I blinked, surprised by the fact that the mute Silver Marksman had spoken.
"That's a surprise. I thought he was mute." Jason said.
The man glared at me, his robotic arm clutching his ribs. He didn't do anything; he's just staring at me. It wasn't just that he was glaring, but he was trying to analyze me from subtle eye movements, scanning my body.
"So, are you going to talk or…" I started, but again, SM remained silent as a ghost.
It was honestly getting really eerie just staring at me, blinking. I was about to insult him for staring at a young child like me with such an intense gaze, only for the Marksman to finally start talking.
"Do you really think that you're in the right?"
I frowned. Oh, great, another one of these conversations. How riveting.
"And next you'll say that I'm naive or I'm stupid for protecting the innocent. Listen, pal, I don't care what your boss thinks of me. I'm going to stop him."
Silver Marksman narrowed his gaze at me. "You didn't answer my question, which tells me you are unsure that you're doing the right thing."
His statement made me frown deeper, clenching my fist.
"Maybe, but better than whatever that madman, Arc, is trying to do to the world."
To my surprise, the Silver Marksman laughed. It wasn't a mocking one or trying to be mean; he genuinely found what I said hilarious! After several moments, his laughter died down, shaking his head.
"You really are a fool. You claim to protect the innocent and yet protect the ones preying on them."
He became quiet, looking down at the floor as a smile formed in his mouth, but this one was one of sadness. It was just that, it was bitter, and the way it wore tight in his face suggested he was barely containing the urge to scowl. He was furious and yet nostalgic at the same time.
"I didn't ask for this, you know. I couldn't find a job because my skin colour was different. I was demeaned, abused and tortured. I was treated less than a human, but then I met her."
My mouth was open slightly. I was amazed by the fact that the guy I had fought earlier, whose bones were broken because of it, was shedding a couple of tears from his eyes right in front of me.
"Lana, the kindest woman in the world. She gave me a job, a home, and a child. The problem was that she was white. Once her family found out, they paid assassins to kill me, her and my child. I was the only survivor."
My fist unclenched, and my heart trembled. With one hand, he wipes his tears, and he lets out a deep sigh.
"But when I went to court, they threw me in jail for the murder of Lana and my daughter."
I gasped. "W-What? Why!?"
"This was in the 40s, you can be walking to the street only to be thrown in prison for no reason because you're black. The entire thing was unfair; my family was killed, thrown to jail, looked down upon not because of who I am, but what I am. I escaped prison, then trained myself like no one else, installed mechanical parts all over my body and became an assassin myself."
I bit my lip. It's a sad story, yes. But can the Government really allow something like that to happen? I know things were bad back then, especially for minorities, but things are better now! I mean, you could be beaten up for even joking about racism.
"I know what you're thinking, 'Oh, it's 2025, No One Is Racist Anymore'. I'll admit we came a long way, but the only real difference is that prejudice is now behind closed doors."
"..."
"I was aimless, just killing whatever people told me to do. I wanted to be a family man, but now I'm just a tool, no better than a gun. Then Arc came to me and told me about his plans."
I straightened up, hearing Arc's name, immediately remembering that no matter how tragic this person's story is. I can't let him or Arc get away with their plans.
"His crazy plans."
He glared at me. "No, the only way to save the world. He promised he wasn't just going to destroy the system that put me to prison unfairly, but he's going to destroy all groups, so all of us could be one."
I tilted my head. So all of us could be one? What in the world is he talking about?
"Once Arc becomes this world's sole ruler, he plans to erase religion, beliefs, groups, all of it."
"What!?" I gasped before gritting my teeth.
"And that's what won you over!? To destroy a group's beliefs or culture! You're a madman just like him!"
"And you're a child who doesn't know anything. Wars, conflict, it's always been a part of man, but the reason we mainly do it is because we hate people who are different from us. Someone's skin colour or belief that clashed with theirs? That's grounds for war. Once his goal is achieved, all of us will be the same; there is no white or black, no one is superior, we are all equal."
I shook my head. "That's bullcrap! What happened to you is tragic, but this is going to cause deaths; people are going to fight for what they believe in."
"Then they die."
"Don't screw with me!" I jumped in the air before descending, attempting to catch him, but somehow, despite his injuries, he jumped away.
He winces as he takes a step back. "For people's hate against people different from them to be gone, we must erase the difference between us, even if it hurts. That is why I follow Arc and his dream for a better world."
I shook my head, glaring at him fiercely. I could feel my eyes grow hot, ready to fire my laser beams.
"Don't give me that, you're just a guy using his grief as an excuse to hurt people."
"Hm. I don't care what you think, I will see Arc get his way even if it costs me my life."
Then suddenly I felt something big, as big as a Paladin, approach us. I looked up to see a large mech. It's about 15 metres tall, its structure was similar to the SV3, only smaller, blockier and only from the waist up. Unlike the SV3, it didn't have humanoid legs; instead, its lower half was that of a tank. It slowly rolled towards me, the head's lone red eye glowed.
On each arm, there is a cannon strapped to its wrist. It looked like the SV3, but I bought it in the dollar store instead. Still, it was imposing, not only that, but it wasn't alone. Just behind it was a similar-looking machine, only colored a bright green. It had humanoid legs, large turrets on the shoulders, and machine guns strapped to its fingers.
It was only a bit taller than the first machine, only about five meters.
"Oh crap…" Jason says, disbelief in his voice.
"Looks like they didn't just rebuild the third one," Gavin growls.
I blinked rapidly. Wait, does that mean…my eyes turned to Silver Marksman, who grunted as he leaped high into the air, landing on top of the smaller mech. He looks at me full of anger and resolve. He looked at me like I was the villain here.
"Do you really think I told my backstory for pity points? No, this was just to buy time. A foolish, naive idiot like you is dangerous. It's idealists like you who stop the world from progressing. I won't let you get past me."
The machines whirred as they aimed their weapons at me.
"Be careful, Ben, those machines are SURVIVOR Version 1 and 2!"