Seven feet tall, he was scrawny and contorted, as if hunched over in agony. His arms and shoulders covered in thin stripes of rising white smoke.

“Is that a Flame Seal?”

“Probably. Or some other kind of synergy. But it’s definitely a Seal effect.” the Fool explained.

The Stranded didn’t notice me.

I was wondering if he’d recognize me as a player.

In the description of the Moon's bonus it says "plus three levels", but it does not say whether it is inclusive or not. This one my inner voice could not explain, for some reason.

“That depends. I can’t say with a hundred percent certainty. What are you up to?”

“Surprise attack?”

What else could I do? This guy was almost twice as strong as me. I know, levels are relative to an extent, but even one level difference can give a big advantage. Agent Kim has never been so close to failure. For some reason, I was thinking about my great-grandfather. In his time, he fought against the overwhelming odds of enemy occupation.

“General! Permission to regroup!” I said, hiding between two vans. The Stranded twitched but didn’t move.

“Did you run out of heroism?” the Fool snickered.

“Look at him. Why is he stuck like this?”

“Waiting for something? Maybe, he’s in doubt. There still can be some shred of humanity left in that smoking husk.”

“What if he’s still lucid? Shall we talk to him?”

“Are you insane? You don’t talk to Stranded. Once they are here, they are nothing more than rabid animals. Did you forget who you work for? Be very careful with showing mercy, unless you want to walk in his shoes.”

“Actually, I still don’t know. You never told me.” And those small scraps of information couldn’t form the big picture.

“What an ignoramus! Don’t worry about it for now.”

“All I'm saying, what if we don’t have to fight? Let’s just try!”

Before I got my answer, the Stranded turned around. Our eyes met. I didn’t like this meeting at all.

His face was deathly pale and thin. Two yellow, crooked teeth protruded from the misshapen mouth. Gray, matted hair covered his head like a layer of dirty fur. And the eyes…

I have never this terrified in my life. Those were not the eyes of a sane, reasonable person. Cloudy, wet spots of white looked at me. There was no pain or anger in them, just the void. And a small, barely noticeable spark of sadness.

He was a man once, but he crossed the point of no return long ago.

“Still want to talk?” the Fool asked quietly.

No, words won’t help. The Stranded stared at me, while I overcame the sudden stupor.

“We need to get him out of here. Away from people.”

As usual, I had to improvise. The open battle is going to be difficult, thus we should avoid fighting him in the open. Also, there were cameras over the entrance, and I didn’t want to star in two weird videos in one night.

I kicked the van. A disgusting howl filled the autumn darkness. Then I kicked the other one and another. Eight alarms blared at the same time, waking the whole building up.

The Stranded did not like the attention and dashed into the arch. He was fast, very fast. If not for the marker, I would lose him.

The arrow moved towards the industrial zone. This bastard sure knows where to hide. He’ll avoid shipyards, so there’s only one option. An empty lot beyond the cemetery. Right across the road from some kind of military installation.

Not exactly a landfill, just a place full of rusty, forgotten things. Best place for an insane monster to make a nest. He blends well with a local crowd. How long has he been hiding there, under the very nose of an unsuspecting public?

The Stranded jumped over the train tracks and went under the bridge into a long, dark tunnel. I should’ve bought a flashlight for such an occasion. Walking into a fight with a phone in one hand is pretty stupid idea, I admit. Something was lying on the ground. The body, covered in an intense smoke. The Stranded held a charred face with his bony fingers.

I almost stumbled on the contents of ripped apart pink purse. The victim just wanted to cross the tracks but met her demise instead. I was too late. Hell, I chased him here.

There was a shadow of regret on the creature’s face. He didn’t want to kill her. But he did. And seems like, he enjoyed every second of it while battling bits of pieces of shattered willpower. There’s no helping him.

I felt a surge of wrath.

Now it was on.

I slowly walked back into the light. Fighting in total darkness would be a double suicide. The Stranded steadily straightened. He ripped the hood off his jacket, revealing more filthy hair and round, gray ears. Behind, from under the sweatshirt, hung a naked, pink tail.

The Stranded: Rat Zapper – Level 7 – Lighting Seal

“Motherfucking Mickey…” I blurted.

Very visible, cartoonish yellow sparks went through the hands of the Stranded. When they disappeared, streaks of smoke remained.

A split second passed. I only managed to protect myself with a hammer. A paw with crooked claws hit the handle with force, and I flew away, crashing into an old concrete wall. He’s strong. Ugly like damn, son, but strong. And he didn’t even use lightning yet.

I rolled to the side, otherwise, the creature would land directly on me. His fist left a nice dent where my ribcage had been. While he was standing in this position, I was able to jump to my feet, swung, and ...

“Spiral block!”

A hoarse, bestial voice roared.

My hammer got stuck in some kind of translucent barrier, which instantly expanded and hit me like a train. A very unpleasant vibration went through my whole body, while I fell into the grass again.

“What. The. Fuck?” I said out loud.

A cloud of smoke flew out of my mouth with every word, and an unpleasant sensation burned my tongue.

“You can make your moves stronger.” The Fool explained. “It’s the Words of Power sub-system and it allows the player to infuse Atma into named attacks. You don’t even need the app for this. Neat, right? Be careful when he yells something, though”

I spat.

“Didn’t expect this kind of anime bullshit today.”

Still shocked, I couldn’t react in time. The Stranded was right next to me. As if in slow motion, I watched his fist come in from below and slam into my stomach. I doubled over and fell right under his feet. Another kick sent me flying for the third time, head-on into the railing.

“Arthur, pull yourself together!”

I can't even imagine how painful it would be if the pain wasn't turned off. An alien numbness overtook the whole body, making the limbs wooden. My skin became paler, and the clothes seemed to have lost color as well. Even the blood dripping from the mouth was dark, almost black.

“Arthur!”

“I know! Gimme a sec!”

Somehow, I blocked another hit with those numb arms. But the enemy claws still reached my chest. I lost my balance. The Stranded grabbed my face. With an effort, I hit his side with my knee. The creature staggered, and that was enough. Without looking and without thinking, I grabbed the hammer and struck with a wild cry. There was a loud crash, and now it was his turn to soar. I went after, not giving the enemy an opportunity to recover.

The second attack fractured his leg. From that position, the nimble fucker kicked me right in the chin with his heavy boot. Everything went dark for a split second, and it was very hard not to fall asleep.

For some reason, ratman decided it’s not worth it. I didn't even notice how he escaped. In the blink of an eye, the marker was on the other side of the lot.

“What a bitch…”

I was very tired and angry. My mouth still bled from a lost tooth. My clothes were bloody and dirty. But I didn’t stop.

“That’s enough for today, Kim!”

It was harder to hear the voice for some reason. Some kind of imaginary cracking sound made the words drown.

Blood dripped from my forehead right into the eye.

“I hurt his leg. So, I can finish him off.”

“Or he’ll finish you off. Did you see how fast he is even with that broken knee? That’s enough, he won’t come back for a bit. You’ll have time to recover.”

Fuck that. Maybe, The Anchor is safe for now. But for how long? And what about other people he’ll kill along the way? I’m not doing my best, that’s all. I need to work harder.

“Look at him, playing the hero again.”

“This is my responsibility.”

“What will Alice say when she sees you like this? Turn back before it’s too late.”

He tried to stop me, but it had the opposite effect. I imagined my sister in the dead girl’s place. How could I leave it like that? I chased the marker to an impressive metal fence. Some weirdo built a mansion with a clock tower in this desolated place, on the other side of the hill.

I leaned against the fence to catch my breath since I had barely any strength left. Dull spots crawled in front of my eyes. If I fall now, then… The Stranded was here too. He sat on the container, staring at me with his empty, dead eyes. Ratman also had blood on his face. Did I hit him? Or was it mine?

I exhaled, shook my heavy head, and gripped the hammer tighter. This show had to go on.