Orced laughed, low and cold, the friendly face gone totally. "You honestly believed we would be peaceful? You fools really thought the smile act was real? You were under our knowledge of watching us. We were confident someone would be dispatched. And you strolled straight into it."
Nemo swung wildly to fight back, but Orced easily dodged and drove his knee into Nemo's temple. The guy collapsed and whimpered.
Orced hurried back to Pero, who was trying to flee, blood gushing from his mouth. "Where do you think you are heading?"
He gripped Pero by the collar, hauled him up, and slammed him against a tree. From his jacket pocket, Orced took out a tiny vial of clear, thick liquid—the acid he lowkey had.
Terror started to show in Pero's eyes. "No… no, you're such assho—"
Orced poked around. Pero's mouth opened with merciless efficiency. "Open wide."
He emptied the acid into Pero's throat.
Pero's scream was unnatural. As the acid burned across his mouth, throat, and stomach, his body bucked. Smoke billowed from his lips as flesh dissolved. The fluid sizzled on the ground as he threw up blood and bile.
Orced kept on. He compelled yet another swallow.
Pero's eyes grew huge and tears spilled down his face. Beyond words, his agony was every breath a new agony as his internal organs dissolved. He tore at Orced's arms, but his strength was waning rapidly.
Orced spoke with a quiet, nearly conversational tone. "You genuinely assumed we would be nice? You observed us kill Rengan. You saw us develop. You still came here believing we were looking for peace? pathetic."
Nemo sighed and pushed himself up. Orced whirled and delivered another brutal kick to Nemo's head, then another, and another, until he went limp, unconscious. Pero now was weeping, blood and acid combining on his chin. He spoke in a rasping tone. "Please... quit...."
Orcéd peered icily down at him. "You yearned to speak. This is the dialogue.
He shoved the remainder of the vial down Pero's throat. The discomfort turned intolerable. But Pero's body shook violently. In a last, desperate attempt of charity toward himself, he strained free from Orced's hold with the last of his strength and hurled himself toward the steep edge of the woods. His body turned over the edge and fell into the ravine underneath.
A long, fading scream sounded, then silence.
Orced paused, brushing his jacket with his fingers. He glanced down at the sleeping Nemo, then over toward the cliff where Pero had vanished.
He grinned barely.
"Tell your boss I said hello."
He walked away, leaving the two men behind—one dead, one wounded—as once more the woods fell silent.
As the colored the clouds below in rich oranges and purples, Orced landed lightly on the border of Sky Boys Island. His steps were light, practically casual, as though he had just come back from a brief walk, but his jacket had some dark marks. The whole squad was already gathered on the main square, anxiously quiet.
Kruna spoke first, arms crossed. "So?"
Orced flicked a bit of something off his sleeve and met all their gaze with that same calm, assured grin.
"It's finished" he added simply.
"I addressed it just as it had to be. No mercy. No hesitation. They arrived hoping for a friendly chat. I showed them what happens if someone underestimate us. They have reached their end."
The team watched him in shocked silence for a heartbeat.
Macker opened his eyes wide. "Wait, you really did it?"
Nix whistled softly. "Damn."
Ema shoved his hair back, a sluggish grin spreading over his face. "That's our supervisor, as expected, no mercy to insects"
Aftor grinned and spun his knife around once. "Cool. It appeals to me."
Sano just nodded, respect apparent in his eyes.
Kruna's first shock turned to a slight, knowing grin. "Good. One more and one less problem."
The conflict came to an end. The squad started celebrating, clapping Orced on the back and chuckling, already searching for information. Within seconds, the mood changed from anxiety to joy. Laughing along as if it had been no more than yet another good hunt, Orced greeted it all with his typical cool charm.
At the Hedonas command center, though, things were different.
Standing at the console Meha tried once more to connect to Pero's communicator. "Pero, respond. Nemo, report on status" Only static responded.
He made an effort again, voice strained. "Pero. Nemo. Come inside."
None.
Brow furrowed, Darkas moved closer. "No signal, what's going on?"
Meha shook his head, a chilly insight sinking in his belly. "They're not replying. The final ping was close to the teahouse location… then silence. Something's up. Something went terribly wrong here."
Nemo moaned as awareness progressively returned in the wooded ravine close to the former teahouse. Blood covered his mouth, his ribs screamed with each breath, and his head throbbed. He pushed himself up on shaky arms, peering through the clouds of discomfort.
Then he caught it.
Pero's body was meters away, crumpled at the base of the steep drop. It was twisted, burned, covered in dried blood and acid residue. The view was horrible. Broken and lifeless was the man who had been his closest friend, the one who always had his back.
Nemo's world fell apart.
"Pero…"
His voice broke, just above a whisper. Reality hit him hard, tears blurring his vision.
"No… not at all, no, no..." He crept ahead, each move torment, but he was not concerned. The agony in his body paled besides the breach developing in his chest.
He reached Pero's side and gently touched his cold hand; a broken sob tore from his throat.
The woods were quiet around him; his gentle, crushed sobbing was the only sound.
Back on Sky Boys Island. Orced laughed with his team, the weight of the day already receding into the backdrop like yet another well-executed project.
The game had undergone transformation.