Chapter 15: Mutiny

Claire

As I stayed in the room with Miguel, I was reading the book that Miguel bought from the shop two days ago: Magical Laws and Theories for Dummies. He forgot to store it in his inventory, so I took it to kill some time while I watched him sleep.

It was an interesting read. I’ve learned so much from reading the book even though I wasn’t a full fledge mage like Miguel. I learned that [Charm] is an illusion spell and [Berserker’s Howl] and [Wail of Agony] are a combination of Illusion and Alteration school.

There were some fun facts from the book about magic and its history. One of the fun facts was the one that Melissa mentioned yesterday. According to Miguel, clothes made from organic materials were recommended for a better flow of mana. Does that mean I have to wear silk too? Though I prefer wearing armor, I think it would increase my magic’s potential. I’ll ask Miguel about this when he wakes up.

More fun facts: the elves were born with natural sensitivity to mana and dwarves have their own school of magic: Metal manipulation. It’s obvious that the history wasn’t from Earth, but it’s from the other world that was merged into this world. Fun fact: Dragons are masters of the arcane. I hoped that we won’t encounter one in the future.

I looked outside the window and noticed that the sun was already setting.

“That’s… my… burger…”

I stored the book to my inventory as I heard Miguel talked. I know that I should return it to him, but I’ll just borrow it for a while. Of course, with an intention of returning it.

“Don’t… eat… my… fries…”

I couldn’t help but giggle as Miguel sleep talked about food. No wonder why he’s so fat. At least this apocalypse will force him to exercise and with a shortage of food, he’d eat as little as possible. That’ll get rid of his disgusting belly and his jiggly boobs.

“Dil… do…” Miguel mumbled.

I didn’t hear what he said so I put my ear nearer in order to hear it better. I covered my mouth to suppress my laughter.

“Stay… away… from… my… fries…”

“Pfftt…..” I let out a snicker.

“Dildo… Stay away… No…. Dildo…” Miguel said as he turned his head left and right.

“…”

My eye twitched and a vein popped in my temple. This man was mocking me even in his sleep.

“Dildo… No…”

My blood was boiling in rage as my fist clenched into a ball. I don’t care if he’s sleeping. He’s gonna get a good beating for reminding me of that incident. When my fist was about to drill a hole in Miguel’s face, there was a knock on the door.

“May I come in?” A voice asked.

It sounded like Dianne. Why does she need to ask permission to come in?

“Yeah, come in…” I answered.

The door opened and I saw Dianne’s face blushing. Her knees were shaking as she tried to avoid my gaze.

“I-I’m sorry if I d-disturb you…” Dianne was stammering as she spoke.

What was it? Why was she blushing? As I tried to think of a reason, I turned my head down to Miguel and realized that I was sitting on top of him. She must’ve thought that I was about to ride him to kingdom come. Shit…

“It’s not what you think…”I quickly get off of him and stood up.

“Y-yeah…” Dianne laughed wryly as she scratched her head.

I’ve always thought Dianne liked Miguel but she never made her move. In Miguel’s memories, he was forced to confess his feelings to her after an incident with a bitch classmate, but Dianne rejected him and tried to avoid him.

Miguel continued to love and pursue Dianne after that. It was obvious that Dianne shared the same feelings for him, but for some reason, she kept avoiding him. Later on, she even told Miguel that she liked Eric so that he’d back off but it was a lie.

It broke his heart and made him depressed. It infuriates me every time I think about it. I couldn’t think of a single reason for Dianne’s imbecile move. There was one memory that involves Dianne but it was vague. It made Miguel apathetic of Dianne. Whatever it was, it must be very painful for Miguel because after that memory, he changed.

“Uhmmm…They’re about to cremate Rhian and the others… Do you want to go?” Dianne asked.

Ah, that’s right. There were three of them who died this morning. Though I didn’t have an emotional attachment to them, I have to pay my respects to the dead.

“Sure, but what about him?” I pointed at Miguel.

“We’ll just be in a bit...” Dianne said.

Dianne and I went outside and carefully closed the door. As I followed Dianne downstairs, I was wondering if she still feels the same for Miguel. Back in the restaurant, she let Miguel sleep on her lap and I saw her stroke Miguel’s hair as he slept.

I think Miguel has suffered enough. He gave her a lot of chances in the past and she wasted all of it. Perhaps Dianne wasn’t hurting him intentionally, but she’s definitely not the person he deserved.

When we reached downstairs, we joined the others who have gathered outside. The three corpses of our party members were covered with white cloths and it smelled of gasoline. Jacob stepped forward and said words about Rhian, Samuel and Paul.

Jacob broke down in tears as he told us that the five of them, including Robert, were friends and all of them were Political Science students. He and Rhian planned to marry each other after graduation and this year was their last year in college.

After the eulogy, Robert summoned a flame in his hand and threw the flame towards the corpses. The others were crying as they watched the bodies slowly turn into ashes.

“Where’s Miguel? Why is he not here!?” Robert asked angrily.

“Stop it, Robert… You know that Miguel should be resting. He can’t be here with us with his condition…” Gerry said as he tapped on Robert’s shoulder.

“Oh, really?” He shrugged. “Resting, eh? So while he’s lazing around, we’re dying here! If he’s our leader, why is he not here with us? They wouldn’t have died if he was here!”

“Oh, so it’s Miguel’s fault now?” I stepped forward and brought my face closer to the ungrateful cunt. “If it wasn’t for him, you won’t even be here. I doubt you’ll survive out here without him...”

“Robert’s right… Miguel didn’t do anything since we left the university.” Said one of them.

“He’s bragging about his magic, but he didn’t even help us when we needed him.”

“He didn’t even participate in the fight against the zombies!”

“Fuck you! He’s the one who decided to let you come with us. If we only knew you’d be ungrateful, we’d leave you to rot in that fucking building!” Eric said as he lost his temper.

“The white light Miguel made last night attracted the monsters! It’s his fault that they died!”

“Yeah!” The crowd said in unison.

“What?! Are you serious? You’re blaming him for saving Claire?” Melissa retorted.

“I doubt he’d do the same thing for us... He even tried to attack you for no reason, Sir Gerry!”

“Look guys, I’m gonna side with Miguel on this one. I understood why he did it so I forgave him. It’s not fair that he’s taking the blame.” Gerry said.

“You backstabber! You’re just afraid of him... I bet he can’t do anything. He’s fucking useless.” Jacob said.

“That’s not fair! You should at least show a little gratitude.” Dianne finally spoke up.

Jacob raised his middle finger in front of Dianne’s face. “Here’s your gratitude!”

Since the monsters that killed Rhian and the others were already dead, they have no one to blame so they put all the blame to Miguel. Now I understood why Miguel hesitated to help these people. What he said was true, help or don’t help. We even gave them our weapons for trade. I was starting to regret my decision to help these cunts.

The others spoke up and most of them agreed that it was Miguel’s fault. Even the two who were healed by Miguel sided with those bastards. While George was silent, Gerry and three others were on our side defending Miguel. Eric, Dianne, Melissa and I were also defending him.

A few minutes later, the arguing started to get violent when Jacob punched Dianne in the face. Robert and two others also joined Jacob and mobbed Dianne on the ground. As I watched Dianne get beaten, Eric, Melissa and I tried to save her, but we were stopped by the others.

“NO!” I shouted at Jacob as I tried to push my way through the crowd.

I punched the one who was blocking me and I was able to knock him out with one punch.

-31 HP!

Target is Knocked Out!

The others held my arms to restrain me. Even though I was strong enough to lift Miguel, I was effectively pinned down as I received a flurry of fist from the angry mob.

I looked around and saw Eric and Melissa being mobbed. Eric, being the strongest, was able to defend himself with his fist. Gerry, George and a few others on our side tried to stop them, but they were too few to do anything. Damn it! I couldn’t get my sword from my inventory. My armor set was also in my inventory.

“I said, STOP IT!!!!”

-61 HP!

Target is Stunned!

I had no choice but to use my skill [Wail of Agony]. Those who were attacking me screamed in pain as they covered their ears. I rose up from the ground and wiped the blood from my mouth. It’s a good thing that I followed Miguel’s advice to focus on vitality. I don’t think I’ll be able to take that beating without it.

The others quickly recovered and didn’t give me a chance to recover as they tried to attack me. George and those who were on our side moved back as I cast another [Wail of Agony].

-54 HP!

As the sound wave passed through their ears, they flinched and fell on their knees. Jacob, on the other hand, seemed to be unaffected and took his spear out of the thin air. He raised the spear above Dianne to finish her off. I quickly pulled out my sword from my inventory and rushed towards him.

“NO!!! DIANNE!!!” Eric tried his best to rush to her aid too, but the others restrained him before he could charge.

I realized that I was too far from Dianne and I couldn’t make it in time. When Jacob was about to plunge his spear, the ground shook and a wall made of rocks rose up from the ground and covered Dianne like a turtle shell. The spear’s tip was shattered as it hit the dome protecting Dianne.

Robert, on the other hand, summoned a flame in his hand, but before he could throw the flame towards me, the flames roared uncontrollably and engulfed him. All of us, including Jacob, stopped as we saw Robert. We fell silent except for Robert who was screaming in agony. After just a few seconds, Robert was nothing but bones and ashes on the ground.

I turned my head towards Jacob and he was shaking in fear as he looked at me. I realized that he was actually looking at someone on my back.

“So… What do we have here?” As we heard a familiar deep voice, all of us looked back to the building.

“I just slept for a while and now you’re trying to kill each other.” It was Miguel. He clicked his tongue as he slowly approached us.

Eric dashed towards Dianne and lifted her in his arms. He brought her towards Miguel in order to heal her. Miguel’s hand glowed with a green light as he used [Heal]. Dianne gained her consciousness and stood up.

After he healed Dianne, he stood up and faced us. “What was it again? I forgot the word for it... Hey, Claire…”

The vibe he’s giving off was terrifying. It was as if smog of fear trying to choke us to death. I gulped. My throat felt dry as his piercing eyes gazed at us.

“Y-yes?”

“What’s the other word for rebellion?” He asked me.

“M-mutiny?” I answered.

“Ah, yes. Mutiny... Such an awful word.” He shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“Not… Cool... Not cool at all... So who started it?”

Our heads turned towards Jacob since Robert was already dead. Miguel flashed a vicious grin as his eyes looked at Jacob.

Jacob knelt before him and begged. “P-please don’t kill me...”

Miguel smirked. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill you unless you try something stupid. So tell me, why were you trying to kill her?”

“...”

Jacob couldn’t answer him. He was too afraid to answer. His pants and the ground were wet because he pissed on it. Miguel looked down on him as if he’s killing him with his stare.

“I get it...” Miguel said. “You lost your girl and you were furious about it... Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“...”

“Come on, let’s talk about it…” Miguel rubbed Jacob’s back as if trying to comfort him. His face was full of snot and tears as he cried.

Miguel shook his head as he let out a deep sigh and turned towards us. “If you have something to say to me, say it right now in front of me. Whatever it is and no matter how bad it is, I won’t hurt you and that’s a promise. I just want to know what your problems are.”

No one dared to say a word. I was afraid of him too.

“As I said before, I cannot guarantee your safety as we couldn’t even guarantee ours. We almost lost Claire last night, but I barely made it in time to save her. I needed some time to recover because of it. If any of you were in the same situation, I’d also make the same effort to save your lives.” He said.

“I’m so sorry for your loss and I can only offer my condolences and my deepest sympathy… And if you’re not happy with my leadership, you are very welcome to leave but I suggest that you leave the next morning. It’s dangerous to travel at night.”

Miguel went back to the building. He stopped when he noticed that we weren’t following him. He turned around and rolled his eyes.

“Get in... We should barricade the entrance and for those who want to leave the group, you can leave tomorrow. You don’t want any monsters shooting arrows at you in the dark.”

We followed Miguel inside the building while Eric and the others barricaded the entrance. Jacob was still outside and shaking in fear as he stared at the Robert’s pile of bones.

“Hey, Indian Boy. Get in…”

As soon as Jacob heard Miguel calls him, he got up and ran away from the building.

“Hey… Wait!”

He ran across the street and disappeared in the darkness. Miguel sighed and shook his head.

“Dumbass…” He muttered.

Miguel

I woke up alone in my room when I heard there was a ruckus outside. I looked outside the window and realized that it was already night.

My head still hurts a little, but unlike earlier, I can stand up unassisted. I didn’t feel groggy anymore, so I opened my Character Screen to see my status.

Name:Miguel ArevaloRace:HumanLevel:16HP:526/526MP:886/886SP:120/120EXP:71.57%STR:19WIS:48AGI:12INT:60VIT:42LUK:13DEX:12CHA:21Satiety:HungryStatusMild Mental Strain: -10% MPUndistributed Attribute Points:0Title(s):Masochist: +10% Pain Tolerance and HPPerk(s):Leadership: +10 Charisma and increased follower loyaltyTactician: Tactics and Strategies have higher chance of successMana Affinity: Increase in Mana Control and +10% MP

It seemed that sleeping all day helped me recovered. I should go out and figure out what’s happening outside.

As I went downstairs, I heard that they were fighting. They weren’t fighting monsters, but they were fighting among themselves. I heard one of them said that I was weak and useless, and that I didn’t use my magic to kill the zombies. They were blaming me for the deaths of Tracker and the other two who died with her.

I was still inside the store and I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation. I peeked to see the development and to see who’s loyal. Unfortunately, most of them thought that I was blame with everything.

The original members were there to defend me and a few others, such as Mango Girl, Repairman and George. I was surprised when Professor Gerry stood up for me and tried to reason with them. I guess I was wrong to judge him.

It’s only natural for a leader to be blamed for every screw up of their followers. There was a saying: “The buck stops here.” It’s unfair and ridiculous. The deaths of those three were beyond my control and if I can do something about it, I’d do everything in my power to save them.

Not that I wanted to but because I assumed this position and I have to take responsibility for it. I may be a grumpy asshole, but I always keep my word. That’s why I told them that I cannot give them assurance that we’ll all make it out alive to Camp Aguinaldo.

After a few minutes, the verbal fight became violent as they started to punch each other. My friends tried to fight back, but the others were too many and they swarmed them with fists. The others who took my side tried to break off the fight, but it was useless.

I stood in front of the door in order to be noticed, but the crowd was too busy fighting. I tried to shout at them to call their attention. They ignored me and continued to fight. I was starting to get pissed off.

“I said, STOP IT!!!”

Claire shouted and a sound wave came in front of her. The ones who were standing in front of her screamed as their ears bleed. I think that’s her skill [Wail of Agony]. Although the sound was loud, only those who were in front of her were affected. She stood up and rushed towards the crowd with her fist.

The others tried to stop her, but she shouted once again. She pulled out a sword out of the thin air. I didn’t know what Claire was planning, but I knew that I had to stop it right now.

“NO!!! DIANNE!!!” Eric shouted as the others tried to restrain him.

I tried to look for Dianne in the direction where Eric was shouting. I noticed that Indian Boy was holding his spear up in the air and Dianne was on the ground and unconscious. I didn’t know how it came to be this violent but I knew that I had to stop him.

I instantly cast [Earth Wall] from the ground. I shaped the earth wall like a dome to cover and protect Dianne. It successfully deflected the attack.

Meanwhile, I saw Robert summoned a flame in his hand. He intended to incinerate Claire with it. As much as I wanted to avoid killing another person, I was forced to make a choice.

I manipulated the flame in his hand and cast [Chain Hellfire]. The flame did its work on his flesh as he screamed in pain. All of them were shocked as they saw him burn. Although I was bothered by what I’ve done, I tried my best to look tough so I can avoid this from happening ever again.

Eric carried Dianne to me. After I used [Heal] on her, I approached Indian Boy and tried to intimidate him. He knelt down and begged for his life. I looked at the others and they seemed to be scared of me.

I tried to reason with Indian Boy and asked him why he tried to kill Dianne. He pissed his own pants and sobbed. I guess my intimidation worked too well.

When I was in high school, I fought those who tried to pick on me. Even though I won the fight, I was suspended for a week and it affected my studies. I already expected for that to happen, but I didn’t expect that my classmates would become too afraid of me.

Since I sent those bullies to a hospital with broken noses, my reputation as the top student in the class was severely damaged. It was expected by everyone that I would graduate as the class valedictorian. In the end, I graduated as the salutatorian because of my bad conduct record.

Did I feel regret? Of course not. I fought because I believed what I did was right. I didn’t care about what the others think about me.

I found myself stuck with the same situation. However, I had to kill a human to save another. I felt terrible about it and the judgmental eyes around me made me cringe. Perhaps it’s a good thing to show them that they should fear and respect me. They thought I was a weak-willed leader and the fact that I didn’t show off my abilities made them think that I was weak. I made a mental note to myself that next time I’d constantly remind them of my capabilities.

I tried my best to explain to them that even though I’m not to be fucked with, I still care for those who were loyal. They’re welcome to leave if they didn’t want me to lead them. Of course, I wouldn’t want them to leave immediately because it’s dangerous to travel at night.

Although what I did was necessary, I never liked killing a person so I spared Indian Boy’s life to avoid unnecessary violence. I went back inside the building, but I noticed that they weren’t following me. They were too scared of me. I reminded them that there were more things to be afraid of than me, and then, they followed.

I tried to convince Indian Boy to stay with us even for just this night. I didn’t want to leave him and let him die outside. Unfortunately, he ran away. I felt even more terrible. The guy just lost his loved one. Even though I tried to convince myself that I was in the right, I felt sick and I wanted to puke.

While Eric and the others rebuilt the barricade, all of them, even Claire, looked at me like I was a monster. I saw Dianne staring at me and she smiled. She didn’t say anything but her smile was a sign of her gratitude. At least, one of them appreciated what I did.

After they finished the barricade, I told them to rest and decide if they wanted to leave or stay with us. I wasn’t just talking to those who came with us from the university; I also asked Eric, Melissa, Claire and Dianne to decide if they still wanted to stay with me after what happened. It’s time to test their loyalty.

The others went upstairs to rest as I decided to take the watch for the night. They deserved to rest and I’d use meditate all night to completely recover from Mental Strain. I had a bad feeling since no one volunteered to take the watch with me.

I shrugged off the feeling and activate [Meditate].

The next morning, I was jolted awake as I heard them packed up and preparing to leave. I realized that I fell asleep on my watch. Most of them, including George and Sir Gerry, decided to leave the group. I watched each and every one of them leave the party.

The only ones who were left were Eric, Claire, Melissa and Dianne. I smiled. I have to give it to them. I thought for a second that they would leave me too, but I guess they’re loyal.

“Miguel…” Eric called me.

“I wanted to thank…”

He raised his hand before I could say thanks.

“I’m so sorry, Miguel…” He said. “I hope you understand…”

“What?”

Eric Reyes left Boston Tea Party

Melissa Panis left Boston Tea Party

Dianne Duria left Boston Tea Party

I was speechless when they all left the party. I just couldn’t believe what happened.

“But why?” I asked them.

“I’m sorry…” Claire said to me.

Claire Roque left Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party was disbanded.

I felt like my whole world fell apart in a blink of an eye. I felt heartbroken when Claire decided to leave me. I tried my best not to cry but a tear fell from my eyes.

I kept my head up high as they left the building. I could hear them create a party by their selves. I saw Claire looked back and she looked at me full of regrets. She ran into Eric and kissed him on his lips.

I closed my eyes and wished that it was all just a dream. After almost an hour, there was only silence. The footsteps were gone and the only sound I hear was the sound of my heart beat.

I opened my eyes and realized that it was all real. They truly left me behind. I felt betrayed and anger swell up inside me. It was sickening. I was betrayed by everyone; my best friend, my childhood friend and even waitress who I thought I befriended betrayed me.

I cried when the one I loved betrayed me even after I risked my life saving her.

I tried to ask myself why. Why did they leave me? Is it because I killed a person? Did they think I’ve gone mad? I did everything to save them, didn’t I? Why is it every person in this world were against me?

I couldn’t stop crying. I wailed as loud as I could. I wanted to kill myself. I wanted to kill them. I wanted to kill every person in this world.

*Whisper*

I heard the whispers again. I tried to cover my ears in my despair, but the voices grew louder as if they’re speaking in my head. Their gibberish whispers became clearer and clearer.

“They betrayed you!”

“Traitors!! Never forgive their treachery!!”

“Hunt them down!”

“They will never escape!!!”

“Make them suffer!”

“They will wish they were never born!”

“Kill them!”

“Take their souls!”

“They will be damned for all eternity!”

“THIS ISN’T REAL!” I shook my head in denial. It played again and again in my mind. Their voices were maddening.

“They don’t deserve mercy!”

“THIS ISN’T REAL!”

“Make them pay!!!”

“THIS IS NOT REAL!!!!”

“KILL THEM ALL!!!!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Suddenly, the mana inside my body exploded and the shockwaves shattered the reality like a glass.

When the pieces fell off, I was transported to the void.

I closed my eyes to calm myself down and tried to focus on the fact that this wasn’t real. It was all a bad dream. It was just a bad dream…

I woke up again and this time, I looked around and realized that I was on the second floor. I was alone…

I opened the party screen and there were only ten of us left: Eric, Melissa, Claire, Dianne, George and his son Ethan, Gerry, Mango Girl, Repairman and me.

I stood up and looked outside through the window. As I watched the others leave the building, I accepted the fact that they’re going to leave me behind.

I grabbed my staff and dusted off my robes to see them off and wished them good luck.

I went downstairs and found out that there was no one there.

I heard laughter upstairs. My heart jumped in joy as I learned that they never left me.

I rushed towards the second floor and back to the room where I heard the laughter.

“Dildo! Dildo! Ughuhuhuh!”

“Hahahahaha!!!”

“Fuck you!”

“What is dildo?”

“Oh come on, Dianne. You can’t be that innocent!”

“Seriously, what is it?”

“W-WHAT?!!”

I placed my forehead on the door. Even though I knew God would never answer my prayer, I still prayed.

“Please God… Please….” I whispered.

I slowly opened the door and found them having their breakfast on the round table.

“Oh, you’re awake! Good timing! Come on, sit down…” Melissa said.

I sighed in relief.

“Here, I saved you a seat…” Claire took a chair and placed it beside her.

“Aiiiiieeehhhh!!!!” Melissa and Eric teased.

“Oh, shut up!” Claire raised her middle finger to them.

“Hahahahahaha!!!”

I sat down in a chair beside Claire and smiled.

“So, um… You really want to stay with me?” I asked.

“Well, duh? We’ll never make it without you…” Claire responded.

“Those assholes can go to hell…” Eric said.

“Thank you, guys …” I said to them.

They nodded and laughed.

As we ate our breakfast together, I realized that I really cared about these clowns. I didn’t know what I would do if they leave me.

“We’ll see each other again…”

I heard a familiar whisper in my ears. I ignored it and cherished the rest of the day with my friends.

Author's Note: Whew! Sorry for the long delay... I'll try to post Claire's stats and skills next time. I'm still trying to create her own Character Sheet... Thanks for reading!!!