Fear, adrenaline, stress, headaches. Those were the primary sensations that I was experiencing after seeing a familiar attack emerge from the floor below my feet. It was a sight that I thought to never see again, now returning from the darkness to haunt us once more with its destructive power.

Binah, the one known as the cold monster with no true concern for others, had awoken.

A bead of sweat fell down from my face as I tried to compose myself after that sudden assault. The workers who had no knowledge of the events of her first rampage looked around in confusion while the ones who did frowned. In that madness spreading like fire, BongBong remained emotionless, her focus unwavering.

Intercom: Warning! Rabbit protocol initiated in the following departments: Architecture. Cleansing in process!

Y/N: ...

As I made my way to the nearest monitor, I took a look at the one laying inside a small crater made by her own body. The girl dressed in white, the one we were supposed to suppress before our priorities... well, switched to someone much more dangerous.

Sensing that as well, the entity that once tried to attack us slowly stood back on their feet, only to be met by the sharp glare of the girl with long blue hair, her rifle pointed at her head and her finger placed on the trigger. She was not messing around and she was making sure that her target was aware of that. With no hesitation, they raised their hands.

Y/N: BongBong, we're having issues with Melting Love's containment room!

BongBong: Bong.

Heeding my voice, she lowered her rifle and turned heels to make a sprint in the direction of the mentioned slime's room. The confusion grew even stronger for the one standing on the broken floor under her after looking in my direction with her closed eyes.

Although the most logical action right now would be to neutralize her as soon as possible, the problem was that we were also attacked by something much more dangerous than an unarmed person, causing my attention to move elsewhere for the sake of planning for any possibilities. I had to keep an eye on a possible shockwave that would bring along with it a wave of spikes trying to impale the ones who were not fast enough to dodge, retain a semblance of control on the workers around to make sure they don't panic and cause a bigger mess AND keep a constant focus on the rooms containing the abnormalities, at least the ones in my department.

Just dealing with them was enough to make me feel overwhelmed, making me feel bad for the Manager who had to deal with everything at the same time unlike me.

[W]: ...

Y/N: Alright everyone, we need to remain focused, we cannot afford to fall into a panic!

Bringing order and cutting the lingering vines of fear spreading around, I loudly called the office workers around, snapping them out of their shock/PTSD attack. As the captain, it was my duty to keep everyone in high spirits, they were relying on me to keep them safe.

Plus, we already faced the one causing this once before, there was no unknown factors as far as I could tell. We only had to repeat what we did the last time but better for the sake of keeping as many people alive as possible.

The only difference between then and now was the one dressed with what one would call an "angelic" outfit, her silent face observing the scene like it was a fever dream. She was completely unarmed, no way to fight without causing a massive retaliation from everyone in the room, making her efforts pointless. Knowing that, she calmly watched with no signs of aggression, knowing what would occur if she were to strike now.

Clerk 1: Come on everyone, we have to keep pushing as best as we can!

Clerk 2: Speak for yourself, us office workers are worth nothing.

As if to accentuate his point, the second worker loaded his pistol and aimed it at his own head with no hesitation. The clerks immediately froze and stared at the one with a gun pressed against his own head.

Clerk 2: At the first sign of danger I'm taking the easy way out, no way that I'm gonna let myself die from something other than my own hands.

Clerk 3: C-Come on, we can't give up so soon, we have to try our best!

Despite the conflicts appearing left and right, the employees working under my guidance soon nodded in unison, their confidence fragile but still going strong for now. Unfortunately, I could tell that it wouldn't last, if something terrible were to happen then it would be all over for them.

Y/N: ...

Forced to admit that fact, I averted my eyes to the stairs and saw the girl with blond hair working as a member of the Central Command team, Marisa, standing there and watching the ongoing discussion. She glanced at the monitor that I was using to see if any orders had arrived and sighed when she saw that none beside Melting Love were given to us, a brief moment of respite.

Marisa: It's Binah all over again... Can't catch a break here.

I could feel it in the air, the stress building up and soon reaching a breaking point, the employees were pushed to their limits without a single moment to fully rest.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I tried to formulate some sort of plan. If this was a repeat of what happened a few days ago then this nightmare would only end with her demise, meaning that I had to think of how to proceed. Though the first problem I arrived to was her location, where WAS she?

Y/N: Everyone, you must have been notified by now of what is going on, what's the plan?

Turning on the radio that I was carrying, I spoke into it, awaiting ideas from the other captains. A long moment of silence filled the air before someone spoke up, one that I haven't seen in an eternity.

Dana: What can we really do? Everyone in my department is busy dealing with malfunctions in the containment units.

Hana: We currently have the employees of the Architecture department under our wing for now. Extraction team standing by and waiting for further orders.

BB: Welfare team, ready to assist anytime~

Giving a quick look at the monitor that was still lacking any orders given from our superiors, I turned the gearwheels in my head in an attempt to think of a solution. The Rabbits were currently locking the Architecture department, a place I've never gone to yet but that wasn't important. What was important was that they were called there for a reason, one that I could only guess to be Binah.

Alter Ego: We need to prepare ourselves to confront her if it comes down to it.

???: But are we even sure that it is really Binah? Has anyone seen her?

Y/N: ...We can only guess considering what just occured-

???: There's no guess here, it has to be her.

The conversation continued, all of us trying to come with a possible plan of action but sadly, too many ideas at once does not create a perfect solution, differences forming in each propositions with none seemingly pleasing everyone. I let out a sigh unconsciously and looked at the office workers running around, trying to keep the metaphorical bandage separating us from catastrophe firmly in place.

It was a true battle against time, crushing odds that were not in our favor.

Hana: I think I might have an idea, a last resort. I've discussed it with the agents of the Architecture team and my own and they all seemed to be on board.

Y/N: Go ahead.

Hana: ...If we truly are facing a loop, a repeat of that confrontation with that Arbiter then it won't end until we get rid of her.

Alter Ego: What are you planning?

There was hesitation in her voice, carrying doubts that the proposition that would soon be given to us wouldn't be flawless.

Hana: If we stand by and simply count the seconds passing by on our fingers then this disaster will never end. I suggest that we all group together, every agents available, and then jump her to end it as fast as possible.

Y/N: Are you suicidal?! With the current anomalies happening left and right, everything would escape!

Especially considering the army of monstrosities that we were currently holding in this facility, deciding to ditch our duties would be a quick and meaningless death for all of us. From Nothing There to that winged angel, we couldn't afford to take a bold action like this.

Hana: That's why I said as a last resort. If everything begins to fall apart, we all gather and confront her.

Alter Ego: L-Let's not think of the worst, I'm sure we can do this!

Y/N: ...

As much as I would like to stick to her side, a voice in the back of my head whispered a lack of conviction. This place was hell, it was unforgiving and did not hesitate to take as many lives as possible, knowing that none can truly perish in this prison. For that reason, I couldn't gather the boldness to agree with her.

None of us could in fact, a long silence remaining.

Dana: We'll keep this idea in mind, in case it does escalate to that point.

Sinvicta: Good ol' Sinvicta luck is gonna make the chances of that happening rise to 90%.

Y/N: ...Please stop jinxing the inevitable.

I rolled my eyes with exasperation, who then landed on the girl who did not belong in the group of employees around, the one who once tried to kill us. She walked around, causing the workers to glare at her. Not minding that in the slightest, she simply roamed around the room and looked around, clearly lost now that she was completely disarmed.

Following that, blue hair fluttered in the air, the figure of BongBong in her black and orange suit emerging from the hallway leading to Melting Love's room. The sight was enough to make the one dressed in white jump in fear. She must be REALLY terrified of her if she reacts like that.

...Not that I can't understand, her long and eerie gaze was enough to give me shivers.

BongBong: BongBong.

Y/N: Yes, welcome back.

Alter Ego: Y/N?

Suddenly, after what I considered to be the end of our conversation, a familiar voice came out of the device that I was carrying. Slightly taken aback by it, I answered with a simple "Yea?" to confirm that I could hear her.

Alter Ego: Hava wants to tell you something.

Oh boy, I don't know if I should fear what she's going to tell me or not. Chances are that she'll tease me a little and dip, it wasn't my first rodeo with her after all. She soon took Alter Ego's radio and joined the line.

Hava: Holding strong?

Y/N: ...I suppose, I'm a little on edge though.

I don't think anyone can blame me for that, the stress that I had to carry was not only mine but also those working in the entire department, I had to put them at ease and drag their worries with me so that they can focus on their work.

I was expecting to hear some light words of encouragement coming from her but... I was certainly not prepared for what came next.

Hava: I think you won't be for long, especially knowing that once we pull through this, you'll get a nice reward~

Alter Ego: H-Hava?!

Alter Ego's surprise was so powerful that her voice was able to be clearly heard, even though she wasn't the one holding the device. I was just as shocked to hear her utter those words out of nowhere.

Y/N: Like what?

...But I played along, I wanted to see how far she would go.

Alter Ego: Y-Y/N?!

Hava: Oh, interested~?

I glanced over my shoulder and saw BongBong making long circles around the angelic girl, her cold eyes not letting her out of her sight. Talking to the office workers was Marisa, not minding our conversation as well.

Y/N: Yea sure, might as well give myself another reason to push through.

Despite looking at a simple radio, I could almost feel the wide grin forming on Hava's face, her smug aura emanating from it.

Hava: How about you get a special treat with Alter Ego's thighs, if you catch what I mean~?

Alter Ego: I-I didn't consent to this!

Y/N: ...A lap pillow?

Hava: Why stop there? Ask her to crush your face with them, bury yourself in their comfort to melt away any stress, the limits are endless!

Security team clerk 1: You... You lucky bastard!

Security team clerk 2: Meh, Gebura has better thighs, her legs look like sticks compared to hers.

Alter Ego: Y-You... Y-You...

Hava: Oops, I think I broke her with the teasing, I'll talk to you later Y/N!

Y/N: R-Right.

Dana: ...Please stop using the radio for flirting, we can all hear you.

BB: Oh no, keep going, this kouhai of yours is very interested~

???: ...God you sound like a creepy stalker with that voice.

Despite the rather... silly conversation in this dire situation, which didn't fit at all, simply hearing what I could consider to be a casual conversation during this long and arduous ordeal was enough to form a smile on my face. Some things never change and Hava was definitely one of them.

Clerk 1: Sir.

Y/N: Hm?

Clerk 2: Are we... uh, well, are we gonna deal with her or no?

Pointing in the direction of the intruder in our ranks, the office workers all seemed uneasy to be around her, despite the vulture known as BongBong making long circles around her. Now that an opportunity was given to us, we could get rid of her.

Or we could use her for something much more useful like a meat shield. Maybe even-

Y/N: Hey you!

Pulling out a powerful voice from the limited range of voices that I could do, I aimed my words at the one being eyed, who turned to look at me. The time she took to do so, I was already next to her, allowing me to perfectly slam a clipboard in her face.

Surprised by the sudden object forced onto her, she took a long look at it before glancing back at me.

Y/N: I'm keeping an eye on you but don't expect to slack off. Any signs of defiance and I send you to BongBong, got it?

She rapidly nodded without a single moment to think.

Marisa: ...Did you just hire her?

Y/N: I guess? I'd be more appropriate to call it a threat than "hiring".

BongBong: ...

As I shrugged off the question thrown my way, the air around us quivered, the floor underneath us shaking as if trapped in a powerful earthquake. Following that, like delusions coming from someone's delirious mind, black spots began to emerge. The process took a mere second and that second was the only time given to us to understand what was going on before a second wave of spikes emerged from the dark areas on the floor.

Thankfully, since the clerks were already tensed up due to a certain girl's presence, they easily dodged the few attacks aimed our way without breaking a single sweat. I did the same, only to hear the monitor beep afterwards, new orders sent to us.

Y/N: Everyone back to work, we need a check of the containment rooms asap!

I snapped them out of their stupor, forcing the employees to return to their duties. With that done, I took a quick look at the orders sent our way. Time was of the essence, I couldn't afford to carelessly waste it doing nothing.

Y/N: Knight of despair, WhiteNight, Silent Orchestra... tch.

I clicked my tongue upon seeing some of the names but tried my best to not make it look obvious to the others in the room. I hurriedly around to confront the agents in the room.

Y/N: BongBong, we have an emergency with that flying fetus!

The mere mention of the nickname was enough to make her understand what I was trying to tell her. Following that, I moved the finger that I was pointing at the blue haired girl to the blond haired one.

Y/N: You go deal with Knight of Despair, I'm gonna go take a look at Silent Orchestra!

Marisa: Right!

Y/N: You, you follow me!

I snapped my fingers to catch the angelic girl's attention, who simply tilted her head in response. There was no way in hell that I would let her roam around with nobody capable of dealing with her keeping an eye on her actions and so, I forced her to follow me through the corridors.

However, as much as I tried to plan everything to make it as perfect as possible, some things were just beyond my control and sadly, I had to admit that fact upon hearing some cries demanding for assistance in my radio as soon as I arrived in front of the containment unit.

Dana: Army in Black has escaped its room, everyone be on high alert!

Sinvicta: We can't, we've got monk going rogue on our side!

Y/N: ...

I glanced over my shoulder and just like a devil preying on a weak soul, standing to oppose us, was a floating black heart, lifeless staring at me like I was a mere nuisance. A drop of sweat fell down my face, a minimum of at least a hundred thoughts coursing through my head, fighting to be the one I would choose upon seeing one of the escaping entities.

Y/N: I hope you know how to clean someone!

With adrenaline pumping rapidly in my blood, I opened the containment door next to us but instead of hiding myself inside, a perfect right kick was sent in the girl following me, forcing her in the room. I could barely see her reaction of pain in time on the other side before the door closed and locked itself.

Now with nothing stopping me, I pulled out the pink rifle on my back and opened fire. Ignoring the damage received, the pitch black heart continued its journey towards the main room behind me.

Y/N: Welfare team, we have a roaming black heart, demanding assistance!

No response could be heard from the device but I did not let that get to me, calmly inserting a new bullet in the chamber and repeating the cycle. I could feel my teeth pressing against each other from the tension as I desperately tried to push back the unflinching opponent. It silently retaliated with a wave of black heart forming at my feet and making its way in the air, creating a wall of smoke in the entire hallway.

Despite that, I simply endured the attacks thrown at me and pursued the assault, all for the sake of defending the employees on the other side. The moment I firmly held my position against the escaping abnormality was soon followed by the door behind me opening.

???: Take this!

Just like a god descending upon humans, a miracle flew past me, a helping hand that I desperately tried to receive via my communication device. It was akin to witnessing something so unbelievably good that you couldn't help but doubt it. I blinked once and a powerful strike made contact with the roaming entity, sending it in the opposite direction of us.

With a small window of time given to me to catch my breath, my eyes quickly scanned the arriving helper and widened slightly. Both facing the dark heart and serving as a shield for me was the one wearing the dark suit given to the clerks of the Extraction department. He was also wearing a pair of black gloves with metallic fingertips that matched with his uniform, said metallic fingertips creating sparkles of electricty that coursed throughout the entirety of the gloves.

Zeta19: Wow, that thing is a total pushover, wasn't expecting that!

On his back, a wing was present, a singular wing. However, instead of the one that I was carrying, which was pitch black with golden eyes on it, his was made like it was part of a skeleton. Nonetheless, just like mine, it did not seem to impede his fighting prowesses, allowing him to strike a fancy pose like he was a main character in a show.

Y/N: Zeta, you're still not wearing a proper suit!

Zeta19: Oh come on, give me a break, I just saved your ass.

Y/N: Yea...

I calmly responded as I pressed the trigger of my weapon, sending another projectile at the target we were facing. Following that, the ex-clerk dashed forward and swung a flurry of quick jabs, causing the electricity forming around his fists to dissipate, all spent on inflicting as much damage as possible on the target.

The both of us were completely focused on the danger in front of us as we desperately tried to contain it as fast as possible. Unfortunately, the hands of fate had decided to throw the dice of misfortune once more, one time too many for us.

???: Shit, everyone be on guard, Big Bird has escaped its room!

That first warning was followed by a second.

Alter Ego: R-Red is rampaging in our department, Hava's keeping her at bay for now but we need help!

Forced to listen to cries of panic, I continued the suppression of the flying heart in front of us along with the promoted clerk. Thankfully, for once ever since this day began, the scales tipped in our favor. Zeta was right, compared to monsters like Nothing There, they weren't much of a hassle once you got the hang of it. With enough efforts, movements ceased and the entity remained in place, becoming inactive.

Y/N: Did we do it?

Zeta19: No clue.

As much as I would have liked to heave a sigh of relief, our problems were far from done, in fact more were piling up by the minute. Slightly overwhelmed by that realization, I almost didn't see the door leading to the Silent Orchestra open, revealing the girl dressed in white that I kicked inside to serve as the employee attending to it.

[W]: ...

Zeta19: You're still alive?

He was the first one to comment on her appearance before giving me a glance saying "Why is she still here?", not the pressure that I need right now considering what is currently happening.

Y/N: Sorry for the kick but tough times call for tough decisions. Did you do the job?

[W]: ...

Without a single word, she raised one of her hands to reveal a towel placed on a bucket, her other hand occupied by a mop. The sight was enough for the one who assisted me to blink out of bewilderment.

Zeta19: Hold up, did you just-

Y/N: We don't have time for this, everything is going to shit right now!

I unconsciously voiced out my impatience and stress at the one genuinely surprised, luckily he didn't seem to take it personally and accepted my lack of answers for now. I quickly retraced my steps after ordering the girl to follow me, who was also followed by the Extraction team agent.

...

...The main room was a complete mess. The office workers were running around in distress, probably after learning about the current state of the facility and the breached abnormalities. Everyone was rushing around, desperately keeping everything in the department in check but with chaos spreading like a disease, there was nothing that could be achieved.

This was a situation beyond me, even if I were to call for order, none of them would listen right now. If things were much more peaceful then it would have worked but lady luck isn't that merciful unfortunately.

Clerk 1: We're all gonna die!!

Clerk 2: I want out, get me out of this hellhole!

In one of the corners, one of the office workers was giggling to himself, definitely high out of his mind. As I took a step closer, he turned to face me and mumbled with a voice full of ecstacy, as if reaching enlightenment.

Clerk 3: Our lives are played for giggles, we are forced to repeat our deaths over and over again for the sick goal of the ones above us... Our struggles are worth nothing... in the face of the perfect light.

Y/N: ...

Zeta19: Yep, he definitely took some shit.

...Oh how truthful his delirious statement was, though I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud. Trying my best to shrug off the words uttered to us, I looked back at the rest of the room, workers sprinting left and right in a hurry while some were giving up, accepting our demise.

The bandage was starting to rupture and tear apart, letting madness flow through along with destruction. It was broken in all places and the next strike that followed definitely shattered any hopes of repairing it.

It was another shockwave, bringing along another wave of spikes from the floor below us along with a song that I couldn't barely hear past the screams of terror but it was a song that I definitely remembered, the final melody before the Arbiter's demise. With that, the downward spiral leading all of us on a torturous path continued. Escaping abnormalities left and right, employees in a chaotic state, everything was soon going to get worse.

(I know it's kinda the end of a tense chapter but since it's almost the end of the story, I might as well ask. Since a group of you is somehow able to endure the shitty writing of this... thing then I might as well ask you the following question:

Through the whole story, which line do you consider to be your favorite? It can be a line a character said or a short paragraph that you thought was cool, I dunno. I want to see what made you go "that was cool/funny/dumb".)