Chapter 26: Keyboard Smashing
"What do you think?"
"Yeah. I think I can do that but … do I have to?"
"What the-" Leon stood up, rubbing his head as he looked around at the dingy, smelly place full of chains and skeletons.
"It is so nice of you to join us." He heard a voice and looked up to see a slightly red-haired boy smiling at him.
"President!" He said, standing up as quickly as he could. "What happened?"
"Well, I felt someone grab onto me and I, instinctively, pulled at them back. I thought it was someone else." He shrugged. "How are you, Leon?"
"Where are we?" he asked, looking around the place.
"That man's lair." Ace shrugged, tapping at something in that air that he couldn't see. "He seems to be a … how do you even pronounce this?"
Leon stared at Ace, confused as he was not addressing him though they were the only two in the place.
"Your maj-"
"Ah, right. Pnwedc." Ace said, smiling proudly. "Sounds like someone smashed their hands on a keyboard and made that name."
"Pnwedc?!" Leon shouted. "How is that even possible? Who is a … that?"
"The new teacher." Ace grinned. "He did a really good job hiding it for centuries."
"Centuries??" Leona asked, trying to see what Ace was looking over but he really couldn't see anything. "What are you talking about?"
"I'll tell you later." He said dismissively and waved his hands away. "We need to find Silas and then take care of this problem immediately. This has been going on for too long."
"There is no more spell on the school that is making him act on his desires." Leon suddenly said, grabbing his attention. "If Silas is missing …"
"Really?" Ace said, thinking as a sly smile appeared on his face. "Perfect then."
"What?"
"Come on, Leon. We don't have a moment to waste." Ace said, taking off in one direction as Leon had no other choice but to follow after him as quickly as he could.
_____________
"Cleo." Ace said to the little one on his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"This wasn't part of the original game. Isn't that a little worrying?"
"No." It shook its head. "This was actually part of the game."
"What?" Ace slowed down enough for Leon to catch up with him. "What do you mean? I played the game and I don't remember anything like this."
"It is hidden." Cleo shrugged. "Only some people get to unlock this. It is usually chosen at random. But it is different that you and Silas are the ones here, Leon too. The player shou-"
Ace wasn't looking at where he was running but managed to dodge a person as they fell to the ground with a thud.
"Oh. Sorry. Are you o-" Ace said, stopping and staring at the person in front of him, horror written all over his face.
In front of him was a figure, completely shrouded in binary codes with no discernable facial features, or even … anything else really.
"I am fine." The person's voice distorted and sounded like a very bad speaker scratching into his ears. "You should be careful where you walk."
"I will remember that." He felt himself say though he had lost all control of his body completely.
What the hell is going on?
"President!" he saw Leon while he tried to take control over his body once again but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried to.
"Leon." He said, smiling cheerily. "I am glad you could keep up."
"Of course," he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he turned to the person in front of them. "Why, may I ask, are you here?"
"You know this lovely person, Leon?" Ace heard himself say and could feel the dread creeping up his body as he maintained eye contact, or he thinks so, with the binary person.
"Yes, this is-" Leon was about to explain when they heard a scream and Ace's face scrunched up.
"Leon," he said, going back to a smile. "Please escort them out of this place. It is not a safe place for you to be here."
"Oh no, I-" The person was about to speak but Ace ignored them and looked at Leon who nodded.
"You will be able to find your way out, won't you?" he asked the boy.
"Of course, president," he said, bowing slightly. "Do come with me. It is not safe here."
"Bu-"
"I will leave them to you then." Ace said, smiling at her as he made his way in the direction of the scream.
The further he got from them, the more he felt himself gain control over his body until he could stop himself from running.
"What the hell was that?" He asked, looking at his hands and flexing them. "I couldn't even feel my body. Cleo!"
"You encountered the final boss," Cleo said, ears down as it looked up at him with big eyes.
"Final boss?"
"That is the player." Cleo floated in front of his face and looked deeply into his eyes. "You are a little bit shaken."
"A little bit??" Ace couldn't help shout. "Did you see how ... that looked? That is how players look like?? Is that why I can't control myself at all?"
"Yes." The fox nodded. "Whenever you are around them, it will be harder to have control over your own body."
"Then I should just avoid them, right?" he asked, furrowing his brows at Cleo. "Right??"
"Well ... if they die, the entire game will reset," Cleo said, not willing to look up at Ace's burning gaze as a hint of deep blue flashed across his eyes.
"You mean that I have to look after them?" He asked, voice low. "I have to be around them more??"
"Just prevent them from dying." Cleo pulled its ears over its face, trembling slightly. "Otherwise you will have to start from the beginning.
"They do not seem to have gotten enough hearts to gain a route yet. When it is more specific, you don't have to worry about it affecting you too much. Unless they are in your route."
Ace looked at the trembling fox and sighed, feeling a little lighter while raking his hands through his hair. "Why are you so scared all of a sudden?"
"You were about to use your father's gift." Cleo continued to tremble. "Not even I will survive against it."
"Father's gift?" Ace repeated. "Do you m-"
Another scream.
Cursing, Ace ran in the direction of the shouts and only stopped when he was about to get crushed by a body flying to him.
He successfully dodged the body and stared at the girl with light pink hair wither away before looking at him with a kind smile on her face.
"Wait what th-"
This time he was not lucky enough to dodge the next body chucked at him and fell to the ground as the person's weight crashed onto him.
He tried to push them away but, like the previous person, they disappeared before he had the chance to.
What was that?
He pushed himself up as more bodies were thrown at him and this time, he was more alert and dodged every single one of them.
Wait a minute.
He looked at the people on the ground. They all looked exactly the same, pink hair with dead, light green eyes.
"Get away!" A scream filled the place and Ace recognised this voice.
"Silas?" He asked, running ahead until he saw a crowd of the girl trying to worm their way somewhere in this cramped, narrow pathway.
"Excuse me," he said, touching one of their shoulders but they paid him no mind. "Well, this is on you then."
He can still feel his mana coursing through his body, especially on his feet.
A mischievous grin came on his face and, without warning, he stomped on the ground, causing a tremor as the ground began to crack.
"I did not think that through at all." he chuckled as the cracks started underneath him.
The 'clones' didn't care either as they continued to wobble ahead, crawling on top of each other as they tried to reach whatever was in front of them.
Rolling his eyes, Ace summed his mana to his hands and used that to create an invisible barrier which he used to part the sea of people in front of him.
"Silas!" he shouted to the boy at the far corner of the tunnel.
He sat on the ground, body slumped and covered in bruises as Ace made his way to him.
"Hey." He dragged the boy up and slapped him across the face, "You ok? Awake?"
But the boy did not respond.
"Guess I will have to carry you ... again." Ace turned around and picked the boy up on his back and was getting ready to leave when he heard a loud shackling.
"That is just plain out creepy." He murmured as Cleo poked its head out. "The illusion is starting to come back."
"Guess I will have to get rid of that man first." Ace sighed, looking at the boy behind him and the shell of figures trying to claw their way to them. "Locate him for me."
But the barrier stopped them, for now.
"Poor boy," Cleo said as Ace walked through the tunnel covered with the same person trying to reach for Silas over and over again.
Cleo shook its head as it floated in front of him, leading the way.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone