"Uh... Killer?"
"What?"
"Could you explain..."
Murder held a new-model phone sold by humans on the surface, exploring its features as he questioned Killer.
The two were in a hotel somewhere on the surface, and Killer had paid for the room.
Oh, right. Killer had paid for the phone, too.
Murder was practically being kept, though he himself didn't care.
"...why we're here?"
"Heh-heh."
Killer lowered the coffee from her lips and smiled at Murder.
"Our journey is long, and we have a lot to do. Sometimes we randomly land on a peaceful route like this."
"Since we're here anyway..."
Killer took another sip of coffee.
"We might as well give ourselves a vacation!"
"A vacation...? I don't think I deserve one..."
"You, you, you-why would you say that? Just think of it as me giving you time off!"
Killer patted Murder on the shoulder.
"Speaking of which... the surface really is beautiful."
Looking at the thriving, beautiful world of monsters and humans, Murder couldn't help feeling envious.
"Yeah, this is how a peaceful route ends."
"A peaceful route..."
Murder thought back to the past. He had only experienced it once, hadn't he? That time, he had seen the sunset's fading glow and, for once, felt a glimmer of hope for life.
After that, the human had begun an endless slaughter, all to discover something new.
If I hadn't happened to gain determination...
Murder shook his head.
If he hadn't gained determination, perhaps he wouldn't have been suffering like this now.
"Killer... tell me,"
Recalling the bar owner he had seen earlier, Murder couldn't resist asking another question.
"How do the relationships in this universe... work?"
The bar owner he had seen was Muffet, yet the bar she ran had somehow reminded Murder of Grillby.
"They're swapped. This is UnderSwap's peaceful route. I think I've been here before."
Killer stood up and stretched.
"All right... Murder, it's about time... we got some rest!"
"It's only evening... I don't remember you having so little energy..."
"Idiot, get some rest early. We still have other timelines to visit tomorrow."
Put that way, it really was time to rest.
In Dusttale, Murder had hardly ever gotten enough rest. He had spent his entire life running himself ragged for the human.
Oh, he really did "LOVE" humans so much.
He "LOVED" them to his very bones.
He "LOVED" them so much that he wanted to cut out the human's prefrontal cortex, so the human could never reset again.
But now that human no longer existed, and he could finally take a proper rest as a spectator.
With that thought, Murder was about to ask Killer who would shower first.
"BOOM!!!!!"
An enormous roar rang out.
The explosion hadn't come from too far away, roughly a distance they could cover with a shortcut.
All right, put that way, it actually was pretty far.
If it had only been an explosion, that would have been fine. Perhaps some human had had an accident.
Someone, human or monster, would go help.
But that sound just now...
...had sounded a little like the noise Shock Waves made.
"..."
"...looks like we won't get to rest today, either..."
Killer spread her hands, looking a little resigned.
Without saying much more, the two stepped into a shortcut.
"Bzzzz------"
Blue rode atop a giant Shock Waves, blue light shining in her eyes.
The Shock Waves beneath her feet was fully charged now, its immense energy compressed and waiting for a chance to be unleashed.
Yet X-Chara, standing directly in the cannon's line of fire, wasn't afraid at all.
No, he wasn't merely unafraid.
He was smiling instead.
He displayed his soul in his hand, as though eagerly awaiting the bombardment from Blue's Shock Waves.
"Don't worry, child."
Swap Papyrus shielded the deeply worried Swap Chara beside her with one hand.
"They're just acting. They're cowards. Neither of them would dare actually kill the other."
As she said that, Swap Papyrus calmed down a little.
"My sister would never hurt anyone else's soul."
Nightmare merely maintained his usual smile nearby.
"Stop lying to yourself. Deep down, you know it too. Your sister is already [tired] of being a good person."
As he spoke, Nightmare sent a telepathic message to X-Chara.
"Show them, child."
In an instant, X-Chara's somewhat cute face transformed into a horrifying nightmare.
*[Act] = Kill me, Sans
Click.
A huge X appeared on Blue's face. She had clearly been taken over by an overwrite.
Receiving Blue's signal, the Shock Waves fired an enormous blast of energy at X-Chara.
WHUM!!!!!
"No!!"
At the sight, a trace of despair rose in Swap Papyrus's heart.
They could be nothing but toys in these people's hands.
Swap Papyrus used a shortcut and lunged toward X-Chara.
"Wow, it's so cold."
Nightmare, standing nearby, laid bare the feelings inside Swap Papyrus's heart.
"There's a frozen pain inside you."
"Even if there are things you can do, you still can't escape that pain."
"You'll never forget it."
Before you continue