Day 74

[from GodMode]

Jun still couldn't quite speak, but this gave him a little time to decide which of his many questions he wanted answered first. Eventually he settled on, "What the hell is this app?"

The girl's answer was simple. "It is a miracle."

"What kind of answer is that?" asked Jun.

"It's the only answer I can give you," said the girl.

"Well… who made it?" asked Jun. "How does it work?"

"We don't know either of those things," said the girl. "The uploader's name is blank, and we haven't been able to decipher its source code."

"So what do you know about it?" asked Jun, a little desperately.

"We know that the app contains immense power, comparable to that of the gods themselves," said the girl. "Anyone who wields that app is capable of changing the world as we know it. That is what we intend to do: use the app's power to make the world around us a better place."

"Who's 'we'?" asked Jun. "Who exactly are you?"

"My name is Kurumi Kojima," said the girl. "I am a member of an organization known as the White Cloaks. As I explained, it is our goal to make the world a better place by using the power of the GodMode app."

"What about those two who attacked us?" asked Jun. "Who were they?"

"They were members of the Church of the Holy Binary," said Kurumi. "They believe that the GodMode app contains the power of God himself, and worship it like a deity. They also believe that they are the only ones worthy of wielding the app, and that anyone else who uses it is guilty of heresy and must be killed. That includes us, and now you as well."

"So they don't care that you're trying to make the world a better place?" asked Jun.

"No," said Kurumi. "They are selfish murderers who care only about themselves." She glanced back contemptfully at the impaled corpse of the female. "The world is a better place without them."

On that note, there was a beep from Kurumi's phone, and suddenly Jun realized that he felt much better. His body still ached, but he was not in pain, and could move freely again. "You are healed," said Kurumi. "Give me your hand."

 Jun offered her his hand, and she pulled him gently to his feet. "Thank you," he said. "I owe you my life."

"It is no problem," said Kurumi. "However, since you are now involved in this whether you want to be or not, I have one request to make of you: that you join the White Cloaks, and help us in our mission to improve the world. Do not worry about the Church of the Holy Binary: we will protect you from them. They won't be able to hurt you anymore."

This didn't take much thinking about for Jun. "I'd very much like to," he said. "I can help mankind and get protection from those psychos; it's a win-win, right?"

"Indeed," said Kurumi. "Now, there is only one thing left to do. We need to clean up a little." Kurumi began manipulating her phone's touchscreen once more, and the spike impaling the female assassin sank back into the ground. The asphalt beneath her continued to sink, forming an impromptu grave, then closed up again, hiding the corpse from view. The blood spatter from where the other assassin had been crushed was then promptly washed away by a localized rainstorm.

As this was going on, Jun remembered the other question he had to ask. "That reminds me," he said, "where is everyone? This was a really busy street, and then suddenly everyone just vanished."

"That is the app's "HIDE_ALL" function," said Kurumi. "It hides the user, and any other GodMode users nearby, within a pocket dimension, hiding them from the general populace. Not only does this allow us to identify any hostile GodMode users in the vicinity, it also allows us to battle them without hurting innocent bystanders or causing any collateral damage. To the outside world, you are the one who has disappeared, and everything has continued as normal. Once the pocket dimension is folded back into the real world, however, any changes made here will be merged back into reality, so we must clean up the mess first before returning."

"I see," said Jun, not sure what else to say. After a moment or two, however, he decided to ask a question that had been playing on his mind. "Was it… really necessary to kill them?"

Kurumi's answer was as blunt and straightforward as ever. "Yes," she said. "Otherwise they would have killed us."

"So if any Holy Binary members attack me again, and you're not here to save me… I'm going to have to kill them?" said Jun.

"Yes," said Kurumi. "Unless they kill you first."

The rainstorm subsided, and with the bodies disposed of, it looked for all the world as though nothing had actually happened, and everything had carried on as normal. "Everything has been taken care of," said Kurumi. "Now I will merge us back into the world."

A moment later, the world around them suddenly exploded back into life. The road beside them was full of cars once more, driving unwittingly over the resting places of the two dead assassins. The sidewalks filled with people, going about their daily business as usual, none of them having any inkling that something terrible and amazing had just happened right where they were walking. Somehow, Jun found the sudden reappearances even more disconcerting than the sudden disappearances.

Kurumi cared not for his confusion. "If you're going to be joining the White Cloaks," she said, "then you should meet with them. Our leaders would be interested in speaking with you. I'll take you to them."

"Hey, wait," said Jun, "I have to get home, my parents will be wondering where-"

Then something even more disconcerting happened, causing Jun to fall silent with astonishment. In an instant, the entire world around him, which had only reappeared a moment before, suddenly froze completely still. People stood frozen in mid-step, the cars on the road beside him as silent and unmoving as the ones parked on the curb. Jun did a double-take. "N-now what did you do?" he asked.

"I froze time," replied Kurumi, as though doing though was a trivial matter. "Now we can go and see the White Cloaks, and then you can go home without any time having passed." She looked back at him. "Is this acceptable?"

"Uhh… I guess," said Jun.

"Good," said Kurumi. "Follow me." She pulled her hood back up over her head, and started making her way through the frozen crowd, with Jun, still slightly overwhelmed by it all, tagging along behind.