Chapter 28: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
"Run!" Pete yelled at Bree again. He stood guard between her and the rogue men. 'I can buy her a few seconds at least,' he figured.
[ Courage +3 ]
[ Virtue + 3 ]
Pete laughed on the inside about the irony of the situation.
'This is the time to lose Virtue! And I am gaining points instead!' the boy cursed himself. 'I need to make my virtue plummet to activate the Dark Robinhood System!'
The rogues broke into laughter on seeing Pete's heroic act. All they saw was a fat blob of a kid blocking their path. Beyond him stood an elf, worth her weight in gold.
One of the men ran at Pete.
[ A rogue has appeared ]
Pete tried to stop him, but the goon simply slipped under his arm to reach Bree. "Come here, you little elf bitch!" The girl was ready with her dagger. Splurge! She stabbed the blade right into his guts, twisted, and pulled out.
"Aargh!" The man dropped to the ground, cupping his bleeding abdomen.
"The elven cunt fights back!" the rogue boss told his goons. "Get your weapons ready. Don't kill her yet, though. I want her alive. Go!"
In the commotion, Pete noticed something that made his heart jump. There was an exclamation mark above the boss' head. He was the checkpoint for the Dark Robinhood System!
The men rushed towards Bree.
[ Rogue x 12 have appeared ]
Pete was too slow to obstruct them. They ducked, dodged, and jumped around him. While one of them swung at Bree with a knife, another kicked her weapon hand, making her drop the dagger.
They crowded in, trying to go around and pincer and circle her. Realizing their strategy, Bree ran down the alley to get away. Unfortunately, it was a dead end.
The men pounced on her and dragged her back. "No! Let me go, you dogs!!"
In no time, they had her pinned down to the ground. "Let me go! Master, help!"
Pete immediately rushed to save her. He grabbed the boss' jacket.
[ Checkpoint Reached ]
[ Loading… ]
[Virtue too high... Failed to launch ]
'Damn it!' The Dark Robinhood System could not boot up as long as he had the accumulated virtue points.
Pete had to save Bree somehow. He tugged on the boss' jacket and turned him around.
Bam! The seasoned rogue kicked him flat in the gut. The boy fell to the ground like a sack of flour.
[ HP -8 ]
[ Warning Low HP ]
Pete tried to yelp in pain, but his breath had been knocked out. There was mud in his eye, and he could barely see anything. He could hear Bree's screams as she struggled with her captors.
"Fucking elf!"
"Die, leaf ears!"
"You'll regret being born an elf!"
The rogue boss spoke up. "Let's ravish her, and then we will take her to the Sheriff. She'll be worth the reward either way!"
The goons laughed hysterically in unison. Their boss' idea was quite appealing. One of them tore off Bree's top half of the dress.
"Noooooo!" she screamed.
Pete could breathe again, but the kick had incapacitated him. He watched in horror as they manhandled the girl.
"No! Help! Master! Help me!!"
"Your master is too fat to save you! He will die soon!" the boss barked. "Now, let us see that lovely young body of yours."
One of the hoodlums pulled on the lower half of Bree's dress. She freed her right leg in the skirmish and kicked him in the face. The man collapsed back, howling. "She broke my nose!"
'Bree can fight back. She will be alright,' Pete told himself reassuringly.
"Fucking Elven bitch," the boss rogue thundered. He stepped on her thigh and applied his weight. Crack! "Aaaaaa!" Bree's screams echoed throughout the alley. He had broken her leg.
The boss went for her other leg next. Crack! "Aaaaaa!"
Pete's heart palpitated in anxiety and panic. He realized he had to do something. 'Lose virtue.'
Morrigan had said that there were two conditions to be fulfilled for the Dark Robinhood System to activate. He had to reach the checkpoint and lower his virtue points. However, he kept accumulating more points instead ever since.
'Lose virtue.'
'Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts.'
'I wanted to have sex with Marian and not make a friend out of her! I desired her! I… I… get an erection simply thinking about her!
[ Virtue -1 ]
[ Honesty +1 ]
'I had similar feelings for Bree! She is petite, but she is so cute! I have a fetish for lolies!
[Virtue - 2 ]
[ Honesty +1 ]
'No! No! I need to lose more!'
'I want to fuck every girl I see! I am sooo desperate! I see girls as objects! Fuckpads!'
[ Virtue -3 ]
[ Honesty +1 ]
Ding!
[ Bonus for Honesty: Virtue +5 ]
'What?! No! No! Fuck! No!'
Pete shifted on the ground and saw Bree still fighting the goons. She had gone into a frenzy after the rogues broke her legs. 'What is she made of?' Pete wondered. 'I wish I were that strong.'
"Break both her arms," the boss ordered.
Pete heard two crunching sounds, and this time Bree's screams were weaker. She settled down and teetered on the edge of passing out.
"Now that's more like it," the seasoned rogue said. He tore off the other half of her dress. "We don't need to surrender her to the Sheriff alive and unmolested. Isn't that right, guys? Who wants some elf pussy?!" The goons screamed their approval in unison.
The boss pulled down his pants.
Bree's limbs were broken, but her eyes looked up in horror. Her pupils turned to the side and fell on Pete. 'Help me, master, please…' her eyes seemed to say.
Pete started weeping. 'What else can I do? I'm sorry, Bree!'
'I am the problem. I cursed her by sharing my secret. She trusted me enough to tell her true identity. And now she is going to be defiled and killed. All because of me!'
Bree's eyes rested on him and perceived his helplessness. 'It's all right,' she seemed to say. 'It's all right, master.' Then she closed her eyes as two goons spread her legs and the boss rogue leaned over her.
Pete felt dizzy suddenly. Nausea. Vomit. Blood. Everything erupted from his mouth spontaneously.
Then came pain. Terrible, terrible pain. It started as pinpricks in his heart that gradually snowballed into a maniacal clawing. It was a mind-numbing mixture of crippling anguish, the terror of loss, and the arrival of blinding, smothering darkness.
Pete's hand moved and clutched his heart. He couldn't take the agony anymore.
'It hurts. I should rip my heart out.'
The boy's body convulsed. Then his dark pupils expanded and filled his eyes.
[ Loading… ]
[ Virtue -1000 ]
[ Warning! Virtue is at an emergency low ]
[ Restore virtue points OR System will be hacked ]
[ Resisting Dark System... ]
[ Error! Failed! ]
Crackle! Buzz!
[ Initiating... ]
...….
[ Welcome to the Dark Robinhood System ]
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone