Bitter Aftermath (Part 1)

Nelly Cole sent her drone camera to scan the area before moving an inch. "We don't know if there are crazies still out there, do we?" 

She expertly flew the device through the now barren terrain, capturing as much of the wreckage as possible on video. The drone passed a still-functioning holographic projection above a crumbling building and detected two people nearby. A man searched the ruins while a woman waited. As the camera zoomed in to capture their faces, the woman turned and glared. 

Doesn't seem to be guilders, so moving on, Nelly judged, steering towards the Big Beth—or at least where it used to be, finding a crater instead. She filmed the water from the Thermasis filling it in. 

That should do.

"Besides those two, I can't see any other survivors," she said aloud, removing her goggles. "Any luck on your end?"

Her assistant, sitting beside her controlling his own drone, replied, "Yep, found a large group a mile from the crater. According to their emblems, they're from the Titan Hunters guild."

"Let's interview them, then," Nelly sighed, opening her User Interface to do her makeup. "Come on, before the twats from the Londorus Times beat us to it."

"Um, Nelly? There's a blonde down there who looks exactly like… Oh, it's really her. The Golden Comet is among them."

"Did she survive the explosion?!" Nelly's face lit up. "That girl is tough as nails! Oh, if Camera 1 hadn't broken, we could have captured her epic escape!"

"The camera broke from the mere shockwaves of her fight, Nelly," the young man sneered. "So it's obvious it wouldn't have survived the nuking explosion."

Nelly grabbed his goggles to look him in the eyes. "Whatever, kiddo. Let's go!"

Their hovering motorcycle sped across the land with Nelly's drone following closely. The vehicle kicked up a cloud of dust and sand and didn't falter even as it flew over the giant crater. Nelly, fearing the engine might randomly stop and send them plummeting to their deaths, dared not even glance down.

"Is the stream ready?!" her assistant shouted over the engine's roar, feeling Nelly's arms tighten around his waist.

"Muted but ready! And look! Over 200 people are waiting already!"

"Awesooome!" He grinned, which quickly turned upside down. "Oh, great. Look who's here already. The Londorus Times' hovercraft is descending."

"Hit turbo, Josh!" Nelly cried. "Go, go!"

Seconds later, they reached the other side and the vehicle's turbines blew sand off again. Nelly immediately jumped down and began sprinting, even casting a quick wind boost while pulling a microphone from her inventory. Great! I'll arrive faster than those morons!

"Unmute the streaming!" she shouted a voice command as the guilders around threw her frowning looks. Fifty feet before reaching Astrid Bradford's position, she began speaking in a friendly manner: "Welcome to the Daily Londorus! I'm Nelly Cole, and we have an exclusive interview with the powerful and beautiful Golden Comet, Ms. Astrid Bradford!" Nelly called out, catching the blonde's attention who was glaring at the other news' hovercraft. "Congratulations on beating the terrorists! Your victory was overwhelming, as expected. Do you have any comments about this act of war? Any idea who those Users were?"

"Act of war?" Astrid grimaced. "What are you talking about? Who would Londorus be at war with? And I wouldn't say 'overwhelming victory'." Astrid pointed towards the enormous crater. "Did your audience see that on your way here? I couldn't prevent—"

"Golden Comet!" Another female reporter interrupted, holding a microphone with the Londorus Times logo on it. "Was this atrocity an act of full-on revenge by one of your old rivals? Or was this orchestrated by the discomforted guilders that quit Shooting Stars recently?"

"H-Hold on!" Astrid stuttered, shutting her eyes for a second. "How could you insinuate that—?!"

A third reporter jumped in, speaking urgently: "How did they manage to summon a Superior Summon inside the city, Ms. Bradford? Are Safe Zone restrictions not as secure as we thought? Are other major cities in danger?"

Look at them, Nelly thought, biting her lower lip. They're competing to see who gets the best reaction. At least my fans know I'm not as sensationalist as these vultures.

Nelly was about to ask another question, but she noticed the gradual anger building in Astrid's eyes.

"LET ME SPEAK!" Astrid yelled, capturing every camera's focus. Her face flushed with emotion. "Once the Titan Hunters' Guild Master revives, we'll make an official report about what happened here, tomorrow! In the meantime, I want to dismiss any unhinged rumors about 'revenge plots' or 'guild drama' you might be concocting, you hear?! These people attacked this city indiscriminately, and we fought back, alright?! End of story! Because, as long as Titan Hunters and Shooting Stars call Londorus home, we'll protect it from any rogue User or whatever organized group might be behind this!"

"Are you saying that this was a declaration of war by an unknown organization, Ms. Bradford?" the third reporter asked immediately, earning a glare first.

"I'm saying that you should always be prepared to protect what you love the most," Astrid replied, staring into the camera. "Because you'll fucking regret it forever if the time comes, and you weren't damn ready."

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"Dammit, Ghost. Quit that already!" Amelia Laflamme groaned from her sitting place atop a concrete column. "Aren't you hungry? I'm craving strawberry cheesecake!" She suddenly looked into the distance with narrowed eyes. "Never mind. I think that my favorite bakery is now rubble, too."

"You don't have to be here keeping an eye on me anymore, Amelia. The enemy is gone. Go home," Alan said, picking his way through the street full of sharp rocks. He then raised his head. "Unless your house was around this area… In that case, I'm sorry."

"Who said I was keeping an eye—?! W-Whatever…" Amelia sighed, pressing her hand against her forehead. "What are you doing here, anyway, Ghost? Searching for survivors? It was a miracle that the NPC survived, but I can assure you that you won't find anyone else here."

"I can try it," he muttered. "As long as I search in the outer zone of the blast..."

Amelia pursed her lips. Watching him walk aimlessly was exasperating. She decided to jump down and follow him, exhaling loudly.

"And what's next? Are you going to help rebuild this place?" she began, sneering. "Pain is momentary here, and we have healers that restore broken bones in a blink of an eye. As for the dead, every victim will eventually respawn. 24 hours later at maximum. Putting aside the fact that death makes you poorer in this place, it's just nothing but an inconvenience. As for the damage done to the city, the NPCs will restore it in a month or two, and people will forget all about it by then. So, just to make myself clear… Stop doing whatever you think you're doing. This city doesn't need your help."

"What should I do then?" he asked, raising his voice. "You said this was my fault, didn't you? So, should I just sit and watch from afar? Just like Marco told me?"

Amelia's expression darkened after hearing that name. "I'm not telling you to stay and do nothing," she said sternly. "What I'm really saying is that you should just leave this place and never come back. If what happened today was truly your fault, it may repeat and on a larger scale. That white-haired gal nicknamed you Little Mouse, right? That should tell you all about her sadistic nature. You saw her. She was playing with us. So it's only a matter of time before she comes back looking for her favorite toy. And with stronger allies."

Alan halted. Finally! Amelia thought as she observed his thoughtful posture.

And why am I so desperate to change his mind? she asked herself, biting her lower lip. Just two days ago, he was nothing but vermin to me.

An urgent melody cut the silence.

Among the mountains of rubble and scraps of metal, a large holographic projection stood proudly, attached to a tilted building. It first showed the Londorus Times logo, before a young woman stared at the camera. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her blue eyes shone brightly despite the bleakness surrounding them.

A banner below informed: 'Breaking News! The Golden Comet speaks about the incident!'

"Golden Comet, was this atrocity a full-on revenge by one of your old rivals?" a woman asked off-camera.

Amelia's first reaction was to snicker.

Wow. The earth around here is not even cold yet, and they're already looking for culprits, she thought, glaring at the giant screen and the blonde on it. You really love being the center of attention, huh? At least, this time, it's amusing to see you as clueless as anyone else.

What would your reaction be if I told you that I have some context about what happened here, Golden Bitch? Would that make you mad, hmm? I'd love to see the flames forming in your eyes as I just walk away, teasing you about telling you next time we see…

Her lips formed a short-lived malicious grin.

Being one step ahead of the blonde bitch for once is exhilarating, yes, but… But why am I feeling so thrilled about something I got by force? I got the info by spying. Something this guy wasn't going to share with anyone, not even her…

Amelia glanced at Alan, expecting to see him watch the transmission intently. And he didn't disappoint…

Observing his dumb attentive face provoked a slight ache in her stomach and the sudden urge to burn him and the source of that projection.

Last night during their private dinner, I expected him to act like a fool. I thought that once they were alone, he'd show his true colors: A virgin, mediocre simp that'd throw cringey compliments at her every five minutes, or blurt out horny, inappropriate comments.

But… while I was overhearing their conversation, he sounded distant and cold. As if something deep inside of him couldn't let him... be himself. He didn't even reveal any information about his time outside… Not even to her.

Does he not trust her?

Or on the contrary…

He cares too much...

She sneered at her own thoughts. What's this? Why do I even waste neurons thinking about this stuff?

Amelia returned her attention to the live transmission, where Astrid delivered her last statement. The Golden Comet then turned their back to the camera, and a group of Titan Hunters blocked the path to the insistent reporters.

You've never been good with your words, eh, Amelia sighed, before glancing in Alan's direction, who had abandoned his place. She turned back, watching him stroll towards the city. After all this time, he's finally walking in the opposite direction.

"Ghost?" she called aloud. "Where are you going now?"

"I think I've been in this city for too long..." he replied, turning back. His eyes looked even more somber than before. "Although I lose nothing by dying, you made the effort to save me, and even helped me defeat that woman. Thanks, Amelia. I owe you one."

He's smiling, but it looks forced and empty.

Something in his expression provoked another ache inside her body.

This time, cold and piercing…

"I already told you, we're even now," she replied, looking away.

"Well…" He exhaled. "Although we had a rocky start, I think you're a cool gal. I appreciate what you did for me today. Goodbye, Amelia Laflamme."

"Ah… Hmm…" she muttered in response.

As she watched him go, the distant outline of the rest of the city seemed to close around his silhouette. As if The Novus couldn't wait to erase his entire existence…