Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG
Chapter 256

“As we grieve for the fallen, we must also commemorate the living! As is tradition, the names called upon today will receive armor, a visual representation of their continued bravery and courage…” High Lord Lykos droned on and on.

It’d been three weeks since the fall of Mother. Three long, busy weeks. For everyone else, that is. I slept like the dead for two of those three weeks, thanks to Quick Healing, and then spent the week after on bed rest. Although my body was healed, my mind most definitely wasn’t. I still didn't feel a hundred percent, but the world wouldn't wait for me.

Thankfully, the burst that wiped my tech also wiped everyone else’s too. No one had any idea what happened inside the separated space, nor my role in Corvin’s death. Satellite and external tech were blocked by the barrier, and internal tech was wiped. I can’t even imagine how poorly things could've gone if I were fully exposed. The Crusade might’ve made a move to protect me as an asset, but I could never be too sure.

Aythryn City- well, it wasn‘t the same. I doubt it ever would be. There were still cultists and Fedra cells occasionally being found, but most of the bloodshed and fighting had died down to normal levels. Or almost normal. There was still far too much heavy weaponry in the streets thanks to the Circle's efforts. That and everyone wanted a weapon after what happened. Paranoia and fear were at an all time high.

The Blue Crusade as a whole had no time to rest. Especially not with the disappearance of the commander following his pursuit of the traitor high lord. Oh, that traitor? Dead. Yeah, they found him at the bottom of the bay. Commander was MIA though, suspected KIA. Something about his bio monitor vanishing.

Things were changing, whether I wanted them to or not. I just hoped this time- woah, woah, slow down there, Shiro. I can’t go planting another flag after barely surviving the last dozen. Let's not say anything like 'I hope everything is calm' or 'after this I'm going to propose'. Wait- shit, that didn't count, did it?

Anyway, the Blue Crusade’s promotion ceremony. It was a long time coming, and the only reason I was finally let off of bed rest. We were in a skyscraper looking out over the AEZ. It’d attracted quite the crowd between all the Crusaders, press, and curious public. With that in mind, the Blue Crusade went out of their way to make everything nova.

Hell, they even bought me—and everyone else being promoted—dress attire just for the occasion. The dark blue slacks and silver dress coat were super uncomfortable, but at least they looked nice.

I stared out the window behind the stage, looking out over the AEZ. Massive walls were rapidly springing up around its perimeter. The tree, far more vibrant and full of life than the last time I saw it, had grown even bigger. The World Tree, as people had taken to calling it. I felt an unsettling connection every time I looked at it.

As for the walls? Even though Mother was gone, the accumulated energy heavily saturated the AEZ, creating all sorts of new problems. Monsters, weird mutated life forms, and haywire tech were the least of which. The malicous Revenants and magic viruses were much scarier.

Even worse, the ritual circles were still active, feeding even more energy into the space with each death throughout the city. I’d heard from Inquisitor Varus—who’d come to visit me surprisingly often during my bed rest—that shutting down the rituals was impossible. At least, with the limitations of modern magic. Magic as it was today had only been around for a little under a hundred and fifty years, afterall.

Maybe in the future, but for now? Aythryn City had a new permanent feature. Since they couldn’t break it, the council decided to wall it in. The entire perimeter was being surrounded with gargantuan walls to keep anything spawned by the AEZ inside.

Similarly, the FSA set up outposts at each of the ritual circles to ensure no one and nothing gets access to them without premission. As part of that, there were purges being done everyday in the Underground. From what I head, Lia and the Crimson Company were getting quite a bit of high-paying work with all that was going on. I’d never seen Dev happier.

Honestly? The situation wasn’t so bad. At least, it wouldn’t be once everything stabilized. I’d seen a few leaked reports on screamstreams. The AEZ was expected to massively boost Aythryn City’s economy. For now it had a wait and see approach, but the AEZ offered unparalleled opportunities for research and mercenary work. All it took was the lives of one and a half million people, at least according to the unofficial death counts.

Then there was the loot inside the AEZ that drew even more gonks. The constantly spawning Revenants were one thing, but the Remnants? A strong Remnant with a good effect could sell for millions, if not billions. Revenants, on the other hand? Things like the malicious creature from the box? Researchers would faint from excitement having one of those.

Maybe I should-

Hope nudged me with her arm, drawing my attention back to the long-winded ceremony. “You excited?”

I shrugged. “Are you? This is your final piece, right?”

“Yeah… Inquisitor Hope has a nice ring to it, right?” Hope looked even more stressed than usual. Her eye bags had eye bags.

”Sure does.” I patted her on the shoulder and smiled. Everything would be- ugh, almost planted another flag. I really gotta get better about this.

Her shoulder loosened up slightly. “So? Have you thought about my offer?”

I looked toward the stage, where Ligh stood next to Lykos. Like I said, things were going to change, whether I wanted them to or not. “A bit.”

”No pressure. You still have time." She shrugged. "Our vacation begins tommorrow anyway.” 

”Still can’t believe he managed to swing us a month-long paid vacation.” Let it never be said that Ligh Strumgard was incapable.  A vacation after three weeks of bed rest? I was being spoiled.

”The new Commander has to have some sway, eh?” Hope smirked as she followed my gaze to the stage.

The Inquisitor- or should I call him Commander now? He stood next to High Lord Lykos in full formal attire. Although his mask hid his expression, his body language read complete boredom and unwillingness. “Sure hope so.”

”You know, when I was first moved under him, I thought I’d see him fired for negligence before too long. Now look at him. Heh.” Hope shook her head, her smirk fading slightly. Her eyebrows knit together into a thoughtful expression

We went silent, listening to the High Lord call out name. Commander Ligh pinned on new armor to every single person. I pushed an earbud into my ear and started up some music. I leaned back, my mind drifting over everything that had happened.

[UPGRADE COMPLETE]

I ignored the message, just as I had for the past week it’d been flashing in my eyes. I was… scared? Terrified? One of those? I didn't want to open the interface. I was just- just tired. Every time I opened it, some crazy shit followed immediately after, so I’d left it. 

Eventually, I’d have to look at it. I’d be lying if I said some small part of me wasn’t excited and curious about the new interface, my rewards, and my Trait point. That small part of me was in the process of being beaten to death by the rest of me, though.

Avoidance wasn’t the answer, but it felt so very good. Maybe tonight. Yeah, tonight I’d settle down and take a look. I couldn't just avoid it for the rest of my life... and getting stronger would be good. Next time some bullshit cult pops up, I won't be compeltey helpless.

I mentally waved the message out of my eyes and shifted my gaze back to the tree. Even now, as with most plants I'd been around since waking up, I felt a sickening draw that made me want to-

Hope softly grabbed my trembling hand in hers. “We’re up soon.”

“Right.” Thanks... I shook my head roughly, tuning back into the ceremony. Mother was gone. At least, for now.

I followed her, Joshua, and Dev up to the stage. There were so many of us being promoted we couldn’t all fit up there. And even then, this was the third promotion ceremony the Crusade put on.

I smoothed down my dress coat and fixed the blue cord wrapped around my shoulder. Hope, the most senior of the group, went first.

”Squire Hope, in honor of her achievements and continuous contributions, is promoted to the rank of Inquisitor. Hope didn’t let up for a single moment in her dedication to protecting the people of Aythryn City during the AEZ disaster. I’ve personally spoke to no less then a hundred citizens who wouldn’t have made it without her efforts. Congratulations.” Lord Lykos announced as Hope moved to stand next to Inqui- Commander Ligh. 

Commander Ligh's posture shifted to one of pure pride. He cheerfully handed over a silver helmet. Hope put it on, officially joining the ranks of Inquisitors. Applause broke out across the room, creating a thunderous resonance. 

She moved off to the side and shook the hand of Councilwoman Stacy Voss. Technically, she didn’t need to be here since the Blue Crusade was a private corporation, but it was a sign of solidarity. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about the Crusade’s policing contract being revoked anytime soon.

While the Crusade may not be the best at actually policing, they were undoubtedly the best in the market when it came to firepower and fighting forces. There was a reson the Crusde had been around for so long.

Lykos moved on to the next up. ”Squire Dev, in honor of his bravery in battle, is receiving his second-to-last piece of armor. During the heat of battle, Squire Dev was reported to have been a stalwart presence in the fight against the enemies of the city. Congratulations.” 

Commander Ligh crouched down and put a silver greave onto Dev. It was heavy duty, as was the rest of the guy’s armor. He was just missing his helmet now, and then he’d be fully promoted. He moved off to join Hope after a quick photoshoot.

“Squire Joshua, who continued to provide logistical support and medevac long after the battle, is receiving his third armor peice. Joshua’s support of the medics was said to have saved hundreds of lives, especially as supplies ran short. Congratulations.” 

Joshua slunk out into the spotlight, shifting uncomfortably as all the attention came to him. Ligh shook his head slightly before passing over a light chainmail shirt. It was silver, though slightly dull. It was the kind of armor designed to go incognito under clothes. No idea why he didn’t just get a ballistic vest and went with chainmail.

”Squire Zuku--whose ingenuity, creativity, and knowledge of Aythryn City helped push back against the nefarious plots of the Circle cult--is a newly appointed Squire. Her intel gathering capabilities were single-handedly responsible for reducing the Crusade’s death count by as much as fifteen percent. In honor of her contributions, even as a new Squire, Zuku is receiving two pieces of armor. Congratulations.”

My heart felt unsteady as I walked out onto the stage. The spotlight momentarily blinded me, though my eyes quickly adjusted. I stared out at the crowd. So many people. Pather’s Sight made each and every person’s face perfectly clear, wich sent a sledgehammer of nerves into my gut.

I approached Commander Ligh with my new pieces of Crusade armor. When I was asked what style of armor I wanted, I opted for something extremely light and simple. Ligh helped me put on a light chest plate that was similar to a ballistic vest and a simple bracer.

Both felt cold as they rested against my body. The weight felt oddly heavy like a reminder of duty and responsibility... or something like that. In the manual for choosing armor, thats what it said. Honestly didn't feel all that different from normal gear. Just a bit more… protective?

We paused for a picture. Ligh’s cool voice came from within his mask, slurring even worse than usual. “Congratsh.”

Heh, no wonder Lykos was doing all the talking. It would be a bad look for the newest Commander to be revealed as a raging alcoholic. Then again, knowing his luck? He'd probably be seen as all the more personable.

A cheer, extremely loud and overpowering, went out. That wasn’t what caught my attention, though. That honor belonged to hearing several familiar voices in the crowd. Voices that should’ve been as far from the Crusade as possible.

Shinobu, along with several incognito Jade Fangs, wildly cheered me on. Next to Shinobu? Figures I’d only seen in passing, and not ones I wanted to catch the eyes of. Three Elders stood around, including Ishimaru. Noticing my gaze, the old man lifted a bottle in cheers.

Why were they here? Why-

Ligh dropped my hand, bringing my attention back. Right- the stage. I moved away, twisting slightly to get used to the armor and approached Councilwoman Voss. 

She shook my hand politely. “Congrats, dear. It warms my heart to see someone so young, and yet so capable.”

“Thank you.” I moved off to the side to join the rest of the promoted Squires. She seemed like a nice old woman- hmm... mind control? Or was I just being paranoid? Ugh, I really needed a break...

The ceremony continued for a long time after that. Eventually though, it ended and most of the Crusade went up to a private floor. I waited a while for everyone to clear out before heading for the way down.

Squ- Inquisitor Hope found me as I stood out in the hallway, waiting for the elevator. Her helmet was tightly tucked under her arm. “You're not going up?”

“Not my scene.” I had a lot to do tonight anyway. Shinobu shot me a text that they were waiting a few blocks from here. Couldn’t exactly make the Jade Fang Elders wait on me.

“Right… we’re having a small get-together in a couple days. Out of uniform, of course. Joshua is hosting. You in?” She asked me, a hopeful expression on her face.

”Um- I don’t know? I- I’m pretty busy. Want to make the most of our vacation, you know?” In actuality, I wasn’t sure how much time I’d need to take care of everything in the interface. 

That, and, well, I had several new things I needed to test. I could feel them even without looking at the interface. Spectral Flock and something else. Something uncomfortable I’d been avoiding as much as possible. I really needed to figure out why every plant I neared felt connected.

“That’s fine.” She shrugged. “I’ll send you the detes later in case you want to come”

”Chek… Thank you, by the way.” 

“No problem.” Hope looked at me for a lingering moment. She walked off to talk to a group of Crusaders. I heard something about getting raging drunk and designer drugs, though I probably misheard. No way Crusaders were abusing designer drugs, righ?

The elevator dinged. I just had to deal with the Jade Fang, and then I could go off and sleep… or not. Right, I had the interface to deal with tonight. Jade Fang and then that. Hmm… I should go dig up the box, too, and finally pass it over. What was in it again?

I made a few plans for the night. The elevator finally arrived, dinging softly. This time for sure, nothing troublesome would happen… right?