Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Interlude: Corpse Party

The path was now visible, but not in a way Falcom imagined.

She can't really understand how this is happening, but this spell, whatever Angela has cast, it removes shadows, literally. The dark magician wasn't joking around when she said 'gather in one place', as her spell literally sucks the darkness into that orb on her staff.

Words cannot fully explain this phenomenon. Black goops of something, looking similar to Dogoo jelly, were removed from walls and objects and sucked into this sphere like a vacuum cleaner. There's also this unexplainable anxiety. Ever since Angela has cast this spell, Falcom and the Eyelander felt a certain unease, instinctively afraid of something…

But even so the results were incredible. The areas where the darkness was removed were fully visible to Falcom, as if they were sprayed with fluorescent substance or she suddenly gained night vision without staying in the darkness for a moment.

Unlike other spells which shines light to illuminate the path, this spell removes the darkness which obstruct vision.

What was really freaky though is how everything a few meters away was completely dark, except for a trail showing the path they took. It was like they were uncovering a map in an open-world video game.

Perhaps that's what they're really doing, clearing a dungeon from the fog of war.

When they reached the end of the stairs, Falcom and Angela were met with a pair of broken down doors. No Wraith Manifestations or monsters to jump at them, just a simple gate blocking the path.

Falcom reached out to open them but the adventurer jumped away in fright when the doors simply fell off the hinges. All it took was a touch of the finger to bring both of them crashing down onto the floor.

They froze as the sound echoed through the entire dungeon, awaiting anything to happen. In this moment of stillness Angela could see the interior of this secret area they found. The checkered floor and finely decorated walls were just like in the main areas of the castle, with sole exception of them being in faded blue colors, Falcom wasn't sure if this was Angela's Black Hole's fault or the that was their real color.

Another thing she noticed was the presence of many cobwebs and the dank and damp air. Presumably no one has been here in ages.

All of a sudden Falcom drew her sword and was put on guard, Angela's purple eyes stared at the battered and old claymore which holds a malevolent spirit. During her studies she learnt a few things about possessed weapons, but this is the first time she's seen one from up close.

"Headdds..."

He whispered, and through the thick layer of webs Falcom and Angela spotted them. Those countless eyes staring at them from the darkness, too many to bother counting.

They have left the safe areas, now they need to fight.

...Or only Falcom needs to fight… whatever.

Angela was already ready to lay waste to the monsters with her dark magic, however before she could even channel her powers Falcom stepped, or rather dashed, forward. All the monsters focused on her, too close for Angela to support her, leaving nothing for her to do but to stand still and look pretty.

Falcom swung the Eyelander to her right, following all the way to her left side. This wide attack caught several monsters trying to jump on her. The sole lucker who ended up unharmed tried to jump onto her back, but without even glancing at it Falcom kicked it aside, its head now missing.

"...Head…"

There were only 2 types of monsters attacking them, or only Falcom actually. One of those were small blue ghosts that either tried to headbutt Falcom or attack her with magic. A few of those were also wearing pink bows around their antenna poking out of their heads.

The other ones, which consisted of a majority of the attackers, were black and blue spiders. Big enough to reach waist. Those were always trying to claw the adventurer with their sharp legs, a feat easier said than done considering Falcom's fighting ability.

Being away from this massacre, Angela felt amazement as she watched Falcom fight off all of those monsters, by herself. Every movement was so fast that they were a blur, each of her strikes were frighteningly accurate, nothing could catch her unaware and nothing could sneak up on her. It was like she saw everything from 3rd person, or someone with amazing awareness was guiding her body.

If it's the latter, then the Eyelander must be the culprit. Spirits can sense every living and dead being within miles, it would be no exaggeration to say that the Gehaburn already knows that they're here. If they're truly a spirit possessing a sword.

It was unneeded for Angela to support her. Falcom and Eyelander were doing fine taking care of the monsters, and the tight corners ensures that nothing gets past her. In fact if Angela tried to interfere, she would just make the situation worse.

Feeling calmer than before, the dark magician could focus on different things. Like searching for more Wraith Manifestations, for example. She doesn't know this area, but there must be plenty of memories to dig up. Maybe something will even be useful to her goal...

Blood showered Falcom's entire body; warm, sticky liquid covered her entirely. Something that Falcom was familiar with, but it was rare for even her to literally bathe in it. Seriously, with all of those spiders jumping over her head the adventurer might as well spill a bucket of it over her head.

She'll definitely jump into the lake after all of this, and then get a solid laundry.

No one could see the end of them, whenever Falcom decapitated one, 2 more took its place. Fortunately there wasn't enough space for the spiders and ghosts to overwhelm her. If Soldier had seen this, he would compare it to the Battle of Thermopylae, one of the most famous last stands of Earth, where 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans, fought to the death against Persians.

But here, it's just Falcom and the Eyelander against an endless army of spiders and ghost-like monsters.

Somehow she felt no fatigue, both when she ran through the Virtua Forest and here, as if just holding the Eyelander gave her infinite stamina. The Eyelander also hinted where she should swing, how and how fast. This saved her many times from getting a few holes in her back and allowed her to move much faster than she could ever normally hope so.

No matter how many times they jump at her, they can't stop her.

As Falcom fought, Angela scanned the surrounding area. Flying blood and limbs hindered her vision but the dark magician picked up something. It was a Wraith, 2 of them in fact, supporting each other as they limped towards her. Falcom was probably too busy to notice them but Angela gave it her full attention.

They spoke no words, but they continued limping towards her. Wounded, tired, probably even half-dead, but even so they pressed on towards the exit.

She could see that both of them were girls, wearing some sort of armor. Although by their look, the dark magician is either wrong in her assumption, or their armor is heavily damaged. Their other characteristic was their hairstyle, with the less injured-looking girl having a long ponytail, while the other one had short hair. She was also dragging some sort of blade, perhaps a beam type. It was plain looking but it was very broad.

Angela waited for any of them to say something, even growing impatient by their silence. But to her annoyance, both Wraiths simply disappeared upon reaching the magician. Not even a word left their phantom mouths.

Angela released a disappointed sigh. "Well, that happened." She was having her hopes up but that also disappeared alongside the Wraiths.

"Happened, what?"

"Ghk-! By the darkness of Gehenna, Falcom, do that again and I'll die of a heart attack!"

All of a sudden Falcom asked from behind Angela, scaring her and making her clutch her chest in order to calm her beating heart. Taking the magician's venomous glare head-on, the redhead sheepishly smiled at her. "Sorry, sorry." She apologised, but Angela still continued glaring at the still blood-covered Falcom. Red and yellow blood stained her clothes and dripped out of her limbs. She's in a dire need of a bath or at least a towel.

"So what was that about? Learned anything new?"

Maybe it's better to change the subject - was Falcom's decision right now. She was too busy to bother listening to it but Angela might know more, as she was staying idle through the fight. It also stopped her from trying to figure out how Falcom even managed to sneak up on her. The adventurer was all but buried under a horde of monsters last time Angela checked.

"Unfortunately I learned nothing useful. While I didn't recognize any of those Wraiths that appeared, they said literally nothing, simply limping towards me in silence."

"Aww."

So they learnt nothing.

Angela took a moment to glance at Falcom's line of defense, and her eyes basically shot out of their sockets.

The surrounding area was littered with cadavers and blood, which was to be expected, but Angela wasn't prepared for the sheer quantity of it. Piles upon piles of spider's corpses reached her chest and the layer of their blood was so thick that someone might even slip on it.

And in the midst of that, was a relatively clean space. Well, compared to its surroundings… it's pretty clear where Falcom was standing during the entire battle.

"On a different topic, I must praise you on your incredible fighting skills. I initially feared that you might be overwhelmed, but you handled yourself pretty well."

Falcom blushed at the received praise, scratching her neck as she tried to shrug it off. "Ehehehe… Aw, it's thanks to Duke Eyelander."

Said Duke now regrets sharing his past with someone who actually is capable of remembering things. With a groan he told Falcom to finally stop calling him that but as always it fell on deaf ears. "I would appreciate if you helped next time, this woman will be dead by the next wave."

His words, the part where he says that she'll be dead by the next wave, confused and bothered the adventurer. "Huh? Why?"

"Do you realize just how much pain you're currently in."

And the answer didn't really help understanding what the Eyelander meant by that. Falcom focused on her body, but she felt nothing but the sensation of being covered in blood. "Actually, I feel fine."

The ghost might as well shake his head in disapproval as he explained. "This is because I'm currently keeping it numb. How do you feel… now?"

"Oooohhh ho ho ho hooo..."

The instant he said 'now', Falcom felt an unimaginable soreness and pain washing over her entire body. It felt like she's been working out for an entire week straight, every inch of her body screamed for attention and begged for rest. And yes it was literally every inch of her body. Every strand of muscle felt like it was going to rip out soon. The pain and fatigue hit her so suddenly and with such force that Falcom fell down immediately upon feeling it, like a puppet detached from strings.

Seeing Falcom pathetically sprawled on the ground, feeling too tired to even move into a more comfortable position sparked a seed of concern in Angela. She doesn't know any healing magic but this obviously marked a break in their investigation. Also thanks to this peculiar position, Angela managed to learn the color and type of panties Falcom wore today.

This leaves her wondering how weird it is that she can actually recognize the brand by just a panty shot.

"See, help next time." Said the Eyelander, sounding so innocent that it was actually pretty scary.

"Duly noted."

"Arise! Contracted souls of the deceased, arise! Your contractor calls upon thy service! Familiar's Vow!"

After helping Falcom settle into a more comfortable position (which the adventurer was very grateful for), the dark magician took a piece of chalk and drew some glyphs on the ground.

After speaking another chuuni incantation, said glyphs turned black and disappeared one by one, as if sucked in by the earth itself.

For a moment, nothing happened and silence fell upon them. But suddenly...

Cracks began to appear in the hard ground, followed by arms breaking through the floor. The comically green, rotting skin was all too familiar to the adventurer. Undead. But something was wrong, as no foul smell reached Falcom's nose. The adventurer's eyes widened in surprise as the entire torso of the undead person broke through, just as violently as before.

It wasn't just one person though, wherever a glyph was drawn, an undead rose in its place. Soon Falcom was staring at not just one, but two DOZEN zombies standing in front of them, waiting for something. They did not smell and they weren't dirty either… for a bunch of undead people who just broke out of the ground, they looked surprisingly clean. Somehow they managed to climb out of the ground without crumbling or even dirtying their fancy outfits. In fact, Falcom could call them a group of undead butlers and maids.

"Do not feel fear. As long as I don't tell them to hurt you, you're safe."

Angela sensed Falcom's unrest. It was understandable. Because of her fatigue the adventurer couldn't react to a group of undead appearing in front of her, and the undead themselves were always shunned by society.

The Eyelander also grew strangely silent, probably pondering over something.

The dark magician tapped the floor with her staff, catching the attention of all summoned undead. "Me and my guests shall take a break here. I ask you to prepare us some food and drinks and also clean up this messy place."

As she finished her orders, the undead immediately got into realizing them. Instead of a slow shuffle that Falcom expected from nearly skeletal beings, the undead staff worked quite fast and efficient, with some of them cleaning up the blood and bodies using mops they pulled out from… somewhere, and others were setting up a table and chairs. The origin of the furniture was also unknown to Falcom. Magic would be the most logical explanation for this phenomenon, the undeads' surprising mobility included.

It didn't take long for Falcom, now as clean as it would be possible, to find herself seated at the white circular table, moaning in pleasure as an undead maid skillfully massaged her shoulders. Her hands, despite looking rotten and ugly, smelled nicely and felt nice on her skin.

Her hands were really darn skilled, efficiently relaxing her muscles and relieving them of soreness.

"Ohhh… this feels good… a bit to the right please. More, more, yeeeeaaahhh…"

Angela, who sat on the opposite side of the table, watched Falcom melting in the maid's arms with amusement. "I see that you have taken to liking Zeta's skillful hands. She's the best masseuse out of all my Familiars." The magician remarked as she sipped her coffee, prepared in a very specific way by her personal butler, who patiently awaited orders from the brunette.

"You know- uwah! I-I thought you're the only one living here…" Falcom asked, slightly jumping when Zeta's cold hands started getting more vigorous, like they just warmed up to her body.

Angela nodded at her words, setting down the cup. "I do live here alone, but since I couldn't maintain such a big castle alone, I have created pacts with spirits to help me with daily chores; they clean the hallways, repair broken things, do the laundry and cook for me, while I supply them with SP for them to 'live'. It's a symbiotic relationship, I maintain a form for them in this world, and they help me live here."

The Eyelander considered her words, a symbiotic relationship between a spirit and a human. Services for prolonging the divine judgment in the afterlife. It wasn't an unheard thing to him, they could actually be his Kindred Spirits as well, in their own way…

But the fact that he couldn't sense any of them until they arrived is disturbing… Where were they hiding? Except the magician and Falcom, their surroundings were devoid of any spirits. Even when Angela met them, he didn't sense anything, human or monster.

"I see, but those servants, where were they this entire time? When we entered the castle, the only one I sensed was you."

Are they able to mask themselves from him? Now that they've appeared, he can feel that they're younger than him, but in this world where magic is an everyday thing, anything is possible.

Angela pressed her hands to her cheeks, frowning at the former monarch's words. "I do not know the answer to this question. As you can see, I am a mortal, therefore my sense of the Astral Layer is significantly dulled, if you couldn't sense them then it's obvious I wouldn't be able to neither."

The ghost killed an urge to sigh as she raised a good point. Humans and living creatures in general have troubles sensing supernatural beings. They're dull by default.

Suddenly, Zeta bent over Falcom to get better access to her back. Angela had a full view of Falcom's comical expression while the adventurer's short skirt exposed her underwear to Zeta, but the undead maid's focus fell solely on massaging her entire back, not just shoulder.

"H-Hey! T-that tickles! AH! Where are you touching!?"

Falcom yelped, feeling Zeta's cold hands touching her exposed back. Angela and the Eyelander could see Zeta slightly smirking as she continued her massage. The table quivered because of their movements and there was a sudden danger of Angela's hot coffee spilling, but the dark magician prevented such catastrophe from happening by picking up the cup with a disapproving glare.

But she couldn't keep it for long, and eventually giggled. The reason why, was how Falcom's expression changed each time Zeta touched the adventurer's side with her hands.

Today Angela, the Eyelander and Zeta learnt that Falcom was ticklish. And the maid will use this information to her full advantage.

As Falcom squirmed under Zeta's grasp, the Eyelander and Angela resumed their conversation.

"Changing the topic, why did they accept your proposal? Were all of them criminals?"

"Yes, they weren't exactly upstanding citizens. Thieves, pirates, kidnappers. They were sure that Lady Magnavox, commonly known as the True Goddess, would reject their souls from Celestia, forcing them to become one with the Gamindustri Graveyard. Or to become a common monster like you're seeing everywhere in Gamindustri."

"Huh…?"

Suddenly, Falcom stopped moving to stare at Angela with wide eyes. Those eyes had only one questions to ask.

Wait… so all those monsters. They were actually other humans!?

Falcom bore her gaze into the dark magician, daring her to answer this question. This was a huge deal to her…

If they really were other humans, who once died, does that make her a common murderer?

Hell, does that make every adventurer a murderer!?

Slaying monsters is a commonly picked job, it's needed because monsters are a constant threat to cities and citizens. Hundreds of people dedicated to arts of battle go out and kill dozens of monsters on a daily basis. This routine is practiced even by the CPUs, the protectors of nations.

If what she was killing weren't some emotionless killing machines, but former people who've already experienced death...

The answer to this casual slip of the tongue may even determine if Falcom will be able to even continue being an adventurer.

"…"

Angela says nothing, just staring at the violated heroine with a passive gaze. This agonizing silence gnawed deep into her mind, making it one of the most unbearable moments in her life. Not even Zeta's heavenly massage offsetted this, this also seemed to affect the maid though. While she didn't say anything (as usual, dead people can't talk), her concern was shown by her frown, as if she couldn't decide if Angela should be even telling her this.

But the dark magician gave her answer.

"I don't know."

…

…

…

"You don't know?"

This wasn't spoken by Falcom, but by the Eyelander. By his tone, the ghost was annoyed by her answer. Up until now, she had a ready answer for anything that they asked her, but conveniently she doesn't have one for the answer that seems to bother Falcom the most.

Infuriating, absolutely infuriating.

The dark magician lowered her gaze, staring at the sword lying against the table. "It is impossible to get a correct answer for this kind of question, and then share it with someone. After all, it is one of those hypotheses about the afterlife. 'Are monsters really former humans?' Only the True Goddess can tell for sure. But the people who submitted this theory of reincarnation were, surprisingly, clinically dead before being brought back to life, claiming to have seen life through the eyes of Dogoos or Fenrirs."

"That's a pretty dark theory, considering that most of the people here seem to enjoy killing monsters." Remarks the Eyelander once Angela finished her lecture.

Reincarnation: the rebirth of a soul in a new body. One of the basic theories on what happens once someone dies. Their fleshy body passes away, but their soul lives on as a different being. If you think deeply about this, then the Eyelander may be right. It's a very dark theory once you consider how spread out and cultured monster hunting is in Gamindustri.

"You shouldn't have said anything like that unless we needed it to proceed. Look, the poor girl's terrified."

"I understand, my apologies. That was a bit tactless of me."

The dark magician wastes no time to apologize to Falcom, who her unproven hypothesis seemed to deeply affect. She was staring at the floor with an empty, blank gaze, questioning each choice she took until now. Even when dealing with death this poor girl's heart stays innocent. A good trait.

Even Zeta was concerned, a deep frown remained on her face the entire time Angela was speaking, but her hands never stopped even for a moment, like she tried to reassure Falcom with them.

"Tell me, what do you think of Lady Nepgear or Lady Histoire?"

Falcom's brain paused for a moment, trying to process this unexpected attempt at changing the topic. "Huh?" To her, it came very suddenly and out of nowhere. But Angela felt that it was an appropriate course of action, after all the adventurer lying in front of her was clearly uncomfortable with the previous topic. As such she brought a new thing to discuss, namely the CPU Candidate of Land of Purple Progress.

"The CPU Candidate of Planeptune, Lady Nepgear. And the Oracle of Planeptune, Lady Histoire. What do you think of those two?" She repeated, her voice even clearer than the last time.

Falcom took a moment to think of an answer, roughly 4 seconds before she opened her mouth. "Well… I'm friends with Nepgear, and Histoire is nice too. Duke Eyelander's owner is even employed to her! Histoire, I mean."

The nobility in question would facepalm if he could. "You're not going to stop with that, are you?" He deadpanned, Angela could feel the air around her grow colder, for some reason. "Also, she didn't need to hear that last part."

"I… remember you saying that before." The dark magician looked away, gripping her staff tightly. Perhaps even too tightly but no one noticed that. "How did you two meet?"

"Nepgear and her group of mercenaries helped me and that other girl, Nisa was her name, take out an Ancient Dragon that was terrorizing the Virtua Forest after the warehouses blew up. You heard about that?"

"Yes… I very well remember that… incident."

She turned her gaze onto the floor, looking at it pretty deeply. Mournfully. This time the Eyelander noticed her behavior, after all this was an expression he knows very well. "Anything happened to you during that time?"

"...Yes… but I don't want to talk about it."

It was Falcom's turn to feel guilty, then she flinched when Zeta's hands wandered where they shouldn't. "Aiiie!" The adventurer yelped, turning towards Zeta who stood a few feet away from her. For some reason.

Hold on a second.

She moved.

Falcom moved.

She moved and nothing hurt the moment she moved.

It was just then, Falcom noticed that she, in fact, has moved.

…

…

…

Her soreness has disappeared.

…

…

…

Yup. It's fully gone.

It took her a while to notice it, and then another to grow confident enough to stand on her own legs. But when she did so, she found no pain, no cramps or soreness. She felt refreshed and ready to move.

It was such a shock to Falcom that she had to blink to fully take in this information.

"Hey, I feel great! Thanks Zeta!" The adventurer shot the maid a grateful smile, giving her also a thumb up for the great work. The undead maid responded at this by grabbing the hems of her uniform and kneeling slightly.

"Is that so? Then we can finally move."

"Wait! Can we wait for a moment later? I want to hear more about Lady Nepgear."

While the Eyelander wanted to move out as fast as possible, Angela surprisingly wanted to stay and hear more about the CPU Candidate, creating a conflict of interests that only Falcom could solve.

The two of them, or only Angela actually, stared at Falcom, awaiting her decision. The Eyelander isn't able to force Falcom to move this time around, as he's lying against the table and Falcom isn't in physical contact with him.

This is the first time she has a choice of actually leaving the castle. The Eyelander wouldn't be able to force her back if she left.

Of course, that would mean leaving the sword behind and facing a very pissed Demoman...

"Well…"

"Nepgear is a polite girl. Very cheerful and eager to help others."

Falcom spoke to Angela, who diligently took in all of the information. She must really be interested in CPUs - were Falcom thoughts.

The adventurer made a compromise. They'll continue walking but Falcom will tell Angela about Nepgear as they walk, much slower than before. They took their time and the Eyelander noticed it.

The area was absolutely unrecognizable. In the span of an hour Angela's servants completely changed the scenery; gone was constant shadow, the thick layers of cobwebs and dust and all other trival damages were fixed. Miracle workers as the Eyelander praised them. Even the blood and bodies were cleaned up!

There were still few monsters that survived. However those were just a minority compared to the initial onslaught, also the presence of undead scared them off. The group could move unhindered.

"I see…" Angela nodded, memorizing another piece of knowledge. Strangely enough, the dark magician was frowning ever since the topic fell on Nepgear. Something that confused the Eyelander. "What about her work, is she as lazy as Lady Neptune?"

"Well... she does Guild requests with her group of friends, and tries to do what she can to defeat the ASIC... but Histoire is still doing the bulk of the work, along with those... other guys."

The dark magician raised her eyebrow and turned her face towards Falcom. The CPU Candidate, who wasn't leaving the Basilicom until the ASIC outbreak and her miraculous rescue 3 years later, suddenly gained a ragtag bunch of misfits to go on an adventure? And the way she emphasized those other guys also sparked her curiosity.

"Can you tell me about her friends?"

"Well, there's me, a Guild agent named IF, a cute nurse Compa, and a group of Mercs that Histoire got to help them defeat the ASIC. They're pretty fun to be around. Oh! We also had a heroine called Nisa but she left, unfortunately."

"You shouldn't have said that."

"The Oracle of Planeptune hired mercenaries?"

The Eyelander and Angela spoke at once, the sword was stern while the dark magician was intrigued. Both reactions sparkled a certain piece of detail that Falcom unconsciously let to slip from her mouth. A mistake she realized too late.

The dark magician saw the silent panic spread on Falcom's face. It was brief, but long enough for her to catch onto it. "And you knew that Histoire hired mercenaries?" Angela repeated, eyes slowly widening in disbelief.

Falcom, not knowing any other way, slowly nodded. "Yes."

The air suddenly grew colder as Angela's petite form shook, at the same time all undead servants bored their gaze onto Falcom, creeping her out even further. Did she pick a wrong choice?

Zeta and an unnamed butler suddenly stepped forward, standing between her and the dark magician while keeping their piercing, unblinking gaze on her, all while Angela grit her teeth. "So you knew about all the killing that happened in the Planeptune? Only the ASIC members died in them, did you participate in those?"

The magician growled in anger, raising her head to give Falcom a hateful glare. Gone was her calm and composed expression, this woman looked furious.

Falcom definitely chose wrong.

Feeling threatened, the adventurer's hand lay on her blade. Depending on the circumstances, she could leave this fight unscratched…

But Angela's Black Hole never looked so threatening as just now.

"ANSWER ME!" Angela stomped her foot, making Falcom step back. This motion made her realize that she's truly surrounded. The servants left no opening for her to escape. They also wielded rusted daggers which made the situation even worse.

"I… didn't do anything! What are you doing Angela!?" Shouted Falcom, confused by this sudden turn of events. They were just happily talking a moment ago- Z-Zeta even gave her a massage! And now the maid is pointing her blade at her.

What happened?

The Eyelander also hesitated, there was no room to dodge, his sword is sheathed and they're surrounded. A perfect worst case scenario where if anything happens, big chances Falcom will get injured, or even killed depending on the servants' skills.

Oddly enough the dark magician started to sob, tears melting away her wrathful expression. "Why's my luck always the worst; first my parents die, then my sister and boyfriend. And now the first person I finally got in touch turns out to know about the cause of my suffering. And did nothing about it. Why, Lady Magnavox, just why…?"

Angela wiped the snot with her sleeve and continued weeping. "Seriously… c-can I finally be happy for even a moment? What did I do to deserve this?"

The magician wept, now not even bothering to look at the confused Falcom. This entire argument was just confusing to get, she doesn't even know how to proceed. "H-Hey… Angel-!"

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

It was sudden. To fast for even the Eyelander to react.

Angela stretched her hand forward and all Falcom saw was an umbral smoke. Then the world disappeared.

She can't see anything.

She can't hear anything.

She can't feel anything.

There was nothing, simply nothing.

Where was the top or the bottom, she had no answer. Her hands and legs simply disappeared, she couldn't even sense them anymore. The weight of the Eyelander was basically nonexistent, so was the weight of her entire body. It was a strange sensation, as if her soul was ripped out of her body. Her sense of time disappeared. Seconds, minutes, even years, it all just blended together into one gigantic mess.

All that remained was just an endless, black void with no way out in sight.

And inside that void, one thought popped in Falcom's mind.

'Is this what the mercs see when they die?'

Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Interlude: Corpse Party

I'm sorry it took so long. I felt little burned down, school was giving me one test after another and I found new MMO to play. Sorry.

So we finish with another cliffhanger! What do you think? Is Falcom dead? Is she alive? Or maybe something in-between? Why has Angela broke down and attacked Falcom? So many mysteries! And I have just one thing to say to you.

Actions have consequences.

Responses (Seriously guys, reading your reviews is fun and motivating. How am I gonna keep writing when all I have is 1 review to satisfy my addiction?):

BreadNotDead

Well. This side-mini-arc is going to get kinda important later on, especially at the end. And yes Angela is an OC but oddly enough I wasn't thinking about MAGES. at all when creating her. But now that I think about it, I can see the similarity.

What Danganronpa reference?

And yes, the CPU from the past is %&%#$. Surprised?

- Harmless Orange