Archer (Klein x Reader)

Chapter 15 - Run

You did the only thing you could think to do:

Run.

You didn't hear any noises behind you of someone attempting to follow you, and so you continued to run further.

You were sick with yourself for leaving Klein and the other men behind. Klein now probably thought of you as a disgusting human being with no other interests besides self-preservation.

That's not why you were running though. You ran to protect Klein and the other men of the guild from Issin. You didn't understand it fully, but you figured that your presence was a lit fuse for the bomb that Issin was. So, by removing yourself from the equation, Klein and the others would all be okay.

You wanted nothing more than that.

~~(Timeskip)~~

You took refuge in the alleyway of a nearby town, making a mental pact to not move up in the levels anymore. It's not like you had a group to be with anymore. You would simply stay at level thirty-five until you died or the game ended, whichever comes first.

A message notification popped up, disrupting your thoughts.

You shakily raised a hand to open it and pressed the orange glowing circle with your index finger. There was a 50% chance it was from Klein and a 50% chance it was from Issin. If you were being honest with yourself, you weren't sure you wanted to hear from either one of them.

You noticed it was from Klein, and fear leaped into your throat.

We forced him out of the guild.

Just that one simple sentence. You weren't sure if he was angry or disappointed with you, or if he understood the actions you took.

You weren't replying to Klein or going back to the guild though. Klein and the other men didn't need to be targets, and now they are- all because another guy turned out to have feelings for you that you didn't return because they didn't exist.

All because of this stupid game, Issin probably felt he could hide his crimes and do what he wanted because none of this world is even real. Quite a case of virtual existentialism.

You clenched the straw bale that you were sitting on in anger. It was ridiculous to be this afraid of one person. This whole situation was ridiculous. You had never enjoyed living in fear.

When you were younger, you lived in fear of your father, who had a quick temper that could annihilate anyone. He cared immensely for you and your mother, and you both knew it, but his temper would get the best of him sometimes, and, well, it just wasn't something you enjoyed dwelling on.

You tried to get your mother away from it, but she refused every time. She always said that 'she loved him too much.' While that was true for you, you realized that you needed to get out whenever possible. So, when you were fourteen, you packed your stuff and fled to your best friend (b/f/n)'s house- where his/her parents graciously agreed to take you in.

When your biological parents found out what you had done, they paid a visit to your best friend's house. You answered the door, wanting to show that you weren't afraid of them. They both stood crying at the door, with your father apologizing profusely and begging for you to return and your mother simply watching through tears.

He had apologized before and never changed his actions- so you refused to return. He simply nodded, and they both turned around and left.

When you closed the door, you remembered turning away from the door, feeling a couple of tears roll down your cheeks as your best friend watched from a doorway. His/her mother quickly enveloped you in her arms, and you just stood there in shock of what happened.

But you were tired of running from your problems. You had already abandoned your parents- you didn't want to abandon Klein. You didn't want to forcefully remove anyone else from your life.

You weren't going to though. You had a plan.