Last chapter: Oath of the enemies

"I… swear…." Harlow spoke her last words with a final glimmer of life… "I…will…kill…all of you…if you do…not…kill me…here!"

"Tsch!" Python didn't even pay attention to her words. "And you…" Still raging, Python looked at IronClaw, who was looking at him with dim eyes. "You also belong to me from now on! Get this miserable human to me…" And as soon as he finished his sentence, he disappeared with loud explosions of thunder coming from the sky.

After a short argument, the other Gods disappeared and returned to their castles.

With the destruction of his master, IronClaw, who fell into the void as if he were not just a software code, could only hear two conversations. The first one was Python's order. The other was the sentence that the sneaky Hackathon whispered into his ear before leaving. "You will live a slave life with him rather than a master-assistant harmony. Don't worry, I'll convince him to release you… Of course, you will be welcomed in my authority…"

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*** Later… One of the dungeons of the Python's Castle ***

Chaining his prisoner's lifeless body, as if she were dead to the wall in the dungeon, IronClaw preferred to look at the ground silently instead of leaving the place. "You… Can you really do that?..."

"..." Harlow, who was trying hard not to faint, opened her eyes very slightly and looked at IronClaw, who was standing in front of her as one of her enemies.

"Can you really… kill all of us?" Although the content of the sentence had a mocking nature, the gloomy aura surrounding the man gave the impression that he was asking this question seriously.

"W.hy?...wh.y do you asking..? Wanna…tortu.re…me…e.arlier?" Harlow's interrupted speech was an indication that she would lose consciousness in a very short time.

"If you really can do that… I can help…"

"Huh!?" Harlow, who suddenly had a meaningless light in her soul, opened her eyes more vividly and looked at him. "Y.ou…wan.t…re..ven.ge?" 

"..." Actually, it wasn't exactly about revenge. IronClaw was a code created only to serve, and the destruction of his master pushed him to acquire a new master due to the void he found himself in. And his experience made him neither willing to choose Python nor Hackathon as a master.

"S.or.ry…but…can…n.ot…"

"What about your friend? Felix?"

"No…h.e…can…not…a.lso…B.ut…"

"BUT!?"

"W.hat…is…this?...Y.ou…want…t.o…trick…me? You…a.re…a…god.damn…cod.e…like…t.hem!"

"Yes… I am… But still… I can help…"

"..." After eyeing him suspiciously for a moment longer, Harlow continued. "pos.sible…by…cod.ding…"

"Codding? How? Our generators have probably abducted everything related to these Worlds. I do not think no one in your world will be reached any knowledge anymore."

"W.ell…it…c.an…be…do.ne…by…up.grad.ing…my…co.de…b.but…in…m.y…W..world…"

"Meaningly by someone who knows the index of your code? coding it again against Clones of God!?"

"E.xca..tly!"

"So only you or…"

"Y.es…Fe.lix…"

"Ok…Harlow Bless! No… Developer HB. I will find him and assist him to succeed it! Otherwise, I will return to you and do anything to free you… to finish it!".

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Over the next many years, Hackathon frequently visited Python's dungeons, unsuccessfully trying to retrieve the contents of the <Player's Glory> code from Harlow.

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Python, who took over the management of all Servers' Worlds and other Clones, did not care enough to kill Harlow due to his drunkenness of victory anymore. Of course, didn't care about IronClaw either…

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IronClaw took this ignored attitude toward himself as an advantage and spent the next years searching for Felix by infiltrating human players on different server worlds with the player name <Claw >. He traveled from one World to another… Until he noticed the rebellion that Treader was preparing for, many years later … in the 1157 World…

Since he could not find any trace of Felix, he chose to spend his time supporting this secret organization and achieve a result that could attract the attention of the higher-ups. Of course, Felix's attention too… In this way, he hoped to draw Felix out of his hiding place.

In fact, he had encountered another person in this World who used the name <Hell >, which was Felix's player name. However, he didn't realize he was Felix because he was constantly wearing a mask and was just acting like a victim forcibly imprisoned in that World, just like the other human players. Until he saw the system messages broadcast on Dark's Night of Enthronement…

However, this time, he was too late because the messages were a clear indication that Felix had been caught on the system's radar and was now being followed by higher-ups.

Therefore, he remained in the shadows, allowing human players to achieve the rebellion. However, with a bit of bad luck again, the God of Knowledge Hackathon came to the 1157 World and he had to escape from there because afraiding of being caught and destroyed because he cooperated with the enemies of the system. Since he was just a software code, this fear was not a human emotion, but he did not want to fail in this new task for which he had artificially programmed himself…

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*** Today… Python's Castle's Dungeons… ***

"..." Claw waited, still reluctant to comply with Harlow's request.

"Trust me, my dear friend, Claw. Many things have changed since we oathed each other… Apparently, Felix still hasn't managed to decipher my code, so he prefers to hide in the place you described. Since I am imprisoned in this pitch black, he is our only hope."

"Ok, I will negotiate with Hackathon!"

"WHAT!!!" Harlow looked at Claw in astonishment, as if her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. "Are you out of your mind!? He is the devil itself!"

"I know your feelings about him, Harlow. I know that he tortured you for these all years also. And believe me, I do not trust him more than you! But as you said, many things have changed. Clones no longer work together! Others still accept Python as their leader but they do not like each other, and they all hate Python in secret. If it wasn't so, they would already know about Felix's existence! But surprisingly, Hackathon hid this information from them, preferring to play a cat-and-mouse game with Felix in one of his own Worlds. If Python knew this fact, he would have already destroyed not only the Hackathon but all the other Clones too! So basically, we have a trump card against him!"

"This is not about his tortures on me, Claw. That man is extremely untrustable! I even would prefer that Python b.stard if it is an option!... Ok, Claw… Since you managed to come this far, it will be your choice…"

"I'm not saying for sure. I will still try to find another way, Harlow. But one thing is sure… Since he stays in 1157, it won't take long for him to notice and abduct me."

"Yes, that is for sure… So you still have…"

"NO!" Claw turned around and started walking towards the iron gate of the dungeon to leave. "And do not accept this as disobedience but I will come here again also… Harlow…"

"Disobedience? I am not your master, Claw… I am your friend…"

Claw continued talking as if he hadn't heard her. "And free you…!"

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Harlow looked down, smiling. "As if you would do something like that… my only friend… Claw…"