abcnovels
Chapter 115: Dylak’s Revenge (FINALE) - END & EPILOGUE
Chapter 115: Dylak’s Revenge (FINALE) - END & EPILOGUE
Chapter 115: Dylak's Revenge (FINALE) - END & EPILOGUE
That night, three years ago, Clara woke up after hearing a commotion around her. Her older twin sister was still sleeping, despite the constant noise of phones ringing and adults answering in an urgent tone of voice.
There were other Tandem like her nearby, asleep or asking questions that went unanswered.
No one had the time to address the teens. They were supposed to be quiet during the trip to wherever they were going. Although they had lost as much as anyone aboard that plane, no one had the time to comfort them.
"Mamí..." Emily muttered in her sleep, as a tear ran down her cheek.
**It's okay. I bet she also made it in time,** Clara thought, tucking away a strand of hair from her sister's forehead.
"Vice Presidente, ?alguna noticia?"
Hearing that made Clara jump and look over her seat.
A few feet away was a man of brown skin, with white combed hair, wearing a gray suit. His sunken eyes and cheeks made him seem as if he had not rested or eaten in a week, and when he shook his head as a reply to the person addressing him, he looked like collapsing at any moment.
"?Papá?" Clara called aloud, meeting eyes with him.
He opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but pursed his lips instead and walked away, acting like any other adult on board.
Clara sighed and looked through the porthole by her side. She wished to watch the lights of whatever city they were leaving behind, but she witnessed a giant mushroom-shaped cloud instead suspended in the air for what seemed to be an eternity.
* * *
**
*
"I shouldn't have watched that. Sorry."
"It's okay. I suppose this is what happens when two souls link to each other."
"Soul? I don't think I have one."
"It's just a way of speaking..."
"Oh. Okay... Um... She did that. Didn't she?"
"You know, it never occurred to me that 'it' could be a 'she', but whatever. If you say so. And yes. Partially. She only pulled the trigger, and a bunch of cowardly pigs followed through. They didn't care if my home was in the crossfire. They're as bad as her."
"The entirety of your world was in the crossfire, so..."
"Yeah... That's why I don't blame the pigs as much. They were only looking for themselves, which is not excusable, but at least they were trying to protect their own... Their own selfish fat asses."
"You know... It's okay if you hate me too."
"What are you talking about? You weren't there. You have nothing to do with it."
"But I may have some of her... code inside me..."
"So what? You're not her, are you? I'm my father's daughter, which means I have some of his DNA, but that doesn't mean I'm him, correct?"
"Is that how you see it?"
"Trust me, everything is okay! I bet our Guild Master won't have a problem with you either."
"We'll see... Um... Thanks, Clara. You are my new goddess now."
"G-goddess?! I-I know I'm fabulous and super charming, but if you call me that in front of Amelia, the gates of hell may open!"
"It's just a way of speaking."
"Ah. Fast learner..."
* * *
**
*
Although Alan could not see what was happening up there, but a System notification gave him an update.
+++NOTICE: Minion Anastasia was killed by Teammate Clara Domínguez.+++
He released a loud sigh, as he heard something landing a few feet away from him, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
"A-Alan! What the hell happened to you?!" Amelia cried, out of his sight. "Your HP is barely holding up!"
"Ku-kyuuuu!" Sloochie cried with joy, jumping toward the girl's arms.
"H-hey, my favorite redhead in all the Novus..." Alan said, quietly. "B-by the way, before you get too close, for the love of god, don't touch me. It may not seem like it, but a single finger of yours could kill me."
Amelia's face flushed. "W-what do you take me for, huh?! I'd never--! W-wait. I think I have a red potion... somewhere in my inventory."
"Amelia..." he called once he had her face in his line of vision.
"Yes, what is it?"
"We really need a healer in our guild."
"Agreed," she replied with a half smile, while carefully putting a bottle against his lips. "Although don't get your hopes up. They're quite rare. The majority are already working for other guilds, and the few unemployed, are certified assholes. Trust me. Drink it all."
The potion quickly helped him heal his broken bones, replenished his lost blood, and regenerated his injured muscles. Once he could stand up, he checked his User Interface. His mana bar was completely empty, and his connection with Aaron was still offline.
**You have a lot to explain, Clara.**
"Are you going to tell me what that thing is?" Amelia asked, looking up at the giant moving building slowly dissolving and turning into vanishing pixels.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
A couple of minutes later, a moment after the monstrosity finally disappeared into nothingness, a wolven mount joined them, carrying Ashley on her back.
Amelia gasped after seeing her injuries.
"You too, Ashley?! I shouldn't have left! W-wait, I have a red potion for you too."
"I leveled up two times, Amelia," Ashley blurted out, while still lying down.
"You say it as if coming here was not that bad! This was not a theme park, you know!"
Hearing all that, prompted Alan to check his status window, finding he was level 13 now.
He did not say a word and only smiled.
"So... All of our NPCs are dead," Amelia said, checking her Guild's window. "Clara is still online."
"It wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't show her face in front of us anymore," Alan said, making Amelia fold her arms.
"What makes you say that? Is it because of that system message I got?"
"Never mind. There she is..."
They turned their gaze towards the approaching unicorn, and at the girl waving her hand at them.
"Guuuuys! Did you miss me?! Oh, man! What a night, huh?! Who do I have to kill to get some pancakes around here, eh?! I'm starving!" She put both hands on her lips and laughed out loud, before meeting Ashley's blank expression, Amelia's frown, and Alan's squinting eyes. "W-what? Too soon? Too soon, I guess... S-sorry, Alan."
"Do you mind explaining to us what happened to Anastasia?"
"Of course, Guild Master!" Clara said, jumping down from her mount. "But before that, I have to show you something, just don't freak out!" She raised her palms and winced, making her guild partners look at each other, unfazed. "O-okay..." Clara exhaled, channeling mana and making a magic circle appear in front of her. "Here it comes... Summoning, Dylak, The Forsaken Countess!"
"Wait..." Alan said. "What did you--?"
A woman with platinum hair, looking in his late twenties appeared, wearing Clara's old office outfit. Her silver eyes looked fierce as if she was glaring at them, but a couple of seconds later, she did a curtsy.
"I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Dylak, and from now on, I'll be Clara Dominguez's servant..."
Amelia tilted her head, judging the woman's outfit. "Who the hell is this?"
Alan blinked repeatedly. "D-did you say 'Countess'? So, did Dylak have a wife?"
Ashley's expression remained unchanged. "Isn't she the dungeon Director? You know, the one responsible for locking Alan in this place."
The three of them stared at Clara, looking for answers, but she turned around and hopped on her unicorn. "ALL RIGHT! A race back to the house, yes?! Last place will make breakfast, nya-ha-ha!"
As Clara ran into the horizon, The Countess nodded at them, before vanishing.
"I will take part in this meritless contest, just because I'm hungry," Ashley said, ordering her wolf mount to take off.
Finally, Alan met Amelia's eyes, and both sighed at the same time.
"By the way, I'm level 13 now," he said, puffing out his chest.
"Yes, I noticed," she replied, hugging him. "Good job."
"Is life in the Novus this exciting?"
"Only during weekends..."
***
**
*
++ Epilogue ++
++++++++++++++++++++++
RICARDO: That concludes my report.
SAMUEL: Ricardo, you may not want to hear this...
RICARDO: Oh, please. Try me.
SAMUEL: But we asked Viola to do it some time ago.
RICARDO: And here we go! And when did you plan to tell me?
MICHAEL: We wanted to test how a NU with administrative powers would react.
RICARDO: Of course you wanted that! I'd only be in the way, huh? And that this NU almost overloaded the system was an eye-opener for all of you?
MICHAEL: It was, indeed...
HAYDEN: He was being sarcastic, Mike.
SAMUEL: This has been an excellent test subject, regardless. We got interesting data from this Director's behavior, and the User that managed to tame it.
HAYDEN: Yes, yes. But are we in a mutual understanding that we should never update a Dungeon Director again?
JOHN: Agreed.
XIA: That would be for the best.
HAYDEN: Or we could strip them from their powers before updating them, but that'd only be a waste. We have tons of NPCs and monsters already, so...
SAMUEL: Viola. I think the NU update may need some tweaks.
VIOLA: I think it's already working as intended! This is the perfect example of what wielding too much power does to a person, human or machine. Do not mind how long the leash is, Sam, what matters is that-
SAMUEL: Just review the code. You have plenty of time until the next major update.
VIOLA: Sure. I will.
SAMUEL: All right. What else do we have?
MICHAEL: Mother Goose is asking for more personnel.
SAMUEL: Not this again...
RICARDO[whisper]: Another out of jail free card, eh.
VIOLA[whisper]: You heard the man. They asked me to do it.
RICARDO[whisper]: And I bet that all of this started as your idea. Seriously, all of your experiments are taxing my system.
VIOLA[whisper]: Just because your work is to monitor it all the time, doesn't make it 'your' system. Every one of us is progressing this community at their own pace, sweetheart. Testing the next generation of AIs it's for the wellbeing of our mission and our survival. Don't you agree? So relax a little, okay? I'll send you a gift for helping me solve the situation, by the way.
RICARDO[whisper]: Whatever... We may be playing with fire, you know?
+++++++++++++++++++++
Viola Lang leaned in her seat and sipped from her cup of tea, staring at the chat window.
"You can't cook without fire, my dear." She snickered, licking her lips. "If you're too afraid to get near the stove, you should leave the kitchen then."