4 Arena Two: Irregularity [II]

"Say..."

Grey turned to me as the luxurious car ran through the open streets. The skyscrapers around us disappeared from my view one after another.

"What?"

I asked as I stared at the inner city wall. Soon, this car would enter the realm of aristocrats. I honestly felt a bit nervous about that, but indifference had taken over me way before that.

"What does your dad do? For a living, I mean."

"He's a normal office worker in the middle city."

"Normal... Heh?"

Grey muttered as he leaned against the seat. I glanced at him and asked.

"Why, you didn't do a background check on me?"

"I did but..."

Grey didn't deny.

"But?"

"I only found that your dad was an office worker."

"... Well, even I don't know what he did before marrying mom."

"Quite a mysterious guy, he is."

Grey chuckled, while I smiled.

"Tell me about it."

But no retort came from Grey. I turned towards him, and found him smiling at me.

Creeped out, I asked.

"W-what?"

"You look way nicer when you smile."

"..."

I stared blankly at him, then spat out.

"Gross."

...

"Welcome to the inner city."

Grey turned to me as we went through the gate of the inner city.

The empire of Alpha was separated into three cities, the core city with the Imperial Castle and three of the academies, as well as the mansions of the nobles. The middle city held middle-aged civilians, military bases and children. And the outer city which housed the elderly.

The cities were separated based on the probability of being lost, which meant the outer city consisted of the sectors that were going to get destroyed first.

Which was where my grandma...

I stopped the train of thought.

"You okay?"

Grey asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"... Yeah, fine."

I curtly answer, turning away.

The white pristine buildings rushed past us as we headed deeper into the city.

"Say... Anyone can enter the Stigma, right?"

I asked, looking at the countless drones and soldiers patrolling the city.

"Yeah, they can."

"So why did the empire put restrictions on who can enter?"

"Hmm... You'll know soon."

"Huh?"

I stared at Grey, who had pulled out a syringe. Without hesitating, he stabbed my arm with that.

"Ugh... Not again..."

My vision blackened out.

...

"This is the boy?"

"Yeah."

I opened my eyes, but unlike before, there was no headache. Not just that, I felt a comfortable sensation around my body.

"Oh, you're awake?"

Grey asked, and an unfamiliar woman beside him stared at me with curiosity.

"Ugh... You had to do that?"

I groaned as I sat up. I was lying on a small but comfy white bed. The room looked just like the interrogation room I was in before. Another hidden facility of the A.R.M.A. perhaps.

"Sorry, sorry. We can't let anyone find the location of this area."

"Hmph..."

I frowned as I looked at the woman.

"It'd be better if you don't know my name, Arnold."

"... Why am I here?"

And I wasn't going to ask her name anyways.

"Remember that specialized device we talked about?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we set that up."

"Hm?"

Then I noticed the odd sensation around my neck. But touching the skin, I found nothing.

"It's there, boy."

The pretty woman standing beside Grey smiled. Now that I looked at her, I found her pretty alluring.

Shaking my head, I discarded such thoughts. These people were my executioners, not my guardians.

"Where?"

I asked, confused at her words.

"Here."

She poked her own head. I stared at her blankly, then came to a realisation.

"You mean... Inside my head?"

"Yes. Using the latest technology created by the empire, we installed an interface directly inside your head."

"..."

I silently turned to Grey.

"Who gave you the right to mess with my brain?"

"... I'm sorry that we had to do this, but without this, you'd have to move around with. a collar like a slave. I don't think that'd be a pleasant experience."

"Even so!"

I stood up, seething in anger. With shaking legs, I approached the old agent, and grabbed his collars.

"You could have asked me!"

"... And if you refused?"

"Then... Then..."

I couldn't answer. Sighing, Grey grabbed my wrists and squeezed them. I yanked my wrists away, frowning in pain.

"You're forgetting something, Arnold. You are indeed a valuable person to us, but at the same time, you're our prisoner. We'll try to make you comfortable to the best of our abilities, but you have no say in your treatment."

"... I understand."

I stepped back, looking down.

"Now now, no need to get serious. We're about to enjoy something pleasant, after all."

"Something pleasant?"

"Mhm. Come with me."

The woman beckoned me to follow her. Grey nudged me forward and followed behind me.

We passed through long corridors with tight turns. But no matter how far we went, we never saw a single guard.

Instead, fully automated turrets guarded the hallways, glaring at us from above. CCTV and infrared cameras were set up at every turning, making the whole place well-guarded.

I silently walked with the woman until we came in front of a large glass door. The door opened with a hissing sound. Cold air escaped through the opening, making me shiver.

Inside the room, right in the middle, was a screen hovering.

There was nothing else inside the room. The brightly illuminated room echoed our footsteps as we entered through the door.

"Welcome, You-"

A mechanical voice called out to us, but the woman held out her hand.

"No need for formalities in this situation, Arcana."

"Yes, understood."

The mechanical voice replied. It felt like the voice was coming from every corner of the room.

"Who's that?"

I asked, half-expecting not to get an answer. But surprising me, the woman satisfied my curiosity.

"Arcana. An AI supporting me."

"Supporting you in what?"

"... Now then, let's start."

"... Ignored, huh."

I sighed and looked at the back of the woman.

With her words, the screen, which was showing the logo of the empire up until now, suddenly changed the view to a destroyed world.

Looking at it from a bird's eye view, I gasped.

"Is that... The empire?"

The cities and their layouts looked exactly like the empire. Even the surrounding lands looked the same as I saw in the geographic books.

A tall tower stood right in the middle of the circular land, which was surrounded by a raging sandstorm. The circular land was then divided into three parts, the Empire, the Stigmas Theocracy and the democratic country of Arzen. The only remaining human countries on the Earth. But unlike the map in the books, this view was full of destruction.

"No, that's the world of Stigma."

"That's... Stigma?"

"It took us, humans, more than a hundred years just to figure out the layout of the sectors and adapt to that layout."

"..."

I couldn't say anything. The woman then gestured at the screen again.

"Look, it's starting."

Just as the words escaped her lips, the view zoomed in, and focused on one side.

"They're coming."

She said as three unnatural objects entered the screen.

"Who?"

"The Omega."

The unnatural objects then suddenly flew upwards. The camera zoomed in, and I saw three people inside the crafts, one in each.

The people were hiding their faces with gas masks, but I could see their unnaturally coloured hair and long ears. The seat they were sitting on looked much like the cockpit of fighter jets.

These objects were most probably enemy aircraft.

"Wait. This isn't an arena battle, right?"

"No, it isn't."

"Then?"

"..."

She didn't answer, just stared at the screen.

The aircrafts suddenly turned their noses towards the ground. Their wings extended, and three turret-like objects came out from inside them.

Then with a loud hiss, the objects shot out condensed beams at the buildings.

A loud explosion rang out, and the screen turned white.

"Did they just..."

The view came back again, but this time, there were two craters in the middle of the city.

The aircrafts then turned back and retreated at a fast pace.

"This is why we restrict civilians from entering Stigma. The enemies frequently attack our zones like that."

"But they don't get anything?"

I asked, confused. The sectors could only be obtained via arena battles, which took place among the sandstorm, according to the books.

"They are preparing for a long war, you see. Anyone, whether they are Elliots or civilians, can be harmed or damaged inside that world. If some civilian gets caught up in the bombardment, their mind will get crippled, because, unlike Elliots, they don't have the mental fortitude to take that damage and live on. If our working civilians, or future parents get put down like that, the number of Elliots we can produce will go down tremendously."

"That's... Foul play."

"Not really. We've been doing the same."

Grey shrugged and tapped the Stigma gear around his neck.

"Place a finger on your neck and mutter these words."

[Enter The Singularity.]

Just as he said those words, his body became limp and fell down on the ground. Looking at the fallen body with my jaws open, I took a deep breath.

"Ugh, I swear he always does this..."

The woman muttered and turned to me.

"Sit down first, then do it. Or else you might get injured."

"A-alright."

I sat down, leaning against the white wall in a corner.

Then I gently placed my index finger on my neck.

[Enter The Singularity.]

Suddenly, my vision turned white, then red, then blue. My head felt like it will be torn apart. I lost all my senses, my touch, my hearing, my taste. I felt like I was floating in the middle of nothingness.

But the next moment, three words appeared in front of my eyes(?).

"Welcome To Stigma."

Then I saw some random numbers appearing at a high speed, disappearing one after another. Then suddenly, a hollow voice echoed inside my mind(?).

[Accessing Data.]

[ID found: Arnold Tilgen]

[Accessing grade... SSS.]

[Assigning suit, assigning skills, assigning memories.]

At the same time, I felt knowledge rushing inside my mind. Knowledge about Regalia, Elliots, Arena battles, everything regarding Stigma. It felt like I knew these all along, and was just remembering them once again.

[Creating avatar.]

[Assigning Role: Thrínos]

[Assigning Title/Nickname: Reaper.]

[Assigning Tier 3 Accessibility.]

[Avatar created. Welcome, Reaper.]

I didn't understand what most of those words meant, but even so, I engraved them inside my mind.

The whiteness in front of me vanished. I felt cold air brushing against my skin, and felt the taste of sand inside my mouth. Slowly, I opened my eyelids.

In front of me was an abandoned, destroyed city. Looking at it from the top of a high-rising building, I felt chills running down my spine.

It felt real. The concrete underneath my feet, the rust on the railings in front of me, the sound of the thunderstorms above my head.

A drop of rain suddenly fell on my skin. I touched it with my hand, felt the coldness with my skin. I licked the drop.

It felt just like real rainwater.

"Surprised?"

A voice called out to me from behind. Turning, I saw Grey standing there. But instead of his usual coat, he was wearing a black tactical suit, much like the SWAT teams from the early days.

Then I felt the clothes on my body had also changed. I turned around and found a puddle nearby. I looked at my reflection in it.

My hair was the same as before, black. My green eyes hadn't changed either. My face was normal too, without any extra fat, so was my body. I hadn't gained weight, nor I had gained any muscles.

I was wearing what it seemed like a body suit. It was a black suit with emerald lines running through it. Feeling a weight on my hips, I placed my hand there and found a strange looking gun attached to my belt.

It felt futuristic. Everything about my suit felt like it belonged to an advanced technology.

"This is..."

"That's your battle suit. Now, come on in, it'll start raining soon."