Nox stood over the headless corpse and watched the last traces of golden light fade from the jock's body. The whole scene had been pretty entertaining to watch from the doorway. Big strong hero gets powers, beats up monsters, powers run out, almost dies. Classic story arc, really.
"That was my kill," Ava said from behind him, sounding genuinely annoyed. "I had a clear shot. Was about to fry that thing."
He glanced back at her. "Too slow."
"I wasn't too slow. You just rushed in there without warning. Again."
"And now it's dead," he said, looking down at the corpse. The thing was massive up close, way bigger than the regular dogs. "Problem solved."
A blue screen popped up in front of him.
[Alpha Plague Hound Defeated!]
[EXP Gained: 500]
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 4!]
[All stats increased by 1!]
[You have 5 unallocated stat points!]
'Five hundred experience from one monster. Not bad at all.' He mentally put three points into Strength and two into Agility, then dismissed the screen. His body immediately felt the change, muscles getting denser, reflexes sharper.
"Are you even listening to me?" Ava asked, her hands on her hips.
"Not really, no." He walked over to examine the other dead dogs scattered around the gym. Most of them had been killed by the jock before his power ran out. Pretty impressive for a normal human. "Looks like someone had fun in here."
The jock, who was built like a linebacker, was still on the floor, breathing hard and looking like he'd been through a meat grinder. There was a girl unconscious near the wall, blood on her face, probably his girlfriend based on how he kept looking at her. A few other students were hiding behind the bleachers, too scared to come out.
"Hey," Nox called out to the jock. "You alive over there?"
The guy struggled to sit up, wincing with every movement. "Yeah. Barely."
"What was that golden light thing? Some kind of power-up?"
"I don't know." The jock looked at his hands like he expected them to start glowing again. "Someone offered me a deal, and I took it."
"Someone?" That was interesting. "Who?"
"A voice in my head. Said he'd give me power if I served his interests."
Nox raised an eyebrow. "And you just said yes? No questions asked?"
"My friends were dying." The guy's voice got harder, defensive. "I would've done anything to save them."
"How'd that work out for you?"
The jock looked around the gym at all the bodies and didn't answer. The silence said enough.
"That's what I thought." Nox started walking toward the exit. "Come on, Ava. Let's find more things to kill."
"Wait," the jock called out, his voice weak but urgent. "You're just going to leave us here?"
"Pretty much."
"There might be more of those things coming. We need help."
Nox stopped and turned around. "And what exactly do you bring to the table? Your golden power's gone, and you can barely stand."
"I'm still strong. Stronger than a normal person."
"So is she." Nox pointed at the unconscious girl. "I saw her throwing stuff around with her mind before you powered up. At least that's actually useful."
"Diana," the jock said, looking over at the girl with genuine worry. "Is she okay?"
"How the hell should I know? I'm not a doctor."
Ava walked over and knelt beside the girl, checking her pulse and looking for obvious injuries. "She's breathing. Pulse is steady. Probably just knocked out from overusing her power."
"See? She's fine." Nox started walking again. "Good luck with whatever happens next."
"You're really just going to abandon us?" The desperation in the jock's voice was almost funny.
"Did you help me when Mark and his crew were beating the shit out of me every day?" Nox asked, his voice completely flat.
The jock looked confused. "I don't even know who you are."
"Exactly. You never bothered to notice I existed, so why should I care what happens to you now?"
"Because people are dying!"
"People die every day. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not one of them."
He reached the gym doors and looked back one more time. The jock was trying to crawl over to check on his girlfriend, and the other students were starting to peek out from behind the bleachers.
"Wait," one of them called out. A blonde girl who looked like she'd been crying for hours. "Please don't leave us here."
"Why not?"
"Because we'll die without your help."
He shrugged. "Probably."
Ava grabbed his arm, her grip surprisingly strong. "Nox, we can't just leave them here."
"Watch me."
"Come on. That guy with the golden powers could be useful. And the girl with telekinesis too."
"They're weak. His power ran out after what, five minutes? And she's unconscious. What good are they going to do?"
"Maybe they'll get stronger. Maybe their powers will come back."
He thought about it for half a second. The system had said there were over a hundred monsters still alive in the dungeon. Having more people to fight might speed things up. And if they died along the way, they'd at least be useful distractions.
But then he'd have to deal with their whining, their questions, their moral judgments about everything he did.
'Yeah, hard pass.' He kept walking, pulling his arm free from Ava's grip.
Ava stood there for a second, watching him leave. Then she followed, but he could feel the anger radiating off her.
"You know what? You're a complete asshole," she said, her voice getting louder with each word. "A total piece of shit who only cares about himself."
He kept walking at the same steady pace, which apparently just made her angrier.
"I'm talking to you!" she yelled, her hands starting to glow with that red fire. "These people are going to die, and you don't give a damn because what, some kids were mean to you? That's your excuse?"
That made him stop. He didn't turn around right away. The hallway was quiet except for some distant crashing sounds. Part of him said to just keep walking, that her opinion didn't matter. But another part, a newer, colder part, didn't like being challenged.
He turned slowly. His face wasn't angry or hurt. It was completely blank, which was somehow worse.
"What did you just say?" His voice was quiet, too quiet.
Ava was taken aback for a second, but her anger pushed her forward. "You heard me. You think you're so much better than everyone now that you have powers, but you're not. You're just dangerous and useless."
He started walking toward her, each step deliberate. "Useless?"
The casual way he closed the distance set off alarm bells in her head, and she took an instinctive step back. "Yeah, useless. What happens when you run into something you can't handle alone? Who's going to help you then?"
He was right in front of her before she could blink. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat, not squeezing hard, but his grip was iron. She couldn't have pulled away if she tried.
Her fire aura sputtered and died. Her eyes went wide with sudden, real fear.
"You talk too much," he said, his voice a whisper. The blankness in his eyes was gone, replaced by something predatory. "It's getting annoying."
He felt it then, that dark voice in the back of his mind whispering how easy it would be. Just squeeze. No more lectures, no more accusations, just silence. The thought was simple and clean and terrifyingly appealing.
But then he saw the genuine terror in her eyes, saw how her body trembled in his grip. He saw the students in the gym doorway staring in horror.
Killing her here would just create problems. She was useful for clearing the dungeon. That was the only reason he let go.
He released her suddenly, and she stumbled backward, gasping for air, her hands flying to her throat.
"Stay out of my way," he said, his voice completely flat again.
Then he turned and walked away without another word, leaving her trembling in the ruined hallway.
Behind them, still in the gym, Jax had managed to crawl over to Diana. He cradled her head in his lap, checking her injuries while the other survivors slowly came out of hiding.
"That guy's insane," the blonde girl whispered, having watched the whole interaction. "He was going to kill her."
"Yeah," Jax said, his voice rough. "But he didn't. Which means he needs her for something."
"So what do we do?" one of the basketball players asked.
Jax looked down at Diana's unconscious face, then at the door where Nox and Ava had disappeared. His body was screaming in pain, but his mind was working.
"We follow them," he said finally. "At a distance. They're clearing out the monsters, which makes the path safer for us."
"Follow the psycho? Are you crazy?"
"Maybe." He struggled to his feet, every movement agony. "But staying here means certain death. Following them means maybe surviving. I'll take maybe over certain any day."
He looked at the others. "Anyone who wants to come, help me carry Diana. Anyone who wants to stay, good luck."
The survivors looked at each other, then at the corpses around them. One by one, they moved to help.
Sometimes the devil you know is better than the monsters you don't.