Chapter 35: How I Crashed the Casino (Final Dice)

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CREAK......

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MURMUR—

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The murmuring in the crowd came to an abrupt halt.

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"...H-Ha... IT'S THE TERRORIST!" screamed an Asian woman with black hair, pointing in terror straight at P.

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THE ENTIRE FLOOR ERUPTED INTO EVEN MORE PANIC..

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"Who y'all calling a terrorist?! I come in peace.... I COME—!" P yelled at the panicking crowd, but he froze mid-sentence.

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"Hm?" P noticed the dead guard lying in a pool of blood on the floor.

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TAK.

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TAK.

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CLENCH.

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A female hand clenched tightly around a heavy steel door handle.

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SLAM!

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The door swung open into the cool night air, illuminated by the massive, glowing casino sign mounted high atop the building.

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TAK. TAK. TAK....

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Hanabi stumbled out onto the rooftop, gasping for air. "Haa... haa..."

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SLAM!

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CLAMP!

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She slammed the heavy door shut and shoved the safety lever down, locking it tight.

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TAK.....

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TAK....

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Hanabi's eyes darted to her right, spotting a large commercial refrigerator sitting near the doorway.

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TAK. TAK. TAK.

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She sprinted to the side of the unit and threw her weight into it.

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PUSH.....

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PUSH.....

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"Hgnhn... haa.... haa..." Hanabi grunted, exhaling in relief as the massive appliance scraped into position, blocking the door.

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She scanned the flat rooftop for somewhere to hide, but the space was entirely open.

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She took a few steps back.

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TAK.

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TAK.

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WHAM!

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WHAM!

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Something began violently pounding against the door from the other side.

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WHAM!

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SKRRRRRRRRRRT!

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WHAM!

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SKRRRRRRRRRRT!

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The heavy refrigerator scraped backward across the roof concrete inch by inch.

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WHAM!

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SILENCE........

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WHAM—BOOOM!

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The heavy door was blown off its hinges! The refrigerator and the locking mechanism were sent flying across the gravel.

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CRNK. CRNK.

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STEP. STEP.

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CLICK—

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The distinct metallic click of a hammer cocking echoed from the dark abyss of the doorway.

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STEP. STEP.

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Arthur stepped out onto the roof, bathed in the glow of the neon casino sign.

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STEP.

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Arthur raised his right hand, pointing his pistol straight at Hanabi's chest.

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TAK.

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TAK.

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Hanabi backed away slowly, raising both hands into the air. "Arthur, what are you doing?"

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"You're coming with me!" Arthur demanded.

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"Why should I?" Hanabi stalled, keeping her hands up.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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"...You'll find out when you come with me... But you still killed a cousin of mine," Arthur said, his voice cold.

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TAK.....

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TAK..

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"Cousin...? What are you talking about?" Hanabi asked, genuinely confused.

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"You might not have known that he and I were related... but you still killed him," Arthur snarled.

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"I don't even know who you're talking about! I haven't killed anyone in my entire life and I never would!" Hanabi said honestly.

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"Tsk. It doesn't matter... You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

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TAK.

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TAK.

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TAK—

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SLIP—KIK!

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Hanabi's heel slipped over the edge.

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"Harh...!" She gasped, catching her balance as her eyes darted down to the pitch-black alleyway far below the casino's rear wall.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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"Don't do anything stupid! Now come over here!" Arthur ordered, raising the gun.

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Hanabi's eyes flicked over Arthur's shoulder.

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"I won't repeat myself. Obey my command!" Arthur barked.

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"Why should I?" Hanabi asked again.

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"How dare you question me... You are nothing but a WEAK HUMAN GIRL!" Arthur screamed.

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What is his problem...? Hanabi thought.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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"NOW DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"

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"Oh—" Her eyes widened slightly as she caught a flicker of movement behind him. "O-Okay..." she said, her tone suddenly shifting.

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STEP.

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Arthur noticed her eyes shift and immediately began to pivot around.

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But before he could turn his head—

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A MASSIVE WHITE BLUR FILLED HIS ENTIRE FIELD OF VISION.

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WHOOSH!

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WHACK!

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Arthur was struck dead-on by the flying refrigerator, sending him airborne!

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THUMBLE!

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THUMBLE!

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CRRNK—CRRNK!

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Both Arthur and the ruined refrigerator bounced across the roof toward Hanabi, who dove out of the way just as Arthur went tumbling over the edge!

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WHOOSH..

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CRASH..!

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TMP.

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"That was close..." P said, standing near the shattered doorway where he had just hurled the appliance.

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P walked over to her.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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Haa... thank God. I was so lucky... If it wasn't for him... I knew I'd cross paths with him again someday, Hanabi thought to herself.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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"Are you alright?" P asked, stopping at the edge to glance down into the darkness.

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"...Yeah. You?" Hanabi asked.

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P turned to look at Hanabi, then paused as if noticing something strange.

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TMP.

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TMP.

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He shifted his stance, turning toward her left side.

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SHFFF.

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P crossed both arms, tilting his head slightly as he looked down at her with a puzzled frown.

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P WAS DEEP IN THOUGHT....

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"Hmm...?" P hummed under his breath.

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What... happened? Hanabi thought, growing nervous. Did I say something wrong? Why is he looking at me like that?

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She couldn't bring herself to meet the piercing, golden eyes inspecting her.

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...Why is her face giving me a headache? Why am I feeling so odd around her...? P thought, his brow furrowing. IS IT A RESEMBLANCE... OR FAMILIARITY...?

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"Sure..." P replied offhandedly to her earlier question.

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Hmph—How disturbing... P thought.

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He looked up at the night sky, completely ignoring Hanabi and the rest of the world for a brief moment.

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Haa.... I shouldn't scramble my brain over little things.... I don't have much space left in my head, P sighed internally.

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This is kinda awkward— Hanabi thought, but her train of thought was violently shattered.

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TMP. TMP. TMP.

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"EYAAAAAAAH...!" a strained voice roared from below.

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"Behind you...!" Hanabi screamed, grabbing P's right arm and pointing frantically.

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P snapped back to reality, looking down at Hanabi.

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"Ehn—?" P blinked, dumbfounded.

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TMP.

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SHFFF.

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"GRGNAAA...!" Arthur roared, bursting back up over the ledge and tackling P straight off the building!

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PUSH!

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WHOOSH..!

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"P...!" Hanabi screamed.

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The wind howled as P and Arthur plunged into the abyss.

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WHOOO.........

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"Heh—" P muttered, watching Hanabi's shrinking silhouette at the roof's edge as gravity pulled him down.

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WHOOSH!

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Arthur hovered directly over him.

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WHOOO............

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"GNAAA!" Arthur bellowed, wrapping his left hand around P's throat.

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"YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING...!" Arthur screamed, raining punches down on P's face as they fell.

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WHACK! WHACK!

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"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU...!"

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WHACK! WHACK!

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WHACK!

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WHACK!

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BLOCK!

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P threw up his left arm, blocking Arthur's incoming right hook, then drove his own right fist straight into Arthur's face, forcing him upward in mid-air.

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WHACK!

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"Guh!" Arthur grunted.

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GRAB!

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WHOOSH!

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P snatched Arthur's right wrist, flipping him underneath him in freefall before unleashing a barrage of his own!

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WHACK! WHACK!

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WHACK! WHACK!

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WHACK! WHAC—

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Arthur reached out and locked his fingers around P's throat again, choking him mid-fall as P continued to strike.

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"Gurk—" P choked out.

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They tumbled and flipped over each other through the air.

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WHOOSH!

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Arthur rolled back on top, maintaining his chokehold as P stopped punching and slid both hands under Arthur's arms.

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WHOOSH...

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P broke Arthur's grip with a sudden upward strike, then drove a heavy stomp straight into Arthur's gut!

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WHIISSSH...

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KUFF!

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STOMP!

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"GArggh!" Arthur shrieked in agony as the force of the stomp hurled him sideways out of frame.

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WHOOOOO......

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Falling alone, P flipped himself around to face the ground.

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Directly beneath him in the shadows of the night sky sat a small metal canopy anchored to the brick wall of the building.

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Below that canopy lined four operational casino slot machines, jammed tight against the exposed brick of the high-rise.

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The narrow metal canopy housed three amber-yellow bulbs illuminating the alley.

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BZZT...

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........

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WHOO...

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CRASH!

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P crashed straight through the center of the overhead canopy, slamming spine-first into the tops of the two middle slot machines!

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SPAAARK!

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BZZZT..!

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PSSHT...!

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The slot machines erupted in a shower of sparks and visual glitches. For a split second, P rested there, forearms raised to shield his face.

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In a single fluid motion, he planted his palms on the ruined metal casings and backflipped off the wreckage.

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TMP.

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TMP.

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Landing firmly on his feet, P dropped into a low, aggressive stance.

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A fresh cut bled across his left cheekbone alongside dark bruises, but his golden eyes were locked in with absolute lethality.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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STEP.

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Arthur—his long blonde hair wild and unkempt—stepped out from the alley shadows into the amber glow beneath the broken canopy.

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A loose wire dangling from the cracked light fixture glitched directly above his head.

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TMP.

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TMP.

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"You ain't bad..." P muttered, shifting his weight.

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"Then come at me... monkey..." Arthur hissed.

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STEP.

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"You damn RACIST..." P growled, taking a slow, deliberate step forward.

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STEP.

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"Insolent monkey..." Arthur spat.

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TMP. TMP. TMP.

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Both exploded forward, closing the distance in an instant!

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WHOOSH!

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Arthur lunged ahead, driving a lethal left hook toward P's jaw.

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WEAVE.

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P weaved to his right, catching Arthur's wrist as the fist whizzed past his cheek.

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Capitalizing on the momentum, P yanked the arm forward and drove a brutal left knee toward Arthur's ribs. But Arthur checked the strike—

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TP—

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Arthur slammed his right palm into P's chest, shoving him back just as both of their boots hit the pavement.

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THUD!

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STEP. STEP.

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TMP.

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Both fighters reset at opposite ends of the alley.

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"Huff..." P stood focused.

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Arthur touched his bruised ribs, then charged again in a blind rage.

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"YAAAH....!"

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As Arthur closed the gap, he rammed his arm into the third broken slot machine, ripping out a long, heavy length of exposed, sparking electrical wire.

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With his left hand raised, teeth bared, and face distorted by pure fury...

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Arthur swung the live wire directly at P, who was already dipping into a duck to weave left.

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WEAVE......

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"YAAAAAHH.....!" Arthur screamed at the top of his lungs.

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Everything slammed to a complete, dead stop at the sound of a beep.

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BEEP.

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P was frozen mid-dodge.

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Arthur's mouth was wide open in rage, contorted into a grotesque grimace.

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[P'S INTERNAL MONOLOGUE]

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URGH—NOT HIS FACE AGAIN.... HARGH.......

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WELL, THERE YOU HAVE IT. THAT WAS HOW THINGS GOT TO THIS POINT IN THE FIRST PLACE...

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AND I SWEAR IT ALL WASN'T MY FAULT!

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IT'S JUST THAT WE WERE BOTH BOUND TO HAPPEN.

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LET'S END THIS, SHALL WE?

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BEEP.

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THE SCENE RESUMED INSTANTLY!

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"AAAAAAAH!" Arthur roared.

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Arthur spun around, swinging the electric wire whip like a sonic wave toward P's head!

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WEAVE.

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With both feet planted, P bent backward, falling toward the ground to clear the arc of the whip.

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His right hand hovered inches from the pavement while his left arm guarded his chest.

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WHI......ISH!

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P's eyes tracked the live wire as it hummed inches above his nose.

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In a fluid motion, P tapped the ground with his right palm.

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TAP.

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WHOOSH..

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P flipped into an aerial roll, launching himself under the returning whip directly toward Arthur!

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WHACK!

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P delivered a spinning left kick straight into Arthur's gut, bending him forward.

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P stayed in motion.

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Using the momentum of the kick while still airborne, P planted his foot against Arthur's abdomen, spinning into a vicious right back-kick that pinned Arthur in place—followed immediately by a left rising kick directly under Arthur's chin!

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Arthur's head snapped backward as a trail of blood sprayed into the air.

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WHOOSH......

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From P's airborne point of view, Arthur's grip on the electric whip loosened as it fell in slow motion. P readied his final strike.

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UGH...! Arthur thought through the pain, his eyes rolled back.

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WHIIIISH!

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As P spun down, he brought his left heel down like a meteor onto the back of Arthur's head!

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WHACK.....

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WHAM!

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P drove Arthur's face directly into the brick pavement!

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SHFF.

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TMP. TMP.

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P disengaged, taking two steps back to look down.

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The ground beneath Arthur's face was spider-webbed with deep cracks.

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DRI........P.

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Blood pooled through the fractures in the concrete.

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RUMBLE...

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KRRRK—CRA....CK.

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Arthur painfully lifted his head from the crater, coughing violently.

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"U-UGH... GWUGH.. HAH!" Arthur wheezed, spitting blood onto the ground.

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P looked down, his expression calm and composed.

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"You look somewhat durable..... You're still alive," P noted calmly.

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"Hmm...." P narrowed his eyes in thought.

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"Haa... haa...." Arthur gasped for air.

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Haa.. Urgh—How could I have... lost... to this monkey...? He took me down... Arthur struggled on the pavement.

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His vision was blurred with blood. He couldn't see P clearly, only hearing his voice faintly through the ringing in his ears.

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"Now, you will answer my questions," P said. "Before our scuffle began, my first question concerned your affairs with that woman... Hanabi."

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"But we'll—" P started.

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"This is all bullshit! Do you think... I would tell you anything just because I lost?! That's impossible! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS! I—HUWURGH... UGH... BLERGH...!" Arthur coughed, vomiting blood onto the ground in bitter pain.

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"HUFF.. HUFF.. HARGH!" Arthur panted.

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P stared down at him with an unbothered, nonchalant gaze.

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"We will leave the girl's matter for last... For now, let's focus on my current questions," P said, crossing his arms.

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"Didn't you hear me?! I—" Arthur spat, but P cut him off instantly.

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"Shut up. I wasn't done talking. It seems you don't understand your position here," P said coldly.

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"I am the victor, which gives me every right to ask you—the loser—questions that you must answer. I also hold the right to kill you here and now, or let you live."

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"Shut—" Arthur coughed.

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"KEEP QUIET!" P commanded, his voice ringing with authority.

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"You might be a superior being, but it is right for the weak to submit to the strong, and the defeated to the victor," P stated. "Your life is in my hands."

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P paused, looking up briefly. "Now, where were we...? Ah, right. When we had our first exchange, we seemed evenly matched."

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"But the moment I pushed you to the edge, everything about you changed. You moved remarkably fast, your strength spiked, and that red energy around you flared up," P analyzed.

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"It was intriguing, but I was deeply offended by it. How annoying that you go around calling yourself an Elohim, yet here you are groveling on the ground," P said plainly. "Shame is indeed your portion."

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"Keuk—You bastard monkey... I'll kill you... Gark!" Arthur spat.

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"Right. Now my question is... Hmmm... How should I put it?" P wiped his chin with his left hand, gazing blankly into thought while keeping his arms crossed.

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"Ah, yes—" P dropped his hand back to his chest. "Tell me about this power you have. Where did you get it, and how?"

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"IT LOOKS FAMILIAR... BUT IT'S DISTURBING," P added.

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His face darkened into an expression of deep annoyance and disgust.

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"I HATE IT." said P with dangerous dark gold eyes.

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"So tell me about the power you possess... every detail. And lastly..." P paused. "Why is the cult you work for going after that woman? Why do you need her captive?"

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"Haha..." Arthur giggled weakly.

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"Hm?"

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"HAHAHAHAHAA...! Are you stupid?! Do you think I'll just gladly give you answers?! How dare a monkey like you question me...!" Arthur screamed through gritted teeth.

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"No matter how much you curse me, torture me, slice me to pieces, or threaten to kill me... I WON'T TELL YOU SHIT!" Arthur roared in pain, clenching his right fist tight as he lay broken on the ground.

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P looked down calmly at the groveling blonde man.

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"I know..." P said softly, uncrossing his arms and taking a slow, measured step forward.

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SHFFFF.

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TMP.

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TMP.

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TMP.

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Arthur raised his head, staring up at P's blurry silhouette through the blood in his eyes.

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WHOOOSH....

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"I don't intend to kill you because I need you for further interrogation," P said smoothly. "But I do have other means to make you talk."

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"And I will only need ONE," P added.

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"You're deaf..." Arthur squirmed, a weak, mocking smile touching his lips—until he glimpsed P's face.

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P's eyes locked directly onto Arthur's.

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An eerie, absolute silence fell over the alleyway.

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WHOOOO.....

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The wind blew softly through the night.

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"OPEN YOUR EYES..." P commanded. 161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D4cdbiKuo

88.181.249.5

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