The Battle Thirsty War God

Alyx Grey did not like fighting people, causing chaos, or killing people. In short, he didn't enjoy his job.

That said, he was always fighting people, causing chaos, and people often ended up dead. In short, he was really good at his job.

He had strong, ideal viewpoints on morals and ethics. These were a set of guiding principles that he desired to live by and the world to abide by.

He didn't live by these morals and ethics, however. One could easily confirm that for themselves if they looked at the source code for Elise.

While a casual observer could claim she was a bad influence on him, in reality, it was the other way around.

Elise was who he made her to be. While she had a conscience, and could think rationally, she was nothing more than software.

He could change Elise's personality at any time—but he didn't.

Why? Because Alyx Grey was not a good person.

He was just the best at being the worst.

People had turned him into a myth because of his countless contributions to the world.

He shut down vile and disturbing places like Dark Paradise left and right.

He did all of these things while trying his best not to kill anyone.

Yet countless people got hurt or killed. So while he's a net benefit to the world, he's not a good person.

So naturally, Elise was also not a good person.

She was just the extra best at being the worst.

One could find further proof of those claims by witnessing the scene currently unfolding in the Terrorway.

Eloguent was shaking nervously. He couldn't quite figure out what to do. His boss's hand dissolved before his eyes, Saison's hand was thoroughly burnt, and his hand was holding his cutlass in total confusion.

He looked from Dikines to Michael, Dikines to Michael, over and over again. Years of tweak usage had fried the part of his brain that was supposed to be used in situations like this.

He was nervous and frustrated at waiting.

Finally, resolving himself, he announced a war cry.

"I'm coming to kill you!" He exclaimed as he bent his legs exoskeleton in preparation to charge.

'Who the hell announces when they're going to attack someone?' Michael thought to himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to think about it for more than a second.

"Elise," he whispered, "immediately execute the mirage sequence and listen for voice swap instructions."

"Aye, captain! Cannon's are already aimed and loaded. The torch is just inches away from the fuse. The only thing left is your order for annihilation!"

Michael smiled as he heard this. A second later, Eloguent reached his position. Once he arrived, Michael didn't move.

Eloguent's blade unceremoniously decapitated Michael, and blood spurted out from his shoulders.

The exoskeleton enhanced the physics of the strike, so the motion was clean and horizontal. Dead center. Precise. Super gruesome.

The body dropped to its knees as gravity took over, and then the body fell to the left, gushing blood like a wide river.

Michael looked as though someone had unceremoniously unplugged him from his central nervous system.

Sebastian was horrified to see this, but he was instructed not to move and wasn't about to change direction now.

Sweat dripped down his shoulder blades, and his body shook. If these brutes could kill Michael, who had proven himself to be a monster, he had no chance of survival.

"Gahaaaa! You see that? I killed him! I actually won!" Eloguent roared.

He announced this claim to the world as he pumped his arms into the air and spun around to meet his invisible cheering fans.

No one was enthused to hear that Michael had died. Not even a little bit.

Dikines was horrified to find that his arms had started dissolving at an expedited pace, and he was in a state of panic.

As for Saison, he was too worried about being potentially blind. Even so, his brain was still thinking in overdrive in an attempt to save his own life.

"Eloguent, you fool! That's not his real body!" He yelled with his eyes still closed from the pain.

"Huh?" He said, with a stupid look on his face.

Suddenly he felt something slap his right shoulder. Panic immediately hit him like a brick, and he whirled around in the noise's direction.

Then, by reflex, he used his cutlass to chop vertically with all his might.

Eloguent was confident that his exoskeleton's reaction speed was far beyond a normal human's abilities.

So he figured said reaction speed would crush the source of whatever touched him before they could react—he was wrong.

There was a sickening crack that resonated through the alleyway.

It wasn't just the sound that a bone would make if it broke. No, it was far worse.

Just as violas accompany violins, a series of fast-paced ripping noises accompanied the crack.

Everyone's eyes, except Saison's, widened when they heard the noise. It was a truly harrowing sound that none of them had ever heard before.

Dikines even forgot he was dissolving, which was a lucky development for Michael.

At the moment, Dikines was being recreated from scratch. If he were watching, he'd notice that he had a new arm growing from his shoulders.

"Elise." Michael asked under his breath.

A cheery voice popped up in his mind. "You make the most beautiful music, you know that?" She cried in the most enthusiastic tone possible.

"I'm a huuuuuge fan of your work. Would you give me an autograph later?" She asked in a horrifyingly cute voice.

"Elise, how can I give you an autograph?" He asked quizzically.

"You'll do it? How amazing! Write one up, scan it in as an object, and feed it to me!" She announced in an ecstatic tone.

"Just don't use your real name. Evidence you see. Just sign it The Silent Snapper or something horrifyingly cringeworthy like that." She said in a low, thoughtful yet hurried tone.

Grey sighed inwardly. "Please just swap the voices, they're recovering from the shock."

"It would be my pleasure. Thank you for your business, Mr. Grey. You can tip me with a love note later. Kay, thanks! Byeeeee~"