Apocalypse Baby

"Since Player 666 has refused to listen and has broken the rules, disrupting the trial, he is to be eliminated....along with the players with him."

There was a brief silence.

And then...

"What?"

Ezekiel exclaimed in shock.

The rest were also stunned by this as well.

Ezekiel turned toward Alex, eyes filled with frustration.

"Seriously?!"

He didn't even know the guy.

Freya frowned, stepping closer to Alex with narrowed eyes.

"Alex, what did you do this time?"

Alex sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, in case you didn't hear, apparently blasting my way straight through the maze is considered cheating. The undead guide wasn't happy about that, so it tried to drag me to hell. I killed it, caused a mini-earthquake, and… well, now we have this."

Ezekiel's eyes widened.

"Wait. You were the reason for the earthquake?!" he practically shouted.

A mix of shock, frustration, and disbelief crossed his face.

Who the hell was this guy?

Surprisingly, he was the only one who seemed visibly upset. Which was rather odd.

Freya just shook her head, sighing deeply.

"You… why is it always chaos with you?"

Alex shrugged, raising both hands in surrender.

"Hey, it's not my fault. I just tend to have that effect on everything."

Freya's expression darkened.

"Is that why you left me behind?"

Alex shrugged, his voice low and indifferent.

"Who knows."

Freya's forehead creased.

What the hell was she supposed to do with that answer?

Before she could press further, Dorion smirked and chimed in.

"Okay, I'm sensing some tension here. Did you two hook up or something?"

WHOOSH

SLICE

A sharp flash of steel cut through the air.

Onigi struck.

Dorion barely reacted in time, whipping up his scythe to block the attack. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed.

Dorion's smirk vanished.

His frown deepened as he took a couple of step back.

"Hey, old man, now's not the time for this! We're surrounded by undead monsters! Shouldn't we, I don't know, postpone whatever beef you have with me?"

Onigi's grip on his katana tightened, his eyes cold and unwavering.

"No," he said, voice firm.

"Now is the perfect time."

His stance lowered, blade steady.

"I'm taking your head right now. No matter the interference."

Dorion turned to Alex, his expression exaggerated—like a kid whining to his mom.

"Brother."

Alex's eye twitched. His patience was wearing thin.

"Cut the 'brother' crap already. It's getting on my nerves."

Dorion scoffed, clicking his teeth in annoyance.

"Tch."

Ezekiel, who seemed to be the only one actually concerned about their situation, finally snapped. His voice rose slightly, laced with nervous energy.

"Alright… You guys do realize we're literally surrounded by hundreds of undead, right?"

Alex barely spared a glance at the horde. He waved a dismissive hand.

"They're after me. You guys can leave."@@novelbin@@

Ezekiel's jaw clenched.

"Leave? Where? We can't leave! We're surrounded."

Alex shrugged as if it wasn't his problem.

Dorion, on the other hand, seemed far more entertained by the chaos. He cracked his neck, gripping his scythe with a grin.

"Well, I don't intend to miss out on free Nightmare Points."

Ezekiel was losing his patience. His voice came out sharp and exasperated.

"Kid, you have bigger problems."

Dorion tilted his head, grinning like he had just heard the funniest joke.

"Bigger? Eh… I wouldn't call it that. The undead seem way more interesting."

Ezekiel clenched his fists.

"You'd be dead before you even take down one of them."

Dorion's grin widened. He twirled his scythe with practiced ease, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp whoosh.

"Oh? Is that a bet? Now that's exciting."

Despite his cocky words, his focus was razor-sharp. His eyes locked onto the approaching undead, but Onigi wasn't fooled.

The old warrior shifted into a battle stance, katana at the ready. His expression hardened.

He could sense Dorion's carefree attitude was an act.

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A distraction.

Onigi could feel it—the true intent lurking behind Dorion's playful grin. The scythe-wielder wasn't just watching the undead.

He was watching him.

One misstep, one moment of underestimation, and Onigi would be the one lying dead on the ground.

Meanwhile, standing slightly behind the chaos, Ella—who had been silently observing all this insanity—leaned closer to Freya and whispered:

"Ma'am… who are these crazy people? And more importantly, what are we going to do about the monsters?"

Crazy people?

Freya muttered inwardly, shaking her head.

Seriously, who in this damn place wasn't crazy?

She exhaled, then turned to Ella. "Honestly? I don't know. This place somehow threw us all together."

Ella nodded slowly, still trying to make sense of it all.

Freya continued, her tone a little lighter. "But as for the monsters… there's no need to worry. Not when he's around."

She gestured toward Alex, who stood there, arms crossed, looking as unbothered as ever despite the swarm of undead closing in.

Ella let out a relieved sigh, but just as she was about to relax, her expression turned serious again.

"Ma'am, I have something to share with you."

Freya's eyes narrowed slightly.

Share what?

What the hell was this about?

And why now of all times? The timing was suspicious, making her mind race with possibilities.

Before she could ask, a glowing notification flickered into view in front of her:

[Ella wants to share Nightmare points with you.]

[Do you want to accept?]

Freya frowned, eyes fixed on the glowing notification hovering in front of her.

"What is this?" she asked, suspicion creeping into her voice.

Ella had used a system feature that allowed players to share Nightmare points. It wasn't an uncommon function, but almost no one used it.

Nightmare points were everything in this place—power, survival, the difference between life and death.

So why the hell was Ella giving hers away?

Freya's mind raced.

Was it that she didn't think she would survive this?

Ella noticed the confusion on Freya's face and gave a small, almost shy smile.

"Well," she said, rubbing the back of her neck, "the points I'm sharing… are the ones I got from killing Jeremy."