Part Twenty-Six: Rule by Fear

Parting ways with groups one and three, Shin led his group of A-chan, Daidou, Ayame, Amelia, Gura, Toko, Polka, Aloe, Suzaku, Roberu, and YAGOO towards the middle hallway. Running down the large metal corridor, he smirked smugly as he barreled through any guards that he came across, simply stretching out his scythe to rip them apart. On the off chance that Shin didn't finish off an enemy, Ayame or Suzaku would draw their swords and drag them across the floor, slicing the leftovers. Before too long, the group came across a door that extended into a larger hallway with seven prison cells, three on the right and the left and one large one at the end, the large one containing a dark-haired girl with tentacles sprouting from her back bearing a pained expression. In the middle of this hallway, however, was a boy with a striking similarity to Nozomi. He grinned, gripping his ball-and-chain flail and glancing murderously at the group.

"Hello, all! Welcome to Nozomi's death game!" the boy smiled, "It's good to have you all here!"

"Ngh, is that you, Shin?" the girl weakly asked, sadly smiling, "It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm glad to see you safe…"

"It's always good to see you, Ina-chan, although maybe not in situations like this, " Shin smiled before turning to the boy and smirking intimidatingly, putting his thumb against his neck, "Hey bastard, you'll let the priestess go if you know what's good for ya."

"My, how eager! I should introduce myself, if you're gonna be so enthusiastic," the armored boy grinned, "I am Nozomi, codename 006, and you will be my contestants!"

"I'd like to have a say on whether or not we participate in this 'death game' you mentioned," YAGOO said, holding up his tome.

"Ooh, Tomes of Sacrifice? What an interesting crowd we have here!" 006 laughed, "But I'm afraid you have no choice."

"Oh really? How's that?" Gura questioned, spinning her trident.

"Because this will happen," 006 smiled and clapped his hands. Suddenly, the group found themselves in pairs and summoned within the prison cells that the group saw within the hallway, with Shin being with Toko, Amelia being with Daidou, Ayame being with Aloe, A-chan being with YAGOO, Suzaku being with Roberu, and Polka being with Gura.

"Teleportation magic, eh?" Shin looked around and took note of his environment, "Some fancy tricks you got there. You don't look like the mana-using type."

"Oh, I'm usually not, but seeing you all like this is worth the trouble," 004 explained, swinging around his flail tauntingly, "Now, let me explain the rules of our game."

"What are these rules?" Roberu asked, dusting off his fisticuffs, "Whatever they are, I know I'll win!"

"Don't encourage him, Roberu…" Suzaku facepalmed.

"Oh, I'm so glad you want to play!" 006's smile widened, "In order to win, you must kill the reflection of me. When you do this, you collect three keys. For one, you have a key that will allow you to escape your cell. For two, you have a key that will unlock either the door out of this place or the giant lock on Ina'nis' cell. And for three, you have a key that will unlock one of the many shackles on Ina'nis, whether it be on the left wrist, on the right wrist, on the left ankle, on the right ankle, on the neck, or on the waist.

"Please do keep in mind, however, that I will be in the cell Ina'nis is in, attempting to draw out Cthulhu," 004 explained, his wide smile continuing to find ways to grow, "So, in a sense, you have a time limit. A time limit for the time you are able to save Ina'nis. You could always, however, leave the game once you defeat my reflection, but judging by your words I doubt that's what you want to do."

"You're surprisingly sharp," A-chan took note, raising her glasses, "You're right. We never leave behind one of our own."

"What a curious ideology," 006 pondered before returning to his smile again, "Are we clear on the rules?"

"I guess so," Amelia sighed, reloading her gun, "Let's go."

"Indeed," 006 smirked, "Let's go, indeed."

006 snapped his fingers and, in the blink of an eye, 006 teleported into Ina's cage, while six other people all identical to 006, presumably his "reflections". They all grinned and swung their flails around in a murderous fashion.

"I am going to enjoy seeing your blood run down your body," the copies all said in unison.

"And as will I!" 006 laughed, "You're all gonna die, no matter what you do!"

"I won't let that happen," Shin scoffed and twirled his scythe menacingly, "Not while Ina-chan is watching."

"Aah, what passion…" 006 groaned, putting his hands to his face in ecstasy, "It's gonna feel really good when all of your hope runs dry…"

Just then, the duplicates began to make their advances towards the pairs. Readying themselves, the pairs looked on with staunt courage, ready to take them on and rescue Ina'nis.

"Let's pull our weight, everybody!" Shin shouted, taking his scythe and dashing towards the duplicate.

...

Group one ran down the hall of the corridor, with Enma acting as a leader while Calliope, Kiara, Suisei, Lamy, Botan, Rushia, Ollie, Nene, Artia, Yogiri, and Oga followed. Enma was a surprisingly agile person, dodging any and all obstacles that may have hindered their ability to press forwards. The group eventually ran into a small dark room.

"Greetings, I am Nozomi, codename 002," a mysterious voice boomed through the pitch black area.

"Let's cut to the chase," Enma demanded, "Tell us where we can find Iofifteen."

"Such unruly behavior… it drives me insane…" 002 mumbled, clearly angered by Enma's bluntness, "Such behavior is why order is vital in the world we live in…"

"What do you mean by order?" Enma inquired, curious about the boy's philosophical views.

"Order is something I find to be very important," 002 expressed, "And with our current gods, order can never be truly found. People will continue committing crimes and taking lives for their own self benefit. Truly vile creatures will continue to roam the Earth, and they will continue to be vile until they are finally put into the judge's court. And that is why I am working with my father to awaken the Megalo Gods and summon Elohim. Elohim will create a utopia. That is what Father Ikuma has told me."

"Ikuma was a manipulative liar," Enma grumbled, "I guess some things never change."

"Ngh, such insolence…" 002 snarled, "The only way to attain true order… is ruling by fear."

"What a pathetic mindset," Calliope butted in, "And a pretty pointless one. None of us fear you."

"You might not fear me," 002 agreed, "But everyone fears something. Life without fear will only lead to early death, after all. And it will be me who capitalizes on this fear."

"And tell us, how will you do that?" Botan crossed her arms, "I've had enough of your antics…"

"It's quite simple, actually," 002 shrugged, "But telling you would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?"

Before the group could reply, the lights went on. When each person looked around, no others could be seen. A massive expanse of white was the only scenery they saw. Confused, they all began traversing this blank wasteland, staying on guard for any potential threats.

...

"Who is this guy, Marine?!" Coco asked, sprouting wings and flying as to avoid this armored person's ruthless staff attacks, "They're tough!"

"Not sure…!" Marine sighed, readying a cannon she managed to summon using her small mana pool. She shot a cannon ball, which the armored figure avoided. They then chose to charge at Marine, swinging their staff. Coco flew in at breakneck speeds, covering her right arm in scales to block the staff attack and protect Marine. As they struggled against each other, Coco grinned and sent a large fireball hurling towards the figure. Not expecting this, it hit them and part of their helmet got scorched off, revealing a feminine face with large circular glasses and long black hair. She grimaced and did a flip backwards.

"You're a strong one, Kiryu Coco, I'll give you that," she said, her staff disappearing in a flash of white light, "But will you be able to save the ones you care for? Only time will tell."

Before Coco could retort, the girl vanished in the blink of an eye upon snapping her fingers. The dragon girl grimaced.

"What a motherfucking bitch."