Chapter 63: The Five-Person Army

Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie sat side by side on a long bench at a dining table inside the restaurant, which was currently closed for business. Across from them sat Oscar, Walter, and Ellie in a single row. A silence hung over the room as no one spoke, save for sipping their drinks, until "sigh," Oscar let out a breath, looking at Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie across from him. He proceeded to tell them everything. It turned out that every business owner in this small town owed money to a man who claimed to be the town’s governor and ruler.

The man’s name was Silas Ward, a blue-skinned man with facial scars and a body covered in tattoos. He controlled the town through his gang, which constantly oppressed the locals, collected debts, and occasionally kidnapped women or young girls to serve as "playthings" for Silas and his crew using various schemes, such as taking them as loan collateral. Many girls and women who were dragged off to their building never returned home to their families, as many were ultimately sold off to Utopia’s main metropolis.

As Oscar finished recounting the story, Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie fell silent, while Celes quietly observed her siblings. Suddenly "hahahaha!" Clyde burst into loud laughter, leaving Celes, Oscar, Walter, and Ellie utterly baffled, though Craig, Casca, and Corie seemed to understand why Clyde was laughing,

"Um... why are you laughing, Clyde?" Celes asked.

"Sorry... I shouldn’t be laughing, but I just couldn’t help myself. I thought stuff like this only existed inside the simulation. After hearing his story, I get what’s going on now, turns out an underworld actually exists in the real world too," Clyde answered.

"Yep... exactly. I get it too. A guy like this Silas character is what you’d call a local mobster with ties all the way to the big city. Guys like him need to be eradicated," Craig added.

"Agreed... totally agreed," Casca and Corie chimed in simultaneously, nodding with their eyes closed and arms crossed over their chests.

"All this time, no one has ever managed to drive them out. You can’t reason with them at all, and the law doesn’t reach small towns like ours," Walter said, lowering his head.

"That’s right. The Utopian government is still on high alert following the attack by New Leviathan a few months back, which ultimately led to a war with the Annuna Kingdom’s forces out in the middle of the ocean near the capital," Oscar added.

"The Annuna Kingdom?" Celes asked.

"Ah... I forgot you wouldn’t know. Let me explain, the giants you call Nephilim are actually the Annuna or Gigas race that originated from Gaia before the Great Transition. They haven’t been kind to Utopia either," Walter answered.

"Hmm... I see," Clyde murmured, lost in thought.

"They... are definitely going to come back... I’m scared," Ellie said, wrapping her arms around herself and lowering her head.

Everyone could see that Ellie was visibly shaking. Walter threw his arm around Ellie’s shoulders, pulling her close into an embrace to soothe her, even though his own face looked fraught with tension. Oscar could only stare down helplessly, his hands clenched into tight fists on the table as his lowered face grew tense. Seeing the three of them like this, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie also fell silent, quietly watching the trio across from them.

The atmosphere in the room turned quiet once more, yet it was not a peaceful calm, but rather the quiet stillness before a storm. Suddenly, Clyde raised his head; his face grew rigid, and his eyes turned completely white. Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie turned to look at Clyde sitting on the far end, as did Oscar, Walter, and Ellie across the table.

"Hey... are you okay?" Oscar asked, standing up and reaching out toward Clyde.

Celes stood up, catching Oscar’s hand and shaking her head. "Sit back down, Uncle. He’s fine," Celes answered.

Hearing Celes’s words, Oscar sat back down, though his eyes remained fixed on Clyde, whose body appeared tense and convulsing.

"Sorry... but what is actually happening?" Walter asked, bewildered.

"He’s looking into the future," Corie chimed in nonchalantly.

"That’s about it... just wait a moment," Casca added.

At the twin girls’ words, the expressions on Oscar’s, Walter’s, and Ellie’s faces shifted instantly. They appeared to be processing what was said, looking skeptical yet trying hard to believe it. Craig took in the whole scene. Sigh. He let out a breath and turned to his younger twin sisters,

"Why do you two have to go and explain it so bluntly? How are they supposed to understand that? You guys are terrible at this," Craig scolded gently.

"Hehe... sorry, Brother," Casca and Corie replied in unison.

"Allow me to explain. He has the ability to see future visions of what will come to pass. So just wait a moment, alright? Don’t disturb him," Celes offered casually.

"Sister... that’s not much of an explanation either. I don’t even know how to explain it properly," Craig grumbled, turning to look at Celes.

In the end, Craig, Celes, Casca, and Corie casually chatted among themselves. Oscar, Walter, and Ellie merely looked at one another and smiled, choosing to ignore what was happening to Clyde as they joined back into the conversation with the other four, all while keeping an eye on Clyde’s face, which was now flushing red and forming a sinister smirk. Moments later, BAM! Clyde suddenly slammed both hands hard onto the table as he stood up, startling Oscar, Walter, and Ellie. Clyde then stretched his body before turning to look at Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie beside him.

"Let’s go," Clyde said. He turned to look at Oscar, Walter, and Ellie. "Sorry, Uncle Oscar, Mr. Walter, Miss Ellie, we need to step out for a bit to take care of something. Please stay inside," Clyde said with a smile.

"Oh... alright," Oscar replied, looking bewildered.

With that, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie walked out, leaving the three bewildered locals behind to look at one another, wondering what was about to unfold. Once outside, as they walked down the street leading deeper into town, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie turned to look at Clyde walking in the middle.

"So... what did you see, Clyde?" Celes asked, leaning her head forward to look at him.

"They’re coming back... bringing a force of about thirty guys, motorcycles, and various weapons. They intend to wreck every shop on this street and kidnap everyone here to sell them off. So we’re going to intercept them now... Oh right, wear the things I bought earlier," Clyde said.

Clyde then reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a pack of black flu masks, and handed them out to Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie, who looked at the masks in their hands.

"We’re putting on masks? Why not just use Combat Mode?" Craig asked.

"Fighting these guys doesn’t require Combat Mode. Besides, I saw in my vision that if we use Combat Mode, forces from Utopia’s main city will surround us and call in troops from Neo Ark. This town would be destroyed, and the locals would be hauled off to the main city—and they wouldn’t be treated well there," Clyde answered.

"And what about us?" Casca asked.

"We’d win completely and wipe them out, which is why the townspeople would end up hated. You catch my drift?" Clyde answered.

"Ah... so the people in the main city would blame the townspeople here. Is that what you mean?" Corie asked.

"Exactly. In the end, their lives wouldn’t be the same as they are now. I’m just preventing that and luckily, I bought masks for a cover-up even before I got the vision," Clyde answered.

"You really are sweet. I’m falling in love with you even more," Celes said, wrapping her arm around Clyde’s.

"As a sibling, right... and please, no more kissing on the lips... Alright, we wait here," Clyde said.

"But kissing on the lips feels pretty good, especially with you," Celes replied cheerfully.

"Please, let’s not discuss that anymore. Focus on the problem right in front of us that’s arriving any second," Clyde replied, covering his forehead with his hand, looking thoroughly exhausted from explaining it.

"Does this mean we can go all out as long as we wear masks?" Craig asked with a broad grin, slamming his fist hard into his palm with a resounding crack.

"Uh... I don’t think we’ll even need to go all out... Within a matter of minutes, they’ll be extinct, and us? We probably won’t even break a sweat," Casca said.

"Yup... totally, but hey... the main thing is to have fun. I’m actually getting excited," Corie replied.

After that, they fell silent, lining up side by side as they pulled on their masks together and stood with arms crossed over their chests. Before them lay a wide street with an open field across the way. Tap, tap. Vroooom. A few moments later, dozens of gang-like men representing a diverse mix of races came into view. Several men with ant antennae on their heads arrived on motorcycles wearing jackets, drawing closer to the street where the group stood waiting.

Nearly all of them carried weapons such as baseball bats, katana swords, swinging chains, sickles, machetes, rifles, handguns, and other armaments, all the way up to a flamethrower. Behind their masks, Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie cracked wide grins, their eyes shifting to a bright, glowing red as they watched the army of thugs and gangsters draw near. A five-versus-many battle was about to erupt.