The room was filled with subtle laughter. Despite the conditions of the room being the most well kept, the room still felt uncomfortable. Even with the joyful and calm presence of Loretta and Maverick, Satoya couldn't help but continue speaking to them. However, he had this nervousness in his chest, a sort of pulsating spark that he himself cannot ignore, yet Loretta and Maverick were oblivious to this, and continued speaking.
"Oh really?! So that's what Rieamaius was like now? Wow, really different from when I was still living there." Loretta said, intrigued. Prior to that, Satoya had informed her about how Rieamaius was like, although it was partially bias due to Satoya actually never visiting that country, and was only there in the beginning due to well of course, a birthday that may or may not have resulted into a chain reaction to now the current situation.
"You have friends do you? You are quite nice and it'd be a shame if you lack any." Maverick commented, he stood up, grabbing the beaker he and Loretta had drunk out of.
That question suddenly made Satoya feel even worse mentally. He was too busy figuring out his current situation to even think about the actual rest of the "Satoya Gang." Yet the thought of them made him smile faintly.
"I do, actually. They're all overachievers." Satoya said abruptly, which made Maverick pause. But then he took a glance at Loretta, and began to chuckle alongside her.
Their laughter was only describable with one word, that being numbness. It felt fake, yet it also felt genuine. He was unsure himself about how human psychology worked, yet he felt their laughter was in other words, depressing, which he realized after their interaction became longer than he had expected.
But, he felt a need, a calling perhaps? Definitely not the same calling he had in the beginning on his birthday, but a sense of responsibility of sorts. And so, he suddenly asked them a simple question.
"Do you all know where Roland is?"
Loretta and Maverick glanced at each other once again, before Maverick replied to his question in a low, and somewhat sad tone.
"Unfortunately not, but he is usually in hall 204, lab section C - 9."
Loretta stood up, and went to open a drawer, before taking out a sheet of paper. Then she gave the paper to Satoya. Upon closer inspection, it was a map. A neatly drawn map in particular.
"You can get to any room you'd like, as long as it's on the map. We spent around a year drawing this one, and we only have another copy of it." She said, giving him a kind hearted smile, and Maverick returned with a beaker full of water.
And with the map, he left to the entrance of the room, and looked back.
I feel like I am rushing too fast.. But, maybe I shouldn't feel bad. I just, there's too many things to ask. Yet I can't help but think Roland is likely the best person to answer, although he is the worst person to speak to. Compared to Yurina, who I doubt can answer all of my questions. If I ask Loretta and Maverick anything regarding Roland, I am too afraid that I'll make their situation worse.. Maybe I should confront Roland? Before he does anything heinous to me.
Satoya gave them a simple wave before exiting. Every step he took, was making his heart beat faster. He wasn't sure whether or not it was stress, or anxiety or a mixture between the two.
His hands were sweating from gripping the sheet of paper that contained the hand drawn map of the whole lab, at least around him. His breathing was also rapid, and his head felt more tense, but he still walked at a quicker pace each second.
Eventually, he stumbled into the room that Maverick mentioned before. To his surprise, he saw him, walking around, not minding anything, not noticing Satoya was peeking from the side of the door. Then Satoya snuck in, he made sure to walk as silently as he could, until he heard Roland turn around.
"Oh?" He said, his voice full of intrigue. His blonde hair was riddled in splotches of crimson that Satoya assumed to be blood, and his lab coat seemed to be clean. Despite Satoya vividly remembering the brutal death of him not too long ago.
Roland moved his mouth, speaking to him, "How amusing? The roles reversed?" And he chuckled faintly, then started walking to a table. On the table was a katana, a Regulator licensed katana that Satoya was so familiar with.
"You're here to confront me, aren't you? Well then."
Roland grabbed the sheathed katana, and inspected it momentarily, then turned around, a smug expression littering his face as he threw the katana at Satoya. He caught the katana, glaring at the scabbard quietly.
Why'd he return my katana back to me? And.. Why is it here? Was this also planned? Coincidence? Intended? Whatever, I got my katana back, so I can at least defend myself, but defend myself from what exactly? The last thing that tried to kill me was Jul—
"How comedic, you preferred to have your katana over that pathetic scalpel Yurina gave you, that same scalpel used to stab me numerous times, yet when I gave you your katana back, you are, confused." Roland said with amusement, he then put a hand in his lab coat's pocket, with one hand still out, he pointed to Satoya, and twirled his wrist.
He then motioned his index finger back and forth from Satoya to himself, that same smug grin still painted onto his face.
"So, allow us to fight a battle most glorious."
Satoya began to sweat in even more unease. Even feeling a drop of sweat trickle down his cheek, he gripped his katana's sheath, and as if he was controlled, he unsheathed the katana. The familiar blade reflected the light off the ceiling, but he couldn't help but look at the blade, trying to see if anything happened to it. However, he shook his head, and with one hand holding the scabbard, and the other hand holding the blade, he charged at Roland.
He lunged forward, his blade poised forward at an attempt to stab Roland through the chest, only for Roland to narrowly move to the side. Satoya unleashed another flurry of attacks, however it was unsuccessful as Roland kept weaving away from them.
He isn't fighting back? Why? All he's been doing is dodging everything, yet every time he's only barely dodging them.. What is he doing?
After another attempted assault of slashes that had no avail, Roland calmly pushed him back. As Satoya regained his ground, he looked up to see Roland smiling, as if he was pleased.
Then, Satoya suddenly swung up at a crescent motion with all his might, but that also didn't work as Roland turned his body away, dodging it by a hair's length. Roland tilted his head at the wall, and chuckled lightly before speaking.
"I see, not quite bad. Even from that distance, you managed to cleave the wall, although you didn't slice through it, you still were able to slice the wall from where you are standing."
As Roland spun around back to him, Satoya lunged one last time, swinging his blade at Roland's neck.
A small splatter of blood painted the wall below the small cleaved area in the wall, along with some blood being splattered on the table and desk. With the sound of a thud, and the rustling of clothes. Satoya was surprised, he was too stunned to speak, nor clarify, yet Roland's decapitated head rolled through the floor briefly before stopping, and a pool of blood being poured from the body of the Cataclysm's neck.
Was that it?