Chapter 15: "Until We Meet Again"

Note: This chapter may include mature contents; including Sexual Abuse, Violence, Psychological stress etc. That may not me applicable to all readers.

The woman trembled in fear, taking a step back as she stared into Kil's lifeless eyes.

Her hands were open, palms facing Kil, signaling for him not to come any closer. "W-wait, you're Kil, right?" The woman who worked at the canteen forced a smile. "J-just recently, you were the one who fought with Ken's group, weren't you?"

Kil slowly approached the woman, casually wiping the blood off his knife.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" Two men suddenly emerged from a nearby room. Both were teachers in their thirties—one was overweight, while the other was of average build. They were accompanied by two women who also appeared to be teachers.

The teachers were shocked by what they saw—their colleagues lying lifeless on the floor. "W-what happened here?" the overweight teacher stammered. "Why are they dead? Did he do this?" He pointed at Kil.

"Yes," Kil replied, locking eyes with the teacher, his gaze radiating murderous intent. "I'm the one who did it." He continued walking toward the woman from the canteen.

The woman kept backing away until she hit the wall. "W-wait, Kil, please calm down. I'll cook something for you, so please, don't kill me."

Kil suddenly dashed forward, and before the woman could even react, she was stabbed with both of his knives. Blood gushed from her mouth as she collapsed. Kil withdrew his knives and immediately charged toward the teachers who had just stepped out of the room.

They tried to speak, but Kil was too fast. He slashed the overweight teacher's throat, then stabbed him in both sides of his chest. Pulling out his knives, he spun around and plunged them into the other male teacher's body.

"Kyaaaa!" One of the female teachers screamed as she ran. "H-he's a monster! Someone help!"

Kil suddenly dashed again, plunging his knife into the woman's back. As he withdrew the blade, blood poured out in torrents. He stabbed her again, this time in both sides of her neck, and even more blood gushed out when he pulled the knife free.

"D-drop your weapon!" The voice of another female teacher rang out. She was pointing a gun at Kil. "If you don't, I'll shoot you."

Kil glanced at her, then swiftly hurled his knife. It struck the woman square in the chest, embedding itself in her heart.

"Kil?" Keiran called out, a wave of doubt washing over him. 'Is this really the Kil we used to know? It was fine when he was only killing monsters, but to murder other people without a second thought… He's not human anymore. He's become a monster,' Keiran thought.

"He's lost himself," George said, staring directly at Kil. "But he did the right thing. People like them don't deserve to live."

"I agree with you," Ken interjected, walking over to Kil. "They deserve even worse."

Kil's eyes suddenly regained their clarity as he made his way to the room from which the teachers had emerged. Inside, he found a disheveled bed, sticky substances, used protection, and a female student from the 3rd year of high school. She was naked, covering her body with only a blanket, and huddled in a corner of the room. Her hair was a tangled mess, and she was sobbing.

Kil approached the girl. "Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out to touch her.

"Stop!" the girl screamed, startling Kil. His hand froze in midair, and he quickly pulled it back.

Kil sat down in front of her. "Don't be afraid. It's all over now. I'm a student at this school too. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I-I was raped by the teachers." Trembling, The tears started to fall down from her eyes. "They are shameless. They take my womanhood, Senior. They didn't even respect me being a student."

Kil wrapped the girl in a comforting embrace, allowing her to release all her tears. After a few minutes, he gently leaned her back against the wall.

"What's your name?" Kil asked softly.

"L-Lianna Gonzales," she replied, her eyes meeting his.

A warm smile spread across Kil's face. "It's all going to be okay now, Lianna." He stood up, removed his uniform coat, and handed it to her. "Put this on for now. There aren't any girls with us, but we do have one pervert—over there." Kil pointed at Ken.

A vein popped on Ken's forehead. "Huh?! Are you looking for a fight? You're using me as an example?"

"Pfft! WHAHAHAHAHA!"

Keiran and George burst out laughing, while Kil smiled. Lianna, still in shock, couldn't believe what she was witnessing—someone had actually come to her rescue for the first time in her life.

"Hey, cut it out with the laughing," Ken grumbled as he turned away. "There's nothing funny, damn you, Kil," he muttered under his breath, then sprinted off. "Just wait here for me!"

"What's with him? I thought he was hungry?" Keiran asked, puzzled.

A few moments later, Ken returned, panting heavily.

"Where did you go?" Kil asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're like a guy in love who doesn't know what to do when he sees the girl he likes, so he just runs off."

"WHAHAHAHA!" Keiran laughed loudly.

Ken dropped a bag full of women's clothes on the ground. "Here, pick whatever you want to wear."

"Where did you get that?" Kil asked, giving Ken a teasing smirk. "Don't tell me you rummaged through the girls' locker room? Wow, you really are a perv."

"Hmph!" Ken huffed, turning his back to them. "Think whatever you want. I've done my part. I'm out, I'm starving."

"T-thank you, thank you all so much," Lianna said, her tears flowing again, but this time accompanied by a warm smile.

Kil smiled back, as did George and Keiran. Ken glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of Lianna's smile, causing his cheeks to flush slightly.

Lianna was a 14-year-old third-year high school student. She had black hair that reached her shoulders, slightly wavy, with bangs that framed her face. Her brown eyes shone with a mixture of relief and gratitude. Standing at about 150 cm (4'11"), she was a stark contrast to Ken, who towered over her at 6'1".

"Go ahead and change, we'll wait for you outside," Kil suggested. "If you're not feeling up to it yet, you can rest for a bit longer." Lianna nodded in response, her gratitude evident in her eyes.

Kil and the others left the room, closing the door behind them to give Lianna some privacy. Kil headed straight to the bathroom, while Keiran and George settled onto the sofa, and Ken began searching for something to eat.

Ken found a pot of rice and a dish of adobo. He placed them on the table in front of the sofa. "This is all the food that's ready. We'll have to make do with it."

"You guys go ahead and eat," George suggested. "We already ate earlier."

"I wasn't asking you, you dumb lapdog of Kil," Ken retorted as he scooped some food onto his plate. "I was talking to Keiran."

"Huh?!" George stood up. "Me? Kil's lapdog? No way."

"Oh?" Kil emerged from the bathroom, now clean and free of blood. "Did I hear my name?"

He walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Did you wash up?" George asked, eyeing Kil.

"Yeah," Kil replied, settling onto the sofa. "You guys should clean up too after you're done eating."

"Alright, I'll go next," George said, getting up and heading to the bathroom to wash off the blood.

Ken and Keiran continued eating, while Kil watched them. "She hasn't come out yet?" Kil asked, referring to Lianna.

"Who?" Keiran asked as he took another bite. "The girl?"

Kil nodded.

"She probably fell asleep," Ken chimed in. "I'll bring her some food after I finish here. By the way, you guys heard the announcement earlier, right? And that loud siren?"

Kil nodded again. "I think the whole world heard it. This isn't just some random tragedy. It's definitely not a coincidence. The voice that spoke earlier, like some kind of system… I think they're the ones behind all of this."

"So, you're saying this was caused by aliens or something not of this world? Like goblins or monsters?" Ken asked, his mouth full of food.

"Yes," Kil responded seriously, looking directly at Ken. "Your theory is possible. But it could also be the work of people, maybe from another country. Like the U.S. We all know how vast their knowledge and connections are. Or it could be China, our country's mortal enemy. They're still trying to take over the West Philippine Sea, specifically Scarborough Shoal and Ayungin Shoal. It's highly possible that China orchestrated this to conquer our country."

"But what if the U.S. and China are also under attack by these monsters?" Keiran asked, placing his plate on the table before taking a sip of water.

"If that's the case, then it might be the work of beings from another planet trying to invade us," Kil suggested, crossing his legs and resting his elbow on his knee, pressing a finger to his chin in thought.

"So you're saying it's like one of those things we see on TV?" Ken gulped down his drink. "What's that Japanese cartoon called again? The one where the planet gets attacked and they try to conquer it? What's it called? Anamas or something?"

"Anime, you idiot," Keiran interjected.

"Fine, fine!" Ken shouted. "Anime, then!"

'But that voice earlier, just before the monster attack… Why did I hear it so clearly? It was like that guy was warning me to leave that place. But even if I had left, where would I have gone after that? Is this really the end of the world?' Kil thought.

George returned from the bathroom, while Ken was dishing out food for Lianna. "I'll just bring this to the girl in the room," Ken said.

When he opened the door, he froze, the food slipping from his hands. Kil and the others noticed the shock on Ken's face and rushed to the room. They, too, were horrified by what they saw. Lianna had hanged herself. She had taken her own life.

They scrambled to cut the rope from her neck.

'Why? Why did you do this, Lianna?' Kil thought. 'We know you're in pain, but to do this to yourself? Why did we let our guard down? We got complacent, thinking she was okay when she clearly wasn't. We should have stayed by her side until she really was. I'm so stupid, so damn stupid. I let another one of my comrades die. What a curse.'

Once they had cut the rope, they laid her down on the bed. Kil placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse, but there was nothing. He looked at his friends and shook his head. "She's gone. She's dead."

Ken ground his teeth, clenching his fists in anger. "This is all because of those worthless teachers. No, it's because of those damn monsters who attacked our world. I'll kill them all!"

Ken bolted out of their hiding place, clutching a knife.

"Wait, Ken. Don't be reckless. We still have time," George warned.

"It's over now," Kil muttered, his eyes losing their light once again, his brows furrowed. "I've reached my limit. There's nothing more I can do. I'll kill them all. And that bastard in charge of all this too." With that, he followed Ken.

Keiran drew his balisong and followed as well. "Tsk!" George clicked his tongue. 'Damn you, Kil. Why don't you just disappear? I wish you'd just die.'

George followed them reluctantly. Kil and the others headed straight for the school playground, where countless goblins roamed. Ken stopped, gnashing his teeth and clenching his fists. But Kil just walked past him, heading straight for the horde of goblins.

The goblins noticed Kil and charged at him. Kil met the first goblin with a knife to the chest. He slashed another with his second blade. Pulling his knife out, he sliced through the next goblin.

The others caught up. "He's completely lost it," George remarked.

Ken and the others charged in as well, cutting down every goblin in their path.

Kil continued his assault, stabbing and slashing goblins as he pushed forward. He drove a knife into one goblin, then another. He pulled his blade out and sliced the arm of a goblin that tried to attack him, following up with a kick to its face before slashing its throat.

Kil dodged an attack from another goblin and stabbed it in the back. By now, he was surrounded by a sea of goblins, numbering well over 300.

Kil's stamina was rapidly depleting, and he was breathing heavily. 'Tsk,' he clicked his tongue. 'Damn, my stamina's running out too fast,' he thought.

He stabbed another goblin in the chest and pulled his knife back out, but his breathing was ragged, and his vision was starting to blur. He didn't notice the goblin behind him, claws ready to strike.

Ken saw Kil's condition and the goblin creeping up behind him. "Kil!" Ken shouted.

Kil turned to Ken and saw the goblin behind him. He knew he couldn't dodge in time. But Ken moved quickly, using his back to shield Kil from the goblin's claws that were meant for him.

Kil fell to his knees, his eyes wide with shock. "K-Ken? Why? Why did you do that?"

Ken smiled. "You're the only one I see as a rival, the only one who matches my strength. You're also the first person to ever defeat me. So, I won't let you die before I get my revenge."

Kil was breathing heavily. "B-but, what if you die? Then you'll never get your revenge."

"Who said I was going to die?" Ken punched the goblin behind him and slammed it into the ground. "Let me tell you this: I'm not dying until I've beaten you to a pulp."

"Hey, George, get Kil out of here. Go back to our hideout," Keiran said, panting heavily. "We'll hold off these monsters."

"B-but—" Kil started to protest, but George grabbed him before he could finish.

"We need to retreat for now. We can't take them all," George said, pulling Kil by the arm to escape.

'Go on, run,' Ken thought. 'I've repaid my debt to you, Kil. By saving your life, you owe me now, and you'll remember that until the day you die. If you still remember me by then. Goodbye, my only rival.' Ken charged back into the horde of goblins.

'Kil, I've had so much fun with you,' Keiran thought. 'All our mischief, all our craziness, and of course, the bond we shared as friends. It's a shame we never ended up in the same class. But I'm still happy I met friends like you. Kil, I hope you end up with Aika and have beautiful children. I'll join you soon enough. Migs, Napoleon, until we meet again, Kil.' Tears streamed down Keiran's face as he attacked the monsters in front of him.