[Elsword] - Formulated Hearts

Act 20 - Exotic

...

As Chung and Add were fixated on the mysterious Nasod that seemed to be Eve, Raven had a brief cellphone conversation with Rena, after his phone rang several times.

"Oh, it appears as if Rena needs a bit more time. Go ahead and explore for a few minutes."

Without a response, both boys rushed over to the shooting game area, to confront 'Eve'.

'Damn, what a freaking coincidence...' Add thought.

'Is that really Miss Eve?' Chung queried in his mind, unsure of what to do.

The pair glanced at each other blankly, not expecting for the other to be there. However, they had a common task, so perhaps it wouldn't hurt to cooperate with each other. Or was this all a trick, and part of Rena's bonding activity?

They didn't care. They wanted to investigate the Nasod.

~

Prince Seiker confronted 'Eve' first. "Um, Miss Eve, is that you..?"

With a few explosive bangs on the screen, along with a ton of gore and blood, the female had finished her game (indicated by a flashing 'YOU WIN!', as well as a place to record highscores, though this 'Eve' seemed to have been placed on all 10 ranking spots), and so, she returned the controller back to where it belonged, before facing the duo.

She took a step closer to stare at Chung. Her face was a bit too close for his comfort, as he began to blush uncontrollably because of how much she looked like the Empress he knew, but different.

After receding back, she elucidated. "Ah... This is the first time Eve has seen 'Chung' and 'Add' in person. To answer your inquiry, I am Eve, but not the one that you know of. I possess all of the other Eve's recollections in my database, from a transfer. Before you load Eve with even more questions, the Code: Empress you usually hang out with is not aware of my existence. I am dubbed as the 'Code: Nemesis'. I do not consider myself as the Queen of Nasods, I am merely another being created for experimentation. Please do not tell the other Eve about this. It is a pleasure to meet you, if there is anything 'pleasurable' about this greeting. Similarly to the Empress, I do not experience these human emotions, therefore my words are empty."

"T-Two Miss Eves..." Chung's train of thought came to a pause; it was all blank.

"Huh... What a surprise." Add smirked. "Well, this isn't so bad, kukuku. But, if there are two of you, one being the replica while the other is the genuine one, what are we supposed to call you? Nemesis?"

"It doesn't sound right, because this Miss Eve isn't a villain or anything..." Chung protested.

"Exotic." she suddenly said.

With raised brows, both of them asked in unison: "Exotic?"

"Yes, Exotic. You may call me that instead, if it is too bewildering for you peasants to handle multiple Eves at once." she deadpanned.

"Alright, Miss Exotic." Chaser smiled.

"For your information, I'm not a fucking peasant." Esper muttered.

"Chung! Add! Exotic!" a familiar voice called out from a distance. It was Rena, though the two boys were baffled at how the Elf knew about Exotic; perhaps she was the one who was behind all of it.

As she caught up with the three teenagers, with Raven trailing behind, she continued. "It's game time! Basically, Chung and Add, you two will have to team up in a variety of different arcade activities; without teamwork, there is no chance of victory. With the games that involve competition (saved for last), you will be versing Exotic, which is why she's here. She's an excellent gamer, deserving to be SSS material! Exotic also reserves the right to softly hurt you two in the scenario that you two lose against her, with her arsenal of enhanced Nasod weaponry. Good luck, and have fun! Remember, teamwork is the key if you guys wish to avoid violence and injuries!"

"I-I refuse to work with him!" both of them shouted.

"That's a shame. I'm forcing you anyway whether you like it or not." Rena grinned with a thumbs up.

It was going to be a long day, considering all the widespread entertainment the arcade had in stock, scattered all around the building.

...