"Did it just…"

Adam stared at the figure in the center of the clearing. The Emperor—he'd heard whispers about it in the scavenger camps, fragments of stories from the internet. It was exclusive to the Game itself, never appearing in Leaks. The strongest known entity the Administrators could spawn.

They said it required an upper A-tier Hero to solo at Level 1. And as the Game progressed, it grew stronger.

But there was supposed to be safety in its nature. Unlike most of the monsters inside the Dome, the Emperor was non-aggressive unless you attacked it within its territory. If you could escape fast enough, skilled enough, it would disengage.

Let you run.

Unfortunately for Adam, he was about to test that theory.

He lowered the Shion slowly, letting the tip touch the sand. His other hand rose, palm open.

"I'm not here to fight," he… called out. "I'll leave."

The Emperor's head tilted. Then it began walking forward.

Each of its steps caused the hairs behind Adam's neck to move. Its black and purple armor caught the harsh desert light, and that flowing scarf moved even without wind. And finally, as it drew closer, Adam could see what lay beneath the humanoid silhouette.

This wasn't human. Had never been human.

And so, Adam turned and ran.

But he heard several booms, one behind him, and then at his left—and when Adam completed his turn, the Emperor was already in front of him, blocking his path.

"Ah…" Adam whispered.

Now that they were this close to each other, Adam could see how far it truly was from a human. Pale skin that looked like it was stretched to the point where you could see the flesh beneath. Its eyes were solid black, no iris, no pupil. Where a nose should be were gill-like slits that opened and closed rhythmically.

Its hair was impeccably straight, too, especially compared to Adam's.

And most importantly… it was twice as tall as him, maybe more.

The Emperor looked down at Adam with those void-black eyes. Its mouth opened slightly, revealing nothing inside—no teeth, no tongue, just darkness.

Look, Adam. It's your mother. Shut up.

Adam resigned himself to what came next. He couldn't run. Couldn't hide. So he attacked first.

The Shion swept upward in a vicious swing, aimed at the Emperor's exposed throat. The blade moved faster than Adam had ever swung it, but the Emperor caught it with its weapon.

Not blocked. Caught.

The Emperor slid its weapon along the blade's length, moving toward the hilt. Adam tried to pull back, but the Emperor grabbed his armor. It then hooked the Shion with its own sword and then tugged at it while pushing Adam at the same time.

Adam flew backward, his grip torn from the Shion. He hit the sand hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop. When he looked up, the Emperor was spinning the Shion around its own blade, and then balanced it on the blunt side of its weapon.

Then it tossed the Shion back to him.

The blade landed point-first in the sand beside Adam's head. The Emperor waited, hands at its sides, as Adam scrambled to retrieve his weapon.

The moment Adam's fingers closed around the hilt, the Emperor was there. It grabbed him by the shoulders and hurled him across the clearing like he weighed nothing. Adam tumbled through the air, crashed into the sand at the circle's edge, and rolled to a stop.

Again, the Emperor waited.

Adam stood, spat blood, and charged. The same result—disarmed, thrown, weapon returned. The Emperor's movements were almost… bored. It wasn't trying to kill him.

It was just observing him.

But soon, Adam noticed where the Emperor's gaze lingered. It wasn't looking at his face, not at all. Not even on his weapon. It was looking at the red halo floating above his head. The Emperor tilted its head each time it saw the halo, like it were trying to understand what Adam was.

Maybe it was intelligent. Maybe it was curious about why someone like Adam, a Creep, was right in front of it.

And once again, the Emperor returned the weapon to Adam.

This time, however, Adam tried a different approach. He raised his hands in surrender, letting the Shion fall to the sand.

"I yield," he said clearly.

The Emperor mirrored the gesture exactly. Its massive hands rose, palms forward, in perfect imitation of Adam's stance. Then it tilted its head again, waiting.

…Did it think Adam was now going to fight it with bare hands? Well, it was wrong.

Adam kicked forward, creating a wall of sand. And when it fell, he was no longer there.

The Emperor tilted its head again, scanning everywhere before it disappeared from its spot. And when it appeared again, it already had its hand beneath the sand.

And then, he pulled up… grabbing Adam by the ankle and dragging him back to the surface like he was some sort of mole.

The Emperor held him upside down, studying him again. Adam swung the Shion at its wrist, but the blade skittered off the pale skin without leaving a mark.

The Emperor smiled.

Its mouth opened wider than any human mouth should, revealing rows of needle-like teeth that weren't there before.

Adam drove the Shion toward the Emperor's face with everything he had. The blade struck its cheek and stopped, the metal bending slightly under the force of impact… and the Emperor's skin didn't even bruise.

Adam understood then... this was a fight he couldn't win, no matter what.

And soon, minutes passed and became an hour. Again… and again… and again.

The Emperor seemed to have infinite patience. It never grew frustrated, never increased its aggression. It… just played with Adam.

Adam felt helpless at this.

It reminded him of the Hospital. He felt like he was stuck inside a cage again, being played by elements he couldn't move, no matter what.

And he didn't want that. He didn't want that at all.

Adam screamed and charged one final time.

He feinted left, rolled right, came up swinging the Shion in a wide strike meant to take the Emperor's legs out from under it. The blade connected with the Emperor's shin… and bounced off.

The Emperor grabbed his head and then slammed him down on the sand hard enough to make another crater.

Even with the soft sand beneath, Adam felt his head break like a watermelon, literally. His head was shattered into a hundred pieces.

The Emperor lifted him up and then watched as his face reconstructed itself in no time at all. It stared at Adam, and then reached out its pale hand, wanting to touch his face.

Adam closed his eyes and waited for whatever came next.

But the Emperor's pale fingers brushed against Adam's cheek… with surprising gentleness. Adam opened his eyes, expecting pain, but found something else entirely in those void-black depths. Not hunger. Not malice. Not even playfulness.

Understanding…?

You're imagining it, Adam. Stop humanizing monsters.

The Emperor's mouth opened—not the wild grin from before, but something different. It was…

…trying to speak?

But then… a loud explosion erupted.

Adam flew backward through the air, sand and debris raining around him as smoke billowed across the clearing. When the dust settled, two figures stood where the blast had originated.

"Is the Hero dead?!" The first Hero, a woman with green hair, surveyed the scene. "I can't believe they still want to get the Emperor even after blitzing us!"

"They wanna finish this fast. I don't even know why we're even trying." Her companion, a massive man with arms like tree trunks, cracked his knuckles. "Let's just get this done with so I can go home. I was watching Villain Retirement."

"I'm sponsored. I can't lose without trying—I have cameras following me." The woman pointed up, most likely at one of the drones above the Dome.

Meanwhile, from afar, Adam's body was putting itself back together. Since his armor was still completely intact, it didn't even take a while at all. He carefully leaned over the sand, only to see the two Heroes rushing toward the Emperor, their Blue names gleaming.

This… was his chance to escape.

The Emperor also started to move. Its weapon materialized in its hand as it lunged at the woman, who barely managed to dodge. The large man attacked from the left, his fists glowing with some kind of energy.

Of course, Adam didn't stay to watch. He got to his feet and ran. He didn't look back, didn't even check on the Heroes' names. He just ran.

Behind him, the battle erupted. The woman placed her hand on the sand, summoning vines that clashed against the Emperor's dark blade while the man hammered at its flanks. The Emperor was fast, impossibly strong, and despite fighting two opponents, it still had the upper hand…

…until it didn't.

The woman managed to lock the Emperor's legs with thick roots that erupted from beneath its feet. The roots crawled, binding the Emperor's limbs completely.

This gave the large man the chance to land his crushing blows without pause. They were coordinated, experienced. And slowly, they were winning.

"W-were actually going to do it!"

And that single shout caused Adam to look back and stop running.

If these two Heroes managed to defeat the Emperor, the Blue team would gain massive advantage. Enough to turn the tide completely.

If that happened… all the people he killed here. The child… their deaths would mean nothing at all. He would've just… murdered them.

…And he can't let that happen. Not at all.

And so… Adam turned back.

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