“I’m heading out,” Alastor said as he snatched his sword back from resting against the wall. He left the building, pulling the door shut behind him. Tin was still inside, assembling her weapon, and she gave a slight nod as she sat staring back at him.

Alastor looked down the building, his eyes scanning the railways for transportation, and then a shrill noise came from a train. Its wheels flashed as it braked and finally, it halted. He took a deep breath, a long sighed. He took out his grappling hook and then without thinking twice, he jumped. The hook spurted on the building, swinging around until he leapt and landed on top of the train. He entered the dark, shabby carriage and closed the door, his sword resting on the dusty ground. In a few seconds, his eyes felt heavy, so he shook his head to wane off the dizziness.

When Alastor heard a sharp whistle, he got up and peered through the window. The rumbling wooden floor and the roar made him wobble and flinch, but then he took caution as he might miss the destination of their mission. He checked his wristwatch; the handset pointed to ten o’clock in the evening. He peeked at the slightly closed wooden door and noticed that the destination was nearby. Beneath him, he could feel the train gradually slowing down. He lowered his hands, felt the coldness of the wooden floor, standing straight from resting his back on the quaking wall. The train broke, and Alastor hardly held the pole to keep his balance. After it stopped, he reclaimed his sword. His fingerless gloves reached out to the taut red leather that surrounded the thin handle of the double-edged silver sword. He swung it from left to right, passed it onto his other hand, testing the weight and balance. When he was satisfied with the upgrade, he hung it back to its scabbard.

Once the train stopped by, he opened the door. The doors were weak, made of wood, and could be opened easily. It was not surprising that they used this extension of the train as a carriage of transportation for food as they did not want to waste money. The transportation processes of this city elevated questions.

He stepped out from the shabby carriage into the shadowy edge of the buildings that were a few meters away from the chemical factory. A few lamps shone with brightness, and the others were stuttering, making a buzzing noise.

As he moved to the dark enclosure, the engine started to rumble and moved along the narrow path. He swiftly ran away from the crowd, next to an empty road then took a right turn. They could have used transportation services to get there quickly, but they don’t want to leave any traces by the security footage. Besides, their suits could gather some unwanted attention, so they decided to split up.

He took cover as soon as the presence of the guards showed up. There were three of them, but they couldn’t be underestimated; they had guns and wore tight, dark tuxedos. “Well, that’s not suspicious,” Alastor said, astounded by the enemies’ outfits. His dark, tight jacket camouflaged him in the shadow of the wall, and his presence went unnoticed.

He wore the mask and placed the headphones over his ears before attempting to call his accomplice. The operating system finally functioned, just as expected from the computer expert’s talent. The phones began vibrating in each member’s pockets.

“Hey, what’s up?!” Ken energetically replied.

“Where are you right now?” Alastor questioned him.

“Wait, aren’t the two of you supposed to be together?” Tin asked.

“Wait, we’re supposed to be in the same location?” Alastor was surprised.

“Ken, you idiot! You should’ve joined Alastor!” Linda said. Her voice was laced with annoyance.

“Dude, it’s not entirely my fault. Al was the one who jumped on the train and didn’t wait for me,” Ken excused himself.

“Do you realize that if he waited for you, then he would have been in the same situation as you?” Linda calmed herself and didn’t want to make a commotion as it would likely distract them from the mission.

“Look, we all have one chance to expose this guy. If we screw up, then we’ll likely have a hard time meeting him again.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll just follow Al. I’ll take a reroute.

The plantation’s grounds were vast, comparable to a district. Several warehouses were operational, but some of them appeared to be non-functional. The silhouette emerged behind the building, largely in the shadow, the undercover branch of Kelby Hives.

Alastor patiently waited for the others to divide their way. He was about to engage the enemy when Tin stopped him, “There’s a watchman at the rear. How could you not see that?”

Alastor looked up and noticed it.

“Of course, the security. Tin, take him down.”

In an abandoned eight-story building, Tin was sitting and watching out in the compartment, just a few blocks away from the plantation. She was preparing her sniper, reloading the magazine, but instead of bullets, it was filled with injections.

“Roger.” She attached the stand of the sniper and crouched. Her sniper adjusted to the target, and when it was focused, she pulled the trigger. The timing was perfect, and the hooligan landed gently on the chair, appearing as if the occurrence was normal.

Another enemy was approaching, while the other two were likely checking other alleyways. As the enemy drew closer, Alastor leaped in front of the foe and jabbed his Adam’s apple, causing him to flinch, followed by a series of punches that knocked him down. The enemy lay sprawled awkwardly on the concrete ground.

At the end of the narrow road, he could see the guard flying and making a light thud as he fell on the floor. The silhouette of a man revealed himself as the light reached his dark face mask. Clad in a tight jacket and plain pants, his knuckles were brimming with light.

Alastor gestured that one enemy remained, and Ken nodded. Alastor began to jog across the platform, the dull thumping of his boots echoing in the yard. The last guard, alarmed by the noise, immediately returned from the alley he came from. They swiftly climbed on at the side of the wall, and got behind the guard. They emerged and knocked him down before he could react.

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave them here?” Ken asked.

“Try answering your own question,” Alastor said.

Ken gave him a look.

“No, we must hide the bodies, covering the possibility of suspicion,”

Ken let out a sigh and scratched his scrawny dark hair.

“Ok then, you go first. I’ll take care of these.”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t worry, besides, Tin is up there, she’ll watch out for me.”

“Right.” Tin said.

Alastor nodded and proceeded with caution, jogging towards the entrance at the rear of the location. However, the entry required a member’s login, so Alastor pulled a squared piece of machinery out of his pouch, a device that kept blinking, and placed it on the screen.

“I’m on it,” Cid announced and started to fiddle with his laptop, and a bunch of binaries showed up. He logged into their surveillance and changed the actual live recording to a previous recording. There was a loud beep and the light turned green, the door opened. They ran inside and made a huge turn on their light to avoid the guard at the watchtower. “Damn, how the hell did I end up helping them?”

“How are we doing, Cid?” Alastor asked.

“Oh, me? Nah, I’m fine, just watching the--”

Alastor intercepted, “That’s not it. I’m talking about security.”

“Oh, there’s not that much security at the rear entrance of the place. Just be careful, sometimes guards were roaming there,” Cid added. He was hiding inside the van parked between two buildings. He pressed the cancel button of a tab and focused back on the mission.

As they emerged from the shadows and snuck behind a huge crate, Ken felt his heart double in speed. He looked at Alastor, envious of how collected and calm he was. They waited for the guards to waltz away.

“Do you know why I dislike women?” Ken asked.

“How is that even relevant?” Alastor thought.

“Because they get mean for no reason at all.”

Alastor let out a sigh. His eyes trained forward.

“Is this the part where you start playing guitar in the lobby?”

“That’s not the only reason. When I asked Tin to taste my cooking, she abruptly spit it out even though it was fairly good and started calling me mean names.”

Alastor replied, “Well, I don’t know how to respond to that. Don’t ask me about women. I don’t know anything about them.”

“Wait, you were there when I was practicing my guitar?”

Alastor hesitated at first, but then admitted, “Yeah, I was. And I think you should play in public.”

“Are you serious?”

Alastor peered around and noticed that the guards were gone. He gestured for Ken to follow as they continued to scurry further. Alastor waited for a few seconds as Cid decoded the binary codes flashing back and forth on the screen. He watched as the entry blinked green and there came a faint groan before it began to open. Alastor concealed himself in the shadow, avoiding the white hue as he jogged across the platform. Ken followed from behind.

The huge cast of shadow from behind was an enormous edifice that served as a place for their experiments. At the end of the narrow alleyway at the side of the building, he saw the emerging presence of someone he knew. It was Linda, wearing a red tight jacket. Her red lipstick stood out as the light made its way to her milky skin.

“Where is your mask?” Alastor asked.

“Right, I forgot, sorry,” she replied, pulling out her mask and covering her face. She turned back and sneaked in, with Alastor and Ken following closely behind.

They entered the downward side of the building until they reached an open concrete way. Alastor asked, “Hey, where are we going next?”

Linda pointed out the stairs behind the parking lot. “Once we reach the twentieth floor, there will be a ventilator that is connected to the panel bridge.”

“Bridge?” Alastor questioned.

Cid began to explain, “Yes, kid. The bridge that connects to the Experiment Sector, which is inside that gigantic industrial furnace, requires two keycards that need to be simultaneously entered. The panel is at the same level. You just have to look around the office.”

Linda raised her brow. She couldn’t understand how Cid knew this.

“I thought you have no idea about the place,”

“I said there’s no way I could get an actual blueprint of the place,” Cid replied.

“Then how did you know this?” Linda said.

“I have a, uh…”

“Let me guess. You hit one of their staff, didn’t ya?” Ken asked.

“I wouldn’t say ‘hit’. I prefer the words ‘infiltrating with perks,” Cid explained with enthusiasm.

“I guess you’re the only spy who could do that,” Tin said and snorted.

The heavy breaths produced by their tired lungs softly echoed through the stairways as they climbed. Finally, they reached the ventilation, and Linda snatched a lapel out of her pocket. She pressed the button of the flower head figure, and its shape turned into a screwdriver.

“What is that?” Alastor asked.

“This is a tool for thieving,” she huffed as he reached for the bolts of the ventilation filter. The width of the duct surprised Linda upon opening the ventilation filter.

“Well, this is convenient,”

Alastor followed her lead while Cid guided their way to the designated level. He kept changing the direction of his gaze, and Linda could feel his inconspicuous gaze coming from behind her.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“What were you looking at?” she asked. He altered his sight, and his poker face seemed rather convincing. She let out a sigh and proceeded without saying anything.

As boredom set in, Ken broke the silence.

“Hey, Cid, where did you hit the lady?”

“For the love of God, Ken, will you shut your mouth?” Linda asked.

“There was no ‘hit’ happening,” Cid protested.

“I doubt that,” Ken replied.

The air inside the duct was unpleasant and irritating to breathe, and clouds of dust fell over their faces. The shrill mechanical sound produced from the propeller rotating ahead of them added to the discomfort. After a few turns, they found themselves cornered.

“Crap,” Linda muttered.

“Let’s get out of here,” Alastor said. He leaned back and proceeded to the left side, disarraying with a quick pull of the shaft, creating a metallic sound that he held. Linda followed him, and the two found themselves in the promenade part of the building.

“Where are we, Cid?”

“You’re on the eighteenth floor. Let me check the population of the next floor,” Cid replied. He continued tapping on his laptop, creating a rhythm that coincided with the tapping of Linda’s foot. Alastor’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the surroundings, waiting for Cid’s confirmation.

“Lucky for you guys, apparently there is no personnel from the thirteenth to the nineteenth floor. So, it’s best to use the stairs,” Cid said.

“Stairs? We can’t use elevators?”

“No, company policy. They’re using a card reader in every corner of the office in this building,” Cid explained.

“We’ll be damned,” Alastor said.

“Don’t worry, I know how the building’s system works. Going to the next ladder and finding another ventilation duct is the best option we have right now,”

Just as Cid finished speaking, an alarm began to ring loud, flashing in red lights.

“You were saying?”

“Heh-heh. Sorry,” Cid replied.

The two of them hurriedly jogged to the dark entry underneath the ascending floor to the elevator. As they moved, there was a bleep from the elevator entry. They emerged in the dark enclosure, halting their motion and slowly walking through their way. The patrolmen came down laughing, unaware of the duo hiding in the darkness. They could hear them talking about their fellow patrolman’s rattled reaction to the false alarm. The two glanced at each other, nodded, and proceeded.

They found the ventilation and scurried inside without a flinch, taking a few routes until they found the exit of the ventilation they sought. They hid and observed from the ventilation shaft as the footsteps of the dozen drew closer. Once they saw the individual walking casually at the platform with a bunch of bodyguards, they already knew it was an important person. They couldn’t see the face as the hooligans surrounded him, but they could hear the angry, distressed voice echoing in the marble pavement of the edifice. The voice was deep, hoarse and distressed.

“Now, I want you to redo it! This is the fifth time it failed!” The scientist scolded and turned around, looking frustrated. “Mister Theo wouldn’t be pleased if he found another failure again! Look, I am being considerate here because I am kind, but these failures are getting on my nerves. So, chop-chop, make the salary worth it.”

As they entered the elevator, they could see the two guards entering their keycards and disconnecting the bridge through the translucent window. They finally left.

“What the hell is happening here?” Ken asked. He appeared out of nowhere.

“What took you so long?” Alastor asked as he cowered down to open the filter.

“I went to some places. Hey, would you mind if we get out now?” Ken asked.

“Stay close and stop wandering around.” Alastor shrilled a whisper.

“Wait, Cid, what’s next?” Linda asked.

“Okay, listen to me. Though it may seem like there are no guards, they are together in one room,” Cid explained.

“Are you sure?” Linda asked suspiciously.

“Yes, I am sure. That’s what my computer is showing,” Cid affirmed.

Alastor nodded, agreeing to what he said, “He’s right. They may be slacking because they thought that the security of the other levels is enough.”

“Wow, I wonder if their boss knows about this. I mean, he didn’t even suspect the quietness of the place,” Ken said.

“Those who get cocky get dissed off first,” Alastor said with enthusiasm.

Linda suspiciously gazed at Alastor and he asked, “Why give me that look?”

“I wonder sometimes how old you are,” Linda replied.

“What do you mean ‘old’?” Alastor didn’t get it.

As the guard sipped his hot coffee, he lay off his feet onto the empty part of the panel, unwinding with the music. His partner seemed a bit off and couldn’t resist the urge.

“Hey, I’m gonna go jingle. Would you mind looking out for me?” he said as he hurriedly reached the door. “Don’t worry, it’s not like someone might hack and break the security systems,” he said before leaving.

After releasing himself, he washed up and proceeded back to the control panel room as the gang knocked him down. Even though jazz music echoed in the room, he still heard a loud thump near the door. He decided to go out and found his fallen partner. He turned on his walkie-talkie to call for backup, but it was too late, and Ken delivered a round kick, stopping the guard. Ken almost felt sorry giving the guy a black eye.

“Room secured,” Linda reported.

“Good, now I want you to insert a plugin into one computer,” Cid requested.

Alastor pulled out a box from his jacket that had an antenna and a connector. After inserting it, binaries showed up, and in a couple of seconds, there was an alert requiring a passcode.

“It needs a passcode,” Alastor said. Linda and Ken watched outside the room, scouting the area, wary of the possibility of patrolling guards.

“Okay, how about we use the key card? That might work,” Cid suggested. Alastor inserted the key card – the one he used at the entrance – into the hole and the hunch was right. Cid began decoding the system and breaking down the codes. After he entered the passcode, he began downloading files in the frame.

“What are you doing, Cid?” Alastor asked.

“I am copying the files from their previous activities. We might find a use for them.” He has no idea how wrong he was.

Linda and Ken was at the opposite side when they slid the keycards at the same time. The disconnected bridge created a low hum sound. The engine rumbled faintly as the two separated the channels that connect. After this, there came the rumble of machinery, and with a faint groan, the door began to part.

Walking on the metallic bridge, Alastor looked up at the main building. Its size was incomparable to what it looked like outside the industrial furnace. With a blank expression on his face, the gloom began to spread out. He couldn’t help but teeter, letting out a heavy sigh, dispelling his thoughts.

Alastor noticed that the building was much bigger than he initially thought when he was outside. The cylindrical chimney made it look like a normal chemical factory. But if one looked at it from the inside, their perspective might change. The exterior has many quarters, most of which were operational, while others served as a stockroom or their office’s meeting room.

The giant doorway closed as they entered the Experiment Sector. They didn’t waste time and continued to explore. They encountered some guards, but they slipped by them as they moved through the shadows and hid in crates. They covertly knocked down the enemies before they could ask for help, leaving their bodies hidden in the stockroom or locker where they could hide them and not alert other guards.

After searching this part of the section, they entered another slim pathway. They tried to use the keycards, but it kept blinking the word ‘error.’ Alastor put the device he used before, and Cid began hacking the system. It didn’t take too long, and the door opened.

“Done deciphering,” Cid said.

They could hear Cid sipping something liquid, and this annoyed Ken. “Dude, are you drinking coffee?” he asked.

“Yeah… It helps me stay focused and awake,” Cid roughly replied, and they could hear the shrill sipping sound.

Ken interjected, saying, “Will you stop doing that?”

“Stop what?” Cid asked.

“That sound, that sipping sound,” Ken said, almost annoyed.

“Is it bothering you?” Cid asked.

“Yes,” Ken replied.

After hearing those words, Cid grinned and continued to make sipping sounds louder, provoking Ken’s reaction more aggressively. “Hey… asshole!” Ken shouted.

“Hey, how about both of you stop acting like children and be mindful that we’re in enemy territory?” Linda intercepted the the argument.

Alastor was observing them with a blank expression and decided to leave them behind to proceed with entering the room. “There’s no need for me to be distracted by their sappy argument.”

They noticed that he was already a few meters away from them, so they followed and stopped arguing. They checked every room they passed, most of which were composed only of transparent glasses, but it didn’t look like the usual glass that could be broken by any traditional means.

Ken decided to punch one of them. He moved his right foot backward, aligning it with the other, and his right fist pulled close to his chest, concentrating power in his hands. He pulled the string, and the fist met the target. Instead of breaking the glass, the windowpane vibrated. Ken’s hands made a crunchy sound in the most uncomfortable way. The others noticed his face squirmed.

“Wait… did you try to punch that windowpane?” Alastor asked.

“Yes, I was just trying to confirm if it was breakable or not,” Ken replied, grunting and holding his fist.

“Are you okay?” Linda asked.

“Don’t worry, I’m already used to it,” Ken offered a confident smile, but Linda could still see the pain on his face.

Alastor turned his eyes away, ignoring Ken’s pain and continuing to stroll ahead.

They entered one of the doorways hoping to find what they were looking for, until they found themselves standing in front of a giant circular door.

“I see no security. It seems safe for you to proceed. But I cannot breach it for you,” Cid said.

“Why not?” Linda asked.

“Well, let’s just say it might be connected to the mainframe, and I don’t want to mess up. You’ll have to find another way to hack it,” Cid replied cautiously.

“Scared cat.” Tin snorted.

“The previous computers were connected to another dummy server, so there would be no problem if I fail. I can just disconnect and change to another laptop so they wouldn’t be able to find me. But now that we’re in the Experiment Sector, it’s probably connected to the mainframe, and I don’t dare to place my bet on it,” Cid explained.

“Whatever,” Tin hissed while cleaning her gun.

Linda began to open the lock of wirings of the panel and started to rewire it.

“This could take a while,” she said.

Meanwhile, Alastor scoured his glance at the surroundings. Ken noticed the way he looked, “Dude, do you realize how terrifying you look?” he asked, a bit anxious.

“What do you mean?” Alastor asked, confused.

“That look you have, it scares me to death,” Ken replied.

“Oh dear,” Alastor murmured. Once he figured out the cause, he tried to decide what to do. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it,” he justified.

“Yes, there is. You look like you’re about to kill someone,” Ken retorted.

“Why do I care about how I look? It’s not like the way my look will hurt somebody,” Alastor said.

“Obviously duh, but someone might misinterpret those looks,” Ken replied.

“I don’t see the point,” Alastor mumbled as he still conspicuously altered his gaze to the environment, wary that there may be a possibility of security.

“Maybe that’s the reason you’re still single,” Ken joked.

“And you’re not?” Alastor responded dismissively.

“Finally, the door is opening, let’s go,” they heard Linda call out. The metallic circular door rumbled open, and they were about to enter it when a silhouette of machinery appeared in front of them. Its dull sound of metal clanging got louder as it got closer, and they could see that it was a missile targeting them. The gang side rolled, evading the incoming attack, but the missile still landed near them, hurling them in the air. Their backs landed heavily on the cold ground, gasping for breath.

Alastor sat up, everything was still ringing. He blinked twice before he carefully turned his neck, peering back at the entrance where the attack came from. A semi-bipedal machinery emerged from the bright light that came inside the room. The choke on its four metallic legs created steam produced by extreme heat, and its four-sided head attached to the tank-like body has a curved surface. The camera visuals of the robot zoomed in on them, scanning the surroundings for enemies.

Thankfully, the door to the Experiment Sector was closed, preventing outside enemies from hearing the commotion within. However, there were adversaries that the group did not anticipate.

“What the hell is that?!” Ken exclaimed, gritting his teeth as he stood up.

“It’s a defense security robot… It must have been set by one of the technicians to detect any anomalies,” Linda groaned as she struggled to regain her posture.

Alastor gritted his teeth and pulled out his silver sword. The robot’s metal chassis emitted a high-pitched squeal as it charged towards them. The gang swiftly scattered and ran around, managing to avoid the attack unscathed. Alastor was first to rose, he brandished his sword, and was measuring his enemy. His adrenaline surged through his veins, allowing him to maintain his focus.

“Cid!” Linda raised her voice, calling for his aid.

“On it,” Cid replied as he tapped on his computer, hacking the doorway behind them and locking them inside.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ken demanded to know.

“The guards may find us, so it’s better to stay in here and fight,” Linda explained.

“Do you have a plan to escape this thing?” Ken shouted, growing frustrated.

“Like Linda said, we stay and fight,” Alastor declared, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword as he charged towards the enemy.

As the thumping of the robot’s feet echoed through the room, Alastor slid and side-rolled repeatedly, dodging the attacks of the four-legged tank-like machine. As it relentlessly assaulted him with its foot stomping to him, he found himself backed into a corner. Taking a deep breath, he propelled himself up the wall, jumping and rolling in mid-air to evade the enemy’s reach. Landing gracefully on the surface of the robot’s body, he plunged his sword deeply into the metal. Feeling the thickness of the iron, he realized his strength alone would not be sufficient to pierce it.

Suddenly, he heard a screech, the result of the insides grinding and a loud steam of release. The hatch opened, a Gatling gun emerged, aimed directly at Alastor. Quickly reacting, he threw himself off the machine’s body and fell, narrowly avoiding the attack. As he looked up, he saw the weapons emerging from underneath the tank, countless armaments appearing before his eyes.

“Al! Over here!” Linda called out, conjuring magic and creating five transcended walls. Alastor ran towards them, and the weapons of the enemy turned their focus towards the group.

“Heads up!” Alastor declared, bracing himself for impact as the countless missiles surged towards them. Ken muttered under his breath, crackling his hands and preparing himself for battle. Linda focused her mana on the walls, raising her hands and pouring her energy into them. She struggled to maintain her focus as the walls began to break apart under the relentless assault of the missiles and machine guns. A rigid crack appeared on the concrete, and the walls started to crumble.

“I can’t hold it much longer!” Linda cried out in distress, the concentration of her mana gradually diminishing. At a certain point, the last missile broke through the fourth wall. Just as the enemy’s attack seemed unstoppable, it ceased its motion, a steamy smoke rising from its body and dissipating into the air. He just noticed that there was an imprinted name at its side, with the words ‘MB42’. Linda fell on her knees, catching her breath.

“You okay?” Ken asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, “attack while it’s vulnerable now.” Linda was trying to catch her breath and her eyes seemed to droop as she crawled. Alastor, however, seemed unfazed by her condition and his dark eyes were fixed on the enemy.

“Ken, go help Al,” she huffed as she sat down.

“No, we can’t do this. We have to retreat, Al!” Ken called out.

“No,” Alastor replied. His eyes trained forward.

“What do you mean no?! Dude, she’s not in good condition! We need to get out of here!” Ken shouted at him.

“We can’t. It’s too risky for us to go back now. If we let this thing loose, they might know we’re here,” Alastor explained.

Ken could only grit his teeth. The cold breeze from the ventilators made Linda’s consciousness drifted, but she was still clinging on. Ken shifted his gaze from Linda to the robot. “It seems that things are vulnerable now. Linda, lay low for a while. Come on, Al!” He howled and charged towards the enemy.

Alastor shouted at him, “Wait!”

Ken leaped forward at the enemy with his fist wearing metallic gloves, intending to reach the robot’s head. Upon landing, the machine jumped backward, evading the attack. The metallic ground sparkled and cracked due to its weight.

“What the –” Ken was surprised.

The robot’s legs penetrated again, and it jumped towards Ken.

Alastor dashed towards Ken, jumped, and pulled him away. A loud crash exploded behind.

“It seems that thing doesn’t have any bullets left,” he said.

“Are you sure about it?” Ken asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure of it,” Alastor grunted as his eyes remained fixed on the circling enemy. Linda was hiding at the edge of the crate’s corner. Once again, the tank-like robot’s springs penetrated down again, jumping upwards, but this time it became aggressive.

Ken murmured lowly and grunted, dashing away from the attack. “Do you have any idea how to beat this thing?”

“Nope,” Alastor groaned in tiredness.

“Then what are we supposed to do?!” Ken cried out.

“We’ll wait for the right moment,” Alastor snorted.

Not too long after, the robot’s internal machines began to show signs of complication. Its body started to spark, and wirings blew out from it. The legs made a screeching sound, deafening to the ears, but stopped after a few seconds.

“This is it. Aim at the legs!” Alastor howled, and Ken followed him. Alastor dragged his feet around, cutting the leg in half. He had no intention to let the opportunity slip away. Soon after, the wires and the metallic cables comprising the legs gave up. The robot knelt as it lost its balance. It could no longer move.

Ken grabbed it and aimed at its head, then he heavily breathed, kneeling at the surface of its body and raising his elbow while his fist faced downward. Alastor did the same thing to its legs. He cut another one of them and noticed the change in contemplation of his fellow mate. He decided to go at it. In the last throes of defeat, the robot’s curved surface unleashed another weapon, but before the machine gun activated, Alastor cut the gun in half. He felt his shoulder ache.

Ken pressed his fist to the enemy. The legs of the creature couldn’t withstand the weight of his power, causing its parts to explode and leaving his hand buried in its body. To ensure that it was finished, he raised his left fist and brought it crashing down. The machine’s light began to blink before it lost all power. The duo landed a safe distance away as it exploded.

Linda approached them with a smile, having regained her composure. “Are you guys okay?” Ken asked, to which Linda replied with a nod. Ken couldn’t help but feel that Alastor’s intense attitude was still present, as he was careful not to let his guard down after their recent fight.

“Dude, we defeated the enemy. There’s no need to worry anymore,” Ken said, trying to ease the tension.

“Don’t get carried away by defeating a small fry,” Alastor snorted.

“Small fry? It almost got us killed, and you call it small fry? Besides, if it weren’t for me, you would have become dead meat.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself. The enemy we fought was defective,” Alastor explained and elaborated. Linda was nodding in agreement. “When I first hit it with my sword, I noticed that the wirings at the back of its head were jumbled and has some abrasions, which would explain why its body sparkled and the wirings were popping out. In short, we got lucky.”

“Okay, we’ll be more careful from now on,” Ken conceded. “Now, what do we do?” Ken asked, looking towards the lab’s entrance.

“Since Cid already shut the door, we have no choice but to move forward,” Linda instructed, and Alastor nodded in agreement.

The three of them proceeded with extreme caution, and what they saw inside was beyond their comprehension. Dozens of glass tubes filled with what appeared to be human and machine hybrids lined the lab. Some were offline, while others were being made at the factory below.

“What the hell are they planning to do with these?” Ken asked, horrified at the sight.

“This is inhumane,” Linda added, her eyes reflecting pity for the poor souls trapped in the tubes. Alastor, however, didn’t show any emotion towards the heinous act they just witnessed.

They followed the path and took a stroll down the stairs. Together, they uncovered the inhumane acts of the people working there. The person’s body parts had been replaced by a metallic hand, similar to others who were mutilated.

“There are no signs of Theo here.” Linda announced.

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” Cid said.

They continued down many stairways and conduits until they reached a room occupied by hundreds of types of technology. Behind a transparent window, a row of computer panels lined the behind at the wall, operating on their own. In the center of the room, a giant screen hung on the wall, displaying blueprints of various projects. As they approached, the door automatically slid apart, and they entered the place without triggering any alarms or crossing any security.

All that remained was the buzzing noise of computers and the bubbling water coming from the chemical tubes. Looking at the widescreen, different blueprints loaded back and forth. Alastor and Linda started examining the computers, while Ken focused on the files arranged in front of the widescreen.

“Project Amalgam.” Linda muttered in a low voice.

Alastor leaned forward from resting in the chair and asked, “You found something?”

She entered the file and showed a dozen notes and videos. Clicking one of them, she played the video. They could hear the charismatic voice of a man behind the audio-visual as he narrated the experiment.

“Experiment test no. 1, human subject 2401. The subject is being tested as a potential candidate for the experiment. The subject is healthy, and his stats are normal. The candidate is caged inside a four-sided glass plane. One minute from now, the subject will be exposed to a gas that comes from a newly discovered rock called Hemil Klust.”

Tubes connected inside the glass cage released a violet gas that spread at once. The man’s body changed, and his nerves thickened. Within seconds, he started exhibiting violent behaviour. Before long, his body started to degrade and liquefy. The man behind the video narrated and gave orders, “Human subject 2401’s body structure shows an aberration. The substance is inadequate for human cellular use, and nerves are impaired at the synapses connecting to the brain. The extension of its capabilities is yet to be known, but no worries, this is the first experiment. The development will start to show in the next ones. Clean it up, boys; we will proceed to the next one.”

“This is unpleasant,” Alastor said, but his expression remained unshaken.

Linda changed the directories of the output and inserted a flash drive. “Cid, can you copy all of this?” she asked.

Cid was thrilled and replied, “Oh yes, this is a big catch. I wonder how they will react when they find out how I am going to destroy their mainframe.”

“Good, because we are not just going to destroy their work, we are also going to blow this place,” Alastor said.

“Are you out of your mind? Those are people, living beings. They’re the victims here and you want to blow this place?!” Ken yelled.

“Yeah, well, that’s the thing kid. Look at them, do you think that they will be pleased with their current situation? Their bodies are now mutilated, we don’t even know if they’re human anymore. It’s best to reprieve them off their torment.” Cid calmly explained.

“Ken, I know it’s hard, but we have to do this. At least, we may honor their sacrifices by stopping their doings,” Linda also justified. “We can’t let these people be turned into weapons.”

“But— “

“You’re a mercenary. We were hired to stop them, whatever it takes. So, you must toughen your guts… and besides, it’s none of our business if they die or not, consider them as collateral damage,” Alastor added. He was beginning to be annoyed.

“I don’t know how you guys can handle this,” Ken murmured.

“Our priority is to fulfill the mission,” Tin chimed in.

“I know that.”

“Then we must do what we must do to fulfill the request. Besides, we can’t even say if they’re humans anymore,” Tin continued. The signal began to stutter.

Alastor noticed Ken’s contemplation changing and decided to advise him, “Ken, remember. In our job, ethics apply too little. Look, I get it, you don’t want to kill, and you think this job is quite dirty, but that doesn’t mean that all our missions are out of being human. I mean, look at this. Theo uses humans for his ridiculous ideas, and if you think about it for them, what would happen only ‘if’ they regain their selves? This is worse than dying. Their sacrifices wouldn’t be useless. It would likely prevent Theo from creating more possibilities of such conflict in this city.”

“I guess… you’re right…” Ken conceded, falling into silence and in deep thought.