Soldier:"Sarin midthrone."
Just after saying that, she left him in front of the now open door, inside was workbench, behind it was another woman in suit and glases, he black hairs spiraling on the ends of each strand, her grey eyes dulled and covered in bags from sleep loss and stress. She looked like she was in her mid 30s and had lived quite a stressfull life.
But what caught var–.. No.. Vash's attention was that... She wasn't surprised to see a man like others outside. She calmly gestured him to come inside.
As vash steps inside, the door closes itself and leaves the two of them privately away from the outside world.
The woman kept signing the papers in the file and says.
Woman:"Make yourself comfortable on that chair."
She said and raised her hand towards the chair in front of her desk. Vash sat down and waited for her to continue talking.
The woman closes her file and slowly looks up to him, her fingers crossing in a thoughtful pattern as she continues talking in the same calm tone.
Woman:"You can call me general, if you have any questions related to 'what you should call me' kind of thing... So... Mister-.."
She asked it like the most normal thing, unlike sarin, she seems to know what a man is. Vash paused for a moment to make sense of whatever was going on now and says.
Vash:"you can call me vash... And I have a question for you."
The general just smiled and waited for him to continue, to which, vash continues with.
Vash:"So,... Ever since I came here, I noticed one thing in particular.... Why is there no man on this fl–, I mean land.... And, that girl out there said she doesn't know what a man is... But, you seem to know what a man is,.. Just... What's happening?... I don't understand anything at all."
The general stayed silent for a moment before responding solemnly... She sounded like someone who had lost near everything at once, a attitude of a veteran.
General:"She knows what a man is... Everyone does, but,.... They just don't know how a man looks."
Vash looks at her skeptically and says.
Vash:"But, you do?"
The general stayed silent for some more time and responds.
General:"I wish I didn't.., it happened 200 years ago... This place had both men and women together like any other place, but one day, everything changed.... That day.... The Doom's day"
Vash, hearing the the time gap first had only one thought....
Vash:"Am I blind?, this woman is 30 or something, yeah, am I tripping or does she think I am a idiot?"
The general continues her story.
General:"That day, every man in this place turned into a monster, not just humans... But, overall male creatures.... Animals, insects, humans... Whatever creatures had the male counterparts... Turned into a chaotic demon monster. It was two hundred years ago.... So, no one knows about it anymore."
Vash pauses and stops her from talking too, just to ask a question.
Vash:"Wait, wait, wait, wait... A quick question, ... You said it all happed 200 years ago, so no one knows it anymore... So,... How do you know it?... And.. Not just "how" But, "why"... Why do you know it?.... Isn't that like... A traumatic thing... And... How did that happen?.. Like.. Some radiation?... Spell or something? ... Because, sorry if I am being annoying..... But I don't understand anything you said just now... Except for the fact, that every male creature became a monster."
The general stayed calm and responds with.
General:"I understand your skepticism, and yes... I have lived more than 200 years... And about how did I do that... It's related to the phenomenon that changed the men into living demons, it'll take hours to explain it all so let's get to the poi–"
Vash interrupts her and says.
Vash:"I have more than enough time... I like hearing back stories... And.. You can tell me the main things only, maybe, that will help me understand more about this place... And also... You said the part about yourself being over 200 years ago like... There's someone else too like you. So, what are you hiding from me... Madam general?"
The general looked at him in shock, thinking to herself.
General:"How does he know there's someone else like me?.... I.. As far as I remember, I said everything calmly and didn't sayd anything about someone else being like me here.... Just,.. Who is this kid?"
Vash kept sitting there calmly before picking up a paper wait, rolling it on her table, waiting for her to continue. All the while, his eyes never blinked or wavered from her eyes, glowing faintly blue that sent shivers down the general's spine.
General:"This kid... I underestimated him, he's not just a kid... And according to the reports, he had slain that blood worm in one strike.... This kid.... Is no human either. ... Is he also about to turn into monsters like others?.... No, his behavior is unlike any men I've seen turning into monsters, he's unnaturally calm about all this monsters.... That's not overconfidence, he knows his stats.... He knows, where he stands.... He is neither a human, nor a monster.... He is.... A living anomaly with both race's qualities..... This is, incredible... He can become a great weapon for us."
The general started to smile to herself at the last sentence. She calms herself down and stands up from her chair, walking around him to stand behind his chair, she placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to his ear to say something in a seductive tone.
General:"It's been 200 years, since I've seen a man. Even before that, not many man were able to make me feel this tense..... You have the strength, the power to conquer this all.... You can end this misery that had been on this land for more than decades.... Ah~.. Silly me, i never asked about how did you come here... Mister vash, would you mind telling me more about you?"
The general's behavior had took a weird turn right in front of him, but to vash, it wasn't a woman who was saying it... This whole time, vash was seeing a woman in front of him, but, what he was looking at wasn't a woman, he was looking at something else.... Something above her head.... A nametag.
[Fragment of boss: senyle martha]
This whole time, while they were having a conversation, there had been a nametag above the general's head and a system quest screen in front of his eyes.
[0/3 fragments have been collected]
[Fragments are Inbeded in different bodies, the boss will spawn when the three fragments are used at floor 1000]
Vash didn't know there was more people who lived more than her... But he knows, there are two more people with fragments like her.
He crosses his ankle over his knee and drops the paper weight down and says in a calm and cold undertone.
Vash:"you are changing the topic.... Miss. Senyle Martha."
The general went still, frozen from both shock... And fear?... He face went pale, not just by his coldness, but, by the name itself. Like, she had some scary past with that name.
Meanwhile, vash kept sitting calmly even with the general practically wrapped around his back.
Vash:"I didn't expect the system to suddenly show me a name tag in my mid conversation. When I first entered this off, there was no system warning or name tag. But just as she started talking about the past... From 200 years ago... I was only able to see it for a blink of a second, but, I surely did.... Her face was not of a human..... Those hollow eyes and paled face is anything but human... And then the name tag suddenly appeared above her head."
"I don't know how to extract the fragment from her, but I need to think in the meantime, let's just get her to say everything first... I really am interested in knowing a backstory about how did she end up with a boss fragment in herself."
The general's grip on vash's shoulders tightened slightly, hurtful but manageable for him.
"From that reaction of her's, I am quite sure that the name isn't something anyone but she knows about... She hid it from everyone?, yeah, that's possible... But why?... By that reaction of her, anyone could mistake her for a weak and vulnerably emotional enemy... But that reaction doesn't hide the presence of the nametag.... That, crimson blood red color is anything but weak.... I shouldn't get on her bad side right now, she's stronger than me, so I need to look for the info and step evenly to make sure I don't come out as a enemy."
"For now, let's stay put and try to avert her suspicions."
Vash:"Ah,.. Did I say something wrong, miss. Senyle?"
The general's grip tightens further, making him wince in pain slightly, her eyes were glowing faintly red as she questions him.
General:"H-h-how do you.. K-know that name?"
Vash didn't say anything and the responds... Pointing at her left chest.
Vash:"It's written on your tag... Miss senyle..."
The general let's go of his shoulders with a soft gasp and looks down at her tag badge, realizing that the name written is similar to the one that vash said and silently corrects him: "that seniel mathra,... Not senyle martha"
Vash rubs the back of his head and mumbles back innocently: "oh?... I didn't thought it was pronounced that way,.. And mathra just looked similar to martha."
Though the situation was tense just a moment ago, senyle... Or seniel was calmed down and felt at ease after knowing that it was just a misinterpretation and not really him knowing anything about him.
After the moment of calmness seniel asks vash in a curious and calm attitude.
Seniel:"Mr. Vash... Sorry about the rudeness but,... Why are you covering your face even in this underground headquarters?"
There, that was the question for which he was bracing himself all this time... Because actually, the mask was just a fashion for him in the start when he got the system and gained power... But, now it wasn't just a means to look cool... It was a risk reducer... He was doing everything wearing mask that even if someone saw him, he can just give up the mask and go forward in a different way, because the power he held now was nothing that a human should possess... That just for his real world.
But, here, he was hiding his face and identity because he doesn't trust the people who were supposed to be NPCs... These people have way too many emotions for a npc, and they don't glitch from any kind of events that's not monster attack and chaotic arguments... He was it all while he was walking through the camp on the way to underground headquarters.
He kept a gentle face and a composed attitude.
Vash:"I don't know if it's strategy or stupidity... But I don't think I have to hide the reason... Well, let's gamble the reaction."
"Well, I won't lie about my thoughts right now.... The truth is that I still have doubts about you being a friend or foe... So, i can't trust someone with an information as sensitive as my identity even if it's another place.... I apologize if it's comes as rude... But that's just how I feel."
Seniel waves her hands and tries to reassure him that it's understandable.
Seniel:"Ah~.. It's fine... I understand... E-even I have issues trusting just anyone... And you're not even from here,.... So it's kind of understandable that you have trust issues."
She was being overly polite after hearing him say the name that she seemed wary about... But what was worrying vash was that she's too strong to be vary of him.. Which made vash look at her calculatively in order to make up for why she's acting like this.
While he was thinking, she continued her talk.
"You know, it's been many decades since I have seen a man.... And a man who's not even a adult yet."
She leans on her desk, her chin resting on her left fist.
"You are a specimen that's way too precious to let go off."
She said with a chilling smile.