Chapter 165: Prelude to the Last Battle
After returning to the real world, Dennis immediately informed William and Eleanor about the coming danger. Both were naturally shocked and urged him to be careful. Just after Dennis hung up, the city’s sirens wailed. A government announcement echoed through every corner of the city, stating that Emerald and Ruby City would soon be on the move because Onyx City was heading toward them at high speed, and authorities were still investigating why.
Dennis, hearing this, immediately turned to look at Daisy, who was holding Destiny, along with Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne.
"They’re coming," Dennis said.
"Yes, I know... so what’s the plan?" Daisy asked.
"I’m going to meet them," Dennis answered.
Instantly, the faces of Daisy, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne twitched in shock. They crowded around Dennis in the center.
"Don’t be reckless, honey," Daisy said.
"Da—da," Destiny leaned forward, reaching her arms out to Dennis. Naturally, Dennis took her into his arms.
Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne remained silent. Daisy, still trying to stop Dennis, looked over at the others.
"Hey... why are you all just standing there? Help me," Daisy said, frustrated.
But the six remained quiet. They glanced at one another before all turning their gaze toward Daisy.
"Daisy, can we talk?" Diana asked with a smile.
"Huh... talk about what?" Daisy asked, confused.
"To the council room," Dahlia answered, smiling.
"Huh... what’s going on?" Dennis asked, puzzled.
"Sorry hon, but can we have a word with Daisy? It’s important," Deborah said, turning to Dennis with a smile, though Dennis could see that her face actually looked sad.
Despite that, Dennis couldn’t say anything, and they eventually led Daisy down to the basement. Dennis, holding Destiny, watched them descend.
"Ma—ma?" Destiny also watched the seven Daisys go downstairs with a worried look.
"Yeah... Daddy’s worried too. Let’s just wait here, okay?" Dennis told Destiny.
Destiny seemed to understand and turned to hug Dennis. Dennis gently patted Destiny’s back slowly. Then he carried Destiny to sit on the sofa, his head spinning as he guessed what his seven wives were doing downstairs. Plus, he kept picturing the faces of Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne, who all looked so sad.
[Master.]
"What is it, Sami?" Dennis asked.
[Forgive the interruption, but please look at this broadcast.]
An interface opened in front of Dennis’s face, showing two cities overlapping according to satellite imagery, and the second city was surrounded by an army of giant crawlers depicted as hundreds of red dots. When Dennis zoomed in, he was shocked because that second city turned out to be Aquamarine City, which had originally intended to refuel by docking with Onyx City, but the screen clearly showed Aquamarine City was being bombarded by the giant crawler army.
"Huh... what is this?" Dennis asked.
[They are attacking Aquamarine City... the goal is to free their comrades who are being held there... as well as to destroy it.]
Dennis immediately went silent, his jaw tightening until it clicked and his eyes glared sharply at the screen. "Slap," suddenly Destiny slapped him gently, and when Dennis looked over, he saw Destiny’s cute face looking quite confused. Dennis immediately smiled and kissed Destiny’s cheek; his doubt, fear, worry, and anger vanished instantly. Then he looked back toward the screen.
"So... he really wants to go all-out in a war with us?" Dennis asked.
[Correct, Master. He wants to rule everything, and this time, he is doing it openly.]
Then Dennis enlarged the screen and was shocked because he saw Norman standing with Ray at the gate of Aquamarine City. It looked like they were talking and even seemed to be arguing fiercely. After a few moments, Ray was seen stabbing Norman’s chest with his bare hand and tossing him upward; a giant crawler caught Norman and swallowed him instantly.
Dennis covered Destiny’s eyes so she wouldn’t witness it. Even though he hated Norman, seeing Norman killed so cruelly before his eyes made Dennis feel something in his chest—though it wasn’t a parent-child bond, it was something else.
After that, Ray was also seen talking with several other people who, when zoomed in, Dennis recognized. Yes, they were the people who appeared on the monitor screen when Norman killed Daisy’s older sister in front of the camera, and those were the same people who ordered Norman to kill her. Dennis’s hands clenched into fists. He glanced toward the basement, hoping none of his wives would come out and see the broadcast, then he looked back at the screen.
"He’s killing all of his own associates? What for?" Dennis asked in his head, confused by Ray’s behavior.
[He wants to end everything... he intends to destroy the world.]
"Huh... what? Are you sure about that?" Dennis asked in shock.
[Very sure... after living in this world for so long... Ray has lost his mind and he intends to end everything because he no longer has any hope for the future.]
"Is that true? But why? When we went to Onyx City last year, wasn’t the city still doing just fine?" Dennis asked.
[For Ray, taking over and destroying that city from the inside took less than a single month, Master.]
"Wait... you can get this much info... from who?" Dennis asked curiously.
[....]
"Hey... why are you suddenly quiet?" Dennis asked.
[I obtained the data from the system that was previously with Ray... let me explain who the man named Ray M actually is.]
An interface opened up, overlaying the previous one. It displayed all the data regarding Ray M, whose real name was Railey Maximillian. Dennis, reading through it, became increasingly confused and didn’t understand the meaning of the interface in front of him. But suddenly his eyes widened. When he read Railey’s gender, the interface didn’t list male, but female. Then Dennis scrolled up and looked at the photo; it was clear that Ray M was a dude and definitely not a woman.
"Hey... what does this mean, Sami? I don’t understand this at all? Railey... a woman?" Dennis asked.
[Correct... in the real world... but here, he is a man.]
"Huh... is that really true?" Dennis asked in shock.
[True, and he has a close connection with you... and your wives.]
"W... what?" Dennis asked, stunned.
[Remember, Master, what actually happened to you in your previous world.]
Dennis immediately started thinking hard, digging deep into his memories, but he couldn’t find anything. After he reflected for a while,
[Fine, allow me to unlock your mind.]
Suddenly, Dennis felt an agonizing pain in his head; Destiny, who was in his arms, hugged his neck tight, afraid he might drop her. A memory of when he was held on that island as collateral for debt surfaced in his mind.
***
[Bzzzzzzzz]
A week after Dennis was captured, several guards came down. They brought a little girl who was unconscious and threw her into the cell. Dennis just watched the girl lying next to him, his finger reaching out toward her chubby cheek.
A few hours later, the girl woke up; she immediately panicked and screamed out crying. Dennis tried to calm the girl down because if he didn’t, she would be beaten by the guards. But he didn’t succeed and the girl actually cried even louder. Finally, a guard came down and opened the cell; he held a club and shouted at the girl to be quiet while raising his hand.
Seeing the girl was about to be hit and terrified, Dennis immediately jumped to hug her, shielding her by turning his back to the guard.
"Get out of the way," the guard shouted while striking Dennis’s back.
But Dennis kept hugging the girl and protecting her. The guard went berserk and beat Dennis’s back with enthusiasm until a friend arrived and struck the guard’s face with a baton. He dragged the guard out of the cell and locked it again, leaving Dennis trembling and in pain while still hugging the little girl.
"Big brother... big brother... huaaaaa,"
The little girl cried as she hugged Dennis, though this time she wasn’t as loud as before.
"Do... don’t cry, or you’ll get hit," Dennis said slowly with a trembling voice.
"O... okay," the girl replied.
After that, if the girl was about to be hit by guards or wasn’t given food, Dennis always helped her. Until one day, the girl finally asked,
"Who are you, big brother?" the girl asked.
"My name is... Dennis... how about you?" Dennis asked.
But because his ear had been hit and was ringing, Dennis didn’t hear when the little girl introduced her name, but Dennis saw the movement of her mouth and now he understood.
[Bzzzzzzzz]
***
"Ra... Railey," Dennis said with a pale face, clutching his head with both hands.
[Exactly, Master. The little girl in your memory is Railey... and she was always with you in the game you played.]
Dennis immediately remembered; when he played the game Eclipse Saga, he did have one friend who was always online with him and always grinding together. She claimed to be female but used a male character.
"Rmax," Dennis said, remembering.
[Correct, Master. RMAX, short for Railey Maximillian... do you remember now?]
"I remember... I remember very well... but what does this have to do with Daisy?" Dennis asked.
[Remember again, Master, you didn’t just meet Daisy when you entered high school; you had already promised to marry her since you were a child, and in the end, she became the obstacle preventing Railey from getting close to you.]
"Huh," Dennis muttered in his head, stunned.
