Maids VS Apocalypse

A pack of cigarettes fell into Franco’s just as he entered a wide hall. The long tables lining it up spoke of its purpose as a cafeteria. Groups of five and six were scattered around. Some ate, others played cards. Some looked up at the new arrivals then went on with what they were doing.

"Hey!"

A hand waved at them from a dozen meters away, drawing Franco’s gaze away from the small flame of his lighter. The striking orange hair was hard to miss but due to the size of its owner, she was a little difficult to spot, unlike the behemoth sitting opposite from her.

"What are you two doing here?" Elya asked. "Your shift isn’t over yet."

"Ramsay showed up," Alex said as he took the seat beside her. "Newbie is there as well."

"Why didn’t you say so from the start." She shot up from her seat and slammed the table with both palms. The smile she wore wasn’t that of joy. "I will go have a nice little talk with him."

"Elya, chill. Franco already chewed him."

"Save it for later." Ben put down a massive mug that can only fit in his hands. "The lad should be talking with his friend right now."

White smoke rose to the air like a torrent.

"The kid needs to learn his lesson." Said Franco. "My eyes still hurt, you know?"

"I think that’s the smoke." Alex chuckled.

Besides the new guy and his maid, everyone in Squad Four was at the Soldier Rank. Their reaction speed allowed them to mitigate the worst of the flashbang’s effect, and with the healing they received earlier dealt with the rest. All that was left was the slight indignation at what happened and the one who caused it.

"Seriously though, where the hell did he get those things?" Franco bit on the butt of a cigarette and pulled it out of the pack.

"From his system, maybe?" Elya picked one of the fries from the plate in front of her.

"You think so?" Alex tried reaching for the plate but got his hand smacked. "I thought it just lets him..."

He said the words ’summon miss maid’ only in his mind, but the others got what he meant just fine.

Franco took a puff and blew another cloud of smoke.

"Idiot, as if that’s all he can do." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Level 1 to 3 Systems were the most basic type and didn’t come with any innate Abilities. Levels 4 and 5 were different. On top of having a custom interface, they also come with unique Abilities or items that can’t be obtained through Ranking up, Quests, or Ability Cores.

"Seriously though, I’m dying to know what his is based on." Elya smacked Alex’s hand again.

"Probably some video game," Franco said.

Even with how rare they were, enough Level 4s existed for people to notice a pattern. Those Systems are usually based on things the user had been obsessed with before Awakening, and a lot of time it happened to be games they spent a lot of time on.

"Some video game, huh..."

The question didn’t come from any of the four, which drew their attention to the left. Someone stood at the end of their table. He was of medium height and looked rather skinny, with a slightly curved nose and high cheekbone. His seaweed dark hair reached down to his shoulders.

"Ugh..." A look of displeasure took over Elya’s face.

"Oh, Ronny," Alex smiled, having succeeded at snatching a fry while Elya was distracted. "Didn’t know you were stationed here!"

"Didn’t we pass each other at the General’s office?" Seaweed head said.

"Did we? I can’t remember."

"What brings you here, Highlander?" Elya’s voice oozed malice. "We aren’t in the mood to deal with your BS."

"Interesting conversation you were having. Did a new Level 4 appear?"

Franco pressed his cigarette against the sole of his left foot. "Pretty sure no one invited you. Since when was eavesdropping a hobby of yours?"

Ronny gazed down at him in silence then raised his hand. "There is an interesting rumor going around." a phone dropped in his palm. "About a weird PK who can use halos."

He tapped on it a few times then turned it to the others. A video played on the screen. Going by the camera angle, it appeared to be footage from the shelter’s security system.

A bunch of Red Hoods were running down a corridor with their weapons drawn. Someone appeared on the other end, and when they reached them, fountains of blood burst everywhere dyeing the walls red. Amidst the carnage, a woman in a peculiar maid uniform came running down the hallway. Above her head, complicated shapes came together to form a halo.

"Some say they saw her outside with you. Got anything to say?"

Turning away the phone, he pressed the lock button on the side then caused it to disappear. His gaze then moved between the Franco and the others, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"Tsk!" With a click of her tongue, Elya jumped up and stood on her chair. "How about you scram before I make you."

Alex brought another fry to his mouth.

"Yeah sorry about that. Elya is kinda pissed right now so you should probably get going."

"Hey, I’m just checking." Ronny raised his hands defensively. "If there is another Level 4 around, it’s only natural that I would be curious."

Elya opened her mouth to say something but a loud slam shook the table, silencing everyone. All eyes turned to the big guy. His expression was hardened as he stared down at the tray in front of him. He slowly turned his gaze to the end of the table and the guy standing at it.

"As you can see, Sergeant Frankly, we’re having our lunch break right now. Not exactly the time for questions from a fellow who didn’t even bother with a greeting."

The silence returned and Ben raised his mug to take a swig. No one dared to say anything until a click shattered the silence.

"You heard him." Franco put down his lighter and puffed out a cloud of smoke. "Why don’t you go back to your table? Hanging out with Bottom Dwellers like us might harm your reputation, Sergeant Frankly."

The standoff didn’t last long. Ronny harrumphed and walked away. A couple dozen meters from where they were, another group was glaring in their direction.

"Don’t tell me those bastards are coming with us to Amberwood," Elya said. She was about to reach for her plate when she noticed that all the fries were gone.

"Probably." Alex swallowed and said. He was looking to his left, trying to avoid meeting her gaze.

"I was going to say I wish they told us more about this mission, but..." exhaling another white cloud, Franco shook his head. "Guess it wasn’t really over..."

The mood grew solemn. Only the Italian moved, bringing the cigarette to his mouth before blowing smoke into the air. He burned through it in a couple of minutes then put out what’s left. Not long after, he took out the pack and pulled another one with his teeth.

"C’mon pall, haven’t you had enough smokes for the day." Ben looked at him, his mouth pressed into a line.

"What are you talking about? This is..."

He was going to say this was only his second cigarette for the day, but when he looked down at the pack in his hand, Franco noticed that he had only two left, the one in his mouth included.

"Huh, didn’t I open this just earlier?"

~[ ]~

It was a few minutes before the young woman, Kobayashi Kanna, woke up. However, when she was met with the ruby eyes of the silver-haired dhampir maid she passed out right away.

He failed to resist it. When they took her, and though he was a little pissed, Mark got the brilliant idea to have Lara give the illustrator a lap pillow as she woke up. It was a small harmless prank but after she passed out for the second time he knew there shouldn’t be a third time.

"T-this is... so... haa~"

The next time she woke up, Kanna fought the dizziness and stabilized herself. Immediately after she began gushing over the maid, running rounds around her while taking photos with a tablet. No matter the angle, her round glasses always seemed to reflect the light, masking her eyes behind two white screens.

"Look at all the details! This is masterfully crafted! The materials are top tier too! Who created this costume!? It looks better than I imagined it!"

The displeasure Lara tried to hide was visible to Mark. He gave her a look that said to bear with it for the time being and got a sigh in response.

"Hey, is she real?" Stopping abruptly, the Asian woman turned to Mark. "Don’t tell me she has been real all along. But I drew her myself so how-" She suddenly went rigid. A moment later she rushed over to him and extended her palm. "They told me you have my pen! Please give it back!"