IN VERSION

YEAR: 2161

LOCATION: The Den

TIME: 10:09 PM

"I win boy!" The Reaper gleamed evilly.

Darey knew he wasn't lying. When he had first discovered the existence of The Reapers, he had thought of a connection between this man and them. That was why he researched and dug up any available information left in the ruined world about him. He knew his Special Ability, and there was no way he could win in his position.

"If you say so... Then it must be true." Darey let out defeatedly. "There's no use playing around anymore." He concluded.

"Oh, not so fast. You're not just gonna give up are you?" The Reaper said.

"Not like I have a choice. What's the point in fighting a losing battle?" Darey shrugged.

"Hehehehe, I knew you'd say that. But... Unfortunately you don't have a choice in the matter." The Reaper said, bringing out a remote out of his pocket.

The Remote Control had three buttons. One was green, one blue, the last one red. He pressed the blue button.

Suddenly, a mechanical door opened, and on a standing metal slab, Darey saw her... His mother! She was tied helplessly on the fat slab of metal. She wasn't conscious, which made Darey panic.

"Oh don't worry. She's just unconscious. I haven't killed her... YET." He said with a sadistic grin.

"Just what do you want?" Darey said, losing his composure.

He had lost his cool, he wasn't thinking straight, and he was aware of that fact. But... He had to save her.

"I can't just let her die." Was all that rang through Darey's mind.

"Since you're from the future, you must know the nature of my Special Ability. But to be honest... It's a bit boring you know. Once I know how an event plays out, If it's against my favor, all I have to do is get rid of all the discrepancies and change some things. Then the future will tilt to my favor." The Reaper explained.

"That's why I knew I had to take you down now... Since you're at your lowest at the moment. The first few hundred future scenarios I saw ended with me losing, it's like you saw through anything and thought of everything... But then after narrowing down the causes and the actions I needed to take, It all led to this moment. And now... My victory is definite!" He said.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Darey said in anxiety.

"Why? I'm not sure myself. Maybe I thought you'd understand. Since you're from the future you must also have it easy right?" The Reaper said.

"I mean... It's no fun if you already know the end to something. There's no risk to take when you know the result of your actions. That's why... I decided to chase after a different type of pleasure." He continued, ignoring Darey's silence.

"The CHASE!!! The process that leads to the end. I've cultivated my tastes... To savor the expressions my victims make when I fill them up with despair. When they know they can't win, but I still make them continue... Ah, the pleasure... It's so good!!!" The Reaper let out an ecstatic moan.

Darey cringed in disgust, but there was nothing he could do but listen to the crazy bastard rant.

"And now... It's your turn boy. It's pretty simple isn't it? If you win, you get your mom... If I win, I'll kill her in front of you... Then I'll kill you." The Reaper finished.

His grin showed he was serious, and also bloodthirsty. He was going to have his fun.

"So, what do you say boy?" The Reaper said.

"You already know what I'll say don't you?" Darey answered.

"Attaboy!" He said.

Darey was cornered, in a terrible situation. There was no escape for him, no choice. He was merely to serve as a serial killer's source of entertainment. But, he had to do it.

Darey twitched his hand, readying himself for battle.

Suddenly he dashed toward the enemy in front of him to attack.

In terms of physical abilities, even in his exhausted state, Darey was sure to be superior. The Reaper was well built, and since he was bare-chested, Darey could tell that he was at peak physical condition. His well proportioned body and finely toned muscles were proof of that, but, Darey's physical abilities were superhuman. Naturally, he would land a solid hit and win... But.

The Reaper dodged Darey's lunge at him, and even managed to avoid all Darey's succeeding blows. Darey couldn't afford to use any flashy moves at the moment. He was saving up his energy. He continued launching his volley of attacks, but to no avail.

The Reaper stepped back, and just as Darey paused to catch his breath, he lunged at hi, and hit him in the stomach. Darey yelped, and squinted in pain. The blow itself was really powerful, plus the spot he hit was the area where Kyron's blast had impacted the most. Since he couldn't use Healer's Wish on himself, he could only patch it up and close the wound. But it still hurt like hell.

Darey took advantage of the close proximity he had with the Reaper at this moment to pour some of his energy into this attack. Since he was at close range, and his overall speed was much higher than The Reaper's. Even if he knew the future, at his speed there was no way he could avoid the attack. He had to take his shot.

"ENERGY FLOW" Darey mentioned the ability in his mind.

His veins suddenly glowed, showing his energy channels were seen. A great deal of energy converged on his hand. He squinted one of his eyes. The energy being consumed was close to 1 percent. This meant that he had less than 4 percent left, but if this worked then it would be well worth it.

He punched The Reaper right by his side, causing him to fly away. The sound generated by the impact was deafening, and the wind pressure went haywire.

Beads of sweat formed on Darey's face. He huffed and wheezed. It had been a long time since he had ever been pushed this far.

"Shit" He cursed. He really wished he had his full set of abilities with him.

Then suddenly something struck him! Why had he not realized it before? He then realized that he had lost his cool. He panicked since he was no longer in control of the situation, reverting to his early years of his time in the Ruined World when he was still weak.

"Looks like I've shown quite a shameful part of myself." Darey said to himself.

He had thought those countless years in the Ruined world, those times alone... He had thought they had gotten rid of all his previous weaknesses. He had thought he had enough resolve and firmness to finish the mission, guess he was wrong.

"Looks like he's still in here... That pathetic and weak me." Darey thought to himself.

He had just given in to the hopelessness of the situation and acted without thinking properly, especially since he discovered his opponent was The Reaper. Just what was he doing? This man was nothing compared to the real threat to come.

"If i can't take care of trash like him... Then it must be a joke to even think of facing... Them" Darey said.

Though they shared the same name... They were entirely different. This Reaper was nothing compared to The REAPERS, and Darey knew which one was his major focus.

"Hehehehehehe" The Reaper chuckled.

Darey looked behind him, expressing surprise.

"Oh, c'mon! Don't just stand around there. We're not done here yet." The Reaper said with a slick smile.

"How are you still standing?" Darey said, still shocked.

"I already told you... I know how this all goes." The Reaper said with a smile. "I came prepared." He added.

"Impressive. So you used physical enhancing drugs. Plus it seems you grafted some kind of metallic compound on the area I hit you prior to today. You also dressed bare-chested because I wouldn't be hesitant to attack you there since I would see it as an opportunity. This would make you waste more of my energy. Am I right?" Darey said.

"Exactly, though I already knew you were going to say that." The Reaper pointed out.

"I'm sure you might have already laid out similar traps, or have already taken other actions that would let me waste more of my energy... Or maybe you didn't since you already know what will happen next." Darey said.

"Yeah... But let me hear you say it." He said with a wicked grin.

"I'm not playing your game anymore... That's it." Darey said finally.

"Oh... But you still are. Don't you remember this?" The Reaper brought out the Remote and displayed it to Darey.

"If I press this green button, your mom will be freed from the shackles of the slab. But... If I press the red one, then she dies!" The Reaper said.

"You already said you would win anyway, plus you're still going to kill her aren't you? What's the point anyway." Darey replied.

"Wha-?" The Reaper reacted in surprise.

"I'll tell you this now... That woman is not in any way useful to my plans on the long run. She has already served my purpose, adopting Kyron and signing us up into Orion, and even my dad could have done that for me alone... Well, it would take longer though." Darey said.

"Wow, how heartless." The Reaper said. "You sure she's your mother?" He asked.

"Hey, she's been dead to me for over a hundred years... Literally! I honestly couldn't care less." Darey responded.

"That's a lie. I saw how you desperately tried to save her earlier. You still care about her very much don't you?" The Reaper said, bringing his finger close to the red button.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Darey shrugged.

The Reaper smiled. He hit the button.

Suddenly, Darey's eyes widened at the sight before him. His mother's body burst open, her organs splattering everywhere, and blood oozing on the ground. One of her eyeballs rolled toward Darey's feet. He bent and picked it, remaining in his squatting position. He sighed, calmed himself and then looked at The Reaper, who looked and smiled with satisfaction.

"So, what now? Now that she's dead I don't think you have any leverage to use against me. Plus, nothing stops me from killing you right now. Nothing also stops me from continuing your game. There's no motivation." Darey said, looking with a calm and expressionless face.

"Oh, motivation is on it's way." The Reaper replied.

That was when Darey finally picked up the sounds of hurried footsteps. There were 30, no over 40 armed men surrounding the entire building. But that was not all, Darey heard the footsteps of three people behind him. One of them opened the door to the blood stained building, allowing all three to enter.

"Oh agents, right on time!" The Reaper gleamed.

Darey slowly turned his face back, and then his calm expression collapsed when he saw one of the agents before him.

"D-Darey?" Frank, who was among the three agents who entered the building, and the leader of the rescue squad exclaimed.

His eyes were widened to their limits. He could not believe what he was seeing. Before him was his own son, covered in blood.

"D-Dad...?!" Darey said, equally surprised and filled with shock.

"Now... Shall we continue the game?" The Reaper said with a sly grin, licking his lips.

To Be Continued....