"Revy, tapping the cheek of the fallen Monarch-Slayer with her Tang sword, smiled mockingly."Revy: "What, you really thought you could come up here on your own? Seriously? How are you supposed to win this kind of endgame alone…"
The Monarch-Slayer suddenly felt a chill run from her head all the way down her spine.
She saw Revy's eyes — different from when they'd been in Ursus. Back in Siberia, Revy's gaze had only been cold and emotionless. But now... now his eyes were something else entirely.
Though his face wore a smile, it radiated chilling resolve — the kind of look one gives to a corpse, as if she were already dead.
"Monarch-Slayer! … Damn it!"
Seeing their plan unravel, Skullshatter suddenly found strength from somewhere, leaping up and swinging his gun toward Revy's back.
He had no choice. He knew he couldn't take down Amiya in a straight fight. At this point, if he was going to die, he at least wanted to drag this bastard down with him.
Revy (without turning around): "Sigh… Give it up. You know perfectly well you're no match for me, right?"
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Revy casually caught the airborne barrel with his left hand and yanked it — dragging both Skullshatter and the gun in front of him.
[WHAM!]
With no mercy, he kicked Skullshatter hard in the opposite direction. He tossed the MGL launcher to a spot Skullshatter couldn't reach, then looked down at the fallen man with a mocking smirk.
Revy: "Wanna try again?"
Skullshatter: "Ugh… you… bastard…"
He wanted to spit more insults, but the gut-wrenching pain kept him from speaking. Revy had aimed the kick perfectly — not fatal, but agonizing.
Skullshatter writhed in pain, curled up like a shrimp, his body twitching uncontrollably.
"Aleksei!"Misha rushed to her brother, panicked. Amiya, seeing Revy make no move to stop her, let her go.
Revy had no intention of interfering.
After all, Skullshatter — Aleksei — was likely Misha's last remaining family in this world. From how he'd behaved, at least it was clear he deeply cared for his sister.
And for that alone, Revy wouldn't get in her way.
Misha: "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Does it hurt a lot?"
She knelt beside Aleksei, watching as he slowly recovered from the intense abdominal pain. She wanted to help, but had no idea what to do.
Aleksei (weakly): "Cough… sis…"
He managed to sit up slightly, but slumped again, falling into her arms, resting against her shoulder.
Aleksei: "Sis… all these years… have you been okay?"
Misha's heart trembled.
She remembered the tragedy from years ago — the darkness of the Glagow mines, the despair when their mother died...
She recalled the harrowing escape from Glagow, the freedom of running across the wastelands, and the life she had built in Lungmen ever since.
She couldn't help glancing at the man beside her.
Misha: "Me? Well… as you can see, I've had food and shelter. I've been doing alright."
Not wanting to talk about herself anymore, she changed the subject.
Misha: "What about you, Aleksei? We haven't seen each other in so long… how have you been?"
Aleksei: "Heh… I'm surviving, barely."
He gave a bitter laugh, his eyes showing a touch of coldness.
Aleksei: "Ursus — our homeland — doesn't welcome the infected. That's why I joined Reunion, to fight for us. We're meant to be alone. But we are the righteous ones."
Suddenly, Aleksei's eyes lit up with zeal as if he'd remembered something.
Aleksei: "Right! Sis, you should join us! You're infected too, right? That means… you'll fight for us, for the infected too, won't you?"
Misha (nervously): "I… I don't know."
She had never seen her brother like this — his eyes so intense, so unfamiliar.
Misha: "Aleksei, why? Why do we have to hurt each other…?"
Aleksei: "Reunion isn't hurting anyone! The only ones doing the hurting are Rhodes Island! They never stood up to the oppression we faced. Instead, they sided with the ones who want to exterminate us. They preach 'salvation for the infected,' but it's all lies to win favor with the ruling class!"
[He slammed the ground angrily.]
Aleksei: "Rhodes Island deserves no mercy! Here in Chernobog, they've shown their true hypocrisy — saying one thing, doing another! Don't you see it, sis?!"
Misha: "I… I don't know… I don't know!"
She leaned back slightly, eyes full of doubt. The man in front of her felt like a stranger, speaking strange words, trying to drag her into a terrifying abyss.
Revy (narrowing his eyes): "Scary, huh? This is how cults work — is this what Talulah told you all too?"
His voice was flat, emotionless.
Revy: "Tell me then — what has your 'leader' actually done for the infected?"
Revy (pressing):"— Organized treatments to prolong life?""— Distributed relief to ease their suffering?""— Used business, politics, or military power to fight for their rightful place in society?"
Revy's eyes snapped open, tone biting.
Revy: "Yeah… I haven't seen any of that."
Revy: "All I've seen is greed. Demanding more rights, better treatment. Tearing down cities with violence and slaughter. And then standing atop the ruins and corpses, declaring a shameless 'victory'… preaching dreams stitched together with lies!"
Aleksei (furious): "You! Shut up! You don't understand our leader's pain!"
Revy (coldly): "You're right. I don't. And I don't care to."
Revy: "Fine — let's stop talking about Reunion. Let's talk about you."
Revy: "You say you care about your sister. That only you can take care of her. So tell me — when she was dragged off to Glagow, where were you?""When your mother died and she was left all alone, where were you?""When she escaped from Siberia, with an entire army chasing her, where were you?!"
Revy (mocking): "Oh, right — 'Monarch-Slayer' was busy showing up to make a mess for us!"
[SMACK!]Revy slapped Aleksei hard across the face.
Revy (coldly): "Let me make something clear. I'm not here to talk reason with you."
Revy: "You're a Rhodes Island captive now — and that's all you are. Don't do anything stupid. Or I'll start removing your non-lethal body parts. One by one."
Revy (final warning): "Don't test my patience. I. Do. Not. Bluff."