Two people occupied the room.

One of them, the "toy", a naked young girl whose hands and feet were tied up on-- No. It would be more appropriate to say that her limbs were dangling by the ropes, right in front of her. It would already be a miracle for her to still be alive. The girl herself laid on a cold metallic table, all bloodied-up, powerless, limbless and not moving just like a frog waiting to be dissected even further. In other words, she cannot move even if she wanted to.

The other person, the Boss, looked like a plump middle-aged man who showed signs of being wealthy enough to be enjoying lots of fatty food. His clothes also looked expensive, but they were dirtied with blood.

On one hand, he held a huge and sharp butcher's knife coated with blood while he held a strange but sturdy roll of nylon string on the other. He used the nylon to tie up all the "toy's" limbs in advance to help reduce the blood loss. For some reason, the strange string merged with her skin a little bit, becoming almost impossible to see from afar, yet, with each roll it also further reduced the blood loss for some reason.

With her limbs restricted, no, cut off, the young girl could only do nothing but let the person called "The Boss" do whatever he wanted to her body.

'Whatever he wanted' being...

With a swift chop, what appeared to be the girl's right arm, no, right shoulder shortened for about another inch. The boss accurately chopped off just the right length. He targeted just a few centimeters away from where he tightened the nylon string to stop the blood-loss. Although physically impossible, the prevention of blood-loss could be attributed to the strange properties of the unusual nylon string, which actually got developed during the time of war as a countermeasure for wounds such as what the girl currently bears.

Or course, in response, the girl silently flinched in pain and said,

"S-stop... *sob* Please.... Ugh, hic... N-noo... No more... Hurts... *sob*"

Sadly, despite the young girl's cries and pleas, the Boss did not intend to stop. Then, while circling around the girl, he said,

"Hihihihi~! You're no longer screaming, yet you're still alive. Is it because you're getting used to the pain? For being the first to reach this far, here, have a reward."

The boss stopped took out a small fork from his pocket. He then used it to pierce the freshly chopped chunk of meat right in the middle. The fork appeared to be sharp and sturdy enough to smoothly pierce through the bone.

Slowly, he moved it towards the girl's mouth. The girl of course closed her eyes and shut her mouth without any intention of going along with the Boss.

"Mmmm! Mmm! (Don't! No!)"

"Hihi~, don't resist too much! Still, please at least scream a little because I made sure there would be no people nearby to hear you. That way, I'll be able to enjoy this even more," said the Boss as he continued to shove the meat into the girl's lips as if forcefully applying a lipstick. The edges of the young girl's lips became dyed with fresh red blood as a result.

The girl's tears flowed freely like a river as she silently resisted. She knew that even if she were to scream now, no one would be able to hear her since she already tried earlier and received no response as expected. Also, the Boss would likely use the opportunity to viciously shove the chunk of meat into her mouth.

Even so, in her mind, she still did not give up. She kept waiting for a miracle to happen.

Fortunately for her, a miracle will happen.

"Hmm~? Really don't want it? Oh well, time to end this," said the Boss nonchalantly as he tenderly removed the chunk of meat from the fork using his other hand after placing away the butcher's knife.

He then raised the fork over his head and slowly moved it just above the girl's left eye. The girl, still unaware, kept closing her eyes while not giving up the hope of being miraculously rescued.

"I respect you for lasting this long, so I'll end you... Slowly!" said the Boss just as he prepared to repeatedly bring down the fork towards the girl's left eye.

But before he could do just that...

In a stroke of bad luck for the Boss, a loud explosion suddenly rang outside.

"What the-- Aaarrghh!"

The loud explosion made the Boss reflexively face the direction it came from, causing him to accidentally slip from a pool of blood just below his feet.

He slipped backwards. He tried to control his fall, but he still fell face up on the floor.

At the same time, he accidentally let go of the unusually sharp fork he held. The angle, velocity, distance and the power of gravity caused the very sharp fork to fall straight back down onto the Boss. The landing zone? Somewhere around his crotch.

Now if a strange fork that could effortlessly pierce a human bone were to fall down on a man's... thing. What would happen? Unfortunately, the fork did not land on the Boss' 'thing'. Instead, it landed and miraculously pierced the two circular objects that give meaning to the 'thing'. At the same time, the Boss' face distorted into something unrecognizable.

The fork held down those two objects in place. It even went through the floor. If the Boss carelessly tried to stand up, 'they' would be ripped off. However, the Boss only cared about the unbelievably sharp pain that assaulted his entire being right now.

If the crying young girl could move and see this scene, it would've eased her pain for at least a little bit.

Suddenly, the doorknob made a creaking noise as it slowly turned.

"Nyow! Stohp! Dhon't open d-dah door!"

The Boss who could not move nor speak properly due to the overwhelming pain, while still in an embarrassingly painful position, attempted to stop the person behind the door from opening it any further.

<><><><><><><><>

Almost every room turned out empty after they finished searching the place.

Ivan and the masked team already opened up all the doors. All but one.

They did not approach the door at first to avoid waking up the man currently knocked out on the floor.

"Be careful, everyone. This is the last door. And don't wake up that man. --Wait, why did no one take his gun yet? Tyrone, go get it," said Ivan as pointed at the gun freely lying on the ground.

Didn't you just shout like crazy right at the beginning? Why don't you just tie him up like what you did to me earlier!?

John became unable to hide the frustration displayed on his face as he looked at Ivan.

"Hmm? What is it? Oh, we only brought guns and explosives. I forgot to bring the binding equipment," said Ivan as he guessed the contents of John's mind.

"Then why not just use your gun and ki-- no, never mind. Forget what I just said."

John decided not to bother with the issue anymore since he could not find a suitable suggestion.

Sensing that John no longer wanted to say any more words, Ivan slowly approached the unopened door.

Ivan placed his hand on the door knob and slowly turned it.

John and the four other men stood just behind Ivan, readying up for the worst case scenario.

"This door isn't locked," said Ivan as he stopped halfway through turning the doorknob. This raised the tension of everyone present.

As Ivan continued to slowly turn the doorknob, someone shouted from behind the door.

"Nyow! Stohp! Dhon't open d-dah door!" said a man's voice from inside the room.

After hearing the voice, Ivan's hand immediately released the doorknob.

Only John got shocked by the sudden voice, showing the difference in mental strength between the men and John himself. This made the men look more like professionals in doing this kind of thing.

Everyone looked at each other with a serious face behind their masks and nodded in unison, including John.

"Based on that unconscious guy on the floor, the one inside here should be armed too. John, you stay back," said Ivan as he gestured for John to move away, sensing the incoming danger.

After John took a step back, Ivan and the team readied their guns. Just in case, they also checked for the spare guns on their backs, spares that John could only call machine guns. As to what type of machine guns they are, John did not know since he's not an expert on that topic.

The next moment, Ivan kicked the door open and stormed inside, the four others followed.

John closed his eyes and covered his ears while expecting gunshots.

"...."

But no gunshots rang out.

"....Huh?"

John felt confused. Ivan said that the man inside probably possessed a gun, yet he did not even hear a single gunshot.

"John, it's safe to come inside so get in here. That hallway is the most dangerous place right now. Don't forget to drag the unconscious guy in here too," Said Ivan from inside the room.

John hurriedly went inside the room while struggling to drag the unconscious man just as Ivan instructed him to.

...Geez, this is so tiring. ...Huh? Why is everyone so sile--

His internal monologue got interrupted upon seeing the scene in front of him.

"What the hell is that!?" yelled John as he pointed at the shocking scene inside the room. He also dropped the unconscious man without realizing it, which produced a quite worrying 'thud' sound.

Inside the room, John saw a fat man who laid down defenselessly on the bloody floor. The man's crotch showed a noticeable shiny fork stuck to it while sticking up.

Surrounding the fat man on all sides, the four masked men from Ivan's team kept all their guns pointed towards the poor person. Meanwhile, Ivan stood somewhere behind the circling crowd but his huge body alone prevented John from seeing anything further behind him.

"....."

John could only stare blankly at the bizarre scene in silence. He even doubted that closing his eyes right now would help erase this memory from his mind.

"John. Snap out of it. Look over there. It's your turn to do some work," said Ivan as he pointed behind him. Since his body blocked John's view, he then moved to the side to let John see what he meant.

"T-that's... No... I understand," replied John to Ivan after faltering for a bit when he saw what or who Ivan pointed at.

From the beginning, John would usually follow Ivan's orders reluctantly. But this time, he willingly carried out this order without question, but still with some hesitation.

A naked young girl laid on the metallic table, all in a bloody, limbless state and silently crying. For some reason, she did not bleed despite her wounds looking very fresh. It could also be possible that she ran out of blood, but she still showed signs of life so John did not think too much of it.

He also saw her arms and feet tied up on a rope while rocking back and forth just above her.

With just one look, no one will need an explanation to know what took place here. Wrong, it would be the opposite.

The pity John felt towards the fat man, the only possible culprit in this room, instantly vanished and then it got replaced with anger.

John silently picked up a nearby clean piece of cloth that he found lying on the floor, then he went beside the table and used the cloth to cover the young girl's body.

The moment the tip of John's finger touched the girl's skin, a small white lightning spark appeared at the point of contact, but only for a split second. Not a single soul in the room noticed this.

At first, the girl shrieked when she felt something touch her. However, when she saw John's face, his masked face, she suddenly calmed down and lost consciousness with a final drop of tear trickling down her cheek.

Did she just die...? No, she's breathing. I guess it's safe to carry her now. She's... Disabled. So it probably won't be a problem if she starts to suddenly move.

John attempted to carry the girl after he finished covering her entire body in cloth.

However, just before he got to carry the girl,

"Watch out!"

Ivan suddenly shouted a warning towards John.

"Don't interfere with my fun, you little shit!" said a girl's voice, originating from just behind John.

Immediately after that, John felt a strong pain beside his stomach. He also felt his feet leave the ground at the same time.

"Huh? Wha-! Ugh!"

Unable to react in time, John got sent flying against the wall.

When John looked at the direction where he flew from, he saw a girl with long red hair wearing a school uniform currently standing on the spot where he previously stood.

Ivan and his team already assembled themselves into some kind of a formation just a few meters away from the red haired girl while pointing their guns at her, leaving the fat man all alone on the floor near the red haired girl.

Ow... What the hell was that? ...Is that another person? When did she...

John attention turned to the new presence in the room.

"Oh~? Did I just unconsciously hold back? That person should have been split in half by now," said the red haired girl as she looked at her hands in curiosity.

From how John saw it, she just appeared out of nowhere.

John, while holding his side in pain, looked around and noticed the hole on the ceiling just above the girl with red hair.

Did she just jump down from the ceiling? Was she the one who sent me-- Ow! Whatever, I wanna go home... It hurts... Ouch, i think some of my ribs broke.

John held the side of his stomach harder. Also, tears started to form on his eyes.

The air in the room became tense. No one dared to make a move.

Everyone observed the mysterious red haired girl who came from the ceiling.

Everyone easily noticed her red hair and the red light emanating from her entire body, coupled with the eerie smile she displayed on her face, which made her look scarier than anyone else in the room.

If someone tries to guess her actual age, judging by her body build and the type of school uniform she wears, that someone would probably say that she is a high school girl with an age between 17-19.

After seeing the full display of power from such a fearsome teenage-looking girl, Ivan dispelled the silence enveloping the entire room.

"John, listen. Forget about the limbless girl. Right now, it's impor-- Shoot, now!"

Ivan interrupted his own sentence after he noticed the red girl trying to make a dash towards John.

Gunshots rang throughout the entire room.

The fat man panicked and immediately rolled his fat body towards Ivan and the team, but only after he forcibly and painfully pulled the fork away from his body, which he threw away afterwards.

"Use the machine guns!" shouted Ivan as he swapped his current gun with the different one on his back. His four other comrades did the same.

John already closed his teary eyes long ago in an attempt to prevent himself from seeing a horrible scene.

These guys have no mercy! Holy shit! She's just a girl with red flashy things!

While thinking that, John prayed deeply inside his heart for the red haired girl's soul.

New rapid gunshot sounds replaced the slower gunshots earlier.

"Ahahahaha! Haahahahaha!"

John heard a girl's laughter just nearby him as the shots kept being fired. He could not see whether the laugh came from the young girl on the table or the red haired girl. Most likely the former, who went all crazy after seeing such a scene, or so that's what John honestly thought.

At this range, those shots could not have possibly missed the red haired girl, or for convenience's sake, the red girl. No, instead of thinking about whether the bullets missed, one should ask about her current state. She should be minced meat by now.

John slowly opened his eyes.

Expecting to see a gruesome scene if front of him, the results of the shooting shocked him even more.

Despite the loud and numerous gunshots, the young girl on the bed remained unaffected and continued to sleep peacefully. This obviously meant that her tired body can even ignore the loud sounds just to get some sleep.

But something else caught everyone's attention.

She, the red girl with an eerie smile on her face and with bullet holes on her school uniform, just calmly stood between John and the table while covering her eyes with one arm. Small metallic objects, lead bullets, fell all over her feet.

"Heh. Heheheh. Is that a~aall?" cheerfully asked the red girl as she turned to face Ivan and his team.

John, despite the pain, tried to move away slowly from the red girl and circled over towards Ivan's direction.

He did not know why but he instinctively felt that he should not get too close to the red girl. He made a good decision.

By the time he reached Ivan and the team, he already recovered from the pain and can now move normally again.

"...Then," said the red haired girl while smiling,

"It's."

"My~."

"Turn," continued the red girl in a low volume, but she could still be clearly heard by everyone.

Suddenly, red light filled the room. John covered his eyes with his hands while being surprised as to why his eyes could not even stand the brightness from this red light.

After the light died down, John slowly removed his hands from his eyes and looked around the room to see what just happened.

The red haired girl's school uniform turned into a different set of clothes.

To be precise, it turned into a full red ballerina dress together with ballet shoes.

What the hell? Did she just transform? It's just like in my ja- No, wait. I think this is seriously a bad news.

John felt that the red girl became even more frightening than earlier.

"Everyone, are you readiiii~?"

The red girl asked everyone inside the room in a very loud and cheerful voice.

John, Ivan, Muhammad, Tyrone, the Naked man, Dean who just woke up from the gunshots earlier, and the two other masked men who's names John never heard of yet.

All of them could not move nor speak a single word due to the clear change of the atmosphere all over the room.

Those who held guns aimed it at the red girl. Those who did not have any could only look at her helplessly.

With her hands spread wide on the air, the red girl announced with confidence while doing a ballet spin,

"I'll start now! Everyone, let me enjoy this slaughter, okay~? This is what you get for stopping my entertainment!"

And thus, John's first battle began.