NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Chapter 2 - Taken

We ran as fast as our little legs could, away from the alligators from behind. Thankfully, they lost interest to pursue us and continued devouring the stranded villagers. Mixed with the group were the adventurers and soldiers who tried desperately to help the hopeless townspeople. But their efforts were to no avail as the rank-B and rank-A monsters found in the forest hew them in half.

"We're almost there, Clementine." The village slowly formed before us as we hurriedly flee from the scene.

There was nobody else inside the village but the carcass lying on the ground. All the humans were already dead or evacuated inside the kingdom. The fiends smashed the structures and bungalows into pieces, leaving nothing we can salvage.

However, that was not the end of our struggles. The monsters that we had seen were the scouts sent out by someone from aback. The rest of the beasts came rushing down into the forest, tearing down the trees and boulders.

It even trampled the rest of the creatures, devouring the humans as if it was nothing but paper. After a few minutes, the hungry predators marched in and destroyed the entire forest, leaving the area dull as the meadow.

"Sister, look out!" I instinctively ducked and eluded the arrows aimed towards us, hitting the bear behind. The darts came from the other side of the forest, with the appearance of an adventure with his recurve.

Adventurers in our world were beings close to celestials. They came out of nowhere and protected our cities. Some of them turned rogue, but the adventurer's guild always put a stop to their terrorism. So, it was fortunate for us to meet an adventurer strong enough to wield a weapon.

But the bolt was not enough to stop the bear from its track and hurriedly chased for the adventurer. It even passed by our two figures, standing motionlessly still from fright.

The man screamed and attempted to dodge the attack, but miserably failed. He got knocked off towards us with his health bar turned in half. Blood splattered everywhere from the rock, but not enough to kill the bloke.

"Help us, please, brave adventurer!" I cried out while tugging the ends of his armour. Meeting my eyes, the bloke stood up and raised his weapons.

But the man did not have the intention of helping us. He instead sprinted away to safety, leaving us with the ferocious bear on our fore.

"Do not leave us here, adventurer!" I shrieked as far as my voice could, wanting to reach out for the running bloke. However, the wanderer did not hesitate to run away from us as he saved himself from the dangerous situation.

"I do not have the levels to defeat that thing!" Those were the last words said by the adventurer as I saw his image disappeared without a trace from the fog.

"I am scared, sister." Clementine gripped my arms tightly and closed her eyes, afraid of the creature angrily glaring at us.

I needed to do something before the bruin could even hurt my sister and me. As I looked around, I spotted nothing I could use to defend ourselves. Nobody had also taught me how to cast any spell since I was too busy helping our shop.

The bear blasted us with its screech and charged its massive body in our direction. There was no way for us to evade the tackle, so I had to hurl my sister away to safety and take the strike.

Clementine landed on the soil, right next to the fallen trees. Thankfully, my sister got away unhurt from my toss. Woefully, my body suffered severe wounds from the attack.

I flew towards the tree and created a crate on the bark. My ears heard a crack coming from my right hand after shielding my skull. Luckily, I was still alive amidst the headbutt. But any more injury that I could receive would kill me on the spot if I am not careful.

I spit out and coughed crimson blood from my mouth, knowing that I have internal rupture inside my body. The metallic taste of the liquid bathed my tongue as I slowly wiped the remaining saliva off from my mouth.

[Warning! Leave the village and get rescued by an adventurer!] The automated voice alerted me yet again, this time becoming louder than before.

Suddenly, numbers-zeroes and ones appeared in front of me, combined with texts that I do not understand. Gradually, my body moved on its own, wanting to retreat towards the castle without bringing my sister.

"What is wrong with me?" I fought back the urge of my body to escape from this place alone. Even if I could withdraw, I must bring Clementine with me during my abscond.

[Caution! The system requires you to escape as a villager!]

But I had already tried, dammit!

[Caution! You need to ask help from adventurers or the knights!]

But the adventurer deserted us and saved himself!

[Caution! Red-NPC. You must obey the script and follow our orders!]

With all these notifications popping up, I did not have the chance to save my sister. The world froze around me, with the sudden appearance of my relative sundered in half by the random arcane pierced on her chest. It happened too fast that I had not realised until the splatter of her blood reached on my face. At first, I thought it was my teardrop dripping from my eyes. Now that I had realised, Clementine's lifeless body hit the ground with her eyes staring back at mine.

"Red, I love you." Those were the words that escaped her mouth as she breathed her last breath. After five more seconds, she ceased to puff out air, together with the rest of the villagers beside us.

"No! Don't die on me, Clementine! You are the only one I have…" My voice trailed off in a distance as I rushed towards her and shaken her motionless limbs. My vision turned foggy because of the tears flowing from my eyes. Soon, a puddle of salty water formed below my knees, wetting Clementine's deceased body.

The monster in front of us swallowed the lower part of my sister's body inside its mouth. Its teeth sunk through the muscles and bones of her vessel as its meal. It was a gore image painted in front of me as the bear continued to dismember my little sister.

"The knights and adventurers have arrived in Freiy kingdom! Fear not, villagers, we will purge this town and collect the bounties from the monsters!" A deafening cheer echoed from the other side of the forest. Upon shifting my head over towards the north, an army of soldiers and adventurers armed with staves and bows addressed us from afar.

"One of them killed my sister." The voice inside my head distorted my sight. I did not feel any delight with reinforcements arriving from the castle, since one of them is the murderer of Clementine.

[Warning! Please evacuate to safety!]

[Caution! Ask for help from the soldiers and adventurers!]

My hand curled into a fist, enraged by the adventurer who abandoned us. If it were not for him, then these soldiers would have rescued us to a safe place.

If it was not for the blind arrow shot in a distance, then my sister could still be alive!

[Red-the non-player character, villager, and a citizen of Freiy kingdom, please proceed towards the army and beg them to save you.] The automated voice roared inside my brain, as if controlling me about my actions.

However, my body and mind refused to obey such demands, so I dashed away from the scene. It was the first time that I became confused, angered, and sorrowful at the same time in my entire life. It almost felt that someone chained me into someone else that I need to follow.

For the first time in my life, I freed myself from the shackles that grounded me in this world.

A glass-like barrier broke through inside of me, forming a crystal orb glowing inside my chest. But I paid it no mind and resumed running away from my troubles.

Soon, I reached the peak of the cliff and the river flowing elsewhere outside alerted my senses. It was the same stream where my parents got killed earlier.

The bear from before caught up in my tracks and took advantage of the situation. It knew that there was no other way for me to escape this cliff other than clashing heads with its towering body.

"I want to live!" I took a step back and repeated my sentence, hoping that the mammal understood what I had said.

But, alas, it did not and charged straight towards me as it did a while back.

I tried jolting from the side and bait the bear from jumping on the cliff. But the animal was intelligent enough to foresee my plan and halted at the exact moment I pounced. The bear had the last laugh and finally pushed me back, downwards from the stream.

The sky turned sapphire and clouded my head, telling me that the chaos had stopped for now. The bear, who had plunged me to my demise, got shot by a magic missile through its chest. Its body followed mine afterwards, as the two of us dove below the roaring water.

The memories of my sister flashed before my eyes. Her smile, voice, and the little things she had done for me unveil before me before I could sink underwater.

Following my sister was my parents, who I deeply loved. They were the only people who believed in me for what I do best. My parents sheltered me, food to eat, and a yard to take care of during the seasons.

They gave me a family with whom I poured my heart and love.

But that happy family changed instantly because of the event that took shape in front of my eyes. It was a screen created by the gods that I can never see. It was also the system that summoned the adventurers inside of our world. They were also responsible for creating the towns, kingdom, and nature surrounding us.

They were the gods that killed my sister.

The event which announced the death of my sister.

The adventurer left us and killed my sister.

And last, the kingdom whom I adored also killed my sister.

The water splashed through my entire body, soaking me with dread and anger. I became unconscious for the time being. The waves from the surging water brought me somewhere far from the kingdom that ended my life.

…...

The crisping of fire rattling beside me awakened my mind from my slumber. Before I could peer my eyes open, the heat warmed my hands, with the calm and icy breeze of the wind adding from the sensation.

A short moan escaped my mouth as I touched the burnt twigs near my head. My fingers refused to follow my command as I tried stretching them skywards.

"You are finally awake, little one." An unfamiliar voice echoed in my ear.

I hurriedly panicked and attempted to sit up straight, but my body never allowed me. Shortly, a flashback ran through my mind, recalling the events that had happened before I regained my consciousness.

"Clementine, where are you?!" I finally had the strength to shift my view from left to right, hoping to find my sister within my vicinity.

"You were the only person alive from the massacre, little one. I believe you are a villager of the Freiy kingdom, perhaps?" I gradually raised my head and greeted a humanoid creature with the face and body of a male dragon.

The reptile had his skin on a scale that covered his entire physique. He also had leathered armour strapped around his chest, enough to render the usual arrows and stones useless against him. Upon gazing at the bottom of his waist, there lies a scabbard with a dagger inserted inside. Leaking from the leather case was with crimson liquid, still fresh on its surface. It stained the designs of the leather holder, telling me he had fought a recent battle.

"Who are you?" I could not help but ask the strange bloke who had helped me survive the fall.