Inverse System

As they stood on the plate, they found themselves being transported to a dark hallway, where they could hear the footsteps of the bustling city above them. As they appeared in a tunnel under the central city of Orthlys, they found themselves heading up the stairs that lead into an alleyway, the door being hidden with a mysterious power.

"Let's head on the path to Treaq. If we hurry, we'll be able to intercept him," Rein suggested, the two not making eye contact.

"Hm," Lance sounded in affirmation, following Rein onto the road.

They ran on the dark, dimly lit path in the cold autumn night. Rein found that Lance had somehow sped up since the last time he saw. He concluded that the trauma that he had experienced had most likely strengthened his Spring, as, unlike his System, Springs are based on emotional experiences as well as physical.

Even with the boost of speed, Rein still felt he was too slow for his taste. He slowed down so that he was running side by side with Lance, then reached over to his shoulder, putting his hand on it.

"I'm sorry…" Rein uttered, whispering 'Versys' under his breath.

Lance looked away and didn't respond, Rein taking his hand off of his shoulder shortly after. The awkward interaction Rein had induced gave him the perfect chance to set Lance as a secondary contractor, giving him some of his speed stat so that they could hasten their arrival.

"How about we run faster?" Rein said as he sped up to a formidable speed, Lance struggling to keep up.

Suddenly, Lance felt the wind almost lift him off his feet as he began running faster, almost as if Elaine had used her Spring on him. He didn't question it and began running on par with Rein as they came upon a small, dark forest ahead.

Rein suddenly stopped and held his arm out, stopping Lance as well. Rein put a finger over his mouth, shushing quietly as the two began stealthily moving. Rein climbed up one of the trees and began jumping through them, Lance did the same afterward.

They could vaguely make out 3 moving lights in the distance, and as they approached, they could see 3 horse-drawn carriages, all in a single file line. They stayed close and used the night to cloak their presence. They listened in to the fat Siren man riding inside the middle carriage, accompanied by 2 women on either side of him.

"Hahaha! I never need to work another day in my life! With all of that cash I got, I can live the rest of my life lavishly in Treaq, surrounded by booze, drugs, and women!" The fat man laughed, the two women at each side of him laughing alongside him.

"Tch!" Lance groaned, readying himself to jump on the cart at a moment's notice.

Rein outstretched his arm in front of him, telling Lance to stop.

"Let's wait a little longer."

As they continued listening further, the fat man began divulging his plans for the future while creepily teasing the two women beside him. Lance began to block out half the things he heard, getting more frustrated by the second.

"That was the best deal I've ever made!" The fat man remarked, settling down.

This comment spiked Lance's attention as he began listening attentively.

"I got paid fat stacks of cash, and I got rid of that kid in the process. Ahh, what a good businessman I am. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could! And those idiots still in Aquifa don't even benefit from the brats Spring anymore, HAHAHA!" He raspily laughed.

Lance had enough of listening, getting ready to jump in. However, before he could, he noticed that Rein was gone from beside him, and when he looked back down, he saw him standing in front of the cart with his hair turned black as he made a hole in the ground, catching the carriage in it.

"What the hell was that?!" The fat man emerged from the toppled carriage, along with the 2 women.

Rein lifted a pillar underneath both women and allowed them to escape the hole, telling them to run away through the forest. Frightened, they both obliged and abandoned the man in the hole.

"WHAT THE HELL?! YOU SKANKS, GET BACK HERE!" The man screamed, attracting the attention of the other carts.

The one that was riding behind caught up to them, and the one in front turned around, 3 suited Siren bodyguards emerging from each of them. All 6 rushed into the large hole to protect him, ignoring Rein who was standing at the top.

"Who… Who are you?!" The fat man frantically panicked, looking at the night-haired man standing atop the ditch he was in.

Enraged, Lance jumped into the hole with hate-filled eyes and took out his shield, heavily breathing as he gazed menacingly at the man.

"There's 2?! G-guards! You swore your loyalty to me, protect me with your lives!" He commanded, to which the guards summoned their blades, infusing each of them with water.

"Hey Rein… Let me take them. I want to savor this…" Lance hissed, Rein allowing him to fight all of them by himself.

Rein assigned moderate recuperation to Lance for his secondary contractor skill, and as he did, the skill was greyed out, with the name [LANCE BOWMAN] written beside the skill.

Lance activated his Spring, shimmering his shield in now red light, much bigger than what it was before. As Lance activated it, Rein could feel his strength increasing from just being around it, and he could see the looks on the guard's faces, seeming as though they were weakened by an unknown source.

Rein was confused as to why it boosted his strength and lowered that of the guards, so he checked his System to see if Lance's Spring updated.

"Lance Bowman: Creates a shield of aura when infused with a protective item. Its strength and refinement depend on the energy consumption of the user. When active, boosts the strength of those the user considers as allies, while lowering it for those he considers enemies. Does nothing for those who are neutral."

Rein laughed, the inverse of his Spring becoming that much stronger.

Lance charged forward with his shield as the water Spring users sliced at it, bouncing their attacks back as if they were attacking a wall of bedrock. Lance parried all 6 of their attacks at once, sending them all flying backward into the dirt, the fat man running back to stay behind them.

They all stood up with scowls of anger on their faces, screaming in anger as they ran head-on towards Lance.

Suddenly, the edges of Lance's shield became sharpened as the guards stopped in their tracks.

"H-huh?!"

"He sharpened it?"

"Screw that! I don't give a shit, we have to defend the mayor!"

They all continued running in unison, screaming at the top of their lungs. Suddenly, Lance threw his shield out to the side, connecting it with a strand of aura, holding the other end in his hand. The strand of aura acted as a string as he swung the sharpened shield, coming in contact with each of them in collateral from the side, slicing each guard's head off at the same time.

The blood splashed on Lance's face, unphased, he wiped it off without batting an eye as he approached the mayor who was laying on the ground in terror. Lance gazed at him with a scornful glare, instilling an inexplicable fear into the mayor's heart.

"Please! Please spare me! I'll do anything! Money? Do you want money?! Take it, it's all in the carriage over there!" He begged for his life, pleading as he bowed his head down to Lance, Rein dropping down into the hole and walking past the dead bodies of the guards.

"You think we care about money? What a sad existence you must have," Lance slammed his shield into the ground in front of him, making him weep out of fear.

"Do you know what you've done? Not only did you sell out your son, but you also killed your wife and betrayed your city. Just how low can you get?" Rein spoke in disgust.

"Wha… What do you guys want! How do you know all that! Don't tell me you're working with that crazy woma—" Rein didn't allow him to finish his sentence, kicking him in the mouth to stop his speech, breaking several of his teeth in the process.

"Don't mention that bitch in front of me, you understand? Of course we're not with her. How about you start repenting for what you've done instead of barking around like a dog?" He took his shoe out of his mouth as the man persisted in his frightened state, beginning to apologize over and over again.

"I'm so sorry… How will I ever atone for what I've done…" The man cried, Lance and Rein not taking any pity on him.

Suddenly, they saw him make a swift hand gesture, sending a streak of water slicing down towards Lance, who easily blocked it with his shield.

"EEEK! I'm sorry!" He continued bowing down, having foolishly used his Spring to try and take them out while their guards were down.

"You… You're even dumber than I thought. You don't regret anything, do you? Those words are the most hollow things I've ever heard. You'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're a sick motherfucker, the lowest of the low. The world would be better off without you…" Lance sharpened his shield once again and wound it up, swinging it at the mayor.

The mayor closed his eyes and braced for impact, ready for his life to end. However, what he felt wasn't life-ending. No, far from it. He screeched in pain, his arm having come off in a bloody fury. As he looked at his severed arm, he barfed through his bloody, broken teeth.

"You really are a fucking idiot!" Lance laughed in pleasure. "Did you really think I'd let you escape that easily? Sorry, but you're getting a dose of your own medicine. I'm gonna pay you back for what you did to King… Maybe at some point, you'll regret your actions as all of your limbs are being cut off," Lance threatened as he continued to slowly cut each of the man's limbs off one by one, to the point that he was on death's door from blood loss.

"Spare me… Spare me…" The man had gone crazy, repeating words that made no sense.

"Too late for that now. There's no saving you. Maybe it's time you repent for what you did?"

"Repent… Ha… ha… I'm dead either way… I don't regret a single thing I did… You… You're the real monster…" The man struggled to speak, his words making Lance's agitation grow.

"A monster? It takes one to know one, though you're 100 times worse than me. I would end it in a more painful way, but this is all I've got now," Lance drew his shield back and aimed it for the final blow, Rein stopping him before he impacted.

"I've got this. I'll make his death slow and painful," Rein stood in front of Lance and took a deep breath, then focused his eyes on the man.

He snapped his fingers, causing the man's entire body to ignite in searing flames, screaming in pain as the crackling fire burnt each pore of his skin.

"PLEASE STOP! I'M SORRY! I REGRET IT! I'M SO SORRY KING!" The man pleaded, Rein scoffing at his meaningless struggles.

"This is what you deserve, you worthless pile of shit. Now you can rot in the depths of hell," he pumped up the intensity, the man letting out one more scream before he went silent, his lifeless body being released from the flames as it was set down to wearily wither away in the hole.

Lance dropped down on his knees and began crying, the adrenaline in his body wearing off as he calmed down.

"Hahaha… There's no going back now… I'm a murderer… A full-fledged murderer…" He laughed hysterically to himself, covering his eyes with his arm as he teetered on the verge of insanity.

Suddenly, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, taking his arm off of his eyes to see Rein's face directly ahead.

"You did well. That man knowingly sold out his son with the intention of killing him. Now tell me, is murdering a murder considered murder?" Rein asked Lance, who didn't know how to answer.

"Huh..?"

"The answer is no. It's justice. And it's a Ranger's duty to uphold justice. You did nothing wrong Lance."

"Rein…" Lance continued crying as he hugged the white-haired man consoling him, his hair having changed back after he finished the job.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry for blaming you… I'm so sorry… I was frustrated at my own weakness and I took it out on you… The truth of the matter is, if you weren't there, none of us would've been able to protect King. You're truly amazing," Lance wailed on Rein's shoulder, who rested there, feeling severely undeserving of his words.

"No… You're wrong. I failed, and this is just my excuse to lighten my mistake. I'm not as amazing as you think," he thought in his mind as he lent a shoulder to the broken man in front of him.