Nothing brought me more joy in life than being stronger than everyone…. Training day in and day out, competing to show everyone what I am capable of.

“It doesn’t matter how badly you beat someone, what matters is that you don’t lose” that the words my folks always told me

It’s not like I ever needed encouragement, I never could stop smiling every time I put someone on the ground and have my foot on their chest…having all that power of whether they stand up or plan a long stay at the hospital.

CyberGrounds used to be a place where it tested my strength in a different way, and it was one I refused as much to lose….. but now, that’s all I've been doing.

Isaac Taylor made me look at strength in a different way. He showed me that even the weakest looking person can be the strongest. And it was fitting then, that the strength he built started to wane with his departure.

The New World Order was becoming weaker the longer it went without him. The fall of the Purgatory, the Guardian Clans returning, all of them have given the sheep a sense of strength that they don’t deserve.

And what is that damn Japanese twat’s first decision the moment he took over? To run away and restart.

I unloaded all my frustration onto the punching bag…..My frustration about not being able to do anything about the Manos

My strike echoes through the room

….My frustration about getting demolished by the Tyrant and giving away Isaac’s location

This time, it echoed even louder

….My frustration about how weak the New World Order has become

It echoed louder again

…..My frustration about being weak myself

And this time, my hatred filled punch knocked the bag off its hinge and sent it flying onto the ground.

I held my stance for a few seconds, breathing deep until my body cooled down and the soreness melted away……But it never did.

Everytime I try to call it a day, I remember the sensation of the Tyrant’s blade digging deep into me. How he made me fear pain….enough to make me talk….enough to accept defeat.

I steadied my hand as I approached the floored punching bag ... .I put it over my shoulder and hung it up again, however the fabric had ruptured and now a hand was sticking out of it.

“Tsk ... .Damn it” I turned my hand over and checked the time, and I lacked enough to sew the leather back up and get a few more sets in.

“Might as well take out the trash” I pulled my knife out and cut through the seams of the leather, which dropped the contents of the bag onto the floor….thankfully it didn’t make a mess this time

I put my fingers on its blue neck and felt nothing, and there was no air being pumped in and out of it…..Guess this one is way past its expiration date.

After the trash had been dealt with, I breathed a moment of relief under a cold shower….. But as I closed my eyes, I reminisced of another horrifying scene……My failure at the Purgatory.

If I could get my hands on her one more time. Just once…. I am more than ready to rectify my mistake, and maybe even make him suffer for what he did to me that day. If I had a genie that gave me three wishes right now, that would be my first without any hesitation.

A sad refresher later, I dressed up and readied to move out with the blind hope that this sorry excuse for a group can take a turn for the better. However my plans hit a snag as a pawn was in front of my door way

“Captain Roland…Sir. I have a message for you from the commander… For your eyes only”

I snatched the holo-note from the pawn, and proceeded to read it.

[To my office before you start patrol… We’ll be waiting]

(We? Now what?)

The gangs of cutthroats lined the streets of the Lower Sector ... .The only place here where the law of ‘survival of the fittest’ still applied…. All the more reason that the Guardian Clans still haven’t got their scrawny hands on this place yet… I’d pay good money to see how long Sawamura would survive down here.

How did we even fall this low in a single night?

My usual walk to the Mid-Sec always results in a handful of fights along the way, but guess I’ll have to settle for less as I had to take the commoner’s transport if I was to make it to the NWO base in time

Almost an hour later, I found myself in front of the tallest building in the Upper Sector. A glance at the top hit me with a reminder of where we used to be on the food chain.

“Captain Roland…. The commander is expecting you in his office. He’s with a VVIP” The hired fodder in front of the building informed me, with not even a flinch in his gaze.

(Him? What’s he doing here now?)

I checked myself to see if I didn’t look like any of the savages from where I came from ... .My dark jacket made me look more presentable since the dark spots were well hidden but the blood dried my hands had to go. Which I took care of, the first thing after I entered HQ.

Every crowded hall I walked was the same…but it was different.

The fear in the eyes of the many here was still there, but that was because many still didn’t know how weak Sawamura still is. The other few? Their eyes give it away.

I long elevator ride to the top later, I arrived at his hidey hole and knocked on the door

“It’s me”

(Wouldn’t even know it if someone just barged in through the door and painted the walls with his entrails)

“Come in” Sawamura’s muffled voice slipped through the door

I entered to the sight I expected, the sheep who cried wolf, sitting beside he who once caged a demon

“Wasn’t really expecting this reunion today of all days”

“You should know by now, Mr. Arnett…. I’m more of a walk-in kind of guy”

I looked at Sawamura and he shrugged it off

“I take it that this is not a social call?”

“This is far from a social call, Mr. Arnett….I’m here to collect a debt”

“A debt?” I looked at Sawamura again

“Your guess is as good as mine. Zawanni-san didn’t say a word until you showed….”

“Needless to say, Mr. Sawamura, I’d prefer if you didn’t address me using your people’s pitiful honorifics… That’s Mr. Zawanni to you”

He always knew how to keep people in line, and now he was so close to having Sawamura reeling

“You come into my building and tell me how to treat you, that is not how the world works, my friend” Big words coming from a sheep, but even I know you don’t have the balls to back it up

“Just to be clear Mr. Sawamura, I’m not your friend. I’m just here to collect what is due considering the circumstances in hand”

“We don’t owe you anything, Razir.” I said, frustrated by both of them

“If that was the case Mr. Arnett, you wouldn’t have to be looking at me right now and as a matter of fact-” he looked over his shoulder at me with a gaze that colder than ice “I wouldn’t be having to deal with you or your incompetent new employer right about now”

A bold statement like that wouldn't be backed up by blind lies…

“Isacc Taylor and I had a bit of a…business relationship ongoing. I get to hand build the Purgatory of my dream with his aid, and he gets a utopia for his handpicked. Which included you two if my recollection doesn’t fail me and…it never does”

He stood up and walked towards the glass window with his cane in tow, to the view that overlooked most of the city…

“And if I knew sooner that who Taylor brought to me was a deadly snake that would slither her way out and poison everything she touched, I would’ve had his head but he assured me-”

He turned my way and walked closer

“I mustn’t worry, he told me, he had his most trusted ally on that hunt and under him, one of the few who are brave enough to break the snake’s fangs and bring her severed head to me. Imagine my disappointment when I learned that she is still out there… terrorizing my clientele.”

He then backed off and walked towards his seat

“He promised me camouflage… from the specter that no one can escape from and now, even he is not around anymore. And a little birdie told me, it’s because it’s you who talked Mr. Arnett''

I clenched my fist in rage, and averted his gaze as my moment of weakness I’m trying to forget comes back full circle at me the more I try to get away from it.

“It wasn’t only Roland’s fault” Sawamura interrupted him, getting up from his seat “The Tyrant held me hostage…. Isaac agreed to go with him if he…..spared me.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Razir laughed under his breath “And this is why with you at the helm, this is nothing but a sinking ship…”

Sawamura drew his sidearm at Razir “You either tell me what you want, or you can get the fuck out of my building…. It’s like you said… Zawanni-san…. we are not friends. And if I decide that we don’t owe you anything…that is the final word.”

Razir stood-up and had his forehead in front of the gun’s barrel, not a flinch seen and not a stutter in his voice “I’ve known killers my entire life, Mr. Sawamura, and one look at you and that trembling hand of yours tells me all I need to know……Protection. I want to be accompanied through your plan to start over on Cathedral City”

“How do you know about that?” Sawamura was spooked, and if his secret plans are that leaky….. he has every right to be.

“Let’s just say I have a little birdie that has eyes and ears everywhere. Your lackey’s incompetence has cost me my assurance of safety, and the last place I want to end is in the same ground as that demon that butchered everything in my heaven”

(Ah…shit)

“So you want safe passage through the Ascension BR.” Sawamura showed a slight smug on his face, securing himself a false sense of authority as he put away his gun and sat back down

“Not that I have a choice…. Your organization promised me the heads of those two demons. And the mere mention of what they did, haunts my paradise and keeps my loyal customers afraid and away…”

“Minami isn’t to blame for what happened to Purgatory…. It’s the sister” Sawamura interjected and I backed his statement up to save my skin

“Minami Mano isn’t a problem anymore, we found her dead and buried a few days ago. We presumed Yulia was dead; she raided the Riviera FOB but it was too late by the time we realized she survived. Guardian Clans had taken over Upper Sec by then.” I debriefed them about all we knew.

“I lead the manhunt against the Manos…. No matter how much I people I threw at her, Yulia killed them all” Sawamura followed up

“And this is why both of you will stay bottom rung…. You hide behind your excuses. Let me ask you something Mr. Sawamura, do you know why that you will never be able to fill Isaac Taylor’s shoes?” Razir picked up his cane and started to inspect it closely. “Because what you are is a Leader….not a Commander”

He takes out the blade from the top of his cane, and with the energy flowing through it clear, he didn’t even try to hide that it was one of his personal gears. He held the blade in his hand, trifling around with the sharp edge.

“A base of operations without a safety field” and he put his blade back into his cane. “Isaac never feared his army turning on him. Because he made sure that everyone around him feared him…. He made sure that no one but who he chose could look him in the eye….he made sure that insubordination always got punished ....inflicting agony on them while everyone else looked upon. Anyone who walked into the building, could be their first day or could be you…They knew who the boss was. Standing above everyone, not asking or demanding for respect...But giving them no choice, but to respect him”

Razir blade stopped in front of Sawamura’s face, to which he slightly flinched back. I drew my gun and had it pointed at Razir’s head, but Sawamura gestured me to stand down

“You try to lead your sheep, empathize with them. You didn’t punish Mr. Arnett for crippling you organization by giving in to the Tyrant’s torture. You watch upon as the Guardian Clans undo all Isaac Taylor had built, and your first course of action is to run away”

(At least someone gets how I feel about that)

“Well in that case, we all are not that different are we?” Sawamura leaned forward on the table, fixing his gaze at Razir “You think you and Isaac can get a better handle of this? He had a choice, The Tyrant allowed him to refuse and if he did, he said he’d just walk away….Isaac took the easy way out and so are you….. You are afraid what Yulia Mano would do to you if and when she tracks you down. You are running because you are afraid”

Sawamura got up from his chair and walked beside his table “You think that I’m running because I’m afraid? Right now, I got the damn Guardian Clans disassembling everything, and Mano is literally right at my doorstep. I focus on dealing with one of them, the other collapses on me.” Now he slammed the desk and was now in front of the unfazed Razir’s face “I’m not running. This is the only way I can get rid of one of them….. whoever crosses to Cathedral City first will be the first to fall.”

A moment of silence fell between them until Sawamura broke it “You want safe passage, I’ll give you safe passage ... .on the condition that we come to the same agreement you have with Isaac. You help me strengthen my regime just like you did before, and I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”

(Didn’t expect that from him of all people)

“Bold words are still just words, Mr. Sawamura….. however if those words do prove to have weight, then we might just strike that deal ... .However, I request Mr. Arnett to be present on the occasion…. I remember that you were one of the very few that was brave enough to face down the demon. With that kind of strength, I can be mostly certain about my safety”

Razir got up from his chair and walked towards me “Let me ask you something, Mr. Arnett…. If by any chance, you find yourself face to face with the demon, will you be-”

“I’d skin her where she stood, that is certain” I answered before he even finished his sentence.

Razir sneered… he looked down to hide his expression

“Yulia won’t show up….. she might be walking disaster, but she is also stuck in her ways…. Plays by her own rules. That’s not how this game works.” Sawamura interjected

“Then let’s hope that’s the case” Razir tapped me on the shoulder as he left through the door. Cutting the tension in the air by half

I turned around to leave but was stopped the second I touched the door

“Roland….. I didn’t expect to have this sprung on you too. I’m-”

He was scrambling just like he has been for the past couple of weeks

He switched gears immediately, trying to hide his weakness. “I meant everything I said…My hands are tied here, and once we put some distance between Mano and the GCs. There will be no stopping us….I’ll leave Mano to you just like you want…. Leave the GCs to me.”

I said not a word or moved not an inch by his empty words….. But if it gets me a shot at taking both of them down, I guess I had to play along

“How much do you know about Yulia Mano?” he stopped me again from leaving but only this time, I reacted to his words

“Enough…. That group she’s with, weakens her. When I ran into her the other day, her eyes still had that deranged glare in them but she was fighting it”

“So we could use that to our advantage?” Sawamura’s shoulders appeared to relax slightly as my words reached him

I turned towards him “No…. Even if you convince a tiger that it’s a hare, it still has claws to fight back. You can make them forget who they are, but never their instincts. What makes Mano dangerous is that she is a hunter, a very…very good one at that. The problem with hunters is that you can never escape from them…. They never forget how to track and they never… forget the taste of blood.”

“What about you?” Sawamura asked

“Unlike the Mano lineage and their cowardice…. My family prides itself on fighting their foes head on. Overwhelm them with power, crush their wills, and show them the meaning of strength.” I looked at my hand as I reminded myself about the countless I had put in their place “I run into her again, and that is going to be her end…. And that is why, I’m going to put her in the ground if we meet at the Ascension BR…. But I guess we have other problems to worry about”

Sawamura tensed up again “Huh?”

“ Zawanni mentioned that he knew about our expansion into Cathedral City. And there’s only two ways that could happen, one… if he has an insider, someone ranking high enough to know about that, or there’s someone picking up scraps in our dumpster…. Possibility one is only possible if you are his inside source because it’s clearly not me. So the most likely is possibility two”

“What do you mean someone is picking up scraps?” Sawamura inquired

I stood silent for a second “Don’t worry about it…. nothing I can’t handle. But for the Mano problem, I feel like I’m going to need a lot of manpower.”

“Who do you need?” Sawamura waited for my answer impatiently

“All of the best we have”

I left Sawamura to hide in his tower while I worked to keep his house of sticks upright. The last thing we need right about now is someone sticking their ear to our door….and I had a very good idea who that unwanted pest might be.

After finding out that Mano has dug her claws into the Upper Sec, I didn’t have much of a reason to return back to Mid-Sec ... .But it was the only place I could think of if I was to come up with someone who would eagerly snoop on us.

I missed the aura of fear in the L-Train. A few weeks ago, I pictured this to be chaos that was said to be the norm in the New York Subway a long time ago, now it just serves as another reminder on why the Guardian Clans must be dealt with.

Back when Mid-Sec was my regular lookout, I remember one particular individual being interested in the New World Order, so much so that he even crawled his way into Isaac Taylor’s pocket. If I was to guess, someone might be looking to strike while the iron is hot.

…..or so I thought

“What the hell?” I couldn’t contain my surprise as I saw the building burned to crisp…. A blaze hot enough to melt the brick and metal inside.

I stepped inside the charred ruins on what was once a precinct… the wooden flooring was non-existent, and what looked like an entrance to a basement was completely covered by rubble.

(There goes my theory)

I was suddenly called to by a voice behind me, and far from the charred ruins “Sir…Sir! You are not supposed to be here. This is a restricted area….”

I turned around and the green uniform he wore was enough to infuriate me

Can it, NPC…. You think you can tell me what to do?” More blocks of code appeared, cutting off my exits.

“Sir, I mean you or the New World Order no offense…. But this is the site of an untimely death of a verified guild official…”

“So the Sheriff bit the dust huh?”

“Sir, I have to ask you to leave the restricted area, any queries you had with Sheriff Nishigaki will…”

“You think I take orders from a clump of code? You see, I’m here on official business for the New World Order, so I suggest all of you scurry along and let me track down my prey in peace”

“This is your final warning, Sir…. Accompany us out of the area or…” Too bad he couldn’t finish his sentence with a hole in his head

The other two pulled out their guns and started firing at me, but their toy guns could only knock me back as I inevitably closed my gap on my next victim.

A moment later I had the second’s neck in my hand, and I took my sweet time to feel that cracking sensation of his larynx under my hand. The third kept firing but I used the dead NPC as a shield as I closed in on him. I grabbed his gun and broke his wrist, and then his arm, and then his shoulder….until he fell onto his knees. I pulled out my handgun and put two shots in his legs and then aimed at his head.

“Stop!” the fourth shouted at me

“Eh?”

“Look, you don’t have to do this anymore…. Let my friend go, and we’ll walk away” he laid down his gun slowly, pronouncedly showing how pathetically weak he is

I couldn’t help but scoff as I pulled the trigger, killing the code’s ‘friend’

“Nooo!!” He stood their motionlessly

“Friend you say? You are nothing but a group of randomized lines of code…You are designed to be exploited ... .to be stepped on and crushed by who are superior to you” I slowly stepped towards him, and he still didn’t move “Just like the other sheep, you are weakened by compassion. You believe in the concept of mercy and equality…..At least you’ll get to witness what strength is, in your final moments”

He didn’t try to defend himself as buried my knife in his stomach… he reflexively tried to resist, but what can a lowly NPC do against an alpha player?

I dragged him down to the ground and made his weakness clear to him until the very last moments of his putrid existence, as I kept plunging the knife into him over and over….By the end, both me and my weapon was covered in the fake blood of the codes who pretend to be real.

“Didn’t really expect to bag myself a shark on my little fishing trip”

(A voice behind me? How did he…..)

“You know as much as I’m aware of all the escapades you’ve been upto, Roland Arnett…. I at least hoped our first encounter in this world wouldn’t involve any bloodshed, and yet…here we are”

The more he spoke, the more that voice sounded familiar…. I didn’t waste anymore time to guess and looked over my shoulder…. Ain’t many people who would sport that ugly ass goatee.

“Nice to see you too, Willy”

“You know I erased that name from the real world, and I expect it to never even be mentioned in this one.”

I slowly got up while wiping the fake blood off my knife. “Right….. and to think that the almighty Ghost Broker ends up in this place….” I turned around to face him as I sheathed my blade “I thought a man of your skills only reserve your services to the best of the best”

“This might catch someone like you by surprise, but everyone has their own personal lives…Likes, dislikes. And not everyone is a puppet to their family lineage…. Unfortunately for me, one of my pastimes happens to turn itself into a death game.”

With Wilson being in this place, the pieces started to click into place…

“No wonder our plans were never safe, it was you writing the script in the background”

“For someone who enjoys knocking down front doors and other people, you sure got a bit of a brain in that skull” he taunted me

“I’m only going to warn you once, Willy…. Stay out of our way, or you might find that brain you’re so proud of splattered all over where you stand.” I turned to leave, letting the threat hang in the air.

“In a way, you are here breathing because of me… Considering the Tyrant slaughtered everyone else I sent to” But he managed to grab both my attention and my wrath.

“You sent the Tyrant to me?”

“I did, because if my so-called ‘script’ is to be realized…. I need you to be breathing for a while longer”

I turned towards him, fighting my instinct to break every bone in his body

“The Tyrant wanted to kill you too, but I gave away your whereabouts for free…Provided that he doesn’t kill you after he is done”

He turned around to face the charred ruins behind him “You might be wondering why we are still here. In front of this burnt down precinct of a Sheriff who deceived everyone…. It’s because the person who did this, is also who made me lose everything and you very much know how much I hate losing…. I stared at it from the shadows for the past couple of days, and it’s only after you killed all of the Guilds guards, I could get this close to it”

“If you think I owe you anything, you are dumber than you think you are. Just because he spared me, Razir Zawanni thinks that I owe him….”

“A safe passage out of Helios…. I figured as much” He completed my sentence for me “Unlike Mr. Zawanni, I don’t collect debts. What I’m offering you is an opportunity…. I can’t serve you up the Tyrant, because he’s no longer in Helios… or in the Bronze Rank layer for that matter…. However, having two active Monarchs in my vicinity is going to be mostly bad for business”

I stepped closer as I realized what he meant “Where is she?”

“I wish I can tell you, Roland Arnett….. however she is someone who has a Broker’s mark, and eventhough our world might not be the same, my principles haven't changed.

“Then break your fucking principles before I break your fucking spine” I threatened him, stepping even closer

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way”

Having it enough with him, I grab him by his collar and throw him towards the nearby alleyway, tripping over the body of the NPC I killed earlier. I picked Wilson up and pinned him to the wall, and put my blade through his flank and twisted it, making him scream

“Let’s try this one more time, Willy….. Where…is….Mano?”

“This might work for….any other person….” He was gasping for breath every second he spoke “But not her….” He grabbed my shoulder and pulled his head towards my ear “You might scare me, Roland Arnett…… But you are nowhere as terrifying as she is….”

My rage almost made me act out, to end his life for even speaking those words. But from experience I knew that this was going to get me nowhere…. So I did what I haven’t done in a very long time….Show mercy.

The second I let him down and pulled my knife out, he scoured for a health potion, and chugged it down like a man deprived of water for a few days, and he downed another, and another, before finally catching his breath. I walked away from him, hiding my sight from his weakness

“Just because I can’t tell you where she is, doesn’t mean I can’t tell you where she shall be soon…. But every transaction has a price. A price that you can pay without even breaking a sweat”

“You got ten seconds, or I walk”

He reached his hand out to me, still down on his knees “I want to hire you… the person that undid all my work. He’s part of a clan of five…his twin sisters are a part of it too…. Kill his sisters in front of him, and then kill him… His name is…”

“If I accept this….”

“Then Yulia Mano is yours… Just to be clear Mr. Arnett, I don’t care if you die, or Mano dies…. If I have to deal with one less Monarch in this place, that is a victory for me”

“Fine...Consider it done”

“The Ascension BR… Mano and that clan she’s with qualified for it. From observing this place’s matching algorithm, the chance of she being in your game is very high… Most of the other cities hasn’t hit prerequisites yet so most of the first wave will be players of Helios, Arcturus and Zelion.” Wilson’s information brought a sense of joy to face….I’ve been waiting too long for this

“Now, about your target….”

“I’d rethink the payment if I were you” I immediately stopped him, as this was a prime opportunity to use him to settle another score

“What?”

“You said that you’d give me crucial information and in return I do a hit for you…..however there is a…small detail you forgot” I turned around to face him “I’m already assigned to the Ascension BR in case Mano shows up…. all you told me is that she is…going to show up… That’s not good enough, Willy”

“What more do you want, money?” He sounded desperate, perfect to squeeze him for all he is worth

“Every transaction has a price and it’s a price you can pay without breaking a sweat”

His annoyed reaction showed that he didn’t like getting his own words used against him “There was this guy, who humiliated me…. Unfortunately, due to the company he keeps, I’m not able to put him in his place…. I want to know what makes him tick. And a man of your talent and resources, I’m sure that you provide what I’m looking for and uh…” I stepped closer to him “If you do that, we might have ourselves a deal”

I stepped back to give him some space, but I had the mighty broker dancing on my palm already

“This person…..What’s him name?”

I took a second to make sure that he was on board… and I spoke

“Tatsuo Kanamori”