"Hmm? That... seems wrong." The Wanderer frowned and leaned forward. "There's something happening..."
Wanderer had been sifting through documents high up in a skyrise within The Capital. It was one of the only ones, and each skyrise was situated near the centre of The Capital. With stunning architecture, it didn't seem like an eyesore, even though the rest of The Capital was more similar to suburban neighbourhoods.
Something's strange. The past actions of The Wealthy Ones - before I killed them all and secretly took over - have been strange. He looked at the records. From what it looked like, it hadn't been the government who'd ordered the No-Kill Rule initiative.
Instead, it'd been pushed by The Wealthy Ones from behind the scenes. Furthermore, it was mainly only done in the Outskirts. For the Inner City, there was only a partial implementation for the floor, and for The Capital - nothing.
The Wanderer also discovered several secret experiments, projects to discover "Personalities" with an intent for wide-scale production. From the looks of it, the Personalities were designed to affect the Outskirts and Inner City, with the exception of rich people.
There were even plans for payments and transactions between the rich people within the entirety of Central Cities. Of course, not every rich person was a Wealthy One. As a matter of fact, most of the public knew about "The Wealthy Ones", but the people they knew didn't even have a fraction of the wealth of the true Wealthy Ones.
He stood up.
"There are other things that don't add up. For example, there's no mention of fuel for the City's flight. And there are strange tunnels underground... branching from below these skyrises outward."
Wanderer began to contact his other selves. "I'm gonna check on these tunnels. This whole thing is suspicious, so if I suddenly lose contact, have another clone on standby for continued management."
With that, The Wanderer opened a window, turned invisible, and jumped out. Hopefully all these things don't suddenly reveal some huge, city-wide conspiracy, amirite?
As he fell, he accidently hit a passing bird. It tumbled through the air and hit a window, causing one of the accountants to knock over a cup - hitting the keyboard of his computer.
"Oh, sh*t. Good thing there was nothing in the cup." He turned back to the computer, only to see the words "That's foreshadowing..." typed out.
"Damn! What are the odds of that happening, huh?"
...
Holy sh*t. These tunnels are so ominous.
Wanderer wandered, wondering about his surroundings as he went his way down to the source of the branching tunnels. There were mysterious tubes, occasional lights and random patterns on the walls.
Most of the tubes travelled with the tunnel, but some would go upward into the ceiling. Perhaps, to the surface? But what could the tubes be carrying?
If this was a novel, they'd definitely be the kind of route the MC takes to defeat some demon king.
He chuckled. "Of course, though, this isn't a novel. The only "novel" here in Story World 2093 is the one I'm making. Thus, there's a 90% there won't be any demons or devils at the bottom of this tunnel."
Right?
Yeah, definitely.
Oop! Looks like I've made it. Hmm... it all branches to this huge hole? And it's so dark, I can't even see the bottom.
The Wanderer took a step back, and launched himself down!
"Bottoms up!"
Wait, was that the right way to use that saying? Ahh, whatever. No one else is around to embarrass me.
Thud!
"Hmm? Damn it, I didn't bring a torch." As Wanderer activated Illusion Control in an attempt to brighten up the place, the lights automatically turned on. And they revealed...
HOLY SH*T WHAT IS THAT!!!
A huge demon, with tubes connected from various ports. It appeared to be asleep, and it even seemed to be becoming stronger every second. The demon's size and aura was clearly increasing, albeit slowly.
Ohh... okay, I was wrong. That's a demon if I ever saw one.
The Wanderer slowly backed off, thinking about how to escape. He wasn't dumb enough to think he'd be able to fight it - perhaps if he was still a Heaven, but now? He was just a mortal. Well, a very powerful mortal, but regardless.
Wanderer began to climb the side of the wall to escape the pit. But just as he was about to reach to the top and escape, a noise startled him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
F*ck.
The Wanderer slowly turned around, face to face with the demon. The demon who'd just woken up and was staring at Wanderer in confusion. The demon spoke up once more.
"You're here for the power up? Has the schedule changed? Also, why are you dressed that way." The demon beckoned The Wanderer back down. "If you're here for the power up then just come close and let's get this over with."
He muttered under his breath. "Stupid contract... if I was one of those cunning devil bastards... nah..."
The demon shifted around, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "Well, I guess it's not so bad. Anyway, get over here and take the power so I can go back to sleep."
Wanderer looked around, and decided to go with the flow. He drew close and stared at the growing ball of energy in the demon's huge hand. The Wanderer wasn't too sure what to do next, but luck was on his side.
"First time? Yeah, you look like a new one. Alright, just put your hand into the ball of energy and it'll automatically be absorbed. Simple, right?" The demon moved his hand closer, and Wanderer had no choice but to put his hand into the energy.
Vvvm...
Instantly, The Wanderer felt himself get a surge of strength. It was... a permanent boost to everything he had? Such strength was felt through all of his clones, and the feedback bounced between them, making the effect stronger.
"Alright! Well... I'm just... gonna leave now."
After receiving the energy, Wanderer turned to flee once more, only to be stopped in his tracks.
"Wait."
"What's that... smell." The demon suddenly lunged at The Wanderer, his nose stopping only a few centimetres away from the back of his head. "Smells like... Heaven. You. You aren't one of The Wealthy Ones, are you. Right."
The demon suddenly leaned back a bit, continuing. "You didn't even know how to enter or leave. I should've known. But... what's a Heaven doing down here? And also... you seem weak."
Wanderer suddenly turned around and fired a beam of ice using Frost Energy!
It struck the demon on the chest, creating a large chunk of ice which made the demon stagger. But that was all. The next moment, the ice turned into steam.
F*ck, what do I even do about this demon. I need to warn the other clones. The Wanderer began trying to contact his clones, but his attempt was cut short as a fist abruptly smashed into his chest.
Following that, the demon opened his mouth and let out a bolt of hellish energy. As it flew, the air it touched caught on fire and left behind a bright trail of flames. In response, Wanderer grew a thick barrier of ice to block.
Then, he kicked it at the demon, turning his shield into an attack.
"Hey, is there any chance we can talk this out?" The Wanderer abandoned all previous attempts at being stealthy. Previously, he hadn't leapt out of the pit since it'd make noise, but now he didn't care.
"Ha! Talk it out, like one of those devils? In your dreams." The demon chased after him.
He tensed his legs and pushed off the ground, ascending at high speeds. Unfortunately, he was overtaken by the huge demon behind him. As his leg was grabbed, Wanderer had no other choice but to cut it off.
"Sh*t!" Now that The Wanderer had no more momentum or force to travel up, he could only dig his fingers into the walls and climb again. But once more, that pesky demon managed to latch onto him, dragging Wanderer back into the pit.
As he fell, The Wanderer's face stayed solemn and calm without panicking in the slightest. After all, the number 1 rule of fighting was about attitude!
At times like this, the most important thing is aura, and staying cool. Even if you're about to collapse next second, you must stay nonchalant until collapsing!
As long as your expression is cool enough, even if you lose, you won't be looked down upon. And of course, if you win, it will make people think even more highly of you. This is the importance of staying cool during a fight!
Crash!
"Oww!" Unfortunately, he couldn't stay cool for long. As the two hit the ground, Wanderer's face scrunched up with pain.
Damn it. This mortal body is... so weak. If it was the me from before, I would've wiped the floor with this demon. And I wouldn't have felt any pain from such a small fall.
Both the demon and The Wanderer knew. He was too weak.
"Hahaha. Even though I don't know why you're so weak, I won't hold back! Come and die for me!" The demon swung his fist into Wanderer's head.
Crrack!
The Wanderer felt his skull shatter.
He was going to die. He was going to die for the first time. Even before he was a Heaven, he'd never died. During his time as Heaven, he was naturally immortal.
Suddenly, Wanderer couldn't help but feel scared.
Could it be...? The longer you live, the more afraid of death you become? Even though I'm just a clone...
The Wanderer's eyes snapped open. Right!
Dammit, I need to relay this info to my other clones! If not, this whole conspiracy's gonna stay hidden!
Thus were the final, dying thoughts of the man who was once a Heaven.
Wanderer lay in a puddle of blood, eyes unblinking.
The demon stared down at The Wanderer's unmoving body.
"Hmm, well. Maybe one more time - just for good measure."
Crrack.