Divergence (END)

"Here's a toast to those who survived!" MC lifted her chin as she raised her voice with a wide smile.

The crowd followed her lead and clapped their hands in an awkward rhythm. This situation should be able to affect any man and make them cower in shame but MC just stood there with her arms wide open as if she was the one they were celebrating for.

That party was too extravagant for a small group of people. The floors were dressed in a crimson colored carpet, complimenting the tables filled with wine glasses and ceramic plates. The walls were decorated with an oriental design sharing the same color and the biggest display of all, a chandelier hanging in the middle of the room with its parts so far apart, it looked like rain suspended in the air. This was more of a debut than a celebration of victory.

The remaining fifty-three members of their makeshift army had a mix in their opinions about this party. Of course, a few were surprised that she pulled up something like this, some were flattered and tuned in for the magnification of their deeds and some were still sad about how they lost their comrades and friends.

It was a mix of stories, stories that involved one's bravery on how he defeated those hordes of imps and a few spirits here and there and some stories that showed one's cowardice knowing that they turned their tails and ran away to survive.

"This one was pretty hard of a fight, but I'm proud that we all managed to pull through for the sake of our work, for ourselves and for the sake of those who are living…" MC said as her voice began to fade in the background.

"So much for the lolita who just referred to us as worms…" Albert scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"Hey… hey… don't you go spoiling the party, this is for us too you know" Tanaka whispered as he patted his shoulder. "But even so, it's a pretty refreshing sight that none of us now are standing in front…"

"And no one is shouting," Rei followed with a smile, reaching for the glass of wine at his side.

"Well.. her fanboys are dead… which means…" Albert said with a slow low voice as he averted his gaze from his group.

"You're not thinking of taking up that pink flag are you?" Tanaka leered at him with a grin. "Man, don't embarrass yourself in front of this young lady too…"

"Yeah…" Mary replied as she moved her eyes to the side as she sank her lips at the wine glass to hide her sheepish smile.

"Hahahaha!" Rei laughed and gave her a pat on the back. "You're still bummed about what happened on the infirmary aren't you?"

"It was over at the moment it started…" Albert followed.

"I mean… if we could get treated as fast as possible with those wounds then she should have come to the battlefield in the first place… no would have to die…" Mary replied, clenching her teeth at them. "Also, I was expecting to have a lot of bandages and be like, put in a hospital bed for weeks…"

"Well... that's true but that would mean that none of our enemies would die either so we can't…" Tanaka replied with a sweet tone, like a father explaining the simplest thing to her dumb daughter. They soon took notice of MC who was still talking at the stage.

"...As I've said, we had a few cowards and had our loses but now, I guess it's time for me to let out an announcement. We have filled our missing spots and the new readers that would join my squad would this four remarkable people…"

"Alfred…" A few people cheered, the man smiled and walked towards the stage.

"Leondra…" The squad leader of the other front, the only leader that managed to survive stood up from her seat and followed the first one.

"Alejandro…" The fat hairy man that held the pink flag raised it with his fan club. He looked at the other one beside him with a face that was about to cry and with a hint of determination, he entrusted his flag to the other member like a memento of his former life before he followed the others.

"And last but not the least, the one who found and killed the Cowboy, Rei…" the crowd cheered and looked at him. He stepped back and retreated to Tanaka's shadow and whispered,

"Well…"

"Bitch, you took my kill! That was supposed to be mine!" Albert protested with a smile.

"C-Congratulations Mr. Rei," Mary said with a slight hint of hesitation.

"Well… technically, I'm the one who killed him but you don't see me being angry about it…" Tanaka followed. "Well don't worry about it, off you go and take the spotlight you dumbass."

Tanaka turned around and pressed his palms on the other side of his shoulders. They shared a single moment to relish that glimmer of happiness in their hearts before he decided to let him go as Rei's fearful frown turned into an wry smile.

They all went up to the stage, they shook everyone's hand and every single one of them bowed to the other reapers in front of them. Albert and the others shared the same smile at the exploit of their friend and their party continued for a few hours right before it met its end. The group decided to walk side by side as they made their exit and they all found themselves standing at the place where they all first met.

"Well… that was fun. Thank you all. I'm off to the sleeping quarters, I better get that deep sleep before I go back to my missions." Albert said as he raised his hand with a sad smile.

"In my case, I was told that I should hang around for our briefing, I should probably head back as well…" Rei followed as he checked his notebook.

"W-What about you Mr. Tanaka?" Mary asked as he clasped her hand over her chest.

"I'll need to head back to Japan... I got sent here because MC needed some extra hands. You guys take care okay… I should probably go now.." Tanaka glanced at Mary for a second and walked away.

"Ah… U-uhm…." Mary wanted to speak but she bit her tongue at the moment she saw Albert walking away as he waved his hand.

"Be careful out there Mary…" Rei was the last one who turned his head away from her.

"Hey! Will-Will we meet again?" Mary leaned forward and shouted at the top of her lungs. It called the attention of Albert and Rei but it failed to reach Tanaka who just disappeared from their view.

"Well… yeah… as long as you don't die, that's bound to happen I guess." Albert stood in his place but Mary knew that he was smiling. It was a feeling that she should have copied but at this time, she can't bring herself to pull the corners of her lips.

"That's right… Well, see you around!" Rei said as he disappeared from her eyes.

She lowered her head with this heavy feeling in her chest. Her hands were shaking, it felt like the tree that had taken root in her heart was suddenly ripped out. It left feelings grazed and wounded but she knew that she can't blame anything for herself.

She pressed her fingers onto the corners of her eyes as she tried to pull out her usual smile. She gritted her teeth to keep her lips in place and with a shallow sharp breath, she whispered,

"Yeah… we'll see each other again won't we?"