16 Operator in bound (1/2)

When the male came to, he found himself floating amongst the darkness. ”Where am I?” He asked himself, but before he could even do anything several lights began to illuminate the area. They appeared to be flashbacks of his previous lives in the form of cinematic screens. There was even footage of his present life as well. ”Lucid Driving?” Riyku muttered as he looked at all the screens. ”I need to find Coco.” He reaffirmed why he wanted to be able to do this in the first place and steadily began to search for fragments of Coco. His search wasn't in vain, there was a steady trail that would eventually lead him some tiny brunette girl who was trapped inside of a cage. When Riyku approached the cage it went ablaze the moment he got within a certain parameter it seemed.

Stepping back he as clicked his tongue he would call out to the girl, ”Hey! Are you okay!?” His voice echoed the emptiness. ”My, my someone is being a naughty boy.” A voice giggled throughout the darkness. It was the same voice as before; the one who told him of the Lucid Driving. ”I don't have time for these games!” Riyku shouted as he seemed to 'dash' towards the cage when the flames died down, but they would erupt yet again the moment he got within a certain parameter. ”Well, you are right. You don't have much time left. You have been here far longer than you were last time. I am sure you have been feeling it.” The voice stated with a sigh. ”As I said, I am not going to force you out this time. If you end up staying here for all eternity, that is your own fault.” It added which caused Riyku to growl. ”Then release, Coco at once!” He shouted through his teeth. ”No can do. She is your limiter. Once I release her you will go through the Class Up process and once you do then...” The voice fell short of finishing her sentence. ”Then?” Riyku inquired. ”No. I have said too much. The time for you to find out is not now. You are far too weak. You must become stronger before you can handle it, otherwise, it will consume you whole.” The voice stated, but before Riyku could get any more words out he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. ”Your time is up. I suggest leaving at once.” The voice stated firmly, though it would seem the male who was falling onto his knees from the pressure. He would grit his teeth as he struggled to press onward.

”I said...” The voice paused for a moment before the male felt a heavyweight and a sharp pain in his side which sent him onto his back. ”Leave!” The male's vision was beginning to blur, but for some odd reason he could only make out a tiny frame. Though the coloration was more so black than anything else. Moments later the male seemed to have woken up, but be it the sudden force against the table or his own will to wake up, but it was impossible to truly tell. His eyes shifted towards the sudden force which happened to have been caused by some unruly figure. ”Stupid bitch.” Riyku would shift his glance from Vex to a male who was glaring down at her. ”You ran into me!” Vex shouted as she pushed herself off the ground and glared up at the male. ”The fuck did you say? Did you hit your head?” Riyku would sigh heavily as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. ”Why are all of you nobles so arrogant.” Riyku would growl, a tad bit pissed from the fact that he could not save Coco. These people were the perfect ones to take his frustration out on. ”Who the hell are you!?” The man looked over to see it was none other than the infamous Ruthless King. The man would step back a few times before feeling a few hands touch him. ”Don't worry. We got your back. Let's kick his ass.” ”Yeah!” ”I got you, man!” ”Let's take down the Ruthless King!” ”Yeah, he needs to learn his place!” Suddenly several others would join in too which Riyku stood from his seat and looked at Vex. ”Where are the others?” He asked to which Vex shook her head. ”I am not sure. They all said they were going to use the bathroom and meet back here. I went to get some drinks then this guy bumped into me and--” Vex was caught off when a fist came flying her way that of which Riyku caught and glared at the male. ”I'll be with you lot in a moment.” He practically tossed the guy back before looking to Vex. ”Sit here and wait for them. I don't need you vanishing on me.” Riyku stated firmly to which she nodded. ”Are you sure you can handle them? I can always help you.” Vex would lay out her mind to which Riyku smirked and shook his head. ”I am a bit annoyed right now. So I'll be fine. Besides you've seen what I can do.” Riyku reaffirmed her worries.

True, she had seen what he was capable of. Not just back in the Lower District, but his training shown during the several of the Challenges he had partaken of. Nodding softly she would retreat to the seat and release a heavy breath. ”You should be more honest with yourself. You are exhausted.” Riyku had noticed her fatigue and made note of it before turning to face the man who was all up in his face. ”Barista!” Riyku called out to the woman who was behind the counter. ”A massive brawl is about to start. I don't want to damage any of your wares so, I'll be taking this one outside.” The woman would huff at the male's words. ”Well, at least you are kind enough to do that much even if you are about to send several of my customers away and steal more on top of it.” The woman whined as she went to the mic,

”Ahem! To all in the Lounge, we will be hosting a special event. This is a one-time thing, anyone who wishes to participate should follow the large group that is about to head outside. It will be a one versus all brawl. Since this is an exclusive event, I will be taking bids on the winning team, the winner will gain a portion of the points bid upon them as commission while I take some for myself and the then the rest will be multiplied and distributed into accounts of those who choose the winner, in addition to this the winner will also gain points equal at the end of the game as usual. If you decide you do not wish to partake you can seat here, enjoy a glass and watch the battle about to start or continue doing your own games. That is all.” The barista's voice came over the intercom after the music was turned down. Everyone was in silence for a moment as they watched a large group of people leave the Lounge, some followed and others went up to the counter to question the barista on what was going on while she set up some kind of system for people to 'bid'.

”What is going on?” Skylar asked Vex with the rest of the girls behind him as they looked over at the counter. Taking note of the sudden commotion. ”It is as she said. A massive game is about to start and she is trying to get money out of this.” Vex stated as the group sat down by the booth with her. ”Wait, where is..” Mina made note of someone missing. ”Don't tell me!” Kristen would rise up from her seat to which Vex placed her hand on her shoulder. ”Stop. I tried to intervene to, but he told me to stay here and wait for you all. Besides, we all need rest; we have been at this non-stop since this morning.” Vex stated to which Kristen huffed and took her seat again. ”She is right,” Lira stated with a soft smile. ”Besides, he isn't weak.” Myu seemed to pitch in. ”Though this is quite the scope. The Ruthless King becomes the Crimson King.” She seemed to snicker in excitement to which Skylar sighed lightly and Mina scratched her cheek while Kristen glared at her, ”Are you trying to ruin him!?” She shouted to which Myu shook her head. ”Oh no, I am just saying. That is what people will call him after this.” She stated as she looked at the counter taking note of the two teams. ”Well, Riyku is one, but is he really fighting all alone and against how many?” Skylar questioned to which Vex would shrug. ”I am not sure, the group that left was well over thirty people and more followed after that.” She seemed to reply. ”True, most of the Lounge is empty, those who are not participating are either taking a breather or finishing up their bouts,” Mina stated as she glanced around.

”Half of a hundred people?” Kristen questioned, but before long several digital screens would appear above each table and a larger one above the bar for all to see. In the corner was a small red dot with the text 'Live' beside it. ”W-wait! How many!” Kristen would slam her hands on the table. ”Get him!” ”Kill him!” The crowd around the bar began to shout at the counter under the team named 'Masses' continued to go up while Riyku's counter remained at zero. Clicking her tongue Kristen would ball her fist tightly. ”Is this some kind of joke? Why is no one stopping this! That is at least a hundred people. Some of which don't even seem to be part of this school.” Kristen shouted to which Lira nodded lightly and placed a hand upon her shoulder. ”I understand your frustration, but even if we left now. What can we do in our exhausted state?” Lira would confirm, ”She is right. We will just be a liability. Let's just hope and pray for his victory and safety.” Mina added to which Kristen would eventually calm down. ”We are supposed to help him... ” She still seemed frustrated. ”Frustrating I know. Which is why we need to become stronger.” Vex stated as she kept her eyes upon the screen.

Meanwhile outside of the Lounge where the track field was; happened to be Riyku who was standing firm and lax while surrounded by several people. ”More people showed up... Some of them aren't even students here... This has to be that bitches' doing.” Riyku made note of several people who weren't even bothered enough to dress like a student. Though, no one on their end seemed to have any complaints about it.

”3!”

A count down would with begin. Several people seemed to have called to their weapons, while others would draw them from holsters or sheaths. ”So, I'm not the only one with storage capabilities... How fortunate of me.” He stated the last part sarcastically.

”2!”

”I guess I have no choice.” Since he wasn't aiming to kill anyone he summoned his Trainee Steel Sword and Trainee Atomic Gun. Those came into his hands through dim particles of light unlike how the others pulled from their 'storage' which was more like they were pulling from some kind of distorted sub-space. Whispers would erupt on how he did that and what he did, but no one seemed to stay on it for long.

”1! Battle Start!”

With that and a blaring horn, it would seem the masses would rush him down. Though they were not trained for this sort of thing it would seem. Those who were ranged would take out their own who was charging him and those who were trying to chant spells were interrupted by people pushing them aside. Riyku wasn't nice enough to wait for them to all synchronize like a team since he had already been dashing around the field with his 'Shadow Step' skill while swinging his blunt blade to either deflect and counter or strike down his foes with unlethal attacks. Using his gun he would fire it rapidly around the area which seemed to allow him to take out those who thought they could sneak in his blind spots. Since he had the passive skill 'happy trigger' the reload time was reduced, but while it was still there he would defend himself. Thankfully, the vast majority of these people were weak in terms of combat. Well compared to him anyway, he was able to either evade, deflect, or block their attacks until his gun was done recharging. The male seemed to once more relentlessly go on the offensive until his bullets were used up yet again. This became a rinse and repeat session for a rather long time. In truth, this event would have come to a close with no critical injury. That was... until the male stumbled forward from a sharp pain that came from his shoulder, then again through his other shoulder, and finally through his back which caused him to nearly collapse upon the ground.

Seeing the sudden blood come out of nowhere when no one had even landed a scratch or got close enough to cause any damage would cause the masses to stop as the male fell onto one knee. His iris glanced over to the corner of his UI. His shield points were depleting at an alarming rate. Beside that status happened to be several red icons. When his iris' glanced over them they showed the text as such.

'Punctured blow. Shield points will be consumed unless treated'

'Critically wounded. Shield points will be consumed unless treated.'

'Life defect. Shield points will be used to keep from bleeding out.'

'Mana seal. Mana cannot be used.'

'What!?' Riyku growled at these negatives. When his shield points hit zero he spat out blood.

'Shield points reduced to zero. Wounds will no longer be sustained and loss of life is possible.'

Text appeared before him before he hastily looked around seeing, the mortified faces of the masses seemed to hold in place. ”What happened!?” One of the men shouted. ”I don't know, he just started bleeding and coughing up blood all of a sudden!” Another called out. ”W-wait... Isn't that!?” ”His blood his black! He's a demon!” Everyone suddenly became frightened, even those who were not students began to feel fright. 'Where... where is the one who shot me!?' Riyku shouted internally as he continued to search for his target.

”Riyku!” Mina gasped as she covered her mouth. ”Riyku!” Lira and Vex shouted in surprise. ”What happened!?” Skylar inquired as Kristen skyrocketed from her seat. ”Wait!” Myu shouted which caused her to stop and look at her with a glare. ”Why!? He is hurt! No one is helping him, in fact, they look as if they are about to kill him!” Kristen shouted with anger. ”I know, but... His blood is black... That means he is a demon. Everyone knows that Demons are the most violent race out of all of the others. If you go out there, people will turn on you as well. You will be labeled as someone who helped a demon and treated as an outcast and most likely stripped of your rank.” Myu stated which seemed to cause everyone to have looks of despair matched with utter silence.

[Are you really going to let these idiots kill you? You fucked up. You let your guard down because you held back. You should have just killed them from the start.]

There it was, that damn voice again. ”Fuck off.” Riyku would push himself onto his feet as he dropped his weapons which caused them to be forcefully returned to his inventory.

[Look at their eyes. Sure they treated you like some kind of outcast, but they never had planned on killing you. That was until now all because you have black blood. Which by the way is not because you are a demon... well you are, but not fully.]

The voice echoed into his mind. ”I said fuck off.” Riyku cursed under his breath; before stumbling forward when another bullet seemed to pierce through his leg which caused him to kneel on the ground. A painful growl would erupt from his lungs, 'Where are they!?' He hastily looked around, but only watched as more of the masses closed in on him.

[Just kill them already. You have the ability to do so. It is why your blood is black after all. Unleash it already.]

Growling the male would spew out more blood and before long he began to feel faint.

[If you don't you will lose everything yet AGAIN.]

The male's eyes went wide as he felt something beating down inside of him. A sudden sharp pain began to swell in his chest, and the shouting of his soul, as if it were crying out to him. It was then he began to remember the reincarnation process. It was like a dam being overrun the water flooding throughout a city. How he was defeated, and what happened afterward. The black blood on the ground began to boil in response to this surge from his soul. His heart began to quake rapidly,