"GATHER UP! ON THE FOURTH FLOOR, MEET AT THE FOURTH FLOOR!"
Calling out, the leader of the army, Scott, declared their meeting location.
…
Ultimately, only three of the eleven remaining survivors of Riley's attacks actually obeyed. Even as they did so, there was nothing but fear in their hearts, as they'd been continuously harassed by [Hanging], hearing frequent shattering glass, thrown objects, and attempts to strangle them, which did not let them rest for even a second.
Three of the other servants, their state was unknown. Four had left, and one had surrendered.
Thus, the only people remaining were seven in number; Scott's group plus the trio.
"...Where are the others? Are they dead? No, I still feel them. They're not moving, however. Perhaps their minds have given out."
Scott spoke in a tone unfit for a leader. Even if he tried to fake confidence, his words would not penetrate the already-broken hearts of his subjects.
"...No matter. At the end of the day, this is all the force we need. He's only one man, after all."
"How… how can you say that?!" One of the approaching servants shouted. "Just 'one man?!' LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DONE! There were how many of us!? What, some… some-thirty of us, all in unison… and now IT'S JUST US!"
Screaming as he pulled at his own hair, the servant's rugged breaths descended from his lungs and throat, burdened by overpowering fear.
"...Hey. I'm your leader, do you understand me?"
A drowning man will grasp at straws. So too will the powerless grasp at control.
Walking over with a hardened scowl, Scott grabbed the servant by the collar and pulled him closer. "I've fought Riley more than anyone else here. I know how he operates, I know—"
"Get your fucking hands off me. I don't give a shit if you've fought him—YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN THAT AT ALL! WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING HIM FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG, AND THERE'S NOT SO MUCH AS A SCRATCH ON HIM! WE SHOULD'VE JUST KILLED HIM WHILE WE WERE AHEAD!!"
Overcome with fear, the servant fled to wrath as an escape. To which, he unleashed his anger upon the only person he could—not the enemy, but his commander. In response, the vampire grit his teeth, baring his sharp fangs.
The remaining servants, having lost all agency due to the sea of fear which had spread amongst the survivors, simply did nothing in response. Not trying to break it up out of fear of sticking out, because not one of the others did anything, none of them had the guts to intervene.
"...Are you saying this is my fault? Listen here. Ghira appointed me as the leader. I'm his favorite. So if you have a problem with me, then—"
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have a problem with you. Who cares if Ghira said you were our commander? WHERE IS HE!? WE'VE BEEN CRYING OUT TO HIM, YET HE DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING! So who gives a shit about Ghira—we're lost, man. We're fucking lost, we don't have Ghira to guide us anymore."
"...…"
Scott Tobey, declared Ghira's favorite, found himself utterly hopeless.
Commanding followers he knew had no faith in him, trying to navigate an uncertain battlefield that was rapidly dwindling in hope for him and his allies, his own fear and worry and uncertainty and stress were rapidly building up.
Building, building, until he simply couldn't bear it anymore.
"So get your hands off me. Either we surrender, or we fight, or we run. There are no other options. So if you want to play the fleeting role of Ghira's—"
"SHUT UP!"
Burrowing his fist, Scott impaled the servant through the heart. Then grabbing his body and ripping him in half, Scott added to the sea of blood on the fourth floor.
His followers shrieked and shivered with terror at the vampire before them, as his labored breaths filled in the silence.
"...I… I am the leader. Running… is not an option. Surrendering… is NOT an option. We have to fight. It's our only choice, understand? And if you want to disagree, if you want to have problems with my status…"
Snickering, laughing from the hysteria, Scott's piercing red eyes stood illuminated by the moon, as he snarled and unraveled the bladed nails he'd kept hidden.
"—Then you'll end up… Just. Like. Him."
Unbridled malice. Doing his best to reach for any feelings of power he could have within this hopeless situation, Scott held his fist over his subjects, who were not in the proper mental state to provide any sort of resistance.
Their number of seven combatants had dropped to a mere six.
…
Sprinkled around the floors, the three remaining survivors, who had lost the will to fight, entering catatonic states, simply sat. Rocking themselves back and forth, they wept into their legs, earnestly begging to go home.
To which, a silhouette emerged from the shadows, approaching with silent footsteps. Looming over them, they kept their eyes closed. They did not want to hear. They did not want to see. They did not want to think, or to be present, or—
"I'm assuming you've given up. That's fine. Here."
[Hanging] was dispatched. A curtain was ripped from the windows, and flown over. Draping the curtain over their shivering body, Riley Woods gently stroked their head, running his fingers through their hair.
"Hey. You'll be alright, man. I'm serious. Some stuff's going to go down, but as long as you stay put, you'll be safe. For now, just for now, hide under the blanket, and cover your ears. Okay?"
The sniffling "soldier," who lost all worth as a combatant, obeyed, covering their ears.
Riley flew around the office, traveling to each of the servants, who had given up on fighting. Either willingly or unwillingly, they were of no harm to Riley, who ensured their comfort by wrapping them up in curtains, and gently holding them in his arms.
The three were secured, as Riley heard the loud argument underneath him. Shortly after, it was followed by the sounds of flesh tearing—no doubt, life had been lost.
Alright then. I'll get ready.
[Hanging] retrieved a white cape, bringing it to its master. Riley entered the bathroom, turning on the lights and looking into the mirror.
Wearing his signature outfit—the blue shirt, white pants, and white cape, yet missing his unicorn helmet, Riley gently smiled.
Right. The servants are my enemies, but that doesn't mean I'll kill them without purpose. I've also killed people, so I can't judge them. I can put a stop to their murders, but if there's a chance they can give up on their murderous ways, then that'll mean the world to me.
But until then, I have to keep fighting.
He held the black cat necklace tightly, clutching onto it as the reminder of the woman whom he loved so very much.
Leaving the bathroom and turning off the lights, he went over to the wall. There, upon it, he reached for a fire-alarm.
"Gahh, this is probably dumb," he beat himself up aloud.
Be subtle, even to the point of formlessness—a wise warrior avoids the battle—be mysterious to the point of soundlessness… And yet, I'm breaking all those tactics. But still… At this point, it's the best I can think of.
Using a suppressed piece of [Crashing], Riley ignited the water sprinklers.
…
"That's right. We'll find him. When we find Riley, we'll all attack him at once. And then, and then we'll kill—"
At that very moment, water began to spray all over them, startling them all greatly and inducing further fear into their hearts. To try and understand, one of the servants rushed, turning on the lights of the fourth floor and no longer being obscured in darkness.
There, they saw the water puddling up on the ground. The sensation of moisture running along their clothes, dampening it and making it slightly more uncomfortable to move around in, added in further sensory oddities, even if paling in comparison to the earlier ignition of bombs.
"Did he turn the water on? Shit, alright, it's fine. It can't hurt us. We just need to find him," Scott declared. "Let's kill him."
Human beings, who craved their own bodily autonomy, despised feeling coerced. Even if they willingly did go along with Scott's plan, the feeling of being forced to follow led to deep-rooted spite, which made them less willing——
The door peeked open. The group of six, who had begun heading towards the stairwell's door, stopped dead in their tracks. Overhead, there was a light. If Riley stepped through, then his figure would surely be—
A gunshot rang true, and glass shattered. Darkness filled the small corridor leading to the stairwell, as the door finally opened fully. Slowly, creating a loud, unending creak, it revealed the figure—or rather, his silhouette.
Coming face-to-face with the enemy who had worked in darkness, their hearts flooded with fear. They froze up. Even the vampire who had taken the role of the commander, the vampire who could not die, was left frozen in terror before the ominous presence quietly approaching.
His footsteps splashed, his cape dragged across the water. Peering into the darkness, they could only see a broad-shouldered shadow, whilst the water itself seemed to coil around him in one long, thin spiral.
"S-shit…!" One of the servants gasped, gritting his teeth as he slowly backed away, his footsteps audible by the water..
"W-w-wait! WAIT! I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!!"
Crouching down, placing his hands over his head, one of the servants immediately surrendered.
Riley had purposefully annihilated morale, and had hoped something akin to this would happen. In truth, it was not six people against Riley. Rather, due to Scott's inexperience as a commander, his own fears, and displayed incompetency, it had been five people who felt subjected by Scott against both their leader and their enemy.
"When sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them," it was written. Though Riley did not intentionally manipulate everything exactly according to plan, he had laid the foundations for infighting and loss of loyalty, leaving the rest to themselves.
"Y-yeah man! I surrender! I don't want to fight, I don't want to fight, man, seriously!"
Getting to his knees and putting his hands up, yet another servant refused to fight. At which point, groupthink took over. Seeing two of their six numbers surrender, those remaining didn't believe that four people alone would be able to take on the overwhelming force that was a mere Riley Woods, thus leading to them surrendering.
Thus,
"So… I'm the only one with enough courage to remain standing, huh?!" Shouting and barking his anger towards his disloyal men, Scott clenched his fist.
Riley, even if not as physically powerful as the other servants due to his last-second removal of his built up power, had managed to cultivate an aura in the back of his opponent's minds as some sort of calamity which couldn't be stood up against.
Standing still in the darkness, Riley looked over the situation.
"Very well then. It's a rematch, Scott."
Summoning his knife to his hand, Riley stepped out from the darkness with potent step after step, building dread with each advancement forward.
"That's right!" Scott boldly declared, licking his teeth as he hyped himself up. "It's just me and you. And once I kill you, I'll kill all the rest of the traitors next! Those that deserted, those that surrendered, all of them.. I'll kill them!"
"..."
The rematch began, the continuation of the vampire against the wannabe hero.