Leave The Monster Alone

Even Liam, who was a sole authority and the reason behind Mark being alive in the first place, thought the same. And also, Alan would prefer if his brother lived to tell another day. The kid did not know Mark in this life, or rather, in this saved file so he was unlikely to be sad about his death.

As for Kuro, she would likely find the other half of her soul and would not have to suffer as much as she did last time. It would also save a lot of time and effort on the resistance part should not be there to foil their plans.

This was what he believed and Mark was ready to meet his end.

However, before he could feel the monster collide with his flesh, something other met the monster and caused its demise. The small bullet had made a clean hole through the other side of the monster's body.

That bullet was not familiar but it did not matter when it had just saved his life.

"Y-You killed him" the teen sounded as if he was in disbelief and Mark wanted to assure him that it was nothing extraordinary. After all, the kid would be able to do this one day as well. But those would be considered as major spoilers and they could just not take that risk. So, he decided to not say anything.

"As long as we are alive it does not matter if these monsters die or not" the advice was not the best, far from it but the other seemed as if he had taken it to his heart. His expression screamed serious and rebellious, one you made when you were sure you had found your way of living.

"Should we report this matter to the higher authorities?" Luna was a bright teen. He had caught onto the fact that the authorities would not be helpful in this situation. Rather, Mark knew that they had to find the one who had shot this bullet before they did anything else. 

"Look in this direction and tell me what you can see in your clear line of vision," Mark pointed out to the other side of the town, the skyline not indicating any building in the way. Luna narrowed his eyes in concentration but it was a given that his human eyes would not be able to see anything too far away.

"Something is shining on the top of that tall building in the distance. Should we check it out" the teen asked and Mark had to do his best to pick his jaw back up. The other had been able to see that far off? How was that even possible to do?

Looking at the other, he had not indicated that he was anything but human, so Mark found it hard to relate it with a normal kid of this time. Had the other always been able to do such feats or was this a recent development? Anyway, it no longer mattered since it only benefitted Mark.

"Let's go and catch up with the one who helped us out. I have a feeling that they would turn out to be our ally" Mark could not help but feel excited at the possibility of finding this new ally. Hopefully, they would have some kind of information for them.

The merging of the past and the future world had created a paradox when nothing could be said for certain. That was why it was so important to set their facts straight and to gather a line of control before going in on the situation

"Wait. Me as well? Do you want me to accompany you as well? But I am a normal human" Luna sounded worried, his words almost a stutter which made his speech not that pleasant to listen to. Had someone seen this version of their hero, they would have likely fainted from shock.

However, Mark understands his concerns well because it has not been that long since he had been in his situation. Furthermore, unlike Mark, Luna does not have a choice for his future since it has been set in stone a long time ago and he had an important mission to accomplish.

"Of course you are coming with me. You will be arrested if you stay here alone. Is it not better to come with me and to save your life" Mark look back at the body one last time before he pressed forward, "and I don't think the government would believe you even if you told them what happened here"

Luna seemed to be thinking upon his words but Mark knew he would not find any fault with it. After all, this had been the exact same situation Mark had faced before. And just like Mark, Luna reached the same decision.

"Wait for me. I am coming as well" Mark tried not to show his excitement and relief on his face but he knew that he had not been able to succeed. Luna looked smug as he faced Mark's face, so he had to turn around to hide it.

"Your ID and your purpose of being here please" and as they reached the building, they found their first obstacle in their way. The security guard at the door stopped them from entering the building.

Mark had not realised that the building they had been eyeing had been private property. Not that it changed much for them since their objective did not change. They still had to find a way inside without alerting their suspect. Mark had a few names in mind about the one who had helped him out but nothing seems to match the time frame.

"We can use this way to go inside" by the time Mark finished up the guard, Luna had already found out a way for them to get inside. The users' exit was left unattended and was their best chance to get past the security. Mark knew that as well and initially did not want to use this method. But he was not left with any other choice but to do this. 

So the pair waited for an employee to come out and they did not have to wait long. It was a slim man, a boy near Luan's age and he had to be an intern. Mark's heartfelt bad for the teen but he was an ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. And it was not like he was dying anyway, just being knocked out for a little bit.

Mark pressed a few pressure points and the other went down. It was at these times that he was thankful for the hand-to-hand combat practice En had given him so long ago. His mind remembered what his body didn't but somehow it all worked out.

"It is uncomfortable. It is too short on me. People would know" the teen came out and it was a problem. The uniform the intern wore was a little tighter and shorter on the teen than Mark would have liked. There seemed only one way out of it and Mark just exhaled painfully. Of course, it had come to this in the end.

"Give it here. It should fit me" damn Luna and their family genes. Even Alan had been taller than Mark and the other had been 5 years younger than Luna. their whole family was tall, adopted or not. Why could Mark not be blessed with that height?

The uniform fit Mark well, if not a little loose. He had no body muscle at this time around and he felt like crying. All that training and exercise to get a toned body only to be reduced to this in the end? Where was justice in this world? Could they not allow him to bring his better body back?

"So, do I need to just follow behind you?" Luna asked once they entered the building. His tone sounded disbelieved and he genuinely believed that no one would fall for this ploy. It was far too obvious to fall for and people were not idiots.

Too bad that he did not know the real truth about this world. People only knew what they wanted to see and what the world wanted them to see. Since this stage was not part of the real project, it was unlikely that the AI had any good technical knowledge. As such, they would likely ignore everything that would happen.

And that's what happened. The further they went in, the lax the security was. Once they reached the inner part, no one turned to even look at them. Luna looked surprised to see all this happen but Mark had anticipated this happening a long time ago.

It was really easy to navigate from there. All they had to do was go in a straight line. They reached the central door pretty soon and Mark had a feeling they needed to cross it to get to the one he had seen before. The road to the saviour was open and soon they would know that identity as well.