Under the bright shining moon, across an open stretch of ruined ground, stood the black-haired lady, Hel.

Surrounding her were piles of dead bodies, most of them twisted beyond recognition.

Blood stained her face and clothes. Her green eyes caught the faint light as wind tugged at her long dark hair.

One of the men on the ground twitched, trying to crawl.

She raised the sword in her hand and stabbed him down into his back, fast, over and over again until he went still.

Breathing hard as the sweat mixed with blood trickled down her brows, she saw a lady approaching from the far side, head lowered, holding an open black umbrella that shaded her face.

She wore a dark floor-length gothic gown of black velvet and midnight-purple silk, the bodice lined with silver embroidery and obsidian buttons. A tattered charcoal mesh train dragged behind her.

When she stopped a few meters away, she lifted her head. Her eyes were blue and pearly, clouded as if blind.

"You killed them?" the gothic woman asked.

"They were infected with the Ymir plague," Hel answered, still gripping the sword.

She nudged one corpse with her boot. "And this fucker tried to kill me. Like I’m a fucking disposable doll."

Her teeth gnashed together. "Why? Why does everyone treat me like I exist to be thrown away?"

The woman with the clouded blue eyes kept her face blank. "You’re not precious. No one is."

Hel’s expression twisted. She pointed the sword straight at the woman’s throat. "Who the fuck are you?"

Closing her umbrella with a snap and bowing low at the waist, the woman replied, "Pardon me. My name is Misfortune. Rank 5 Hawks officer. I’m here to arrest you."

She straightened and stepped closer. "You killed some of our men in your..." Her gaze swept the corpses on the floor. "...temper tantrum. But... I won’t."

Leaning in, her clouded eyes fixed on a point just in front of Hel. "I can smell it from here."

She leaned even closer that it made Hel flinch.

"You’re desperate." Her gloved fingers brushed the raised sword. The blade cracked instantly and crumbled into fine ash drifting away in the wind.

Gasping, Hel jerked her empty hand back.

Misfortune pointed the closed umbrella at Hel’s chest. "Tell me, Hel. What is it you desire?"

Cocking her head to the side, she added, "Don’t tell me you’re doing all this for a man who doesn’t even care about you."

Hel pulled in a sharp breath, green eyes narrowing. Blood still streaked her face.

Gritting her teeth, she met the clouded gaze head-on. "I was kicked out of my faction. What the hell do you think?"

She spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. "I want to make all of them pay. Every fucking one of them," she said, clenching her fists until her nails dug into her palms and drew fresh blood.

Voice cracking, Hel continued, the hatred seeping into her voice, making every word come out in strains. "I’ll make them regret tossing me. Choosing someone like Helena over me. I’ll make them pay."

She heaved loudly, chest rising and falling, then stepped over the sprawled bodies. "What’s it to you? Failing to do your job as an officer? Are you corrupt?"

Tilting her head slightly again, Misfortune replied to the accusation. "Oh. I only have my own goal. We don’t always have to work for others, do we?"

Hel said nothing. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "Shit."

Looking at the corpses around them, it would be stupid if she doesn’t accept this insane offer. Teaming up with a ’corrupt’ Hawk officer was better than getting arrested.

However, this silence stood as a clear answer between them. She met Misfortune clouded gaze. "Fine."

Then, Misfortune bowed again, a wide grin spread across her face. "I look forward to working with you, Hel."

— —

A few days had passed. Justice had fully healed.

The orange Maine Coon trotted through the open courtyard with bouncy steps, and ears swiveling at every sound.

Keeping his tail raised high while he explored the open courtyard, his head turned constantly as he searched for his ’servant’ among the scattered training areas and buildings.

He rounded a corner at a quick trot and BAM!

"Ack!" Justice collided directly into a pair of legs.

Staggering back, and shaking his head to clear the impact, a fair red-haired maiden stood before him.

Helena stopped in place, startled by the sudden impact, eyes widening when she spotted the cat on the ground. "A cat!"

Crouching, her fair hands reached out to pat his head before she picked him up and pressed her cheek firmly against his fur, rubbing in slow circles as she muttered softly, "Ah~ Cute."

Justice sank deeper into her arms. ’Another beauty holding me! This place is heaven!’ he thought as his body went limp with pleasure, accepting the attention and light kisses she gave him.

The moment stopped when Xia’s thick voice echoed from just a few paces away. "You know that’s an S-tier talking beast, right? And he belongs to the guy you seem to despise so much. Causing a scene the moment you saw him."

Helena rose quickly, still holding the cat close to her chest, her expression shifting into open surprise. "Fateless owns the cat?" She paused, lowering her gaze to study Justice again.

The big orange cat blinked up at her with dreamy eyes and spoke clearly on his own. "My name is Justice!"

"And he can talk, too," Helena continued, her voice lifting with genuine curiosity. "I’ve never seen a beast outside the game realm before."

Xia stepped forward and took Justice from her arms without hesitation, settling the heavy cat comfortably against her own body. "He’s cute, though. Helena, right? I’m Xia."

Helena nodded.

Running one hand along his back in smooth strokes, Xia kept the conversation going. "So, what brings you here? How long will you stay for?"

"Mr. Light asked my faction for help concerning the plague," Helena replied, shifting her weight between her feet.

"So I was brought here. Until we find the cure and stop more people from dying..." Her palms pressed together harder as the words left her mouth, eyes darting from side to side. "I’ll be here for a while."

Xia caught the change in her posture but offered no comment on it. She continued stroking Justice’s fur. "I see..."

Suddenly lifting his head higher, the cat’s nostrils flared as he drew in the air. His ears shot upright, catching the scent of the person he had been looking for.

Wriggling free from Xia’s hold, Justice landed lightly on the ground, and dashed toward the far side of the training area while calling out loudly, "Fei Ming! Ming!"

Across the open space, Fei Ming continued his exercises beside Olive, both doing push-ups. Then Justice hopped on his back, staying there.

After that, Xia turned her full attention back to Helena, letting her arms drop loosely to her sides. "Well... why do you hate him? Does he just get into your skin like a creeping insect? He seemed cool to me."

Helena shook her head slowly, folding her arms across her chest as she answered. "No, it’s not just that... he just..." She tightened her grip on her own arm, pressing it closer against her body.

"He stands for everything I’m against. I-I hate people dying. I hate it when people kill for fun. I want to stop that. All of that."

Xia watched her for several long seconds, then let out a short snort. "Ha!"

’The hell?’ Helena shot her a quick, dirty look.

"All the killings?" Xia asked right after the sound faded.

Helena blinked once. "Yes. I want to save everyone."

"Even the ones who deserve to die?"

Neon’s body stiffened sharply, a sudden gasp escaping her throat. "What?"

"Like those ex-faction guys who were murdered days ago." Xia lifted both hands and laced her fingers behind her neck, elbows jutting outward.

She continued, "The ones robbing our members, causing troubles and mishaps in the streets... isn’t it better they’re dead? There will be less trouble to deal with anyway." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Helena stood completely still. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times without producing any words. Eyes narrowed tightly, she clenched her hands into hard fists at her sides. A brief flash of Eris and Nyx crossed through her mind.

Grinding her teeth together, her blood boiled. "Then what?" She spat. "I can’t just give up and accept all your bullshit. Those people had families and friends. You talk like you—"

Cutting herself off, her gaze sharpened while studying Xia’s bored expression carefully. Then she asked, "Don’t you have people to protect from dying, Xia?"

"Huh." Xia scoffed. Her eyes drifted across the training ground to the spot where Fei Ming kept working out with Olive. "Yeah. I do. And unlike you, I have a goal."

Lowering one hand, a baseball bat materialized in her grip.

Xia rolled the handle between her fingers before resting the bat across her shoulder. "To get stronger. Strong enough that when someone tries to kill your loved ones, you can stop them."

Turning her head back toward Helena, a sharp smile tugged her lips. "Even if stopping them means killing them first."

Helena wanted to speak, ready to push back against the statement. The words caught in her throat.

Something heavy settled inside her chest as memories from the zombieland game returned.

She had killed many zombies herself. Convincing herself they were just walking corpses.

Eris had watched Nyx die because she had been too slow. She was not strong enough. Hel was right. ’I am emotionally weak.’

"Think about it," Xia stated as she began walking away. After covering several meters she paused, tilted her head slightly over one shoulder, and called back, "What happens when your morals meet someone who doesn’t have any?"