[center][b][u]Corpse Collector[/u][/center][/b]
“Whoah, whoah, whoah, what the hell!”

Corpse Collector’s fun was promptly halted by a series of rapid explosions detonating in her face at point blank. Frowning, she attempted to simply glitch her way out of the blast radius but didn’t anticipate Arm’s Slave firing off his chains as well.

“No…shit!”

Panic filled her Avatar’s voice as she the sudden forward motion caught her off guard, and she felt her body being dragged towards an extended Rapier.

“Fu-”

The deafening sounds of rapid explosions blotted out her words, filling the area with a brilliant flash of light. When the dust eventually cleared, Corpse Collector was evidently not skewered onto Arm’s Slave’s blade. Rather, she was standing a good distance away from the other player, a twisted grin knurled onto her face.

Having been unable to avoid the sticky runes, Corpse Collector’s health was not in the brimming red, and this was apparent by her Avatar’s damaged appearance. Still, her health bar began to slowly but surely regenerate and she summoned forth a second Death Penalty, aiming both at Arm’s Slave and the newly landed Smitten Kitten.

“Thought you could beat me like this…before I fuck up the Black King? Heh, well fuck you! Fuck you all! Didn’t think I shoot off my own torso, huh? Did you?”

A large, gaping hole smoked out of Corpse Collector’s abdomen, visually explaining what she had done to free herself from the chains. With a mad glint in her eye, she pulled the trigger of her twin Death Penalties and giggled mercilessly, firing without reason or care.

“Come on, just die! Die, die, die, die, die!”

[i] "You're free to play for as long as you'd like, but unfortunately once you log out you character will be retired and you will no longer be able to continue to play as Corpse Collector. But her memory will live on just as you will! Happy [b]19th[/b] Birthday!"[/i]

“W-….What…What the fuck is this shi-”

Corpse Collector never did finish that last vulgarity, as two undead Thralls promptly lashed out and dealt the finishing blow, plunging their attacks into her Avatar’s body. The same look of shock was present on her face, even as her Avatar dissolved into nothingness.

Back in the real world, the Black King smirked knowingly.

However, the dilemmas now surrounding the world of Deep Ground Online were far from over. As Free Runner leapt down to face the massive Dissolution, the Enemy NPC turned its armored head towards him and snarled. With glinted eyes, it raised its axe above its heavy form and struck in a downward arc.

Further away, the Blue King faced his own problems.

[i] "So...what do you want? There a point to you announcing yourself? Because if you wanted to kill me, you're doing a really bad job right now. And 'Enemy NPC'? Really? Come on, pal. No one with half a brain's going to buy that. Fucking edgelord."

The masked man chuckled, his golden eyes glinting slightly.

[b]“I see. Yes, it makes sense for someone like you to doubt such a thing I suppose. You humans always do tend to find reason in illogical circumstances. How about this?[/b]

And just like that, the status icon above the boy’s Avatar switched from [b]Enemy NPC[/b] into [b]Player Character[/b].

[b]“Will that suffice for now? Or would you prefer something a little more challenging Blue King?[/b]

This time, the status morphed into something new. Something that was considered a rarity throughout all of Deep Ground; in hindsight, the sight before Gleeful Jackal wasn’t even supposed to make sense, seeing as Deep Ground was strictly a PvP Fighting game. And there it was regardless.

[b]Enemy Boss.[/b]