NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Okami\'s Perspective....PROLOGUE

This scene took place when Red and Match left Okami and Ryoshi from Wonderland\'s Citadel.

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I brawled against Alice, with Ryoshi\'s arrows raining at the back. We all prepared for this moment to fight against Alice\'s power. But I doubted we could finish this mission.

It was an impossible boss I had ever faced in my life, thanks to the disadvantages I had. If only I could transform into my third form, I could effortlessly demolish Alice, even without my equipment. Alice was just an arrogant prick that couldn\'t control her power.

However, there was something that went missing in this fight. It felt like we didn\'t have any damage despite our concrete plan. We already placed our aims in one direction, but Alice continued rummaging our way.

I averted my gaze and tried contacting Match and Red on the battlefield. But upon glancing at my flank, those two girls went in a different direction. There was a door in front of that pair, which they planned on entering.

Those movements were not a part of our plan, and it would cost us the game.

I entrusted our backs to two NPCs, knowing that they were my allies. We fought all the way here and survived with our powers and the plans we had made.

Since we had that kind of relationship, I never doubted Red. Match was the same thing since she would follow that girl like her older sister.

\'Maybe they\'re going to invade the flanks?\' I thought, which was the only good reason Red aimed for the side.

I believed in their tactics and trusted their instincts, since Red was a better player than Ryoshi. She had killed many players and survived the cards stacked against her. She had stopped at nothing to accomplish her goal, which became Red\'s strength for everything.

"RED! MATCH! GET BACK HERE! WE NEED YOU HERE ON THE BATTLEFIELD!"

However, my fate had turned grim when Red didn\'t attack Alice. Instead, Red and Match ran straight at the door and shut it behind. The gate where the two girls entered turned into dust and disappeared before us. We could only gape our jaws wide open while staring at Ryoshi\'s eyes.

"We can never win this game…. Not with the two of us," I confessed, and hurried myself towards my best friend.

Alice painted her face with a grin, knowing what was about to happen. "Amidst the journey the two of you had, Red abandoned you. Well, she never treated you as her friend in the first place. You were more like a pawn to Red than a comrade in her eyes."

I gritted my teeth and retorted at Alice, "You know nothing, Alice! Stop manipulating those innocent NPCs! They are not like you! Red can never be like you!"

"How are you sure about that?" Alice narrowed both of her eyes as she glared in my direction. "Red and I are no different, Fenrir. We share the same origin. Even our goals aligned like the stars in the sky!"

After saying those words, Alice chuckled up a storm. Her laughter resonated inside the citadel, even vibrating the concrete floor. The ceiling erupted and created a rain of debris from Alice\'s voice.

Within a few seconds, Alice returned her glare in our direction. "I was waiting for you, Fenrir. There was no chance of me to kill you or win against you. Even with that form, you could outsmart me with enough preparation. A few stronger individuals have tried, but none of them succeeded. And it took me one master plan to destroy you…."

"What did you do, Alice! You fucking coward! You were supposed to fight me fair and square! That\'s what your father has told you!" I roared, while gasping for air.

Ryoshi also shared the same feelings running rampant inside my head. We didn\'t know what to do but bought time for us to think of something. Since we didn\'t have any way to escape, it would be better for us to plan our escape route while prolonging the chat.

"I didn\'t manipulate Red and Match. Those two went inside the door with their own will!" Alice growled at me, while gritting her teeth. "I told them a few words, and they listened to me."

While that scene happened before me, Ryoshi chatted with me about the things I needed to do. Since Alice had wrapped this place with hacking scripts, she would know our conversation. Ryoshi had a plan, but it kept it brief and concealed, despite the eyes watching us from afar.

"And what did you propose to the two girls?" I said, lengthening the conversation.

"An offer to trade lives. It was a deal to save Match from this place while leaving you behind," Alice replied, while glaring at our windows. "Maybe it\'s about time to show you what I\'m made of. Fenrir, I will always hunt you down."

After saying those words, Alice activated a spell enveloped around Wonderland\'s castle. My system warned me beforehand that this place would turn into ashes when Alice activated that spell.

Fortunately, I heeded Ryoshi\'s advice and went beside him. I pulled the arrow from his behind and launched it at each of our sides. Ryoshi also did the same thing and built a triangular shield.

These arrows were the same darts we used from the golem. It was the indestructible bolts that became the perfect protection for us inside this twisted domain.

When Alice activated her runes, the castle burst into a billion shards of magma. Since Alice had set this trap aeons ago, the spells she used could destroy the Mainland. Heck, it could even destroy the island of Japan if I could compare it to my homeland.

A golden glass had covered our surroundings, which was our only defence against the spell. But thanks to the placed arrows on our sides, these darts would protect us from any damage. We had witnessed the sturdiness of these arrows after fighting the golems. Even though Alice created those giants, these bolts could still withstand any attack.

Nothing had changed despite these situations.

When the blast happened, the eternal light consumed a quarter of Wonderland\'s island. The detonation reached through the forest and sky, scorching the terrain. It left nothing but fiery remnants of twigs that turned into coal and ashes. The smoke even rose from above and formed a mushroom-shaped fog that painted the air.

Fortunately, the shield from these clouds of smoke blocked the smog from entering our nostrils. Nothing had passed through this shield, unless Ryoshi would give his command and open a part of it. And, of course, we wouldn\'t dare to try that out.

None of us wanted to die an embarrassing death in this game.

It took the explosion around a minute before it could finally calm down. And another minute before the smoke could die out from the wind. After those two minutes, we switched gears and opened the shield. We still had three minutes to spare, but we didn\'t care about it. Ryoshi only fended off the smoke from entering our place.

Alice exploded her entire castle and left nothing from the place. She even included herself from the clap, which could also have killed her. But I doubted this ignition caught Alice\'s body. That girl had a few loose screws inside her head and plans for her sleeves.

As soon as we could explore the area, the castle\'s remains had turned into sand. We trod the distorted land and watched the ashes fly over towards the horizon. We could barely watch the scene from this place, since some had already filled the air.

"Did Alice kill herself from the blast? I don\'t see her remains…." Ryoshi asked, and continued throwing some questions at me. "And where did Red and Match go, Okami….? Did they really betray us?"

I couldn\'t give Ryoshi an answer and remained silent for five minutes. As soon as those minutes had gone by, I finally had the courage to give Ryoshi my reply.

"I don\'t think they have abandoned us. Alice is the real monster of this place. And Red and Match talked to them. They don\'t know how powerful Alice is, since she is still an NPC. If I were in their shoes, I would have also trusted one of my kind," I answered, and clenched my fist. "There must be a way to contact Red and Match and stop this death game. Red has all the obelisk in her hands. It would be a waste if she tries charging straight to Mainland."

While I drowned myself from my thoughts, a notification appeared at my fore. As I read the title on my upper right, Alice\'s name had popped up before me.

"A letter from Alice?!" I yelled, and hurriedly opened it up.

"What does it say?" Ryoshi asked, while leaning his head near me.

"I know you\'ll be alive even after that. I need more ways to kill you than an explosion that big….. Fenrir."