[ADAM] Chapter 20: We Survive...And We Ask Forgiveness

[Your team's East Outer Crystal has been destroyed! Deploying allied Middle Crystal troops in one minute! Help them!]

"What…?"

Sylvie's jaw clenched as the announcement echoed through her ears, and the ears of the Blue creeps.

Her fingers started to twitch, instinctively reaching for a weapon that hadn't yet materialized.

And soon, the Blue ripple pulsing across the Dome's ceiling faded in her eyes.

East Lane... undefended? 

Her thoughts raced once more as she thought of what to do. 

But if I leave this crystal...

She glanced at the Crystal behind her, and slowly, she began to calm down.

If the enemy Heroes were focusing their assault on the East Lane, then their Middle and West Lane would be exposed.

And even though the Game has been going on for quite a while now, Ilyana had only died once since it started—she should be respawning in less than half an hour.

"There… should be enough time for her to respawn, right?" Sylvie whispered to herself. "They can't reach the Middle Crystal that quickly."

She reached a decision, and that was to keep on guarding the Inner Crystal. The value of the Inner Crystal was too great—if this fell, the path to their Spawn Crystal would open to the enemy.

There was also an option to… eliminate all the Red creeps in front of her, but she had already made a promise to herself, and to Adam that she would not hurt anyone else in this Lane.

She wasn't about to break a promise she made to a dead man.

There was also the fact that even if she killed them all and provided support to the East Lane, a Hero might be hiding somewhere near and was just waiting for the opportunity for her to leave.

She could also just take an allied Creep and blitz through the West Lane, that would at least get the attention of the enemy Heroes—but the problem of someone lying in wait nearby still existed.

Why did the assigned Heroes abandon this lane in the first place?!

The question seared in her mind—that was the issue that started all of this.

Minutes stretched into an uncomfortable silence.

The red and blue creeps started looking at each other, not knowing what to do as they finally remembered that there was still a war going on outside their lane.

Sylvie kept to herself, almost like a statue as she stood in front of their Inner Crystal. But soon, a gasp escaped her lips.

A flicker caught her attention—their Middle Crystal in the East Lane was being attacked.

"What...?" The word escaped her lips before she could stop it. Ilyana should have respawned by now. Even without her crafting abilities, the Echo Smith could defend herself against Heroes. Unless...

"Are they… killing her the moment she steps out of the Spawn Crystal's vicinity? They're ganking her?"

The blue pillar of light pulsed again, more violently this time.

And soon, Sylvie's composure cracked, her agitation visible in the tight line of her mouth, the rigid set of her shoulders. The creeps around her shifted nervously, sensing the change in her demeanor.

Still, she held her position. Five more minutes. Just five more minutes.

And then, when the Middle Crystal's light flickered a third time, something inside Sylvie snapped.

"You two—come with me!" She pointed at two blue creeps closest to her, who flinched at her sudden command.

And before they could even protest, she had hoisted them over her shoulders like sacks of grain.

"The rest of you, hold this position!" she ordered the remaining blue creeps, then turned to the red team. "And you—no more fighting."

Without another word, she sprinted toward the enemy's Outer Crystal, causing a boom to erupt at her feet. The creeps she was carrying screamed, but everyone listened as their voices slowly faded away.

The blue creeps left behind exchanged nervous glances as their Hero disappeared from view. And very slowly, they turned toward the red creeps… and the peaceful air that had previously veiled over them was completely gone.

One of the red creeps stepped forward, his voice trembling.

"Please, we... we promise not to fight."

He gestured toward the Inner Crystal,

"But please, let us... just destroy the Crystal. We... we at least deserve that for reaching this far!"

"N-No! Are you crazy!?" A blue creep shouted back, his voice cracking with fear as he rushed to protect their crystal. Others quickly joined him, forming a human barrier before their crystal.

"We're not going to let you do this!"

Hannah, who was still seated on the ground beside Grace, was at a loss as to what to do. Her eyes darted between the two groups.

She knew she should join her team, but she also didn't want to fight anymore. She just wanted everything and everyone to stop.

"What do we do?" Grace asked, her voice steady despite the chaos brewing around them.

Hannah hesitated to answer, and right when she was about to open her mouth—someone else already answered.

"We survive... and then we ask for forgiveness."

The voice came from below them—from Adam, who should have been dead. He repeated the very same words that the man from the IBAA told them at the start of the game.

Adam's eyes were open, clear and focused, as if he were just waking from a nap.

He groaned and pushed himself up to sit, before slowly rising to his feet with Grace's help. Blood still stained his clothes where Sylvie's rapier had pierced his throat, but the wound itself had vanished completely.

Hannah's mouth fell open as she saw this, her eyes wide with shock. "Adam? But... how?"

And soon, the other creeps noticed too.

Both teams froze in disbelief as they stared at the man whom they had just watched die an hour ago start walking.

The Red creeps marching to the crystal halted their steps and backed away, some even pushing their peers as if gesturing to make way for Adam.

"You're... you're alive?" Hannah reached out tentatively for Adam's arm, then snatched her hand back. "I saw you die. We… we all saw you die."

Adam's eyes met Hannah's for but a moment, but it was obvious that there was a storm of guilt swirling within them.

"I'm sorry," he said, closing his eyes as he sighed.

Hannah stared at him, her gaze falling onto the bloodstained cloth on his collars, before straying up to his throat, which should have had a hole in it—but there was nothing. Only his neck, completely unscathed.

Her fingers trembled as she gestured vaguely at where his fatal wound should be.

"How... did you survive? What... how is this..." Her words stumbled over each other as her eyes flicked between Grace and Samantha, as if wanting answers from them.

Grace didn't speak, but her and her daughter's lack of surprise was all the answer she needed.

"You... what?"

The absurdity of what she wanted to say—that he couldn't be killed, that he was something beyond human—caught in her throat.

The thought was… ridiculous.

Adam stepped forward, and like water parting around a stone, the Red creeps moved aside for him.

Their eyes followed him with a mixture of awe and fear that surpassed any respect they'd shown for the Heroes. After all, they had witnessed him cut through the ranks of their enemies, targeting only those who directly threatened him.

Even before he fought with Sylvie, they already knew who he was.

The Red creeps stood behind Adam now, heads bowed, unable to meet the eyes of the blue team across from them.

"Why... why are you doing this?!" A woman from the blue team clenched her fist, her knuckles turning white. She then jabbed a finger toward the children huddled together.

"You were protecting them just moments ago! What... what changed?!"

Adam looked at the children, their faces streaked with tears, eyes wide with confusion and fear. Something twisted in his chest, and he turned away, taking another step forward.

Do you see now, Adam? Do you see the choice you have to take? You are the same as the rest of them—you show kindness, only to betray them at the end. You are no better.

This is the reality of the world, Adam. You are a bad person, just like… them.

"Please..!" The word escaped him, wanting to drown his thoughts.

"I don't want to fight anymore."

"Then don't, please! We... we beg you!" The desperation in the blue creeps' voices cracked through the air.

Adam shook his head slowly. "I'm not going to fight any of you—please, just let us pass. I'm… I'm only after the crystal."

"You're asking us to die!" The blue creeps raised their flimsy and rusted weapons, the metal catching the light from the crystal behind them, casting blue shadows across their frightened faces.

"That's... not for certain. A Hero might arrive while I'm destroying the crystal," Adam covered his face in shame, his shoulders sagging under an invisible weight. "All I'm asking is for you to give us a choice to push through."

"But the children!" They gestured again at the small figures huddled together.

"I know," Adam's teeth ground together, and… tears finally broke free, tracking down his dirt-smudged face. "I know."

He glanced back at Grace and Samantha. Grace stared at him for a moment, before she nodded, her hand gentle but firm on her daughter's arm as they moved to stand beside him.

Hannah watched everything unfold, and after hesitating since the beginning, she finally made her choice.

She crossed to the blue team's side, metal bar in hand, and blocked Adam's path.

"This is so fucked up," she said, her head shaking as if trying to deny the reality around them. "It's so... so fucked up, and i'm sorry, Adam."

Adam nodded, glancing into her eyes as he once again repeated the words, "We survive... and then we ask for forgiveness."

"I've…already forgiven you for what's about to happen," Hannah choked out a laugh that didn't match her tears. And as she raised her makeshift weapon, the rest of her team seemed to find their courage, gripping their own weapons tighter.

"I—" Hannah wanted to say something else, but Adam suddenly rushed at her with shocking speed.

His fist connected with her liver—a precise strike that dropped her instantly. The blue creeps froze, their newfound resolve that they only gained literally a second ago, crumbling like sand as they watched Hannah fall.

"You'll be fine," Adam whispered, softly catching her before she hit the ground, lowering her gently.

He checked for her breath, his palm hovering over her mouth. And when he felt the warm exhale against his skin, relief quickly washed over him.

He then slowly stood up, and the Blue creeps started backing away, their weapons now trembling in their hands.

"From now on," Adam said, his voice quiet but reaching everyone's ears,

"I will only attack people who will attack me, no one else. So, please... don't do it."

***

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AUTHOR NOTES

Why did I even write this, it's mental and heart torture T_T