He laughed, “Doesn’t matter, I was hoping to see you!” He said with his friendliest smile, “We have a lot to talk about!”