Conflict
A dark flash of fury crossed Mary's eyes.
"What the hell are those bastards doing here now?"
Venom dripped from every word.
Having formally inherited the authority and responsibility for territorial defense of Area 7, New Order had offered almost no help whenever monster raids struck the poacher settlement. What little they did send amounted to token supplies—just enough to look like they were doing something. Actual troops to stop an invasion? Never.
These were the same people who hadn't so much as blinked when an Upper-grade Hazard ran amok and the bodies started piling up. There was no chance they'd shown up now with good intentions.
"Came sniffing around like filthy rats to size up how badly we got hit, I bet," Mary said through clenched teeth.
"No, Boss… I don't think that's it."
A poacher on watch shook his head, his voice trembling as he whispered.
"These aren't the usual third-rate trash. They look like Hunters—and they're armed."
"What…? Those New Order pig bastards looking to pick a war with us?"
Mary flicked a glance toward her house.
Could it be? Had Emily called New Order here?
The suspicion flickered through her, but if that were true, the timing of bringing her little sister home couldn't possibly have lined up this catastrophically. And more than that—
"That snake of a woman wouldn't pull a stunt this obvious. Even I'd see through it."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Talking to myself. They're coming. Everyone to your positions!"
Several New Order vehicles rolled slowly up to the tightly locked-down poacher stronghold. Most weren't ordinary cars—dump trucks and other vehicles the city operated for military use.
A door clunked open.
What stepped out of the darkened vehicle was neither an armed Hunter nor a soldier, but a young woman in a flashy Hawaiian shirt and hot pants.
"Hey there. How we doing, poacher folks? Glad you're still in one piece."
Tanned skin, long blonde hair—she looked like some two-bit street punk, but she was one of New Order's inner circle, serving as vice president.
"Berze. Look at you. The junkie who used to spread her legs in back alleys, all grown up and making it in the world."
"A capable woman always knows how to seize the opportunities she's given. Unlike you, still running around soaked in beast blood."
Berze laughed Mary's venom right off, and Mary ground her teeth.
Watching from the sidelines, Tiss couldn't contain her shock.
What the fuck? Why is that bitch out here doing field work herself?
That woman who looked like a walking golden sun was Beelzebuth herself.
Tiss, that woman is sc-scary. Sh-she's dangerous. We n-need to run…
I pressed a hand to my right chest and slowly soothed the startled Shan. If I moved now, I'd only give myself away. I'd pushed my mimicry as far as it would go, blending into the crowd around me—so I probably wouldn't be spotted.
Still, the more I thought about it, the more cheated I felt. I never once imagined I'd run into the main boss of a mid-game chapter this early.
I didn't know her current strength, but she wouldn't be weaker than Mary—that much was certain. The one stroke of luck was that Beelzebuth almost always wanted her true identity buried. If she'd cut loose with her real power…
I swallowed hard.
Never mind my life. Every poacher here would have been dead in an instant.
I knew she was a lunatic—a monster who liked hiding in the underworld and pulling strings, with a businessman streak a mile wide—but I never thought she'd come handle things in person. Maybe that's exactly the caliber it takes to brazenly build your own faction inside a city in this insane world and play main boss for an entire chapter.
"So. What's the reason you dragged your heavy ass all the way out here? Come to make excuses about the Upper-grade Hazard attack?"
"You came out to greet us with the air still reeking of blood, so… looks like you held out reasonably well. Guess the monster was weaker than expected?"
Mary's eyes flashed, sharp as a blade.
"Berze. Do not mock our dead like that. One more word of that garbage and I will rip that mouth of yours wide open myself."
Beelzebuth waved it off, insisting they'd done everything they could.
"We really didn't have a choice. New Order can only get so big. We can't guard this entire stretch of land the way the city's Area Guard would. Stationing people to protect a group that can already take down Upper-grade Hazards—wouldn't it be better to spend that manpower on weak, helpless civilians?"
"You think that makes sense? All you did was unilaterally break the contract you signed with the city!"
Their gazes locked, neither giving an inch.
"You had us build our defense line on the back of your military power, and now you want to pull out? Fine. Then maybe we'll stop hunting monsters. Let's see if you can handle this entire region by yourselves."
Mary made it clear she could prove that well enough.
In the game, the poachers were portrayed as a neutral force that belonged to no one. Unlike the "Villains" who committed crimes inside the city, hunting monsters was considered essential to humanity's survival. The words of Mary—leader of the poacher group that served as a buffer in the outer zones—were anything but light.
The tension stretched taut, not a single concession on either side. Then Beelzebuth shifted her gaze from Mary to the rest of the poachers.
"All that petty sentimentality clipping your wings. It's so pitiful I could cry."
The poachers ignored the taunt and held their positions, unmoving. Beelzebuth pressed on with her offer.
"Still not interested in our scouting offer? If you want, I'll even hand over my seat. That's if you come over to our side, Mary."
"Bullshit."
She knew their cohesion was thicker than blood—family, more than anything else. Which meant she was holding that family hostage.
"Our boss might start paying a little more attention to this backwater, you know? You get to succeed, this dump gets stabilized—everybody wins."
Whether it was just her personality or she had an angle, she kept needling Mary. Mary only answered, calm and even.
"As long as I draw breath, we will never kneel to New Order. Berze. One more word of that garbage and I won't just reject whatever you offer—I'll report this whole affair to the city and expose every last bit of it."
"Yes, yes, I surrender. I surrender. You really are… no fun at all."
Mary didn't bother with a calm reply. She issued a final warning instead. Faced with that hardline stance, Beelzebuth shrugged and waved a hand.
Then, as if she still had a trump card left, a nasty little smile crept onto her face, and she brought up Dorothy.
"Still, wouldn't it be better for your little sister to live in the city—or at least inside an Area—than in a place this dangerous? Times being what they are, if you're not careful she might just… get caught up in something unfortunate, don't you think?"
Silence fell.
A tidal wave of murderous intent exploded from Mary.
Even New Order's former Hunters—the ones who'd been watching and sneering at her—tensed in an instant and reached for their weapons. The presence was that overwhelming.
"Huum?"
Beelzebuth narrowed her eyes, puzzled.
"That's strange."
The provocation she'd been certain would land had done nothing at all. She looked like she couldn't believe it. Unless you knew that needling the Mary standing here now with Dorothy wouldn't work no matter how many times you tried, there were no more clever moves left.
"Shall we take care of her now? She doesn't look fully recovered from the fight with the monster."
One of the former Hunters waiting behind her asked it carefully.
"Forget it. We'll wait for the next chance. This is unexpected, but not bad. I thought she was almost in the bag… surprisingly strong willpower? Or maybe the job was handled a little sloppily."
She muttered under her breath that she might have misjudged Mary.
Tiss, d-don't tell me. That Berze woman… is she connected to F-Fedor?
I nodded instead of answering.
Hiiiiek…!
Shan had it right. Line up the original story—the moment Mary went berserk after her sister's death, and the timing of New Order's expansion—and calling it coincidence was a stretch. In the original, the poachers were the leading indigenous force standing against New Order. Once they collapsed, New Order seized most of Area 7.
It was a dangerous situation. But if I played it right, I might land a real hit on New Order—and pull Mary and the poachers over to my side besides.
Beelzebuth swept her long half-twin-tails behind her ear and called out to the remaining poachers in a leisurely voice, like she was making a public announcement.
"As you can see, we're leaving the food and medical supplies here. Poachers, New Order's door is always open. Identity, gender, origin—we don't ask a thing."
She clenched a fist and thrust it into the air, shouting like she was giving a speech. There was a strangely bewitching pull in the words, something that wanted to sink into you and stay there.
Beelzebuth added one last line, a mocking smile on her lips.
"The chance to become the proud guardians of this place—soon to be a new Area. Do try not to let it slip through your fingers."
Ah—right.
Beelzebuth had started to turn away, then suddenly turned back. The moment her bright yellow eyes met mine over the rim of her slightly slipped sunglasses, it felt like my breath stopped.
My head went blank. Thought hardened, froze, and my body started to shake.
I-it's okay, Tiss.
That thing isn't looking at you right now. She's just staring after Mary as she left… If you stay still like this… y-you won't be found.
I didn't have time to process it. I held my breath and trusted Shan.
The tension wound so tight it felt like time itself had stopped for good. Then, at some point, the silence broke, and time started moving again.
I didn't let out the breath I'd been holding until New Order's cars were gone.
"Shan. Thank you."
…
"Shan?"
Hweeeek.
Apparently that had been the absolute limit of courage Shan could muster. Her eyes had gone X-shaped, tongue lolling out, completely passed out.
"Shan. Thank you."
I said it anyway, even though she couldn't hear me. For some reason, my right chest felt a little warmer than usual.
While Mary sorted the supplies, we hurried back to the house.