CHAPTER 422: THE BLACK MACHINE.

Heroes weren’t real. Marie had realized as much very early on, even before her baby teeth fell out. Heroes didn’t show when her mother hit her. Heroes didn’t show up when her father sold her. They didn’t show up when those terrible men broke little girls like her, and they wouldn’t show up once it came her turn to go through the same thing.

She had given up all hope when she was made to wait in that cold room, wearing nothing but that thin piece of fabric. When the large man pushed her down, she thought about all the chances she had to end her life. To escape this nightmare.

No heroes came to save her. No heroes will come.

"GAHH!!!"

Neither the pained cry nor the powerful gust registered in her mind at first. Only once she noticed that the monster towering over her was gone did she realize something was off. That was when she saw him.

Someone stood at the edge of the bed. No, not someone. Something. A machine shaped like a human, covered in dark metal, with a head that looked like a single drop of darkness. That head had no features, but it seemed to be turned to the left, toward the source of a strange noise.

Marie didn’t know how she had done it, but somehow, she managed to push herself up. Her gaze had already shifted to the noise, and when she saw what had caused it, her chest contracted, and her breath halted.

Marie did not know the man. She did not know his name or what he did, but one thing was made clear to her again and again. He was supposed to be someone powerful, someone who could end her life with a single word. The older maids had instructed her not to anger him, to do as he says and never object if she wanted to stay alive.

That man was now crawling out of a hole in the wall. A hole that wasn’t there before. His face was contorted, painted red by anger that soon gave in to confusion. Just as he opened his mouth to shout something, Marie’s vision was suddenly filled with darkness.

Panic struck her once more, and she hurriedly reached up to grab whatever had blocked her sight. When the darkness cleared, the first thing she saw was the fearsome machine retracting its hands. Its head was turned in her direction, and even though it had no eyes, she felt like it was looking at her.

[Cover yourself.]

The words didn’t register at first. Looking down, she saw that she was holding what appeared to be a red jacket. The question of where it came from crossed her mind, but that didn’t matter at the moment. Even with her hands trembling, she still managed to slip the jacket on. It was a few sizes too big for her, and the sleeves were too long. She wasn’t about to complain, however.

Just as she pulled the zipper up, a faint bang echoed through the room. The door at the corner swung to a halt, having bounced off the wall. Her eyes shifted to the hole in the wall, and when she saw that the naked man was gone, fear grasped her heart once again.

[Haaaa...]

Just then, she heard the machine sigh. It sighed, as if annoyed by something, then stepped away from the bed. Shifting aside, it slowly raised its right fist, pulling it back as if preparing to punch. The next instant, the naked man appeared in the room.

"Huh?"

An armored fist plunged into his face, bringing him to a momentary halt before he went flying once more, smashing into the same hole as before. Somehow, that wasn’t enough to take him out.

"Who... guh... who are you?" The naked man groaned with a bloody nose and mouth. "Do you... Do you know who I am?

The black machine did not reply. The naked man continued shouting something about his position and the people he knew, but he shut up the instant the black machine took a step toward him. Shrieking, he whipped his head left and right before his eyes settled on the girl.

His bloodied mouth curved into a vicious, maniacal grin, and the next instant, he whipped an arm in her direction. His fingers snapped in an unnatural direction, and the entire arm popped open.

BLAM!

Marie froze at the sound of gunfire. She saw the barrel, she saw that it was pointed at her, and she heard the sound of gunfire. But then... nothing happened. No, something did happen. The black machine had appeared before the naked man at some point, and it held a hand up to block his weapon.

Before he could react, it waved, and the man’s extended arm was gone. The machine moved again, this time raising one of its legs and kicking him in the stomach. The man’s knees buckled, and just as he was about to fall down, the machine grasped his other arm and tore it cleanly off.

"N-no... this... this can’t be happening..." Down on his knees, the naked man began to mutter, horror clear on his face. "I... I’m... you... You can’t do this... to me..."

With both of his arms gone and his head lowered, he looked like he had shrunk down to half his previous size. The black machine stood over him, unmoving, letting him ramble on and on. The longer that went on, the clearer it became that he wasn’t going to make it out of this alive, and Maria couldn’t care less.

The man was stopped before he could hurt her, but that was his intention all along. He was a monster that only deserved the worst, so if he were to die suffering, all the better.

Just as she realized her desire to see him go, the black machine turned to face her. Marie shuddered, confusion throwing her thoughts into chaos once more. As he held her hands to her chest, she noticed the red jacket she was wearing and remembered that it was the black machine that gave it to her. That felt like a sign that it wasn’t going to hurt her, but just as the thought crossed her mind, the machine spoke again.

[Come.]