Chapter 328: Baseless Hopes

The mysterious man was staring at Josh bleakly.

"No, you don't understand. This thing owns a god's fragment. Do you know what this means?"

The bystanders all held their breath, waiting for the revelation.

"It is imbued with the power of a god. Even an infinitesimally insignificant godly ability is enough to cause endless mayhem. After all, humans cannot fathom nor go against such power." He explained.

The people around sucked in a cold breath, their faces contorting in despair.

"We have to face a motherfucking god?! We're doomed!"

"Wait, it's only a small fragment of it? So maybe not?"

"This is confusing, are we fucked or not?!"

"Do you know its weakness?"

"How do we defeat it?"

They all turned toward the man as they expected more details. Since he was so calm, he had to know something, right?

"Humanity will likely survive, but everyone in Metropolis-C will die. Your best bet is for the vessel to crack under the pressure of the enormous power it wields." He calmly stated.

His calm and detached tone made it even worse. Couldn't the guy at least show concern as he augured all their deaths?!

"What the fuck?! You expect us just to hope for it to self-destruct?!"

"This is insane. Do you know how many live in this area?!"

"There's no way we can let all of them down!"

The man shook his head, seemingly wondering what had confused them. "No, no. Don't misunderstand. I am not expecting anything from you all."

"What?!"

"Coward!"

"You're just gonna run?!"

Once more, the man seemed puzzled at their limited listening capabilities: "I thought we had already established this point." He turned toward Josh. "Anyway, do you wish to come along? I may have questions about that violent energy...."

This peaceful guy was surprisingly very pragmatic. But, the more Josh thought about it and the more confident he became in his plan.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that god-related ability is probably that corrupting one, right?" He inquired.

"Most likely, that is why you should stay as far away from it as humanly possible." The mysterious guy confirmed.

"I understand. Knowing that, the decision is easy." Josh nodded, his face relaxing.

The soldiers looked his way, frowning in disappointment. So he had chosen to flee, leaving them all behind. It was a shitty decision, but what could they do about it? Nothing!

That's why his next words confused the heck out of them:

"Alright, let's get this over with. Dude, with the magical buff, hurry up and work your magic!" Josh shouted with the MTA soldiers jolting in surprise.

"Wait, what?!"

"Aren't you running away?!"

"What is happening right now?!"

Josh shook his head as he positioned himself as if an Olympic runner at the start line. But he was facing the chaotic monstrosity?!

"I never said that, did I? C'mon, I don't have all day." He grunted.

"Thank you so much!" Lana got ready to assist however she could.

The soldiers could only watch Josh in awe. Even after hearing this crazy god-powered ability tale, he still didn't cower one bit. How insane was that?!

That one guy began chanting. Then, a heavenly bluish-white light enveloped Josh's body. Instantly the energy changed color to a deep and vibrant purple as it fused with his mana, enhancing it many times over.

If before his mana had been a calm and peaceful river, it was now rapids that were rumbling inside him, searching for a way to vent.

"There goes nothing." Josh dashed as fast as he could, heading straight for the thing's core.

He was surprisingly...slow. Didn't he have an ability to boost his speed? But, he was nonetheless impressive. He was cutting tentacles left and right!

The spectators couldn't help but cheer:

"You can do it! You got this!"

"This is amazing. None can reach him!"

"Wow, at this rate he'll succeed for sure!"

That's when the wriggling tentacle mass suddenly turned into a seemingly unavoidable wave heading his way.

"It's gonna be fine, guys. He'll carve a path through it with his sword!"

"We have to believe and be ready to help him get out."

"Yes, get all your healing skills ready!"

They were so optimistic! But, the reality was very different. The black wave came, and...engulfed him completely?!

"Oh crap!"

"He's done for!"

Just like that, the wriggling sea became tranquil once again, no ripple to be seen inside. This meant the struggle was already over: he had died instantly.

Their hearts were heavy as they knew they would all perish. They just hoped that the bomb the MTA would throw here would suffice to wipe the problem out. Otherwise, the entire Metropolis would really disappear...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As the mass of darkness engulfed Josh, he felt lost.

This thing was....strange. He had expected burning pain, endless agony, demonic torture...many things but not this.

That's when a presence suddenly approached him, one that gave him a familiar feeling, one that existed only in his memories, one he missed so much....

"H̵e̵l̸l̸o̷,̴ ̶m̸y̴ ̶l̴o̸v̷e̸."

There were no words...and yet he could perceive it all clearly. His love? No, it wasn't! This was fake....yet it truly felt like her...

"I̷t̸ ̶r̷e̷a̶l̴l̴y̵ ̵i̷s̶ ̶m̵e̷."

He wouldn't give in, he would....There was no mistaking it: it was her...

"L̶o̶o̴k̸ ̸i̷n̴t̴o̶ ̷m̴y̵ ̷e̵y̷e̸s̵,̴ ̷i̵t̵'̸s̸ ̸m̵e̵."

He wouldn't....what? He had forgotten....

"I̴'̷v̷e̵ ̸b̷e̵e̴n̴ ̵w̵a̸i̷t̸i̸n̴g̸ ̵f̵o̵r̷ ̶y̶o̶u̴."

She had? Where had he been again?...

"I̵'̶v̶e̶ ̸b̸e̷e̴n̵ ̴s̷o̵ ̸l̴o̷n̶e̷l̸y̷."

Lonely? Was he coming back from work?...

"I̴'̶v̷e̴ ̷m̵i̷s̵s̵e̷d̸ ̷y̷o̸u̸ ̴s̴o̶ ̴m̶u̶c̷h̶."

He, too, had missed her, far more than he could have ever imagined. It was as if a piece of himself was missing and....why again?...

"Y̷o̷u̵'̷v̵e̶ ̵b̵e̶e̶n̸ ̶f̷i̵g̷h̷t̶i̴n̵g̴ ̷a̴l̸l̴ ̸t̴h̷i̷s̶ ̵t̸i̵m̵e̸.̵.̸.̴."

He had to reach the top after all! Wait, what top? The top of the Dragon Triad Tower, perhaps? Had it all been a dream?...

"R̴e̷l̶a̸x̴,̷ ̴y̸o̵u̵'̶v̷e̵ ̵f̶o̷u̵g̷h̵t̵ ̷e̷n̷o̵u̶g̵h̶."

Relax, was it? He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he was forgetting.

"I̶f̵ ̵y̴o̵u̴'̸v̴e̶ ̸f̴o̶r̶g̴o̶t̶t̷e̸n̴ ̸i̵t̸ ̶m̵u̷s̴t̷n̷'̴t̷ ̸b̶e̸ ̵i̸m̶p̷o̷r̶t̸a̴n̸t̴.̸ ̴"

There ought to be some truth in that. She always knew how to cheer him up...

S̶t̶a̶y̴ ̴h̵e̸r̵e̶ ̴w̶i̸t̵h̴ ̴m̴e̸.̷.̴.̸f̶o̷r̶e̷v̴e̵r̸.̸.̸.̴

This sure sounded nice....

━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━

This world was mad, completely mad, but she was still alive.

How many times did she think she'd die? At least a hundred times a day! Whenever she saw a scary monster, her heart would tremble. But, she had developed a trick to fight the fear.

"What would Josh do right now?" Sophie softly murmured to herself.

Her surroundings were pitch black and smelled of death. Then there was that deep monstrous ogre-like voice that kept trying to scare her.

"T̸h̸e̷r̵e̸ ̶w̸o̸n̴'̶t̴ ̶b̷e̸ ̵a̵n̴y̷ ̶e̴s̴c̸a̷p̷e̴."

"I̷ ̶w̶i̶l̷l̸ ̷d̵e̵v̴o̷u̵r̷ ̶y̶o̸u̷r̶ ̵f̷l̴e̸s̸h̷."

"C̶h̸e̴w̶ ̴t̸h̸e̵ ̸b̴o̴n̷e̸s̴ ̶a̷n̷d̶ ̵s̵l̵u̴r̴p̴ ̵t̶h̴e̶ ̵m̵a̸r̸r̶o̴w̴."

This place was even worse than her first day in this world, one she remembered so vividly.

There had been big twin-headed dogs that had devoured everyone. They had eaten her friends, her neighbors, and even....She didn't want to think about it. She had been so scared!

As blood had flowed everywhere, all that she could do was to play dead and pray to wake up. But, the nightmare had been unending and so very real. How many times had she almost revealed her position with a scream?

She had almost died of fright, despair, and sorrow...All until she saw him. Amidst the sea of fear, he had been calm and relaxed, lazily kicking the dogs. That's all he could do since his hands were tied, but he hadn't panicked anyway.

Back then, she didn't know his name, but she survived her first encounter with monsters thanks to him. He had kept her sane as she kept repeating to herself: "What would the man in the white jacket do?"

He wouldn't scream, even if everyone died around him. He would calmly fight back and would survive. While she couldn't fight, she could hide and did. Seeing him is what let her resist the urge to flee, thus getting herself killed recklessly.

She was already grateful, but he did even more.

Not long after, he saved her once more and asked her to fight with him. She somehow understood that he didn't need her. He was allowing her to fight back.

For a short instant, he had been her mentor. He hadn't taught her any move, only courage. That was what she needed the most. She had figured out how to trip the dogs by asking herself once again:

"What would the man in the white jacket do if he were a little girl?"

After the tutorial, they had gone their separate ways, but she always remembered this event. Anytime she encountered something scary or dangerous, she would repeat the same thing over and over until she was calm.

Then one day, she had been eaten by a terrible gigantic black wriggling monster at the fallen event.

The last thing she saw was a man turning into a monster in front of her very eyes. As she was about to die, she once more asked herself: "What would Josh do?"

Would he despair? No.

Would he give in? No

Would he fear? No

Would he cry? No

She used all her strength to activate her healing ability, creating a cocoon of light around her. She knew it would only last a second, but so what! She would keep fighting until the very end because that's what he would do.

Funny how she had barely talked to him in her life. Perhaps it wasn't about him anymore either. She simply had needed to believe in something, anything.

It had been him. Perhaps all because of luck. Her eyes had stumbled upon him in her darkest moment...that was all.

She was leaving this world...so very peacefully....Except she didn't.

Inside the beast's stomach, she found endless darkness, but one that couldn't defeat her. At first, it had gone easy on her, sending a few tendrils of fear her way. After all, she was only a little girl.

But soon, it had increased its power, trying to devour her at all costs. She kept hanging in there while mumbling to herself the same mantra.

It truly was a magical trick, one that worked even now!

"Y̷o̵u̸ ̷a̷r̴e̴ ̶d̷o̴o̴m̷e̸d̷,̸ ̸l̷i̷t̶t̷l̷e̷ ̸g̴i̸r̴l̶."

"I̵ ̶c̶a̷n̶ ̷f̵e̶e̸l̴ ̴y̵o̶u̷r̴ ̴f̵e̴a̴r̸ ̴g̷r̵o̸w̶i̶n̵g̴."

"Y̷o̵u̵ ̴w̶i̸l̴l̶ ̴p̸e̷r̶i̵s̵h̴ ̴i̶n̴ ̶t̴h̵e̵ ̷m̷o̴s̴t̵ ̸a̸b̸o̶m̷i̶n̴a̴b̷l̸e̷ ̶m̸a̵n̸—"

"Shut up, will you?" She furiously berated.

But, it was true that her power was slowly withering since her mana was limited. How long could she still resist the monster?

— Beep! —

Suddenly she received a message from a friend, and it changed everything.

- Badass Granny: Hang in there. I've called Josh as reinforcement!"

"What?!" A shout of pure joy escaped her lips.

As she began grinning like a fool, even the chaotic monster felt that something was amiss.

"W̸h̸a̵t̶?̸"

She opened her tiny mouth, gleefully taunting the monster:

"Hehe, big baddie, you're going down! Josh is coming to save me! We'll see who's afraid of who then!"

Creator's Thought

Hostage Situation Guidebook: Rule #1: Do not brag to your captor about getting rescued. Please keep it on the down-low so they cannot prepare a deadly magical ambush to handle your would-be savior. Rule #2: Keep calm and relax. Rule #3: Stay Hydrated.