Leave The Monster Alone

There were three days of waiting time between the actual plan and the knowledge of what it entitled. The tension between Mark and Alan had not lessened at all. It had shown up in the way they interacted only.

For someone who had not known them for long, most of Luna's team and the base team also did not notice at all. But Jean and Luna did pick up.

As did Rika who had been shut down in her lab all this while. She had taken the samples she had collected as well as the ones Mark gave her and gotten to work at once. Mark had even decided to give Liam the location of material needed for future research.

The other had been spectacle but he had taken to discover those lands as well for the material. Especially since those data locations could not be determined from the new game code. It would take long but they would come to light sooner or later.

Mark just preferred it to be sooner and he now even had a valid excuse for it - the supply run he had gone with Vodi. Although Liam did not know the reality of their situation, he did know of those mysterious players who knew too much.

Mark had returned to his shopkeeper post on the first day itself to replace the current shopkeeper. The elder man looked grateful to finally get some rest in himself and Mark did feel guilty about it.

But then again, it was not his fault and these jobs were programmed for full-time usage. It was the developer's fault in this overlook. 

Mainly, he had been forced to return to this post as soon as he could because of the shortage of supplies the rebellion was having. They needed Mark to divert more toward them and he had.

He had been pinned it under Alan's name to make him seem better in the rebellion's eyes and to have him be accepted. It was a risky gamble but it had worked out in the end.

No one had questioned when those supplies had been leased under Alan's name, not even Alan who had already guessed it. The only one who did question it was Jean who was not very vocal about it all.

And so the day of the bombing drew nearer and nearer and so did Alan's nerves. Mark could clearly see his reluctance but he also knew he had to do this because this was what he had chosen for himself.

"You can still back out. Kuro and I can do this alone if you want to" Mark made one last effort to have the other reconsider. If the other thought it over even once then that meant he was not ready for this part yet.

Mark would not force him and send him with Luna despite the danger. He would also shoulder the blame for the other but the other did not waver at all. His steady eyes looked at Mark one last time before the operation, their pupils filled with determination.

"I'm ready when you are. I have already made up my mind and nothing you say will change it at this point" so Mark let it go for now. He had already decided to let the other participants after all and now the other seemed ready to take up the mantle.

The place being chosen was the cafeteria which was always full of people looking for nutrition. The depravity of the palace had not changed at all but the lower section seemed almost barren today as compared to other days.

It mainly consisted of those that had been discarded by the rebellion leaders or deemed as not appropriate which made Mark's heart hurt for them. They had done nothing wrong and were still stuck here for a sacrifice. 

That being said, there were still too many people who were bound to get hurt today. Mark hoped that Liam had a plan already in place because he did not have one yet. He was only allowing his wit to let him have a go at it and that was it.

"Let's go and get things sorted out at least" Mark was the first one to move and he went along the way to get it all done in one sitting. He moved along the walls silently to not alert anyone that he was there at all.

It was easy when people did not pay attention to him at all. It was almost relaxing if he ignored why and how he was doing this all. Then it was alright with him and he could do this.

The voices of people around him were relaxing and disturbing at the same time. The more Mark listened to them, the more he wanted to not do this. But he had already committed and he had to do this at all costs.

Kuro helped him out a lot by planting the small bombs in between the people. He had to make give it to the feline, she really knew how to disappear when she wanted to. The same could not be said for Alan who was still fumbling and drawing attention.

But that was the role Mark had given to the teen and he was happy to see him following his orders.

Soon it was all quit again and Mark was done with his part. Kuro was done as well and they retreated to safety. 

"Well, that's that. Mark be carefully yourself" the warning was not appreciated by Mark but he did understand the reason behind it. His stand was close to the bombing location and it would be easy to get caught in the aftermath if he was not careful.

"I will be. Make sure Jean or anyone else does not come here at all" there was still the chase of things going wrong. They were still not sure what Liam had planned but the other had down one thing - retrieved all of his important soldiers out of there.

Everyone inside there was cannon fodder no longer needed and no one would miss them at all. It made Mark sick to be a part of such a scheme but he had to do this.

The system gave him a choice between bad and worse and he had chosen bad, even if it looked like the worse of the two options.

Now all he had to do was to wait for the things out. He just had to wait for the bombs to go off and the chaos to start.

But before that, he smelled a sweet smell in the air. He was not sure if he was imagining it but no one else reacted.

"Hey, can you smell this sweet smell in the air? It smells almost artificial to me?" Mark asked the nearest person who gave him side-eye but did not react to anything else. Maybe he had not heard Mark's words at all.

"Hey, can you hear me?" the person did not relax at all and he did not reply. If Mark looked carefully, he could swear that the other had an almost-glazed look on his face which weirded Mark out.

And he seemed not to be the only one, the others looked just as dazed from the gas outbreak as the first one had looked. Mark was not sure what this was about but he followed them outside nonetheless.

And then the bombs went off in a flash of light and Mark felt the heat and the pain at his side from the burns. They attacked his senses and they were so painful that they hurt a lot. 

He was starting to lose control of his body and he was not the only one.

The screams started as soon as the light of the bomb went off. Mark had to carefully navigate his way out of the place without jolting his own injuries.

It was not easy to crawl out of the place but he had somehow made it out. He was thankful that he had let Kuro go with Alan so that she would not get caught in this explosion.

The smoke was clearing as Mark made his way out. His whole body burned bad and he did not want to imagine what it did to the others at the scene. He pushed his body to stand and grasped his side.

Much to his surprise, his side was not wet with blood at all. He was dry and the first thing he did was to check himself out in the mirror.

His body hurt a lot but he had no visible injuries. More and more people were swarming toward the explosion now, clearing the debris away. There was not much of it or the fire at all. 

In fact, there was not much evidence of anything happening here at all which was weird for Mark to think about.

"Hey, are you alright? Are you dizzy? Any other effects?" Mark blanked a few times to clear the smog away and the pain also faded slowly. He was alright once again in a matter of minutes.