"Bwahahaha! Mira really asked you to have sex with her?!"
Rest in the RLRD, however, was completely overrated. As soon as they returned back to the building, everyone quickly gathered around the table again and started pointing at him.
All of them were clearly exhausted, but they were all laughing at him. The loudest one was Harvey, who was probably the one who inford everyone about what happened.
It truly was weird. He still barely knew any of these people’s nas, yet they treated him as if he’d been part of their dysfunctional family for years.
If he was right, the one laughing the hardest aside from Harvey was Evan—he was the one always drumming his hands and fingers. As Beatrice explained it, he had the ability to create shockwaves and concussive bursts with his body.
That... was almost the sa as Bjorn’s.
"So... the question is..." Evan smirked. "...Are you going to do it?"
"Stop it with the uncouth queries," Selene pushed Evan away. "You are all making our new mber uncomfortable with your foolish, barbaric displays."
Selene had the ability to create wide-ranging illusions... and also incredibly strong.
"Mr. Adam, do forgive them."
"Oh, it’s... alright."
"Alright... because you’re sleeping—"
Evan was about to double down, but Mira’s glare instantly silenced him. He quickly looked away, coughing as he tried his best to avoid her eyes. Fortunately for Adam, their conversation shifted to sothing else after that.
He... couldn’t really relate, however. Perhaps... soon, he will.
And as he was about to get sothing else to drink, he felt a tug on his leg. He looked down to find a small stone golem, no bigger than his hand, pointing toward the door.
"Hm...?"
Leona stood there, gesturing for him to follow.
Confused, Adam pointed at himself. And when Leona nodded before stepping outside, he excused himself to follow her. But Leona wasn’t there.
"What..."
"Adam!"
He then heard the prolonged honk of a car horn.
He looked, and Leona was beside a black sedan, pressing the horn from the outside with one hand while waving at him with the other.
When he approached, she pulled out a cigarette and lighter, offering the pack to him. "Smoke?"
"No, thanks."
"Well, okay." Leona lit her cigarette and took a long puff, exhaling the smoke into the night air as she looked up.
"They’re an okay bunch, you know?" she said, slightly coughing before smiling at him. "A little... different. But there’s no one else I trust more with my life."
"I... can see that."
"And don’t mind Mira. Her abilities make her libido... spike. I think it’s the side effect of her turning into... that." She took another puff, this ti blowing the smoke to her side. "But don’t misinterpret that as her saying that to any guy she ets. God, no. In fact, I believe you’re the first person in a long ti she’s said that to. The first one was the First Soldier."
"...You’ve t with the First Soldier?"
"Hmn. Shorter than I expected."
"Oh..."
"I... didn’t an anything by that."
"By what?"
"Nothing, dear."
Leona fell quiet, only the soft glow of her cigarette marking her presence in the darkness. Around their feet, tiny stone golems played gas of tag, their feet creating soft scraping sounds on the concrete.
"Why are you here?" Leona asked suddenly.
"Uh... You called ?"
"I ant why are you in RLRD."
"To help people."
"If only it were that simple." Leona laughed before puffing another smoke. "We’re all going to die, you know. Sixty years from now, maybe less, all humans will be dead. Except us. Heroes." She gestured with her cigarette toward the building.
"All the people we saved today? They’ll be gone. Their children, their grandchildren. All of them. They’ll be dead. We’re in the apocalypse, the gods are just kind enough to let us enjoy and suffer in it."
Adam didn’t really know what to say to that, and he just watched the smoke blowing out of Leona’s lips wither into the night sky. The two remained quiet for a mont before Adam glanced at Leona again.
"So... why are you here?" he asked.
"Atonent." Leona didn’t hesitate to answer, but her voice grew soft. "I was an archaeologist. My husband and I were excavating a ziggurat in Iraq when a Do appeared around our site."
She paused, her cigarette trembling slightly. "He ended up on the other team. Killed his own teammates when we t... and then I killed him."
"That... I’m sorry."
"I’m paying for my sins," Leona continued. "So, I’m going to ask you again. Why are you here?"
"To help people," Adam repeated.
Leona looked at him in surprise, then smiled again.
"I want to end the Ga, too," Adam added quietly.
"End the Ga...?" Leona laughed, but when she saw his serious expression, her laughter died.
"How...?"
"I don’t know yet."
They fell quiet again. The stone golems had stopped playing and were now arranged in neat rows, as if listening to their conversation.
"You ntioned a ziggurat," Adam said suddenly.
"Yes. It’s probably best to talk about sothing else. But..." Leona’s eyebrows rose. "You’re interested in archaeology?"
"Yes," Adam rembered his vision—the Administrators floating above a stepped pyramid. He ca to learn later on the internet that it wasn’t a pyramid at all, no. It was a ziggurat.
"Really...? I have a collection in my room," Leona said excitedly. "Artifacts, photographs, sketches, and notes. Let’s go back to the building."
"Room...?" Adam interrupted. "I thought we’re provided a house?"
Leona blinked. "What housing?"
"Harvey told we get free housing."
"No? They gave each of us a room. Granted, it’s a really big room." Leona stubbed out her cigarette. "Co. I’ll show you—"
The rumble of engines cut her off. Several black SUVs suddenly erged from the darkness, their headlights creating harsh cones of light as they surrounded them.
"Here...?" Adam’s eyebrows lowered. He stepped in front of Leona, his hand instinctively covering her.
People started stepping out from the vehicles, and as soon as Adam saw none of them were actually wearing the familiar suits of the Hospital, he slightly relaxed.
A man approached, flashing an ID badge. "Agent Suarez, Hero Disaster Investigations Unit, IBAA. Mr. Smith, we need you to co with us. You are in suspicion of destruction of public and private property and engaging in destructive combat with another Hero, in violation of the Hero Accountability and Responsibility Treaty, Section 12, Subsection 4."
"Huh..." Leona’s eyes widened. "Getting arrested on your first day here? I have to say, that’s quite impressive."
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