NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

My body was the one that woke me up after a terrible nightmare. As I gazed from above, the scorching sun warmed the land. Upon glancing at my side, Match's sleeping face welcomed me.

I could only smile in comfort as I watched her fall asleep. Even for the nth time, that girl looked like an angel in disguise that came from the skies above.

However, that peaceful moment changed when I felt someone gazing in my direction. I stood up and went to the corner of the tree. But upon reaching the ancient trees behind, no creatures emerged from my sight. And upon looking around, there was nobody there to greet me.

"Strange…," I mumbled, while hunting for the eerie eyes looking at me.

Despite my efforts, no one showed up to introduce themselves to me. But instead of giving up, I looked around for more, hoping to find anything unusual.

My hard work finally got a reward as I found footprints behind the bushes and the far-away trees. Those footmarks belonged to two people if I had to guess it right.

"These footprints are still fresh…. Are we being watched?" I asked myself, while inspecting the designs and directions of those trails.

As I raised my head, those marks led me deeper into the woodland. It was also the road that Match and I went before reaching the lagoon.

These footmarks did not belong to the soldiers. I could detect them from miles away if those guards planned to patrol this area. However, these mysterious individuals escaped my radar, making the situation eerier than it seemed.

I went to Match and tapped her frozen shoulders. That girl woke up from the vibration, with her eyes still wandering off towards the dream world.

"R-Red? Why are you here?" she asked, while wiping the dirt glued beside her eyes.

Although she had yet to recover from her late sleep, I urged her to stand and prepare some magic spells. "We're being followed by someone. Be ready to fight someone, okay?"

Match heeded my command and prepared two magic circles at each of her hands. I also unsheathed my sword and pointed my blade behind Match. If we followed this position, we could avoid getting ambushed by someone we did not know.

The opponents would have a troublesome time assaulting us, given the amount of range that our eyes could see.

However, I thought wrong. A dark figure emerged above the branches and travelled to one bough after the other. My eyes could not keep up with the running shape as I tried to pinpoint its location.

I could not dash in the figure's direction, thinking my body was not fast enough to outrun such an opponent. Match also noticed the figure sprinting at an intense speed. And she already knew that her magic spells would not connect to that speedy creature roaming around our vicinity.

After a few seconds, the peculiar shape vanished from our sight. It said and did nothing to us, despite Match and I standing at our grounds.

If an enemy saw us, this place would be the perfect time to strike behind our backs. However, that creature withdrew… At least, that was what I suspected.

"I never thought I would find you here, Red."

A recognisable, masculine voice emerged from the trees and called out for my attention. But as I desperately looked around, nobody revealed themselves to me.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked, and extended my arms in front of Match, protecting her from what was about to come.

As soon as I asked that question, a dark figure of a man materialised at our fore. Within a few seconds, the features of the guy became crystal to my eyes. It was only a matter of time before I realised that the person in front of me was the player that I met before.

"Fenrir…. Why are you here?" I asked, and readied my weapon.

I knew that meeting him here spelt horrible news to Match and me. And fighting Wolf right now would kill us. The best course of action that I could have was…

"Match, let's run away…. I will make a distraction. Do you see that tree over there?" I asked, and tapped Match's hands.

Match never spoke of a thing, but she gave me a nod.

"Great… I want you to run there as fast as you can, okay? I'll follow you. So please just listen to me."

Match believed my words and showed me a determined look carved on her face. All the worries escaped my chest, thinking that we would flee this battle without exhausting our arcane.

However, before we could even start our plan, another shadow appeared beside Wolf. As the image became clear, an adventurer, whom I knew all this time, welcomed my eyes.

The bloke wore unusual clothing meant for archers. But I could only guess that was the proper attire of his class.

That guy also had the same face that I witnessed not too long ago. The image of his body was still fresh in my mind. But even after all these months that passed by, I could still remember that bastard…

And that man had a bow and arrow clipped around his waist. It was the weapon of choice that killed my sister… That guy ran away when we needed him the most. I could still hear the archer's footsteps dashing away from the monster after "accidentally" hitting Clementine.

That action alone killed someone dear to me… And this death game resulted from my anger… I never regretted it, not even once…. If I went back in time, I would have done it again... and again… and again.

"Match… I'm sorry," I mumbled, while sharpening my sword. "I need to kill that man."

My right eye glowed immediately after realising that I needed more power in this match. All the mana contained inside my body surged through my veins, heightening all my five senses. And even without activating it, my [shadow walk] kicked into my skin.

I felt like I could take any enemies in this world, including the strongest player known to humans.

However, I got ahead of myself and forgot about everything that surrounded me. Wolf went in front of me and challenged my speed, protecting the archer from receiving any damage.

Despite activating my [shadow walk], Wolf parried my attack as if it was nothing but a cheap trick. That player challenged my speed and even outmanoeuvred me with no additional spells.

"Grgh…."

I gritted my teeth and growled at him, protecting this douchebag that killed my sister. Among all the players I faced, Fenrir was the only one that tapped inside my memories… Since I was a non-player character who knew nothing about settings, Fenrir looked through my past events. I also glanced at his memories of life. So, now, we both knew the bottom of our icebergs.

However, that was not enough to mend our wounds. If Fenrir-the hero of my life, were a friend of this bastard, I would also turn my blade against him.

I did not care who I was up against this time. As long as I could this man with my own hands and the person behind this game, I would finally rest in peace. That goal was the driving fuel for me to live in this world.

"Red….," Fenrir mumbled, as he met my eyes.

Wolf was about to say something, but ate his words. It was as if he knew about this all along.

I went backwards and created a distance between these two players and me.

"You knew?" I asked.

"I do. I never wanted to lie about this… When I sensed you're here with us..., I had the urge to see you…. You know how to finish this death game. I want to help you…," Wolf said, while reaching out his hands towards me.

But that was a mistake from him. I knew Wolf had a sincere heart, despite his arrogant character before. However, I could not trust him right now. How could I, when he was protecting this man?

"Do you know who this guy is?" I asked, and pointed my hand at the archer.

The ranger knelt on the ground and clasped his hands. "I-I'm sorry for killing your sister… I wanted to help… but I was new to this game… Please give me a chance. I-I'll do anything for you to forgive me."

"See? That's what I wanted to show you, Red… I could just hide him from your sight, and that way you would stick along with me. But I didn't. If you're a real human, forgive someone… So I can trust you."

"I don't care. He killed Clementine."

My entire judgment became clouded with grim thoughts as I charged straight to the ranger. But before I could even slit the ranger's throat, Wolf's voice ordered me to hold my ground.

"If you don't want to end this peacefully, I'm going to kill Match in front of you."