Chapter 616 - I Couldn't Just Run

"The fuck happened?!" Two had been traveling when suddenly their aura of wrath had started acting up. So much so that it started leaking from their body and burning everything in the surrounding. 

Two had done the best he could to stop its spread, continuously trying to tell Eldrian to stop. Yet, he had been ignored and when Two finally managed to break through Eldrian's rage, what had welcomed him was hell itself. 

Upon seeing that woman, Two had immediately made sure that there could be no possibility of her using them as a bridge to attack Earth. Chances might have been low, but if Eldrian had returned to Earth she might have been able to follow. 

Sure, the AI had failed. But the feeling Two had gotten from her was something that had chilled him to the core. Even if the chances were less than one present, he couldn't risk it. 

Praying that Eldrian would survive, Two made sure that the aura was calmed down. Though the fire was wreaking havoc on the surroundings. 

"Well, shit. How do I stop this?" Two understood well that the flames were not normal, water would do nothing. And if it reached a populated area, the damage would be insane. 

"Actually, I might be able to use it." Taking out the map he had stolen to guide him out of the country, Two started forming his plan.

Using wind magic, he guided the fire towards the border. Of course, not one of the checkpoints. Rather, he aimed it to where a river also crossed. While there weren't any fences or anything of the kind stopping people from crossing the border, Two felt confident there would be patrols ensuring he couldn't pass. 

A few hours later, Two managed to reach the point. Completely out of breath and dead tired, but he had to use the opportunity while it was there. Making sure the fire would continue on the right path, he quickly moved in the opposite direction. 

Hoping that it would attract everyone's attention. He felt confident it would once they discovered that the fire was not normal. Whether they would figure out it was a diversion, he was not sure. 

***

Vivian's breathing was ragged, she was covered in wounds and had completely exhausted her mana. Yet, the fight was still going on.

Naturally, everyone had tried to retreat after things had gone south. Especially once the players had disappeared, completely breaking the formation that had already been shaken due to the earthquakes. 

However, the shaking never stopped and made this extremely difficult. In the end, Evale had tried to save as many people as she could, prioritizing those who she deemed weaker. This, naturally meant that Vivian was left for last. 

Sadly, many lives were lost regardless. While everyone was Tier 5 and a decent fighter, without stable footing and outnumbered, they succumbed to the undead's relentless attacks one after the other. 

Evale was already on her way back, but Vivian didn't know if she would be able to survive. 

'I'm sorry... I couldn't just run.' Vivian mumbled, her eyes watering as she recalled the death of her father. His reasoning had likely been extremely similar. She had stayed and fought until exhaustion, pulling the attention of many undead. Certainly, her actions had saved many, or so she hoped. 

Vivian still could not forgive her father, yet now she was following in his footsteps. She wanted to laugh at the irony, but watching the blade coming for her neck she felt it wasn't appropriate. 

'Mom, please... Please forgive this hypocritical daughter of yours, and...' Her heart broke as she prayed for her mother, that she would be able to go on and live the rest of her life. And hopefully, find joy again. 

She watched the blade of a skeleton moving closer and closer. She knew she wasn't able to block it in time, her sword currently stuck in a zombie who was clawing its way closer to her and forcing her sword deeper into it. 

Vivian wanted to closer her eyes and accept death, yet something in her screamed at her to not do it. To fight on, even if she had nothing left to use to fight on. 

That's when she saw it, a flicker in the skeleton's eyes. She had no idea what it was, had never encountered something like it before. However, upon seeing it she felt connected to the skeleton. 

"You're free. You don't need to do this." She said as the sword inched closer to her neck, and upon hearing this it suddenly dropped. Landing on her chest, Vivian's armor saved her life, though she lost her footing and fell to the ground over the countless corpses.

The skeleton looks at her, sword at the ready. Yet, it paused. Vivian swore she could see its confusion in that little flicker in its eyes. 

"Those who bound you to this body are no longer there to keep you bound." She said, "You're free."

The skeleton tilted its head, as if to ask if Vivian was really telling her the truth. Staring into Vivian's eyes, the flicker grew and the sword was dropped. Turning to the rest, Vivian could only imagine that it was shouting at them that they were free, a weird screech-type sound escaping from it as the skeleton started falling apart. 

Like a domino effect, all the other skeletons started falling apart one by one. The zombies too fell to the ground, never to rise again. 

Evale stopped in shock next to Vivian, she had taken up a poleaxe and shield for the rescue mission. Her stance was that of striking with the poleaxe and trying to bring the shield to try and save Vivian. Yet, her target had suddenly fallen apart.

"What- Happened?"

***

"What did you say?!" Elizabeth asked, a group chat having been arranged with everyone who had been disconnected. 

"I think it's due to Eldrian, or at the least, he is mixed up in this somehow." Silver repeated, her words caused Elizabeth to freeze. 

The others didn't think much of it, however, she knew that Eldrian wouldn't have the safety measures that they all had. 

The dead silence following the repeated explanation informed everyone that there was more going on than they believed. "Elizabeth?" Nikki tried to sound supportive, but instead it came out as if she was digging for answers. 

"Has everyone been forcefully logged out?" Elizabeth asked, shifting the topic. 

"We believe so, the only person we are uncertain of is-" Ilmadia stopped, suddenly connecting the dots and cursing.  Of course, none of them knew Eldrian's phone number. Though he didn't even have one anymore. 

"I believe it is time that we raise some hell."

"What do you mean, Elizabeth?"

"We'll demand an explanation, everyone should pressure as hard as you can. We were after all in the middle of a quest, quite a dangerous one. Us being removed might have led to the death of all the NPCs, and it certainly led to failing the quest."

"We will charge not just loss of the quest rewards, but also psychological damage from loss of friends. Does anyone know any lawyers we can contact?"

"""Lawyers?!"""

"Yes, it's a bit complicated. Sorry, but I can't discuss everything with you all." Elizabeth said and kicked everyone who wasn't a core member. 

"I want to first thank you guys for never pressuring me about the secrets I and Eldrian have kept from you." Elizabeth started, "This is regarding one of them. We are all being monitored in the game, when we are close to Eldrian he has an ability that disables it. However-"

"That's sick!" Nikki turned white behind her camera as she thought of all the times she had bathed and... As her thoughts wandered she turned a pinkish red. 

"Which is what we will pressure together with this incident. We will first claim that we have lost greatly..." She paused and prayed that this would not truly be the case. She and many others had grown close to a number of the NPCs, but Eldrian in particular...

"If they fight saying that it can't be proven, we will ask if they can't rewind the footage or something."

"If they simply deny it?"

"Then there is also a problem. A game must be able to track what its players are doing, if they are unable to it track anything it would mean it is actually a perfect medium for crime..."

"So, basically, the plan is to hope they screw up and either give us too much or too little?" Judith asked, "Isn't that a bit too optimistic?"

"Not really, we'll point to streaming and the like and ask how it is possible if there isn't footage. And for the data field, we will ask how the system even works, since it must be able to track our data but not ignore our privacy. We might be able to pressure them to the point where they have to explain it."

"Why is that important?" Therdul asked. 

"Right, I guess we didn't tell you guys about that part yet..." Elizabeth nodded and started explaining the situation regarding the AI, and how they might even be able to get the AI to side with them if they could ensure their survival. 

After the explanation, more than one mumbled that things just got very sci-fi'y. Though a number of other questions were added too, such as debating on if it is right to hold the AI against their will? If the lives of those in the game are artificial or not? And so forth. 

Everyone tried to stay on topic, however, the debate on what should be considered as a living being kept appearing. 

No one had an answer, but nearly everyone agreed that the NPCs were more than just code. They had all known this for a long time, but this was the first time they talked about it with each other. 

They were shocked at how different the opinions were inside their group, however, none of them believed the NPCs to be at the level of animals. They were somewhere between what they could consider a type of AI pet and a human being. 

A few in the group, such as Erik -who had been added when the topic was brought up since he was also in the know- thought that the NPCs were equal to them. Others though felt that they weren't fully human. 

AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the story by simply reading on Webnovel, voting for the story, or sharing comments.. It is all greatly appreciated.