Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

The next morning, Ragnar was tasked with showing everyone else the various locations he and Cyanide had been to the day before, just as planned. He wasn't exactly happy to be doing it, but well, Cyanide did help him get his sword back for the meager price of a couple dozen materials he didn't even need. A favor was in order.

Little did he know, those [Snake Fangs] were extremely valuable to Cyanide, but… oh well. That was a secret he would never find out.

In any case, while Ragnar did that to help the others unlock the Lost Herald, Blood Baron (Cyanide told him about the location when collecting Anastasia from the same hill), along with the Shrine of Divinity inside the cave from last night, Cyanide and Luna headed in a completely different direction, searching for some experiment subjects.

"What did you need me for, Cyanide?" Luna asked, walking alongside him, as Cyanide spoke without turning to her.

"If anything goes wrong, I need you here. You are the most trustworthy among the group—the only person I am willing to expose vulnerability to."

Without even realizing it, Luna smiled to herself like a little girl who'd just gotten a compliment, and blushed slightly. But Cyanide depending on her wasn't the point here. The point was why he needed to 'expose vulnerability' in the first place.

"What will you be doing?" Luna inquired, snapping back to reality.

Cyanide made sure no presences were around, then finally stopped walking and turned to his companion.

"Luna. Do you remember the status ailment effect of the Death affinity you told me about?"

Luna gave a nod. "Control, correct? Don't tell me… you obtained that skill?"

Cyanide nodded grimly in return. "I am aware you told me to wait until I was Level 50 or somewhere close, but I had the SP, and I believe I have the capability to handle it—at least, practicing it. The earlier I am able to get some training for this skill in, the easier it will be for me to use it in the future."

"I see… already planning ahead. That's just like you, Cyanide," Luna said with a sigh. "But although I am confident in your abilities… this skill is not easy to use. One misstep… and you may end up harming yourself."

"I'm aware. This is Death we are dealing with here. Power comes with a price. But the reason I am practicing this now… is so that when I actually need to execute it, I won't end up executing myself instead."

"Fair enough. As you are right now… you can probably handle Controlling one mutant, and a very weak one at that."

"So… something small?" Cyanide asked, but Luna shook her head.

"Not necessarily. Yes, physical size plays a factor, but what determines a mutant's strength lies in their core. The tiniest of insects could be a Blood Baron in disguise, so be careful when selecting a target. Personally, some species I would look out for are… for example, bunnies, or squirrels. They seem the least hostile, thus having the lowest mental defense. It should be easiest to access their cores using Control."

"Bunnies or squirrels…" Cyanide echoed, then turned around and continued walking, keeping a keen eye out for any sign of such wildlife.

And sure enough, after just several minutes of searching, Luna's blindfolded yet technologically enhanced eyes spotted a small grey mutant bunny, calmly eating on what appeared to be plants. Despite being a mutant, it still kept the same food habits—just killed whenever it could.

"There it is," Luna said, lying low in a patch of grass beside Cyanide a short distance away from their target. "Alright, Cyanide. It's eating right now, so its guard is down. Now is your best chance to strike. Follow my directions, step by step."

Cyanide nodded, confirming that he understood, and Luna continued.

"Now… the first step to Controlling a mutant is stealth. You mustn't alert the mutant before attempting to Control them, since that will raise the security level of their core and make it harder to infiltrate with your Control ability."

The first step was already complete—the rabbit hadn't noticed either of them yet. Being an assassin, Cyanide was an expert on stealth—and being the partner who had worked by his side for many, many years, Luna too was no beginner.

Now, it was time for the second.

"Next, the execution. To make things easier since this is your first time, close your eyes, Cyanide," Luna said softly, voice as gentle as a lullaby. "Then, imagine faint invisible strands coming out of your hand like glowing blue puppet strings, lighter than air and thinner than wind. Akin to a tree's branches, they grow and lengthen, slowly and imperceptibly making their way towards their goal. They're silent, but calming. Like a gentle death, they sweep towards your target…"

Cyanide concentrated intently, listening to each and every one of Luna's poetic verses and following along.

"… And as they softly enter the bunny's body, through its wires and into its core… you whisper the word…"

"Control."

"… Control."

The two finished at the same time, and Cyanide's eyebrows furrowed as he felt his 'strings' attach to something—the bunny. It felt weird, like a second heart pulse in his body. He felt connected to it on a spiritual level, like the bunny was now a mere extension of his own body.

The creature, on its part, stopped eating, and paused all motion. It just sat there for a few seconds, completely still, then-

"—!"

Cyanide's eyes snapped open as the 'string' connecting himself and the bunny suddenly broke, and he fell backwards in surprise pain, clutching his head from migraine. The bunny dashed away, of course, but that was the least of their problems right now.

"Cyanide!" Luna hurriedly caught him in her arms, and looked down at him in worry. "Are you alright?"

"Ngh… yes, mostly," he muttered in reply, struggling to open one of his eyes while still clutching his forehead. "What… was that? I felt like there was a second set of heartbeats inside me."

"I believe that was what distracted you, causing your visualization of the string to break and thus the Control process to be broken," Luna said, resting Cyanide's head on her thighs. "But the fact that you felt those heartbeats meant the Control process was successful—those were the mutant's heartbeats."

"Mutants have heartbeats…? I thought they were dead."

"They do, Cyanide," Luna said with a smile. "I thought you already knew that, since… y'know, you're all cozy with Dianna and all. Haven't you heard her heartbeat before, when you were so close to her?"

Cyanide, having mostly recovered, gave a dark chuckle.

"Heh. Is that jealousy I detect?"

"No idea what you're talking about," Luna stated with a neutral expression, giving a cute 'hmph' and looking away. Cyanide smirked wryly at this, and got to his feet before looking around.

"Anyway… it seems we need another test subject."

"You're still going to continue practicing, Cyanide?" Luna asked, surprised, and Cyanide nodded.

"Practice makes perfect, Luna," he said, walking out of the patch of bushes they had been hiding in.. "Practice makes perfect."